Later, having enjoyed a delicious bowl of pasta at a trattoria on the sea front, Libby walked back up to La Casetta. She made her way to the bar. Luca poured her a Peroni as soon as he saw her come in and offered it to her as she sat down.
‘Thanks Luca.’
‘Piacere,’ he said. ‘Where have you been?’
‘I just went down to the beach to watch the sunset.’
‘Beautiful, eh?’
‘Stunning. I ate at Luigi’s on the sea front and went for a little walk around town.’
‘Good choice,’ laughed Luca. ‘Luigi’s was set up by my great-uncle!’
‘Really?’ Libby smiled. She supposed there were a lot of family connections within Positano.
‘I’ll take you there some time and introduce you. He’s a real character; he has so many stories about this place.’
‘I’d love that,’ said Libby. ‘You are going to be my tour guide by the sounds of it.’
‘Well, I don’t do that for just anyone, I can tell you,’ laughed Luca. ‘Only the most beautiful women.’
Libby couldn’t help laughing at his outrageous flirting. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’
‘No, no! Only the genuinely deserving. And you, Libby, are extremely beautiful.’
‘So… I take it you don’t have a girlfriend?’ Libby cut to the chase.
‘No, no, no. What do you take me for?’ asked Luca. ‘Who would want monogamy?’
‘Lots of people,’ Libby retorted. ‘Most people, in fact, I’d say.’
‘Monogamy is an unnatural state of affairs, if you ask me. Sooner or later, someone gets bored, they see someone they like and…ecco!They have cheated. Heartbreak follows, everyone is upset – a recipe for disaster.’ She thought of Angus’s reaction if he were to hear this and could imagine him rolling his eyes in despair.
‘Well, when you put it like that, it does sound fairly depressing I admit.’ Perhaps there was still time for her to have some fun before reality kicked in…
‘Exactly.’
‘But don’t some women refuse to be with you unless they are in a relationship?’
‘True. So in my eyes, honesty is the best policy. I always say from the start to any women I like that I can’t promise anything. Though, I must say, when I fall in love, I want to spend all my time with that one person, it’s just… sooner or later I fall out of love and then…’ He tailed off, looking rueful.
‘Sounds as if you know yourself pretty well,’ Libby said. She knew this should put her off him but, on the plus side, could Luca be the perfect holiday fling? There would clearly be absolutely no strings attached; just a bit of fun during the summer.
At that moment Maria came in from the back with a box full of bottles that looked twice her weight. ‘Maria, give that to me! It’s far too heavy for you to be carrying!’ Luca scolded her.
‘Thanks Luca,’ said Maria, panting slightly from the exertion. ‘We need to change the barrel on the beer, too – it’s about to run out.’
‘I’ll go and do that now. Are you OK here?’ he asked.
‘Sure,’ said Maria. She poured herself a glass of water. The Americans had all gone out on the town, suitably fuelled with beer, and the customers in the bar were disappearing in dribs and drabs into the cool evening. Maria and Libby chatted for a while.
‘So Maria, what do you do?’ asked Libby. ‘Apart from working here.’
‘I’m a student,’ said Maria. ‘This is my holiday job – I work here during my vacations from uni.’
‘What do you study?’
‘Hospitality.’
