A Place in the Sun

  In those two weeks, I kept careful watch for Gianluca. Sometimes I’d catch sight of a man with his build or hair coloring and try to convince myself I’d seen him, but I never really did. I even made a point to walk by the shuttered bed and breakfast to check for any activity, but Massimo and Gianluca kept it locked. In the two weeks I’d been in Vernazza, no one had entered the building. Shame, really. It was in such a brilliant location, right across the square from my hotel, which meant it had a view of the sea rather than the terraced hills. They were mad men to let it sit there, empty.

  …

  “Georgie, put the box down. You don’t need another pair.”

  I was helping Katerina in her shop. She’d tasked me with unpacking leather sandals and I’d set aside a strappy pair that happened to be in my size.

  “But I don’t have this style yet.”

  “You’ve bought four pairs already. No one needs that many leather sandals.”

  She was wrong. I did. I tucked the box behind the counter for safekeeping and got back to work unloading and displaying the shoes the way she liked.

  “I can’t keep having you work here for free.”

  I shrugged. “Are you saying I’m hired?”

  “I can’t afford to pay you.”

  I shrugged again. “Wow. Fired on my first day.”

  She laughed. “How about I repay you with a lovely meal instead?”

  I turned over my shoulder to watch her going at it with a mannequin, trying to stuff it into a thin, fabulous sundress.

  “WAIT,” I said, pushing to my feet. “I need that dress. Don’t bother finishing what you’re doing.”

  She groaned. “I’ve been at it for ten minutes already!”

  I didn’t let her argue. I pulled the dress out of her hands and laid it on top of my pair of leather sandals.

  “Now what were you going on about? A meal?”

  “I want to cook something at my flat. It’s not a posh place or anything, but it’d fit the four of us.”

  “Four?”

  I dreaded the idea of another blind date.

  “You, me, Massimo, and Gianluca.”

  I turned round before she could see my smile.

  “Sound good? I’ve already asked the boys if they’re free.”

  “And are they?” I croaked.

  “Yes. Massimo said they’ll be round at eight, so wear that sundress you just stole from me and be there at seven to help me cook.”

  I laughed. “I thought this was a thank-you meal?”

  “No. The dress is your thank you. I need help cooking.”

  I grinned. “Deal.”

  …

  I knocked on Katerina’s door at 6:55 PM and she opened it with a big, exhausted sigh.

  “I’m so glad you’re here!”

  She stepped back and waved me in hurriedly, telling me to stow my things in her room to the left. Her apartment was small and ancient, but she’d made it into a lovely space. She’d hung art all over the walls, not just in the normal spots. Paintings and drawings and art prints covered nearly an entire wall in the living room.

  She noticed me inspecting them. “At the market, artists come and sell their paintings and things. I can’t bear to see the good ones go unsold.”

  “It’s beautiful, really.”

  And I meant it. I’d never seen a space filled with such care and love. She had fresh hydrangeas on the coffee table and books stacked to the ceiling in the corners, no shelves in sight. Whatever she’d started to prepare in the small kitchen smelled absolutely divine, fresh garlic and onion, I thought.

  “You didn’t wear the sundress,” she frowned, taking in my t-shirt and shorts.

  I patted my bag. “I didn’t want to spoil it while we cooked. I’ll change before the boys get here.”

  She grinned. “Perfect! You’re on salad duty.”

  After I’d stowed my things, she gave me the grand tour of her kitchen. It was tiny, hardly enough space for one person to cook, let alone two. The appliances had probably been around during World War II, but she’d done up the place as best she could. Her cabinets had a fresh coat of white paint and she had pretty wine bottles on display on the bar between the living room and kitchen.

  “I love it in here, Kat.”

  “Me too. You should have seen it when I first moved in though. The place was full of rotted wood and there were leaks everywhere.”

  “You fixed it up yourself?”

  She laughed. “God no. I hung up the decor and painted the cabinets, but Luca did all the construction. Replaced all the leaky pipes and things. Boring stuff, but he’s brilliant at it.”

