‘I hope you’ve at least put on about a stone in weight. That will be my one compensation for losing you to Italy for four months. You have to promise me you’ll come back fat.’
‘I’ll certainly try my best! Though I’m sure I’m burning rather a lot of calories simply going up and down the stairs – there is not one flat path in the whole village. It’s like living on a StairMaster!’
Satisfied that they were both fully up to date with each other’s lives, they hung up the phone, leaving Libby to immerse herself in her novel for the rest of the afternoon. She had tried her sister again but still had no luck getting through.
Before Libby could catch her breath, her working week was over once again. Her two days off stretched out luxuriously in front of her. She was delighted that Luca had once again negotiated the same day off as her, secretly thrilled that he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Today they were planning on driving to Ravello. They set off mid-morning and wound their way up the perilous roads once more, veering across to Amalfi and then further up the Via del Dragone high into the hills.
‘I’m impressed with your driving skills,’ Libby told Luca as he negotiated his way past an enormous bus packed full of tourists that had broken down on a hairpin turn. She found his coordination and confidence on these difficult-to-navigate roads very attractive.
‘I’ve grown up driving on these roads. It’s not the easiest place to learn, but once you’ve mastered driving here, you can drive anywhere!’
Luca was wearing khaki shorts and a blue T-shirt and Libby’s heart had skipped a beat when she had seen him that morning. He wouldn’t have looked out of place on the big screen, he was so perfectly chiselled. Libby felt a wave of attraction for him, and for a moment regretted the huge quantities of pasta, pizza and ice cream she had been enjoying. She sucked her stomach in, hoping Luca wouldn’t notice her expanding waistline.
She drank in the breathtaking views as they drove. ‘Luca, what’s the deal with you and Giulia?’ she asked, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.
‘Deal? What do you mean?’
‘Is there any history between the two of you?’
‘Why do you ask?’
‘Just a feeling!’
‘Well now you mention it, we may have hooked up a couple of times.’
‘I knew it!’
‘How?’
‘Something about the way she is around you…’
‘It’s my fault. I should never have gone there. As soon as I did it, I realised that it was a bad idea – don’t mix work with pleasure and all that…’
‘Well, I can see why that’s a good philosophy. Not great if things go wrong.’ Libby wondered what had happened, but she didn’t want to pursue the conversation further. Not for the first time she considered whether Giulia had warned her off out of jealousy or out of compassion? It was hard to tell.
Luca parked his car on the outskirts of the town and they wandered through the cobbled streets, drinking in the divine panoramic views that had made the town so famous. Libby thought of Wagner, D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf, who had all fallen in love with Ravello. She was amazed at just how much she remembered about Italy from her studies. It was as if the wealth of information she had accumulated over the years had lain dormant and was now welling up inside her, fuelling her love for this magical place more and more.
‘Let’s head to the piazza,’ said Luca. ‘There’s a market on every Tuesday morning, selling local produce.’
‘Ooh yum!’ said Libby, rubbing her hands with glee. ‘Great idea!’
They pottered around the market tasting the local delicacies, laughing at some of the more interesting designer clothes on sale. They had lunch in a small café in the shade of a canopy of bougainvillea, eating risotto and drinking white wine. Luca was a truly entertaining guy and she found herself laughing out loud at the stories he had accumulated from years of working at La Casetta.
‘There was this one German guy who, after too many drinks, decided that he would try and balance on the railings out on the terrace like a tightrope walker.’
‘No!’ gasped Libby. ‘That’s so dangerous – he must have been crazy.’
‘Tell me about it. Maria screamed and as soon as I realised what was happening I ran out to grab him, pulling him towards me to get him down to safety. He landed right on top of me, knocking me over in the process. Thankfully he was safe… The only problem was that he had decided to strip naked beforehand. I ended up with my face wedged into his crotch.’
Libby cupped her hand over her mouth, laughing as she imagined the scene.
‘Let’s just say it was the first and hopefully the last time that I will ever be getting quite so up close and personal with a male customer!’
‘If it had been a female customer you wouldn’t have minded so much, right?’ she teased him.
‘That depends,’ laughed Luca.
After lunch, Luca had to get back in time to start his shift. Libby left him at La Casetta and made her way down to the beach. If she were being honest with herself she felt a bit disappointed that – despite his flirting – he still hadn’t made a move. It had to be all talk and no action, she reasoned. He clearly didn’t fancy her. She told herself off for caring. She found herself thinking about what she should be looking for in a partner. She wished she knew. Chemistry was vital, definitely, but she knew how important it was to have someone kind, dependable, someone who would be good with her family, a great father… It was a lot to ask. Did people really just know when they met the one?
