Itskat her latte to break the taut silence. “Call yourself Italian?”
She licks hot milk off her top lip, lowering the mug with a quiet thump. “Shut up, Palladino.”
I smile, but there’s no real joy in it. This is really happening. We’re parting ways. God, I’ve never felt so hollow.
Down to business. “This is for you.” I place a platinum bank card on the table, nudging it toward her hand. “I won’t ever cancel that. Use it. The PIN is your birthday.”
Mia frowns but says nothing. I swallow hard.
“If you need anything—new ID, contacts, information, protection—you know where to find me.”
She nods. With her ashen cheeks, she looks ill.
“You should buy new clothes first,” I say, because I can’t let this conversation be over yet. I’ll say anything to keep it going just a little while longer. “Those are… not good. And the sneakers give you blisters.”
Mia wets her lips before she speaks. “You don’t need to do this, Leo. Any of it.”
I know. I want to, though.
My chair creaks as I lean forward, reaching over the table. Mia goes still, eyes wide, but I’m not breaking our agreement. My fingertips close around something hard and cool in her rumpled updo.
“Don’t forget about this.” I tease the tiara loose from her dark strands and place it next to her mug. I even manage a wink. “Princess.”
Mia stares at her wedding tiara like she’s seen a ghost. She nods slowly, so slowly, tucking the tiara and bank card in her hoodie pocket, then pushes her chair back with a loud scrape. It wobbles on its rear legs, nearly toppling to the cobblestones.
“Um.” She plucks at the fringe on her crop top. The wind tugs at her flyaway hairs. “Wait here, please.”
As if I’d go anywhere. In the shameful muddle of my brain, I’m still convincing myself to really let her go. To not stay here and stalk her like the madman I am. Iwillleave her alone like I promised, but it doesn’t feel good. It’s all wrong.
Mia ducks under the cafe’s blue and white striped awning, her arms rigid by her sides. Going to pee, probably. Or trying to sneak away from me. I hope not. I hope we understand each other at last.
Seabirds cry out overhead as I toss back my espresso. It’s hot and bitter, burning down my throat.
The breeze chases a stray napkin between the tables.
The cafe door opens and closes. Opens and closes.
My fingers drum on the table. Where is she?
By the time the waitress returns with our bill folded on a silver tray, it’s viciously clear. Mia’s run from me again. She didn’t trust me enough to say goodbye. I scrub one hand over my face, my features caught in a pained grimace, and shove a random handful of bills at the waitress. Far too much for two coffees.
“Here.” I want her gone. I want to be left alone with this crater yawning open inside me. “Keep it all. Leave me be.”
“Uh.” The waitress hovers, unsure, and I fight the urge to snarl at her. To snap my teeth at this random woman and send her scurrying away. “Someone left you a note—”
I’m already on my feet, wheeling around. Already snatching the folded paper from her tray.
It’s short and perfect, scrawled in Mia’s looping hand. Reading it starts a war beat in my chest, and hope rises in me like the sun. Warm and so bright.
I’ve got a new game for us, Leo. Catch me and I’ll beg you to stay.
Mia
My fiance is hunting me. Chasing me down.
I mean, I sure hope he is. My heart will be crushed if he’s not.
And it’s different running from him through this coastal town instead of the city. There are no long, winding alleyways, no huge buildings looming up on all sides. The streets here are wide and the buildings are small, made of white stone, and there’s nowhere really to hide.