We reach the edge of the sand, and I take off my shoes.

“Let me carry them,” Gianfranco says.

Never in my life has a man offered to do something so minor as carry my shoes. After a brief hesitation, I give him my heels. Gianfranco wiggles his eyebrows, takes my hand, and we trot across the sand.

The air skidding off the water is lukewarm.

“I’ve always considered the Mediterranean Sea the friendliest in the world,” I say, drinking in the moment.

“Oh, really? Why is that?” Gianfranco asks.

I use my hands as visual aids. “It’s encircled by three continents, which makes the sea so tranquil. It’s like a big blue swimming pool.” I drop my head and sigh. Did I just say big blue swimming pool? That sounded so uninspiring.

“And all are welcome in this big blue swimming pool,” he says.

When I look at him, he’s beaming. I feel myself light up too. “Yes.”

By the time we make it to the shoreline, his hand that I’m holding is extra damp. It would be great if we could throw more caution to the wind and tumble onto the wet sand, kissing and groping each other. My mind paints fantasies of that as I look at him.

“A penny for your thoughts?” he asks.

“Huh?” I sound jittery.

He lifts our entangled hands. “You squeezed tighter.”

I drop my face bashfully. “Oh.”

Jeez, I feel as if I’m back in high school. I’m a modern, sophisticated woman. Can’t I find anything interesting to say?

“So how do you like living in Italy?” Gianfranco asks.

“Very much. I mean, I like it very much.” Damn nerves. “Italy, I mean.”

He chuckles. I want to roll my shoulders to loosen them, but I’m overly aware of how silly I might look doing that. Actually, I want to take a big ol’ deep breath and start over with my answer.

“Let’s see… you like Luigi’s Bakery. What else?”

I work hard to steady my breathing. “Well… I love the water, and I take my son as much as possible. I love strolling down the sidewalks on Via Niccolo Putignani and… oh, this may sound touristy, but I love the Castellana Grotte, the caves.”

“You like caves?” he asks enthusiastically.

“Love them.”

“Do you swim?”

My smile stretches wider from just thinking about soaking in the great blue waters. “Yes, especially the coastal beaches.”

“I have a house in Salento. It is near the sea. You are welcome as my guest. Always.”

I clear my throat. “Grazie. I would like that.”

“Me too.”

I grin at the sand, finally feeling more relaxed. “So you don’t live in that castle all by yourself all year round then?”

He rubs the back of my hand and it feels divine. “I do live in the house all year round.”

“Does it ever get lonely?” Shit, I want to kick myself for asking that. He may think I’m insinuating that I want to move right on in. Or, worse yet, I’m getting too nosy about his personal life and trying to figure out if he’s really involved with anyone else.

“Never, and then all the time.”

My skin flushes. I want to say something, but it’s against the rules. To hell with the rules—I’m done following those. “But that’s an oxymoron.”

“Life is so much an oxymoron and hundreds of contradictions.”

I gaze off at the sparkling sea. “Don’t I know it.”

“How so?”

I didn’t mean for him to hear that. I sigh. “I don’t want to dump on you tonight.”

“Please do dump on me.” His stride maintains a steadying confidence.

My eyes have adjusted to the moonlight that makes his bright face a captivating sight. I relish the beauty: his, the sky, the night, the beach—all of it. He’s so open, such a far cry from John or even Salvatore.

I shrug. “I don’t know.” My pace slows. “Before I married my husband, I thought he was one way, but he turned out to be another way.”

“You thought he was good, but he is not good?” His pace slows to mine. I can feel the warmth of his gaze.

I snort. “There’s probably not a good bone in his body.”

“Everyone has at least one good bone.”

I scoff and look at him. “Not John.”

He stares at me as though he’s looking for an explanation, and for some reason, I feel comfortable enough to share.

“Oh, where do I start?” I say.

“How about the beginning?” He smiles crisply.

So I do. I start from the beginning. I tell him how I met John during my first year of college but didn’t start dating him until my third year.

“Now that I think about it, he only started giving me attention after my father came to talk to our business class during my junior year. John was so impressed by him or his money.” I shake my head. “If I’m honest with myself, I knew then he wasn’t really that interested in me. Regardless, eventually we dated. And…” I drop my face, unable to conceal my anguish and pain.

“It is fine. There is no need to continue.”

I look at him. “No, but I want to. It feels kind of good just to get it out there.”

Gianfranco smiles encouragingly and bows his head, signaling me to continue.

“The first year we were a couple, five different women told me he was cheating with them. But he would always buy me an expensive gift and tell me that no girl could equal the woman I was. Then he would convince me they were lying because they were jealous of our relationship.”

“That is horrible. He is not a good man.”

I turn my empty gaze toward the ocean. My soul feels as if it’s free falling through the empty parts of my insides. Only the warmth emanating from Gianfranco’s hand warms my core.

“I should’ve known better.” I sigh. “I did know better. I was just deluding myself.”

Gianfranco guides me into his embrace. Our eyes lock, and the sweet smell of his breath makes my head spin.

“Please do not blame yourself. You are a tender woman. You are beautiful and full of life. You had no need to distrust a man who claimed to be true. Your heart is not made of steel—it is only flesh, and for that, you must forgive your heart.”

I can hardly breathe. Am I still on earth? A beeping sound blares deep in the background. Perhaps the wind is carrying the noise. I ignore it, remaining focused on our moment.

“Your watch?” Gianfranco says. “It is beeping.”

“Huh?” I blink myself back to reality and lift my wrist. “Oh.” I turn off my alarm.

He wiggles an eyebrow. “You set an alarm?”

“I have to go.” I’m staring into his green eyes again. He looks lost for words. “Um, I have to take my son to the beach in the morning, and I don’t want to be too tired.”

His expression relaxes, yet I can tell his thoughts are churning. “How about we go together?”

I open and close my mouth.

“Unless you don’t want me to,” he says.

“Um, no. I mean, I would love to spend the day with you at the beach. Who knows, Aiden might like it too,” I say, smiling.

“Allora,” he declares. “It is a date. Well… a date before a big date.”

I’m beaming. I can feel it all over my face. Our lips are like two magnets slowly being drawn together. When finally they touch, his warm tongue fills my head with euphoria. A slow-moving electric current swirls through my insides. I can hardly hear the ocean dancing under the moon or the songs from the party. His arms have me in a tight embrace, and I am enjoying the sweetness of his mouth.

He drops his face as though he has to force his mouth away from mine. “There.”

“There,” I barely say, my knees trembling.

“I will walk you to the valet.”

All I can do is nod as I take deep breaths to calm the desire in my body. Gianfranco puts his arm around my waist and keeps me close as we move back toward the colosseum. The endorphins within me are so strong that it’s difficult to walk a straight path. I think he has the same problem because his hip keeps bumping into me. I look at my painted skin. Who would’ve thought our time together tonight would be so brief, so unique, so frightening, and yet so fully satisfying.