‘Um, excuse me, I’m still here,’ Cesca pointed out. ‘And there’s no problem with taking me out, I’m a free agent.’
‘Of course you are,’ Sam agreed, sounding insanely cheerful. ‘Now go and enjoy yourself. Nice to meet you, Cristiano.’
‘You too.’ Cristiano started to get out of the car, ready to walk around and open her door, Cesca supposed.
‘No need to get out, I can do it.’ Sam flashed another smile before opening the passenger door. He held his hand out for Cesca. She shook her head, ignoring it altogether, settling herself into the low passenger seat.
‘I’ll see you at twelve. Have a good time.’ Before she could stop him, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of her face, just below her ear. His breath on her skin made Cesca shiver. After lingering there a moment longer than was polite, he stood up and slapped the side of the car twice.
‘Goodbye then.’
‘Goodbye,’ Cristiano said, the look of confusion still morphing his features. Cesca said nothing. Instead she shot Sam a dirty look, hoping it conveyed everything she was thinking right then.
Cristiano started the engine, expertly turning the car so that they were facing up the driveway, then slowly pressing his foot on the accelerator to cover the distance to the gate. When Cesca looked back, Sam was still standing at the bottom of the steps, arms folded across his chest.
For some reason that gave her no satisfaction at all.
21
Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs
– Romeo and Juliet
A night out with Cristiano was like watching a movie for the second time but seeing all its imperfections. They were driving on the same road, alongside the same lake, yet even the view seemed less magnificent than it did when she was with Sam. Cristiano tried his hardest, of course, and his natural charm did much to distract her from her thoughts. But every time there was silence, they kept going back to the villa.
To Sam.
She’d pretended to be cross when he’d accompanied her down to Cristiano’s car, and if she was really honest part of her was annoyed at his presumption. But that part was dwarfed by the warmth that was licking at her insides, as she remembered just how put out Sam had been earlier.
Cesca had liked that angry glint in his eyes. She’d enjoyed his controlled sarcasm. Most of all she’d loved the way he’d stared at her as Cristiano had navigated the car up the driveway, as if his favourite toy was being stolen by his arch enemy.
Not that she was a toy. But she liked the analogy anyway.
‘The lake is beautiful, is it not?’ Cristiano’s voice broke through her musings. When she turned to look at him he was smiling, his eyes on the road as he steered with one hand on the wheel, the other tapping out a rhythm on the car door. Though he shared a heritage with Sam – and both of them sported the same dark good looks, they had so little else in common. Not in her eyes, anyway. And it was a disappointment to be driving along this beautiful road with a man who wasn’t sparking any feeling in her at all. It felt even worse that she was wishing he was somebody else. Somebody altogether more annoying.
‘It really is. I love the way the boats all light up at night. They look like fireflies dancing on the surface of the water.’
‘The view next to me is beautiful, too.’ This time he turned his smile on her. His teeth glinted in the moonlight. ‘I’m sorry if we upset your friend. He didn’t seem very happy that you were leaving.’
He was the master of the understatement. ‘He’s just being awkward,’ she told him. ‘He likes to wind me up.’
‘Like a clock?’ Cristiano frowned.
‘No, I mean he likes to annoy me. Make me angry. It’s an English expression. Though I guess it could come from winding up a clock. Making things tighter and all that.’
‘Are you angry now?’
Cesca considered his question. She wasn’t exactly angry, but she wasn’t relaxed either. There was an edge to her that made her skin hurt. ‘Not right now,’ she said, aware that she was on a date with another man. ‘But I’ll be having words with him when I get back. There was no need for him to be so . . . ’ She screwed her face up, trying to think of a good word to describe Sam’s behaviour. It hadn’t exactly been rude, but he hadn’t been gracious either.
Possessive. That’s what he’d been. The child and toy analogy came to mind again.
‘Whatever.’ She waved her hand. ‘Let’s not talk about Sam any more. Why don’t you tell me about this restaurant. You’re thinking of buying it, right?’
So the drive continued, with Cristiano happily filling her in on the local restaurant scene, explaining the different cuisines, and how he’d been trying out the local competition. Before she knew it they were co
ming to a stop, parking in a lot right outside a large, modern building.
Inside, it was as different from Sam’s restaurant as night and day, all glitzy and new, full of beautiful people who wanted to be seen.