When he comes back, he’s wearing one of my Hilfiger polos.
It reaches his thighs, making him look weirdly hot and entirely mine.
“ You trying to be me?” I ask dryly.
He blinks exaggeratedly slowly.
“Hi there, gorgeous. I’m single.”
He collapses into helpless, wheezing laughter.
“Hilarious,” I say, pouring us water.
Antonio steps closer, his eyes wide and mischievous.
“Please accept this one-thousand-dollar tip as a small token of my devotion.”
He nearly trips over his own feet in glee.
“Sex made me even funnier,” he marvels, sitting down to eat.
“I can see that.”
Then the laughter fades.
“Are you going to talk with Penelope?” he asks.
The dread tightens in my chest when I think about confronting my sister.
“First thing tomorrow.”
“That means a lot,” he says. “To all of us. So—thank you.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. I don’t want Sophia to get her hopes up.I’ve never had much sway with Penelope. But I’ll try.”
He nods, accepting that, and we drift to lighter things.
That night, Antonio falls asleep the second his head hits the pillow.
I listen to his breathing until it’s so slow and steady that it pulls me under too.
Sometime in the night, I wake up to his voice.
“Caspian?”
“Yeah,” I mumble.
“I'm so sorry I didn’t reply to your texts,” he whispers. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I know that was awful.”
“It’s okay, baby,” I murmur, pulling him closer. “Go back to sleep.”
A pause.
“Promise me you’ll always reply to my texts. Always, Caspian.”
“I promise,” I say without hesitation. “I would never leave you hanging.”
I fall back asleep. Then—
