“She might not even be working today, boss.”
Raffaelo’s eyebrows shot up as he looked past me. “You said she was blonde?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’m pretty sure she’s working today.”
I turned around, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw Emilia bringing drinks to some customers seated outside.
“That’s her?” Adriano asked, impressed.
“Yup.”
He smacked my chest with the back of his hand. “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically.
Adriano laughed and said to Raffaelo, “Let’s leave him to his soap opera.”
As they disappeared inside Bianca’s store, I took a deep breath and turned around.
Emilia had already gone back inside, so I followed her into the café.
She was behind the counter when I walked in.
She lifted her eyes to greet me –
And then her expression went the tiniest bit sour.
Not exactly the reaction I’d been hoping for.
“You’re back,” she said in a voice likeOh, great.
“I’m glad you’re sohappy to see me,” I joked as I walked up to the bar.
She snorted softly, then looked back down and started cleaning glasses.
“Did you miss me?” I asked.
“I was counting the seconds until your return,” she said in an emotionless voice.
“That’s a lot of seconds.”
“Actually, I stopped after five.”
“I made itthatfar?!” I said happily. “I’m doing better than I thought!”
Despite her best attempts, the corners of her mouth turned up.
“Aha! Yes!” I crowed, and her smile got the tiniest bit bigger.
I leaned on the bar and said in a low voice, like I was confiding in her, “I’ve been working on my flirting.”
“You need to work on it some more,” she said coolly.
“GLADLY! So,bella– ”
“Oh god,” she groaned as she tilted her head back. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I.”
