by Patricia Mar
A kiss given to hold off a panic attack wasn’t the start of a relationship!
She stood before the mirror, thinking that if Daniel had been there and had seen her at that moment he would have retracted his friendly invitation to dinner and cancelled her number from his expensive phone on the spot.
“I didn’t think you… I mean, I didn’t mean you were coming on to me…” She blinked and bit her lip – she was babbling again. She really must learn to filter what she thought before she said it. “I’m flattered, very flattered… but I’d feel uncomfortable… uncomfortable in your world.”
“You talk as if I were some kind of alien, Sara, and I’m not. We live on the same planet, both of us.”
Was that reproach she could hear in his voice? Maybe a hint of annoyance? His tone had definitely cooled. But after all, it was better that way – there was no point living with your head in the clouds.
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Daniel, but I’m sure you know plenty of nice, interesting people, believe me. I’m just an ordinary girl – methodical, boring and a million miles away from the fashion world.”
God, I’m neurotic! What the hell am I doing? Go for it! Accept!
She heard a long sigh – one of those ‘I’m stretching out like a cat’ ones, and swallowed hard as she imagined it. She sat down on the couch and casually picked up the magazine with the naked pictures of Daniel, blushing at the thought of having that divine creature on the other end of the line.
“So basically you’re telling me to cancel your phone number and forget I ever met you?”
Sara winced. To tell the truth, she wasn’t exactly thrilled, but she knew herself and she was certain that whatever relationship they might end up having wouldn’t be the right one for her.
“I’m saying it for your sake. I’d lower the standard of your acquaintances,” she joked. “I’m just a normal girl.”
“I get it. Well, it was nice talking to you Sara. I hope you find a job soon. Goodbye!”
“Goo—” She didn’t even have time to finish the ‘goodbye’ when Daniel hung up. Sara stood there like a pillar of salt. Had she really refused an invitation to dinner with the man who was now staring up at her from the page of the magazine as though to say ‘take me, I’m yours’?
Why?
She still didn’t really know what had made her reject him.
She’d always wondered if she was crazy. Well now she had the proof.
Chapter 5
The Merry Wives
“You must be nuts!” exclaimed Virginia, dressed in lilac, brown boots and with her hair in a long ponytail, as she distractedly stirred her cocktail with her straw and stared angrily at her sister.
“No, nuts isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind,” chimed in Lia, with her sly little face, heart shaped lips, eyes as blue as the sky and black curls that fell to her shoulders. She was a nurse at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, was twenty-four years old and had been a friend of Sara’s since she had moved to Rome three years ago.
The three of them were in a noisy, crowded bar with loud rock music blaring out in the background. Their night out had just begun and Sara was pleased to see that they’d identified their topic of conversation: her!
“Come on, girls, are you kidding? Daniel Gant and I have nothing in common.”
“Except for a bit of saliva!” laughed Lia, as she sipped a very red Bloody Mary and looked around for prey. She’d been single for three months, was desperate to get back into action, and was taking no prisoners.
In the background Bruno Mars was shouting about being Locked Out of Heaven, setting the mood for the three young women’s thoughts. Sara leaned back in her Wild West style wooden chair and snorted. “You ought to be telling me that I’m right!”
Virginia and Lia looked at each other and burst out laughing, then clinked their glasses to toast her stupidity. Sara glared at them and sipped her mojito.
“She said no to marble-arse!”
“She turned down an invitation to dinner with Mr ‘I-might-be-naked-but-I-still-look-stylish’!”
“She’d rather stay at home with a book and a packet of crisps than eat dessert with Mr ‘Let-me-take-you-to-heaven-tonight’—”
“That’s enough!” said Sara, while the other two giggled. “Listen, I’m looking for someone who’s able to make me feel special! One who knows how to make me smile, and who’s all mine – not one that belongs to the entire female population of the planet.”
“God you’re so boring – wake up, sweetheart! You’re twenty-five and you missed out on an incredible opportunity yesterday. Daniel Gant is monstrously cool – he’s sexy, he’s exotic and he’s fun. I saw an interview with him on the Letterman Show and I think he might even be a bit intelligent! What more do you want?” Lia was right, and Sarah knew it.
“Ok, I messed up.” She lowered her eyes and began to pretend to sweep crumbs off the table with her hand to hide her embarrassment.
“Call him,” suggested Virginia, her sly eyes on her sister.
“No way!”
“Well you’d better hope your pride keeps you warm on the chilly Roman nights, then,” said Lia, motioning to the tall, dark, muscular waiter to bring her another cocktail.
“Girls, it’s out of the question, I’m not going to call him. I don’t want to look like a little girl who can’t make her mind up. I stole a kiss from him and you have no idea how embarrassed I am about it.”
“You were being a good Samaritan,” said Virginia, looking at Lia. The two burst out laughing again, and this time Sara joined in. She took a handful of peanuts and put them in her mouth. “God he’s a good kisser,” she said, as she munched greedily.
“I knew it!” Virginia leaned forward conspiratorially. “Nobody that well put together couldn’t not be.” She nodded smugly, as though she was an expert on the matter.
