And when they were both spent and panting, sweat cooling on his lower back, he didn’t even want to know what time it was and whether he was going to miss his delivery at the shop.
‘I’m having an amazing time.’
Gabri couldn’t help looking up from his workbench at her words, spoken into her phone as she wandered around his shop in Sant’Andrea. Did she mean the food or the sex or the sunshine? Was she even telling the truth, since there were some other things she was certainly hiding from her mother, on the other end of the phone?
He liked the way she dawdled through his shop, eyes bright, fingers busy on the potted plants. She was wearing a dress today – light and breezy, falling to mid-thigh – and a pair of sandals, since he wasn’t dragging her out into the forest.
‘No, I’m in Gabri’s shop,’ she continued, a faint smile on her lips. ‘H— She closed it this week for my visit, but there’s an order coming today. Wedding stuff. No, not the flowers. It’s too early for that.’
Toni stilled, listening, and he suspected what was about to come.
‘I suppose, if you want to see it,’ she blurted out. ‘No, she’s not here right now.’ This time, her grimace was sent in his direction, her scrunched-up features making him laugh, even as his insides also squeezed at her words.
Throwing up his hands and glancing around in disgruntlement, he gestured towards the door to the storeroom with a roll of his eyes, stepping out of sight as she pulled the phone from her ear to turn on the video.
‘It’s a bit like a forest in here – but it smells sweeter.’
Gabri leaned his head against the wall and just listened, wondering why everything she said sounded intimate.
‘Here are the orchids. Apparently, there’s a place on the island where you can see them in the wild. No, that’s not where we went foraging yesterday. I don’t know if you can see this properly, but it’s all different kinds of moss. Gabri’s really interested in using wild flowers and local and seasonal blooms.’ She paused. ‘No, I don’t know how long she’s had the shop. It hasn’t come up in conversation.’
He squeezed his eyes shut. There was a lot that hadn’t come up.
‘No, she doesn’t have any children. Look at these begonias, Mum.’ That was a poor attempt to steer the conversation away. ‘You should see the gardens here. People have agave and bird of paradise and bromeliads growing outdoors. No, you won’t need a car to see most things.’
Her voice grew quieter as she stepped out into the little cobbled square with glimpses of the marina, where the sailboats bobbed in the wind. It was the scirocco wind today – stern and dry and stifling hot, even on the northern side of the island that was protected by Monte Capanne.
Gabri slinked back to his workbench to continue unpacking.
‘I’m fine, Mum.’ Toni’s grumble carried through the open door. Why wouldn’t she be fine? ‘Just because I had a wedding once a long time ago isn’t going to make me sad about this job. I’ve had nine years to get used to the idea that he’s gone.’ Another pause. ‘No, I havenotbeen enjoying that kind of scenery, Mum!’ Her voice was high now. ‘You should stop watching those short travel videos and don’t let Dad hear you say all Italian men are attractive.’ The last part was said through gritted teeth, but the words came through to him loud and clear, although he had no idea why she was talking about attractive Italian men with her mother.
She came through the door without warning, holding up her phone, and he panicked, dropping down behind his workbench in case he was in the back of her video. Striking his knee on the floor, he muttered curses as quietly as he could. A moment later, her head appeared around the side of the bench.
‘Are you okay? I came back inside and you did a comedy number and fell to the floor.’
Jumping to his feet, his defensive action was undermined when he slammed his hands onto the counter and knocked a piece of chicken wire up into his arm. ‘I was trying to stay out of your video, so you could preserve your ruse.’
‘Do you think I should tell her you turned out to be a man and I jumped into bed with you after the first two days?’ she asked doubtfully.
‘It’s the truth!’
‘She probably wouldn’t believe me anyway,’ Toni mumbled.
‘What do you want me to do next week? I have to go to the hotel to prepare for the reception. If she sees me with a crate of flowers, shall I tell her I’m Gabri’s assistant?’
Toni gulped and he felt a tingle of remorse for his tone. ‘She won’t be hanging around the reception room and she’ll be busy with Cilli, so I’m sure there’s no reason you’d meet. I’ll just tell her you’re very busy.’
‘You’ll make me sound rude.’
‘My mother making the assumption that you’re rude is the least of our worries,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Why were you talking about attractive Italian men?’
The colour seeping into her cheeks made her look younger – certainly in comparison to the woman he’d seen glimpses of who wore her ageless grief in her eyes. ‘Your compatriots have a reputation. Mum was just teasing me.’
‘It runs in your family?’ he asked gruffly.
She gave him an amused look. ‘Apparently.’
