Page 84 of Head Over Heels

"Thank you." I pull her into a quick hug before stepping back. "Now, about the way you're been treating her…"

"I'll apologize." She manages a small smile. "Even though she probably won't trust it."

"She will." I sit back down. "Josie's good at reading people. It's part of why I—" I catch myself.

"Part of why you're falling in love with her?" she asks gently, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up and get my dinner."

She squeezes my shoulder. "For what it's worth, I hope I'm wrong about her. You deserve someone who sees you the way she does."

I reach up and cover her hand with mine. "Thank you."

As she disappears into the kitchen, I pull out my phone to text her.Do you want to come over when you're done with the estate stuff? I miss you.

There. After the last few days of uncertainty with everything about her grandfather's estate, my mixed feelings and unsettled emotions settle.

Josie's response is almost immediate.Give me an hour. I miss you, too.

I stare at those four words. Marin's not wrong. This thing with Josie—it terrifies me. But for the first time since Katie, I think the risk might be worth it.

35

Florence

I sink into the couch, my legs suddenly weak, the infamous ring in my hand. I look up at Josie. "Nonna's wedding ring," I murmur, reading the inscription. The one she unconsciously reaches for, even now, eighty years after it was taken. "It's real. You helped it to find its way home."

"I want to return everything," she says softly. "But I need your help to do it right. I don't want to cause her any more pain."

Overwhelmed by her gentle heart, I pick up the matching locket. I don't remember Nonna ever mentioning this, or the silverware. "Let me call Joe and Hettie. We should talk to Catalina, too. She knows more of the old family stories than any of us."

Within an hour, Joe and Hettie are here. We set up the big screen for a video call with Catalina so everyone can see her. When we finally connect, she's sippingvino rossofrom a crystal glass.

"I always forget you're seven hours ahead of us," Hettie laughs."Come stai?"

"Bene. Tutto bene."Her forehead crinkles. "Is this your new woman, Florence?"

"Josie," I say. "Josie, meet my other sister, Catalina."

"Nice to meet you, Josie." Catalina singsongs, smirking. "I'm glad to see my sister is living again." She looks at everyone. "Why are we having a family meeting? Is Nonna okay?"

"She's fine, Cat." I see the tension drop out of her shoulders. "I need to show you something. All of you. And I need your advice."

Catalina's eyes light up. "Is it a wedding ring? Are you getting married?"

Josie snorts.

I glance at her, hiding my amusement. "No. Well, yes, it is a wedding right. But not mine." I take a deep breath. I have no idea how they're going to react to this. "You know Josie's been going through her grandfather's estate."

"Karl," Josie interrupts me. "I won't claim him as my grandfather after what we found."

I nod.

"What did we find?" Catalina and Hettie say, echoing each other across thousands of miles.

"You remember Nonna telling us about the night the Germans came and looted their home? Back during the war?"

"It was December 1943," Catalina says. "They took her wedding ring. It was less than a week after she found out that Nonno Vittorio had died."

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