How to Bake a New Beginning

by Lucy Knott

  ‘I’m going to hold you to that. I should place a bet. What would I win if I bet that you won’t be able to resist another San Francisco treat once you step inside the place?’

  ‘Well, I don’t think that’s very fair. You know where we’re going and seem to know my weaknesses – I don’t stand a chance,’ she said, doing her best fake pouty face.

  ‘You’re cute when you pout,’ Dan said, hands in his pocket, as he casually leant against the railings overlooking the docks. ‘I’ll give you a hint,’ he continued and nodded towards the café straight ahead of them on the corner. A squeal escaped from Amanda’s lips.

  ‘No way, they actually have their own café?’ She couldn’t believe it. ‘No, Dan, it’s too dangerous. All bets are most certainly off – I love that stuff.’ She had automatically began skipping towards the white-panelled shack with a gold, white and red sign that read ‘Biscoff coffee corner.’ Dan walked slowly behind her, watching her as her eyes lit up when she reached the door.

  ‘We’ll just take a quick look around,’ Dan whispered, his lips curling into a mischievous grin.

  ***

  Back then of course, that day had all been innocent. Now she cringed. Had she felt more then? But Dan had had a girlfriend, Emily, and she hadn’t felt jealous. She didn’t look at him and swoon or want to kiss him or anything of the sort. They had talked about how they felt. They had bonded over that instant connection that they both knew was special.

  Besides, Amanda had read in a women’s magazine once that soulmates didn’t have to be lovers and that’s how she felt towards Dan. They were meant to find each other but it wasn’t a romantic thing – she knew that much. No matter how often her friends teased her and queried their friendship, asking if they were together or telling her that they should be together, she always stood her ground.

  Even when her sisters couldn’t quite understand their relationship either, she stood her ground. She had boyfriends, she went on dates and Dan never got in the way of any of that. They were friends in the purest form, good old-fashioned friends. They didn’t sleep together or want each other in that way. Those thoughts hadn’t even crossed her mind, well, not until recently.

  When putting down the phone after their nightly phone calls, she felt empty. She suddenly felt like she wanted more. She wanted him to be by her side every day, like she wasn’t whole without him any more. But she was determined to not screw this up. She didn’t want to confuse the emptiness over losing Grandpa with a sudden longing for Dan. It was for this reason she didn’t want to make one of the most important relationships she had ever had complicated, or worse still, non-existent.

  Tonight it had all gotten too much, seeing Levi and Sabrina happy together, seeing Louisa chatting away to Luca – she wanted that too. But she didn’t want that with Dan, surely? And he obviously didn’t think of her that way. She knew that based on the countless girls he was linked with every week in the media and the conversations they had had over the years. Dan wasn’t the settling-down type. He wasn’t a womanizer by any means, but he saw the beauty in everything, women being one of them. She needed to get out there and start dating again and just have some fun. She was not about to get the whole love thing wrong, again.

  ‘Breathe, Amanda, breathe. This is stupid – you’re a big girl, you can handle yourself. You’re probably just emotional after everything that’s happened. You love Dan, but not in that way at all. That would just be stupid, and just gross,’ she said to herself, scrunching up her nose, as if the thought of Dan, six feet three inches, muscles to rival a wrestler and shaggy brown hair, wasn’t attractive to her, at all.

  Chapter 16

  Grandpa’s Wine

  Ingredients:

  Grapes (Check with Grandpa if a certain kind is best)

  Possibly some sugar (Really need to ask Grandpa)

  What to do:

  Place grapes in bucket.

  Make sure feet are impeccably clean.

  Proceed to stand on and squash grapes.

  Once squashed, pour into huge fermenting jars and leave to ferment.

  (But again, ask Grandpa and this time take notes as you make it.)

  A stillness washed over Orzoro. The cars had disappeared, and the locals were all nestled in their houses. It was late in the evening when family meals were coming to an end. Nonnas were helping the mammas clear the table and tidy away the dishes, while the nonnos and the papas entertained the children.

