Dante's Unexpected Legacy(5)
‘I have never forgotten you, Rose,’ he assured her, and for the first time gave her the bone-melting smile that had caused all the trouble in the first place. ‘Allora, what do you like to eat?’
‘Practically anything I don’t have to cook myself!’
He eyed her over the top of his menu. ‘You live alone?’
‘No. I share a house not far from my mother.’
‘I remember her well—a very lovely lady who looks much too young to be your mother.’
‘That she does.’ Rose returned to her menu. ‘What do you recommend?’
‘If you like fish the salmon will be good here. Or there is the bistecca alla Fiorentina, the famous steak of the region. You have travelled a long way today, Rose; you must be hungry.’
‘I am, but not enough to attempt a steak. I’ll have the salmon.’ Her stomach was in such knots that she was sure she’d only be able to manage a bite or two at the most.
Rose listened as he gave the order to the waiter, wishing she could understand the rapid, melodious interchange. She had once fancied learning Italian to add to her schoolgirl French, but studies of a different kind had taken up all her time.
Later, experiencing the effortless service Charlotte had described, Rose was glad of Dante’s company among the elegantly dressed diners. She would have felt uncomfortable dining alone. Instead, now she was over the first shock of meeting up with him again, she enjoyed the ravioli in sage-fragrant butter sauce Dante insisted she try for a first course, and ate her share of the exquisite little vegetables served with their main course. But she kept firmly to water instead of the wine he offered.
‘You drank champagne the first time we met,’ Dante reminded her. ‘You were such a delight in that charming dress.’
‘It was a long time ago,’ she said coolly.
‘You do not remember the occasion with pleasure?’
Her eyes clashed with his. ‘Of course I do. It was Charlotte’s wedding day. She was on cloud nine and I had just left university with a respectable degree. Euphoria all round.’
He held the look in silence for a moment then got up to escort her to the bar. ‘Will you take a little cognac with your coffee?’
‘Since I abstained over dinner, I will, please.’ Rose needed some kind of stimulant for once. A sip of the fiery spirit helped her to relax a little as she looked across at her companion. Now she could study him objectively without wanting to hit him, he looked a lot older and harder-edged than the effervescent charmer who’d made Charlotte’s wedding so memorable for the bridesmaid. There had been other young Italian men among Fabio’s relatives and friends at the wedding, but Dante had monopolised Rose so completely she’d had no eyes for anyone else.
‘You are very quiet,’ he observed.
‘It’s been a very eventful day.’
‘So tell me all about your life, Rose.’
‘I run a bookkeeping business from home.’
His eyebrows rose. ‘You did not take up your career in accountancy?’
‘No, though the qualifications come in very handy in my line of business.’ She changed the subject. ‘Dante, I know it’s a bit late to say this, but I was very sorry about your grandmother.’