‘Plumbing supplies?’ She was going to have a job finding the right things.
‘They are with the electrical stuff. It will be easiest if I come down to the cantina with you. I will be able to find what I need much better myself than trying to explain it to you.’
‘I had better shut the door for a few minutes.’
Gino turned over the shop sign and locked the door. The two of them were alone. She felt a frisson of excitement… expectation. How ridiculous! They were only going to search for flush valves or rubber seals.
He followed her down the stairs, his body just inches away from hers, his scent of amber and leather a sophisticated upgrade to the body wash of his teenage years.
She stopped in the gap between Domenico’s crates and boxes, ridiculously conscious of the enticingly soft heap of outdoor cushions. He turned and looked at her, a spark of some long-lost passion in his green eyes. Her throat was dry. Surely he wasn’t going to suggest what she felt he might. They had barely exchanged a few sentences but she was certain he was thinking of that unfinished business in the passageway beside Sant’ Agata, the day they’d been so stupidly reckless. Before…
‘That’s where Domenico landed when he fell,’ she said quickly. ‘If he had been just a little further over…’ She gestured to the box of sharp-edged garden equipment.
Gino put his arms around her, pulling her close. ‘Don’t think about that. It must have been horrible. I can feel you trembling.’
She was trembling, but not from that memory. Her heart was thudding, her body heating where it was pressed against his.
He loosened his arms. ‘Now, plumbing supplies! Up there on that high shelf, see the box next to the extension cables. I will need you to hold the ladder.’
‘You can’t climb up! You’re the customer.’
‘Stella, you are not climbing any ladders. You’re wearing heels and a skirt! I’ve only just found you. I don’t intend to lose you so soon.’
She didn’t need much persuasion to let him get the box down; she was far too lightheaded to climb up anything. She didn’t know if anything would or could happen between her and Gino after all this time. But whatever they’d had, there was still something there.
29
Amy was back at the bar again. She hadn’t arranged to meet Leo for breakfast but she’d gone there to see if she could accidentally-on-purpose bump into him and it seemed he’d had the same idea.
‘Thanks so much for last night,’ she said. ‘It was such a good evening.’
‘It was great you could come. It was good to see you and Papà get on, but I thought I wouldn’t get a word in edgeways at one point!’ He laughed.
‘Sorry.’
‘No need to be. I’m glad you cheered him up. He was moping around yesterday. I’m sure it was something to do with that woman, Stella, from the shop. He looked very shifty when you mentioned her. I’ve got the feeling there’s some history between them.’
‘He definitely brightened up when I said her fiancé had left her in the lurch.’
Leo took a sip of his coffee. ‘Sounds like she’s on the rebound. I don’t want Papà getting hurt.’
‘Do you think he’s going to get involved with her?’
‘He was muttering something about taking her out to the pizzeria and I got the distinct impression I’m not invited.’
‘So, you’re free tonight?’ The words were out before she had the chance to think about playing it cool.
‘Are you asking me out?’ The smile on his face told her he already knew the answer.
‘Maybe…’ She studied the dish of sugar sachets.
‘I’d love to see you tonight, but I can’t make it. I have to go and help a friend and he’s relying on me. I wish I was not busy all day. I would love to repeat our walk up to the Old Chapel, without the cleaning this time, but I cannot. The plaque is nearly finished but it is a lot of work. Once I get absorbed in the carving, it is like I cannot stop.’
‘When you get in the flow? That’s how it used to be with me and Grandpa. He’d be fiddling with his woodwork, I’d be making my pots. As soon as I got on that wheel it was like I was in another world. I would only look up when Mum brought us a pot of tea. I miss that… and him, of course.’
‘I wish I had a potter’s wheel in the workshop you could use.’
‘Oh, I’ll find something to do, don’t worry about me.’
