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“One of these days I hope I can get you to open up your eyes and really see it!”
It was hard to decide what was more pleasurable at the moment: Our awesome vista or the intoxicating whiff of garlic that filled my nostrils as we entered Armani’s Ristorante Italiano. Cousin Anthony welcomed us at the door with one of his big bear hugs and offered to seat us in a private dining room. But it was such a beautiful day, I told him we’d make ourselves comfortable out on the shaded patio instead. I chose a quiet table for us in the corner under a large olive tree.
In less than a minute Anthony appeared at our side with a basket of warm bread and a bottle of my favorite Armani Napa Merlot. He uncorked the wine and poured it into two stemmed glasses for Julia and me.
“It’s a bit early for wine isn’t it Edward?”
My cousin and I both looked at Julia like she was from another planet. Then we looked at each other and laughed.
“It’s never too early for wine!” We shouted in unison.
“You might as well drink hers Tony!”
We raised our glasses and toasted “Salute” while Julia was busy texting on her phone.
“So what can I have Mario prepare for you today Eddie?”
“I’ll have my usual linguine and clams. What would you like Julia? You can have anything you like. Mario will make you whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be on the menu.”
“I know. I’ve eaten here before, remember? Quite a few times in fact. Maybe just some zucchini soup and a small house salad, please Anthony.”
Anthony frowned at Julia’s bland lunch selection before scurrying off to the kitchen with our order.
“Is that all you want Julia? I thought you said you were hungry?”
Julia was looking down at her phone again.
“I am. But if you recall, you interrupted my morning jog with your “emergency”. I can’t pig out on heavy Italian food if I don’t exercise.”
“But I made it up to you! Didn’t we get plenty of exercise back at the office? I thought I gave you quite a work-out……..”
Julia smiled coyly and her dark bronzed cheekbones blushed as I grabbed her thigh under the table. Fuck! Everything about this woman was so smokin’ hot! But the way she was completely unaware of her own beauty was absolutely maddening. Last week while we attended a fundraiser, three separate people came up to us and asked me if I would introduce them to my date….. Kerry Washington! Julia later suggested to me that either they were in dire need of eyeglasses or they were just plain nitwits. I disagreed wholeheartedly; their power of observation was spot on.
I poured myself another glass of rich velvety Merlot, took a bite of bread and relaxed back in my chair. A light breeze was blowing up from the bay, tinkling the wind chimes on the patio and gently ruffling Julia’s hair around her face. Just as I was thinking how life couldn’t get any better, I was suddenly proven wrong: Julia had finally stopped yapping on her phone. She dropped it into her purse and looked across the table at me.
“Holy shit! What d’ya know?! I finally get to look into those beautiful eyes of yours now! Did I ever tell you how much I hate competing with your damn phone? What could possibly be so important to distract you from this perfect day?”
“So important? Are you kidding me? Could you be any more frustrating? Or dense? Honestly! Or are you forgetting a little matter regarding your compromising photos with a nurse? Hello? The very reason you called me to come down here today in the first place?”
“Oh are you still working on that? I thought you finished that back at the office, before we…..you know…….fucked our brains out?”
“No I wasn’t done. But typical man…...thinks I finished just because he did.”
“Well I don’t like to brag but let’s just say I’ve never ever left a woman with…….unfinished business.”
“Yeah, that sounds like you………you NEVER brag. That’s a good one!”
“I’ll make you a deal: I’ll stop bragging as soon as you come up with a reason why I should be humble okay? Because I haven’t thought of any yet!”
“Okay sure. Earth to Edward! Let’s get back to reality now shall we? The important thing is that I just arranged to pay off the photographer to keep the damaging photos out of print. He is signing a confidentiality agreement as we speak. It’s a ridiculous sum of money but it’s worth it. So it looks like a catastrophe has been averted once again! With a little luck, your grandfather won’t have to hear about any of this. Do you think you can stay out of trouble for a few weeks?”
Our food arrived just in time to distract Julia from noticing that I hadn’t answered her question.
“Oh wow! This looks incredible Anthony! Just perfect!”
I slurped up some saucy noodles and took another sip of my delicious wine.
“Oh my god! This tastes fantastic! My compliments to Mario as always! He’s a fuckin’ genius!”
