Page 58 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis
“The dog ate a three-thousand-euro truffle?”Naomi asked.
“It was the best meal of his life, I think. Giovanni cried for an hour.”
Thick oak and hazelnut trees filled the forest, with leaves that created a canopy that filtered sunlight into golden patches on the ground. Luca parked beside a narrow trail marked only by a small wooden sign.
“From here, we walk. Stay close, follow the dogs, and remember—nature makes the rules here, not us.”
Bella immediately put her nose to the ground, tail wagging furiously as she began her search pattern. Rocco was more methodical, moving in careful grids while Luca watched their body language like he was reading a book.
“How do you know where to look?”Naomi asked, stepping carefully over a fallen log.
“I don’t. They do.”Luca pointed to the dogs. “Truffles grow underground, near the roots of certain trees. The dogs smell what we cannot. Bella is young and enthusiastic. Sometimes she gets excited about rabbit droppings. Rocco, he is serious. When Rocco stops, we dig.”
We’d been walking for maybe thirty minutes when Naomi stumbled over a root, windmilling her arms to keep from falling. I slipped an arm around her waist, steadying her.
“Graceful,” I teased.
“Very funny. These boots are bigger than my feet.”
“Why didn’t you say something? We could have found smaller ones.”
“And miss you watching me stumble through the forest like a baby giraffe?”
I chuckled and pushed my lips into her jaw, feeling her shiver in my grasp. Our eyes met and we stared at each other, unmoving as warm, charging energy swirled around us.
“Rocco has something!” Luca shouted from ahead.
We broke our stare down and jogged up to them. The little terrier was practically vibrating with excitement, his nose buried in the earth beside a massive oak tree. Luca approached.
“Si, si. This is promising.”He knelt beside the dog, brushing away leaves and debris. “Naomi, come. You will make the first dig.”
“Me? I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Perfetto. The truffle, she does not care about experience. Here, use this.”He handed her a small hand rake. “Very gentle. Truffles are delicate, like a woman’s heart.”
Naomi chuckled. “How poetic.”
She knelt beside Luca, carefully scraping away soil. “How deep do I dig?”
“Not deep. Maybe ten, fifteen centimeters. Feel with your fingers.”
I watched her work, and there was something incredibly appealing about seeing her this way—focused but relaxed, willing to get her hands dirty for the experience.
“Wait,”she said suddenly. “I think I feel something.”
Luca peered over her shoulder. “Careful now. Like you are uncovering buried treasure.”
“Technically, I am uncovering buried treasure. An expensive buried treasure.”
Her fingers worked gently in the soil, and suddenly she gasped. “Oh my God, there’s really something here!”
“Let me see.”Luca took over the extraction, and moments later, he held up a truffle the size of a golf ball. “Madonna mia! This is beautiful!”
Naomi sat back on her heels, grinning and covered in dirt. “I found it?”
“You found it,”I confirmed.
“I found a truffle! I actually found a truffle!”Her eyes lit up and she looked so proud of herself that I wanted to kiss her right there in the forest.
