“Did I really write to them from a fake e-mail account, posing as my mother to get out of it? My face… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“He uses my momentum, and in one swift movement, we’re both standing again, face-to-face. Too close. Way too close. He smells of… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“The pen touches the paper again at the bottom of the page and I freeze as he draws a slow, thick line… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Wait,” I say, digging into my camera bag. “I want a picture with all of you. Us. Together.” Dad takes the camera… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Matilde leads us into one of the apartment’s two bedrooms, obviously belonging to Bruno and Luca. Bunk beds are stacked in the… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Put this one on right now,” he says, switching back into exaggerated, giddy-girl mode. “You better cut that out or you’re going… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“I squat to retrieve the pitcher but Bruno’s faster. He offers it to me and I make the mistake of looking him… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Yeah, well, I--” He stops and his eyes shift behind me, wide in amusement. I turn my head to find a couple… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?” He smirks, resting his hands on my waist. “Hoped.” My cheeks ache from… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Would you two just kiss and be done with it already?” Darren and I gape at her. Fire creeps up my neck,… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Seriously, should I lose it?” I shrug. “It’s practical. I get it.” He yanks it off and shoves it into the pocket… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“I just figured someone like him would be named Fabio or something.” I want to be angry, I really do, but I… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“There you two are,” Nina calls. She offers a smile almost identical to Chiara’s when she’s up to something. Nina drops Tate’s… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Chiara,” Darren finally says. “Everything okay?” Greasy Guy looks Darren up and down with narrowed eyes and spits out what I’m guessing… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Bruno returns, still clad in only his green towel, hair poofing out a little as it dries. “Everything all right?” I ask,… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“His little gray swim bottoms are probably smaller than mine, potbelly hanging over the top of them. I lean toward Darren and… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“My stomach drops and Darren shifts, making me wobble. Bruno’s eyes don’t even register Darren’s existence. “All right?” He looks down at… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“As I scramble for my shirt to cover my chest--thank God I’d decided against changing bras--I grumble, “Don’t you knock?” He crosses… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“I’m Darren, and this is Nina,” he says to me when she stops next to him. Nina looks me over. “Hi.” Her tone is… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Pistachio?” Sure, this place doesn’t have as many options as Della Palma, but there are at least twenty, the rest of them all a… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Just the idea of seeing the ruins of Pompeii in person makes me ache deep inside. Then there’s Darren, no longer off limits. When… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“You try this before?” he asks. I shake my head. I’ve had versions of it back home, but the sight and aroma of this… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“I stare at his relaxed face, pale in the dim light. Nearly asleep, he looks vulnerable. Like I could tell him anything I wanted… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“ Ciao, Bruno! ” someone calls from a boat puttering slowly into the marina. A hard line sets Bruno’s jaw for a split second… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“ Benvenuta a la Via dell’Amore,” he says, poking a bright pink lock with Ashlee + Jake written on it in white paint. “What… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“Do you want me to get your back for you?” Cringe. “No, I’m fine.” “Okay, then could you get mine? I don’t really want… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“There’s nothing else inside the envelope. I turn the photo over and we read the note on the back written in small, careful handwriting.… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“ Goals update: Don’t get arrested Don’t make a fool out of myself in public--FAILED Get my picture taken at the… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“I think I may cool off in the water for a few minutes. Do you want to come?” He stands and brushes the sand… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
“I sit at an empty table after the lunch rush and turn to the last assignment in my journal. This one’s the worst yet.… — Kristin Rae Copy Share Image
