But before he could answer, another familiar voice shouted across the café.
“Gorgeous George!” Lucia shouted. “It’s about damn time! Get your ass over here!”
Oh SHIT.
I grimaced, then walked slowly towards the table.
I glanced at Emilia, expecting her to be panicked or unhappy –
But when our eyes met, she blushed and cast her eyes down at the floor.
But she was smiling.
Not much –
But it wasn’t a frown.
“Signoras,”I said when I reached the table.
“And asignorina,” Lucia said, pointing at Emilia. “Don’t forget thesignorina.”
I gave her a half-smile.“Ciao,Emilia.”
“Ciao,Giorgio,” she said bashfully, only meeting my eyes for a brief second before lowering them again.
But then I saw something that took my breath away:
She was wearing the gold necklace I’d given her.
It peeked out from the open collar of her blouse.
What the fuck was going on?!
I asked that very thing –
Only a lot more politely.
“Um… what’s going on?” I asked.
“We finished our photo shoot!” Lucia said.
“It was like I was back in fashion school!” Bianca said happily. “Lucia’s amazing with her iPhone, and everyone modeled my dresses.”
I looked at Emilia. “You, too?”
“Yes,” she said shyly.
“It was awesome!” Lucia said, hopping up from the table with her phone. “Look!”
She scrolled through photos on her screen.
There were hundreds of images of all the women – some taken outdoors in the sunlit streets of Florence, others obviously shot in the makeshift photography studio.
They all wore different dresses designed by Bianca –
Including Emilia.
My eyes widened as I stared at her in a variety of outfits.
