relationship with,’ she snapped.
‘What, Giovanni?’ Will scoffed. ‘He’s not right for you.’
‘Why not?’ she asked, unable to keep the outrage at bay. ‘Although, what the hell it’s got to do with you, I’ve no idea.’ How dare Will presume he knew her or what was right for her?
‘I know you.’ Much as she wanted to, she couldn’t duck his serious contemplation. ‘You need someone stronger. More worldly. Someone who will treat you as an equal.’
Lisa deliberately didn’t say anything. That counted him out. Will was infinitely superior and he knew it. Although it was doubly annoying that he’d nailed the very reason she was doing her best to discourage Giovanni’s determined flirtation, but she was damned if she was going to admit it out loud, especially not now and not to him, of all people.
‘Come on. Giovanni’s a lovely guy, but so is a Labrador puppy. There’s no emotional maturity there. Plus, he’s a good Italian mama’s boy. He’s not looking for an equal; he’s looking for someone to replace his mother. Someone who will look after him, tell him he’s wonderful and pick up after him. I can’t see you putting up with that.’
‘And you would know, would you?’ challenged Lisa, ignoring the flash of fury that his astute assessment triggered.
‘And there we go.’ Will smiled and he reached out and touched her hand. ‘You okay now?’
‘What?’ The unexpected contact startled her. It occurred to her that she hadn’t touched Will since that weekend or he her. Why now? They’d both been at great pains to avoid each other ever since THAT night.
He nodded his head towards the window and the view of the fields below them.
‘We’re safely off the ground.’ He leaned forward and fished a book out of the seat pocket.
She stared at his bowed head in open-mouthed astonishment, but he gave no sign of acknowledging it. She felt completely wrong-footed. Had his strategy been a deliberate distraction attempt, then? Had she told him over the late-night Cointreau they’d once shared? Could he have squirreled away the fact that she was terrified of take-offs and landings?
Low-level anxiety about the take-off had been bubbling away ever since she’d woken this morning and here she was, already several thousand feet up, without the usual sensation of sweat-drenched panic. Instead all her focus had been on the feelings Will stirred up.
She squirmed in her seat, not wanting to give him any credit for being kind. Will didn’t do ‘kind’. He was a bastard. A lying two-faced bastard. Surely he hadn’t deliberately wound her up just to help her. Winding her up was standard Will operating procedure.
He turned and caught her studying him.
‘What?’ he asked, resting a book of Italian recipes against his stomach, one finger lazily tracing the large silver scar on the palm of his left hand. Burns were an occupational hazard in professional kitchens, but he’d had that one a very long time. She’d often wondered how he’d got it.
‘What’s the deal with this Italian restaurant you’re setting up? Won’t it be pizza and pasta just like everyone else?’ She could needle too if she wanted.
Siena was right. They were as bad as brother and sister.
Will’s mouth twisted in a supercilious grimace. And she realised she’d answered the question.
‘Okay, why do you need to go to Italy?’ What she meant was why now and why Rome.
She nodded at the recipe book. ‘Wouldn’t desk research have sufficed?’
‘I want it to be authentic. Give people a taste of Italy that they’ve tried on their holidays. I’m going to break down the menu into different regional specialities.’
‘What, so you’re going to go to all the different parts of Italy as part of this re …?’ her voice died away as her words suddenly conjured up a vivid image: Will talking about his passion for Italian food, tracing a map of Italy on her naked stomach, pointing out Siena, Pisa and Bologna, before being distracted by the possible whereabouts of Sicily. That conversation hadn’t ever been finished. Heat flooded her cheeks and her nipples sprang to ridiculously misplaced attention at the memory of his hand dipping lower and lower.
To her surprise he looked away. Most unlike the cocky self-assured Will she was used to.
‘Obviously not, but I’ve been to … Sic … places in recent years and kept notes. But I’ve not been to Rome for a long time. This was the perfect opportunity.’
‘Welcome to Rome.’ Giovanni, planted an enthusiastic kiss on her lips, casting a slightly triumphant glance Will’s way. Lisa took a quick, indrawn breath and almost laughed out loud, except it might have hurt his feelings. Really? Giovanni thought he had competition there?
Tucking away her amusement, she focused on the cheerful chaotic family group that had emerged alongside them in the arrivals hall. With vociferous cries of delight, they fell upon a brown-eyed cherubic toddler, indiscriminate in his smiles as he was passed among welcoming aunts and uncles. A strange pang struck Lisa as he was finally hoisted onto his father’s shoulders. Waves of love radiated from the family group and for a brief second she wondered what it would feel like to be part of that. Nan loved her, but she was hardly the demonstrative type.
Nan’s response to her saying goodbye last night, and imploring her to take her tablets and behave, was a strident huff and a few choice words about Lisa’s fussing. Fussing! If only she knew. Reading those bloody leaflets that Dr Gupta had pressed upon her had left Lisa terrified and reinforced her decision to come to Rome. It was now or never. If anything did happen to Nan, she wouldn’t be able to leave her and she wanted this business with her father sorted before then. Lisa ignored the cowardly whisper, pointing out it would also be far easier to give him the ring and walk away without a backward glance, while Nan was still alive.
‘Come on. The car is this way.’ Giovani took her case and expertly wove his way through the busy airport and, when they stepped outside through the doors, even though it was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon, they were hit by a shaft of Italian heat and brilliant sunshine, a gorgeous contrast to the grey dampness of Luton they’d left scant hours ago. Her spirits lifted. She was here, in Rome and it had been kind of Giovanni to invite her. Despite the doubts that Will had planted in her head, she resolved to make the most of the next few days and enjoy herself.
She would cross any romantically inclined bridges with Giovanni as they came. Will’s dour predictions were Will being cynical. The young Italian was handsome and full of fun and, more importantly, he liked her. Perhaps she should give him a chance and see what developed and not assume that Giovanni was necessarily stereotypical of Italian men.
They stopped beside a tiny, battered Fiat 500, with one wing mirror missing. It looked as if it had done battle in a demolition derby and lost.
‘Seriously?’ Will drawled, looking at the car. ‘Is it safe?’
‘Yes.’ Giovanni grinned. ‘Perfect for Rome traffic.’
‘And
