Page 36 of In Italy for Love

‘Are you going to continue your study when you go home? Is that your plan?’

‘Oh, God, I have no idea. I haven’t thought that far ahead. And “International Relations” sounds like a bit of a joke now. I don’t know if I could handle going back. So much pressure.’

‘If you can handle the chaos at Due Pini, you can handle anything,’ he said lightly. ‘Did you know Maddalena used to work a corporate job in Verona until she decided to come home and buy the farm? It’s the most honourable work you can do, producing food and taking care of the land for the future. Like collecting chestnuts, there’s something calming about it.’

‘Meaningful,’ she agreed. She toyed with the stem of her wine glass. ‘It seems to be what I need right now. What about you? How long have you worked at the bike shop? And what were you doing in London when you weren’t playing the accordion?’

‘I worked as a technical designer for an engineering firm,’ he said carefully. ‘That’s my profession. I’ve been at the bike shop for… nearly two years?’ How had it been that long?

‘That’s when you came back from London?’

He shook his head. ‘I was having some problems when I came back from London.’ He looked up suddenly to force her to meet his gaze. ‘I know what it’s like to rely on others too. I don’t know where I would be without Maddalena and Berengario. That’s why I will help you with anything you need – not because I think you can’t look after yourself.’

Her jaw moved and her eyes asked a hundred questions he wouldn’t answer. He thought about that jacket, the one she’d filled with chestnuts almost until the pockets burst. There was something new here – inside him too. For the first time, hewondered if it might be something good, even if it wasn’t forever. He knew nothing was.

Nodding slowly, she said, ‘Thanks. I appreciate the explanation. I’m oversensitive today.’

‘Oversensitive sounds like me. I’m sorry I snapped at you when you came home.’

‘I obviously should have showed you the chestnuts first, since they seem to have made everything better.’ She gave a little toss of her head and the cracks inside him glowed with heat. She was so…alive, which broke his heart. He wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss her until her ponytail was a mess and she’d forgotten all about this guy who’d stolen her confidence, but every time he looked at her, he was also reminded of everything he’d lost. It didn’t make sense.

A subtle sweet scent and the faint smell of burning reached his nostrils and he stood to check on the nuts, glad to be out of her gravitational pull. Over his shoulder, he said to Julia, ‘Can you get that tea towel and put water on it?’

Tugging the pan out of the fire with a pot holder, he gestured for Julia to set the wet towel on the bench and then poured the nuts onto the towel, wrapping them up while they cooled.

‘You really haven’t ever tried chestnuts?’ he asked, his ears hot, remembering the moment she’d told him that.

‘Really. We don’t have the trees in Australia – definitely not in Brisbane. We don’t even have autumn where I’m from. I saw the sellers in the street in Parma, but never tried them.’

‘Well, it’s an honour to share your first ones with you.’

‘I’m sure it won’t be life-changing,’ she said with a chuckle.

He gave her a look that suggested otherwise, making her laugh again. Unwrapping the bounty with a flourish, he tested a nut and picked it up when he was sure it had sufficiently cooled. Cracking the shell and rubbing off the inner skin with the ease ofmany years of practice, he held it out to her on his palm while he reached for another with his other hand.

She took it with a doubtful look and bit it in half, chewing thoughtfully. ‘Wow, it’s…’ She popped the other half in her mouth. ‘Mmm. It’s like a savoury dessert, sweet without being sugary, definitely comfort food. God, how did I live nearly twenty-eight years without tasting these?’

He stifled a smile, inspecting the next peeled nut before lifting it to his mouth, only to pause when he noticed her greedy gaze on his fingers. Lifting his brows, he offered it to her. ‘You wanted this?’

‘I foraged it.’

‘You did,’ he said, handing it to her with a laugh. ‘You foraged them, so I’ll peel them.’

‘You can have the next one,’ she said magnanimously. ‘I’m not going to eat all of them, not after that delicious risotto. What will we do with the rest of them?’

That little ‘we’ crept up on him, but he was sick and tired of everything she said triggering him. ‘Roasted, boiled, in soup – the only thing I can’t do at home is grind them into flour.’ He popped the peeled nut into his mouth, stifling his own groan of enjoyment. There wasn’t anything to compare to fresh, warm chestnuts, buttery and rich.

‘Now I see why you were willing to accept rent in nuts.’

‘Get some gloves next time though. Speaking of which…’ He fetched a tube of antiseptic ointment, noticing Attila skulking inside through the cat flap when he headed back to the kitchen. The cat followed him in casually, his tail rubbing against Alex’s leg, but stopped suddenly, hackles up, when Arco pricked up his ears.

A second later, the cat was gone again.

‘That poor cat,’ Julia said with a grimace.

‘He’ll be all right,’ Alex assured her, his jaw tightening when he appreciated what he hadn’t said—He’ll be all right when you’re gone again.

Pulling his chair to hers, he took her hand and dabbed drops of ointment onto her fingertips, glancing up in concern when she hissed at the sting. Her skin was dry and there was a little dirt under her fingernails and— He should stop studying her hands.

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