Nicolo looked at his ringing phone and moaned. It was his older brother, Gianpierre. Despite Leonardo's earlier words of support, Nicolo already caught an ear full from him about his decision to fully renovate the Romano del Mare rather than do simple repairs or sell her as a doomed building, and he didn’t want to hear it from Gianpierre, too. The man cared nothing for the resort their grandfather had built. All he cared about was getting elbow deep in medieval architecture, and while the Romano del Mare was the perfect site for him to do just that, the man avoided working in Italy like the plague. But, that was his issue and not something Nicolo was willing to think about at the moment.

Ignoring the call, he allowed it to go to voicemail. Then, picking up the phone, he called Adeline. The restoration of the resort was snowballing, and he needed to know that she had his back. With the development project in India heavy into the design phase, he didn’t have time to oversee every detail of what was Adeline’s passion project. He needed to know that she was willing to step up and take control during the times that he was away—which was most of the time of late.

Adeline’s phone went to voicemail, just as he’d allowed his phone to do when Gianpierre had called him.

Nicolo scowled at his phone. He’d been in India for the last two and a half weeks. He’d thought that he would get to spend time with Adeline when he returned to Sicily—but she’d been “busy” every time that he’d reached out to her. While he’d been gone to India, she’d flown to Spain for a meeting with the real estate agency to which she’d applied. Even though she’d made them wait, they still wanted her.

“That’s fine,” he reassured himself. “If she moves to Spain, I’ll go between India and Spain. Nothing changes. She’ll still be my girl.” Those were the words that came out of his mouth, but not even he believed them.

Everything was changing. All three days that he’d been back in Sicily, he’d used nearly every waking hour to address concerns relating to the renovation. He had thought that Adeline would be his feet on the ground, his on-point person to handle the day to day issues that arose, but she was becoming less and less available to oversee the project. He’d been counting on her to be able to handle it so that he could continue his work in India. Without her to fill in the gaps, he’d have to restructure his entire life.

Picking up the phone, he sent Adeline a text. “Dinner tonight?” He watched the phone’s screen for a response. Little bubbles rippled across it to show that Adeline was typing. Then, the little bubbles stopped, then started again. This went on for several minutes, but no message appeared. When Nicolo was almost ready to give up and call her again, a message finally blipped into existence on his screen.

“Sure.”

Nicolo’s stomach cramped. There was more that she wasn’t saying, and there was no way that it could be good.

Pulling up Google, Nicolo calculated the flight hours between India and Spain. It was longer than India to Sicily, but he would have to make it work.

Who would oversee the Romano del Mare? His brothers had both sworn that because he’d made the decision to renovate the resort on his own, it was his responsibility to oversee the project.

“So… India to Sicily, then Sicily to Spain, then back to India.” He worked out the schedule in his head before pulling up a spreadsheet that included a timetable of events for both projects. The work in India would require a minimum of three years to complete, and that timetable would only be achievable under optimal weather conditions. It was possible that the project would extend to as long as five years.

Crunching the numbers and being as honest with himself as he could, he considered how often he would be able to spend time with Adeline in person. With balancing both projects plus time for air travel, he would get to see Adeline an average of once every four and a half weeks for approximately a day and a half.

Groaning, he put his face in his hands. Something was going to have to change. He had no room in his life for Adeline.

* * *

“Nicolo, you know how much I’ve enjoyed our time together,” Adeline said, reaching across the table for his hand. They'd barely seen each other since they made up. Eventually she’d stopped talking to him. It had been hard, but she had made peace with the fact that Nicolo wouldn’t be staying in her life. When she’d refused to answer his phone calls or text messages, she’d thought he’d give up and simply fade away as someone she’d once known. For him to do so was for the best. Their time together was ending. Her life was changing too much and too fast to continue to adjust her needs to his whims. She’d accepted the job in Spain. And, besides that, she needed someone stable, someone who was going to be there for her more than when it fit his busy schedule. It was time to make Nicolo understand that.

Nicolo had offered to drive them up the coast for dinner, but she’d told him she was tired and wanted to keep it simple. Both were true. So they’d decided on a little bistro in town. Now, they sat at one of the curbside tables, and Adeline found herself wanting to escape from the way Nicolo stared at her. He could not pull his attention away from the paleness of Adeline’s skin or the dark circles under her eyes.

“Adeline, t’amu, are you well? You’re so pale… but you have dark circles under your eyes. And, you’ve lost weight, I can tell. You are like a frail bird. Are you not sleeping? Are you not eating? What is wrong?” His words poured out but a silence met them. When Adeline didn’t say anything right away, he cleared his throat and spoke again. “I know that you mean to break up with me. Nobody starts a conversation with ‘I’ve enjoyed our time together’ if they don’t mean to end that time together. I… I know you must be upset with me for how strongly I reacted to your confession in Tuscany. I am a passionate man, but I know myself. I know that a life without you is incomprehensible, and it is unacceptable. If you are sick, Adeline, tell me. I will find you the best doctors in the world. I would build a hospital for you if that’s what it takes.”

“I’m just tired,” Adeline reassured Nicolo. His concern was sweet, but in this case, it was misplaced. She’d been fine without him during their time apart, and she would continue to be fine without him as time moved on. She didn’t need him, not anymore. She didn’t need a part-time distraction.

