AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The rooftop study was perfect for work. With the sliding doors open, it was cool and airy, remote enough from any activity going on downstairs to allow her to concentrate, and yet she could still wander out into the garden to see what was going on down on the beach.
A slight commotion, and the sound of Italian being spoken heralded the arrival of Nannu Alberto, and then Rose saw three figures scouring the shoreline for whatever happened to be of interest. William ran back and forth between Matteo and Nannu Alberto, eager to add a few shells and bits of seaweed to their finds, and Nannu Alberto rolled up his trouser legs, wading into the sea with him.
But it was Matteo that she couldn’t help looking at. Clad in cut-off jeans and a T-shirt, hair tousled in the breeze, walking barefoot on the beach. He was a perfect man, the kind that classical sculpture would bend into a pose and then lovingly create each muscle, each flex of his body. But even that couldn’t do him justice, because he moved with such easy grace.
It was almost more than she could handle. The addition of a perfect sunset, where Matteo walked alone, would have tipped her over the edge and Rose would have been downstairs, running towards him to recreate last night’s kiss and feel the steady, passionate rhythm of his body against hers.
She frowned, concentrating hard on the good time that William was having, his high shouts of delight when Matteo caught him up, swinging him in his arms above the waves. And Aemilia was calling her too, all the more strongly for the knowledge that everything she really cared about was right here, her child, her work. And she couldn’t help including Matteo in that list.
* * *
The noise moved from the beach to the kitchen, increasing about tenfold at midday. It seemed that Matteo and Nannu Alberto were at their most voluble when discussing cooking. When Rose walked downstairs, William wriggled on the high stool he was perched on next to the countertop, and Matteo lifted him down so he could run over to Rose for a hug and a kiss.
‘Mama.’ William was slipping into using Italian words almost without thinking now.
‘Are you having a good time?’ It wasn’t a question that really needed asking. All three faces were smiling.
‘Yes. I found some things on the beach.’ William broke away from her, scooting out onto the patio to fetch his blue beach bucket, which seemed to contain an assortment of stones, shells and seaweed.
‘Not in the house, sweetie.’ Rose turned to Nannu Alberto, and received a kiss on both cheeks and a hug. William had stopped short, his feet inside the house, holding the bucket over the patio stones, and Nannu Alberto walked towards him, chivvying him outside so that the two of them could review their spoils from the morning’s beachcombing.
‘You’re doing pizza? Sicilian style?’ A couple of large pizza trays were already out on the counter top, with dough proving in them.
Matteo laughed. ‘Call it a little of Sicily, a little of New York. Nannu Alberto thinks that’s heresy, and I should be shot. But I don’t have a traditional pizza oven.’
‘Really? I thought you’d have every kitchen gadget known to man.’
‘I have a sharp knife and a spatula. Those are the only kitchen gadgets you really need. You like anchovies?’
Rose wrinkled her nose. ‘Are they salty?’
Matteo shot her a look of mock horror, breaking a piece of bread from a loaf and spreading it with a small sliver of anchovy. ‘Try them. I promise these aren’t salty.’
‘Are you sure?’ She took the morsel of bread.
‘Trust me. Close your eyes...’
Suddenly they were quite alone. As she squeezed her eyes shut, she heard Matteo’s quiet words. ‘Chiudi gli occhi.’
It sounded so much better in Italian. Or maybe it was just the way that Matteo said it. Rose let the tingle of pleasure race through her and then braced herself for the strong, fishy taste of the anchovy.
‘Oh. That’s...’ She took another bite. ‘Actually, that’s really nice. Different from home...’
When she opened her eyes Matteo was flashing her a look that said I told you so in any language. ‘And the cheese?’ He cut a sliver from the block that stood next to the grater, the quirk of
his lips forming an unspoken dare.
Rose closed her eyes, feeling his fingers brush her lips as he fed her the cheese. ‘Very nice.’
‘Keep them closed...’ His voice was laced with a smile.
One finger ran across her lips, this time a little more slowly. The smell of fresh tomato and then its sweet taste. ‘That’s good too.’
She knew that he was just inches away. Rose could feel her whole body reacting to the thought of what it might be like to be touched by him. She felt his lips against her forehead, so briefly that she almost cried out with the unfairness of it all. But Nannu Alberto and William were within earshot, even if they were out of sight.
She opened her eyes and for a moment his gaze caught hers. All the longing and all the uncertainty right there, buzzing between them in the warm air. Then suddenly he smiled.
‘There’s a jug of lemonade in the fridge, if you’d like some.’
