I open the door and Adrian is smiling at me already.
“Hi,” he says easily. And he hands me a bouquet of wildflowers. I laugh, because I recognize them from my own lawn.
“These look familiar,” I tell him. “So you have good taste.”
He laughs too because he knows he’s been caught. “It’s the thought that counts, right?” he tells me. “I’m sorry. I just left work. I wanted to stop and get you flowers, but I didn’t want to be late.”
“Now that
is
a quandary,” I agree. “Just a second, let me put these in water.”
“You look lovely,” he calls from behind me as I turn and leave the room.
“Thank you,” I call back over my shoulder.
I grab a tall glass because I can’t find a vase and I fill it with water, then set the flowers on the table.
“I’m ready,” I tell him as I grab my purse.
“After you,” he bows low at the door, exaggerated and gentlemanly. I have to laugh again. There is something about Adrian’s easy manner that is just so likeable. We laugh and chat all the way to Marianne’s and when we walk through the door, she greets us with a warm smile.
“Mia bella,” she says as she kisses my cheeks. “I see you’ve met our resident rogue!” And then she kisses Adrian’s cheeks too.
“Don’t listen to Marianne,” Adrian tells me in an exaggerated stage-like whisper. “It’s all unfounded rumor. I am no such thing.”
“Pish,” she tells him. “You’ve left more broken hearts behind you than a street-sweeper. You had better not hurt my new little friend.”
“Me?” And Adrian looks completely offended and puzzled. “I would never. And besides. Since when does a street-sweeper break hearts?”
Marianne leans up and smacks Adrian on the shoulder.
“You know what I mean, you rascal. A street-sweeper bowls over everything in its path, much like you do.” And she smiles again. “Let me show you to a table. I’m happy that you will be here to keep Eva company. As long as you behave yourself, that is.”
And she turns to show us to our table and Adrian leans toward me.
“I see you have a fan club already.”
I shrug. “People like me.”
He grins and I grin back.
“I’m kidding. She’s a very nice lady. She felt sorry for me last night since I was in here alone. She doesn’t realize that where I’m from, that’s very normal. A woman can eat alone and it’s not a tragedy.”
Adrian shakes his head. “Not true. Anytime you are eating alone, it is a tragedy for mankind. You should never be alone. There should always be someone with you to appreciate your beauty.”
I have to shake my head again at his blatant and sugary flirting and I can see what Marianne means. I’m quite positive that Adrian has broken more hearts than he knows what to do with and probably completely by accident. Thankfully, I know that I’m not interested in a relationship with him. I know that because when I am ready, it will be with someone who turns my heart inside out.
Someone like Luca Minaldi.
The thought pops unbidden into my head, just as thoughts of him have been springing up right and left since I met him. I shake them away. This is ridiculous. I’m here with a handsome and charming man. I’m going to enjoy it, not spend it thinking of Luca Minaldi.
So I do.
We talk and sip at wine for hours.
I eat more breadsticks than I know what to do with. Adrian laughs because I’m so skinny but can apparently eat my weight in bread.
“I don’t know where you put it all, Eve,” he tells me, his eyes sparkling.
“My name isn’t Eve,” I tell him. “It’s Eva.”
“I know,” he answers. “But you are beautiful enough that you could tempt me into anything, even eating from the Tree of Life. So to me, you will always be Eve.”
“I don’t know if that’s a compliment,” I tell him and I know my cheeks are flushed from the wine. “You’re comparing me to someone who was the fall of mankind.”
He laughs and lifts his wineglass. “Here’s to temptation.”
And I laugh and toast with him, but honestly, this conversation makes me a little uneasy. I feel a strange pressure now to return the admiration that he feels for me. And honestly, I just don’t.
And it’s not that I don’t think he’s attractive. Clearly, he is attractive. And he’s charming and sweet. And I like him. But when I think of him, I think of a golden retriever. Happy, loyal, not too deep. I think I need a man with substance.
Like Luca Minaldi.
Ugh. There he is again. My thoughts are not safe from him, night or day. I dreamed of him last night and today he has been running rampant in there. I once again put him out of my mind as I make polite small talk with Adrian.
I feel suddenly rude, suddenly fake.
I hope that Adrian hasn’t noticed that I am not as engaged in our conversation now as I 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 publicity. Would you mind coming to look?”
It is Adrian who is asking me now and I find it sweet that he is so loyal to his employer. He said
we,
as if the problem is also his. I add
loyal
to his list and then look back to Luca.
