‘Ciao.’
Tilly disappeared into the shelves, picking up a few titles that interested her before settling near the children’s books. The titles were difficult to translate, but the names of the authors were obvious.
At the very bottom, hidden behind a wall of Harry Potter translations, she saw a familiar binding. ‘Aha!’ She slipped it out. Il Castello Sulla Scogliera stared back at her. She had read all the Famous Five books as a child. She flicked the pages and ran her finger over the words. A foreign language couldn’t diminish the promise of the book.
She moved to the cash register and placed her trophy down, hoping her smile would compensate for the fact that she didn’t speak more than a few words of Italian.
The woman nodded, as if understanding, and pointed to the price on the cover. Tilly fumbled into her handbag, bypassing her phone on her way to her wallet. Her phone! She hadn’t even realised that here in Capri she must have reception.
She placed a ten euro note on the counter and waited for change. The woman slid the book into a brown paper bag, her smile dismissive.
‘Grazie,’ Tilly murmured, nestling the book into her bag as she lifted her phone. She switched it on and waited for it to load up.
A few text messages came in—one from Jack, thanking her again for saving his life, one from her mother, asking if she was coming for dinner at the weekend, and one from Art asking where a file had been saved on her computer.
She tapped out a quick reply to Art, and then went into her emails. There was nothing from Cressida.
She lifted her gaze, scanning the market, and located Rio instantly. Though he was surrounded by other shoppers, she could have spotted him from five times the distance.
As if sensing her inspection, he looked up, his eyes clashing with hers. The zing of lust was strong enough to make her slow to a stop. It was overwhelming.
He made up for her lack of movement, cutting through the shoppers easily until he was right before her.
‘Lunch?’ he prompted, his eyes dropping to her lips in a way that made her want to lift her mouth and kiss him.
Wordlessly, she nodded.
Lunch first. And whatever else he wanted after that.
CHAPTER SIX
THE RESTAURANT OVERLOOKED the whole bay. It was up at least a hundred narrow steps, but as Tilly stared over the sweeping ocean, seeing the colourful boats and the golden sun, she admitted to herself that the climb had absolutely been worth it.
Lavender framed the terrace, exploding from terracotta pots, spiking the air with darts of mauve. She reached forward and clipped one of the leaves, lifting it to her nose. The tell-tale scent came to her quickly, but there was something else. She craned forward and beneath the pot plant saw a tiny jasmine vine scrambling up the wall, reaching towards her.
‘Do not even think about falling,’ a dark voice murmured from just behind her.
She straightened, casting a look over her shoulder and rolling her eyes.
But her heart slammed against her ribcage when she saw Rio holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. Her eyes stuck to him, as though glued.
‘I have ordered lunch,’ he murmured, nodding towards the table directly beside them.
She nodded—a tiny movement.
He poured two glasses of wine; it was ice-cold and a buttery yellow colour. He lifted one and handed it to her, his eyes holding hers.
‘Cheers,’ she said as she took it, and he lifted his glass, clinking it against the side of hers lightly. ‘Have you been here before?’
‘To Capri?’
‘No. To this restaurant.’
‘Ah. Once, when I first visited Prim’amore.’
Her curiosity over his decision to buy it flared back to life. ‘Did you inspect the island like I am?’
‘No.’ He forced a smile to his face. ‘It was a sudden visit.’