Page 9 of In Italy for Love

‘Tomatoes aren’t the law, but theyareone of the building blocks of life.’ Dipping his head, he gave her one of his eyebrow lifts and she guessed he was joking. He strode off as though he didn’t want her to catch his smile.

She hurried after him, Arco bouncing along, thinking it was all a fine game. Up ahead was another archway, beneath a building with ancient red brickwork and mismatched windows.The cobbled square where she stood was a meeting-point of the centuries: mediaeval brick with vaulted windows, the first floor extending precariously over the street; newer exposed stonework with dark green shutters and a rendered house in terracotta with wrought-iron balconies and herbs growing on the windowsills.

‘Are we going somewhere in particular?’ she asked suddenly.

He turned back. ‘I thought your B&B was this way. I was following you.’

‘I was followingyou.’

She adored the puzzled half-smile on his face as he said, ‘I think we were both following Arco.’

‘He took us for a walk,’ Jules said, matching his smile. ‘I didn’t ask what you wanted to do now. Perhaps you need to…’ She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘go’. The evening didn’t feel anywhere near finished, but she knew if she checked the time she would have to accept it was past the hour to release Alex back into the wild.

He tipped his head towards the brick archway and didn’t wait for her to finish. ‘Come and see the river. It’s just through here.’

The moisture in the air was more pronounced as soon as they emerged on the other side. The lights of the town stopped abruptly ahead, giving way to the dark ravine and the sound of rushing water. When they stepped up to the stone wall at the edge, the river was only visible in the reflections of the old city on the rippled surface.

Jules leaned out to catch a glimpse of the bell tower of the cathedral, illuminated in a warm yellow glow. She shivered as the damp rose from below and the effects of the fireplace in the restaurant gradually faded.

Alex appeared next to her, his forearms propped on the wall next to hers. With a quick, wary glance he probably hadn’tintended her to notice, he came close enough to press his upper arm against hers.

5

‘Thanks for asking me to dinner,’ he said softly, his deep voice skittering across her skin. She felt that earnestness in him again – the seriousness.

‘That sounds like “goodbye”,’ she mumbled, staring out over the water.

‘I suppose it has to be, but I meant I really enjoyed having dinner with you, more than I expected – more than you would understand. I would hate to… have missed out on it, so thank you for asking.’

She peered at him. She couldn’t help thinking he was a lot like his instrument: lively notes and poignant refrains and mysterious workings inside. ‘You promised to bore me, but you didn’t,’ she said lightly. ‘Not even close.’

Arco whined, as though in a hurry to keep moving. Without the reminder of real life, she would have struggled to take the necessary step away from the unexpectedly lovely evening.

Alex crouched to pat him. ‘Look after Julia, eh? Be a guard dog,’ he said, giving Arco a stern gaze as he rubbed his ears with both hands.

‘Don’t worry. He’s a good judge of character.’

‘Oh, reall—’ Before he could finish, Arco barrelled into him tongue-first. Jerking away from the wet swipe of dog-tongue, Alex overbalanced and went down on his bottom, laughing as he fended off the over-affectionate dog.

‘Arco!’ she called, clicking her fingers and trying in vain to call him away. ‘He’s a good judge of character, but I didn’t say he had any boundaries.’

‘Urgh, that feels strange!’ Alex chuckled as he batted Arco’s nose away with a gentle hand after he’d been thoroughly licked on the ear.

She held her hand out and helped him haul himself up. When he was on his feet again, he was suddenly close, his toes nudging hers. She became aware all over again of how tall he was, how lovely his mouth looked.

She hadn’t kissed anyone in a long time. She’d barely thought about it amidst the stress of the business and the angst of working with Luca. But she was definitely thinking about it now.

Their ‘not date’ had been the best date of her life, a memory she could treasure when she left, a small counterbalance to all the heartache – a little ‘what if’ to nurture at her lowest moments.

There’d be no harm in a small kiss. She left for the farm tomorrow morning and although it was only a few kilometres out of town, she wasn’t planning to come back to Cividale. In a few short weeks she’d be on the other side of the world. She wouldn’t see him again.

He stepped away, his hand lifting absently to the back of his head. ‘Allora, I, ehm… should…’ He stumbled as he turned away, shoving one hand into the pocket of his jacket.

‘Wait!’ She took an involuntary step towards him, blood rushing in her ears. He turned back, slowly, his mouth slightly open and his expression dismayed. The thought that she wouldn’t see him again echoed between her ears and althoughshe worried she was misinterpreting the signals – she was woeful at signals – she had to try. ‘H-how about a k-kiss? Goodbye. A kiss goodbye?’

He returned to her so quickly he tripped again, a smile stretching on his lips. Grasping her face with both hands, he murmured, ‘I couldn’t think of anything else.’ His gaze darting between her eyes and her lips, his smile tipping up on one side as she lifted her chin, he inched closer, his breath gusting as he hesitated.

The tender graze of his fingertips over her cheeks and jaw put her off balance, her skin tingling. He was a stranger. She wasn’t supposed to be kissing the random accordion player Arco had accosted in the street – or at least it wasn’t supposed to feel like a key in a lock, like finding something that had been lost. Thoughts of that kind were what had got her into Italian-flavoured trouble to begin with.

---