  The night sky twinkled with gold specks. Louisa heard voices out on the balcony. It was dark and freezing outside now the evening had settled in. She peeked through the window, naturally checking if whoever was out there was dressed appropriately for the weather conditions. She didn’t want her nanna or zias catching a cold right before Christmas.

  She needn’t have worried about that for underneath the glow of the lanterns she spotted two men with their hands casually dug into their pockets and one frantically waving his hands around as he spoke. The contrast in their actions told Louisa who the men were. Dan and Levi, naturally laid-back in their stances and Luca … Italian.

  ‘Lou is like a little sister to us. We don’t want anyone messing her around or hurting her. She’s a sweet girl – she deserves the best.’ That would be Levi’s voice.

  Not to be outdone: ‘What are your intentions?’ Dan asked next. Oh God, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. She pulled her oversized jumper tighter around herself but found her hand pausing on the door handle, suddenly curious to hear Luca’s response.

  ‘My intention is not to hurt her. She is beautiful, and I like being with her.’ Luca’s accented English made Louisa’s heart flutter.

  ‘Just to be clear when you say being with her, you mean talking, having coffee, not …’

  Louisa cleared her throat, interrupting Levi and stepping into the night to make herself known. She immediately regretted this decision as she was only wearing socks and her toes instantly turned into icicles.

  ‘Everything all right out here, boys?’ she asked, shooting an apologetic smile at Luca. Levi jumped back a little surprised. Dan didn’t move and remained calm, as always.

  ‘Everything is great thanks, Lou,’ Dan said, with that handsome smoulder that was turning women’s brains to mush everywhere.

  Looking at Dan and back to Louisa, Levi relaxed and sent a smile her way, no longer looking so guilty.

  ‘We were just getting to know your man, Luca, here,’ he said, patting Luca on the arm. That’s exactly what she had been afraid he’d say. Though she was incredibly touched that they would want to protect her, she didn’t want them to scare Luca away. At least not until after the holidays when Luca realized she would be going home and he probably wouldn’t want a long-distance relationship. For now, she felt she was deserving of a little Christmas romance.

  ‘Dan,’ she protested, staring him down and waiting for more information on what they had been discussing. Luca put an arm around her and covered his mouth with his hand as he whispered in her ear, ‘Va bene, capisco che siano protettivi.’

  She laughed. Of course Luca would be fine with this. She turned to look at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning her attention back to Dan. Dan was still looking at her. His stance screamed alpha male, yet he wasn’t intimidating, not when you knew him.

  ‘Am I free to take Luca from both of your mitts now?’ she asked sweetly, a broad smile on her face.

  Dan matched her smile recognizing the false innocence. He shrugged. ‘Sure,’ he said with a wink. Louisa laughed and linked arms with Luca, guiding him inside so she could grab her shoes and jacket. As she walked away, she heard Levi comment to Dan, ‘We’d better start learning Italian.’

  ***

  Inside the house Louisa quickly located her shoes and a thicker jacket before signalling to Luca, with a nod, that she was almost ready to go. He had been coming over to surprise her with a date when he had been ambushed by Dan and Levi.

  Luca took her hand in his and the
excitement in his eyes over taking her out and the feeling of his hands entwined in hers caused a warmth to spread through her body. Though her body temperature was on the rise, she still wasn’t looking forward to facing the chilly Italian air again this evening. Putting it off for a few more minutes she walked towards the living room, where her family were enjoying the night’s quiz show. She spotted her big sisters, Sabrina curled up next to Nanna and Amanda wrapped in a blanket in the chair.

  ‘Are you two aware that your other halves are harassing people on the balcony?’ she said, mock seriously. It took her sisters a minute to register what she had said. She watched as they both looked at each other and then back to her. Sabrina shot up first. Amanda stood in a calmer and much slower manner.

  ‘What on earth are they doing out in the cold?’ she muttered. ‘Idiots, the pair of the them,’ she added, wandering out of the room after her sister. Louisa laughed as she watched her sisters grab coats from the coat rack by the door, before she herself informed the room that she was going out, with a chant of ‘Ciao’ and ‘Ti Voglio Bene,’ in everyone’s direction.

  ***

  A few moments later and Louisa was panting slightly, trying to keep up with Luca’s pace.

