Page 116 of Denim & Diamonds

I ran my finger along the rim of my glass. “I guess… I don’t want to interrupt.”

She tilted her head. “But if he cares about you as much as you seem to think, won’t he welcome hearing your voice, no matter what?”

That was probably true. In reality, my own fear had kept me from contacting him.

“I think I’m just afraid to know the truth. As long as the birth hasn’t happened, I can pretend everything is normal.”

“Well, if melancholy is your normal, I feel sad for you. What you’re experiencingnowhardly seems normal. Am I right?”

I hung my head and nodded.

“You can put an ocean between you and your troubles, but they’re all still right here, aren’t they?” She paused. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what areyou doing in Milan if you love this man and can’t stop thinking about him?”

“Well, Giovanni wanted to meet with me here.”

“Is thatreallywhy you came?” She cocked her head. “You could’ve told my husband it wasn’t a good time. He would’ve understood.”

“Pretty sure I’m running away,” I muttered.

She nodded sympathetically. “Yeah.”

I liked Francesca. She had a way of pulling the truth out of me, and without someone calling me out, I would’ve suffered even more in silence.

I took a sip of my drink. “If I’m here, it puts distance between us and removes the option to see him. I don’t have to face this head on.”

“You know, when I married Giovanni, he had two kids of his own.”

“I don’t think I realized that.”

I’d known Giovanni had two sons but assumed Francesca was their mother.

“And you see?” She smiled. “Everything turned out fine. I look at them like my own. And I don’t have the stretch marks like their mother.” She winked.

But the two situations were hardly the same.

“Well, in this case, there would be no birth mother in the picture. Being with Brock would mean I’d be the only mother-figure in the child’s life. And that’s a tremendous responsibility. Being with him would also mean less time to dedicate to my business, my career.” I exhaled as a flash of panic hit. “I should probably have my head examined for having this conversation with the wife of a potential partner.”

She reached across the table. “Do not worry. This conversation stays between us. Anything we talk about has absolutely nothing to do with business.”

My pulse calmed. “Thank you. I appreciate your discretion.” Though I couldn’t imagine her not telling her husband everything after I left.

“So you think it would be difficult to have both a relationship with Brock’s childanda career?” she challenged.

“My life is in New York City. His is out in the country, in Maine.” I stared out at a stone garden statue. “And I’m not sure I can give the child what he needs. Brock and his baby deserve it all.”

Rather than offer further advice, Francesca snapped her fingers again, prompting Giorgio to return and pour me more limoncello.This has to be the last one, I told myself.

After lunch ended, Francesca left me alone as I headed to my room. But I quickly grew antsy. Though I was a little buzzed, I decided to take a walk around the stunning city to clear my head.

While out, I passed the Duomo di Milano cathedral and a beautiful shopping center with luxury stores. Once again, I thought about how I was supposed to be having the time of my life, while it felt like anything but.

A few blocks farther down, my eyes landed on a sign that saidPsychic Readingsin English. It was in front of a small building that seemed more run down than the others around it. Because of the English sign, I wondered if this psychic catered mostly to gullible tourists.

But I had nothing to lose—or maybe the limoncello decided that for me—so I entered the place to find a woman with a long, black braid scrolling on her phone. Her back was turned to me, and I could see she was watching videos of dogs. They looked like pugs.

“Hello?” I said.

She turned, put her phone down, and gave me a once-over. “Hello.”