I blanched and stood, wiping the dirt from the back of my denim shorts.
“Are we ready to head on?” I asked.
Gianluca came up beside me and together, we took up the lead at the front of the group. We trekked on in silence for a bit, the only sound coming from our feet crunching against the dirt. I could feel his attention on me and I turned to glance at him from beneath my lashes.
He was wearing a little grin.
“Don’t even say it.”
“What?”
“I can see the wheels spinning in your head, Gianluca.”
“I was just going to compliment you on your fancy red bandanna.”
“He was just being nice,” I hissed right before properly tripping over my next stair. “See! You were having a go at me and made me trip.”
He reached down and hauled me back to my feet, brushing the dust from my bare legs. Even when I was clean, he didn’t remove his hand from my upper arm. He took some of the weight for me and half carried me up the next few flights of stairs. It was all a bit macho man for my taste, but honestly, it felt good. At that point, my feet were just two massive blisters.
“I know I shouldn’t, but I haven’t felt this jealous in a long time, Georgie,” he said, his tone low enough that the others couldn’t hear.
I arched a brow. “Scared I’ll run off to the new world with a hunky American?”
His eyes narrowed. I’d pushed a button and I liked it.
“Maybe I will. It worked for my brother; he found a nice American girl.”
He shook his head, having had more than enough of me for the moment.
“How’re your feet?”
I supposed he could tell they were aching.
“They’ve been better.”
“Should I put you on my back? I could carry you the rest of the way.”
I grinned. “My own personal Sherpa.”
He didn’t think that was as funny as I did.
“No, it’s okay,” I continued. “It’s the only way I’ll learn.”
I still felt a bit ill, not quite sick, but I thought the sun might have been getting to me a little. My stomach felt a bit queasy too, but I didn’t want to tell him that. It was his birthday and nothing was going to ruin it.
Matteo and Paolo suggested the guys go on ahead, race up the hill against one another, and we encouraged them. Honestly, I needed a bit of a break from Taylor and Gianluca. The two of them doting on me like that was going to go straight to my head, and I’d soon start believing even more than I already did that I was god’s gift to mankind.
“Finally,” Katerina said, linking her arm through mine. “Let’s let them go on ahead and we’ll go at our own pace.”
Sofia agreed, muttering in choppy English mixed with Italian about how torturous the hike was.
We laughed and continued on at a snail’s pace. With the boys gone, it was much nicer. We walked slow and took breaks in the shade when we felt like it.
“Sooooo…” Katerina said, shaking my arm. “What do you think of Taylor?”
“Hmmm? He’s nice.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I mean, what do you think about him? He’s a nomad like you, G.”
I opened my mouth, confused about what she was getting at, and then I realized I’d never filled Katerina in on Gianluca and I reaching an armistice. We’d rewound our relationship, but Katerina still assumed I was heartbroken over him.
“On paper, he’s everything you’re looking for. Georgie, I saw that he was reading Oliver Twist! He had it in his backpack. It isn’t A Tale of Two Cities, but what are the odds? You named that exact author when you talked about the kind of man you wanted for a future husband.”
Had I said that? Funny.
“He’s cute too, and polite. Most importantly, I asked and he has no girlfriend, no wife, no skeletons in his closet.”
“Right.”
“That’s all you have to say?” She was shocked, maybe even a bit annoyed with my lack of enthusiasm. “You’ve been waiting for a man like Taylor since you arrived here and you’re not even going to give him a chance?”
“Katerina, I’m not interested. Okay? He’s not for me. No chemistry. He chatted with me for a good ten minutes back there before I realized he was trying to lay on the charm.”
“Give him a chance. He’s probably just nervous.”
“Why don’t you date him if you’re so keen on him?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You’re the one being ridiculous!”
We walked on for a bit longer then, in brooding silence.
Then, finally, she turned and grilled me.
“What happened with Gianluca?”
I hesitated before telling her the truth. Her words flashed through my mind—she’d warned me to keep away from Gianluca, to protect my heart against him. She’d said that out of every man in Vernazza, Gianluca was the last one I should I fancy. What would she say if she knew we were sleeping together again? That I was still so in love with him it blinded me to all logic and reason.
I sighed before replying. “We talked and neither one of us wants to throw in the towel just yet—”
“Oh good GOD!”
“What?!”
“Nothing.” She shook her head and tried to move past me. “C’mon, let’s just catch up with the others.”
I reached for her arm to tug her back. “No! Say it!”