Betty stepped out of the hotel lobby and waited for her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. She took a deep breath, looked around, and exhaled. The morning buzz of traffic was beginning to subside. She could smell the heat of the warm cobblestones, and an occasional waft of coffee from the café next door. Men dressed for work dashed in and out, smiling, calling out to one another, and chattering in Italian. She looked up in shock as one walked past her. "Ciao, Bella!" He smiled and winked. Betty blushed, "ah…Ciao." He was gone. Weird. He had looked at her as though he knew her.

"You all set?" Gio stepped down to join her on the footpath and took her hand in his.

Betty, still a little flustered, said, "Yep, I think so"

"Good, I'm getting hungry," he grinned at her as they set off across the piazza, and noticed her expression, "okay?"

"Oh nothing, just some guy said hello to me like he knew me. He thought I was someone else."

Gio returned her puzzled expression. Then he clicked…

"Ciao, Bella?"

"Yeah, that's what he said"

Gio's grin returned, "You'll be getting a lot of that. Don't worry about it"

Betty was about to ask what she'd be getting a lot of, but instead blurted out "Gio, why are we going in here?"

"For breakfast."

"But there was a café by our hotel" she whispered under her breath as they entered another identical establishment, with a barista behind a long bar and two large espresso machines.

"I know, but Francesco said this one was better", Gio took up a place at the bar and waited for service.

"Who's Francesco?" Betty looked at him, still confused.

"The guy at the hotel, he said the cornetto here are always fresh. Un café e un cornetto per favore." He turned to Betty, "Café?"

"No! Ah, um, non, grazie" she addressed the barista apologetically, "Gio, you know I can't have coffee!"

"Ah… riiiight. The crazy thing."

"Exactly…. What?!" she hit his shoulder.

"Vorremo una cioccolata calda, un café, e duo cornetti."

The barista grinned and turned to prepare their drinks. Betty spun around and shot at him,

"Hot chocolate? For breakfast? It's like, eighty degrees!"

Gio grinned; it was so easy to wind her up. "Fine, don't drink it."

She sighed and crossed her arms, then tapped her foot impatiently. Why did he have to be such an ass sometimes?

The barista set two saucers on the bar, placed a small croissant on each, then their drinks in tiny cups. Then he laid out another plate with their bill, and two glasses of water. Gio set the money on the plate, handed Betty her drink, and said, "Just try it, B."

Betty sighed and lifted the small cup to her lips. It was hot, dark, and rich. It smelt like intense cocoa, and the taste was totally different to Starbucks. It was thick, intense, and absolutely delicious.

Gio laughed at her expressions as he stirred two teaspoons of sugar into his coffee.

She glared at him over the top of her cup, and then nearly choked when he drank it in one swig.

"Are you nuts?"

Gio took a bite out of his pastry, then leaned against the bar and said, "I'm in a hurry"

Betty noticed that everyone seemed to be in a hurry – the older men stood at the bar slightly longer than the others, but they never sat to finish their coffee. The barista worked with effortless efficiency, turning out a coffee in thirty seconds, taking money and chatting with the patrons simultaneously. It was hectic, but in a completely different way from New York. No one took coffee to go, and it seemed like everyone ordered either café or cappuccino, with lots of sugar.

She finished her cioccolato and tried the cornetto. It was flaky and buttery and melted in her mouth. "Thish ish rrealy ghud."

Gio laughed and choked a little on his own. "I'm glad, because it's all you're getting for a little while."

It was Betty's turn to choke.

Gio patted her on the back, "You'll be fine. We'll stop for lunch soon enough… I promise." he added, noticing her disappointment.

Betty realised that her hunger had actually subsided, so she finished her pastry, brushed her hands on the napkin and took a sip of water.

"Okay. Let's go"

They set off again, Gio leading the way, chatting to her about the places he thought they should visit today. He enjoyed watching her slight discomfort as he stepped out in front of moving cars, and her horror as they failed to stop but simply swerved to avoid them, sometimes across the centre line or dangerously close to badly parked cars. She began to ask him questions, what a sign said, how far they were from the different monuments she knew of, where he planned to go for lunch, how long it would be before they ate, could they go somewhere with bread sticks, whether he had any brothers and sisters other than Antonella…. Wait.

"Where did that come from?" He raised his eyebrows at her as they dodged another car half parked on the pavement.