“A sex god!” chuckled Lia.
“You’re getting vulgar,” scolded Sara.
“Hey, this is a girls’ night out – everything’s legitimate!” chipped in Virginia, adding, “Anyway, apparently Mr Gant has split up with Delphina McDougal, the model in those Dolce & Gabbana adverts.”
“Oh, she’s gorgeous – she’s got an amazing body, and all that silky black hair. Who knows how they get it so shiny,” said Lia, looking puzzled.
“They must use Ambrosia,” retorted Virginia.
“I don’t remember seeing the advert for that,” admitted Sara, imagining Venus rising from the waters clad only in enough sex appeal to put Miss Universe to shame.
“You live on another planet, you know that? I sometimes wonder if you really are my sister—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m always saying to Mum that they must have switched babies in the hospital. Anyway, see? I was right to say no – Daniel Gant goes out with models, actresses, TV presenters—”
“Hold it right there!” Virginia made a dramatic gesture and a devilish smile appeared on her face.
“What?” asked Sara, casting her a suspicious glance.
“You’ve been reading up on him! My perfect sister who always has everything under control, everything planned, has been doing her research!”
From behind her second Bloody Mary, Lia stared at her like a hunting dog. “So you do like him!”
“I’d have to be dead and buried not to find him attractive, girls, come on… but the truth is that it just didn’t feel right.”
Virginia became serious. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s the truth – I just… lost my nerve. I never thought he would really call anyway. He’s part of the glitterati, he’s always in the gossip mags, always looks so amazing in every photo. He doesn’t even seem real.”
“That kiss in the lift was real enough!” remarked Lia.
“That situation was anything but real. It was like a hallucination – total madness…”
“A magnificent twist of fate that threw you together with that stupendous creature,” sighed V
irginia. “How else could you ever possibly have met him?”
“And that’s exactly my point – I wasn’t supposed to, because people like me and him have nothing in common, nothing at all. Me and Delphina – and what kind of stupid name is Delphina, anyway? – are as far apart as fire and water, earth and sky…”
“All the greatest love stories come from exactly that type of thing,” said Lia, with conviction. “Opposites attract, everybody knows that!”
“Yes, in romance novels and Hollywood comedies! Wake up you two – this is real life, and I want a real boyfriend! One who’s all mine and who isn’t going to go into anaphylactic shock just because I’m wearing baggy old jeans, a ponytail and no make-up.”
“As far as I’m concerned you’re just narrow minded, not to mention a chicken!” said Virginia crossly. “For God’s sake, you’ve gone on loads of dates, you’re a lovely looking girl – ok, you might not be a Delphina, but who is? Probably not even her when she wakes up in the morning with dried dribble around her mouth, no make-up and messy hair. You’re scared of not being up to going out with Daniel. You’re scared of actually having a relationship.”
“Well, can you blame me, after Carlo?”
“No, of course not. But not all men are bastards like Carlo, sis, and you can’t spend the rest of your life alone.”
“I just never find the right guy.”
“That’s because you never give anyone the chance to be the right guy – as soon as you meet them, you’ve already cancelled them from your personal database. For the last three years you’ve only been on first dates. Just let that sink in for a minute.”
“You let it sink in that I’m not letting someone I’ve only just met stick his tongue in my mouth, ok?”
Lia finished her second cocktail and, in a vaguely tipsy voice, said “You let Daniel stick his tongue in your mouth the first time you met him, and that wasn’t even a date!”
Virginia nodded smugly and Sara could only raise her eyes to heaven in defeat.
They were right.
About everything.
Chapter 6
Tuxedo and Crisps
In the end she had managed to get Virginia and Filippo out of the house. Sara absolutely did not want to share her Saturday night with those two in full lovebird mode. She felt grumpy and tired, and wanted nothing more than to spend the night drowning her sorrows with a couple of beers while having a Friends marathon and trying not to think about yet another job interview that hadn’t gone well. What was wrong with her, for God’s sake? She was reliable, methodical, spoke several languages and she had a bloody good CV, damn it all!
Anyway, what harm would a bit of healthy self-pity do her? If her sister and her new boyfriend had stayed she’d have ended up trying to make excuses, but she didn’t want to. It was just fate being the usual bastard and throwing a spanner in the works. She’d sort things out, she just needed a little time on her own, laughing like an idiot at Ross’s solar shower and knocking back a couple of beers while she gorged on disgustingly greasy snacks that would raise her cholesterol levels.
Non-slip Daffy Duck socks, hair tied up in a messy ponytail, fuchsia Snoopy sweatpants, no make-up, legs crossed on the coffee table in front of the sofa, she sank back comfortably, finger poised over the play button on the remote.
“Right, let’s go!” The comforting tune of I’ll Be There for You brought back her good mood, and the episode was just about to begin when suddenly the doorbell rang.
She jumped in surprise. Virginia had only been gone about twenty minutes: could she be back so soon? Maybe she’d forgotten her keys. She couldn’t have already had a fight with her milquetoast boyfriend, surely.
Lazily she rose from the sofa, annoyed by the intrusion. “I can’t even get any peace on Saturday night,” she muttered to herself, before flinging open the door.
