His eyes half closed, and then he pulled me in tight, his mouth taking mine in a deep kiss. He lay back on the blanket, and I spilled over his chest, my hands exploring his hard body. We made love under the Tuscan night sky, and when I stopped him as I remembered we didn’t have a condom, he sheepishly pulled one from his pocket, his guilty expression making me laugh. He surged between my thighs, and it hurt only for a moment. I concentrated on his face close to mine, the joy and love I found in his gaze, the tenderness of his fingers as he stroked me and owned my body with a grace and humbleness that shook me to the core. Later, we lay together, limbs entangled, his hands in my hair, staring up at the stars.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” I said back.

And I knew in that moment, I’d remember tonight forever.

*   *   *

On the day he left, I wondered if I’d survive the pain.

It was so much worse than physical. No, this type of agony throbbed from the inside out, affecting my entire body. My stomach clenched and I kept wondering what I could do to stop the inevitable from happening.

But I couldn’t. I had to go home, and Ian was returning to Ireland.

Ian was going into the priesthood.

Since the night we had made love, it was as if we were in a dreamworld. We spent the day talking nonstop, sharing our dreams and fears and secrets. We walked for hours, hand in hand, and spent the evening with Mom, Nonni, and Enzo around the dinner table. Nonni showed us how to play card games, and we did silly things like charades or Heads Up! from our phones. It was as if the outside world couldn’t touch us and we were wrapped in our own special bubble of happy.

Now it’d be broken.

He said goodbye to everyone, and I caught Mom’s pained look. We hadn’t discussed how serious I felt about Ian, but it was obvious she knew. I caught her watching us with a mixture of happiness and worry, as if she knew well what I’d have to go through when he left.

“Can you text me when you land?” I asked. “Just so I know you’re okay.”

“It’ll probably be hard not to text you every hour,” he said, his smile not reaching his eyes this morning. “I know it’s only been a few days, but I feel like you’re a big part of my life.”