Really? And here he’d been punishing himself for being so different from his father and brother. But if he differed from them in his choice of professions, why couldn’t he be different when it came to love? Maybe there was a chance his story would end differently than theirs.
“Now, what are you doing standing here talking to me?” His father gave him a pointed stare, like when he was a boy and had forgotten to do his chores. “Go after the woman you love.”
Dante turned to the villa when he realized that he didn’t have his car. And the next train was hours away. He didn’t have time to was
te if he was going to catch Lizzie and beg her forgiveness.
“Hey, Papa, can I borrow the truck?”
His father reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a key ring. “You know it’s not fancy like that sports car of yours.”
“That’s okay. I’ve learned that sort of stuff isn’t what makes a person happy.”
Lizzie had taught him that lesson.
Now he had to track her down, even if it meant flying to New York. He’d beg her forgiveness. Whatever it took, he’d do it.
Maybe he and his father weren’t all that different after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
HOW COULD SHE have let herself get caught up in a dream?
That was what this whole trip had been—one amazing dream. And now Lizzie had awakened to the harsh glare of reality. The truth was no matter how much she wanted to believe that Dante was changing, he was never going to be willing to let his guard down enough to let her in—even if she’d foolishly let him into her heart.
After Dante had left, she’d spent the night lying in the dark reliving her memories of Dante—memories that she’d treasure for a lifetime. Because no matter how the fairy tale ended, it’d still been a dream come true—falling in love under the Italian sky and kissing the man of her dreams in a breathtaking vineyard.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she called the taxi service to take her to the airport. She took one last look around the apartment, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk down the hallway to the master suite. Some memories were still too raw for her to delve into.
With the front door secure, she made her way down to the restaurant. With it being Sunday, it was closed. Maybe she had time to slip inside and—what? Remember the time she’d spent there with Dante? No, that wasn’t a good idea. There was only so much pain she could take.
Would that taxi ever show up?
At the sound of an approaching vehicle, she turned. She frowned when all she saw was an old truck ambling down the road. Needing something to distract her, she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She’d been putting off calling Jules for as long as possible. Her foster sister would be full of questions as soon as she learned that Lizzie was catching an earlier flight than was planned.
Her fingers hovered over the keypad. How was she going to explain this?
“Hey, are you here for the hostess position?” came a familiar voice from behind her.
Lizzie spun around to find Dante leaning against an old truck. “What are you doing here? I mean, what are you doing back so soon? Is the party over already? You did have the party, didn’t you?”
She was nervously rambling and he was smiling. Smiling? Why was he smiling? The last time she saw him, he’d looked miserable.
“The party is probably still in full swing. Once my family gets started, it goes on and on.”
“That’s good.” She didn’t want to think that anything she did would ruin this special day for Massimo. “I...I’ll be out of your way in just a minute.”
“Don’t go.”
“What?” Surely she hadn’t heard him correctly.
Before Dante could repeat himself, a taxi pulled over to the curb. She should feel relieved, but she didn’t. Whatever Dante’s reason was for returning early, it was none of her business. He’d made that abundantly clear before he left yesterday.
Lizzie turned and slung her purse over one shoulder and her carry-on over the other shoulder. She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and turned in time to see Dante leaning in the window of the taxi, handing over a wad of cash. What in the world?
As she approached them, Dante straightened and the taxi pulled out.
“Hey! Wait!” She was going to miss her flight. The last one for the day. She turned on Dante. “What did you go and do that for?”