Page 16 of Winter With You

‘Yes,’ she announced. ‘This is the one. This is the hotel.’

‘The Royce,’ the man said to the barman.

‘OK, gotcha, one Loulou burger to be delivered to The Royce and⁠—’

‘But not yet,’ Gabriella interrupted quickly. ‘And, don’t add it to my bill for the other stuff. I can pay for it now.’

‘O-K.’

‘Here’s my card.’ She took her purse from her handbag and handed over the plastic payment.

‘Give me a minute,’ the barman said, leaving. Gabriella watched him walking over to a payment terminal. Then she turned her attention back to her bar companion.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘And, um, you know, sorry, for thinking…’

‘Hey,’ he said with a smile. ‘Never apologise for thinking. That’s what makes the world go round.’

‘I thought that was money,’ she answered, quick and flippant, trying to refasten her bag.

When he didn’t immediately respond she looked up from her bag and there were those uncompromisingly great eyes meeting hers. Just looking. And Gabriella immediately felt ill at ease. Quiet made her feel uncomfortable. Silence more than that. Fill the void with patter. But, before she could rattle forth, he beat her to it. It wasn’t rushed, it was just self-assured.

‘I think you know it’s not money.’ And then he pushed some dollar bills and a receipt across the bar towards the server as he returned. ‘I’m Luca, by the way, and it was nice to meet you.’

Next, with that confident, wide smile still on his Romanesque face, he turned and left, heading back into the restaurant. Gabriella watched him all the way to the door, then through the window, out onto the street where he met with a companion, an older lady with silver hair.

‘The payment is all done,’ the barman said, pulling Gabriella’s attention back into the room.

‘Great. Thank you. Um… that guy,’ she said, taking the receipt the barman was holding out to her. ‘The guy who was just here. Tall, curls, sure of himself.’

‘Yeah?’

Gabriella cleared her throat. ‘Do you know who he is?’

‘I mean, he’s a repeat customer. He comes in here every couple of weeks. I don’t know⁠—’

‘It’s OK,’ Gabriella said, shaking her head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ God, this jet lag was already messing with her mind. Why did she need to know who a random Luca was just because he had made a mildly interesting comment on the way of the world?

‘Thanks so much,’ she said to the barman. ‘And make it midnight tonight for the burger.’

‘Midnight?’ he queried, taken aback.

‘Is that OK?’

‘Yes, Ma’am.’

‘Great. Thank you.’ And, with that said, she made her way back over to Phoebe.

12

LA FAÇON, MANHATTAN

Luca closed his eyes and let his fingers glide over the neckline of the dress on the mannequin. Something wasn’t quite right and, as the pounding melody of the music in his headphones guided his process, he thought back to his client, the one he had unexpectedly met earlier. Seeing Gabriella Felix in real life had been a game changer. Now he had knowledge not just of her colour palette, but of the way she held herself, how she interacted when she wasn’t on show. It was an opportunity he didn’t get often before a first meeting and he was relishing it. He also couldn’t deny that she intrigued him more now than she had before…

Then, suddenly, something touched his arm and he leapt. Eyes snapping open, headphones wrenched off, he elongated his stance like he was facing off a would-be attacker and that attacker was a black bear set for a banquet. And that’s when Steffi fell to the floor.

‘Steffi, God, come here,’ Luca said fast, helping to get her up and then drawing her into his embrace. ‘I’m sorry. But, you know, I didn’t hear you come in and you… could have been anyone.’

He wasn’t going to admit that since Ronnie’s visit he had been super jumpy around anything that caught him even slightly off guard – subway passengers jostling him, over-zealous street vendors…