‘I’m intrigued.’
‘You should be.’ She straightened herself and feigned smoothing down an apron. ‘You, Signor D’Adamo, are coming away with me today.’
His eyes widened. ‘What?’
‘You heard. We’re going away. It’s all booked. Go pack an overnight bag.’
‘But . . . what about next week? There’s still so much to do.’
‘We need a break and time away together, without everyone else milling about.’ She rested both hands on his shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze. ‘It’s all organised. I’ve booked a little somewhere special for us. Very low-key, so don’t get too excited. And Marghe and Riccardo have offered to stay the night here to keep an eye on things. We have no guests for the week because of the Sagra. This is the perfect opportunity.’
Matthew’s smile curled into a grin. ‘This is amazing.’ He reached up and took her face in his hands. ‘What did I do to deserve you?’
She winked. ‘You can repay me later. Uninterrupted. At the top of your lungs.’
‘Your lungs, or mine?’
‘Both. Twice. Or as many times as we like!’
He hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave in to his libido. ‘Will you . . . I mean, could you pack your red lace lingerie set?’ He felt a wave of heat rush to his neck and cheeks.
Sarah stopped in her tracks and pivoted to face him. ‘Excuse me?’
‘The red lacy bra with the little undies.’
‘I know the ones,’ she said, astonished. ‘How doyouknow about them?’
‘I found them in your drawer one day when I was putting away the laundry.’ His expression was tucked somewhere between embarrassed and sheepish.
‘And you’re bringing them up now?’
‘You know what? Just forget I even mentioned it.’
‘No, no. We’re airing the dirty laundry right now.’ She sidled up next to him and her eyes narrowed in on his. ‘Liked what you saw, huh?’
He grinned. ‘God, yes. Very sexy.’
‘Well, we will just have to see now, won’t we?’ She strode on ahead, across the hallway and into their room.
‘Where are we off to, then?’ he called out from the kitchen.
‘Assisi!’ came her muffled reply.
They arrived too early to check-in to their little Airbnb, and it wasn’t yet a socially acceptable time for lunch, so Sarah and Matthew made their way to the heart of thecentro storico– La Basilica di San Francesco.
They patiently joined the queue waiting at the entrance door. Matthew reached around her waist and held her close. This was all about them. No one else. The joy of having left the demands of La Viola behind provided the mental space to be more attuned to the other. Longing stares and loaded gestures gave way to their innate natural intimacy. This was their time to be real.
Slowly, they inched their way forward until they were finally inside the darker lower church of the basilica complex. The air inside was even cooler than the early November chill, laced with the stale kiss of incense.
Sarah followed the crowd, with Matthew a pace behind her. He watched as the last beam of light caught the wisps of her blonde highlights, and when she turned to face him, her cheeks and eyes bloomed into a vibrant smile. His heart swelled.
Quietly, they moved through the church, stopping here and there to study Giotto’s famous frescoes. Sarah kept a hand on Matthew at all times; on his shoulder, the rear of his forearm, the small of his back. Her constant presence distracted him from the impact of his surroundings. While he should have been noting the shades of blue in Giotto’s work, he was too wrapped up in her lingering touch, the way the low light enveloped her in an iridescent gold glow, the flashes of her perfume as she brushed past him. With no pretence, completely stripped back to the basics, his relationship with Sarah was in its most organic state.
Sarah took him by the hand and whispered, ‘The altar is clearing. Come on.’
Up above the altar, enclosed in a large stone tomb, were the remains of St Francis of Assisi. Sarah and Matthew approached slowly, following the gently swelling crowd.
To their right, a tour guide who was speaking with two elderly tourist couples. ‘. . . but Francis was also known and loved for his simplicity; his call to others to pare back their lives, to give generously, to forego material needs and to live with simple values.’ Matthew couldn’t help but listen as they waited to approach the altar. ‘Such rare qualities in today’s age, wouldn’t you say? And yet, his values ring true. At the heart of it all is the human condition, best viewed, loved and cherished in its simplest form.’
