Chapter 7

I spent the better part of the afternoon in the library, sorting through boxes of books. I catalogued everything I found into a notebook and then carefully assigned the books places on the abundant shelf space. Most were in English which surprised me, though there was also a decent chunk in Italian and even French. Fortunately with those, the main thing I was looking for was a dewey decimal number on the copyright page. That thing was universal no matter what language the book was printed in. I was so absorbed in sorting that I didn't even notice the time passing, or the presence that joined me in the library right on sunset. I had finally worked my way over to the box of books Alessandro's mother had read to him when he was a little boy. These were special so I was intent on treating them with the upmost care. I was in the process of thumbing through Prosciutto e uova Verdi (Green eggs and ham) and smiling at the child's scrawl on the title page that read Alessandro Zingaro when I sensed him standing over me. I was sitting on the floor, surrounded by towers of picture books, so when I finally glanced up I found myself staring at legs for miles. Somewhere up the top of those legs there was a face that peered down at me, brows furrowed into a frown.

"What are you doing?" It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

"I..." I glanced from Alessandro back to the book in my hands. "I'm just sorting through the library. Giuseppe said it was ok."

More frowning. More contemplating. His eyes fell across his childhood and he shifted on his feet for a moment, throat bobbing as he swallowed. Was this difficult for him to see?

"I'm sorry," I said, putting the book away. I pulled myself to my feet and took a step away from the box, I guess in attempt to distance myself from his memories. "These are very personal possessions, I understand."

His blue eyes crashed back into mine again and I had to fight myself from gasping at just how beautiful they were. More silence. Another swallow.

"Dinner is on the patio," he said, turning to leave but before he could get anywhere I reached out and touched his arm.

"Alessandro," I said and he stopped. "Listen, I'm sorry. Whatever I've done to offend you, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

He nodded. "It's fine, Lizbeth."

But it wasn't fine because he was still angry. I let him go. There really wasn't anything else I could do. Whatever had happened - whatever had upset him so much - it was up to him now to decide if he thought any sort of friendship was salvageable from… whatever this was.

Monday morning rolled around far too quickly for my taste, especially after such a strange weekend. Since I was no longer living within walking distance from the station, Giuseppe was kind enough to offer me his driver while I was staying with him. So taking advantage of this, I decided to head out a little earlier and drop by my flat before work. The place was a mess. Fortunately the water was gone but what was left behind was now covered in a layer of mud. The smell was terrible. Nothing was salvable - from the furniture to the carpet and even the kitchen lino - it all had to go. And by the looks of things, it was going to be weeks before I could move back in. Carefully stepping around the mud and the debris, I continued with my bleak inspection. What possessions that had escaped the water would need to be packed away and put into storage and I wondered if Giuseppe would be willing to lend me some space in his garage. Hell, I was even happy to just stick it all in my room since it probably would all fit in there anyway. The fridge was dead. I didn't dare open it, knowing all too well that whatever was in it was more than likely rotten. I would have to take a day off work this week just to sort through what I was going to throw and what was going into storage.

I found an invitation to my cousin's wedding stuck under a fridge magnet, the expensive paper and lovely cursive handwriting inviting me-plus-one to share in her marital celebrations in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was only two weeks away and while I had already RSVPed, (I was a bride's maid, I wasn't missing this thing for the world) and booked my flight, I realised I still needed to find a place to stay. I grabbed the invitation as a reminder and stuffed it into my bag. Then taking one final glance around the flat, I said my sad goodbyes and headed to work.

It was just before lunch when Alessandro showed up. He burst through the front door and thinking it was my replacement for lunch I called out from the back of the library to make herself comfortable while I assisted a woman and her little boy. I had my head down and was digging through the picture book bin for Possum Magic when the woman beside me piped in a hushed whisper.

"There's a man waiting for you at the counter."

I shot upright, bashing my head on the shelf above me just as he spotted me from his position at the staff counter.

"I'll be right with you." I offered him my best attempt at a smile even though my insides were suddenly feeling like jelly. What was he doing here? Judging by the stormy expression on his face, he wasn't here for a quick flirt and a chat.

