I loved the city and said so.
“It’s one of my favorites too.”
I looked over at Pia; she was studying the two of us and smiling. “Perhaps you’d rather wait to start your new job tomorrow,” she said, taking a bite of pastry. “You could visit Florence and Chianti with Ben.”
“No,” I said, perhaps too quickly. “Um, as nice as that sounds, I’ve been sightseeing quite a lot and am looking forward to learning more about Valentini.”
“Perhaps another day,” said Ben.
“Perhaps.”
I stood and went to the buffet that had been set out on the terrazza. It all looked so good. Ben stood to
o, grabbed another plate, and piled it with fruit. “This will be my downfall,” he said, pointing to the pastries before adding two to his plate.
“It doesn’t appear it will be an issue,” I said, not bothering to mask my perusal of his body. I smiled when his cheeks flushed. Mine did the same when he looked me up and down like I had him.
“For you either.”
“Just to be safe, I think I’ll stick with fruit. I’m still full from last night.” When I turned around to return to the table, Pia was gone. “Where did she go?”
Ben shrugged. “I’ve no idea.”
I set my plate on the table and poured myself a cup of coffee, added cream, and breathed in the aroma. It was heavenly. “What?” I asked when I sat down and noticed Ben staring at me.
“That sound…you made it a lot last night too.”
“Sound?”
“You’re very…expressive when you like something. It isn’t just the murmurs of pleasure; your eyes roll back in your head a little.” His voice was so soft and sexy I felt like I was falling into a trance.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
He leaned forward and rested his forearm on the table, almost close enough to touch. “Please don’t apologize. I quite like it.”
I looked away, unable to speak. It had been a long time since I had any real interest in a man. In fact, Pen had mentioned it a couple of times. “You might not be so bitchy if you got laid,” she’d said on more than one occasion. A sad feeling, the one that washed over me whenever I thought about my friends, sat heavily on my chest.
“She’s right, you know?”
That if I got laid, I wouldn’t be so bitchy? Had I said that out loud? “I’m sorry, what?”
“You’re at Valentini. No more sad memories.” Ben repeated Pia’s words from earlier.
“There’s no switch to turn them off,” I muttered, surprising even myself. I couldn’t talk about the reasons I was sad, not to anyone, but especially not to a man from America.
He touched the back of my hand with his fingertip. “You’re too beautiful to look so sad.”
I looked into his eyes. “Thank you.”
He sat back abruptly when Pia rejoined us. “Am I interrupting?” She smirked and then winked.
“I think we need to cheer Catarina up,” said Ben.
I looked between them. “I’m fine.”
Pia tapped her cheek. “I have an idea.”
“Oh, no,” I groaned under my breath, and she laughed.