Page 19 of Bella Rosa
He jumps up out of his seat like he's been shot and wags a finger in my face. "See! That right there! That's what I'm talking about. I mean, you're always grumpy, but you've taken it to an entirely different level."
I lean back in my seat. I've gotten so behind on work it's not even funny. I've been snapping at all my employees for absolutely no reason. Hell, I don't even want to be around me. I don't want to hear about it from Luca though, so my best option is to deflect the conversation back at him. "When do you go back to Naples again? Shouldn't you be visiting your mom or something?"
He laughs. That dick. "Ah come on. You obviously need me. You're a mess. I've never seen a woman get to you like this man. So, what are you going to do about it?"
I have no idea. It's been a week. Seven damn days of torture. I pick her up, we go to dinner, we carry on with small talk, and I drop her back at Alda's. I've really enjoyed my time with her to be honest. I can barely work each day because I’m thinking about seeing her at night for dinner. I've learned all about her mom, and her obsession with trying new ice cream flavors. I've also learned a lot about her life in New York, which is the exact reason why we could never work.
Our relationship would have an expiration date. A short one at that. We have twelve days. That's hardly enough time to get tired of a song, let alone figure out if you want to have a relationship with someone. Not just a relationship, but a long distance relationship.
Luca breaks my train of thought when he sighs loudly and sits back in his seat with a huff. "Alright. Spill." He gestures with his hand for me to get going. Fine.
"I don't know man. She's killing me. My favorite part of my day is when I go pick her up. She ate dinner at Alda's Thursday instead of our usual thing and I thought I was going to ruin the rug in my living room from pacing. I almost invited myself just so I could see her, but I didn't want to sound desperate. At this point I'll do just about anything to make her laugh. I'm even giving her my salad dressing. What the hell has happened to me?"
Luca gets a confused look on his face. "You give her your salad dressing?" I'm the one to stand up now. I've got to do something with all my nerves, so I start pacing the tiny space.
"Don't ask. Please spare me. I'm pretty sure she put a spell on me or something." I stop pacing when Luca starts laughing so hard he has tears running down his face. I cross my arms and glare at him. "What the hell is your problem?"
That just makes the laughing worse. He's wiping the tears from his eyes when he says, "Ah shit. You've got it bad man. Real bad."
Now I'm confused. "What the hell are you talking about?" I sit back down because I'm suddenly feeling light headed.
He's still laughing. "You're catching feelings man."
No. Definitely not. I hardly know her. I will admit though, there is something between us. I just don't know if I can trust her enough to put the effort into figuring out what it is. She'll leave in twelve days. Twelve fucking days.
What the hell am I going to do?
Rosalie
"Girl, you are so screwed." Oh don't I know it. I'm sitting across from Juli while we eat lunch at Alda's. My only response is laying my head on the table and groaning. I can't seem to find the energy to do anything more. All my energy is being consumed by writing my new blog, writing my article for Foodie, and Matteo Moretti.
Juli throws a grape at me. "Get up. Oh poor Rosalie. I don't know how to deal with my feelings for a hunk of a man who owns his own business and makes me feel weak in the knees. What ever will I do?" She's making an exaggerated sad face. "Enough with the pity party. Just tell him how you feel." She shrugs like that's the easiest thing in the world.
I sit up and dust the imaginary crumbs off the table cloth. "You know I can't do that. I'll only be here for another twelve days. I'll be leaving and I'll probably never see him again. That's not fair to either of us."
Admitting defeat she sits back in her chair and sighs. "Fine. I know things are complicated, but maybe long distance would work?"
I get up and start pacing the length of the dining room. "You don't think I haven't thought of that?" I start moving my arms around above my head. "Relationships are hard enough without adding long distance to the mix."
Alda walks by with a basket of fresh folded towels. She sets them down on the table and puts her hands on her hips. "Have you even kissed the man?" What the hell? I stop pacing to stare at her for a moment before I look over at Juli. All she gives me is a shrug. That's not at all what I thought she was going to say.Have you seen the live action of Beauty and the Beast? Have you ever tried clams? Maybe even, have you ever colored your hair?But definitely not that.
"Well no," is all I can say as I sit back down at the table. I put my elbows on the table so I can use them to hold my head up. I need all the help I can get.
"Well you're getting all worked up for nothing. Kiss the man and see if you like it. If you don't, then there's nothing to worry about. If you do, then we will figure out what to do." She gives me a little nod and picks up her basket to start walking up the stairs. I'd offer to help her, but she would only shoo me away. Stubborn woman.
Juli stands so she can reach the grapes at the other end of the table. "She has a point, you know. Maybe you should just kiss him and see how it goes." She gives me a little pat on the hand before she refills her plate of grapes.
"What am I supposed to do, sneak attack him at the dinner table? Run outside when he gets here and jump on him? Yell 'Take me Matteo, I'm yours?"
She almost chokes on the grape she just popped in her mouth. "Now I would pay good money to see that. That's not what I had in mind though. Just kiss him if the moment is right."
I roll my eyes at my new friend. "Could you be any more vague?" I reach for a grape on her plate and pop it in my mouth.
"Just go with it. No stress."
I shake my head at her and laugh. Maybe she has a point though. Whatever is going on between Matteo and I may only be surface level. I guess there's one way to find out. Hopefully a kiss won’t ruin everything though. I look at Juli with wide eyes. "But what if he breaks off our pact because I kiss him?"
She gives me a little grimace. "I didn't think about that. Maybe it’s not such a good idea then."
