What felt dirty was thinking about all the different ways that swimsuit was turning him on despite the predicament they were in. He shouldnotbe thinking about those things right now.
“You never told me whyyou’rehere,” he said, trying to change the subject. “In Greece, I mean.”
She turned around so her back was against the edge of the pool, and she was facing the house.
“You talked about this place all the time,” she explained. “It was special to you. So after everything that happened with thinking you were dead and all, I wanted to see it for myself. Plus, I’d never been to Europe. I mean, I’ve never beenanywhere. I figured this was a good place to start.”
He liked that she’d chosen to visit Greece because of him. As if it connected them in some way.
There’d always been a connection between the two of them, even though he was supposed to be Eddie’s best friend, not Dani’s. Dani was the one who forged his mom’s signature on a sick note on the day he skipped school after his papou died. Dani showed up for his doctoral graduation. Dani sent him a handwritten copy of her favorite cookie recipe when he was craving a taste of home—along with a tin full of a batch she whipped up just because.
But his parents had told him, it was time to grow up. Settle down and find a wife. Stop trying to relive his youth by galivantingaround Michigan with Daniela Guiterrez. How was he supposed to show commitment to someone else with little Dani always in the background?
Not that his parents didn’t like Dani. They loved her. But she wasn’t a Triple G. And her penchant for breaking the rules and brazen personality, while amusing for everyone at the dinner table, weren’t exactly what his parents pictured for a future daughter-in-law. Plus, her tendencies leaned toward bad boys in leather jackets, not archaeology nerds like Theo.
But after that drunken Saturday, he couldn’t dance around his feelings any longer. He also couldn’t—no,wouldn’t—continue dating Giorgina when his heart belonged to someone else. It wasn’t fair to either of them. The problem was, however, that he didn’t know if Dani had even meant those words. They’d both been smashed. The fact that moments later she’d thrown up on him didn’t exactly instill confidence. But the way she held him that night…the way she’d brushed her finger over his skin…well, itfeltreal. He owed it to himself to take a chance.
So after giving himself some distance, he’d finally planned to tell Dani how he’d felt. Rip off the Band-Aid and put it out there. Fuck that stupid pact he’d made with Eddie. Fuck the Triple Gs. He was in his midthirties, goddammit. It was time to stop letting others dictate his love life.
It’s always been you.
If only he hadn’t been too late. If only she hadn’t already moved on.
The vision of the last time he’d seen her in Grand Rapids flashed through his head. Dani at the bar withhim.
She’s with her beau at the brewpub, her father had told Theo when he’d called their house the night he’d pulled into town for a surprise visit.
Her beau.
Those two little words had gripped his heart and given it a tight squeeze.
Theo had needed to see for himself, though he regretted it the minute he showed up at the karaoke bar. There they were, singing on the small makeshift stage in the corner of the room, singing a duet and holding each other in their arms. Singing “I Got You Babe,” the song Theo and Dani had sung only a few weeks earlier.
He’d felt like he’d been punched in the stomach by Sonny and Cher themselves.
The night they’d spent together had meant nothing.
It’s always been you.
Dani would never settle down.
It’s always been you.
There would always be someone else. Someone cooler. More exciting. Less nerdy. Better.
It’s always been you.
Theo hadn’t bothered going into the bar after that. Instead, he dropped off her book at her place, then drove straight back to Chicago, and less than a week later, he was on the plane to Greece.
So where was her boyfriend now? Why wasn’t he with her on this trip?
“Why didn’t you come with anybody?” he asked, looking at his hands gliding through the water, trying to be as nonchalant about it as he could.
“I wanted to do this alone. For myself, you know?”
He knew the feeling well. He’d been doing things like this on his own for the entirety of his adult life.
“Besides, who would I even bring with me?” she continued. “My mom? Eddie?”
