‘Mate’s rates? You should be getting a weekly wage!’ Tony said, with an admiring glance, his glitter mask twinkling.
‘Ah, no, not at all. I like being part of the team, you know? Makes me feel useful.’
‘Fair enough. In that case, we’ll pay you the same way we pay ourselves. In wine. Can I get you one?’
‘Oo, yes please, great idea. Mia? Hols? Do you want a cheeky work wine?’
‘No thanks,’ they replied in unison.
‘Just me and you, then.’ Tony poured us out two glasses and handed me one.
‘Again,’ I said, raising mine. ‘Starting to be a thing.’
‘A toast to the workers,’ he said, with a wink.
‘To the workers.’ I clunked my plastic glass with his and couldn’t help but smile.
‘I can hear my mother in my ear,’ Tony said. ‘We need something to balance all this work out. Let’s have a dance later, shall we?’
‘Good idea. For the sake of balance.’
The party settled down and the guests with children started to drift off home, while others chatted at tables and finished their drinks by candlelight, everyone full of food and wine and cheer. The band were still going strong, and the singer struck up ‘O Sole Mio’, drawing people to the dance floor in excitement.
‘That’s our cue,’ Tony said, holding out his hand.
‘Will you two be OK without us?’ I asked.
Holly nodded vigorously, like an embarrassing mother hen. Very subtle.
‘Of course,’ Mia said. ‘Enjoy yourselves.’
I took Tony’s hand and followed him onto the grass. The moon was up and shining bright and the air was still warm. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been cheek to cheek with someone I had a connection with like this, but somehow, I didn’t feel nervous – it was exciting to be here, with him. I held my breath as he put his arm around my waist and pulled me close, safe in his arms as he led me smoothly around the dance floor, the two of us oblivious to anything but each other, and the music.
*
I lay in bed staring at the moon through my balcony window. Should I knock on Tony’s door or was that too much? He’d had to take another work call and hadn’t come back down and now it was 1 a.m. He’d be asleep. And even if he was awake, what if he wasn’t interested anymore? What if he was? I couldn’t cope with these feelings. This heat and desire. The way he’d held me and twirled me around the dance floor, the way he’d looked at me. It was too special to ignore.
And he was right – the clock was ticking; we weren’t going to be out here together forever. I’d speak to him tomorrow and say yes to dinner. We should at least have one official date before we both went home, even if it was all we ever had.
Twenty
Sunday 1stSeptember
I’d overslept for the first time since time began, after a restless night spent tossing and turning and worrying about what to say to Tony. It had been such a long time since I’d progressed anything with anyone, I’d completely forgotten how to do it. But today was the day. I had to be brave and GO FOR IT for once. For Josh and for Margot and for myself. I woke up bleary-eyed with another Vernaccia-based hangover and spotted a note under my door.
Abs,
Have gone to sort a work emergency – amazing day yesterday!
See you soonest,
Tony xx
See you soonest? What the hell did that mean? I threw on some clothes and ran down to the breakfast room, which was empty – no surprise at 12 p.m. I spotted Paolo asleep on a sun lounger, snoring loudly, just as a bird nose-dived into the pool with an almighty splash. He snorted himself awake and looked around to find the culprit who had woken him.
‘Paolo, do you know where Tony has gone?’ I asked, taking my opportunity to quiz him while his eyes were open.
He was still highly medicated and looked confused at the question, but answered it nonetheless. ‘To work,’ he said, groggily, before closing his eyes again. ‘Some problem only he could sort out.’