"I was just wondering."

He raised his eyebrows again.

"Well, I was thinking about how I have to get presents for Justin and Hilda and Papi and Christina and Daniel and… I was wondering who you would be looking for."

She shrugged her shoulders and turned to gaze in the window of a store with brightly coloured silk ties displayed. "Oooh… Daniel would love that green one with the little yellow pinstripe…" She pulled against his hand to walk into the shop.

Gio tugged her hand in the opposite direction "Betty, we have plenty of time for shopping later… I thought you wanted to get a feel for the city?"

"Yeah, but I also want to feel what 100 percent Italian silk is like…" She leaned towards the open door.

"Later!" Gio pulled her firmly after him and trotted off to the next intersection.

Betty scuttled along beside him. "So?"

"So?" Gio looked at her, an expectant, open smile on her face, "Okay, well… There's Sofia…"

"You have two sisters?!" Betty cut him off excitedly.

"Hah! I wish!" Gio scoffed "She's just turned 28. Then there's me. Then Daniela, she's just turned 24. Then Marco and Teresa, 20 and 18 last week. Then Antonella." Betty stared at him in disbelief.

"Guess my parents got bored when the rest of us could dress and feed ourselves." He grinned and waved to acknowledge a driver that stopped to let them cross.

"So when's Antonella's birthday?"

"Tomorrow."

"Gio!" she smacked him on the shoulder, "Won't she be mad you missed it?!"

"Nah, I'll call her. But she won't have a party til, like October," he rolled his eyes.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah it got super expensive so my parents just spaced out our birthdays."

"So that explains the blizzard."

"What?"

"Your tenth birthday"

"Oh yeah. We celebrate mine in December," he explained with a nod of his head.

"So what's with the whole May thing?"

"I dunno. I guess my parents just have a thing for September..." He raised one eyebrow and gave Betty a sideways glance. She screwed up her face. Here it comes, he thought.

"Ew! Gio!" and she smacked him on the shoulder again. "How am I gonna look them in the eye when you take me home for dinner?"

"Who says I'm taking you home for dinner?" He smiled at his own joke and dodged another smack, "Just kidding… but seriously, you should be glad I haven't subjected you to the Rossi tornado."

"Shut up. You met Hilda. You even took her on a date! That's way beyond the call of duty. I bet they can't be worse than that." Betty shuddered a little at the memory of that night.

"Oh ho ho… you'd be surprised." He raised his eyebrows at her, also remembering his date with Hilda, but with quite a different feeling. He went quiet and checked a street sign as they passed. Betty took hold of his hand again and lowered her eyes, looking at their feet walking in unison.

Gio watched her quiet smile. He knew exactly how his family would react when they met Betty. He was half looking forward to it, half dreading it. Sofia would welcome her warmly, then interrogate her about her writing and her college and her plans for the next five years. Daniela would size her up in a minute, offer to take her shopping or sew her something, then grill her about working at MODE. Marco would be diplomatic and kind, but would cunningly take the piss out of Gio all night without letting Betty realise what was going on. Teresa was a gem. Quiet and calm, she probably wouldn't say much, but she would be paying close attention. She looked out for him, and he was pretty sure that she'd approve. And Antonella? Well she'd already made her first impression, and he couldn't really say he hadn't expected it. Antonella was blunt and always spoke her mind. She was headstrong and sometimes a little rash, and he loved her for it. His Papa would sit quietly until asked a question, then he would tell stories and ramble and Betty would sit politely and listen until someone interrupted and talked over him. His mama would greet her with an embrace, exclaim at her eldest son's good taste, and feed her. They might be a little surprised – she was different to the other girls he had dated. But they would love that she was an eater. Of that he was absolutely sure.

Imagining the scene he breathed a mental sigh of relief. He was relieved she hadn't asked about his birthday. He was looking forward to a quiet, personal celebration, with no siblings annoying him, no expectations and no disappointments. It would be perfect.

Betty stared at the rippling shadows lead them across the cobblestones, mulling things over in her head. She'd given him the perfect opening to come clean. He'd chosen not to. Very well then… she'd have to do her own digging and figure out how to make this a memorable birthday for him. A summer birthday. No blizzards, no siblings to compete with, and definitely no leftover cake. It would be perfect. She would make sure of it.