Page 55 of Winter With You

He laughed. ‘Honestly, not that much thought went into it.’

‘But our subconscious, it works away in the background despite anything we might try to do to deceive it.’ She took a sip of her drink. ‘So, you think I’m racy, intelligent, and yearn to travel.’

‘Thank God I didn’t say anything worse.’

‘Or better.’

Something rippled between them across the table, like there had been an immediate charge in the atmosphere. Luca felt his insides tighten, expand, contract and back again as their eyes danced.

And then their food order arrived with a thump.

33

MANHATTAN BRIDGE

After two of the strong, warming cocktails and a very brave attempt at demolishing all the delicious side dishes, they left the cosiness of the diner behind for the cold late-night streets. But, with a full stomach and her mind a little woozy from the alcohol, all Gabriella felt was strangely, uncharacteristically content as they strolled along the walkway of the Manhattan Bridge that spanned the Hudson River. Before she could dwell too long though, Luca spoke.

‘So, originally, this bridge was going to be called Bridge Number Three.’

‘Wow, so inventive! But Blur did write a track called “Song Two” and that was a massive hit so who knows what might have happened if they’d kept the name.’

‘Names are important though. Like with your book.’

She sighed. ‘Yeah, well, that wasn’t my choice.’ And ‘content’ felt like it might not last long. Her shoulders started to tighten.

‘No?’ he asked. ‘It’s a great title. I mean, who hasn’t said they give zero fucks about something. Blur too maybe?’

‘Definitely maybe Oasis.’

He laughed. ‘But, you didn’t get to choose it?’

‘No,’ she answered. ‘It’s not unusual. The title is just a marketing tool. Like the cover. If people like the cover and the title they’re going to buy it no matter what the content is.’

‘Is that true though?’ Luca asked.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘You should know. Your whole career is based on creating a look that’s going to get your client noticed. Sold to the press. Advertised. It’s the same thing.’

He stopped walking. ‘That’s not how I see it.’

‘No?’ she said, stopping too. ‘You don’t style people so they stand out? So an audience looks and says “wow” and rushes off to find a replica outfit to wear on their next Saturday night out?’

‘Is that what you think I do?’ Luca asked. ‘Because, to me, you’re making it sound like the looks I create are overshadowing the product. And the product is always the most important thing. Because my product is always the person.’

He was impassioned and he also sounded a bit like she had insulted him. She hadn’t meant to do that. Her own frustrations about the new ugly green book cover and All Chapters’ insistence on not ‘dwelling’ too much on Lulu’s ‘sadness’ was blighting her insights.

‘Gabriella,’ he said in a serious tone. ‘If any of the clothes I’m dressing you in make you feel like you’re anything other than the strong, beautiful, intelligent woman you are then… you need to take them off.’

She met his eyes and they were a mix of intense and perhaps a bit furious as he gripped the fence with his fingers. She could see a pulse beating in his neck and his hot breath met the freezing air between them. His words had hit her almost brutally, but then they had wrapped around her, squeezing tight. She couldn’t remember feeling this physically charged with anyone in so long. Why? How? She needed to dispel it fast. Except, instead, she put her hand over his and held on.

‘I shouldn’t have said what I said,’ she told him.

‘Did you mean it?’ he asked, fingers entwining with hers against the wire. ‘Because if you meant it then I haven’t been doing my job right.’

‘I think,’ Gabriella began, her voice shaking, ‘that it’s me who hasn’t been doing her job right. And maybe it’s because I can’t. Maybe I never could.’ She pressed her fingers tighter to his.

‘You know, there is something you could do to help me do my job better,’ he said. He leaned slightly closer with his body, but it was really his energy shift that Gabriella caught.

‘What?’ she asked, his hand still captured under hers.