“You absolutely can,” Lexi says.
“Are you still wearing the ring?” Izzy asks, raising an eyebrow.
Sighing in defeat, she stares at the sparkling diamond in its elegant setting on her fourth finger. “He told me to keep it. Said it belonged to me.”
“Are you kidding me?!” Erik nearly screeches. “I’m booking you on a flight right now.”
“He didn’t leave it because . . .”
Erik’s not having any of it. “No, nope, stop whatever bullshit you’re about to say to rationalize that. You no longer get to pretend, Bianca. Listen to us. No man who isn’t completely andutterly in love with someone leaves his mother’s ring with her. It is not possible.”
“You’re supposed to be the smart one here,” Lexi says, laughing a little.
“Stop it. This isn’t about smart. This is about feelings. Those two things have nothing to do with each other. He doesn’t feel that way about me. If he did, he would have said something, he wouldn’t have left without saying anything.”
“You didn’t say anything and you let him leave,” Frankie tells her the hard truth.
“That’s not . . .”
Her best friend just shakes her head. “It’sexactlythe same thing and I’m booking you on a flight to Athens right now.”
“Thank God, because I do not have that kind of money,” Erik mutters.
“Frankie!”
“What? It’s fine.”
“It’s too much. You’re already doing so much.” Her best friend is already basically gifting her half a house and now this?
“I don’t care. I want to do this. Just take the ticket and go tell him.”
“What if he . . . what if he doesn’t want me?” She finally voices her real fear, that if she puts it out there, she’ll find herself back home with her heart in pieces, broken even worse than it is now.
“Impossible,” Chloe says, “but even if that’s true, isn’t it better than spending the rest of your life wondering what if? At least you’ll know.”
“At least I’ll know,” she echoes. “Okay. Okay, I’ll go.”
Frankie booked her first class. It was the least she could do, she said, and so Bianca has sixteen hours, including an hour sitting in the lounge at JFK while she changes planes, to think about exactly what she wants to say. And to rethink it over and overagain. To decide and then scrap it, come up with something new, rehearse it over and over again, until finally, blessedly, somewhere over the Atlantic, she falls asleep.
She’s never been to Greece by herself. The last time she was here was for Lexi and Chris’s wedding, but that was different, busy, family everywhere, the hotel, the church, the hall, barely any time to breathe, let alone reallybethere.
It could be different this time. She could explore, immerse herself in Athens after checking herself into the hotel Frankie texted to her while she was on the plane; she could hit all the tourist spots, but then maybe blend in and live like a local for a little while, the best way to experience anywhere.
She could justnotlook for him.
Athens is a big city. Not as big as LA, but definitely big enough to stay a while and never risk running into him.
She was so sure back at Lorraine’s, so positive that this is what she wanted to do, that she wanted to tell him everything, but now that she’s here?
God, why is this so hard?
. . .
. . .
. . .
Because she’s scared.
