Page 11 of One Hot Summer

“You like tiramisu?” he asked, full of hope.

“Oh no, thank you. We’re too full.”

“You no like tiramisu?” He pretended to get upset and wiped a fake tear from his eye. “My nonna make it. You make-a me sad.”

I laughed. “We do like tiramisu. We’re just too full.” We both rubbed our bellies for effect. Hoping he would understand.

“You like tiramisu?”

“Yes!” we both said together.

“Okay, okay, you insist then I bring.” He smiled in victory, giving me a wink.

“We will need to do a lot of walking tomorrow to burn all of this off,” I said to Sarah as Matteo removed our collection of empty plates from the table.

“That won’t be a problem, I’m sure!” she pulled out her phone and opened up the Rome app. “Look where we can go!”

CHAPTER THREE

Istared at the food Leonardo had brought us for breakfast. He kindly took it out to the balcony, insisting we sat outside to eat at our little shaded table. He had brought us a selection of pastries, fruit, bread and jam. Maria followed with our coffees. She seemed less angry this morning. She even managed to give us a smile, which was surprising as we were still in our pyjamas.

“I know we’re full from last night, but this looks so good. And not a biscotti in sight.” I picked up one of the bread rolls and cut into it, smothering it in butter and Maria’s homemade jam.

“How can you eat more bread after all that last night?” Sarah asked, as she picked up a banana. “We will be overdosing on carbs. I’ll have some grapes, but I just don’t think I can manage anything else right now.”

“You might as well eat and fill up now whilst you can. If we’re out walking in the touristy places then food will cost a fortune. I doubt we’ll come across any more Alessandros willing to guide us in the right direction.” I bit into the bread. It was so soft, almost like candyfloss the way it melted in my mouth. “Why don’t we turn the rest of these bread rolls into jam sandwiches and take them out with us to have later? We can eat properly tonight.”

We decided to have the pastries for breakfast before making a mini picnic to take with us. We wrapped the sandwiches in a tea towel Leonardo had left. It was still early, but the sun was now up and shining down the narrow road and onto our balcony. We watched as the locals set about their days, as we sat back in our chairs with our feet up on the railings. Sarah and I had been on a lot of holidays together, but so far, this was the most grown-up one to date. We were hangover-free and up early enough for breakfast. How very mature of us.

“So, where shall we go today?” I asked. We’d decided not to make an itinerary for this trip, or prebook anything, deciding that it would put too much pressure on us to make sure we got to certain places on time. We had an idea about the places we wanted to visit, but thought we would wing it each day.

“How about we walk in the direction of the Trevi Fountain?” She picked up her phone.

“Sounds good, but how far is it?” I hid my trepidation behind another sip of cappuccino.

“Just a little further on than the Pantheon, so not too far.” She studied the map on the app. “Ooh! We can do a circle and check out the Colosseum on the way back, seeing as we didn’t make it there yesterday. That will fill our day.”

“Let’s do it. I might have to wear my trainers today though.” I massaged the heel of my left foot, which had been feeling tender, hoping I wouldn’t end up with a blister. Those sandals were a bad idea yesterday.

“I thought that too. You’d think we’d be used to walking, being from Yorkshire.”

I stood up and picked up some plates to take back inside. “I’ll have a quick shower, and you can text Alessandro.”

“I can’t text him now, it’s far too early.”

“I’m sure he’ll be awake. He was dressed all businessman-like when we saw him, so he’ll likely be on his way to work. Message him. Say exactly what we discussed last night. ‘Hello, this is Sarah from yesterday. Thank you for the advice on where to eat. How about meeting for a drink tonight? X’. Something basic and not too pushy.”

She hesitated, holding her phone in her hand. The more she thought about it, I knew the less likely it was that the message would get sent.

“Don’t overthink this. You’re not proposing anything serious. It is just a drink. A. Harmless. Drink.”

I left her with her thoughts and grabbed my phone on the way to the bathroom. There was a message waiting for me from Zack.

Good morning, baby, I hope you slept okay and weren’t too warm. Bing slept on my chest and wasn’t budging, no matter how much I tried to move. I was roasting. He must be missing you. As am I. What are your plans today? Xxx

I was still wearing my giddy schoolgirl grin as I got in the shower after sending him a reply with our plans. This was a very refreshing, mature relationship. I didn’t need to worry about what Zack was up to. I doubted he would be distracted by a twenty-something.

Good morning! I miss you too. More exploring on the agenda today. I might need to schedule a foot massage when I’m home, if you can fit me in… Xxx

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