Page 85 of It's All Sun and Games

‘Thanks,’ I reply. ‘Come on, let’s get back to the party. Rick and Sophie are asking me and Andrea to break their bed.’

‘Well, historically, I only know one way to do that,’ he jokes, his tone lightening as we head back to join the others.

I rejoin Andrea, Rick, and Sophie, feeling Andrea’s comforting arm wrapping around me the second I arrive back, like I was never not there.

‘Hey, did he tell you that he sang at his sister’s wedding?’ I ask them, a playful grin spreading across my face.

‘No!’ Sophie says. ‘Oh my gosh, Andrea, will you sing for us? What did you sing?’

‘“C’è La Luna Mezzo Mare”,’ Andrea replies. ‘It’s a tradition in my family that everyone sings part of it. None of us are very good singers but it’s a lot of fun.’

‘Andrea, truly, we would be honoured,’ Rick adds, and he is not even joking.

I can’t help but laugh. You would think it was Enrique Iglesias standing here before them (yes, I know he’s Spanish, but I don’t know any Italian singers apart from Pavarotti).

‘Okay, sure,’ Andrea agrees, his easy-going nature coming out on top as always.

‘Now?’ Sophie asks eagerly.

Andrea chuckles, running a hand through his hair.

‘Okay,’ he says again.

Rick ushers him towards where the DJ is set up, leaving me with Sophie.

‘Wow, you’ve got yourself a good one there,’ Sophie tells me with a sigh.

I wonder how many women seemingly swoon over other men on their wedding day? Then again, no one is quite so swoon-worthy as Andrea.

As Andrea takes the stage, I look at him with a big, dumb smile on my face. He waits, cool as anything, for the music to start before singing the song with all the joy and enthusiasm he had at Lucia’s wedding.

Wow, he really is something. I don’t know how many men would perform a musical number at a wedding, just to impress someone else’s boss.

Sophie is right, I really do have a good one. I don’t know how I did it – at this point, it feels like it started with an admin error, rather than a kiss – but I’ve done it. He’s mine.

‘Beppe, vieni qua,’ Andrea shouts between verses.

Beppe doesn’t need telling twice, joining Andrea on stage to sing the next verse. You can just tell that Beppe really likes Andrea – and I think he likes him even more now that Andrea has agreed to overhaul all of the Come a Casa recipes for him.

It’s such a fun song – I wonder what the equivalent song would be at an English wedding, one where everyone knows the words. Probably ‘Sweet Caroline’ or ‘Come On Eileen’. They always seem to get English folk lit.

I love it here. I love the vibe, the food, and how happy everyone is. There is one Italian phrase I do know and that is ‘la dolce vita’.

Life here really is sweet, and I can’t believe I get to stay here for longer.

38

Stepping out onto this balcony is like climbing straight into the picture on a postcard. The wharf below is glistening under the sun. Rows and rows of brilliant white boats bob on the beautiful blue water, sort of like clouds in the sky, and then, just beyond it, the Adriatic Sea stretches as far as the eye can see.

Gosh, it’s such a beautiful day.

‘Oh, I could get used to looking out over this every day,’ I say with a sigh as I gaze out at the view.

‘That’s fortunate,’ Andrea replies, walking up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. ‘Seeing as though you are going to be living here from now on.’

I smile to myself.

I am still pinching myself but it’s all true. This is the beautiful apartment that comes with the Come a Casa job I’ve just landed, overseeing their ad campaign from over here, working with Beppe and the rest of the team. Oh, and on a campaign that I came up with, no less. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so proud of myself – although I still haven’t ruled out that, any moment now, I might wake up and find out that it was all a dream.

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