“But you love him.”
I nodded as a tear slipped out of the corner of my eye. “I do. I did love him.” My ears perked up hearing a loud thump.
“What was that?” Alba froze.
“Probably my sister and her loser boyfriend. I’m sure Paolo will deal with it.”
Pippa started fussing. She’d been asleep for barely an hour.
“Great. They woke my lovebug.” I sighed getting up. “I wished they’d move.” My sister and Roy were the couple who didn’t only yell, but they threw stuff at each other. It was unsettling. I could never be with a man who hit me. Ciro wasn’t without his imperfections, but he never struck me.
“Why not move in with me?” Her question caught me by surprise. “I have an extra room. Just imagine how much better it would be for both of us to share the expenses.”
“I can’t, Alba. It would feel like I failed if I moved in with you.” I smiled at her. “But thank you for asking.”
“You’re so stubborn.” She sipped her wine.
I was stubborn about proving to myself that I could takecare of me and my daughter without anyone’s help, especially Ciro’s.
But now that he knew about Pippa, I was confident he’d force me to move out of this building, and I wouldn’t object. Things were getting out of hand next door, and this wasn’t the kind of environment I wanted Pippa to grow up in.
If Ciro bought us a house, I’d invite Alba to move in with me, and I wouldn’t charge her a penny. After everything she’d done for me and being thebestestbest friend a girl could have, it was the least I could do.
After getting Pippa back to sleep I returned to the living room where Alba was waiting on the sofa and texting, presumably Paolo.
“Is your boyfriend doing okay?” I teased her.
“He’s not my boyfriend. But he’s fine. He hates Roy.”
“Everybody hates Roy except for Elsie, for whatever reason.” I rolled my eyes and plopped down next to her.
“Speaking of boyfriends. Are you excited about your date with Doctor Jon tomorrow.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “A ball game is just the first step toward something infinitely more romantic.”
“I think I’m going to cancel it.” I hide my face behind my hands. “He’s too nice for me to lead him on. I’m not over Ciro, despite everything, and Jon deserves better.”
Alba lowered my hands. “I understand. We wouldn’t want a guy to string us along if he had feelings for another woman.”
“Exactly.”
“But you can be friends with Jon. Maybe he’ll wait for you.”
“Yes, we can be friends. But he’s a catch. Women will be lined up hoping for a chance with him.”
She nodded. “Guess it’s a case of the right guy, wrong time.”
I shrugged, remembering how I would tell myself that about Ciro. Right man. Wrong time. I sort of still felt that way, but I couldn’t make excuses for him anymore and I definitely wouldn’t put my life on hold any longer.
In time, my broken heart would mend and then I’d be ready to try again with a worthy man. But I wouldn’t hold my breath that it would be Doctor Jon.
37
CIRO
“I have a confession to make.”Courtney hung her head and picked at her nail. She’d just settled into her bed in a private room at the rehab facility. It was almost five o’clock. The registration desk was slow as fuck and the delay threw my schedule off.
“Okay. What’s your confession?” Admittedly, I’d heard plenty of confessions from her, but this was the first where she wasn’t stoned out of her mind. I was about to leave, anxious to get to San Francisco and to see Isla, but now I was intrigued.
“Do you remember when we first met?”
