Page 86 of Sinful Promises

A man, woman and two kids barreled down the steps, startling me. By their curious expressions, I’d say they’d heard me talking to myself.

“Oh, hey.” Standing, I waved at them. “Did you just hike the trail?”

“Yeah.” The man bent over, panting with his hands on his knees. “Started this morning.” His Texas accent was so out of place with our quaint Italian setting. “Only just beat the sun.”

My jaw dropped. “It took you all day?”

He scowled at me. “We did all five towns in one day. That’s damn good.” He tugged the young boy to his side and tussled his hair. “Didn’t we, champ?”

The boy’s flushed red cheeks wobbled as he nodded and grinned.

“Oh, sorry. I misunderstood.” I offered what I hoped was an innocent smile. “Well done. I just want to walk to the next town. Is it hard?”

“That was the easy part.” The young girl was all multi-colored braces and dimpled cheeks and energetic youth.

“Except for the first section,” the boy said. “Some of the steps were bigger than me.”

“Same with this last past.” The woman indicated the set of stairs facing us. “If you’re thinking of taking that suitcase, you’re crazy.”

I puffed out my cheeks. “No. No. I was just checking the path out. I’m walking it tomorrow.” When did I become such a good liar?

“Okay. Well, good luck. We promised these guys a swim before dinner. Right, kids?”

A swim? They must be nuts. It was barely sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

Their squeals of approval confirmed they didn’t have the same reservations I did.

The man nodded at me. “Good luck tomorrow. You’ll love the views. Take your time and enjoy it.”

As they bounded away, no longer showing signs of having hiked all day, his parting words bounced around my brain.

Take your time. Enjoy it.

Was this the Universe telling me to slow down?

Maybe it was right. If I did happen to bump into Roman right now, I’d look like I’d wrestled with a hedge and the bloody branches had won.

“Time to calm your farm.” It was obvious I was not going to see Roman tonight. I’d waited weeks to see him. Another night wouldn’t matter.

Okay. With that settled, I had to get a new plan.

First up—I needed a place to stay. I had passed a few bed-and-breakfasts along the main street. My only hope was that not all of them had closed for winter.

Retracing my steps, I crossed back through the alley and aimed for the first person I saw. It was an elderly woman, hunched over and dragging a trolley behind her.

“Mi scusi. Parla inglese?”

Without stopping her shuffling feet, she shook her head and carried on.

“Hotel?” The word was the same in Italian and English.

She shook her head again but also pointed up the street.

Unsure how to interpret that, I said, “Grazie” and started walking back up the hill I'd come down.

I was out of breath by the time I saw a B&B sign. Yay. And the door was open. Hoping it was a good sign, I lugged my suitcase up the three short steps and stepped into the narrow hallway.

It was my lucky night. Not only did the lovely woman who greeted me speak English, but she also had a room. The only bad news was the two sets of stairs I had to drag my case up.

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