through him. But they still had to find flowers, someplace without such a picky saleswoman.
“Well, Ms. Mouthpiece, any ideas where we should go next?”
“I don’t know. Let me see.” She started typing on her smartphone.
When she turned to start walking, he called out, “You’re going the wrong way.”
She glanced up, confusion reflected in her beautiful eyes. “Oh.”
Quietly they retraced their steps. Her focus was on her phone. And his attention was on keeping her from walking into other pedestrians. When they reached the car, she had another florist for them to try. But it was nearing lunchtime, and he really needed a break before they set out again.
He turned to Jules. “How about lunch?”
“Already?” When she glanced at the time on her phone, her lips formed an O. “I didn’t realize it was so late. Would you mind if we had lunch at Ristorante Massimo? I have a couple of things to go over with Lizzie.”
“Sounds like a plan. Why don’t you call ahead? Dante can have something waiting for us so it won’t take so long. Those two stops this morning took forever. I hope we don’t have to wait that long in the next shop.” He didn’t know if he had the patience for this wedding shopping. It was like watching a grape ripen—painfully slow.
“I hope so, too, or the shopping is going to take us more than a week. And with time being of the essence, we have to move quickly. We still have the cake to pick out.”
“Why didn’t we do that first?”
Jules grinned at him. “Because the cake tasting is the best part of this whole adventure. It’s like a reward.”
He smiled and shook his head. “I don’t know how someone as slender as you can gorge on cake.”
“You just watch, and I’ll show you.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
Jules was a breath of fresh air. She was nothing like the women that lived in the nearby village, who enjoyed a more sedate way of life. And yet she wasn’t like some of the posh urban women who attended the wine-tasting events and were always in such a hurry. Jules had an air about her, but it was all her own.
The more time he spent with her, the more he was beginning to like her—really like her. And that just couldn’t happen.
A DELICIOUS LUNCH could change one’s perspective.
If Jules had known food could put a smile on Stefano’s face, she’d have suggested it ages ago. He’d actually started a conversation, but it was directed at Dante, not her. And it was about one of his favorite subject—grapes. Still it had been nice watching him let down his guard and relax.
But as soon as they climbed back in the car, the walls around him went back up, blocking her out. She didn’t understand what she’d done to get him to hold her at arm’s length. Surely he still wasn’t upset about the salesclerk thinking they were a couple.
Jules glanced down at her black skirt, black stockings and black boots. Okay, so maybe her color choice was a bit somber, but her styles weren’t.
She gave herself a mental jerk. What was she doing? Reevaluating her clothes because of a guy that barely tolerated her? She was fine just the way she was. And black was her favorite color.
She needed to focus on the wedding, not pleasing Stefano. With that thought, she realized it might be best to tell him exactly what she had in mind as they visited this florist.
She leaned over and said, “Just follow my lead. Can you do that?”
He maneuvered the car into a parking spot. “Depends. Are you going to lie?”
“Stefano, do you want this wedding to be nice for your brother?”
“Yes, but he isn’t going to care about flowers.”
“He might not, but his bride will. If she’s not happy, do you really think that he’ll be happy?”
There was a strained pause. “I suppose not.”
She didn’t say a word as he alighted from the car. While she gathered her purse and wedding planner, Stefano rounded the front of the car. She reached for the door handle, but Stefano beat her to it and swung it open. He was a gentleman, something she wasn’t accustomed to. But she could get used to this. After all, if they were about to create a little bit of make-believe, she might as well enjoy some of the benefits.
Inside there was one man working the shop, and he was already busy with someone at the register placing an order. That would give her time to scope out his supply and find out if he was a viable candidate.
“Oh, look—they have dahlias.” She rushed over to take a closer look. “And there are some in the right color.” She couldn’t resist smiling and gently clapped her hands. “So far, so good.”
Stefano pretended to be interested, but she could tell by his reserved reaction that he was less than impressed. She wasn’t going to let his mood ruin this for her. She intended to enjoy this wedding as much as possible. It was quite possibly the last thing that Lizzie would ever ask her to do...especially after Lizzie learned that she wasn’t going to grad school.
“Are you finding what you’re looking for?” The salesman approached them.
This was where she had to play her cards just right. There was no way she was going through all the pain and effort to select the flowers only to have the man turn them away. They didn’t have the time to waste.
She slipped her hand in Stefano’s. When he tried to pull away, she tightened her grip. Silently she willed him to play along with her. She would do her best not to outright lie. The impression the salesman made would be his own responsibility.
After all, she certainly wasn’t expecting anything to come of this. Sure, she’d dated in the past, but she’d always insisted on keeping things casual—except one time. It had been a blind date set up by her lab partner. His name was J.T. It had been a case of infatuation from the get-go. As they’d started to see each other on a regular basis, she’d thought they were building the solid foundation for a committed relationship. She had been certain of it.
With J.T’s graduation just weeks away, he’d asked her to dinner. He’d said that he had something he wanted to say to her. She recalled how excited she’d been. While Lizzie had done her utmost to talk sense into her, all Jules could think about was a diamond ring. At last, someone in her life who would love her and never leave.
In the end, the dinner had been a thank-you for tutoring him in a philosophy class. He had told her that he couldn’t have passed the course without her help. And, as she’d tried her best to suck up her disappointment, he’d capped off the evening with an announcement that he was moving across the country to California. He was leaving, and she wasn’t invited to go with him.
It wasn’t until after a couple of tissue boxes—the jumbo size—that she had realized it had worked out for the best. It reaffirmed her belief that love didn’t exist. It was a fleeting notion. Something that she never planned to explore ever again. But now, after witnessing Lizzie and Dante’s relationship, she thought maybe her assessment hadn’t been quite so accurate.
Jules presented her best smile to the salesman. “We’d like to order some flowers for a wedding.”
“Excellent.” The man glanced around as though searching for something. “Let me just grab something to write on.” He rushed back to the counter and returned with a clipboard and a pen. “When is the wedding?”
“The middle of next month.”
The smile faded from the man’s face. “Oh, that soon.”
“Is that