  ‘Where are we going?’ she queried. From the steep decline of the paths on which they were walking, Louisa knew they were heading in the direction of the beach, but she didn’t want to believe it to be so. She remembered this route from when she was a child, trudging behind Grandpa, doing her best not to get her fishing line caught in any of the olive branches that peeked out over the garden walls. At this time of night and the fact that it was December she also knew that nothing would be open.

  ‘It’s a surprise,’ Luca answered, his Italian sounding so beautiful it made Louisa’s cheeks flush. Spending time with him was certainly sharpening up her own Italian. She had very much enjoyed conversing with him and getting to exercise her bilingual skills.

  The sound of soft waves crashing against the rocks drew nearer and the wind was picking up a few notches the closer they got to the water.

  ‘Ferma,’ Luca said, turning to face Louisa and taking her hand. They were at the edge of the beach now. Pebbles lined the path and a few feet ahead tucked into a small cave at the bottom of the mountain was a wicker basket lit up by candlelight. Louisa gasped.

  ‘Amore mia, this is for you,’ Luca said, his voice gentle and sweet. He took both her hands and led her to the light.

  Louisa walked into the warmth of the cave and noticed a big woolly gingham blanket at the entryway. Seeing her shiver, Luca bent down, picked up the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Immediately she stopped shivering as the blanket locked in her body heat.

  ‘Grazie,’ Louisa whispered. She didn’t know what else to say. This was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her.

  ‘Please sit, mia amore,’ Luca said gesturing towards the picnic spot where two fluffy cushions lay. ‘I’ve prepared a special feast just for us,’ he added with a mischievous glint in his ocean-blue eyes. Slowly he opened the top of the wicker basket and pulled out two plates covered in foil. Before unwrapping them to reveal tonight’s main course, he pulled out some grapes, olives, taralli, his homemade biscotti and a small bottle of what looked to be homemade wine.

  Amanda recognized the cork job and label to be homemade, thanks to her childhood years whipping up batches with her aunties and Grandpa when they visited Italy in the summer. Luca poured them each a glass before it was time to unveil the dinner that was causing the mischievous glint in his eyes. His eyes were making Louisa blush before she had even tasted a sip of wine.

  ‘Tonight’s specialty,’ Luca began. His eyes were playful as he unwrapped the plate to reveal two slices of fresh margherita pizza. Louisa let out a roar of laughter, bringing the blanket up to cover her mouth as she tilted her head back.

  ‘My favourite,’ she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. ‘Luca, this is incredible. Grazie mille. I’ve never eaten pizza under the stars before, but how utterly perfect and romantic,’ she said, looking into his eyes, the candlelight reflecting in them, making them glisten.

  His handsome face bore a bashful grin, as though he knew pizza wasn’t the most extravagant meal and she was just being kind.

  ‘You’re too kind, amore. I hope you will like it. I wanted to prepare you the finest meal but the pasticceria was busy today. I could not get away. So, I instead give you Sabino’s Pizza.’ His eyes wandered to the floor.

  Lifting his chin up with her hands, Louisa said, ‘Luca, this is more than a fine meal – this is the finest of meals. I adore pizza and under the moonlight, it’s magical.’

  ‘You are a special woman,’ Luca replied. Louisa’s cheeks burned a bright shade of red.

  There wasn’t a crumb left over from their moonlight picnic. Louisa loved that Luca made her feel so content. He had smiled when she reached for another taralli and had clapped when she dipped the hard bread into her wine. Whenever she had been on dates before she had felt her date’s eyes boring into her with judgement when she ate quicker and more than they did. She could never understand it. She was grateful for the freedom and understanding she saw in Luca’s eyes. In addition, with Luca, the conversation flowed freely.

  ‘I’m sorry if this is a difficult question, amore, ma what your plans are now?’ Luca asked, covering Louisa’s toes with the blanket.

  Louisa wriggled her toes against the softness of the blanket and placed her now empty wineglass down. ‘Hmm, I don’t really know,’ she mused, crinkling up her nose. ‘Grandpa left me with folders full of designs and sketches – the man knew fashion.’ She laughed. ‘Mind you, I don’t know if it’s that he knew fashion or that he just loved everything I drew and never said a bad word about any of my designs.’

