AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Erica was the perfect tour guide, taking us to all the famous sites including the Ponte Vecchio old bridge, the Palazzo Vecchio town hall with the copy of the David sculpture and lots of other butt-naked statues in questionable poses (is it just me who wonders why some of them are in such compromising positions? Sorry, I told you I wasn’t very cultured).
As we wandered around the busy streets, Fran disappeared ahead with Erica. She was up to something…
Moments later I heard her exclaim, ‘No! Really?’
What were they talking about? Not long afterwards, Erica stopped and turned around to check that we were all visible and that no one had got lost whilst Fran had distracted her. Then Erica took her phone out of her bag.
‘I will just call the restaurant to check that they are ready for us to come for lunch.Un momento.’
Fran rushed over to me, eyes wide, and pulled me to one side.
‘You’ll never guess what? I knew it!’ she yelped. She was trying to whisper, but she couldn’t contain herself. Any minute now she was about to spontaneously combust with excitement.
‘What?’ I asked. ‘Whatdid you know?’
‘Erica and Lorenzo. Iknewthey had history! Like brother and sister my arse! It took some digging, but I was determined to get to the bottom of it! She was always complaining far too much about what a womaniser he is and how he doesn’t do this and doesn’t do that. Those are the words of a woman scorned. I know the signs, my friend,’ she said gleefully like a detective who’d just cracked a ten-year case.
There was no point in denying it, though; I was desperate to know more.
‘So are they together now?’ I asked eagerly.
‘No!’ Fran said, eyes widening. ‘That’s the thing. Apparently, they had a night of passion years ago. She was all loved up, hastily planning marriage and the fairy-tale ending, but a week later, he slept with one of the guests! Can you believe it? And not a pretty young thing, either. The word is, she was a very average-looking, generously proportioned fifty-two-year-old. Get in! It seems he likes older women!’ She fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously.
‘Fran!’ I said. ‘You’re a married lady!’
‘I know. Doesn’t stop me from ogling, though, does it!’ She let out a raucous laugh. I raised my eyebrows and tried to signal with my eyes that Erica was now approaching and we needed to cut the conversation or change the subject. Shame, really, as it was getting kind of interesting.
So Lorenzo had slept with a guest…hmm.
We walked to the restaurant and had a beautiful lunch. After a few hours of sightseeing, it was also a relief to take the weight off my feet for a while.
Erica explained that we could now split up and have free time on our own. I could tell by the fire in Fran’s eyes, she was not even going tothinkabout shopping when there was more gossip to be gleaned.
As Dan and Grace filtered off separately into the centre, Fran said, ‘Erica, why don’t you walk around with Sophia and me? Unless, of course, you want to be on your own.’
‘Oh, yes,’ replied Erica. ‘Grazie, that will be nice. I have done this tour millions of times, so I am very happy to walk with you both.’
‘Wonderful!’ said Fran, clapping her hands together with glee. She wasted no time getting back to delving deeper into the story.
‘So…you were telling me all about Lorenzo,’ said Fran.
Erica looked a little startled. You could tell she was a professional and took her job seriously, so she didn’t want to be seen to gossip. But at the same time, I got the sense she enjoyed having some girl-talk time and the chance to vent.
As if sensing her trepidation, Fran assured her, ‘Don’t worry—Sophia’s fine. We’re amongst friends here. So,’ she said, resuming her line of questioning, ‘Lorenzo slept with a fifty-two-year-old guest a week after you’d been together. How awful!’
‘I know,’ said Erica, bowing her head. ‘I was heartbroken. I thought we could have a real future together. We are similar age. I am thirty-four, he is forty. We have similar background and job. We could have been perfect, but he ruined everything. He is just a sex addict. If he wanted more sex, he could have just asked me. I would have given to him. But instead he went withher. And she is not the first. There have been others. He just cannot help himself. Some of them are not even special. If they are female, are breathing and they let him know they are interested, he does not hesitate.’
Fran was literally chomping at the bit. I think even she was surprised about the amount of information she’d managed to coax out of Erica about Lorenzo the lothario.
‘So is that why he’s breaking up with his girlfriend, then?’ asked Fran. ‘Because he can’t keep it in his pants?’
‘Ah. Like I say,’ continued Erica sheepishly, ‘things with Lorenzo are complicated, and I said already too much. He told me last night they have broken up, but who knows how long they will stay apart or if they will get back together? I give up,’ she replied dismissively.
Fran was still trying and failing to suppress how widely her eyes were expanding.
‘He sounds like a horny little devil!’ said Fran. ‘I’m surprised he hasn’t tried it on with you, Sophia, seeing as you’re young, hot and single!’
Well, he’d have to not hate me first, Fran, I thought. But I’ll admit, this insight I was getting was making my vivid imagination go into overdrive. If he offered himself to me, I wouldn’t say no, but I wasn’t about to tell them that.
