was. I can’t help it. I can’t help what I feel, but I can help how I act. So I smile brightly as Adrian tells me about growing up in Malta.
“It was a lovely childhood,” he tells me. “I grew up on an estate outside of town. It was peaceful and very quiet and I had the full run of the place. But it was a little too quiet, you know? I like city life.”
“See, I’m just the opposite,” I answer. “I love the country and the quiet. I love people, but I like to return to my empty house at the end of the night and re-charge. I guess I’m an introvert in that way. You’re an extrovert through and through. Being with people feeds your energy.”
“You are right on the money with that,” Adrian laughs. “I do love to be with people. My boss, who happens to have been a childhood friend, is just the opposite. He would never come out if he can help it, a total introvert. I don’t really understand it.”
Marianne comes back to our table with another bottle of wine, but I stop her before she can open it.
“I can’t,” I tell her, as I look at my watch. “I’ve still got work to do tonight and I need to get up early tomorrow. I really should go.”
She smiles. “Will I see you tomorrow, sweet? I’ll save you a table.”
I nod. “Of course. I can’t eat my own cooking, trust me. I’ll be here for dinner.”
She kisses me and I marvel in the fact that she has accepted me so quickly. It’s refreshing. People back home are slightly more suspicious and hardened toward strangers and I know that that is a cultural thing on both counts.
Adrian picks up the check, even though I try to insist that I would like to buy my own. But he is insistent, so I allow it this time. Once he pays it, we are once again out in the night breeze.
“I love this,” I say as I sniff at the brisk and salty sea air. “I could breathe this for the rest of my life. It makes for such a good night’s sleep.”
“True,” Adrian answers as he slips an arm around my shoulders. “And it makes for intimate date nights, too.”
I look at him and shake my head, but I don’t remove his arm. The breeze is chilly and his arm is warm.
“You’re not getting into my pants tonight,” I tell him bluntly. “Just so you know.”
He laughs. “You Americans. You’re always right to the point.”
I smile. “I suppose. You should just know that my heart isn’t going to be broken by you and left behind your steam-roller.”
He laughs again. “I think you mean street- sweeper.”
“That too.”
We round the corner and step onto my drive and I stop short. A shiny black Jaguar is parked in front of my cottage. And Luca Minaldi is sitting on my porch steps. His dark eyes briefly flicker over my face, over Adrian’s arm that is wrapped loosely around my shoulders, over the entire scene. I wonder what it looks like to him, but don’t take the time to dwell on it.
“Luca,” I say as we approach. “What a nice surprise.”
And it is. I’m surprised by the jolting thrill that shoots through me when I see him.
What is even more surprising though, is Adrian’s reaction.
“Luca, what are you doing here?” Adrian asks. “Is everything alright?”
I glance sharply at Adrian and then our conversation from Marianne’s comes back to me. He grew up on an estate outside of town with a boss who doesn’t like people.
He works for Luca.
Luca looks at him. “I’m fine,” he tells him. “It’s my mother.”
And then he shifts his attention to me.
“Dr. Talbot, I realize that this is an imposition, but could you possibly take a look at her? She’s been despondent all day and we cannot calm her down. Her doctor is out of town for the next two weeks. I’m not sure what to do with her.”
“You could take her to the hospital,” I suggest. But Adrian is already shaking his head.
“No, we can’t do that. She would hate the
“It was a lovely childhood,” he tells me. “I grew up on an estate outside of town. It was peaceful and very quiet and I had the full run of the place. But it was a little too quiet, you know? I like city life.”
“See, I’m just the opposite,” I answer. “I love the country and the quiet. I love people, but I like to return to my empty house at the end of the night and re-charge. I guess I’m an introvert in that way. You’re an extrovert through and through. Being with people feeds your energy.”
“You are right on the money with that,” Adrian laughs. “I do love to be with people. My boss, who happens to have been a childhood friend, is just the opposite. He would never come out if he can help it, a total introvert. I don’t really understand it.”
Marianne comes back to our table with another bottle of wine, but I stop her before she can open it.
“I can’t,” I tell her, as I look at my watch. “I’ve still got work to do tonight and I need to get up early tomorrow. I really should go.”
She smiles. “Will I see you tomorrow, sweet? I’ll save you a table.”
I nod. “Of course. I can’t eat my own cooking, trust me. I’ll be here for dinner.”
She kisses me and I marvel in the fact that she has accepted me so quickly. It’s refreshing. People back home are slightly more suspicious and hardened toward strangers and I know that that is a cultural thing on both counts.
Adrian picks up the check, even though I try to insist that I would like to buy my own. But he is insistent, so I allow it this time. Once he pays it, we are once again out in the night breeze.
“I love this,” I say as I sniff at the brisk and salty sea air. “I could breathe this for the rest of my life. It makes for such a good night’s sleep.”
“True,” Adrian answers as he slips an arm around my shoulders. “And it makes for intimate date nights, too.”
I look at him and shake my head, but I don’t remove his arm. The breeze is chilly and his arm is warm.
“You’re not getting into my pants tonight,” I tell him bluntly. “Just so you know.”
He laughs. “You Americans. You’re always right to the point.”
I smile. “I suppose. You should just know that my heart isn’t going to be broken by you and left behind your steam-roller.”
He laughs again. “I think you mean street- sweeper.”
“That too.”
We round the corner and step onto my drive and I stop short. A shiny black Jaguar is parked in front of my cottage. And Luca Minaldi is sitting on my porch steps. His dark eyes briefly flicker over my face, over Adrian’s arm that is wrapped loosely around my shoulders, over the entire scene. I wonder what it looks like to him, but don’t take the time to dwell on it.
“Luca,” I say as we approach. “What a nice surprise.”
And it is. I’m surprised by the jolting thrill that shoots through me when I see him.
What is even more surprising though, is Adrian’s reaction.
“Luca, what are you doing here?” Adrian asks. “Is everything alright?”
I glance sharply at Adrian and then our conversation from Marianne’s comes back to me. He grew up on an estate outside of town with a boss who doesn’t like people.
He works for Luca.
Luca looks at him. “I’m fine,” he tells him. “It’s my mother.”
And then he shifts his attention to me.
“Dr. Talbot, I realize that this is an imposition, but could you possibly take a look at her? She’s been despondent all day and we cannot calm her down. Her doctor is out of town for the next two weeks. I’m not sure what to do with her.”
“You could take her to the hospital,” I suggest. But Adrian is already shaking his head.
“No, we can’t do that. She would hate the
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