  Luca leant forward and kissed the tip of her scrunched-up nose. As he slowly moved away Louisa kissed him on the lips. They both let the kiss linger for a few moments, the sweet taste of red wine present and delicious. A hiccup caused Louisa to pull away. She laughed as Luca passed her a bottle of water from the basket. She took it with a grateful nod, took a sip and then held her breath, all while Luca looked on, amusement swimming in his piercing blue eyes. Once her hiccups had settled, Louisa continued with her thoughts.

  ‘I might consider one of the Manchester fashion courses or look for an internship somewhere and get experience out in the field. It’s not that I don’t like school, but I would love to get stuck in and learn as I go. Plus, I must do something now. I left work rather unprofessionally after Grandpa passed. I know I shouldn’t have sent an email about my quitting, but I just couldn’t face going in,’ she finished, the guilt of having not turned up at work on the Monday after Grandpa passed still weighing in the back of her mind.

  She had worked as a receptionist at her local dentist since returning from her failed attempt at living in London. It wasn’t what she wanted for her life or work, but she had wanted to prove to her parents that she wasn’t a complete failure and that she had a plan. And so, she had found a job, put on a happy face and looked the epitome of girl boss in their eyes. They of course still encouraged her to draw, but Louisa could see they were rather proud of her working in such a fine establishment that was the dentist’s office. Receptionist was a pretty sophisticated title.

  ‘Do it, amore. Your designs are magnificent – you can do it,’ Luca said, encouraging and bringing Louisa back to the present. He didn’t seem fazed by her immaturity of quitting her job. He smiled and handed her a chocolate Baci.

  Louisa emitted an excited gasp. ‘My favourite, thank you,’ she said, unwrapping it immediately and forgetting about her job woes. ‘What about you, Luca? Will you stay at the pasticceria forever?’ she asked, before taking a small bite of the dark, hazelnut chocolate.

  Luca played with the wrapper of his own Baci. He had his knees propped up and was leaning on them. He would make a fine model, Louisa thought, taking in his baby blue eyes and five o’clock shadow. He w
ore a long-sleeved dark grey jumper with black jeans and black dress shoes and in his relaxed state, Louisa felt he wouldn’t look out of place in a Levi’s magazine ad.

  ‘I love the pasticceria and would I be happy to take it over, ma I’d like to travel and see the world. Italy is beautiful and it’s my home, ma there are more beautiful countries to see, no?’ He tilted his head with a gentle shrug.

  Louisa’s heart beat a little faster. She could sense they were one and the same when it came to family. She had no doubt that Luca had had a desire to travel his whole life, to explore and get away from the tiring grind of the pasticceria, but she knew all too well the importance of family and wanting to stay close by to look after everyone. She often got mad at Sabrina for moving to LA and when Amanda used to jet off to multiple destinations in her quest for culinary perfection and cultural adventure, she would huff and puff, stating that she had everything she needed right there in Manchester.

  Now, though, at twenty-two, as the swirl of butterflies floated round in her stomach, she felt she was beginning to understand their forays into other countries and she made a mental note to apologize again to Sabrina for being so harsh on her over recent years. For, if Amanda had never gone to San Francisco, she would never have met Dan and, in turn, Sabrina would not know Levi. Whether her sisters admitted it or not, Louisa knew they were both smitten.

  Sabrina seemed to be on the right path and it certainly looked like she had finally jumped in head first with Levi if their canoodling around the table was anything to go by. Amanda remained stubborn and kept her heart under lock and key, but Louisa felt there was more magic to be revealed in Italy yet. As for her, had she not been in Italy at this time, had her grandpa not encouraged her in spirit to hold her head high and get out of the house, she would never have met the beautiful man in front of her.

  ‘You are right,’ she said to Luca, brushing her hand over his. ‘The world is full of beauty. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder for it and step outside your comfort zone.’ They smiled in understanding of each other. Luca needed to know that his family would be OK if he left them for a little while, just as much as Louisa needed to know that too.