“I could understand,” Pris said. “My son is attending college in London and building a life. If I asked him to uproot for a month, he wouldn’t be happy.”
“Sounds like you have a smart kid.”
“Did your mom stay home with you, then?” Dev asked.
“Yes. My parents were divorced, so my father came here and I stayed back with my mother. He died about a decade ago, and I inherited the place.”
“So, your dad has been coming here regularly, then, since he was young. Our mom would’ve been about twenty years old in the mid-seventies. That’s the period we’re looking at,” Pris said.
“Yeah, that’s about right. My dad would’ve been college age then and coming here with my grandparents. Definitely possible they knew one another.”
“Do you know if he had any serious relationships when he was young?” Dev asked casually.
Hawke scratched his head. “Specifically? I don’t remember him mentioning any names, but he told me he fell in love a few times in Italy when he was younger. That was another way he tried to convince me to come.”
Her heart ramped up. It would make perfect sense! They were the same age, and neighbors, and his dad was divorced. Bailey took the plunge. “What was your dad’s name?”
Bailey held her breath as she waited for the answer. Dev and Pris leaned forward.
He regarded their anxious expressions for a few moments before answering. “Gio.”
Disappointment mixed with relief. Another dead end.
Hawke let out a short laugh. “I’m going to assume I didn’t utter the name you were hoping.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You must think we’re a bunch of wackos, asking you a million questions when we’ve just met.”
“You rescued my cat—I owe you.” He finished the last sip of his wine. “Besides, I haven’t had such an exciting night in a while.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that,” Bailey said with a touch of sass. He looked at her again, and they assessed each other in a frank, bold way. Bailey sensed he wasn’t a man to jump into anything without thinking about it.
“We better get back.” Dev stood up and shot him a tight smile. “It’s late and I’m still jet-lagged.”
Bailey stood too, and they all shook hands again. She liked his firm grip and the no-nonsense shake. Too many men tried to press a thumb to her palm or interlink her fingers in a forced connection. “Let me know if you have any questions about the area for your sightseeing. The ferry will take you to some nice day trips like Capri, or there’s some beautiful walking paths to explore.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“I’m home most of the time. Feel free to stop by. It’s nice to have company.”
His words made her wonder if he was a bit lonely. She wanted to know more about Hawke’s story.
They made their way back to the cottage in silence. Bailey was hoping to cuddle up on the couch together in their jammies and indulge in some girl talk. It had been so long since she had both her sisters alone, with no other stresses or tasks pulling them away. But Dev headed straight to the room without looking back. “Going to bed.”
The door shut.
Bailey looked at Pris. “What happened?”
Pris sighed. “Who knows? It’s been a long day. Let’s get some sleep and regroup tomorrow. Night.”
Bailey heard the second door shut. She stood alone in the living room, in Positano, with her sisters down the hall, and had never felt so alone.
chapter fifteen
Pris
She sipped her coffee in the garden. The sun was high and bright, and the vivid colors of blooms and sky hurt her vision even behind her sunglasses. The run should have cleared her mind—she’d gone a full five miles this morning—but she kept thinking of last night and how it had been another dead end. Was she crazy to think they’d track down R? After all, they had nothing to go on. He was old, or dead, or living somewhere else and moved on with his life.
Who cared if her mother had come here for a week when Pris was young? It meant nothing.
But the little voice inside kept nagging. What about his last letter? The one agreeing to meet your mother on her sixty-fifth birthday? It sounded more serious than a past crush. Had he showed up here on her birthday, wondering why Mom hadn’t shown?
A flare of regret coursed through her. Mom had passed in February, just three months before her birthday. She hadn’t gotten the opportunity to see him or tie up loose ends. Would she have told her daughters about the trip to Italy? Or had that been another secret she meant to keep?
The questions were a nonstop mix churning in her mind. Underneath was the mounting concern that she’d never truly known her mother at all. Maybe no one had except for R. Until they found him, that part of Mom would remain a mystery.
Pris took a big gulp, burned her tongue, and spit out a curse.
“Morning to you too, sunshine.” Bailey flopped into the seat beside her, tucking her knees up. “How’d you sleep?”
“Pretty good—I was exhausted. Dev up?”
“Yep, already in the shower and getting ready to take on the day. What time were you up?”
“Six?”
Bailey shuddered. “What do you do with all that time?”
“I run every morning.”
“Hmm, interesting. I never knew you liked running.”
Pris thought about it. “I never thought so, but Thomas asked me to do this charity run with him a while ago. I realized I couldn’t even make it a mile without collapsing, which pissed me off. So, I started running and began to like it.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised; you’ve always been competitive with yourself.”
She cocked her head. “You think?”
“I know. I think you need it. It’s how you feel worthy.” Pris was startled by her sister’s observation, but she had no time to process. Bailey was already moving on. “Do we have any specific plans for today?”
Pris snorted. “Dev has the agenda, but I had an idea. We know R worked with boats—touring and fishing. I was thinking we can go on a boat trip. Poke around and see if we find any information.”
Bailey looked amused. “Your plan is to go and ask a million boat operators if their name begins with R?”
“No! I mean, maybe. I’m not the expert here. Damn it, I probably should have asked Garrett for help. He wanted to hire a PI and do an investigation. We’re amateurs.”