‘Outside would be great. I spend too much time indoors.’ She stepped inside the bright, comfortable space and dumped her bag on a sofa.
He gathered up the place settings, paused to lean in and brush kisses on her cheeks, then went out onto the terrace to the table, calling back to her as he went. ‘Wine, beer, whisky, water, lemonade...?’
‘Wine, please.’ She resisted the temptation to touch her tingling cheeks where his lips had landed.
‘There’s a Chianti open,’ he said. ‘Pour one for me, please.’
She kicked off her sandals before crossing to the bottle of Chianti on the counter and finding two glasses in a cabinet.
He strode back in and leant past her to where the saltimbocca – veal wrapped in prosciutto – sizzled, shaking first that pan and then one of sliced potatoes. ‘There’s a bowl of salad in the fridge and the bread’s in that bag.’ She retrieved both while he set out two plates and swiped the pans clear of the hob. ‘And we’re ready.’ He looked so pleased with himself that Jade laughed as she helped carry everything outside.
A citrus candle to discourage insects added its scent to the appetising, herby aroma of the food. As soon as Jade seated herself, Leo sent her a keen glance. ‘Something up? Your eyes look...’ He made a droopy, sad face.
She wrinkled her nose as she cut her first mouthful. ‘Vittoria and Carlotta are both leaving.’ Her voice carried a tiny tremor.
‘Shit.’ He dropped his fork onto his plate. ‘How will you manage? You’re always under pressure as it is.’
‘I am. I hadn’t realised how much Gran did until I ended up hardly having time off.’ She sipped the rich red wine and it slipped down her throat like liquid velvet. ‘I’ll need to recruit.’ The scrap of paper bearing Geneva’s name and phone number seemed to hang before her eyes, as if it had physically flown to her from Gran’s jewellery box.
‘I’ll help you again until you have new staff,’ he said, breaking off a piece of bread.
Surprised pleasure crept over her like a warm breath. ‘You don’t have to.’
‘It’ll keep me busy. I’ve finished the little jobs that needed doing here,’ he gestured at Villetta Nascosta with his fork, ‘and I’m stuck financially until the bank comes back to me.’ A shadow crossed his face, but then he smiled and banished it.
Her throat constricted at his easy commitment to get up with the birds that were presently filling the evening with song, and work alongside her. It tightened and tightened, until she was unable to force out words of thanks. Then the table, the food, the garden around them, seemed awash.
A scraping of a chair and then he was lifting her, resettling with her on his lap. ‘Hey, hey. That was meant to cheer you up. Don’t cry,tesoro.’
‘I’ve depended on them. I’ll miss them so much.’ Jade managed to gasp the words out. ‘Thank you. I’ll pay you, of course.’
He laughed, stroking her back, kissing away a tear. ‘I’m not that desperate yet.’
And he wouldn’t be moved from that, even when she’d dried her eyes on a napkin – losing most of the mascara she’d applied before leaving home – and he’d returned to his own chair so they could enjoy their fast-cooling crispy potatoes and herby, melt-in-the-mouth veal.
While they ate, he gave her time to recover by telling her how funny Massimo was, clucking around Sofi as if no other woman had ever been pregnant. ‘Mum’s as bad. She can’t wait to meet her grandchild. She said I should practice being Zio Leo.’
When he flitted from one family anecdote to another, she touched his warm, bare forearm. ‘Don’t put an act on for me. You must still be worried sick about your money being stolen.’
He halted, all laughter gone. Slowly, his gaze dropped to his plate. ‘Of course I’m worried sick,’ he said with quiet savagery. ‘It’s made me acutely aware of how you must have felt this summer, with your entire life feeling under threat and out of your control.’
She smoothed her palm over his hot skin, enjoying the brush of his soft body hair. ‘You can’t let me sob all over you – again – and yet cover up your feelings about your shitty situation.’
On a long, long sigh, he reached for his wine. ‘The shitty situation is definitely shit.’ He drank deeply, his handsome face sombre. ‘The bank’s silence is deafening. I knew Isabella’s dad was an arsehole, but not that he was a villain. Maybe I let his cuddly name fool me.’
‘You know it’s definitely him?’ she asked.
He shrugged. ‘No. I just don’t have any other suspects.’
Desultorily, they finished their main course and then the bottle of Chianti. Leo cleared the plates and produced a black-cherry sorbet. ‘Coffee? Or shall I open more wine?’
‘A small coffee.’ She smiled. ‘I get up early.’
Afterwards, when they were loading the dishwasher together, Jade found her heartrate accelerating as she realised Leo was taking care not to brush against her. When she glanced at him, she caught him gazing back.
One corner of his mouth quirked, as if he could hear her heart racing. Maybe she should go now. It would draw a line that said,Sex is not an option, or,I’m not ready, or even,I can’t move on from how you once hurt me.
But her feet remained planted on the tiles. She breathed in, heated despite the air con that had hummed into action when he’d shut the door. His body heat seemed to reach across the small space, drawing her towards him. His eyes grew darker. She licked her lips. ‘I like how you look with your hair longer. Relaxed. Slightly scruffy.’ Reaching up, she touched a fingertipto the soft, straight lock that fell against his cheek, shining in the ceiling light.
