Page 25 of Summer Rush

“Tell me.” Janine placed her espresso cup back in its saucer with a clack.

Maggie’s face was pinched. “Rex is engaged.”

Janine’s jaw dropped. Quickly, her hand found Maggie’s on her lap, and she held it tenderly as though it was a tiny, breakable egg. “I can’t believe this.”

Maggie blinked back tears, trying and failing to tug her lips into a smile. “I shouldn’t be the one who’s angry. I’m pregnant with another man’s child, for crying out loud. And that happened not long after we broke up.”

“He was cheating on you, Maggie.”

Maggie winced, and for a moment, Janine wondered if that had been the wrong thing to bring up. It was never easy to consider the depths of someone’s betrayal like that. She knew that better than most.

“I loved him for a long time,” Maggie offered, swiping beneath her eye to catch a tear.

“And a part of you always will,” Janine said. “I mean, look at me! In Venice, visiting your father’s family!”

Maggie’s shoulders dropped. “You’re doing it for us. For Alyssa and me. I know that.”

“But I’m also doing it for me,” Janine told her. “I lived with and loved your father for decades. Coming here feels like finding the final piece in a thousand-piece puzzle. It feels like making peace.”

On the canal in front of them, yet another gondola purred past, and the rower sang gently an Italian song everyone seemed to know well: “Azzurro.”

“It’s bizarre that the baby Alyssa is carrying is the one Rex and I made together,” Maggie added, sounding wistful. “And even more bizarre that Rex would rather pretend it never happened.”

“Babies come into the world for all sorts of reasons,” Janine said. “I think it’s a blessing that Rex wants to stay out of this baby’s business. Imagine having to deal with him all the time!” Janine shook her head. “I knew so many families in New York who divorced. They had to coordinate pick-ups and drop-offs, had to restructure holidays and vacation times. Because Rex is stepping away, you and David can plan your family however you want.”

“And Alyssa,” Maggie added, her eyes sparkling. “I’ll never forget the sacrifice she made for me. And I hope beyond anything she knows she’s a part of our family, too.”

“I think she does.”

* * *

Alyssa didn’t wake up till two in the afternoon, when she emerged from the shadows of the upstairs hallway and walked slowly, like a ghost, down the staircase. Maggie and Janine were in the living room, both reading in comfortable house clothes, enjoying the silence in one another’s company.

“There she is,” Maggie said, closing her book. “Our very own Indiana Jones!”

“Ha ha.” Alyssa rolled her eyes sarcastically. “You didn’t touch the Italian books on the table, did you?”

“We did not,” Maggie assured her.

“Did you find any connection to the Cacciapaglias?” Janine asked.

Alyssa slumped into the chair beside Maggie and rubbed her temples. “Nothing so far.”

“I think we should take the day off from the scavenger hunt,” Maggie announced.

Alyssa gave her a nervous side-eye. “And do what?”

Maggie shrugged. “Eat? Go to piazzas? Go to another museum? Eat some more?”

Janine sensed that Maggie was trying to distract both of them: Maggie from Rex’s new engagement and Alyssa from her newfound obsessions. They both looked at her as though for permission.

“You know me. I’m always happy to eat my way through this city,” Janine said with a laugh.

And eat they did. As it was only two, Alyssa hurried to dress, and they wandered to the nearby piazza for a gorgeous late lunch: fresh fish, salad, homemade bread, and sparkling juice. Bit by bit, both Alyssa and Maggie seemed rejuvenated, telling jokes and old stories.

“Now that we’re here in Italy, I’ve been thinking of even more baby names to add to the mix,” Alyssa said mischievously.

“Uh oh.” Maggie put her fork down, clearly regretting she’d told Alyssa she could have a say.

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