REINA

The next picture made my heart squeeze.

Me and Paolo.

Our first date as a couple.

We were sitting too close in that little café downtown—his arm slung around me, his grin boyish and smug, mine soft and shy. I remembered the way his thumb had brushed over my knuckles under the table, the way he’d looked at me like I was something fragile and rare.

My fingers trembled as I traced his face in the photograph, the glossy paper cool beneath my skin.

His smile looked so alive, so full of promise it hurt to look at it.

A sad smile tugged at my lips before I could...