Page 34 of Livia in Rome
‘Bathing in the works of art...’ Giulio shakes his head in mock disappointment. ‘And I was starting tothink you were one of the locals.’
He’s leaning back, staring at me . . . no, wait . . . he’s staring at my family heirloom of a nose.
‘It’s my nose, right?’ I blurt, trying to play it off like a joke. ‘There’s no denying it’s Roman.’
His lips twitch as if he’s about to tease me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he leans in and lifts a hand to my face. My breath catches.Ommioddio...is he going to...honk it?!
I shrink back, but his hand keeps coming.
‘Hold still,’ he murmurs, ‘you have a blob of gelato right...there.’ His thumb brushes the tip of my nose, slow and deliberate, almost a caress.
‘Oh,’ I say faintly, my voice barely there.
I’m rooted to the spot, my nose tingling where his thumb had been. How is he so composed when I feel like my heart’s about to burst from my chest?
‘Yeah, I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often,’ I mutter. ‘You know, given the size of it.’
Giulio shakes his head with a laugh. ‘I like your nose...it suits your stubborn streak. Another thing that runs in your family.’
I think of Ma and Nina at the hospital, how neither of them backed down, how Ma kept pushing without really saying what she wanted to say.
‘Err . . . is that supposed to make me feel better?’
‘You have nothing to feel bad about,’ he says, softly. ‘I think it makes you atipa.’
I touch my nose self-consciously. ‘Umm...I don’t know that word. And I’m not sure I want to, either.’
Lies! All lies. I desperately want to know, especially when he’s looking at me so . . . so . . .
‘It means you’re unique in...’ He hesitates, swallowing hard. ‘In an attractive way.’
The air between us crackles and Ma’s jokey comment about creating a new first-kiss tradition in this very spot canters through my mind. I push it away, hard, turning to look into the waters behind me.
It’s not the Trevi Fountain, but there are still a few coins glittering at the bottom, their surfaces catching the sunlight.
‘Ready to go back?’ Giulio offers me a hand to pull me to my feet and, as I stand, I wonder what I would wish for if I threw in a coin. Not a kiss, obviously. Definitely not. Probably for the bar to be saved, for Ma and Nina to stop fighting. And for everything to just...work out.
Start talking, Livia. I want to hear all about your little sightseeing trip.’
As soon as I walk into class on Monday afternoon, it’s glaringly obvious why Kenzi asked me and the others to come early.
‘He just took me to some places Nina showed him,’ I say lightly. ‘He’s actually a pretty goodcicerone.’
Sofia frowns. ‘What’s that?’
‘Basically, a tour guide,’ I explain, feeling a tiny bit proud of myself for knowing this very Italian term. ‘But, you know, a fancy Roman one.’
More like a Roman you fancy, Liv . . .
Heat creeps up my neck as Inner Isla’s comment hits its mark.
Kenzi, Ren and Sofia exchange loaded glances. It’s clear they’re not going to let this go so easily.
‘He just took me to some places Nina showed him,’ I repeat, as if it was no big deal. As if I haven’t been reliving every minute of it – wandering through Nina’s favourite spots, seeing Rome from a completelydifferent angle. It felt like some kind of fusion tourism, like Ren’s cooking – mixing the big, touristy sights with the hidden, local way of seeing them. Familiar, but new. Even the framed poster of St Peter’s sends me right back to that keyhole, and how small and perfect it looked.
‘Wait, wait, wait.’ Sofia’s voice cuts through my thoughts. ‘Are you saying you’ve finally succumbed to Giulio’s charm?’
‘No! He’s just...I don’t know, easier to talk to than I expected.’
