Page 119 of The Middle-Aged Virgin (The Middle-Aged Virgin 1)

He looks hot, he’s amazing in bedandhe can cook? What’s not to love about this man?

We’d seen each other every evening this week. I’d met him after work, and despite being exhausted, he’d still put on a stellar performance at least twice. The same when I’d met him last night, and so far he’d already given me a good Sunday morning…

Today we’d be able to relax as he also had tomorrow off, and I’d already planned to join him. The team had proved a million times over that they could hold the fort without me. Plus, what better way to demonstrate that I was putting my work-life balance plan into action than by spending a Monday with this Italian god?

After a long and delicious lunch, Lorenzo put on some music and we relaxed on the bed, just holding each other.

‘So…’ I said, humming along to the song I instantly recognised as ‘Heartbeat’. ‘You’re a fan of the Eclectic Detectives?’

‘Yes?’ he said, frowning. ‘You know them? They are a great band. I like them very much.’

‘Ilovethem too!’ I said, giving him a peck on the lips in appreciation.

‘You do, Sophia?’ he said, his eyes growing wide. You are the first person I have met who knows their music,’ he said.

‘Ditto! Who else do you like?’ I asked.

As he rattled off a long list, I couldn’t believe my ears. We loved the same music. Whilst he wasn’t keen on some of my more mainstream pop choices, lots of the lesser-known rock, jazz and UK soul artists I adored were amongst his favourites too.

‘This is lovely,’ I said, stroking his chest. ‘I could just lay here forever. Thank you for the amazing food. You are very talented. In more ways than one…’ I laughed cheekily and kissed him again firmly on the lips.

‘Prego,’ he replied, stroking my face.

‘And you don’t mind cooking on your day off?’ I asked.

‘For me, cooking is my passion, so it is not like work,’ he replied. ‘If it was, it would be difficult to be a chef because of the long hours. And cooking for you makes you happy, so it makes me happy too.’ He smiled, then leant forward, planting a kiss on my lips.

‘You’re amazing,’ I replied. ‘And also, much more relaxed than how I remember you in Tuscany. You were very, I don’t know… at times, you were moody. The last night we spent together, you were lovely, of course, but apart from that, you seemed unhappy and stressed. Whereas now you appear much calmer.’

‘It is because I am with you,’ he said, grinning, then kissing me again.

Hmm. Whilst what he said was nice, I sensed there was more to it than that… I knew I should just enjoy the moment and the time we were having together now, rather than look back to what had happened in the past, but I just needed to know what had happened before and why he’d stood me up in Florence.

‘Speaking of Tuscany and Florence,’ I said, stroking his chest again to help relax him enough to open up to me, ‘what happened that time we were supposed to meet? Why did you stand me up? Sorry, plain English: why did you not meet with me?’

I felt his body tense up as if he was uncomfortable with the question.

‘I told you, I had to work,’ he muttered quietly.

‘I know, but I’m confused,’ I said, sensing that I was pushing some buttons he didn’t want me to. ‘I’d asked you before what dates you were free, and you checked and said the dates were fine, so I booked the hotel and my flight. It was only when I contacted you a couple of days before that you mentioned work. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have even told me you couldn’t make it.’

‘Not true,’ he said, edging away from me slightly, causing my hand to fall off his chest. ‘I was going to tell you…’ He sighed. ‘It is complicated. My life then was complicated. It was a difficult time for me.’

‘So why didn’t you just explain that to me so I could understand?’ I asked.

He froze again. Why was I even pushing this? I knew I risked opening a can of worms and ruining what had started to be the perfect day, but it had been niggling at me for months and he’d made me feel so shitty that, before I got in any deeper with him, I just needed to know why he thought it was okay to reject me with just forty-eight hours’ notice.

‘Sophia,’ he said, sighing loudly again. ‘I’ve had a very difficult life. I am very damaged. I have had bad experiences. Especially with women.’ He paused. ‘It is a long story.’

‘That’s okay,’ I replied, edging closer then wrapping my arms around him again. ‘You’ve got a day off today and I have too, so you can tell me. I’m not going anywhere,’ I said defiantly. ‘I’ve got all the time in the world.’

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