Alexis had made him take a step to the side and really look at what his life could be like if he wasn’t so determined to cling to what he’d lost. Being around her amazing strength was enough to have him feeling like he could conquer anything.

Like he was more than the sum of his scars.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Luke cursed. “Chase her down, you idiot.” He might have lied to her about why he was in Europe in the first place, but he hadn’t lied about anything else. Hell, he’d been more truthful and real with her than he had been with anyone else in years. He couldn’t let her just walk away.

He started in the direction she’d gone, nearly shoving people out of his way. A flash of dark hair caught his eye, and he rushed over and spun the woman around. The woman who was not Alexis. “Shit, I’m sorry. Wrong person.”

She glared and rattled off something angry in Italian before hitching her purse higher on her shoulder and stalking away. Fuck. He turned a full circle, but there was no sight of Alexis. Which made sense. She wasn’t going to stick around and wait for him to pull his head out of his ass. Maybe it was for the best. What use did a woman like her have for him? Yeah, he was half a step from declaring something a whole lot more permanent than infatuation, but he was still broken in a big way. Her words only showed exactly how well she understood that.

You’re talking a good game because your goddamn heart is breaking, you fool.

Yeah, he was.

He should probably call Flannery and give him an update, but Luke didn’t have it in him right now. In order to explain why he wasn’t chasing her down, he’d have to tell the man he’d been crossing the line with Alexis from day one. That wasn’t a conversation he needed right now—or ever.

No, what he needed right now was a drink, preferably a double.

As he walked down the street, he wished he could appreciate the beauty of Venice, but the warm colors, ancient buildings, and countless bridges arching over the canals had nothing on Alexis. Christ, why hadn’t he gone after her immediately? The few minutes it took to shove his pride into the backseat was all she needed to run away. Yeah, she might not want to see him right now, but at least then he’d know she was safe.

He shook his head. That was a dirty lie. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. She’d proven that every step of the way. He was the one constantly trailing after her, bullying his way into her life in an effort to feel like he was worth a damn.

She didn’t need him. She never would.

A sign hung from a building up ahead, the picture of pizza and beer a promising one. If he was going to be in Italy, he might as well try the pizza, even if eating was the last thing he felt like doing right now. Still, the drink was high on his list, so he pushed through the door.

The room was deserted, faded wood tables and chairs without a single occupant. Even the bar running along the back of the room was empty. He almost turned around and walked out, but a dark-haired woman poked her head out from a doorway he hadn’t seen. She rattled something off in Italian, but the shooing motion couldn’t be clearer. They obviously weren’t open.

“My bad.”

“Whoa, hold on. American?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Mississippi.”

“Awesome.” She jerked a thumb at herself. “New York, born and raised.” The woman paused as if considering him. “Look, we aren’t really open, but if you want…”

“A beer.” He felt like a drowning man flailing for a life preserver.

She laughed. “Dude, it’s nine a.m., but whatever floats your boat. If you want a beer, you can hang out and drink while I open.”

The ability to drink without worrying about some stranger trying to talk to him? If he didn’t feel like his heart had been ripped out of his chest, he might actually smile. “I’d appreciate that…”

“Tristina.”

“Luke.”

She disappeared under the bar and came up with a bottle. “Here. You look like you could use it.”

“You have no idea.” The first sip didn’t do a damn thing to wash away the last week. Hell, he wasn’t sure an entire brewery would be enough to erase how it felt to have Alexis in his arms. He was so fucked it wasn’t even funny.

“Try me.”

When he raised his eyebrows, she shrugged and laughed. “Bartender is just another word for shrink. The fact that I’m bilingual only makes it worse. I have people telling me their sob stories in both English and Italian. But the upside is it makes me really great at solving other people’s problems. And I’ve been doing this long enough to know that you have problems. It’s written all over your face.”

He almost begged off, but the truth was that he didn’t have another person in this world he could talk to about Alexis. Flannery would threaten his life, and Aunt Rose might actually fly her fifty-seven-year-old ass out here just to smack him upside the back of the head with her purse. “You sure?”

“Definitely. Hit me with it.” She opened a cabinet and started stacking glasses on the bar. “I guarantee I’ve heard it all before.”

“I’m retired military. Former squad mate of mine called in a favor and asked me to keep an eye on a family friend out here who was traveling alone. Which is fine, except I fell for her in the process. Today she figured out that I’m not a stranger she met in a bar, and that I was lying to her this entire time.”

Tristina’s dark eyes were wide. “Okay, I lied. I’ve never heard that one before. You said you’re falling for this girl?”

The truth was he’d passed that bridge yesterday when he held her while she cried and watched her pull herself together. Or maybe it was back on the top of Pulpit Rock when she faced down her fears to prove to herself she could. Or, hell, if he was going to be honest, the whole damn thing had started the moment she took out his bum leg in a back alley in Cork. “Head over heels.”

“Then why the hell are you sitting in my bar? Go get her.”

“It’s not that simple.” Even thinking about the look of betrayal on her face made him sick to his stomach. She was entitled to it, too. “She hates me.”

“If she let you hike around Europe with her, she doesn’t hate you. She’s probably wicked pissed, but you totally deserve that for lying to her.”

He drained half his beer. “Not really helping.”

“Nah, hear me out. Pissed isn’t forever—pissed is all surface-level hurt. You just have to man up and prove to her that what’s between you isn’t a lie. Simple.” Tristina grimaced and tucked her long hair behind her ears. “Okay, maybe not exactly simple, but it’s doable.”

It was easier said than done. He didn’t get the feeling that Alexis would stand still and talk with him. It was far more likely that she’d take out his knee and walk away while he was still trying to fight through the pain. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“Hell if I know.” She laughed. “I just work here. But I can tell you that sitting at this bar, drinking a beer by yourself, isn’t the way to go.”

Which meant he needed to find her. That, at least, he had a head start on. Luke finished his beer and pushed to his feet. “What do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house.” She grinned. “Can’t put a price on entertainment.”

He snorted. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now go get your girl.”

Chapter Nineteen

Alexis walked for hours, blind to the sights around her. All she could focus on was the betrayal soaking through her body, poisoning every memory of her time with Luke. He’d lied to her from the start. He’d been playing a part perfectly designed to make her feel like she was actually accomplishing what she set out to do here. Would she have done half of it if he weren’t there, prodding her along?