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And then… there's the one that slowly forms on those full lips whenever he catches me staring.

Okay.

Not going there…

Except my mind keeps going back to what happened at the water's edge earlier.

The way he looked at me when he told me I made all the noise disappear. How he touched my temple, then rested his finger just above my heart.

I can still remember exactly where he touched me, as though I can still feel his fingertip there.

Which is ridiculous, considering it lasted all of a few seconds.

I wanted to tell him that he does the same for me. That when he's around, everything in my head seems a little less overwhelming, and I can finally breathe without feeling like there's something sitting on my chest.

But then he was standing so close, looking at me like that, and all I could think about was how strange it felt to have his finger resting against my dress.

What the hell is happening to me?

I turn my attention back to the beach.

The sun has disappeared into the sea, leaving streaks of orange and pink across the sky. The bonfire is burning brightly now, its warmth reaching me whenever the breeze changes direction, carrying the smell of smoke and grilled meat through the salty evening air.

Around me, people move between groups with plastic cups in their hands, laughing and talking over one another. Matteo is still playing his guitar, although the six people singing along with him don't seem particularly concerned about staying in the same key. Children race barefoot along the water while their parents shout reminders to stay away from the fire.

Chiara is laughing at something Matteo whispers into her ear, her head tipped back in a way I haven't seen in far too long. Lexy is sitting in the sand with her shoes beside her, and Dex is happily eating something a woman I've never met handed him on her way past.

He doesn't even question it anymore.

Smart man.

A few feet away, Jude is talking to one of Damiano's cousins, his hands shoved into his pockets while that polite smile I've started to recognize pulls at his lips.

I smile to myself.

It's loud and messy and warm and so completely alive.

And suddenly, I hear Damiano's voice as clearly as if he's standing beside me.

Live, Vita. And one day, when you're old and join me in heaven, I want to hear all about it.

My throat tightens.

He made me promise that day. Promise that I would live, that there would be things to tell him when I saw him again.

I look around at the people gathered on the beach, at the fire and the sea, at Sicily surrounding me exactly the way he always described it, and at my sister laughing again.

My eyes find Jude without me meaning them to.

He's already looking at me.

And there it is.

That slow smile.

I look away before he can see mine.

Yeah.