“What is it?”
Her mouth dropped in amazement and her eyes grew as wide as a couple of bowling balls about to hit the pins.
“Do you always answer the door like that or was that some kind of special treatment reserved for me?”
Sara wanted to thump herself in the head and give it a shake to re-assemble the pieces of her shattered brain.
“Daniel?”
Daniel Gant was standing right there in front of her, dressed in an immaculate tuxedo. His eyes, as blue as a mountain lake, were looking her up and down.
“Shit!” she cursed to herself, remembering how she was dressed, while he looked as smart as if he was going to the Oscars. Her mouth went dry. Oh no, what was that in his hand? A magnificent bouquet of a dozen incredible long stemmed red roses. Sara stood there immobile, her hand glued to the door handle and a stunned look still on her face. Daniel Gant was in front of her and he was handsome as a god.
“What are you doing here? And how did you get in?”
“I rang your neighbour’s bell. Very nice lady, she was kind enough to buzz me in.”
Sara could imagine the woman eavesdropping from behind the door of her apartment, the old nosy parker!
“So… can I come in or are you going to keep me standing out here on the landing until tomorrow?”
He was pleased that he’d surprised her, and his smile was charming enough to floor a bull.
“No, no, sorry.” She stepped aside, still clinging to the door. She felt as though she’d probably collapse to the floor like an empty sack if she let go of it. Daniel walked past, hesitated, then entered.
“I can explain my weird reaction just now – how did you know where I live? I never told you. And why are you dressed as though you’re running away from a Valentine’s Day photo shoot… or from Valentino?”
Daniel put the flowers down and sat on the couch next to her as he looked around curiously, his probing eyes coming to rest on each object, knick-knack, photograph and piece of furniture before finally returning to her.
“I like your apartment.”
“You didn’t answer my questions.”
“I see you were all set for a night in,” he said, and pointed to the television. “I love Friends. I’ve got all the DVDs at home.”
Sara smiled for the first time without it hurting. “I love it. It always cheers me up. And yes, I was planning on having a night in. What about you? Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve booked a table for two at Rodolfo’s for eight-thirty. You’d probably better go and get ready.”
Sara almost jumped to her feet, but managed to control herself and pretended not to have understood. “So those flowers are for me, then. As is the sight of you in a tuxedo.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow confidently. “Yup.” He picked up the bouquet and handed it to her.
Sara thanked him and then clutched it to her chest, losing herself in the delicate scent of those magnificent roses – little witnesses to the game which was now afoot.
“So you thought that by turning up here dressed like that…”
“It is an Armani,” he teased.
“…you’d make an impression and I would change my ‘no’ to a ‘yes’?” she said, casually. Or at least that was the impression she wanted to give. For what that Armani tux cost, she could probably have paid the rent for three months.
“Yes, a completely cynical calculation on my part. You’re a nice person, you’d never be able to say ‘no’ and throw me out on my ear, especially with these puppy-dog eyes… I came to find you, despite the fact that your ‘no’ still stings…” He pulled a sad face and stuck his bottom lip out.
“You’re terrible,” said Sara, shocked. “You just can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” There was no reproach in her voice, though, and in truth, she was beginning to enjoy herself. Playing cat and mouse with Daniel was actually very enjoyable.
“Not when I’m interested.” Daniel had become serious.
“So now I’m supposed to change my mind and ask you to wait here while I slip into a suitable evening dress?”
“Exactly.”
&
nbsp; “Daniel Gant, you’re flirting with me and I don’t understand why. I’m serious.”
“I want to get to know you, I don’t see anything strange about that. You intrigue me, Sara De Michele, you and this habit of yours of pushing me away.”
“Basically you’re curious to understand why I don’t just fall at your feet?”
Daniel laughed. “Something like that.”
“Is this a challenge?” She was increasingly tempted. All her good intentions to keep him at a distance had dissolved and she no longer saw any reason not to go out with this charming man who, despite her initial rejection, had turned up at her door dressed to the nines to try and win her over. She needed someone to spar with verbally, someone who was as good at it as she was. And Daniel was. In all probability, the next day she’d regret her decision, but to hell with it: for one evening, no more self-control – for one evening she would go to a fashionable restaurant that only VIPs could get into without booking ten months in advance.
“Come out to dinner with me, and I’ll explain how I know where you live and why you were at home.”
“An offer I can’t refuse.”
He smiled softly and shook his head as if to say no, she couldn’t.
Deliberately, Sara got up from the couch and headed for the bedroom, and then turned round. “Don’t eat all my crisps.”
His hand was already fishing in the bowl. Daniel and Sara stared at each other for a moment, then they both burst out laughing. At that moment, Sara felt her heart leap.
Because it felt as if this might be the beginning of a wonderful, incredible future.
Chapter 7
Am I Awake Or Do I Dream?
The restaurant’s subtle lighting made the atmosphere almost magical. The tables were beautifully laid with handmade vintage tablecloths and napkins, and the warm colours of the furnishings were inviting, though the style was embellished here and there with a touch of modern design. She felt comfortable, even if it did feel like a photo shoot for Architectural Digest.