But she did want to date him.
Lila: Private suits me. I understand why you want to keep it quiet. I could just come over to your villa and we could spend time together there?
A furious blush lit up her cheeks at the thought of how that probably sounded. She might have been worried that he’d get the wrong impression, but: a) it wouldn’t entirely have been the wrong impression and b) this was Rowan. He wouldn’t take anything from her that wasn’t freely given. She was sure of that.
Rowan: Thank you for understanding. I want to take you out though. Keeping it low-key doesn’t mean we have to hide completely. We might just have to get creative. In fact, I’ve had an idea for our first date. Just need to check out a few details.
Lila: That sounds intriguing. I can’t wait.
Rowan: Me neither. Can you do this Sunday?
Lila: Yes. Sunday is good.
She rolled her eyes at her word choice again.Life is good. The world is good. Everything is good. And I’m a moron.
Rowan: Roll on Sunday. What are you up to this evening?
Lila: Ruth & I are going out to dinner soon.
Rowan: Enjoy. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Lila wished him a good evening too and dropped her phone back on her stomach. Before she went to pick up her book, she caught Ruth watching her with a knowing eyebrow raised.
‘Okay, spill it.’
‘What?’
‘You’ve been texting for the last twenty minutes and you can’t stop grinning.’ Ruth picked up her pile of washing, holding it against her chest. ‘Who was it?’
‘Oh.’ She cleared her throat and sat up, realising that being in communication with someone like that wasn’t exactly her typical behaviour. She could have just said it was her mom, but she was going to have to come up with a reason for going out on Sunday. ‘Well…you were kind of right.’
‘About?’
‘Me meeting someone on the beach. I didn’t want to say anything, in case nothing came of it, but…he’s asked me out on a date. We’re going out on Sunday.’
Ruth squealed. ‘I knew you were holding out on me. Right, I’m putting these away and then you can tell me all the details over dinner.’
Lila watched her roommate rush off, her mind in a state of blind panic. She hadn’t really through thedetails. What was Ruth going to want to know? How close to the truth was it safe to keep it?
She got up to grab her purse and quickly straighten herself up. When she looked in the mirror to fix her makeup she could see why it had been so obvious to Ruth that something was going on. She looked like someone had changed her low batteries to fully charged ones.
It only took five minutes to get to the little family-runtrattoriathey had started visiting regularly. It was tucked in an alleyway and was too small to attract the increasing trickle of tourists arriving now that May was approaching June. Barely half a dozen tables fit inside with just a few more in a private walled courtyard they lit up with tealights. The furniture was all wooden and worn down from years of use, and the menu was limited to a few signature dishes, which regularly includedpasta alla Norma.The waitress, who was also one of the owners and the wife of the chef, had explained to them it was a local dish that represented Mount Etna, the red tomatoes were the lava, the eggplant or aubergine the cinders, the basil the leafy greenery and the ricotta, crumbled like snow on top. Lila always got it when it was available.
‘You really could have told me,’ Ruth said, taking a sip of her wine once they’d ordered. ‘There’s nothing to be embarrassed about if someone ghosts you. It happens to us all. And I would have been better prepared to dispense the ice-cream and alcohol.’
‘Well, you may yet get your chance,’ Lila pointed out. ‘We haven’t even been on the first date. It might not work out.’ She shrugged, trying to force herself to realise thatwastruly the situation and not to get her hopes up. It was exactly what dates were for. Not that she could remember the last one she’d been on herself.
He might hate the date and find her completely boring and that would be it. Friendship over and then she’d have to face him every day of the production. She’d have to really trust him if she took this risk. But hadn’t she already trusted him with her most neurotic thoughts – well some of them – and hestillwanted to date her.
‘So, what’s his name? What’s he like? I take it he doesn’t work with us?’
Lila grabbed her drink and took a swig, trying to buy herself a moment under the barrage of questioning. What was a male name she could use that wasn’t someone on the crew? The first that came to mind was Mr Darcy and that wasn’t going to be convincing obviously. ‘Colin. His name is Colin and…he’s working here for the summer too, as an, er, entertainer.’
That was just another word for actor, wasn’t it? But she couldn’t think of another reason someone called “Colin” would be on the island apart from if he was working in tourism or on holiday. And if she and Rowan did make it past a couple of weeks, Ruth might start to think it was odd that “Colin” was still around.
Ruth screwed up her nose. ‘An entertainer. Like a red coat?’
‘From the army?’ Lila knew she probably looked equally confused.
