“Now, I wanted to talk to you both about an idea I had for this summer,” my mother announced. She met my gaze with an odd intensity, her brown eyes shining with a mixture of excitement and pleading. “But you need to hear me out first.”

Probably a knitting or cooking class she wanted us to all do together, I figured, indulging in another spoonful of potatoes. “Sure, what is it?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I’m getting older, and one day, I may not be able to get around as well. Allegra will be going off to college, maybe working a summer job, and I feel like since your business has been growing, you haven’t had time to slow down at all. I’ve always dreamed of going to Italy to see where your great-grandmother was born. So, I contacted a travel agent and worked out a trip for us to take together. This summer.”

Shock barreled through me. I figured Allegra might be jumping up and down, but pure distress shone from her face as she stared at my mother. “You want us to go to Italy?” I asked. “All of us?”

“Yes! We need to take some time as a family before everything changes. Summer is the perfect time—you’ll be done with your new client, and Allegra will be off, and I’m treating for the whole thing. I socked away some extra money from your father’s life insurance. And look at the information I have.” She jumped up from the chair and withdrew a catalogue and folder from the junk drawer. “We can combine a tour along with a villa rental in Tuscany! For the first three weeks, we’ll see Rome and Florence and Venice, and all the other amazing cities, and then we’ll stay at an actual vineyard. There’s even a lake for Allegra.” She shoved a bunch of glossy brochures at us, the covers filled with sprawling houses surrounded by lush green hills and trees. “I’ll take care of everything—we can leave the first week of July and return early August.”

My fingers closed around the sleek paper, but already I was trying to think of the best way to phrase my rejection. Sure, I wanted to visit Italy—who didn’t? But not for a month on an extended tour. If I did score the Lexi’s Lemonade account, I’d be buckled down overseeing every aspect of the campaign for most of the summer, plus the demands of my other clients.

Plus, I couldn’t handle being with my mother for that long.

I opened my mouth to gently raise all my objections, but Allegra was already speaking. “Nonni, I’m so sorry. I can’t do Italy this year. I-I made some other plans for the summer.”