Page 55 of Winter
Inca felt the guilt weighing her down. “Tommaso, I want you to know … I loveyou. I’m so … confused about both of you.”
Tommaso gave her a strange smile. “Do you think it is impossible to love two people at once?”
Inca stared at him. “I guess not.”
“No. It is entirely possible. Which is why we must wait for Raffaelo to come home before we decide what to do. And that is your choice entirely, my darling. Me … Raff … or both of us. It is for you to decide.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Now, shall we go home?”
Later, after they had made love and Inca was asleep, Tommaso slid out of bed and went downstairs to call Raffaelo. When his brother picked up, all Tommaso said was, “I know.”
Raffaelo sighed. “Tommaso …”
“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. I could see it coming. The only thing now is that we have to decide what happens next. I want you to think about that before you come home.”
He hung up, feeling wretched. Whatever he had said to Inca, the hurt from her betrayal was beginning to hit him now and he felt like he was losing her. He could not bear that, and even if it meant sharing her love with his brother, that would be okay with him.
But if Inca chose Raffaelo over him? Tommaso didn’t yet know what his reaction would be, but he knew—none of them would come out of it unscathed.
Olly ignoredthe terms of the restraining order without hesitation. He marched over to the Sakura as soon as they opened and got Inca on her own.
She looked tired and stressed out and all the fight went out of him. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head and started to cry. Olly went to her and pulled her into a bear hug.
Nancy watched them from outside the Sakura, her face set and hard.Jesus, would they ever learn?
Last night, after seeing Winter acting so bizarrely at dinner, she’d confessed her fears to a concerned Tyler. They had both tried calling Inca, only to get her voicemail, and were about to go get in the car when she called them. She told them she had discussed things with Tommaso but wouldn’t say anymore. Her voice had been tired, almost flat, and she had turned down their offer to come over. But they both had stayed up until the early hours, wracked with concern.
“We can’t interfere,” she’d told Tyler. “Last thing she needs is babying. We need to give her space.”
But Tyler had lain awake all night next to her; Nancy knew because she had too. Now, watching Inca hug Olly, she felt an irrational anger towards her defacto daughter. She stalked into the coffee house, slamming her bag onto the counter. Inca and Olly leaped apart, both flushing guiltily.
“Well, isn’t this nice?” Nancy’s voice was like ice. Olly coughed.
“I better …” he turned to leave, but Nancy stopped him.
“No, you both need to hear what I have to say. What the hell are you doing? You,” she nodded at Olly, “are still under a restraining order. And you—” she broke off, her anger too much for her. She shook her head at Inca, who quailed under her gaze. “Are you trying to drive yourself crazy again?”
“Olly, just go,” Inca said softly. “I need to talk to Nancy.”
When they were alone, Inca held up her hands. “Look, we’re just trying to find our way back to friendship, is all. I was feeling down and he hugged me. Like a friend.”
Nancy scoffed. “You are hell-bent on self-destruction.”
Inca smiled, and Nancy was taken aback by the steel in her voice when she spoke next. “Quite the opposite,” she said. “I’m finally realizing something. I’m not looking for Olly or Tommaso or anyone else to rescue me. I realized I have to be my own white knight. And that means taking control of my life without—and I say this with love—without anyone telling me what I’m supposed to do or who I’m supposed see. That goes for you, Tyler, Tommasoand anyone else.”
Nancy watched Inca with narrowed eyes as she moved around the teahouse wiping down tables, turning on the lamps. Outside it had started to rain, the headache gray sky packed with dark clouds—an ice storm was coming. Inca’s face was drawn and she looked older, changed, broken. When Inca had finished cleaning the tables, Nancy stopped her with hand on her back, making her look at her. Inca’s eyes were haunted and Nancy felt a twist of terror in her stomach. She smoothed a hand down her daughter’s hair.
“Inca … what did he do to you?”
“He didn’t do anything to me, Mom,” she said, her voice breaking. “I did something to him, and it’s unforgivable.”
Nancy tried, but Inca would not tell her more. She went home to Tyler and told him what she’d said. “I think she’s reaching a breaking point. I really do.”
Knox was waitingfor Olly when he came back from patrol. Evening had settled over the island and the ice had started to stick to everyone and everything. Olly walked into the office, casting a glance over to his friend, seated, waiting patiently for him to hang his coat up. Olly sat at his desk, knowing something bad was coming. Knox cleared his throat.
“Olly, I need to talk to you about something. Earlier I got a call from the powers that be. You were seen going into the Sakura this morning and talking to Inca, in violation of the restraining order.”
