Livia, amore mio,

Today, I climbed onto the roof and watched the sunset and thought of you. The way you smell like lilacs, and the way your blue eyes light up when you smile and the way you say my name in a whisper after I kiss you. I count the days until summer and wonder if you will think of me the same. If another semester at college will cause you to realize you can have so much more than this simple life I can offer here. Yes, it would tear me apart to lose you, but can I be enough? This woman who sets my heart on fire and brings the world to its feet with just a smile? And even worse—I am too selfish to warn you away, dolcezza. If you will have me, I will wait for you. I will make sure you find the type of happiness you deserve by the way I love you, and I will force open the cities like an oyster to give you the things you need. I’m not surprised you are at the top of your class, especially in art history. There are many museums and art curators who will be lucky to have you. Soon, you will arrive with Aunt Silvia and my life will truly begin again. Until then, the fish and the tourists keep me company during the day. And you keep me company in my dreams.

Il mio cuore sarà tuo per sempre,

R

Bailey finished reading and lifted her head.

Dev had never heard such words from a lover—the way the raw emotions seemed to wrap around her and squeeze. Who was this woman who’d inspired such heartfelt vows? Certainly not the mother she’d grown up with. And why hadn’t she ever spoken of him—even as an old boyfriend?

Her thoughts knotted into a tangle. Pris looked like she’d been sucker punched, her face dangerously pale. Bailey had that dreamy expression, like she’d been carried far off somewhere outside reality. Probably romanticizing the whole thing, when there had to be a rational explanation. Dev just needed to find it.

“It’s just a silly college crush,” Pris said firmly. “We all keep memories of old boyfriends. She probably hid them from Dad and forgot they were even in here.”

Dev bit her lower lip. “This guy was from Italy! What about the house? And who’s Aunt Silvia?”

“I don’t know,” Bailey said. “It sounds like she traveled there every summer. Why wouldn’t she have mentioned this to us? Grandma and Pop Pop never said anything about Aunt Silvia either. Was she some type of secret? A black sheep or something?”

“Don’t know. But they both died when we were young so we never got a chance to ask,” Dev said.