Antonio reappears, confirming the cancellations, and settles onto a stool at the kitchen island facing us.
“Okay.” He claps his hands together. “Tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll see if I can arrange viewings today.”
I glance at Gabriel before answering. “Well, I was thinking an apartment instead. Something more intimate, with fewer rooms.”
“A luxury apartment, right?” Antonio asks. “I only deal with luxury properties.”
I smile. “Are there any luxury apartments in Florence with—say—four bedrooms at most?”
He looks upward, considering. “Si. Three neighbourhoods come to mind.”
“Perfect,” Gabriel says. “Please book the best property in each.”
“Very good.” Antonio rises, collecting his clipboard. “I will call you.”
He walks us out, offering a cheerful“Ciao!”before disappearing down the long gravel driveway in his oversized SUV. Gabriel opens the passenger door of his flashy red convertible and takes my hand, steadying me as I slide inside.
Once he’s seated beside me, he turns the engine on, and glances my way. “While we wait for his call, do want to check out a nearby winery?”
“Wine at”—I check my watch—“eleven in the morning?”
“It’s happy hour in Saltwater Springs,” he says with a grin.
I laugh, shaking my head at him.
“Alright,” I say. “Let's do it.”
“How doyou manage to find all these luxury spots all the time?” I ask as we climb the wide wooden steps of Antinori, the enormous winery Gabriel somehow discovered just outside Florence.
“Reid,” he says, as if I should know who that is.
I raise a brow and he smirks in return.
“I’ll introduce you two later.” His arm settles across my shoulders, drawing me close as we approach the entrance. “For now, let’s just enjoy this place. Apparently it was voted the best winery in the world.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me,” I mumble, melting into his side despite myself.
As much as I try to keep a distance from Gabriel—for my own self-preservation—he’s the only person that’s ever made me feel completely safe. But I know that eventually I’ll have to rebuild the walls and step back. We want different things from life, and pretending otherwise won’t change that.
But for now, I let myself live in this little Italian fantasy we’ve slipped into together.
Inside, the hostess attempts to turn us away when we admit we didn’t make a booking, but Gabriel calmly produces a thick stack of Euros, and her resistance dissolves instantly. We’re ushered through with a warm smile and not a single question asked.
We skip the tour because Antonio could call at any moment, and head straight for the restaurant. Once seated, Gabriel surprises both me and the waiter by requesting two glasses of every wine offered in their tasting selections.
The waiter gently explains to us that booking the guided tasting would be far more cost effective but Gabriel simply smiles and repeats the request.
“I’m not confident I’ll like anything on this menu,” I murmur after the waiter relents and leaves.
Gabriel scans the page before tapping a line. “You’ll probably like the chicken liver and fig.”
I glance up. “And you know that how?”
He smirks. “I know you better than you know yourself, Z.”
The confidence in his voice sends goosebumps skimming across my arms.
“Order it,” he adds. “Prove me wrong.”
