Page 74 of A Place in the Sun
‘No, we’ll be fine!’ she says, linking arms with the other twononnas and they walk down the narrowcobbled street together, bouncing off each other’s hips, heads together, deep in conversation.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll see they get home,’ says Stella, hurrying after them, making me smile.
I breathe in the night air.
‘So, limoncello?’ Giovanni asks.
‘I’d love that.’
We step into the courtyard where the bunting is sodden and the jars hanging from the tree are filled with water.
‘Shame about the weather,’ I say.
He laughs as we head back into the kitchen. ‘They had the full Tuscan experience!’ He takes a bottle of limoncello from the dresser and pours two glasses. ‘It was good to see Stella here tonight,’ he says, putting the bottle on the table and handing me a glass.
‘It was.’ I accept it from him. I can smell the lemons before I’ve tasted it. I take a sip of the sweet, zingy liqueur.
‘And they seemed to have enjoyed it?’ he says.
‘I’m sure they’ll want to book more events. Luca’s filmed some of the workshops so we can make a reel and put it on social media. You’ll be inundated with students –work outings, hen weekends, big celebration birthdays …’
He looks down. ‘Grazie, Thea.’
‘No, thank you, Giovanni. Now I have a house I can sell.’
He sips. ‘And you and Sebastian, you have made a connection again?’
I stop mid-sip, in the simple orange glow of the under-cupboard lights in the kitchen.
‘Yes … It’s … good to see him again.’
‘And he is very pleased to see you. He told me you and he were together before you married your husband.’
‘Yes, we were. A lifetime ago!’
We fall into a silence.
And then, ‘And now?’
I swallow the limoncello.
‘Seems he would like you back in his life.’ He tilts his head.
‘He said as much.’
‘And what are you thinking?’
‘I … I don’t know.’
‘It’s good to have people in your life to love you, isn’t it?’
‘It is.’
‘It’s what we all want? No?’
He’s right. ‘He’s a kind man, I can see that.’
‘He is.’
