Page 41 of Retrograde
‘No, perhaps not, but you should allow him to choose.’ Davide shrugged, like it was obvious. And she knew it should be as uncomplicated as that, but it couldn’t be.
‘And if he chooses anything other than me?’ She squinted in the sunlight.
‘Now I see your problem. There’s no going back from that.’ His face was full of sympathy.
‘Exactly. It would change our dynamic forever, and he’s all I know.’
‘He’s all you know?’ Davide frowned, the confusion making him look adorable.
‘I haven’t slept with anyone else since him, and I’venever been in a long-term relationship. I’ve dated, but never seriously.’ Her cheeks were tinged pink. It was embarrassing, saying it out loud. It wasn’t that she had been waiting for her best friend to fill the gap, she just hadn’t felt the inclination to sleep with anyone else. She’d been too busy fighting the chemistry between them.
‘Woah, Lucie. I think you need to explore the world a little in terms ofmen.’
Her whole body felt like it was on fire, both with embarrassment and sexual attraction. She wasn’t blind to the appeal of other men, and Davide was incredibly handsome. She imagined his charter guests ate him up. Tipped himunbelievableamounts of money.
She cleared her throat. ‘Where’s next on your list?’
The Trevi Fountain was unusually quiet considering the time of day and the weather. The sun was blazing, and Lucie’s shoulders were burning. It had been winter in Sydney, and she welcomed the change.
‘You know, I’ve never made a wish in this fountain.’ Lucie peered into the water, seeing all the coins at the bottom. She’d watched countless films where the characters tossed coins into it, but she’d never bothered. Her sisters had thought it was laughable, and she’d been too embarrassed to do it.
‘Never?’ Davide put his hand on his chest. ‘You must do it.’ He rooted through his wallet for some euros, coming up triumphant with a coin.
‘Isn’t there a specific way?’ She turned the coin over in her hand.
He turned her round so she was facing him and positioned her. ‘What you want to do, is keep your back to the fountain–’
‘So, you don’t toss it in like it’s a frisbee?’
‘Never. How dare you suggest such a thing,’ he teased. ‘You have to use your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder. You throw one coin; you will return to Roma. You throw a second, you will fall in love with an Italian.’
‘Oh…’ Now she felt shy.
‘Don’t worry, I only have one coin. Your racing driver beau is safe.’
‘He’s not my –’
‘I am just playing.’ He laughed, his smile reaching his eyes. He was a natural flirt and a great conversationalist, which was confusing, but only because one half of her wanted to flirt back and the other half felt like she was betraying Brett.
As they walked through the streets on the way to Altare della Patria, his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the crowds, her lack of a filter got the better of her. ‘You make me nervous, and I don’t like it.’
Davide breathed out a laugh, his hand squeezing her waist. That felt weird too, but not in the way she’d expected. It felt kind of exhilarating. ‘You make me nervous too.’
She hadn’t thought about anyone but Brett for so long, but he hadn’t given her the same treatment. And now Davide was here. In front of her. She just had to figure out if it was worth clinging to the past or trusting the present.
17
Her aunt needed to invest in better mattresses. She’d tried both bedrooms, and both were horrendous. Her back pain was worse than it was after napping in camping chairs at the back of the Revolution Racing garage, and she was hunting for painkillers in the bathroom cabinet when everything that had happened yesterday started to sink in.
Davide had taken her on a forty-five-minute walk across the city to a gelato shop, where they’d held up the queue while deciding on which flavours they wanted. They’d settled on a scoop of Nutella, one mango and one coconut and Lucie had decided Ben & Jerry’s and a film in bed had nothing on traditional Italian gelato in a little wooden tub, enjoyed on a cobbled side street in one of the few capital cities she liked.
Opposite the gelato shop was an Irish pub, which the city had a lot of. They all poured a double rum like it was a quadruple. She’d taken one look at the tourists drinking beers and cocktails on the side of the street, tables wobbling on the uneven ground and music blasting from inside, and decided she needed to be amongst it all.
She had expected Davide to complain or to tell her he was going home for the night, but he had entertained her request, indulging in the happy hour offeron cocktails and presenting her with four pina coladas to herself. They had spent a solid two hours discussing their favourite travel memories, including Lucie’s visit to an Italian restaurant in Milan where the American-hating owner had slammed her Coca-Cola down on the table in front of her, and Davide’s first Métro ride in Paris when he had gone the wrong way across the city.
They were on their sixth cocktails when a group of tourists joined them outside, mid smoking break. They were from Eindhoven, Manchester, Melbourne, New York. All over the place. And they had all shared travel stories up until the bar staff had to turf them out to close up, then wandered through the city to find fast food, and continued drunkenly chatting as they scoffed their fries and burgers.
Davide had walked her to her door and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, and Lucie had fought not to make a move. She knew she’d regret it when she was sober. Except now she was sober, and still debating if she should’ve bitten the bullet and just done it. She was going home tomorrow, and then she could almost guarantee she wouldn’t see Davide again. But Lucie had let the sensible side of her take over and closed her door behind her, leaving Davide to go home alone.
