Page 40 of It's All Sun and Games

‘Mamma wants to know how you’re doing,’ Andrea relays to me with a smile.

‘Tell her I’m doing great, thanks,’ I reply, feeling grateful for their hospitality – and ever so slightly guilty that I’m not quite who they think I am. ‘And thank them both so much for inviting me.’

Andrea relays my message to his parents, who nod appreciatively. Then, he turns to me with a mischievous glint in his eye.

‘Mamma says she wants to know all about you,’ he translates again. ‘I’ll make an excuse. I’ll tell her we can talk over dinner and then try not to give her the opportunity to interrogate you – what do you think?’

I chuckle nervously as Andrea talks.

‘It’s so bizarre that you’re saying that, right in front of them,’ I point out.

‘What? They don’t speak English,’ Andrea reminds me with a playful smile. ‘We can say anything we like. For example, we’re not really engaged, none of this is real, my dad is a bad chef – he isn’t, but if he had heard me say that, he would have killed me by now.’

Andrea shoots a glance at his parents and smiles. They smile right back.

‘Lucia and I would talk in English, if we didn’t want them to know what we were saying,’ he points out. ‘It was really useful.’

‘Did you say my name?’ Lucia’s voice interrupts our conversation as she joins us.

Standing next to her is a tall, slim man who looks like he could be in his twenties, though everyone here seems to defy the ageing process, so who knows?

‘This is Dario, my husband,’ Lucia explains to me, introducing him with a proud smile.

I glance at Andrea, a bit bewildered by her words, because I thought they were getting married next week.

‘Last week they got married at the town hall,’ Andrea clarifies. ‘But the wedding is the real celebration. There will be a ceremony at the cathedral, then a big party. It’s not unusual here to marry before the wedding.’

‘Ah, got it,’ I reply, nodding slowly. ‘I suppose that makes things less stressful on the big day.’

A waiter passes by with a platter of bruschetta, holding it out in front of us, should any of us want a piece.

Leonardo makes a comment in Italian, prompting Andrea to translate.

‘My dad says it’s good, but it’s not as good as his,’ he explains. ‘Not that I agree, but I’m not going to say a word, because it doesn’t take much to start an argument in this family.’

Dario chimes in with something next.

‘Dario says his is the best,’ Andrea adds. ‘This one is made by my cousin, Nuncio, who will be in the kitchen. He’s a chef here.’

‘Dario’s a chef too,’ Lucia adds. ‘They are all very competitive.’

The men break into conversation – kicking off what I can only imagine is a heated debate about bruschetta.

‘Are they arguing?’ I ask Lucia, amused by their seemingly heated discussion.

‘Yes, but only about who makes the best bruschetta,’ Lucia confirms, laughing too. ‘Papa says it’s him, Dario says Papa makes it too old-fashioned, Andrea says it doesn’t matter, Papa says his is best, then Nuncio, then Dario, then Andrea.’

I notice Andrea scoff playfully.

‘Papa is saying they should all go into the kitchen and make some for you to try, to see which one is best,’ Lucia continues translating. ‘Andrea just reminded Papa that he and Nuncio are making dinner for everyone. Papa says it’s only four courses, that there is time…’

Only four courses?

‘Robin, how would you like to try four different plates of bruschetta before you eat a four-course meal?’ Andrea asks with a grin, in a tone that suggests he can’t quite believe he is asking me either.

I laugh, knowing I have no choice but to go along with their playful competition, not without offending anyone, and I’m supposed to be playing the part of the perfect fiancée.

‘I thought you would never ask,’ I reply with a smile.

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