Page 27 of Under A Sicilian Sky
‘It was a really bad line. I did say so. It’s kind of funny though.’ Ruby could sense the amusement in her voice as Kitty relayed the story to Gerry. She heard coughing and spluttering and Kitty burst out laughing. ‘Haha! Gerry almost choked. He’s had to dash to the kitchen because he has coffee coming out of his nose.’
‘Gee, thanks, you two. I won’t be asking for your translation services again.’
Kitty giggled. ‘Oh honey, I really am sorry.’
‘No, you’re not, you shithead.’
Kitty laughed harder. ‘You love me though, eh?’
Ruby rolled her eyes. ’It’s a bloody good thing that I do.’
* * *
For the rest of the day, Ruby stayed in her room as much as possible for fear of running intoMr Italyagain. She wasn’t sure she could take the embarrassment of having him laugh at her further. As a distraction from her predicament, she texted Clark, who seemed happy to hear from her and invited her over again. Knowing she would need to tell Jacopo and Luca this time, she said she would love to visit, but she just wasn’t sure when it would be.
She called her mum and dad to check in with them, and her mum was on the verge of booking a flight to come and visit. But Ruby knew how much she hated flying – her dad refused to fly at all – so she managed to convince her that it wasn’t necessary. She loved her for offering though.
She had almost finishedRebeccaand was wondering what to read next when there was a tapping on her door. She walked over and opened it to find Mitch standing there. ‘Oh, hi. What’s up?’
He wore jeans again, but this time with a pale blue button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. She was mildly distracted by his forearms for some peculiar reason.
‘I wanted to see if you were hungry. I’ve got pizza in the oven and a bottle of Chianti breathing in the kitchen if you fancy?’
She was a little surprised by the invite. ‘Oh… erm…’
He held his hands out at his sides. ‘Look, I’m sorry for how we got off on the wrong foot. I’m trying to make amends here.’
Guilt tugged at her and she caved. ‘Okay, that would be nice, thank you.’
His smile was warm and genuine. ‘Great. See you in the kitchen in five?’
‘Sure.’ She nodded and he turned and left.
She quickly changed into navy capri pants and a white shirt, not because she wanted to impress, obviously, but because her clothing was crumpled from lying on the bed reading all day.
Pushing through the kitchen door, she was greeted with a rather romantic sight. The farmhouse table was laid with two place settings, wine glasses, napkins and candles.
‘Ooh… anyone would think we were on a date or something,’ she said nervously as she took her seat.
His face crumpled. ‘What? No! The bulb blew in the storm and I haven’t been able to get a new one, that’s all. Believe me, romance is the furthest thing from my mind.’
All right, you could sound less disgusted at the prospect. ‘Good,’ she replied.
Mitch poured wine into both glasses and put a huge, rustic-looking pizza on a board in between them. It was piled with colourful vegetables, meat and olives and her mouth watered as she inhaled the delicious, spicy aroma.
Her stomach rumbled. ‘This looks amazing. Where did you get it from?’
He frowned and shook his head. ‘The pizza oven in the garden.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘Oh. You made it?’
‘Don’t sound so surprised.’
She took a slice and bit the tip. The herby tomato sauce mixed with the flavours of the rest of the toppings in her mouth and she couldn’t help groaning. She snapped her eyes open and found him staring at her with a grin on his face.
He licked his lips. ‘Good, eh?’
She put a hand in front of her mouth and nodded. ‘Really,reallygood,’ she replied around the mouthful of food.
