Instead of riding her bike, she stepped away from it, walking it forward. I did the same. Mia gazed around, taking in the scenery, her legs moving. It wouldn’t be long before she’d fuss to get down.
“Up,” Mia said to Ruby. “Up. Up!” She was trying to say pup. Ruby’s ear pointed at the noise, but then she sniffed ahead, scenting through the soft tufts of grass. “Eye, eye, Up.” (Bye, bye, Pup.)
Scarlett stopped to touch a lower branch full of olives. “Where’s Mia’s cup?” she asked out of nowhere.
I turned and looked behind us. The cup was probably lost in the grass. Another habit of Mia’s—throwing things on the ground just for the fun of it. We’d pick it up. She’d throw it down again. On and on this game went.
Scarlett grinned. “You lost another one?”
“I’ll have one of the men get it,” I said. Calling to one of them, I told him to find it for me and throw it away. Then I thanked him.
Scarlett stopped to gaze up at another tree. “What were you and Rocco talking about?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Then again, I do.”
“Vincenzo,” I said. “He’s back.”
“So soon?”
I nodded once. “No reason to stay.”
“I see.” She caressed the rough bark, running a foot through the grass. “He couldn’t find out anything?”
“Not a thing.”
“Brando…” She trailed off for a second, then straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. She refused to look at me, though. “What if—”
“I haven’t let the first time go,” I snapped.
“What if he’ll see me? I can find out—”
“I don’t care if he requests your presence.” I fixed her turned back with a heavy look, knowing that she could feel the weight of it. Where the vulnerable part of her spine began, the knobs of her vertebra were visible. “We won’t speak of it again.”
“All right.” She lifted one shoulder, then let it fall. “I’m worried.”
I walked closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, holding the bike and Mia with the other. I could feel every elegant bone through the thin dress. “I know, baby, but we can’t change what’s coming.”
“No,” she agreed. “But we can prepare for it.”
“Let me worry about it.”
She turned around slowly to face me, burying her face in my chest. “Not today, all right?”
I kissed the top of her head. “Not today.”
“Iss.” Mia puckered her lips. “Iss!”
Scarlett and I smiled, pulling apart, and then each of us took a cheek and smothered her in loud Italian kisses.
* * *
We rode through the grove side by side, enough room for us both to pass through. As long as we were moving, Mia kept quiet. Until she saw the pool and started to get excited. I had been taking her in the water as soon as the weather was warm enough. She was close to knowing how to swim. She had no fear of water, which scared her mamma. As long as I taught her everything she needed to know, though, I knew she’d be fine.
Music drifted toward us. Mitch stood in the pool house, which looked more like a cabana, his disc jockey gear in front of him. Eunice had brought out platters of food, and family and friends hovered around, picking at this and that.
The warm weather was still going strong, though the light had faded to a gold so pure that it made me feel rich; night would only make a slight difference in temperature.
