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
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