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“Georgie, someone else has been captured by your beauty?” asked a male voice behind him.
Harper saw her fear turn to a smile of greeting. But it wasn’t for Harper. It was for the gentleman behind him. And, for the second time today, he was shocked to see who it was: Jakob Lipori, in the flesh.
“How do you do, Stranger. I’m Jakob.” He stuck out his hand.
Harper had been trained to be wary, especially in shaking hands with known terrorists as there were many ways a lethal dose of poison could be exchanged that way. Harper coughed into his hands and then shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I have a cold. I best not shake hands. But it’s nice to meet you.” He nodded, rubbing his palms together, trying to appear contrite. He got a distrusting glare from Lipori.
“Georgie, you know this man?” he asked her without taking his eyes from Harper’s.
For an instant, fear flashed across her face. Then she ran over to him and allowed his arms to encircle her. “You are so silly and too jealous. I’ve never seen him before, so stop teasing me, Jakob. You’re not being polite.”
“I think it’s time we went home,” he answered, leaning in for a kiss he did not land.
“I barely got set up. Let me stay an hour or two longer.”
“We don’t need the money today. Come. I’ll help you pick everything up.”
“I’m so sorry,” interrupted Harper. “Apparently, I’ve caused something I didn’t intend. She was just going to sell me some of those.” He pointed to the gloriosa daisies in the bucket at his feet. “They are my girlfriend’s favorite flower, and she’d be delighted. Please, I must insist. You totally misunderstand me, sir.”
“See what you’ve done, Jakob? You’ve ruined my first sale of the day. Now go away and leave me alone. This is my business. I’ll be home by three.”
Lipori didn’t like the situation and stood close by, protectively guarding the space between Harper and the woman called Georgie. Harper was sure she was his wife. But was she also a wife or partner of Lipori as well? And how could all this have happened?
Whistles came from the direction of the truck and car. Harper turned to see Lipori’s men standing nearby, waiting for him.
“I’ve got to talk to them. Georgie, do your transaction, and I’ll be right over in a minute to help you close up.” To Harper, he focused his dark eyes and, without a smile, added, “Thank you for your business.” He jogged to the little gathering of men he came with. They took off in the truck, leaving Lipori behind with the car.
Lydia quickly wrapped the daisies in newspapers, stapling them secure, and handed him the bouquet.
“Ten U.S. dollars please. I assume you have this?”
“Yes, I do.” Holding the bouquet in the crook of his elbow with his left arm, he reached into his jacket vest pocket for his wallet and produced the ten. He also passed to her a card with his phone number on it. “Just let me know when.”
“Anything else you like?” she asked, taking the money and the card, putting it in her pocket.
He didn’t want to end the conversation, and apparently, she didn’t either. They were limited to speaking about the bright red tomatoes he loved, and he pointed to the loaf of bread when she told him she’d baked it herself last night.
She put everything in a plastic bag, carefully handling the tomatoes, nearly bursting with ripeness. He wanted to take her hand, to pull her aside and kiss her. He was desperate to continue the encounter, but Lipori was upon them in a flash.
“My goodness, you’ve nearly cleaned her out. She’s famous for her tomatoes. You must love them.”
“When in Italy, you know how it goes. Caprese salads are my favorite.” It was the truth, but he still felt dumb admitting it. Adjusting the bag and still holding on to the bouquet, he nodded to both of them. “It was nice to meet you. I’m only here for a couple of days, so perhaps we’ll meet again, but perhaps not. Thank you for these!” he said, holding up the bag.
“You need any help?” Lipori asked. Behind him, Lydia was putting boxes of vegetables and buckets of flowers away in the truck.
“I’m just a few blocks away,” Harper lied. “I need the exercise.” He took off in the direction of the corner. With his back turned to Lipori and Lydia, he placed his finger to his lips when he saw his Teammates drive slowly by with his cappuccino.
After he turned the corner, the car met him after they’d rounded the whole block. He had not seen Lipori’s men anywhere, but he kept looking.
Hamish was the driver. “We got your double. How come you walked right past us?”
“As you can see, Hamish, I have my hands full. Did you notice the cart in the roundabout?”
“A woman and a man. I saw them,” said Sam, sitting next to Hamish and holding Harper’s coffee. “And by the way, you’re fuckin’ welcome.” He stuck his arm out in front of Hamish, through the open window.
Hamish wasn’t liking the arm in the face. “Dammit, Sam. Let me have that. What’s he going to do, balance it on the top of his head?”
Sam began a retort until Harper interrupted him.