  I tucked away that bit of information, careful not to seem too interested by it. Ever since Katerina had informed me that I was the latest in a line of women who’d gone gaga for Gianluca, I tried my hardest to train my features into neutral expressions. I didn’t want her to think I was pining for him or anything. Truthfully, I just wanted another chance to be around him. Even with his sullen demeanor, he was the most interesting man I’d ever come across, and despite the fact that he’d been nearly mute in our few encounters, I knew he had more to say. It was in his eyes. They were a deep chocolate brown and they seemed to carry the weight of his unspoken words.

  I took all my salad ingredients to the dining table so I could chop things out of Katerina’s way.

  “Everything you’ve got there was picked from Massimo’s farm! He dropped it off this morning.”

  I cut up big, ripe bell peppers and stole a slice or two when Katerina was too busy to notice. She was sautéing the onions and garlic, making a delicious-smelling sauce for the chicken. After I’d finished chopping and preparing the salad, I poured us big glasses of wine and set up a little radio she kept in the corner beside the book stacks. She had it programmed to a popular station and we went to work, drinking and prepping with Italian pop songs on in the background.

  I set the table and lit a few candles in the middle. I cut up large pieces of crusty bread and arranged them on a little plate with a pat of butter. Katerina pulled the chicken out of the oven, covered it to keep it warm, and then we hurried to change before the boys arrived. They were due any minute and I had an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach, a swirl of butterflies at the idea of seeing Gianluca again. I prayed he wouldn’t cancel last minute.

  “Oh god,” she groaned. “I sort of hate you for looking that good.”

  I laughed and twirled around in my new blue dress. “It’s not me, it’s the dress.”

  The light, silky material spun around my legs.

  She shook her head. “It’s lovely, but you’re wrong. Your hair has gone a bit lighter from the sun and your arms are a lovely brown now. You’re tan and toned from all the swimming you’ve been doing. You’re in full Italian mode and you’re practically glowing from it.”

  A knock sounded from the front door before I could let her compliments sink in.

  She clapped excitedly. “They’re here!”

  I followed her out into the living room as she rushed to the door. Massimo was standing on the other side with a bottle of wine in his hands. Gianluca stood behind him, a little taller, with his hands tucked into his pockets. His medium-length brown hair was styled away from his face, wavy and blissfully thick. He’d dressed up in a pair of dark jeans and a white button-down. The color complimented his tan skin and I was struck again by how excruciatingly beautiful he was. He stepped past the door, saw me standing near the coffee table, and offered up a small, easy smile. My heart nearly broke from the sight of it.

  Katerina kissed Massimo and accepted the bottle of wine from his hands. Then, she popped up onto her tiptoes and planted two kisses on Gianluca’s cheeks. I wrung out my hands as Massimo stepped forward to greet me, planting two kisses on my cheeks and then turning to compliment the table arrangement.

  “You’ve cooked my favorite sauce, haven’t you?” he asked, turning to Katerina with a giant, cheesy grin.

  She smiled coyly and I tur
ned back to Gianluca, aware that he had ducked past the door and we still hadn’t really said a proper greeting. I turned to face him and he stepped forward. My heart shot up into my throat as he bent to kiss me. To him, it was all very polite and customary, but I nearly fainted from the feel of his lips on my cheeks. God, it was an intimate greeting, wasn’t it? I could have turned my face an inch to the left and oops, his mouth would have been on mine.

  “You look lovely,” he said, admiring my dress with a quick gaze down my body before turning his attention to Katerina.

  I swallowed past the lump in my throat and turned to cover my blushing cheeks. “Thanks.”

  Lord it was annoying how much I clammed up when he was around. I’d never gone this mental over a man before.

