Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
“This is impossible. I’m not going to invite one of you to stay and ask the other to go. You should both leave.” I push past them to open the door and they file out.
Weary now, down to my bones, I crawl into bed and lie on my back, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. I’ve always been a good girl, because following the rules and coloring inside the lines doesn’t get you hurt. But does it get you the life you want?
What if what you really want isn’t even possible?
The whole family is together when I go down for breakfast the next morning, and though they’re cordial to one another, tension still lingers between Matteo and Fiero. Giovanni is back to his amiable self, though he does cast one or two speculative glances my way.
“What will you do today?” Signora Bestia asks the three of us. “Maybe Pompeii or one of the castles?”
“I have a visit to Pompeii planned for later in the week. I thought Dani might like to come to the university with me this morning. We can visit the museums there, too.” Just as I’m registering Matteo’s use of the pronoun I, he adds, “Fiero, you’ll no doubt be working in your studio today?”
“Be back by one,” Fiero counters. “I’m taking Dani for pizza.”
Okay. So this is how it’s going to be now.
I don’t say much in the car. Mostly because I’m taking in the scenery, but I’m also trying to sort out my thoughts.
“What’s the matter?” Matteo says softly.
The default response, nothing, almost leaves my mouth, but I stop it and take a deep breath. “I don’t want to be the cause of problems between you and your brother.”
“You’re not causing problems.”
I arch a skeptical brow and frown at him. I should have somehow forced myself to make a choice between them way back on Valentine’s Day. I should have thrown a dart or flipped a coin, and made a choice, but even if I had, wouldn’t there still be tension and resentment between them, with one being chosen, and one rejected?
Matteo slides his hand from the gear shift to my thigh, where he gives me a squeeze. “Things will work out. Don’t worry.”
Giovanni Finds Me
It’s clear how popular Matteo is at the University of Naples, where he still holds his professorship. Nearly everyone we pass greets him, with several people starting conversations that he keeps brief since I’m with him as a guest.
While he gets nods, waves, and ciaos, I receive jealous looks from quite a few women, both students and professors. A few of the men, who presumably know Matteo doesn’t play for their team, confine themselves to soulful, longing looks.
It’s so much like the reception Matteo received in the States that I have to laugh. He’s irresistible wherever he goes.
He shows me the languages department, and though we don’t have time for the museums he mentioned, he takes me to a basilica near the campus whose baroque beauty stuns me into silence. The word ornate does not begin to do justice to the amount of detail adorning the centuries-old church.
We make it back to the Bestias’ home shortly after one to find Fiero waiting. I take a few minutes to freshen up, and then he and I are off to the village for lunch.
In a way, it’s easier to spend time with the men separately, because I don’t have to worry about dividing my attention between them; still, there’s something sad about it. The time I spent with both of them while traveling here was one of the happiest episodes of my life.
When I’m with one of them, I miss the other – that hasn’t changed, and it doesn’t seem like it ever will.
Fiero tells me that he knows the best place for pizza, and he’s true to his word. It’s amazing. But it’s soon eclipsed by dessert at the gelato shop next door. Italian gelato turns out to be another thing that is a million times better than its namesake in the US.
When we return to the house, we find Matteo, Signora Bestia, and Nonna Sofia in the living room. Matteo is working on his laptop, Signora is reading a magazine, and Nonna Sofia, though sitting upright, is apparently sound asleep.
Signora smiles indulgently as she tips her head toward her mother and gestures for us to be quiet with a finger at her lips.
“I’ll see you later,” Fiero whispers. When he goes back outside, presumably to his studio, I take a seat with the others, and select a magazine to browse, eager to see how much of it I’ll be able to read in Italian.
Matteo gives me a smile, and we pass the time pleasantly, the only sounds being Matteo occasionally tapping on the keyboard, his mother and I flipping pages, and Nonna Sofia snoring lightly.