I found Possum Magic and checked it out to the lady who was too distracted eyeing off Alessandro to realise her toddler was in the process of pulling books from the bottom shelves and throwing them on the floor. In fact it wasn't until her offspring grabbed a book and ran over to Alessandro before proceeding to whack him in the leg with it that she took notice.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Leaping on her kid, she yanked the book from his hands and promptly shoved it into mine. "Nigel, don't hit the nice man!"

The kid squealed and offering another apologetic glance, the woman gathered him up and hurried from the library, leaving me to face the glowering devil alone. Alessandro was watching me, tight jawed and agitated. He seriously looked like he was going to pop a vein. Then as I went to clean up the mess of books on the floor, he snapped from his stare and, to my surprise, bent down and helped me pick them up. Well this was an improvement.

"I need to talk to you," he said in a hoarse whisper. "Alone."

I dumped my handful of books onto the nearest empty trolley and relieved Alessandro of his pile. "I'm going on break in a few. Can you wait that long?"

He didn't say anything, just stalked himself right on over to the travel section, plucked a random book from the shelf and pretended to absorb himself in pretty pictures of the elephants in Africa.

Soon enough my cover for lunch showed up. "Sorry I'm late. You are not going to believe this but there is a Lamborghini parked in the car park! -oh..." She caught sight of Alessandro and stopped.

"Thanks," I said, giving my best attempt at a sweet, nothing-to-see-here smile. "I'll just be in the staff room if you need me."

I shot toward back of the library and Alessandro followed after. Without even questioning if I was allowed to let members of the public into the staff area, he all but shoved me into the room and closed the door behind him. I flicked on the kettle and stalked over to my locker in attempt to get some space from him, yanking a miso-noodle pot from my handbag.

"Lizbeth, look at me. Stop and listen." There they were again. The demands. Did he really believe he had the right to treat everyone like this?

I did stop. And I shot him a glare so dangerous I could have sliced him in half. "No, you listen to me! What gives you the right to just storm into my work demanding my time? Bethany…" I pointed to the door, and by extension back into the library. "Will be wondering what the hell is going on! I've already apologised to you. I have no idea what I've done to make you hate me."

The hand wrenched from his pocket so fast that I thought he was going to hit me. He was holding a piece of paper which he thrust into my face. It was a cheque, the number of zeros on it enough to make my head spin. If I had thought this was going to be some sort of a declaration of his undying love, I would find myself horribly disappointed. Fortunately, the only thing I could think of right then was lunch. Why was this blasted kettle taking so long?

"What is that even supposed to be?" I sputtered at him, my eyes shooting from the cheque back to Alessandro.

"I know your type," he said. There was a snarl to his words that suddenly made me feel truly wretched, even despite not having a clue what he was talking about. "You're a grifter. A con artist using your charms to weasel your way into my father's life and into his money. So here, take what you came for and leave his life. You'll see this is more than enough to cover the expenses of moving into a place far better than your flat. This is my one and only offer."

My mouth dropped at this. It was utterly ridiculous!

"What in the world are you talking about, Alessandro? I'm not a con artist. Or a gold digger or any of those things you're accusing me of." I actually don't believe I had ever been more insulted. I felt cut. Like Alessandro had gone and taken a knife and sliced a chunk of flesh off me. "Giuseppe and I are just friends. He is a patron at my library."

Alessandro's eyes were burning, fury emanating from his every pore so that I found myself having to take a step backwards. I bumped into the locker behind me.

"You were parading around in my father's shirt!"

"I forgot to pack my pyjamas! He was fine with it!"

He recoiled at this like I'd just punched him in the nose, but I didn't care. I was furious!

"So what, you think I actually arranged to have my own flat flooded so that I could come and stay with you? How in the world did I manage that? I must be some sort of superhuman genius to pull that one off!"

"You've had your heart set on trying to seduce me since the moment we met. You can't deny that! You are no different to the rest of them." His accent was getting thicker by the second as he slowly slipped back into his native Italian. "Strega! You are a witch! Making me go crazy!"

