‘But that’s not true. Well...not strictly true. Because I have named what I really want. Natalie Clarke.’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because.’
‘Because why?’
‘Caleb doesn’t want her there.’
‘Is that the only reason? Because I can talk to Caleb.’
‘It’s the only reason you’re going to get.’
Sunshine gave him a bemused look. ‘Is this because you used to date her? You know, I’m good friends with all my exes.’
‘I, however, am not.’
‘Why not?’
Leo scooped up a spoonful of gelato. Ate it. ‘I just don’t do that.’
‘Why not?’
‘They’re just not that...that kind.’
‘Kind?’
‘Kind of person. People. Not the kind of people I’m friends with.’
She nodded wisely. ‘You’re choosing wrong.’
He took another mouthful of gelato. Said nothing.
‘Because you don’t want someone, really,’ she said. ‘You’re like me.’ Sunshine tapped her heart. ‘No room in here.’
Leo’s spoon clattered into his bowl. ‘I’ve got room. Plenty. But I want...’ He stopped, looking confused.
‘You want...?’
‘Someone...special.’
‘Special as in...?’
‘As in someone to throw myself off the cliff for, leap into the abyss with,’ he said, sounding goaded. ‘There! Are you happy?’
‘My happiness is not the issue here.’
He dragged a hand over his head. Gave a short, surprised laugh. ‘I want all or nothing.’
‘And Natalie didn’t?’
‘She wanted...the illusion. She wanted the illusion of it without the depth.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yes—oh.’
‘Not that I think there’s anything wrong with not wanting the depth.’
‘Of course there’s something wrong with it,’ he said with asperity. ‘You’re wrong about the whole no-room, sex-not-love thing.’
‘Each to his or her own,’ Sunshine said. ‘And I still don’t see why Natalie can’t perform at the reception. You wouldn’t even have to talk to her. I could do the negotiations.’
He snorted.
‘Why the snort?’
‘Forget it.’
‘I am not going to forget it.
‘Look—’ He stopped, shot a hand across his scalp again. ‘No, I don’t want to go there.’
‘Well, I do!’
‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ Leo looked at her, exasperated. ‘Natalie is a bunny-boiler, okay? She would not settle for negotiating with you—she’d be aiming for me. Always, always me. Got it?’
Sunshine sat back in her seat. Stared. ‘No!’
‘Yes!’
‘But...why?’
‘How the hell do I know why? I only know the what—like eating at one of my restaurants every week. Driving my staff nuts with questions about me. Sending me stuff. So just leave it, Sunshine. I know another singer. Her name’s Kate. I’ll give you some CDs to listen to.’
‘Is she an ex?’
‘No. She’s just a good singer with no agenda.’
Sunshine sighed inwardly but admitted defeat. ‘Fair enough.’ She stretched her arms over her head and arched her back. ‘Mmm. Next time maybe you should teach me how to make paella. I love paella.’
‘One problem with that plan,’ Leo said. ‘I am never entering a kitchen with you again.’
‘Oh, that’s mean.’
‘Think of the poor tomatoes.’
‘What was wrong with the tomatoes?’
‘Other than the fact that they looked like blood-spatter from a crime scene?’
Sunshine bit her lip against a gurgle of laughter. ‘What about the prosciutto? I managed to tear that the way you showed me.’
‘Flayed flesh.’
‘Ouch,’ Sunshine said, but she was laughing. ‘What about how I scooped the gelato?’
‘Please! Like ooze from a wound.’
‘It’s a good thing I don’t have any coffee, or we’d be up to poison.’
‘Since I didn’t see an espresso machine in that shell of a kitchen, poison sounds about right.’
Rolling her eyes, Sunshine pushed her chair back from the table. ‘Well, then, I will make you some tea—something all well-bred hippies can do. Unless you have some words to throw at me about scalded skin. The invitation is on the coffee table, waiting for your approval, so why don’t you check it out while I clear up? Something else I can do.’
She watched from the corner of her eye as Leo moved to the couch, sat, reached for the invitation.
He was smiling—full-on!—as he slid the pad of his thumb so gently across the card, as though it were something precious. Oh, he did look good when he smiled. It was kind of crooked, with the left side lifting up further than the right. A little rusty. And it just got her—bang!— right in the chest.
Fried bat, anyone?
Tearing her eyes away, Sunshine finished making the tea.
‘So! Is it okay?’ she asked, sliding two mugs onto the coffee table and sitting beside Leo.
He turned to her, smiled again. Heaven!
‘It’s great. The calligraphy too.’
‘I guess the next step is to discuss the menu.’
Leo picked up his mug.
