LITMIR.BIZ

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away his phone and gazed at his painting, his appetite for it now absent. Was Octavia simply bizarre enough to angle for dinner with every man she met? And then pretend there was more to it?

      As he sat uneasily, turning things over in his mind, he became aware of a sound reaching him over the lavender-scented air. It sounded like a woman singing, punctuating her song with loud clicks.

      Curiosity aroused, he washed his brush and closed the lid on his palette, then stood to stroll up the slope, past a couple of olive trees, tracking down the sound to one side of the terrace and a shabby wooden gate he hadn’t noticed before. On the other side of it he found Sofia, looking very much off-duty in black shorts that clung as if in joy at finding themselves touching such a good part of her. In her ears were earbuds and in her hand a big pair of scissors. A flourishing vine dominated almost every available support in the vicinity and she was making an attempt at taming it, judging from the carpet of clippings beneath her feet and the neatness of the growth where it had been tied to two uprights. As she worked, she sang softly in Italian, insects buzzing companionably around her as if they thought they were her backing group. The slow, gentle song made her voice sound especially sweet. She blinked hard, pausing to wipe a tear from her cheek with the sleeve of her T-shirt.

      Though she always seemed inexplicably tetchy where he was concerned – which was a shame – Levi recognised a private moment when he saw one. He was about to creep away when she shifted position and caught sight of him. Visibly startled, she dropped her scissors, which narrowly missed her toes. ‘Fu— for crying out loud!’ she squeaked, dragging her earbuds from her ears. ‘Why are you lurking there?’

      Levi lifted his hands to signal he came in peace. ‘Sorry! I heard you singing.’ And then, because the opportunity to leave unobserved had passed and the evidence of her tears still glistened on her face he felt compelled to put aside her occasional snarkiness. ‘Are you OK?’

      She lifted the hem of her T-shirt to blot her eyes, affording him a glimpse of a taut abdomen before she let the fabric fall. ‘Yes, thank you,’ she sniffed, managing a tremulous smile. ‘Amy and I began cutting back this monster vine last night and I’ve worked my shift today so I thought I’d finish off and tidy up. I was listening to an Italian radio station and a song came on that Dad used to sing – Solo Tu. Apparently my parents considered it “theirs” and used to smooch to it.’

      ‘Then I’m sorry I interrupted.’

      She gave him another watery smile, stooping to pick up the fallen scissors. ‘It’s OK. I promised not to be sad after he’d gone.’

      Because she didn’t appear to be doing a great job of keeping that promise, Levi found himself saying, ‘I’m on my way to Il Giardino for coffee. Fancy joining me? Maybe a shot of caffeine will help.’

      She studied him for a moment before she nodded. ‘That’s kind of you. Thank you. But off-duty staff aren’t meant to hang out with guests so I’ll meet you there and conveniently find a vacant seat at your table. I need to wash the green stuff off my hands anyway.’

      Waiting for Sofia to join him at a table in Amy’s section of Il Giardino he had time to order a bottle of cold water and a couple of glasses. He was just beginning to wonder if Sofia had had one of her lightning changes of mood and wasn’t going to turn up when she appeared, cleaned up and changed into a cotton skirt. He rather missed the short-shorts. However changeable she’d been towards him she always looked amazing.

      Amy sailed up the aisle between tables, beaming. ‘Finished the breakfast shift, Sofia? What can I get you both?’

      Sofia ordered cappuccino and Levi Americano and, perhaps to counteract the hot drinks, they also selected an ice-cream each from the cabinet behind the bar. Sofia chose a chocolate-hazelnut combination called bacio, which she said meant ‘kiss’. Levi chose limone, the translation of which he could work out for himself.

      ‘Amy seems a bit happier now,’ he observed, when she’d served them with tall glasses of ice-cream and moved on to another table.

      Sofia sent him one of her searching looks before glancing at Amy and nodding. Then she turned the conversation. ‘So what’s going on with you today? More painting? I was impressed with what I saw yesterday.’

      He took up his spoon, ready to broach the three scoops of ice-cream with a tube-shaped wafer stuck jauntily in the top. ‘I was. Then I was distracted by an awkward phone call.’

      She was already digging into her bacio. ‘Nothing too awful, I hope.’

      He watched the way she ate the first taste of ice-cream, half-closing her eyes as she savoured it. Today she seemed back to the friendly, approachable woman she’d been on Monday evening when she’d asked to share his table – before greeting his suggestion they go on somewhere together like a deadly insult. Curious to see if he could complete a conversation with her without prompting the same result, he decided to try to engage her. ‘I’m not sure. Maybe you can give me an objective view? I’m not sure if I’m imagining something that isn’t there.’

      Her eyebrows lifted. ‘Go on.’ She took another spoon of ice-cream and did the savouring thing again. It was damned distracting.

      Between spoonfuls of his own delicious tart-but-sweet lemon ice-cream Levi recounted the story of Octavia hitting on him so hard then moving on to Wes without, apparently, missing a beat.

      Sofia listened, dark brown eyes thoughtful. She finished her bacio, wiped her fingers on her paper napkin and sat back. ‘Did you know her before she found your phone?’

      ‘Not that I remember. But Bettsbrough’s a small town so it’s possible. Dad owns a garage and I worked there during the holidays when I was younger. I must have met a lot of his customers over time.’

      ‘But that’s not where you work now?’

      ‘Yes and no. My office is above my dad’s garage, but it’s just rented from Gunn’s Motors. My brother Tyrone works for the business itself.’

      ‘You didn’t go to the same school?’

      ‘I don’t think so. She’s several years older than I am, probably early to mid-forties.’

      Sofia raised an eyebrow as she reached for the water to top up their glasses. ‘So she’s a polyamorous techie who doesn’t see anything wrong in making her desires known, fancied both of you and so went for it. If everyone concerned is single then she hasn’t actually done anything wrong.’

      Levi heaved a sigh of relief at her no-nonsense summation. ‘Thank you.’

      Her eyes began to dance. ‘Or she’s a right old bunny-boiler who took one look at you, became violently infatuated and is infiltrating every aspect of your life, even to the extent of granting sexual access to your best friend in an effort to stay close to you and/or make you jealous.’

      ‘Shit.’ He contemplated her. ‘Do you think it’s that?’

      She shrugged. ‘Not really. If you’re positive you’ve never met until she found your phone I’d say the most likely explanation is that Octavia’s simply an oddball who falls suddenly for men and equally suddenly gets over them. Or she’s been single too long and is getting a bit desperate to couple up.’

      Levi made no reply, mainly because he couldn’t think of a polite way of saying ‘Yeuch.’

      As she cleared tables, the sun hot on her neck, Amy watched Sofia and Levi together. She liked them both. They’d stuck up for her right at the beginning when she hadn’t known how to handle creepy Davide. Sofia had even taken charge when Amy had been a wuss last night about the climbing plant tapping at her window in the breeze.

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