CHAPTER 58

I felt his eyes move from my face,to my neck, to my cleavage. The robe did what it could—

I could feel the heat rising inside of me. He wanted me, I could see it in his eyes. But I had to resist him, I mean we had barely even spent a day.

If I was going to make it through in one piece, I needed to get him off my mind. That was the problem precisely. He was Luca Pavilochenki—

“Ciao Bella signora!”

I looked around for the owner of the squeaky voice, but I couldn't find him

Then I looked down. He was standing between us, looking at me like I was the most fascinating thing in the world

He was missing a few teeth, probably six or seven years old. And then I remembered the chorus that morning. Could he be one of them?

“Well hello”

I said, wondering if he had been there the whole time. If he had watched me and Luca grow awkward. But wait, he didn't understand English.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I patted him on the head

He smiled at me, his missing teeth making him all the more cute

Then he looked at from me to Luca, then back to me

And back to Luca—

And then he scurried off, muttering something in Itslian

Then my attention was brought back, to him

“Breakfast” he said, pointing to a building nearby

“Oh, I'll be there in a minute”

I do desperately needed to shut the door.

“I'll be waiting”

He said as he ran his hands through his hair. It looked drier

I began to close the door, slowly. Our eyes still maintained contact—

“I loved rhe roses”

He put his hand between the door and smirked

“Really?”

“Well yes”

Why were we lengthening the conversation? I was supposed to be getting dressed for goodness sake

“Did you get my surprise?”

Hell no! He wasn't talking about my lingerie was he? Was he aware that I was wearing one beneath my robe? One that he has probably imagined me in

He wasn't looking at my face anymore. His eyes focused on the lose belt that drew the line between decency and immorality

If he just pulled a string gently, I would be uncovered—

So I did the only logical thing I could

I slammed the door on his finger—

End of Sharon's pov

******************

There was an orphanage that separated Sharon's residence from Luca's

It was a large antique building, with a field surrounding it. The children practiced in the morning, before the bus took them all to school.

It became routine, Everyone who lived nearby didn't need an alarm clock.

Sharon walked through the field of the orphanage. A cold wind washed through her. She hadn't explored the city of Florence yet, but she didn't need a tour to know that Italy was breathtaking

She untied her hair, wanting to feel the wind a little better. Her hair was blown in different directions, her clothes too.

Then she felt a little hand tug at the skirt she was wearing.

When she turned back, she saw a little girl, about right holding a rose

“For me?”

She asked

The little girl nodded, then blushed. Then she skipped away

She twined the stem between her fingers. It resembled the rose on her bedside table

Luca was getting creative

She held the rose on her hand as she walked towards the cafe Luca pointed out earlier

He was sitting at the farthest end

They made eye contact for a split second, before she was approached by a man in an apron

He said something she didn't understand, then she creased her brows

“I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you!

I was employed here newly to attend to your needs, because I'm fluent in English”

Sharon's eyes went wide. Luca was taking things too far

“It happens to be that there is only one empty table available”

Sharon looked around her, there were tons of empty tables—

He led her to the table that Luca was sitting

“Whoops, it's occupied? I had no idea. But seeing that it's the only available table—”

He was gone the next minute, it was fucking annoying

Sharon groaned silently, as she sat herself down, with the man she was running away from

“We meet again Riann”

“You're sending little kids to give me roses now”

He slipped a piece of pancake into his mouth

“Maybe”

“Why”

“Because I want you”

Sharon coughed loud. A couple of people turned to look at her. She gulped down a glass of water and exhaled

And as if that wasn't enough—

“This morning—”

“Please just shut up okay, we're not having a conversation about my lingerie”

She whispered

He smiled

“I wasn't talking about your lingerie”

She turned her face away

“Oh”

“I visited the orphanage this morning”

“I didn't know you liked kids”

“I love kids—”

“You sure don't look like it”

“The little boy—

thinks we're married”

Sharon laughed, drawing more attention to them

“You're joking”

“He's probably spread rumours already”

“So what now”

“I was thinking— maybe you could actually give me a chance”

He touched her hand on the table

“And we could make it work, somehow”

“That's a lot to ask, we only just met”

He looks the honeyed strawberry on his pancake, He put it into his mouth seductively

“I know”

“I don't want to—”

“Tour Italy with me, and I'll cook you a delicious meal when you come back”

He weaved his fingers into hers, and used his thumb to brush hers lightly. It was a simple gesture, but it felt erotic, sensual

“I'll feed you if you're too lazy to hold the spoon—

And I'll leave whenever you feel uncomfortable, just say the word”

Sharon looked into his hypnotizing eyes, she wasn't built to withstand this level of charm

And definitely not from someone like him

“What could— possibly go wrong?”