Page 32 of Under A Sicilian Sky
‘Absolutely delicious. And I’m sure if I had tried the dish before, this would be the best by far.’ She smiled.
He nodded and grinned. ‘Right? I knew you’d love it.’
‘So, do you know Mitch who owns the property next door that I’m staying in? The house has been in his family a long while. His parents may have known yours.’
Clark chewed for what felt like a long time. ‘To be honest, I don’t really know anyone. Like I said, we’ve always been a very private family.’ He swallowed and took a large gulp of his wine. It was evident he felt uncomfortable talking about his past, so she decided not to pursue the matter further. He continued, ‘So, what do you do for hobbies?’
Great, a question I can answer. ‘Oh, well… I love reading. I think I got the passion from my mum. She’s an avid reader, although she can have several books on the go at once. I prefer to take my time with one book. I don’t think I’d cope with the flitting around. I think I’d get the characters mixed up in my head.’ She laughed.
‘I love to read too. What are your favourite genres? For me it’s crime novels. I love a good whodunnit.’
She felt her cheeks warming. ‘I’m a romance reader. There’s nothing nicer than a love story with a happy ever after. But my favourites are the classics.Wuthering Heights.Rebecca—’
‘Ooh, your namesake! Is that where your mom got your name from?’
For a moment, confusion clouded her mind until she realised what he meant. Of course, he knew her asRebeccanot Ruby. ‘Oh yes, maybe it was.’ She took a large mouthful of wine.
They finished their meal and talked about lots of very general things – something they were both more comfortable with. Clark hardly touched his wine, preferring to drink the water instead.
Once their plates had been cleared, a man appeared beside their table playing a violin. Ruby immediately recognised the tune as ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder and she lifted her chin to find Clark grinning at her.
‘May I have the pleasure of this dance, Rebecca?’ he asked, holding out his hand.
She smiled widely and shook her head. ‘Did you do this?’
He nodded.
‘I can’t believe it!’ She laughed as she took his hand and he led her to the small space between the tables.
As the talented violinist played, Clark swayed her to the music, much to the delight of the other afternoon patrons. Clark spun her around and she couldn’t help giggling. The combination of sunshine, wine and dancing had made her forget her troubles for a while.
Once the piece ended, the place erupted in applause.
As they went to retake their seats, Ruby glanced at her wristwatch and gasped. ‘Oh no! I need to get back!’
Clark huffed, but she could see by his bright expression that it was in good nature. ‘It’s like dating Cinderella.’ His use of the worddatingtook her a little by surprise but didn’t exactly bother her. He took her hand. ‘Come on, let’s get you home before the search party descends.’
14
They had just dismounted the bike back in Clark’s grounds when Jacopo and Nero arrived. Ruby quickly thrust the spare helmet into Clark’s hands and he handed her the oranges.
She lifted the edge of the scarf. ‘Thank you for a lovely time, Clark. I love my scarf and will have the oranges for breakfast tomorrow. See you soon!’ she called over her shoulder as she headed for the exit.
He waved and dutifully pressed the button to open the gate.
She smiled widely. ‘Hi Jacopo. Thank you for coming to collect me.’
He eyed her suspiciously but chose to say nothing other than, ‘Sì.’
She crouched and gave Nero a scratch behind his ears. ‘Hello, my little friend.’ The dog wagged his tail and jumped up to lick her chin.
Once back at VillaVista Mare, Ruby spotted Mitch in a grubby T-shirt, on the roof with another man she didn’t recognise. They appeared to be working on further repairs. As she stared up at the men, Mitch raised his hand in a wave, and she returned the gesture with a smile.
She made her way inside, followed closely by Nero, and up to her room. Tiredness had descended rather suddenly and although she’d missed a call from her parents, she flopped onto the bed and promptly fell asleep with the little dog curled into her side.
She was awoken sometime later by a knocking on her bedroom door. When she opened her eyes into a night-filled room, she was quite shocked.How long have I been asleep?
She walked across the room and opened the door.
