My lips are on hers so damn fast, our teeth collide.
“God, I love you,” I breathe with my forehead resting against hers.
“Love you, too, D.”
Finally, we turn back to the girl at the desk, who is now grinning ear-to-ear.
“Ready?”
“I think so!” Terina says with a twinge of nerves.
“What are the chances you guys have time for ink while we’re here?” I ask, noticing a guy in the back of the shop scrolling on his phone.
The girl calls over her shoulder, “Jay, you open?”
The guy lifts his gaze. “What are you thinking?” He stands to join us.
I take out my phone and open to an image of a firefly tattoo I’d already saved and show it to him, along with Elio’s name already on my chest. “I was thinking the firefly could be standing on the E and shining light across the name. Maybe use white ink for the highlights.”
“Oh, man, lighting is my specialty. We can do something seriously sick with this. Let me put a sketch together.” He snaps a picture of my current tattoo, then hurries off to his desk, seemingly engrossed in inspiration.
When I look at Rina, her eyes are watering.
“That’s really lovely, D. I had no idea,” she says softly.
“I thought about surprising you, but now that we’re here, I’d just assume we do this together, if you’re okay with it. Mine will take quite a bit longer than yours.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” The light of love shines in her eyes, and I feel so damn lucky I could burst.
That’s my firefly—my very own ray of sunshine—and I will devote every day of my life to ensuring her light never dims because her joy is a gift to everyone around her. She is my priority and my purpose. My reason for being on this earth. And someday, many years from now, when I see Elio again, I know he’ll be proud of the life I’ve led.
EPILOGUE
TERINA
It’sa week away from Thanksgiving, but I’m struggling to summon feelings of gratitude when my best friend is about to be married off to some stranger. Her wedding day has come, and I’m still in shock that no one has put an end to it.
In less than an hour, I’ll do my duty as her maid of honor. I’ll make sure her train splays properly and hold her bouquet at the appropriate times, but I’ll be fighting back outrage every second of the way.
Everything about this is wrong and so incredibly unfair.
But who is there to stop if not Isa herself?
I know we talked it through to some extent, but my brain still won’t get on board. I wish I understood why she would volunteer for a lifetime pledged to a man she doesn’t know. I get that she thinks she’s saving some other woman the grief, but maybe we could do that by standing up to the system, rather than capitulating.
I don’t know why I’m still having these conversations with myself. I’ve said the same thing to her a dozen times over, and she’s dead set in her decision.
“Shouldn’t you be with the bride?” D asks when I join him in the church sanctuary.
“She has her cousins with her. I just needed a second.”
He offers a grim smile, knowing how much I’ve struggled with this day. “I’m not sure I have much to cheer you up. I was talking with Cosimo, and I’m concerned he’s having memory issues.”
“Really? What happened?” I’m shocked because the man is only in his mid-sixties and always seems as sharp as a knife.
“We were talking about the renovations he’s making at his house to repair the damages, and he mentioned getting a call from me before Pasha attacked. He was adamant that we speak on the phone, but I never got through to him or any of you. I didn’t push the issue because I didn’t want to upset him today, but I only ever left him a message. We never spoke directly that day.”
“Oh, poor Isa.” My heart breaks for her. “I wonder if she’s noticed any signs of decline.” That could be why she’s decided a marriage is in her best interest, though it doesn’t make any sense to me at all. There’s no telling.
