Page 48 of In Italy for Love

As he clutched her hand and gave himself a moment to feel what he felt, without judgement, fear or guilt, he agreed that the Berengario’s matchmaking scheme might have been a good idea too. He’d needed this, an hour alone with Jules somewhere outside the house to let his conflicted emotions come to a head.

The cold was seeping through his old woollen pullover by the time they returned to the car and the hand that hadn’t been clasping hers was chilled. He was strangely reluctant to drive back down, even though that was the right thing to do. He gaveher hand one more squeeze before letting go to climb into the driver’s seat.

‘Do you think Berengario interfered with the car so we’d be stranded here overnight?’ she said warily after she’d settled Arco in the footwell in the back.

‘I think saying that might be tempting fate.’ Closing one eye as he turned the key, he shared a smile with her when the car started up without a problem.

‘Phew,’ she said drily.

Reaching for the old handbrake, he pressed the button and pushed and… Nothing happened. He jiggled it, but again – nothing. Frowning, he stepped on the footbrake, wrapped both hands around the lever and pushed, grunting with effort, but it wouldn’t shift.

‘Oh dear,’ Jules said under her breath, although her tone was still dry.

‘Maybe I can…’ He put the car into reverse and revved, slipping in the clutch to try to jolt the wheels back a little and dislodge the brake, but the car only made a disturbing creak and then a foul smell wafted into the interior. He turned the engine off.

Jules shivered and he noted the temperature on the dashboard: eight degrees. No hypothermia, but it wouldn’t be comfortable to wait in the car for long. Arco whined and barked and she settled him with a hand in his fur.

‘Berengario had better answer this time,’ Alex said through gritted teeth and called the old man. Of course, he didn’t pick up.

‘Do you think he put glue on the brake pads?’

‘I don’t think he wants us dead.’

‘Or like one of those Korean shows: if we die at the same time, we’ll be reborn on the same day and find each other in the next life.’

He turned to her fully, his elbow on the steering wheel. ‘What kind of shows do you watch?’

‘They’re die-hard romantics apparently.’

‘Yeah,diehard. I don’t find that romantic.’

A flinch of dismay crossed her features. ‘Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t think.’

‘And this is why I didn’t tell you,’ he replied with a deep sigh. ‘I didn’t want you to just see the guy whose wife died. That’s what everyone else sees.’

Her nostrils flared and he could see her struggle to decide what to say next. ‘You think the guy I met the first night is not who you are?’

‘I think it’s disturbing how easily I kept Laura a secret.’ He leaned back on the headrest, feeling ambushed – by the truth about his own motives. ‘I’m not resentful of you. I’m annoyed at myself for trying to keep her out of… this.’ He winced, hoping she wouldn’t ask what he meant by ‘this’ because he had no idea.

But she just said, ‘You don’t have to.’

‘Have to what?’

‘Keep her out of…’

His eyes drifted closed and his cheeks heated. ‘This,’ he repeated softly.

‘Yeah,’ she agreed hesitantly. ‘This.’ Then there was a weight on his shoulder and the scent of herbal shampoo and olive tree reached his nose and a strand of hair tickled his jaw and the handbrake on his emotions released until he wanted to laugh and cry at once.

He fumbled for her face, finding her forehead with his thumb because he didn’t want to open his eyes yet. Even just tracing her jaw with his fingertips, he knew he wasn’t even close to forgetting the heady chemistry of the day they’d met.

He nudged her face up and kissed her.

She broke off to suck in a surprised breath, but that was her only hesitation. Clenching a hand in his pullover, she kissed him back, hard enough for him to know she’d felt it every time he’d resisted doing this over the past two and a half weeks. She pushed him back in the seat and he covered her closed hand, smiling as she kissed him bossily, teaching him a lesson that he was glad to learn.

We should have been kissing all this time.

‘You don’t have to be jealous of Davide,’ she murmured, her lips skimming his cheek, his jaw after she’d spoken the words.

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