Luca’s expression is unreadable and as dark as always. But his eyes, there is something deep within his eyes, something vulnerable and sad, that does me in and I find myself nodding.
“Okay. I’m not licensed to practice medicine in Malta, so I can’t prescribe her any medication, but I can come take a look at her.”
“Thank you,” Luca tells me and his voice is sincere. “I appreciate it more than you know.”
I only just now notice that he is holding a bag. He sees me notice it and he holds it out. “I didn’t come empty handed,” he tells me. For the first time, I see the hint of a smile on his lips. “I brought you a house-warming gift.”
I eye it curiously as he hands it to me. I peer into the bag and can’t help but laugh.
There are two cans of aerosol insecticide nestled within tissue paper. The black and red labels on them announce that they are guaranteed to rid a house of common and pesky spiders. I look up at Luca and grin.
“Practical, yet thoughtful. Thank you.”
He smiles back, and for the first time, it seems to really reach his eyes and warm them. They seem like milk chocolate now.
“You’re welcome. I won’t always be in the neighborhood when Spawns of Satan come calling. I thought you should be protected.”
I smile and shake my head, embarrassed once again at how terrified I had been of that spider.
“Thank you. Now, I’ll run this inside and grab a bag and then I’ll be ready.”
I brush past him to get inside and I know the instant I touch him. He is hard and masculine and he smells like spicy musk. I inhale slightly as I pass and his eyes meet mine. There is a connection there, a charged and potent connection. It’s like he doesn’t see anyone or anything else in the world but me, as though I have his complete and undivided attention. But the moment quickly passes when he turns away to speak with Adrian.
I drop the spider spray in the kitchen and then hurry to stuff a stethoscope and various other things that I might need into a small bag before I join them back outside.
“I’m ready,” I announce. Both men nod and both men gesture toward their cars.
I stop and look at them.
Adrian looks expectant. I was, after all, just on a date with him. It would be perfectly normal for me to ride with him. He is standing next to a dark blue Mercedes, waiting for me to join him.
Luca stands still, completely quiet, next to his black Jaguar. He looks at me, but doesn’t say anything, his face still expressionless. He doesn’t ask me, implore me or expect anything from me. He just waits for me to choose him. And honestly, I know there is nothing else I can do. He draws me to him like a magnet.
I walk straight to him and he opens his car door for me. And although he doesn’t say anything, and I might be mistaken, I think that I see a slight smile as I duck into his car.
He closes the door behind me and as he does, I catch a glimpse of Adrian’s face in the side mirror. He isn’t happy about my decision and I find that silly. I just chose a car to drive in after all. But as Luca slides into the driver’s seat and the car engine roars to life, he brings with him his intense energy and I am once again mesmerized by his unique presence.
And I wonder if the decision that I just made is as inconsequential as it would seem.
The night speeds past us as Luca drives. He’s a fast driver, but I see in the side mirror that Adrian is right behind us. He hugs our tail as we curve through the country roads.
“What are your mother’s symptoms?” I ask Luca. He doesn’t take his eyes from the road as he answers.
“My mother has had dementia for years. It has gotten progressively worse and although she is medicated, some days are worse than others. She hallucinates quite a bit, even when she is taking no medication at all.”
“So her hallucinations stem from her own mind, rather than a side effect of medication,” I answer. He nods.
“How old is your mother?”
“Sixty four.”
“Is she in good health otherwise?”
“Yes. Physically, she’s in perfect condition.”
“What is she doing right now that is causing you such alarm?”
He glances at me.
“I’m not alarmed. It’s just a new behavior. She’s been screaming all day. She won’t stop.”
I look at him.
“Screaming?”
He nods.
“You said that she is medicated. Does she have sedatives?”
He nods again. “Yes. And she has been sedated today. Heavily. It does no good.”
He glances at me once again, his gaze dark in the night, before he returns his attention to the road.
“I apologize if I interrupted a date.”
I am startled by the fact that I don’t want him to believe that it was, even if it is the truth. I’m not going to make excuses, however. I am a grown woman and I don’t need to explain myself to anyone.
“I met Adrian in town today,” I answer instead. “He was kind enough to stop and talk to me, then invite me to dinner.”
I am pointedly reminding Luca that he ignored me earlier. And he gets my point.
And then he smiles about my point.
“Yes, Adrian is good like that. He loves people, women in particular. I would have been surprised and disappointed in him had he not tried to date you. It would have been ever so out of his character.”