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“Not at all,” he says, straightening up gracefully and moving back to his own seat. “It just makes you a real person. Mistakes, clumsiness, these things happen,” he finishes his words with a calm and elegant sip of his coffee, timed perfectly.
I fight to regain my composure, smoothing down the front of my dress and tucking my hair behind my ears. “Well, they seem to happen to me a lot,” I say, laughing nervously. Shut up, mouth, I try to tell myself. You’re making yourself sound like a dork.
He only smiles at me, a twinkle in his eyes that I can’t look away from. “Well, if you’re truly worried about getting lost again, perhaps you could do with a guide,” he says. He glances towards my dad as if it’s an afterthought. “I happen to be free for the rest of the afternoon. I have some time to kill before a business dinner. Why don’t I show you around a little?”
“Only if it doesn’t put you out at all,” Dad says, making me breathe a sigh of relief. Now that he knows they’re from the same alma mater, I guess he’s more comfortable with spending time with this stranger. Nico Manella. I’ve never heard his name before, but it sounds like music to my ears. So exotic.
“Not at all,” Nico says, draining the last of his cup with a smile. “Where do you want to go first?”
Chapter Five
Nico
Damn this. It’s getting late, and I can’t put it off any longer.
I take a moment to watch them in front of me. Liliana and Frank, or specifically Liliana. She’s walking just ahead, the two of them talking excitedly about the architectural details of one of the buildings we’re approaching.
We’ve toured just about all of Monaco’s main sights, on a whistle-stop tour. They insisted. Frank said that since we only have the one afternoon together, I should show them how to reach everything that they’re going to want to see later on. As for actually going inside places and enjoying them, they’ll do that alone.
It’s just the opposite of what I would like to do. In fact, I would love for Frank to go and sit down with a coffee or a beer somewhere and let me and Liliana do all the exploring together. I think about one particular spot, a tourist attraction where I happen to know of a secret exit onto the roof. I learned about it back in my student days, before I left for the States, and I’m sure it’s still there. After enjoying the day, I could take her up there, where no one else would be able to see…
I shake my head to myself, sharply. There’s no point in these fantasies. Even if I still can’t take my eyes off her. Even if every word we’ve spoken together has lodged a little more firmly inside my chest. Even if everything I learn about her makes me want to learn more, and more, and more.
There’s no point because I have to go.
“Well, this is where I leave you,” I say, reluctantly. I make a show of checking my watch, even though I’m sure down to the second what time it is, as they turn around. “I’m afraid I have to go, or I’ll miss my business dinner.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Liliana exclaims. “We’ve been having so much fun.” Her cheeks heat again then, and I think she must not have realized she was going to say it before she did.
There’s something about her that I can’t help be drawn in by. She’s so straightforward. She keeps saying what she thinks. Good or bad, she blurts out her opinions, not worried about who might hear them. She says what she wants. I like that about her.
Actually, I think I might love it.
“It has been wonderful,” I say. “I’m a slave to my work, however. Please, forgive me for leaving you now.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Frank says, even though it’s not him I’m apologizing to. He walks closer and reaches out to shake my hand. “You’ve been a huge help. Thanks so much.”
“Yes, thank you,” Liliana says, clearing her throat. It’s adorable. She’s trying to be polite, but I can see she doesn’t mean it at all. She’s upset that I’m going.
It’s as much as I can do to stop myself from picking her up and running away with her.
“Ciao,” I tell them both. I force myself to start walking backward so that I’m at least making some progress away from them. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
“We will,” Frank replies, waving quickly before turning away.
“Ciao,” Liliana says, her voice a little faint, an echoing wave lingering longer and slower. She holds my eye until I turn to walk away, biting my own lip to stop myself from turning back.
