‘Mi piacerebbe esserlo. Conosco le basi, tutto qui.’ He grinned.
‘Pardon?’ Amy frowned in confusion.
‘I said I’d like to be. I know the basics, but that’s all. At least, I think that’s what I said.’
Amy began to laugh. ‘It sounded convincing to me.’
‘Grazie mille,’ he said.
‘Fluent in ItalianandScottish,’ she said, ‘Quite the package, aren’t you?’
She meant it as a joke, a silly comment about his Scottish accent being its own language. Instead of taking her joke and running with it, Tad stilled, staring at her.
‘I’m far more than the sum of my heritage, if that’s what you mean?’ He sounded annoyed.
‘That’s not what I meant,’ Amy said, swallowing. ‘I was trying to make a bad joke about your Scottish accent. Sorry.’
‘So, it’s nothing to do with me being half Italian?’
Amy frowned. ‘No. Why would it be?’
Tad’s frown deepened to match hers. ‘But I thought, Billie said…’ He paused, his frown dissipating as he shook his head and stared at her. ‘Doesn’t matter – I expect I misinterpreted her. And yes, I think a proper Scottish accent should be something to be enjoyed as much as anything Mediterranean.’
‘I love both,’ she said, without thinking and meaning every word. ‘But what people say is of far more interest than the accent they say it with, don’t you think?’
‘Aye, I do.’
Amy’s cheeks flared with heat, his focus on her intense and overwhelming. She wanted to make the most of this moment but didn’t know how.
‘I suppose we’d better take the plates back in,’ she said, making a grab for her plate and standing awkwardly. ‘Oh, ouch.’ The pain from her ribs stabbed at her, reminding her the injury wasn’t to be ignored as Tad stood and took the plate from her, and she rubbed at her side.
‘Still painful?’ he asked.
‘Mmm.’ She tried to smile through the pain, tipping her face to his as she edged forwards and held his gaze.
‘Amy, I…’
‘I can think of something that might make the pain go away,’ she said, shocked at the blatant nature of her own words, watching as he worked through what she’d said, holding his gaze as she pressed a hand against his chest and felt the warmth of his skin through his thin top. His breath quickened as he circled the back of her waist with his free hand and gently pulled her even closer. He dipped his lips to hers. A feather-light brush, then another touch was followed by something with far more intent. His kiss lingered, Amy losing herself in the sheer sensation of having his lips against hers, their exploration of one another turning what already felt great into something volcanic.
She dragged her lips far enough away to be able to tell him it was working, that her ribs didn’t hurt any longer, but he wasn’t listening, and they were kissing again and his hand strayed lower, below the waistband of her jeans as he pulled her against his hips and she wrapped her arms around his neck, hoping this moment would last for at least a week, maybe two.
She whispered his name against his lips, kept the rest of the sentence to herself as she acknowledged that she wanted this man, wanted him more than she had anyone else for a very long time – possibly ever. It was madness, and was only going to end abruptly, but right now Amy couldn’t care less. Right now, all she wanted was right now.
But then, as suddenly as it started, Tad was pulling away, stepping back. Piling up plates and glasses. The shake of his head was gentle, but it was there.
‘What’s wrong?’ she said.
‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, Amy. I apologise.’
‘Why?’ she said.
‘I don’t want to cause any problems,’ he said.
‘Problems with what?’ she asked, the frown clouding his expression deep enough to stop her from asking why kissing him could be so problematic? Was he worried about what Billie would think? Did he think Billie would be pissed off if she felt she wasn’t monopolising his attention? Was it something to do with Casa del Cibo?
‘I think it’s better if we…’ Tad swallowed, his gaze dipping away from hers. ‘I think it’s better if we stop. Don’t you?’
Amy couldn’t work out what was causing him to hold back, but he was already on his way back into the kitchen. She sighed and made to leave, but Tad doubled back. ‘I’m so sorry – please feel free to stay here as long as you want. Enjoy the sunshine. Help yourself to anything from the kitchen.’
