‘Do you come over often from LA?’
‘Not often enough,’ he said, thoughtfully. ‘Maybe seven times in the last ten years, but I want to start coming back a lot more. I need to. It’s like plugging myself back in to charge when I’m here. My brother and his wife are here and a lot of my childhood friends live in the town. Even after all these years, it still feels like home.’
‘Me and Holly went to nursery together, so I know exactly what you mean. It’s important to stay connected to the people who know you best. It can be lonely going from job to job, working in new teams with new people all the time. Deep connection is rare these days.’
Holly came rushing over, in a flap.
‘I’m so sorry, Abs, that took way longer than expected. Are you OK?’ She turned to Tony. ‘Hi, again. I’m Holly. Would you like another drink? A coffee? What can I get you both?’
‘No, I’m done,’ I said, giving Tony a heated look. ‘Don’t worry, Hols, you’ve got a restaurant to run. I’m going to head back. Thank you – and Xavier – for an amazing dinner.’
‘Just the check for me too,’ Tony said. ‘And please pass on my compliments to the chef.’
‘Thank you – he’ll appreciate that. He works so hard.’ Holly looked lovingly back at Xavier, plating up yet another intricately artistic dish and drizzling it with something delicious. She flicked through her notepad and ripped out Tony’s bill, presenting it to him with a flourish, as she looked at me with a questioning eyebrow. He gave it a cursory glance and handed over a wad of euros. I nodded.
‘Tony, this is a bit of a strange one, but you seem like a nice guy,’ Holly started. ‘Would you mind seeing Abi home? She’s only staying down the road and Xavier would normally go, but he’s up to his neck in the kitchen.’
‘What?! No! I’m fine on my own,’ I said, faux-mortified.
‘I’d feel better knowing someone was with you,’ Holly insisted. It had been a while since we’d played this game, but it always worked. A way to gauge interest in a potential suitor. We’d started doing it in sixth form and had polished up the acting over the years. There was no better wingman than Holly on a night out, but she always gave me a sign to check I was interested first.
‘It would be my pleasure,’ Tony replied, as I smiled over his head at Holly.
‘Honestly, I’m only a few minutes away,’ I protested.
‘Then it’ll only take a few minutes to see you safely home,’ he said, firmly.
I shrugged. ‘Fine. As long as you’re happy with a backie on my bike.’
‘A… what?’
‘It’s where you hang off the back of my bike, and I try not to kill us both.’
‘Sounds like fun – I’m in,’ he said, eyes shining.
I gave Holly a hug.
‘Three rings when you’re back, yeah?’ she said, and I rolled my eyes.
The warm night air hit us as we left the restaurant, the chatter of diners quietening down as we walked towards the bike I’d borrowed from the vineyard. It didn’t look strong enough for the two of us. It wasn’t really strong enough for one of us, but it would have to do its best.
‘OK, you sit on the saddle,’ I said, holding on to the handlebars. After three red wines, the bike felt like a tricky piece of machinery to manoeuvre, but it’d all come back to me once we were on the move.
‘Seems safe so far,’ he said, sitting comfortably.
‘Right, I’ve got this,’ I said hooking my feet into the pedals, while Tony stuck out his big, man legs.
‘Be gentle with me,’ he said, sounding worried, as I wobbled us down the road, slowly at first, then speeding up as we flew down the hill. The brakes screeched as we skidded in through the entrance, nearly hitting theVigneto Almagnosign and I pedalled hard to get us to the front door – a nice bit of cardio to finish the night off.
‘You’re staying here?’ Tony sounded surprised. ‘Isn’t this a vineyard?’
‘Good local knowledge! They’ve just started doing bed and breakfast – literally this week. I’m one of their first guests.’
‘Really?’ he said, brushing himself down as he got off the bike. ‘I didn’t know. How is it?’
‘Gorgeous! A cool young couple own it and they have puppies!’
‘B&B&P,’ Tony said. ‘Nice idea. Unless you’re a cat, I suppose. Well, I’ve seen you home safely – although it didn’t feel very safe, to be honest.’
