Ten Days in Tuscany by Annie Seaton Read Free Book Online Page B

gelateria, and Nic raised his eyebrows at the crowd of people inside. A small group of women with a mix of accents were deliberating over their choice. Gia recognized them from the restaurant the other night. They were authors from all over the world staying at the local hotel just a little way up from the restaurant. Gia had enjoyed serving them, but she knew they didn’t recognize her as the plain waitress from Giannino’s now . She leaned forward and spoke to one of the women.
    “I recommend the fig and ginger,” she said, pointing to a tub of white ice cream at the front of the display.
    The woman turned to her with a smile; her accent was broad Australian. “Nothing beats local knowledge. Come on, gals, hurry up and choose. We’re holding up this sweet young couple.”
    Couple? Gia stepped back a little way from Nic. She hadn’t been part of a couple since Stefano, and she had become used to her own company. But it was nice to have company tonight, to have a good looking man at her side.
    Enjoy it while I can . It beat the hell out of clearing dirty dishes in the restaurant, which was what she should have been doing right now.
    Heat rushed up Gia’s neck when she caught Nic staring at her. She looked at the colorful ice creams on display before turning back to him. Tipping her head to the side, she tapped her chin with one finger. “ Hmm . Let me guess. You’ll choose the chocolate flavor?”
    “Uh-uh. Hate the stuff.” Nic’s eyes crinkled as he smiled down at her.
    She chuckled. “How can anyone hate chocolate? My stash of chocolate means I don’t have to cook.”
    “You don’t like to cook?”
    Gia shook her head. “Waste of time. Takes up time when I could be painting. What about you?”
    Those sexy eyes crinkled again. “I love to cook.”
    She pondered what she knew of this man, his penchant for both the sophisticated and simple, as he ordered their gelato, hers, the recommended fig and ginger, while he opted for the strawberry. Nic insisted upon paying after she pulled money from her pocket. She appreciated his offer, but she was accustomed to taking care of herself.
    “The invitation was mine,” he said. “Allow me to pay. It’s my pleasure.” He reached down and pulled a dark burgundy wallet from his jeans pocket.
    Something in the way he said “pleasure” had her thinking things that would’ve melted the cone in her hand. Covering her reaction, she nodded and whispered, “ Grazie .” She stared at his wallet. It was almost her signature color. “What a beautiful color that leather is. My sister has nothing so vibrant in her store. May I?” After he had pulled out a bill, she held out her fingers and smoothed the soft leather of his wallet. It was soft and pliant, and his initials were cut into the leather in a graceful swirl. She realized she didn’t even know his full name. “What does the B stand for, Nic?”
    He handed the money over to the young girl behind the counter before he answered her. He took her arm and they stepped back to wait as she filled the order.
    “Er…ah, my name… ah, you mean my last name? Yes. Battistoni. Nic Battistoni.” He looked away from her and reached for a wad of napkins from the dispenser on the counter. “We might need these.”
    The ice creams were handed over, and they stepped past the queue to the door that opened to the narrow street. They strolled back across the road with their ice creams, laughing as their conversation turned into a guessing game.
    “So you hate chocolate. What’s your choice? Coke or Pepsi?” she asked as she bit into the ice cream.
    “Coke,” Nic said and Gia pulled a face at him.
    “Horror or comedy?” he said.
    “Comedy, of course.” She laughed and led him over to a park bounded by a low stone fence at the edge of the hill. A vista of farmhouse lights spread across the valley in front of them.
    He shook his head sadly at her answer. “Batman or Superman?”
    “Neither. Hate