Page 26 of Bella Rosa
We walk out the front door, and Rosa stops in her tracks. "Where's the Vespa? Are we walking? Is that why you wanted me to wear comfortable shoes?"
I laugh as I grab her by the shoulders to turn her toward my blue BMW M4. The color almost matches my Vespa. "Nope." I scratch the back of my neck. "I actually have a confession to make. The engine replacement has been done for a few days."
She turns to face me. "Why did you say it was still at the shop then?"
I can't make eye contact with her, so I decide to give my shoes a thorough inspection. "I liked having you wrapped around me." I have to force myself to make eye contact when I apologize. "I'm sorry, Rosa. I could have gotten us hurt last night."
She gives me a smile as she makes a circle around the car. "It would have been a shame to have this out in the rain last night." This woman. She stops in front of the passenger door. I return her smile as I walk around to open the door for her.
I've got to get some of my nerves out, so I take a chance. "Listen, about last night." I look down at her beautiful face. "I'm sorry if I came on too strong, and you felt uncomfortable in any—"
"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable." She gives me a smile that eases my mind.
She slides in and I hurry over to get in the driver’s seat. When I get in, Rosa is inspecting the interior. "This is a pretty nice ride."
"I'm glad you like it."
I worked hard for this car. Really hard. I normally don't splurge on things like this, but I'd wanted a BMW for as long as I could remember. I figured I worked hard enough for my money, so I should enjoy it. Plus, I made some really good investment choices a year or so after we opened the restaurant. I've already got the top down. She starts to braid her hair in a long braid, and pulls it so it rests over her left shoulder. I track every movement as I put my seat belt on. She puts on some sunglasses she pulled out of her bag, and buckles her seat belt. She looks over at me with a face splitting grin. "Let's go! I'm ready."
I mimic her grin and pull out onto the street. "Don't you want to know where we're going?"
She shakes her head. "Nope. I love surprises." Noted.
I gun it as soon as we get onto a major highway outside of the city. I look over to see her reaction hoping I haven't pushed her too far. I can get carried away sometimes. She lets out a "Whoop!" and throws her hands up in the air. Obviously that makes me go faster. She throws her head back and laughs. This right here will be what I remember in eleven days.
I take her on a tour of the outskirts of the city before I circle back around to downtown. I feel like a teenager who doesn't know how to act on a first date. Rosa keeps pulling at the hem of her shorts. I guess we're both nervous. I pull into a parking spot downtown, and put the car in park. "Ready for your first surprise?"
She unbuckles her seat belt and jumps from the car before I can even put the top back up. When I open my car door she's standing there waiting on me. "Impatient much?" I jokingly say as I start walking down the sidewalk.
"I just want to see where you've brought me so bad!" She unbraids her hair as we walk. I almost walk face first into a light pole because I can't take my eyes off this woman. I better watch where I’m walking or I'll walk out into traffic.
We round the corner and she gasps. "The market? I went to a market last weekend with Juli, but she didn't bring me here. This one is huge!"
"This is the market for local vendors. You have to have a pass to get in. Come on." I reach out to grab her hand so I can intertwine our fingers, and I realize our hands fit perfectly together. I pull her in the direction of the entrance. My face is hurting from smiling so much.
"So this is where you buy all your food?"
"Yep," I answer, stopping to show my pass to an employee, as we walk through the small tent that serves as an entrance. "Sometimes I come down to see if they have anything new. Sometimes I have to send my sous chef though. Depends how busy things are."
We walk by a newer vendor that sells handmade pasta. I let go of her hand so she can get her phone out and snap a few photos of his display. "Did you ever start your blog?"
"I did actually. I've gained around a hundred followers so far."
"That's great!"
"It is. I wish I could gain traction like that with my article for Foodie though." She sighs as she stows her phone in her back pocket. "I just feel lost when it comes to the article to be honest. I keep rewriting parts of it."
"What if you wrote your article the way you write your blog?"
She completely stops walking in the middle of the aisle. "I hadn't thought about that." She resumes walking, but slower than before. "That's not what they are expecting though. I applied with a portfolio that doesn't match how I prefer to write. But now when I write in the style that got me the job, I don't feel like myself."
"Maybe you should write two? One in your old style and one in your new style. Let them decide what they want."
She stops walking and looks up at me. She nods her head and smiles. "That's a great idea!" She grabs both my hands in hers and squeezes. As corny as it may be, my heart feels like it skips a beat. "Thank you! You've been such a big help throughout this process. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't agreed to help me."
I give her hands a little squeeze back. "It's been my pleasure." That's an understatement.
She keeps hold of one of my hands as we keep walking through all the booths. I introduce her to a few of my friends, and she takes photos of the displays as we go. I think my friends like her better than they like me, and I can't blame them.
