He shrugs. “I didn’t do it for everyone. I did it for you.”
“Huh?”
He leans a little closer. “You were upset on the boat. When you opened up about your mom. Figured I had to find a way to get this back and make it stay.” His wet knuckles stroke my uplifted cheeks.
A breath gets stuck in my throat as Tony’s gaze pierces straight into my soul. His touch on my skin leaves a trail of heat, even though his fingers should be cool to the touch.
His eyes drop to my lips, and my brain starts to panic. I know I would not be able to kiss this man right now and survive it. Especially not this version of Tony.
So I blurt the one thing that should have him backing off. “So, uh, why don’t you do relationships?”
His lips twitch with amusement.Not the reaction I was expecting.
He drops his hand and tips his water in my direction. “Swap?” He nods at the drinks in my hands.
My shoulders sag a bit. “I know this looks bad, but I can handle my liquor, Tony. I can switch to water after dinner.”
His lips flatten as he takes a few moments to respond. “I meant that if I’m going to tell you the story of why I didn’t do relationships, I might need those more than you do.”
Oh.
Wait. Did he just say that in past tense?
“Oh, um sure,” I say instead of trying to get my hopes up.
He turns one of the cups and aligns it so that he drinks from the spot that has my lipstick on it. I could burst into flames right here, right now.
“As you know, I was born here. And we lived here until I was five. That’s when we moved to New York. Right before Amelia was born.” I nod, and he continues. “I had lots of neighborhood friends on the island, and when we left, it was really hard for me. I was a kid who didn’t know how to speak English and was now living in a foreign country with different customs. My parents saw how I struggled, and somehow managed to save enough money to have me spend summers back here, with my grandma.” He smiles into the distance, as if recalling those memories.
“It wasn’t every year, but I was able to come back for months at a time and spend summers with all my friends. One of my very best friends was a girl named Aracelys.”
Fuck. I know that’s his ex’s name.
“We spent every summer together, and eventually, we fell in love. She was my first everything, and I was hers. We knew everything about each other.” He clears his throat, pushing down on his emotions. “Anyway, we were together for a very long time. Ten summers at my grandma’s house. I had dreams of moving her to the states and getting married. I knew marriage was in the cards for us, no question about it.”
The confession causes a pinch in my stomach, so I try to drown it with a few gulps of water.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t factor herotherboyfriend into the equation.”
Oh no.
He runs a wet hand through his short strands as he blows out a harsh breath. “During my last summer at my grandma’s house, I arrived a weekend earlier than planned because I wanted to surprise my girlfriend. Too bad I was the one walking away with the surprise of my life when I got out of the cab just in time to see her French kiss a random man goodbye.”
Ouch.
He takes another long sip of his drink.
“Tony, if this is too hard—”
He places a hand on my thigh and squeezes while keeping his eyes trained on the ocean water.
“She was my everything. I was planning my life around her. I had even talked to an immigration attorney to get a head start on helping her immigrate to the states.” He chuckles darkly. “I was too young and naive. I thought that we’d figure life out, and eventually, things would fall into place. But I guess while I played house in my mind, she was working up the courage to break up with me. Might have been nicer if she had done itbeforeshe started dating a guy from her university…” He finishes one drink, then slides the other full drink into the empty cup. “I confronted her as soon as I got to her doorstep. She was shocked to see me, but a part of her actually seemed relieved. Like she no longer had to hold on to the secret that she was cheating and living a happy life… without me.”
“Oh, Tony—”
“The sad part? I still wasn’t ready to let her go. To letusgo.” He lets out a harsh breath. “Don’t get me wrong, I was angry as hell, but I was still clinging to a sliver of hope. But after she was able to convince me to move away from the front door, where prying eyes would be spreading the gossip like wildfire, she sat me down and spilled her truth.”
“Which was?” I ask tentatively.
