Page 75 of Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter27

Roma

“Istill getJawsvibes whenever we come to the beach here.”

I adjusted my oversized, square vintage sunglasses and turned to face Lo. We’d finally made it through winter in Chicago and to Martha’s Vineyard for her bachelorette party. Our parents’ summer house was in Edgartown. And I had to agree, it still gave meJawsvibes too.

“Want to get drunk, shut the lights out in the pool tonight, and watch the movie while we swim?” Talia wiggled her eyebrows.

“Raincheck,” Lo said, going back to her hair magazine.

“If I have to wear this—” Talia motioned to her bathing suit “—I want to have some fun.”

Lo wore a white bathing suit that said in pink letters, “Wife of The Party.” The rest of us had pink ones with white letters that said, “The Party.”

“Don’t blame me,” Lo said. “Y picked them out.”

“And you love it.” Talia threw a piece of popcorn at Lo’s head.

She caught it with her mouth. “I do! It’s Gucci!”

Lo was glowing, and it wasn’t just because we were on the beach. Sandro had lit something in her not even a cold, hard wind could snuff out. It was deep inside of her heart, and she was guarding it. Her happiness made the sun on my face feel warmer.

Isabella and Alina walked up. They threw shade over us with their big sunhats.

“We’re hungry,” Isabella said. “Everyone ready to take the bikes back and grab a bite to eat? Lexi and Eve are heading toward the bikes now.”

Alexius “Lexi” Liu and Eve Garcia were Lo’s friends from beauty school. Lo was opening salons in Chicago and Rome, where she planned to split her time. Lexi and Eve were going to help run them both.

“I’m starving.” Talia stood, knocking sand from her legs. She tied a hot-pink sarong around her waist and slipped on matching flip-flops. She grabbed her bag and stood next to Isabella and Alina, waiting for us to move.

“Go ahead of us and grab a table somewhere,” Lo said. “Text us where. I need to pack my things up, and so does Y.”

They went ahead of us.

Lo hit the brim of her floppy sunhat out of her eyes. “Still no word?”

I looked down at my leg and picked at a piece of sand. “No.”

I’d confided in Lo about everything, even the accident that was no accident. We both went back and forth between disbelief and wondering if Alfonso was behind it, but her wedding was so close. I didn’t want to ruin this time for her. We’d occasionally bring it up, but since Felice was out of the picture, there was nothing else to talk about.

“Jack?”

I sighed and stood, slipping on my cut-off jean shorts and flip-flops. I started packing up my things, and Lo started doing the same. We headed toward where we’d left our bikes.

“I can’t marry him, Lo,” I whispered. “I just don’t know how to break free from Babbo’s expectations without breaking…completely.”

She nodded. She understood what I meant. Giving up my only parent wasn’t going to be easy.

“Jack’s so much like John, and he seems to care for you, but he’s a…another version of John. Not the same vibe at all.”

I’d been playing my part. Showing some interest in Jack, but not to the degree he wanted. He thought it was going to take time, and after we were married, we had our whole lives to fall in love. But I’d never love him. And if someone was ruthless enough to send a warning to Felice the way they had… If I didn’t play my part, what would happen next? Would they kill Felice?

“You okay?” Lo asked.

I shrugged. “Remember the conversation we had at the diner after going to Jupitar? You were right. It’s harder to dream and lose than not to dream at all. If Felice had never come into my life, I wouldn’t know what I was missing.”

“Do you love him, Y?”

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