“If you are not well, do not keep it from me, Adeline. Tell me,” Nicolo’s stern voice bid her.

“I’m okay, Nicolo. I promise.”

“You’ve been to a doctor?”

Adeline paused before answering, then said, “Yes. She says that I am well. She said that I need to take things a little easy and give myself more time for rest.”

Nicolo’s cheeks colored. “And here I’ve been, asking so much of you with the overseeing of the Romano del Mare’s renovations. I have done this to you, and I hate myself for it.” He kissed her hand. “Please forgive me.”

“I… There’s nothing to forgive. It’s just… life.” Fatigue settled into her bones, and she fought the urge to simply leave to go home and take a nap. It was true, the doctor had said she was fine—but the doctor had also said that she would never be the same again.

“But it’s a life that can be different, no? I know that I’ve been busy and that business has kept me away, and I know that it’s not fair to you. Our love is so young, yet I’ve asked for so much patience from you. I’ve taken advantage of your generous nature.”

At Nicolo’s use of the word love, Adeline felt the wall she’d constructed around her heart crumble. It left her exposed and suddenly vulnerable to everything about him. His strength, his kindness, and the way he made her feel in the middle of the night when he moved inside of her. He was the first thing she thought about when she woke in the morning and the last thing she thought about as she drifted to sleep at night.

Adeline’s cheeks grew hot, and she fought the urge to reach out a hand to him but she wouldn’t allow herself. She wouldn’t let him treat her as second in line to everything else about his life any longer. “I have felt like a part-time girlfriend,” she admitted, finding the words she needed to say. “That is not what I want in a relationship, Nicolo. I want a full-time partner. My life is changing—”

“I know,” Nicolo interrupted. “And it’s exciting! The job in Spain, I know they want you very much. They see in you the amazing person that I see. How could anyone do otherwise than to love you, t’amu? But, I wonder… could the adventure and opportunity that’s offered in Spain also be found in India?” Nicolo seemed to hold his breath.

“Nicolo, I… I don’t know what to say.” Adeline blinked, stunned at the sudden turn. “The lifestyles between Spain and India are so different. It’s not what I want for myself.”

Nicolo’s shoulders sank as if her answer weighed heavy on them, but he nodded his head in seeming acceptance of her answer. “Adeline—”

“I’m pregnant.” It was Adeline’s turn to interrupt, and she watched as shock registered on Nicolo’s face.

“You’re what?”

Adeline didn’t repeat herself. She knew that he’d heard her. “It’s why I’m leaving you,” she said instead.

A breath of air left Nicolo’s body as if he’d been punched in the gut. “Adeline…” Nicolo reached for her hands, but she pulled away. His gaze traveled over her face, and a new understanding seemed to dawn within him. “You’ve been sick,” he said, “with morning sickness.”

Adeline nodded. She was telling the father of her unborn child that she did not want him in her life—or the life of their child. Miserable did not even begin to describe how she felt.

“It’s why you’ve lost weight. And, you’re tired because of the sickness and the pregnancy and”—he paused, studying her—“the stress.”

“You’re never here, Nicolo. I don’t want a part-time partner, and I don’t want a part-time father to my baby. We deserve more than that.”

Nicolo blinked slowly as if still in a state of shock. But when he spoke, his voice was sure and full of confidence. “Adeline, life can be different. Please give me a chance.”

A tear fell from her eye as she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to give up your dream. You’ve got the life you want. I don’t want you to stop living the life you love. I don’t want you to wake up years from now and resent me, or worse, hate me because of all you’ve had to sacrifice for me… for us.” She put a hand on her lower belly. It was still flat, but she knew the child was inside.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Adeline continued. “I’m leaving for Spain again the day after tomorrow. I’ll be finalizing the job offer and then starting preparations for my move there. I know that you’ll be gone by the time I get back. I don’t want to see you again after today.” There was hurt on Nicolo’s face when she spoke those words, but it was the way it needed to be. She wouldn’t have a transient father coming in and out of her child’s life. She wouldn’t allow Nicolo to shower it with over-the-top affection only to neglectfully ignore it when life made being around inconvenient. It had been difficult enough for Adeline to handle the way he was in and out of her life as a whim, all based on his wants and his needs. A child wouldn’t be equipped to understand that his constant leaving wasn’t about it, and she would not have her child thinking it was less-than—less loved, less worthy, less valued—just because its father couldn’t be bothered to be around. No way. No how… but, she wasn’t heartless. “When the time comes, you can meet the baby, of course. But I don’t want you confusing the little one by making them think that you’ll be around to see their school plays or”—her voice broke—“tuck them into bed. I don’t want them to think that they can depend on you to be there the next day.”

Tears stung Adeline’s eyes. She felt as though she was being torn in two.

Nicolo leaned back from the table, and he shook his head, causing fear to grow within Adeline that he would not honor her wishes. His body was stiff, and his hands were balled into tight, white-knuckled fists. When he spoke, his normally expressive voice was flat. “Whatever you want, Adeline. Anything at all. I’ll do whatever you want. Whatever you think is best for you. Whatever is best for our child.”

Adeline’s heart broke. He’d accepted her terms. The love of her life was leaving her life.