Before I knew it I'd slapped him so hard that my hand left a red mark on his cheek. "So your solution is to pay me off? Is that your solution to everything Alessandro? Don't like someone? Pay them off!"

I ripped the cheque from his hands and dunked it into the sink beside me. Then just to prove my point, I grabbed the kettle and poured its entire contents over it until the boiling water had soaked through the fancy paper of his stupid bribe and pulverized into a mushy pulp. I slammed the kettle back down, still fuming. Despite the fact that Alessandro towered over me I watched him shrink back and he shifted on his feet, suddenly unsure. When I spoke again, my voice was low and dangerous.

"Believe me when I say, you are the last man in the world I would want to seduce."

It was like I'd just slapped him again, the shock on his face was so apparent. He touched his red cheek, as though to still feel its sting. I turned my back on him and faced the sink because if I looked at him any longer I probably would slap him again. I felt him move behind me, his tall form backing away from me and heading toward the door. I heard the door click shut behind me but stayed in my spot at the sink, staring angrily at the pile of mush in the drain, blinking back the tears. I felt disgusting. So incredibly wretched. How could he accuse me of these things? How could someone so smart... so intelligent get something so wrong? I heard the roar of Alessandro's Lamborghini leave the car park and with shaking hands reached for the kettle. I would have to go back to Giuseppe and explain that I couldn't stay with him any longer. Not after what had gone down here today. I replayed the scene over in my mind followed by every encounter I'd had with Alessandro. The car, the kiss, grabbing his arm... he had to believe me, they weren't the works of this master seductress he seemed to think I was. They were nothing more than a stupid girl with a stupid crush. A crush that was now very much dead and buried.

By the time I got back to Giuseppe's I had an entire speech planned. I would tell him I couldn't stay and then I would go upstairs and quietly grab my stuff. And then... I would find somewhere else to stay. Maybe even take the train down to Sydney and stay with my brothers. I didn't care. I just needed to get as much distance from this as possible.

When I faced Giuseppe he already sensed something was wrong.

"It has to do with Alessandro doesn't it?" he said.

I nodded, feeling like I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

Giuseppe shook his head and placed a hand on my shoulder. "There is no need to go anywhere, Lizbeth. Alessandro left for London this afternoon."

London. Oh god.

"Giuseppe." I felt the tears come and there was nothing I could do to stop them. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I drove him away."

Before I knew it the older man had pulled me into a hug so warm and loving that I could do nothing but cry into his broad shoulders.

"There there." I felt his voice vibrating through his chest. "It's all okay, cara."

He found a stool by the kitchen bench and sat me down on it. My eyes followed him as he crossed the kitchen and pulled two espresso cups from the cupboard. He found the moka pot and a bag of Italian coffee and just sort of stared at them on the bench, as though to will the coffee to make itself.

"I... don't know how to make coffee."

I couldn't help the laugh-hiccup that escaped. He just looked so adorable and hopeless. Like a little child trying to figure out how to bake a cake.

"Oh Giuseppe." I wiped a snotty nose with the back of my sleeve and giggled between tears. "How did you ever survive Sunday mornings before Alessandro arrived?"

Giuseppe beamed back at me. "Ah! It is so good to see your smile, cara. Let me get someone to-"

"No," I said, pulling myself from the seat and rounding the bench to meet him. "Let me."

He stepped aside and allowed me to take the helm. I guess that was one of the down sides to being so wealthy - you get used to being waited on hand and foot. Soon enough, I handed him his tiny cup.

"Grazie."

"Prego." I smiled. You're welcome.

"And Lizbeth?"

"Hm?"

There was a twinkle in his eye as he smiled at me over his cup. As if he knew more about my plight than I'd previously realised.

"If the truth must be known, even if Alessandro wanted to defend my honour, he still couldn't. I will associate with whomever I please. If I want to wind up in the arms of another woman, I damn well will. Don't you worry about Alessandro. He will come around in his own time. I would say he considers himself suitably chastised."

I guessed only time would tell...