Page 20 of Burn for You

“Oh, and the glasses please, dear. On the top shelf.” As she says it, I take note of the glasses sitting on a shelf tall enough that May is not going to reach them. But she’ll try.

I pull the calamari out of the pan, plating it up before turningback around to see May hopelessly stretching for the glasses, the tips of her fingers just curling over the edge of the shelf.

I can feel both Vanessa and Luca’s eyes on me, as if waiting to see what I’ll do, even though either of them could walk over there and help her. But instead, we are all just standing here, watching her painful attempt to get the glasses from the shelf Vanessa clearly knew she wouldn't be able to reach.

“Oh, for god’s sake.” I storm over, standing behind her and reaching up for the glasses, pulling them down and placing them on the counter in front of her.

“I can do it myself,” she spits, still stretching for the shelf.

“If you could have, then you would have already.”

It’s only when my arm grazes hers that I realize how close I’m standing to her. She goes deadly still, barely even breathing as I place the last glass in front of her. I pull my hand back, but my body doesn’t move, not right away. I stay standing this close to her, and I have no idea why, considering five seconds ago I was annoyed by her presence. But right now, it feels like an invisible force is dragging me towards her.

A laugh breaks the tension between us. “God, you two are something else.”

I drag my attention to where Leo sits with his chin in his hand, looking at us with wonder.

I narrow my eyes at him and shake my head, but he just shrugs before May slips out of the kitchen, escaping outside to where the others are waiting.

“Oddio.” Vanessa places a hand on my arm. “You’re getting rusty,tesoro.”

I frown. “Rusty with what?”

“Your flirting.”

My frown deepens as Vanessa’s smile doubles. “I wasn’t trying to flirt, nor would I ever flirt with her.”

“Mh-mm,” she mutters. “We’ll see about that.”

“This calamari is delicious, Pa,”Marina says.

Luca leans over the table, pouring wine into her glass, before filling his wife’s as well. “That was all Raf.”

Marina cuts her gaze to me, raising her brows and tipping her glass in my direction. I just nod back.

“You should add this to Olive&Vine’s menu,” Caio says from where he’s sitting on my right, Isla on his other side. “You haven’t added anything new in a while.”

“Yeah,” I mutter. I don’t think my menu has changed one single bit in the last two years. It’s exactly how my nonna left it. “Maybe.”

Caio gives me a look that says he knows that ‘maybe’ is a no. I just drag my gaze across the table to where Leo sits across from me. Looking at him out here in the natural light, I notice how dull his skin looks, how tired he looks.

“How is it staying at Lost and Found, Leo?”

“Hm?” His eyes tip up to look at me.

“Are the old ladies wearing you out?” I joke. Everyone in town knows that the bed and breakfast is basically a community center for the elderly folk of Ruby Cove, but Leo has been staying there for the last month or so. He’s not setting down roots here, but not going back to his job in the city either. I told him he can stay at my place, but he turned down the offer. He’s just lying in limbo, and right now it seems like his mind is up in the clouds.

He shakes his head. “What?”

“You look exhausted. Are you all good?” He just shakes his head like he can’t keep up with the conversation.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just didn’t sleep so well last night. The scrabble games get intense.”

“Oh!“ Vanessa exclaims. “I haven’t been to one of the Lost and Found scrabble games in months! Nora and I used to go everyweek, but now that the gallery is getting busier,” she nods in Isla’s direction, “we haven’t found the time.”

Leo tips his drink back, downing the prosecco in one gulp. “If you care about me at all, Vanessa, you’ll hold back for a while. I’m barely sleeping as it is. We all know it would get even louder with you two there.”

She tucks a loose curl behind her ear. “I don’t know what you mean.”

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