“Very.”
They were already back at her door. “Let’s take this up first, and come back for the bags.”
He followed her up the stairs to the third floor. There was no elevator, but he didn’t mind. She unlocked her door and they stepped inside. It was hot; the windows had been shut up while she was gone, and as soon as she put her bags on the counter, she went to the French doors and opened them to reveal a small balcony. Fresh air rushed into the flat. “Phew, that’s better,” she said. “It’s stuffy in here.”
It was lovely. He remembered she’d said the flat was two floors. What he could see was a small but well-equipped kitchen, an airy living space with a sofa and two chairs and a small powder room off to one side. “How many bedrooms?” he asked, curious. It was really quite a lovely space.
“Two,” she replied, opening the refrigerator. She put the tiramisu inside, and then started to put away the perishables from the market. “I have the extra for Giulia or Mama and Papa.”
“Your father...he commutes?”
“Yes. But the offices are closer to the villa than we are now.”
“They sold the house in town for financial reasons, right?”
Gabi paused and met his gaze. “Yes. Not as an emergency, but as a way of...streamlining. But I can’t be sorry they kept the villa. It will always be the first place I think of when I think of home.”
He wiggled his fingers for the keys. “You do this, and I’ll get the bags. I’m starving.”
She nodded and handed them over. Will jogged down the stairs and retrieved their bags. Gabi’s suitcase was huge, and by the time he reached the top he was breathing heavily.
Gabi laughed at him when he stepped inside, and he grinned. “What do you have in here, bricks?”
“It’s what I had at Chatsworth and what I was taking on my honeymoon. I really don’t keep my things at the villa. Here, sit down outside and I’ll bring you the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten.”
He was expecting wine, since she seemed to prefer it, so he was surprised when she brought the sandwich on a plate and a cold beer to drink.
It was perfect in its simplicity. Crusty bread, sliced pork...and nothing else. But the porchetta was like nothing he’d ever eaten. There were flavors of rosemary and then the crispy skin and the tender flesh that all combined into something extraordinary.
“Oh. I get it now.”
She grinned, the smile spreading from ear to ear. “See? I told you.”
“This is amazing. How do you not eat this every day?”
She laughed. “I like vegetables. But I won’t lie, I buy one of Gio’s sandwiches once a week as a treat.”
He took two more bites and the gnawing in his stomach started to ease. He sat back a bit and toyed with his beer bottle, and looked at the view. “This is incredible. You can see so much of the city from up here.”
“I fell in love with it,” she said quietly. “It was the view that sold me. I don’t need a large place for just me, but I stepped out here and took a deep breath and that was it. It’s an entirely different view, but it reminds me of looking down over the valley from the olive groves at the villa. It felt familiar, and I liked that.”
“It’s the feeling, not the actual view,” he said, understanding. “It’s how I feel in the orchard at the château.”
“You mean at the bench where we...” She blushed a little and turned away. “You took me there on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I needed the calm and I thought you did, too. Caused us some bother, though, didn’t it?”
She laughed. “You know, if someone took a photo of us now, I don’t think I’d mind as much as I did then.”
He took another drink of bee
r, met her gaze and said, “Me, either.”
They were quiet for long minutes, finishing their sandwiches, enjoying the solitude, not feeling compelled to make conversation. It was comfortable. Wonderful. William had never experienced anything like it in his life. Not with any of the women he’d dated or in any relationship. He’d always felt he had to be “on.” Sparkling conversation. Endless charm. This being easy and comfortable with each other was new and he liked it. A lot.
Gabi got up, took their plates and went inside. When she came back, she had the dessert with her and two forks. He really didn’t need sweets, but it looked too gorgeous to turn away.
Gabi tasted hers, then said, “So, I haven’t asked you this before, but...there’s no girlfriend, is there?”