  “I’ll pour some wine,” I said, my voice a bit peaky. I turned quickly and set out doing tasks that kept me flitting around the apartment. I brought Massimo and Gianluca full glasses of red wine then tossed the dressing into the salad. I set everything out onto the table and relit a candle that had blown out. Katerina laughed and asked if I was all right when I’d set out cutting up even more bread. She put her hand over mine to stop me from slicing. “I think we’ve got enough bread to feed the village. C’mon, let’s sit.”

  Gianluca pulled my chair out for me and I squeaked out a quiet thank you.

  Katerina poured the sauce over the chicken and set it down on the table. We had loads of food and more wine than we knew what to do with. I gulped down another long sip and draped my napkin over my lap, aware of how close Gianluca was sitting to my left. Katerina’s table was small and we were sort of crammed together over the food and candles. It was heaven, all of it. She’d left her windows open, so a soft breeze swelled in every now and then, spreading goosebumps over my bare arms.

  Gianluca noticed. I saw him glance over and furrow his brow. I thought for a second he’d say something or offer to shut the windows, but he swallowed and turned his attention back to his chicken. Massimo broke the silence.

  “Georgie, what are we going to do once you’ve left Vernazza? Katerina says you’ve been helping in the shop a lot lately.”

  She moaned. “Don’t even bring it up. I don’t want to think about it.”

  I laughed. “I actually think I might stay on a bit longer. I asked Chiara about a prolonged stay at the hotel.”

  Massimo’s brows arched. “Really? That’s great!”

  “What will you do?” Gianluca asked. “If you stay?”

  “It’s not like she needs a job or anything, Luca,” Katerina chimed in, hinting at the posh life I’d left behind in England.

  “I think I’d like one, though,” I admitted. “I’ve loved exploring and relaxing, but I can’t just loll about all day, every day.”

  Katerina frowned. “I really don’t think I could hire you on right now. This is my busy season, but I have to save up everything I earn for when things slow down in the winter.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry, Kat, I know you can’t hire me on. I have a different idea.”

  “What is it? Have you been offered a job somewhere else?”

  “If it’s at one of the restaurants in the square, I wouldn’t bother,” Massimo added. “You can come work for me and I’ll give you real hours. Whatever you need.”

  I reached for my wine, took another gulp, and turned my attention to Gianluca.

  “Actually…I was thinking I could purchase the bed and breakfast and fix it up.”

  THE THREE OF them stared at me as if I’d gone mad.

  “What do you mean you want to buy it?” Katerina asked.

  Gianluca cut her off. “It’s not for sale.”

  Massimo leaned forward and propped his hand on Gianluca’s shoulder. “Let’s hear her out. For the right price, anything is possible…”

  “No. Absolutely not.”

  “You haven’t even heard what she has to say yet!” Katerina said, defusing the intense stare-down developing across the table.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Massimo grunted. “It might matter. We aren’t all living like you, Luca.”

  Gianluca shot him a sharp glare. “You have more than you need with the farm and restaurant. That inn belonged to Nonna and it’s been in the family for centuries. We aren’t going to sell it to the first tourist who throws us an offer.”

  “So to honor our heritage, we let it rot instead?” blustered Massimo.

  Once the dust had settled on his words, three sets of eyes turned to me expectantly.

  “If you aren’t prepared to sell it outright, I have a compromise I think we can all support.”

  Katerina and Massimo whipped their attention to Gianluca. He didn’t make a move to reply right away; I could tell he wanted to put an end to the entire conversation, but eventually, he nodded, giving me the okay to proceed.

  “Right, well like Massimo mentioned, it’s a shame that such a beautiful place has fallen into a state of disrepair. I haven’t seen anyone in or out of the building since the day I arrived. It’s got such a lovely spot in the square and I know the views would draw people in. So, I’d like to help restore the place to its former beauty and reopen it for business.”

  Gianluca assessed me as I spoke, suspicious of my intentions.

  “What would you get out of it?”

  I smiled. “Well, for starters, I’d get the satisfaction of seeing the place up and running again. Second, I could finance the renovation in exchange for a small stake.” He opened his mouth to protest, but I continued on. “So there’s no risk for either of you. When it’s ready to open, you’d have an employee with a vested interest in its success!”

