‘But I don’t need a translator,’ he said innocently.
‘No, but you sure needed a dogsbody-make a note of this, jot that down-’
He blew a kiss at her. ‘You take the best notes in the business. Let’s get them into the computer while they’re still fresh.’ He produced his laptop and studied some scraps of paper. ‘I can’t read your writing.’
‘I’ll put them into the computer. You get me something to eat before I faint with hunger.’
The waiter arrived with the menu. Lorenzo ordered drinks, and when they were alone he made an excited exclamation.
‘This is a vegetarian restaurant. Just what I need. We’ll try as many dishes as possible to see where we can improve them.’ He began to read from the menu, pausing at each dish to observe, ‘I’ll bet I can improve on that.’
The drinks arrived, and between taking sips and tapping into the laptop Helen failed to notice that the waiter had returned, taken an order from Lorenzo, and departed.
‘But I didn’t tell you what I wanted,’ she protested.
He looked awkward. ‘The things is, I thought we should cover as wide a range as possible between us so-’
‘So you ordered for me something that suited you?’
‘Well-yes.’
‘That’s the sort of thing my father would do,’ she said wrathfully.
‘Ah, but that’s different. Your father is simply an old-fashioned patriarch. I act from nobler motives.’
‘Such as?’
‘I’m making money.’
It was no use trying to out-talk him. She sighed, but her lips were twitching.
‘Talking about your father,’ he said, as their starters arrived, ‘I begin to understand what you mean. He’s very traditional, to put it mildly.’
Helen nodded. ‘In some ways Papa is a wonderful man. He’s kind, and he works long, long hours for his family. But in return he expects to make all the big decisions. Mamma simply has no say.’ Her mischievous spirit made her add, ‘A bit like you just now.’
‘No,’ he said seriously. ‘I was nine years old when my father died, but I remember him well, and I’m sure he never spoke to his wife as brusquely as your father does. I’m also sure I’ll never speak to mine like that.’
She pointed a courgette at him. ‘I’m not marrying you, Martelli.’
He grinned. ‘Tell your father that. He was practically planning the wedding present last night.’
‘You tell him. You’re the man, the authority, the one who speaks while the little woman is silent.’
‘Who, me?’ He looked alarmed.
‘Yes, you. Are you a man or a mouse?’
‘A mouse,’ he said promptly. ‘It’s much safer that way.’
‘You mean you don’t have to explain to my father,’ she chuckled.
He regarded her askance. ‘You’re so contrary you’d refuse to marry me just to annoy him.’
‘That and plenty of other reasons,’ she assured him.
He made a parade of relief. ‘Phew! Then I’m safe!’
‘Eat your starter,’ she advised him. ‘The next course will be here soon and I can’t wait to find out what The Great Man ordered on my behalf.’
CHAPTER THREE
THE next dish was bean and artichoke salad, which was delicious. As Lorenzo poured her a glass of light wine he asked, ‘What about your sisters? Do they feel the same as you about your father and all the rest?’
‘No,’ she said, realising the truth of the words as she said them. ‘Oh, they have arguments with Mamma and Poppa, but they’re only normal growing-up stuff. They don’t feel suffocated by the whole family thing as I do.’
‘You feel suffocated by your family?’ he asked with a frown.
‘By their expectations. Last night, when they saw us together in the street, nobody was surprised. They thought it was just the plan working out.’
‘But you’re going to trump them with Erik?’
‘It’s not about Erik-it’s not about any man. Why should everyone think that if I’m not romancing one man I must be romancing another?’
‘Because romance is natural,’ he protested. ‘Men and women pair off. That’s how the human race gets restocked.’
‘But can’t there be more to life? Suppose I see myself as an hotel manager rather than a “re-stocking agent”?’
‘Can’t you be both?’
‘Not if I marry a Sicilian,’ she said firmly.
‘I see,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘so if I were to go down on one knee and say, “Be mine forever”, I could count on you saying no?’
‘You could count on me having you placed under restraint. After what you know about me, you’d have to be losing your wits to want me.’
‘That’s very true. Thanks for the warning.’
They smiled together and she said, ‘If you knew how nice it is to be able to talk freely, knowing I’m not going to get cries of horror.’
‘That’s what friends are for.’ He gave her a sudden intense look. ‘I think you need a friend.’
‘Men and women can’t be friends,’ she said mechanically.
‘Who said that? Not you.’
‘No, Mamma. And Poppa. At different times. Poppa says it’s impossible because women just don’t understand anything outside the kitchen. And Mamma says it’s impossible because men only want “one thing”.’
‘Well, we’re going to prove them wrong,’ he said gently. ‘Men and women
‘That’s what I think too,’ she said eagerly. ‘But from where I come from-’
‘And where
He stretched out his hand and she took it, smiling. Out of the corner of his eye Lorenzo noticed people grinning at them. Helen looked around and understood.
‘You know what they’re thinking?’ she said.
‘Yes, they think we’re in love. Why else should a man and woman clasp hands and smile into each other’s eyes?’
For a tense moment they both fell silent. Why else?
‘If we told them the truth they wouldn’t believe it,’ she said.
‘Right. How could they understand that we’ve discovered the second most important relationship of our lives?’
‘Second?’
‘I suppose one day I’ll fall in love for good. And you’ll meet a man you don’t reject in the first five minutes.’ He squeezed her hand lightly to show he was joking. ‘And they’ll mean more to each of us than we mean to each other.’
‘Yes, I suppose they will,’ she said blankly.
‘But until then-?’
‘Friendship comes first.’ Then something occurred to her. ‘What did you mean, “fall in love for good?” How do you usually fall in love?’
‘Well-you know.’ He coloured.
‘Come on,’ she laughed. ‘Tell your friend. You’re “faithless and unreliable” aren’t you?’
‘They invented the words just for me,’ he admitted. ‘You were very clever to see through me so fast. Now,
