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‘Hello. Is everything okay?’ I asked. I thought he’d be at work as it was eleven o’clock in the morning.
‘I decided to take another day off, and since you’ve got the day off too, why don’t you come over?’ His voice sounded flat, and he didn’t seem his usual relaxed self.
He’s taking another day off from his buzzing restaurant and wants to hang with me? My heart galloped, and I felt my whole body go warm and tingly, and, of course, my cheeks and neck were burning up again. This man was more addictive than makeup.
‘Sure, sounds good. What time?’ I said, trying to sound as unflustered as possible, while inside, I squealed.
‘Now?’
‘See you soon.’
‘Great.Ciao.’
He hung up.
Right. Better get dressed. T-shirt dress, it is. Plain and simple,I thought as I rummaged through the neatly folded clothes on my corner stool that were waiting to be put away.
***
During the drive to Patrick’s, all I could do was think about how close his hand was to mine when we were watchingLa La Landand wondered why he moved it away before touching mine. Was he actually interested in me as more than a friend? All the signs showed me he liked me, but then I second-guessed myself because he was so good-looking and also my boss. And if he had feelings for me, wouldn’t he have just grabbed my hand and tried to kiss me? My heart clenched as I thought of how hard I’d been trying to fight off the feelings I was forming for him. His green eyes and charming smile were always in the back of my mind, and I craved seeing him like lemon and butter craved sugar on crepes. He was the missing ingredient in my life.
As I pulled up on his driveway, the gates opened, but there was no Patrick smiling and waiting for me on the cobblestones. I got out of the car and walked through the wide-open door into Patrick’s house. He was leaning against his kitchen bench, dressed in black silk pyjamas, and there were dark rings under his eyes.
We hadn’t paid great attention to our clothing choices this morning.
‘Is everything okay?’ I asked. I stepped closer until we were only inches apart.
‘Stephanie called after you left last night. She wants to get back together.’ He closed his eyes, reached his hands around the back of his neck, and rubbed it like he’d twisted it during the night. ‘I didn’t sleep very well after that.’
I swallowed hard and felt my heart crumble a little. ‘And are you going to go back to her?’
‘No!’ He shook his head vigorously. ‘Of course not. I don’t want anything to do with her.’
‘Speaking of relationship woes, I blocked Sebastian from everything this morning.’ I gave a satisfied grin.
‘Did you?’ His eyes widened.
I nodded. ‘I liked doing it; it felt empowering. I love the fact that he never gets to contact me again.’ I ran my hand throughmy hair, hoping to draw attention to it considering Patrick hadn’t even said anything.
‘Hmmm.’ Patrick raised his eyebrows. ‘I think I might do the same.’ He pulled his iPhone from his shirt pocket, tapped a few buttons, and then put it down, smiling. ‘I should have done this a long time ago, and your hair! You look sobella.’ He reached to touch it and twirled a finger in it.
‘Oh, you think? I just wanted a change back to my natural colour.’
‘Natural looks wonderful. You’re such abellezza.’ He moved his hand away and put it back beside his body.
I let out a giggle. ‘I love how you throw Italian into your sentences. Is it hard not to speak fluent Italian all of the time?’
‘I know both English and Italian equally well, so it’s fun to mix the two.’ He cleared his throat, looking suddenly nervous. ‘Naomi, I want to tell you something, but I don’t want to scare you.’
My stomach dropped and I had the feeling of being too close to the edge of a cliff with slippery feet.
‘What is it?’ The words flew from my mouth.
He exhaled, then looked down at the floor. ‘Naomi, you’re like sunshine in my life and …’ He trailed off.
I swallowed hard. ‘And what?’
‘I feel guilty. I feel so guilty I’m going to break your trust.’ His eyes remained on the floor, and I watched his throat move as he swallowed hard too.
