She quickly texted Bryn.

Met my new guide. He IS Romeo.

Bryn replied quickly with: Go for it.

She smiled to herself. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. Bryn would never let a little thing like the extreme hotness of a man stop her from at least attempting to date him. And neither should Keira. She could always pretend to be someone else, after all, just like she’d practiced on the plane ride over. Except rather than making up a silly wine connoisseur persona she could just pretend to be someone more confident. Channel her inner Bryn.

She hurried downstairs to the lobby, excited to catch up with Cristiano again. But when she reached the foyer, Cristiano was nowhere to be seen.

Disappointment gripped her. Had she just imagined him? Had he been a hallucination caused by sunstroke and desperation? Or had he just changed his mind about sharing his evening with a disheveled wretch of a woman?

Just then the woman at the desk who’d checked Keira in looked up at her. Keira looked away, trying to play it cool and hide the fact that she felt like a kid stood up on prom night.

“Cristiano went on ahead to get a table for your dinner,” the receptionist told her. “He is at a place called Trullo, a very popular restaurant. It is in the cliffside.”

She handed Keira a business card for the swanky-looking restaurant. It had a small map on the back, directing Keira through a series of small alleyways and, of course, more staircases.

“Glad I’m not wearing heels,” Keira told the receptionist, adding her thanks.

She hurried out into the darkening evening. The oppressive heat from earlier had faded, and now there was a wonderful warmth in the air, like a California spring evening.

Keira followed the small map, losing herself in the tiny streets of Positano. Now that she was less flustered and furious, she could really take the place in. It had such a romantic and dreamlike quality to it, like something imagined in the mind of an artist. History and culture seemed to seep from the very walls. As she walked, she could imagine all the footsteps that had worn the stone steps over the centuries.

With her head in the clouds, Keira almost stumbled upon the restaurant by accident. Like the other places she had seen in passing, this one was set into the cliffs with an outside terrace. All the tables were for two—they clearly only ever catered to couples in this place, and Keira could fully see why. The view, the candles, the fabric canopy, the twisting ivy plants—everything about the restaurant oozed romance. For the first time since leaving Viatorum, Keira felt confident in her ability to write this article.

From a table ahead of her, she saw a figure stand from his chair. She stepped back with surprise, shocked once again by the gorgeousness of Cristiano. In the dimming evening light and the dancing warmth of the candles he looked even more stunning. She reminded herself of Nina’s words about finding a new man to get over Shane, of Shelby giggling over the thought of Keira hooking up with a passionate Italian lover, and Bryn’s advice to go for it. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, was she? She was free and single now; Shane’s complete lack of contact over the last few days had made that painfully clear.