‘Fine,’ she insisted. ‘It’s been years. It’s fine. I need to do this.’
‘“It’s been years,” and “It’s fine,” don’t necessarily follow each other,’ he commented carefully.
She studied him and he glimpsed a depth of feeling he didn’t dare scrutinise for too long. ‘I’ll manage.’
He believed her.
‘Why didn’t you tell me – tell the female version of me – that you’d lost your husband?’ Perhaps the question was blunt and unfair, but it burned in him nonetheless. ‘Especially since you blurted it out to the stranger flirting with you at the ferry port.’
Her gaze ranged around the restaurant as she considered her answer. ‘I told you to put you off – so you’d realise my teasing was just meaningless flirting and I wasn’t trying out for a partin that romantic film.’ She considered him for a moment. ‘And it worked, didn’t it? Like a bucket of ice.’
An unwelcome prickle showered over his skin, as though she might see something he was trying to hide. ‘Meaningless flirting,’ he repeated with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. His intention with this meal was to make her feel comfortable again, but he wondered for a moment whether they’d ruined the friendship entirely with just a few moments of playful conversation.
‘May I serve the food?’
Gabri snapped his eyes open at the quiet question in Italian from the waiter. ‘Sì, sì, certo,’ he mumbled in reply.
‘Mi scusi. I was worried you two had just broken up.’
Gabri couldn’t help a chuckle as the waiter hurried to place their dishes in front of them.
‘What did he say?’ Toni asked.
Leaning over his calzone pizza, he explained in a low voice, ‘He thought this was a break-up talk. I think he was worried you were about to storm out.’
‘Oh God,’ she said with a laugh, ‘we’re giving off disaster vibes.’
Sharing the amusement created another bubble around them. He’d intended to reiterate his invitation to stay, but did he want her in his house with thesevibes?
‘If we’ve already flirted and then broken up today, do you think we’ll ever get to the friendship?’ The catch in her voice was impossible to miss. ‘I just wanted an uncomplicated holiday, away from all the people who pity me, no extra mouth to feed for a week. You know, I wasn’t even sure whether to come.’
With a shrug that seemed more defeated than his impression of her from their online conversations, she lifted her fork to try her linguini. The small sigh she gave was gratifying. At least he’d provided a meal she enjoyed.
‘Okay, I don’t regret coming. This is delicious. Italian restaurants in England are good, but this is divine.’
‘You said you hadn’t been abroad on holiday for years,’ he remembered as he sliced open his calzone to release steam scented with smoked ham.
‘Since my son was born, we’ve only ever flown to see his grandparents in Vienna once. But they’ve both died and we haven’t been anywhere since.’
There was little inflection in her tone, but the words still lodged in his skin like a splinter. He wasn’t sure he liked it, but this wasToniin front of him, the friend who’d patiently answered his rambling messages about wanting too much in life and losing sight of the simple things like fresh food and nature.
Now he fully understood her situation, his course of action was clear. ‘We’ll get to friendship, Toni,’ he assured her. ‘We started today with the wrong foot, but in truth, we’re in the same position. There is attraction perhaps – I mean, from my side, I won’t deny it – but we are both clear there’s no place for romance, so why not friends?’
Her eyes fluttered closed. ‘I really don’t think friends are supposed to admit to being attracted to each other.’ When her eyes blinked open again, they were bright and narrowed and full of spark.
‘I said I wanted to be honest. But if you’d prefer, I suppose I can pretend you are the man I thought you were.’
‘What did you picture for this week? Cans of beer and fishing?’
He grimaced. ‘You don’t like beer? I bought some crates.’
‘I like beer,’ she reassured him with a wry smile, scooping a clam out of its shell. He thought of her comment about the extra mouth to feed and had the urge to find her all the best food on the island. ‘But I’d pictured wine or spritz at a bar.’
‘I can do that.’
‘And paint your nails and do a facial while watchingGilmore Girls?’
He gave her a pained glance as he cut a slice of his calzone, but before he could manage a response, she laughed and shook her head.
