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“No, but I still worry.”

“Why?”

“My family was,” he paused, then corrected himself, “isvery traditional. My career choice wasn’t exactly celebrated.”

“You’re worried she won’t want to see you?”

“More or less,” he admitted.

Guilt seeped into my gut, icy, oily, and sickening. Vinny would have been worried about his trip home for weeks, there was no doubt about it. And I’d pretty much ignored him.

“Vinny,” I said evenly, threading my fingers through the waves at the base of his neck. “I can’t promise you anything because I don’t know what your sister is like, but I know that she’d be proud of you for going back. Whether you left on good terms or otherwise, being the bigger person will always be the right thing to do.”

He hummed softly, burying his face in my skin. “You think so?”

“I hope so,” I admitted. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

He lifted his head immediately, shifting his body until he lay on top of me, his chin propped on my chest. “I’m all ears.”

“I think that after your trip home, we should stop seeing each other.”

His full lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes downcast in thought. “If that’s what you want, amore,” he said.

I toyed with the few strands of hair that fell over his brow, searching for the right words to offer him. “I don’t think it’s about what I want so much as what’s best for both of us, don’t you think?”

He dragged in a long breath. “You know,” he began, a small smile tugging his lips. “When I first approached you all those months ago, I was sure you would laugh at me and tell me to run off with the other kids.”

I laughed. “Really?”

He nodded. “But then you talked to me, and I think it was the first time I felt at home in this stupidly huge city.”

I remembered the night he was talking about. I remembered his swagger, the way his nerves peeked through his over-confident facade as he tried to flirt with me.

“I hadn’t been planning on entertaining you,” I admitted to him.

He frowned. “I knew it!”

“Relax.” I chuckled, brushing the pads of my thumbs over his high cheekbones. “You’ve spent the last few months in my bed, why are you offended?”

“True.” He smirked, pressing a kiss to the dip between my breasts.

“But I think our time has come to an end.”

Truthfully, my interest had slowly dwindled. I knew the cause. Even if I refused to admit it out loud.

And Vinny would be flitting about the globe soon anyway.

“It was fun, amore,” he hummed. He leaned in and kissed me softly; a farewell kiss.

“Yes, it was.”

Without Vinny around to provide a distraction my thoughts took every opportunity to turn back to Frankie. I was quickly losing my mind.

“Hayden,” Marina said, knocking on the open door more out of habit than courtesy. “It’s after seven already.”

A quick glance at the clock on the wall told me she was right. “Oh God, you’re right,” I groaned, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes until tiny lights burst behind my eyelids. “Why are you still here?”

Confusion flitted across her soft features. “Because you’re still here.”