Gone is the clenched jaw and deep groove between his brows from earlier when he declined to step off the boat at Isola Maggiore. Questions about that circulate in Charlie’s brain. Surely Dario had seen Isola Polvese before they hiked it as well. Why was that the excuse he gave for not touring Maggiore with them? What was he feeling but not saying?
The whole time Charlie trekked the gorgeous, more touristy island, he missed having Dario around to spout facts and share snacks with.
As soon as they were alone, Michelle stopped at a café, ordered a glass of wine, and popped in her earbuds and cued up aLuxurious Ladies of Provencerecap podcast since she missed this week’s episode. Beau unpacked his guitar case on a street corner and busked for the passersby. When Charlie asked whyhe’d perform for free like that, Beau said, “Best way to test out new songs is to play them for an unsuspecting audience and see how many people stop to listen.”
Now, Beau has everyone listening as he gets up to give Dario a gift. From his bag, he pulls out a pack of olive oil–infused lip balms.
“These smelled really good. Thought you might like them,” Beau says. Charlie had gone into that shop and had sticker shock from everything on the shelves. Beau must’ve used the money he earned from his performances to afford them.
“Thank you,” Dario says, cheeks pinkening.
“Definitely a better taste than that olive from earlier,” Beau says. Charlie imagines Dario trying out the lip balm and then kissing Beau, which causes his stomach to harden.
Michelle clucks. “You do not eat lip balm.” Everybody looks at her with concerned expressions. “The idea makes me have to—” She runs for the bathroom once more. Poor thing. Everyone can hear her retch, so Charlie turns up the music.
Selina pulls a bottle of expensive bubbly wine from a bag. She shows the vintage off to everyone, as if Beau’s gesture were a direct challenge to her that she could not back down from.
“I got you a little something as well,” she says, already reaching for the wine cork on the nearby bench seat.
Conveniently, there are only two clean glasses left on the boat, so Selina claims them for herself and Dario.
Pop!She pours them both flutes while Beau slinks back to his seat.
“¡Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’ dentro!” Selina shouts, glass raised in cheers, but to what, exactly? Charlie shrugs to himself.
Unable to watch from the sidelines as Dario gets wooed away by money and beauty he can’t compete with, Charlie ducks downstairs to hold Michelle’s hair back.
Later that night, when there is a knock at his bedroom door, Charlie expects Dario, so he quickly makes himself presentable, but Beau stands at the threshold instead.
“Have you seen Dario?” Beau asks.
“Not since dinner,” Charlie says.
“I knocked on the barn house door and there was no answer.”
“I think he said something about going for a walk after dessert.”
Beau purses his lips and then holds a folded piece of paper out to Charlie. “Can you give this to him when he gets back?”
“Of course,” Charlie says, taking it. “Wait, what is it?”
“A note,” Beau says.
“Why can’t you give it to him yourself?” Charlie asks, noticing Beau’s crossbody bag with his passport sticking out from an unzippered pocket.
He clears his throat. “I’m gonna dip.”
“For the night?” Charlie asks.
“Nah, for the rest of the trip,” he says, shrugging. “I didn’t want to say anything back on the boat, but I met a couple musicians out on Maggiore while I was busking. They’re a blues band, out here to perform at this cool festival down in Castiglione del Lago in a few weeks. One of their guitarists had a family emergency and had to fly home short notice. They said they liked my vibe, and if I wanted to do a gig, they could use my talent. I’ve never played the blues before, so…”
“It’s a new challenge for you,” Charlie fills in.
“Exactly,” Beau says, shooting him with finger guns.
Charlie squints at him. “What about Dario and the contest? Was this just another challenge for you?”
“At first, marriage was the challenge, but Dario’s a cool guy. Weird, and definitely shorter than I expected, but cool. I justdon’t think we’re on the same wavelength, you know? I explain it all to him in the note.” Beau points his nose down at the paper Charlie still holds. “And no offense here, but I think Selina’s already got this on lock. I saw her kissing Dario on Polvese.”
