She looked up at Lorenzo through her lashes. “Perfecto.”
“Your Italian is improving.” He offered his arm to her.
“Grazie. I’ve been trying to keep my language skills sharp. I don’t want to forget all the new words and phrases I’ve learned.”
“You are almost ready for us to start having our own conversations in Italian.” Lorenzo pecked her on the cheek.
“I wouldn’t take it that far.” Her ears warmed. “I’m only ready for conversations that are slow and use baby vocabulary.”
“È un inizio. It’s a start.”
Leaving the entryway, Sabrina and Lorenzo soon found themselves on an outdoor terrace overlooking the Great Bath. The spires of Bath Abbey, the last medieval church in England, provided a backdrop for the Victorian statues of Roman emperors and governors of Britain standing atop the railing overlooking the bath.
To Sabrina, it appeared as if they were sentries, standing guard against any potential invaders. She leaned against the railing, watching the steam rise from the top of the naturally heated water, which was an eerie green color. The air was humid.
Lorenzo removed his jacket and the rumpled cravat. A thin sheen of perspiration glistened below his neck.
Sabrina fanned herself and bit her lip. “How hot do you think the water is?”
Lorenzo pressed his lips together. “Too hot for you to enjoy comfortably.”
Don’t tell me! I’ll be utterly humiliated if Nora told him!
She glanced at Lorenzo, then quickly looked away.
He studied her with an amused expression.
She deflated. “By any chance, did you happen to hear from mydearfriend about my first trip to a spa?”
He arched an eyebrow. “All that I heard is that you refused, point blank, to ‘take the waters.’”
Urg. She told him.
“It was so embarrassing.” Sabrina shook her head. “I dipped one toe inside the thermae pool, and it was just way too hot for me. I jumped out like a cat being dropped into a bathtub. I’ll swim in an ice-cold pool, but anything above eighty degrees and it’s a hard pass.”
“You are missing out.” Lorenzo leaned against the barrier. “We have natural hot springs on Isola Nostrum. One of my favorite ways to relax after a long day is to take a relaxing dip in our infinity pool.”
Sabrina pictured herself enjoying floating next to Lorenzo in a hot-spring-powered infinity pool, overlooking the wide expanse of cerulean-blue ocean. Her mouth grew dry.
“Imightbe enticed to try them again if I had you to distract me from the heat.” She sighed. “Tell me more about Isola Nostrum.” Sabrina closed her eyes.
“When you arrive in the harbor, the first thing you notice are the schools of tropical fish swimming through thick patches of green seagrass and the pristine white sand beaches. As your gaze travels to the land, everywhere you look, there are thickets of trees and vibrantly colored flowers of pink, orange, white, and purple.”
“It sounds like an untouched Mediterranean oasis.”
“In many ways it is.” Lorenzo chuckled. “There is one town on the island, Ananostrum. The houses are built as they are in the Cinque Terre, perched on top of the rocky hillside. If you were to travel on the pathway away from the palace, you would find three well-preserved Greek temples.”
Sabrina’s eyes fluttered opened. “You have Greek temples?” she sputtered.
“Si. During the sixth century BC, Isola Nostrum belonged to a group of Greek city-states called the Magna Graecia. It was an important trading post for more than two hundred years.”
“Mind blown.” Sabrina tapped her forehead. “Maybe once my visa is sorted out, I’ll be able to spend some time with you on the island. It’s never sounded more inviting.”
Lorenzo interlaced her hands through hers. He swallowed hard. “Sabrina, how set are you on moving to Italy?”
Her eyes widened.
Is he testing me? Or is he being serious?
