He slouched his shoulders and faced Joy again with tight lips and a red face.

She scoffed, then made her way back to the table to retrieve her purse. She set down some Euros for her meal.

“Have a good trip home,” she said, leaving him standing alone on the dance floor.

“Joy, please. Wait up,” Tony cried after her.

Joy brushed off his words, rushing along the pathway as tourists and locals passed by her on their way to the restaurant. Light rain fell, and each cold drop stung her exposed skin, mirroring the ache in her eyes. She clenched her jaw, determined not to let tears fall. I won’t cry over him again. I won’t.

“Please, Joy,” Tony pleaded as he reached her and gently touched her shoulder.

“Why, Tony?” Joy asked, wiping raindrops off her face, grateful for the cover they provided for her tears trickling down her cheek. “Why did you come here and ruin my trip? Why?”

He tossed up his hands in defeat. “I don’t know. I don’t mean to ruin anything.”

She twisted her lips and turned to leave.

“Joy, I guess I wanted to see if you and I could start again from right here and right now.” He pointed to the wet ground. “You know?”

Joy paused and faced him again, avoiding his eyes.

“We have so much history together. Why can’t we just be a family again?” he begged.

“Seriously? You have to ask?”

The rain plastered his hair against his forehead as he stood blinking.

“Because you tore open my chest and ripped my heart out, Tony,” she shouted.

He winced.

“And then you handed it to me all bloodied and bruised. Now you want me to forget all that?” Joy shook her head. “I can’t.”

“But—”

“Listen, it took months for me to get over it.” Images of herself lying in a darkened bedroom appeared in her mind. The sound of Jaime’s knocks on the door, desperately worried about her, echoed inside her head. “I wasn’t sure I could get over it.”

He wiped the rain off his face.

“If I am over it.” She licked the rain off her lips, tasting her salty tears. “I suppose it’ll always hurt.”

“Joy . . .”

“If I had cheated on you and left you for another man, can you honestly say you’d take me back?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Without hesitation.”

Joy looked away.

“I mean it.” Tony took her hand.

“Well, that’s easy for you to say, because I never hurt you that way, did I?”

“I know I would take you back because I know I was a jerk to you and probably deserved it. I worked long hours and ignored your needs. Constantly left you and Jaime alone while I went on business trips all over the world. I’m frankly surprised you didn’t leave me.”

The stinging rain pelted her face. “I remained faithful because I loved you. That’s what married people do, Tony.”

“I know. And I was—am—a fool for lousing it all up again and again,” he said in a quivering voice. “I mean it. If you give me one more chance to make it up to you . . .” He squeezed her hand.

Sighing heavily as if trying to sigh away the frustration, Joy released her hand from his. “I don’t know if I can, Tony. I won’t be a rebound.”

“You won’t be.” He leaned in close, rain dripping off his chin.

“And I won’t give up my life for yours like I did before.” Joy jerked away from him.

“I understand.” Tony stepped back. “I won’t ask you to.”

Wringing her hands, Joy turned to leave. “I need time to think about it.”

“All right,” he replied. “I’m here until Friday.”

Thunder echoed across the sky.

“Good night.” Joy straightened and walked off with confidence in her stride.

Don’t turn around, she said to herself. Just keep walking.

Joy made her way toward her hotel with something flowing through her she hadn’t enjoyed in a long time.

Satisfaction.

CHAPTER 8

At the hotel, Joy wiped the rain off her face and lumbered toward the elevator.

Her phone vibrated, so she removed it, expecting it to be Jaime asking for an update.

What am I going to tell her? Joy exhaled. She was so hoping things would work out between—

But it wasn’t Jaime. It was a text from Tony. He had shared a playlist with her.

“Songs we danced to,” Joy read. When she opened the link, songs from the 80s appeared on Spotify.

The list of familiar songs made her smile. She couldn’t help it.

The elevator door opened, and Joy walked to her room, scrolling through the list. Each song brought back happy memories of her high school days.