Matteo shook his head. ‘You love London, Rose, it’s your home. I’ve made it my home once before, and I’m happy to do it again with you.’
‘And you love Sicily. Look, we have two great places to choose from. And whichever one we do choose, we can spend plenty of holidays in the other. It’s an opportunity, not a problem.’
‘I just thought...’ He smiled up at her. ‘I thought that you’d want London, so...’
‘Yeah, I know. Enough thinking. Don’t decide what you think I want and then just go ahead and do it. There’s enough archaeology on this island to keep me busy for years, and maybe a little sunshine and a decent cup of coffee is exactly what I want to do with my life.’
She reached for the paper bag and took the second pastry out of it, breaking a piece off and feeding it to him.
‘We’ll work it out.’ This really was a new beginning. Nothing hidden. Nothing unsaid.
‘Yes, we will.’ She took a bite from the pastry, and then put it back in the bag. Then Matteo felt her fingers, caressing him.
‘You’re a monster, Rose. Wasn’t last night enough?’
‘Not nearly enough.’ She shifted her weight on top of him, stretching to brush a kiss against his mouth. ‘Why, are you done yet?’
‘Not even close.’
‘Good.’ She sat up, astride his hips, and Matteo reached out to steady her.
‘Careful...’
‘I know. No sudden movements.’ Slowly, very slowly, her hand travelled to the hem of the T-shirt.
‘I don’t need you to move. Just take that T-shirt off and tell me you love me...’
* * *
This morning had been an earth-moving, soul-shattering experience. Rose knew that Matteo had many, many ways of making her come, but she hadn’t counted on that one. He’d told her how much he loved her, in more ways than she’d thought were possible. Shared his fantasies with her, and then listened to hers. They were just words but they both knew that they were true, and that had given them the power of a physical caress.
When finally he’d pulled her down into his arms, it had taken only a few moments. They’d come together, already lost in each other’s feelings and fantasies.
They stayed in the hammock for the rest of the morning, moving only to make coffee and go for a swim. Then they got dressed and drove up into the mountains, seeking both food and company at his uncle’s vineyard.
It took ten minutes before Matteo’s body language announced to his whole family that they were together. His aunt and uncle kissed her and then Nanna Maria kissed her, and Nannu Alberto swept her away, insisting on cataloguing all Matteo’s faults so that she would be prepared for the future.
‘He didn’t manage to change your mind, then?’ They’d spent a couple of hours here, eating and talking in the shade of the trees clustered at the back of the house. Normally that would be considered a flying visit, but no one stopped them when Matteo insisted it was time for them to leave and Rose followed him through to the front hall.
‘No. I rather like a man who doesn’t know when to give up.’
‘What did he tell you?’
‘None of your business.’ Rose laughed as he turned the sides of his mouth down. ‘I don’t suppose you fancy coming back to London with me, do you? You could spend time with your sister and we can both bring William back here with us. If it’s not too many air miles in one week...’
‘Yeah? I’ve still got a return ticket at the end of the week.’ He grinned at her. ‘If you don’t mind... As soon as Andrea gets to meet you and William, she’ll forgive me.’
‘We’ll do that. I’d like to meet her.’
‘Okay. Not tomorrow, though. Tomorrow we’ll cook. Food for love...’
‘That sounds good to me. Particularly the love part.’
He chuckled, picking up his car keys. ‘You want to go to the hot springs on the way back?’
‘Yes, that would be nice. I’ve a few stubborn aches.’ Who wouldn’t, after last night?
‘Yeah, me too. You’ll have to be a lot gentler with me tonight.’ He whispered the words, grinning at her. ‘I won’t be a minute. I’ll get a bottle of red and a couple of glasses from the cellar to take with us.’