Eventually arriving home, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass pane of La Scuola Rosa’s door. She looked tired; drained, in fact.
She wiggled the key in the lock, gave the jamb its usual shoulder thrusts, and let herself in, where she was relieved to find she was alone. The radiating warmth from thetermosifonienveloped her and Lucia exhaled. Just as she was about to collapse in one of the wingback chairs and indulge in a well-earned dose of self-pity, the door opened behind her.
She startled, turning. ‘Alex,’ she raised a hand, ‘please just go home.’
‘I want to talk. Weneedto talk.’ He stepped inside and removed his coat, placing it atop the welcome desk.
Noting this, she said, ‘But you were warned to stay away.’
‘Lucia . . . I want to apologise properly.’
‘What for?’ She put her hands defensively on her hips.
‘I’m sorry about what happened today. And I acknowledge that I’ve also been difficult these past few weeks.’
Lucia let her hands drop to her sides. ‘Really?’
‘Of course.’ He ran his hands through his hair and began pacing the space between Lucia and the front door. ‘I’ve been on tight deadlines with work, and my sleep – let’s not even go there. I’ve been going through some things these past few weeks, and I guess I foolishly chose you to project some of that on.’
Lucia stifled a laugh. ‘I guess I could say the same, actually. I’m stretched thin to the point of transparency at the moment.’
Alex stopped and turned to face her. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘I’m hoping for the best.’ Her eyes met his, and that intoxicating gaze returned. That more vulnerable, soft version of Alex stood in front of her now. She cleared her throat. ‘Shall we just start over?’
‘Please.’
She smiled. ‘Va bene. Tomorrow is a new day.’
Alex exhaled a relieved sigh, collected his coat, and allowed Lucia to show him to the door. A foot from the school’s entrance he stopped short. ‘If I can hel—’ he began, half turning, but his sudden change in direction caused Lucia to slam into him. Instinctively, Alex caught her in his arms to stop her from falling backwards, and in the process drew her close.
Irrespective of her heeled boots, Lucia was tall; a match Alex had rarely known. Their eyes levelled and the air thickened, as if it were the mud of the shallows in the backwaters of the lagoon. His deep cinnamon eyes latched on to hers, and she couldn’t help but notice how he smelled of soap and fresh linen. She felt herself relax against him, and could sense his grasp on her tighten.
For reasons she couldn’t articulate, Lucia didn’t fight this moment as she sensed she normally would have. She could feel Alex’s heart beating feverishly through his warm layers, in contrast to her own which seemed to have settled into a new, comfortable rhythm.
Comfortable?
She watched as Alex’s eyes moved to her lips, just as they had done at Il Camino, and for a moment he seemed lost in his thoughts. Then he caught his lower lip with his teeth, and Lucia felt his grip tighten again.
She wasn’t imagining things when his head dipped lower, nor had she misread the way his lips gathered in a wistful smile as he did so. She couldn’t have predicted how her hands would somehow cling fiercely to his forearms – thosedelicious, commanding forearms – as she rose to her toes, but none of that mattered.
Not in the slightest.
Because that was when Francesco, distracted by music in his AirPods, waltzed casually through the front door, completely extinguishing the moment.
‘Permesso?’ he called, removing the pods from his ears, and his expression immediately faltered upon seeing the pair entangled in each other’s arms.
Lucia was the first to pull away, but Alex’s hands seemed to linger on her for a beat longer.
‘Sì, sì,’ Lucia said, righting the hem of her jumper.
Francesco blinked and said, ‘Erm. Do you . . . two . . . need a moment?’ His startled, incredulous eyes flicked between them.
‘No,’ Alex said quietly, ‘I was just leaving.’ He collected his coat from where it had fallen at their feet and locked eyes with Lucia. ‘Scusami.’ Then, he disappeared across the street.
It wasn’t until the door of La Commedia had closed securely behind Alex that Francesco turned to Lucia, and with raised eyebrows asked, ‘So, how did thecomunego?’
‘I received a warning. Better than expected, yes, but still not great,’ she said, making her way across the room.
