Page 79 of Caruso
“We all have reasons to curl into a ball and die, princess. It’s only the strong of mind and heart who can uncurl themselves and fight back. To prove you are a survivor, a person to be reckoned with. Take your friend as an example.”
“I have no friends.” This time she delivers her speech with a hard expression, and I smile, catching her off guard.
“That’s better.”
She hesitates and then takes a deep breath.
“You speak from experience.”
“Is that a question or a statement?”
“Both.”
“Possibly, but I have learned to forget the past and move on. You should do the same.”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about.”
For some reason, I can tell I’m not going to like this,and she sighs heavily. “I don’t want to be like Jason. I’m better than that.”
“In what way?”
“He told me he’s getting married to a woman in her eighties.”
I raise my eyes but say nothing as she continues. “He said he could hook me up with the same agency he uses. Marry a geriatric and hope they leave their money to you but spend it wildly while you can while they’re still alive.”
“Is that what he was doing with his friends?”
“Yes. He told me that people like us owe it to themselves to seize the opportunity. To catch a break and make the best of ourselves. But is that really making the best of yourself? It appears to be the opposite, in my opinion.”
“So you won’t take him up on his offer.”
“Is that a question or a statement?”
This time I can’t disguise my smile, and she cocks her head to one side.
“You’re a strange man, Tommaso.”
“Thank you.”
I turn the conversation back to the only thing I want to know right now.
“So, you’ve made a decision about your life.”
“I have.” Her smile is weak and her eyes heavy with pain as she sighs, “I’m leaving.”
“To go where?”
“I’m not sure—anywhere. Somewhere new, to start again and see what I can make of my life.”
I remain silent because my mind is telling me to pin her down and handcuff her to the bed if necessary because she is definitely going nowhere, which surprises me because my plan was different this morning.
“You already did that.” I remind her, and she nods.
“Yes, but I was hooked on the past, and well, my past won’t define my future. You see–” She shifts a little away from me, and I hate how that bites.
“I’m not Jason, Tommaso. If I stay with you, I will be the same as him.”
“We don’t want to marry you, princess, and give a guy a break, why don’t you? We’re hardly eighty. I’m guessing we only have fifteen years or so on you.”
