Page 86 of A Place in the Sun
He steps even closer and I can feel him, smell him, almost hear the beat of his heart. And then he steps forward and takes my face in his hands. ‘I think we could,’ he smiles slowly, ‘as long as you remember always to cut the garlic with a razor blade when you’re making lasagne.’ His head is slowly dipping towards mine. ‘Oh, and you remember to use the blue lasagne dish because it’ll taste better. Always,’ he says, and slides his hand around the back of my head. ‘But I prefer sauce first, then pasta.’
‘That’s something we’ll have to argue about.’
‘Of course, for as long as you like.’ Finally his lips are on mine and they’re everything I want them to be. Not like Marco’s, not like the past, like a whole new exciting future.
His fingers entwine with mine, and I feel exactly where I should be right now. Home.
We pull away from each other, still holding each other’s hands.
‘Let’s take things slowly. Keep things to ourselves for a while, allow us time to get used to being with each other,’ says Giovanni. ‘I don’t want you to feel rushed.’
‘I agree. This is our secret.’
‘Like a family recipe we’re creating,’ he says, moving in to kiss me again, and I like the idea of a recipe for which we’re still finding the ingredients. But the most important one is love.
‘It has too much coffee!’
There is a clatter as we turn from where we’re standing, against each other, holding hands, the abandoned rucksack on the floor.
‘Giovanni, try this tiramisu!’
‘It has too much coffee, try mine, it’s much better!’
‘I’ve made a different version from my home town!’
‘It’s not even real tiramisu!!’
They stare at us. The threenonnas all clutching dishes in front of them are suddenly silent. And then they explode.
‘They are together!’
‘I knew all along that they were right for each other!’
‘You said we should try to get her with Sebastian!’
‘Until I realized how they felt about each other!’
‘I noticed it first!’
‘I think you’ll find I nudged you!’
‘Ladies, please.’ Giovanni holds up a hand, silencing them. ‘We’re just starting out. We’re taking things very slowly.’
They put their tiramisus on the table and rush forward as one to embrace us. It’s like being hugged by a huge duvet, warm, comforting and suffocating all at the same time.
‘We should throw a party!’
‘Yes, a celebration!’
‘A new family in the village!’
‘It could be a celebration-of-love party!’
‘An engagement party!’
‘An engagement party!’ they agree and, try as we might, we can’t get a word in edgeways.
‘I can bake the cake!’
