My Italian Heart

Chapter Three

I groaned at the alarm on my phone. It went off at the same time every day and for the same purpose, to make sure I wasn't late for family dinner. Mamma used to always complain at me that I got too involved with work and it always made me late. To try to avoid the lectures about how we needed to have time as a family, I set the alarm. Normally, it only annoyed me if I was in the middle of something important, but that wasn't the reason for once.

I was dreading going down to dinner, knowing full well I was going to make even more of a fool of myself. David probably thought nothing more of me than seeing me as a silly little girl. I was in the realms of damage control. Desperate not to make more of a prat of myself. I pushed myself back from the desk and headed down to the house.

Pretty much everyone was already seated when I arrived, except Mamma, as always. She would be busy putting the finishing touches on her dishes. She rarely even let anyone else bring the dishes to the table. Although, normally we would have been sitting at the kitchen table. We only used the dining room when we had company, such as David. Emily didn't really count as company anymore, she was family.

It was typical that the only chair left available aside from Mamma's was right next to David. I slipped in beside him and almost instantly felt myself stiffen as my knee brushed his leg. Pops was busy chatting with Amiee. Emily was in a world of her own, and I was left with no option but to interact. "How did the meeting go?"

"It was great. To start with, they are going to trial a selection of wines in the restaurant in Verona. If that goes well, they have multiple other venues around Italy." At least it was something I was happy and confident talking about.

"I will take some credit for saving you from falling into the pool. It wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly had you been wet." He spluttered as he spoke and nearly sprayed wine across the table, just managing to stop himself at the last second. Him being slightly goofy actually made me feel better about the way I had been reacting to him. Apparently, I wasn't the only one that was a little on edge. I couldn't hide the cheeky smile from my face.

As Mamma started bringing the food in, I took the opportunity to really look at him. Trying my best to estimate his age. He could have passed for mid to late thirties easily, but I knew he must have been older than that. Em was twenty-four, leaving me to place him as early forties. The only thing I knew for sure was that whatever his age, he looked damn good.

There was an awkwardness around the dinner table. Nobody was paying our guest much attention at all and after his comment, I was certain he wouldn't speak again. "How long are you staying? I know if Emily had her way, you would never leave."

"Only a week, maybe two. It depends on how situations play out, really."

"I'm sure Em is welcome of the support." I shifted slightly in my seat and my hand ventured too close. As it came into contact with his thigh, I froze. We both looked at one another and then downwards. My hand just laid palm up against his black trousers. His hand scraped past mine, but I couldn't decide if he was trying to encourage or discourage. I moved it away and started fiddling with my cutlery to occupy my hands. He was watching my every move with a slight smile on his face. There was no doubt he was finding my awkwardness amusing.

We had finished mains when Em headed to the door to speak to George. Amiee was heading back home with him, but she wasn't happy about it. When she finally returned, I was sat nursing a cup of coffee.

"Aurora, I've been thinking about your staffing issues." I stiffened slightly.

"It's not so much staff, more that my workload had increased so much." I had no choice but to be careful with my words. It would only hurt my parents to know that caring for them was making things so much harder for me.

"Well, either way, I was thinking that Dad could come and lend a hand. He hates having nothing to do." I panicked. There was no way I could be working closely with David. Work was my only escape from the tension building between us, not to mention everything else that had been going on.

"I'm sure he wouldn't want to be dealing with my job list." It was a feeble excuse, but the best I could manage on the spot. I just begging silently for him to agree with me so I could get out of it. I was sure I had gone bright red and Emily's eyes were searching mine.

David turned to me, the biggest smile on his face, and I knew I was doomed. "Honestly, I don't mind. I'm in finance but my qualifications are in business, so I would be right at home. Emily's right, I could take over the basics of the day-to-day jobs and it would free you up for everything else." The way he said it, suggested he had ideas for what that everything else should be.

"Are you sure, David?" I said it through gritted teeth, desperately giving him another chance to make his excuses.

"Of course I am. Emily will be too busy to entertain me while she has Amiee, anyway. I'll pop into the office tomorrow and you can show me the ropes." He lifted his coffee to his mouth and was practically laughing. Using the cup to hide his amusement from the rest of the table.

I tried to get things back on a firmer, more business-like footing. "I'm sure that isn't necessary. Emily had discussed your work before, so I know you're quite a big deal... erm... you know what I mean." Everything either one of us said seemed to be filled with suggestion and innuendo.

"I do."

"I'm not sure I do." Emily was watching me intently, and I was sure she knew what I was thinking. "Anyway, I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day."

"Night, Em." There was a chorus of similar goodbyes from around the table.

"I think I am going to head out for some fresh air." I pushed back from the table and started to head outside. Normally, I would have helped with the cleanup, but I just needed to get out of there. Anything to get out of his gaze.

"If you don't mind, I think I will join you." I didn't answer, I couldn't. Heading straight for the kitchen door and letting the cooler air hit me. It would have taken an arctic blast to have taken away the heat prickling my skin. I started walking toward the edge of the nearest field of vines at a quick pace. Despite that, David and his long strides were beside me quickly. "Anyone would think you are trying to avoid me."

"Not at all."

"Aurora, stop, please." I ignored the request and kept up my pace. I wanted to be as far away from the house as possible. The thought occurred to me that Emily might return the favour of spying on me like I had on her. Although that would involve her knowing there was something to spy on. His hand gripped my arm a little too harshly and stopped me in my tracks. "I said please."

"This is so wrong." I pleaded with him.

"What is?"

"You know what I'm talking about." I tried to pull myself free as I threw the words at him, but I failed.

"I want to hear you say it. I don't know what is real and what is imagined."

"It's wrong for me to be attracted to you. The slight touches. The comments. It's all wrong."

"I know."

"Emily would go mental."

"I know."

"You're married."

"I know."

"We need to keep our distance."

"I know. I just... can't." His lips were on mine without warning. I could taste the coffee on his tongue. I wanted to stop it, to push him away, but I was no stronger than he was. There was a softness lurking in his desperation, a tenderness. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me tightly against him, as though he was worried I would try to run from him. I might have tried before, but there was something about him that I couldn't deny.

When he finally released me, I felt like I was falling. The sudden lack of him made my head spin. "I'm sorry. I never should have..." I cut him off completely. My arms snaking around his neck and into the back of his hair. Pulling him closer and closer, enabling me to deepen the kiss. As his hands settled on my backside, I giggled the slightest amount. It vibrated across his lips as I did.

An image of Em coming into my mind. I tore myself away and took a few steps backwards. If I was going to stop myself from making the exact same mistake again, I needed distance. I turned and headed for the house. The more distance, the better. At least in the house, there were people around to stop us both from losing our minds.