The man across the table stares at me. His question hangs between us:What brings you to Positano?
“A small vacation,” I say. “I was supposed to come with a friend, but she couldn’t make it.”
I realize, when I say this, that I do not have my wedding and engagement rings on. I took them off yesterday when I arrived—my fingers swollen from the travel and humidity. They are in the safe with the rest of my jewelry and cell phone. I have not opened it since.
“Her loss,” he says. “My gain.”
It is not flirtatious, at least not entirely. It’s more just a statement of fact. He uses a knife to cut a watermelon slice diagonally and then spears it with a fork. Some sticky juice runs down the side of his plate and pools in the center.
“So good,” he says, mouth full. “You need to get in on this.”
I do the same. He’s right: it’s perfect. Cold and crisp and sweet.
“What job requires you to eat breakfast on a balcony in Positano?” I ask him. “Travel writer?”
“I work for a hotel chain,” he says.
“Ah,” I say. “Which one?”
He doesn’t immediately answer.
“Do you want me to guess?” I ask.
He squints. “I would love that, actually. But you’ll never get it.”
“Hyatt.”
He shakes his head.
“St. Regis.”
“Nope.”
“Hilton.”
“Well, now I’m just offended.”
“I give up,” I say.
“The Dorchester,” he says. “I’m on the team in charge of new acquisitions.”
I spring forward, surprising us both. “The Bel-Air, right? It’s one of my favorite places in Los Angeles.” I smile, a little embarrassed. “That’s where I live.”
“The Beverly Hills,” he says. “But yes.”
“You live in LA, too?” I say. “That’s a coincidence.”
He shakes his head. “Officially Chicago. But I’m there often for work. Can’t beat the weather.”
“Can’t you?” I gesture outward, toward the emerging day.
“Point taken, but only for the prime season.”
“You’ve been here a week?”
He nods. “Scouting some locations, more or less. It’s just special here, special to me. Positano took a hit a few years back, but this town doesn’t change much. It’s been popular for a long time, and I feel like I’ve been coming for almost that long myself. I imagine it will only continue, so now my company wants to invest. Own a little piece of paradise, so to speak.”
“Your company, the Dorchester Group.”