  He reached for his glass of wine and downed the rest of it.

  Massimo laughed. “How long have you been thinking of this?”

  “Oh, not long. An hour, maybe two.”

  Gianluca laughed then, this rich, deep chuckle that swelled a sense of pride inside me. I liked the sound; I wanted him to laugh more, even if it was at my expense.

  “You’ve dreamt this up over the course of an hour or two?” he demanded. “And you expect me to hand over the keys to my family’s business?”

  I rolled my eyes. “That seems a bit dramatic. As of right now, I’d say you’re doing more harm to the family business by letting it completely go to waste. All I’m asking is for you to let me into an empty building, as a partner, to see what we can make of it.”

  “The answer is no. Drop it.”

  Massimo held up his hands. “Now, now. Let’s pour some more wine and talk this over.”

  Gianluca stood from the table so fast he nearly toppled it over. “This is insane. We don’t even know this…this girl!”

  Those words. That was the moment I knew I wouldn’t back down. That exact moment when he pointed to me over the table and couldn’t even remember my name. That’s when I knew I wouldn’t give up until he gave me what I wanted.

  “Katerina, thanks for dinner,” he said, already en route to the door. “Gigi—”

  “MY NAME ISN’T GIGI, YOU INSUFFERABLE GIT.”

  My shouting stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned over his shoulder, narrowed his dark eyes on me, and for the first time, it felt like he really saw me.

  “It’s Georgie,” I said, more calm now that I’d gulped in a few breaths of air. “My name is Georgie.”

  He narrowed his eyes on me for only a moment and then pulled open the front door with enough force to rattle its hinges. He disappeared into the night, the door slammed closed behind him, and the three of us sat in silence for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what had just transpired.

  I cringed, thinking of how much Katerina and Massimo must hate me now that I’d antagonized Gianluca like that. I started to think up some way to apologize for my outburst, but then Massimo started clapping and laughing. It was a small, quiet chuckle at first, but then it grew and picked up steam. Katerina joined in, and then I was helpless to the sound of it.

  “You called him a git
,” Massimo laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.

  “Right, well, the man deserved it.”

  He held up his hands. “I won’t argue that. It’s high time someone knocked some sense into the bloke. I’ve tried to do it for the last five years and I’ve never been able to get a rise like that out of him.”

  I moaned. “Lovely.”

  Katerina leaned over to rub my shoulder. “No, no. Don’t let it get to you.” She waved her hand over the table, where most of our food had gone untouched. “We’ve prepared all this food and we aren’t going to let it go to waste. Massimo, you can tuck into Gianluca’s portion if you’d like, and Georgie, eat up. That sauce takes hours to make and it’s Massimo’s favorite. I absolutely refuse to let this night be ruined by that arsehole.”

  “Aw, c’mon Katerina. You know he means well. Honestly, I’m happy to see any kind of emotion out of him! Anything is better than that mopey stare of his.”

  She waved her hand, not wanting to hear it. For the next few minutes, we ate in silence, too scared to speak and upset her more. Her sauce was delicious, full of butter and garlic. It complimented the chicken perfectly and I’d nearly cleaned my plate before she spoke up again.

  “For the record, I think making over the bed and breakfast is a brilliant idea.”

  WHEN ALLIE AND I moved to Vernazza in the last year of her life, I tried to convince her to help me fix up the bed and breakfast. Nonna would have rolled in her grave if she’d known how far we’d let the building fall into decay. She’d put so much pride and joy into the business when she was alive, but with Massimo running the farm and restaurant and me living in England with Allie, there was no one to help with upkeep. We’d closed it, locked the shutters, and mostly forgotten about it until Allie and I moved back.

  I’d taken her down to the building the first week we’d moved to Vernazza. I’d covered her eyes up and told her to not to peek.

  “What’s going on? Where are you taking me?” she laughed, giddy with excitement.