Page 10 of Best Laid Plans
Someone sat down next to him and on impulse he glanced round to see who it was.
‘Fancy seeing you here,’ Indigo said, with a mischievous lift of her eyebrow.
He snorted and shook his head at his terrible luck. What was it about this woman that kept drawing them together?
‘It’s a small town centre; I guess we were bound to bump into each other at some point,’ he said wearily.
She leant back on her hands and studied him. ‘Are you off to forage for some supper?’
He raised his eyebrows, bemused. ‘Forage?’
‘Looking for a place to eat.’
‘Oui.’
‘On your own?’
‘Oui.’ He tensed, anticipating what was coming next.
‘You’re welcome to join me if you like,’ she said brightly, confirming his fear. ‘I was just about to grab a slice of pizza at one of those small family-run eateries just off the square.’
‘You mean the cafes with the plastic tables? Non—’ he began to say, but she cut him off.
‘You’d be doing me a favour,’ she said. ‘I’ve been on my own all day and I’m beginning to have conversations with myself out loud, which is never a good sign. If you don’t come and have dinner with me there’s a good chance I’ll be arrested by the end of the night and taken to a secure facility.’ She sat up and folded her arms. ‘Anyway, you owe me.’
He frowned, perplexed. ‘What for?’
‘For letting you share my room.’
‘Your room?’
‘I was there first, remember?’
He sighed, fighting a smile. ‘How could I forget?’
‘So what do you say? Can I tempt you with a slice of pizza?’ She looked so hopeful it made something twist in his chest. But he needed to stay strong.
‘I’m going to try out one of the restaurants down on the marina,’ he said, giving her an apologetic look. ‘Apparently, they have fantastic à la carte menus with a good selection of locally caught fresh fish and seafood. Word has it the lobster spaghetti is not to be missed.’
Her eyes seemed to glaze over as if she was picturing the food he’d described. ‘Sounds awful,’ she joked, flashing an impertinent grin. ‘Anyway, those places are a total tourist rip-off.’
‘And the pizza joints aren’t?’
Spreading out her hands, she gestured around the square. ‘They’re part of the local colour. You can eat overpriced gourmet food in Paris, or wherever you’re from. Come and support the underdog for once.’ She stared at him hard, like she’d done the previous night, dipping her head to one side and looking up at him through her thick black lashes, and something twisted again inside him – then broke.
Despite his earlier determination to keep to himself tonight, he realised he had no choice but to go and eat a huge greasy slice of pizza with this woman. Maybe then she’d leave him alone.
‘Sure.’ He threw up his hands in surrender. ‘Pizza sounds good.’
‘Great!’ she said, breaking into a huge smile.
He hoped she wasn’t going to read too much into this. Whilst he was prepared to spend the next hour with her, he didn’t want her thinking he wanted to buddy up for the whole week.
As they walked away from the piazza towards one of the back streets that housed the pizza outlets, they passed a homeless person slumped on a filthy-looking rug next to one of the souvenir shops. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Indigo reach into her pocket, then discreetly drop a handful of coins into an empty hat by the side of the man, before strolling on as if nothing had happened.
* * *
As soon as they’d ordered their slices of pizza and drinks from a very jolly waiter at a cafe with red plastic tables and chairs arranged out on the pavement, Indigo excused herself and went inside to find the bathroom and splash some cool water onto her face.
