“Then I went on a bit of a rant about Jack and what a bad job he’s doing running the place now.”

“Mil!”

I turned onto Lockwood Avenue.

“Oh come on, Soph,” she chastised. “A fact is a fact. He’s been totally AWOL. I mean, you can’t just disappear whenever you feel like it. For one thing, it’s rude, and for another, it’s weird. This is the exact kind of behavior that gives fuel to Mrs. Bailey’s idiotic rumors.”

“OK.” She had a point and I wasn’t going to rile her up about it.

“Anyway, I’m sure Dom will relay the fact that you are going to be sitting on a nice little cash cow someday soon to his brother, and that will no doubt make you seem even more attractive!”

I flinched, thinking of the fib I had told Nic and Luca that first time I saw them, in the diner. Hopefully Nic wouldn’t feel cheated by my dishonesty. After all, it was technically just my summer job. For now.

As I got nearer, I felt my stomach clench uncomfortably at the sight of their house.

“I hardly think they’re gold diggers. You should have seen their house,” I said, looking at it.

“Hopefully someday soon, I will.” I could tell Millie was wiggling her eyebrows suggestively on the other end of the call. “I’d better go. I’m exhausted from my escapade.”

“Wait! Did you kiss him?”

“If I had, don’t you think I would have used that as my opener?”

“Too bad.”

“But he did kiss my hand when he dropped me off. Does that count? It was so romantic.”

“That definitely counts!” I reassured her as I hurried past Nic’s house. “OK, now you can hang up,” I said once I was safely on the other side and the mansion was stretching into the sky behind me. I turned left and my path began to wind downhill again.

“Text me when you get in.”

“Bye.”

“Sophie!” a voice called out just as I was putting my phone back in my bag.

I turned around, feeling a familiar jolt in my stomach. I recognized him immediately, running toward me with his hood up.

I responded with calculated calmness, trying to keep my dreadful enthusiasm from making me burst into an arms-flailing sprint toward him. “Nic?”

He came to an easy stop and lowered his hood. His smile lit up his face. “Hi.”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“You don’t sound too happy to see me,” he noted. Small dents appeared above his brows and his smile faltered. “Maybe I overestimated how well you would take me chasing after you like a maniac …”

“Why? I mean, it worked so well the last time,” I teased.

His expression turned remorseful but he couldn’t hide his smirk. “I should have learned my lesson, right? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine,” I assured him. “It’s just, you came out of nowhere.”

Relief swept across his features. “I was about to come see you at the diner and then I saw you passing by my house so I figured I’d seize the opportunity.”

“At least you didn’t crash into me this time.” I clutched at my chest in feigned relief. “I might have had to kick your ass.”

“How terrifying,” he said, still smiling.

“Hey!” I punched his arm playfully, reveling in the familiarity that existed between us. “I’ll have you know I can be very intimidating.”

“I’m sure those tiny fists are very powerful.”

I punched him again, but this time he caught my hand beneath his, trapping it mid-assault. “I heard you came to my house today.” All of a sudden his expression had turned serious, and his eyes had lost their warmth. “Don’t ever come to my house.”

I slid my hand out from under his. I turned from him and started walking again. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“Sophie.” He jogged after me. “That came out wrong, sorry.”

“I was just returning your hoodie,” I replied, keeping my attention focused ahead of me as I walked. “It was the polite thing to do. Now I see it was the wrong decision, and before you start, don’t worry, your brother Valentino already made it perfectly clear I was unwelcome, so you don’t need to bother.”

“Just let me explain.” He sped up, then turned around and began walking backward so he could face me and keep up at the same time.

I blew a stray strand of hair from my eyes and glowered at him.

“I don’t mean your presence is unwelcome. I really like seeing you … I’m just wary, that’s all.”

“Of me?”

“No, not of you,” he said, pulling at his hair. “Of my family. Some of them are really strange.”

So he was embarrassed. Well, that wasn’t the worst reason not to want me parading through his house.

“I met Felice,” I offered. “If that’s what you’re referring to.”

Nic winced. “I know,” he said. “He’s very intense.”

I decided not to comment on that.

“Does he keep bees?” I asked instead. I had been thinking about the honeyed scent all day; at times I swore I could still smell it. It’s not like it was a crime to make your own honey, but there was something about the way my uncle Jack had reacted to that mysterious jar that kept crashing back into my mind.