“May I suggest a Chianti with our main?” Cristiano said.

“More wine?” Keira asked.

He nodded. “Of course. And it goes very well with the lamb shank.”

“You’re the expert,” Keira said, smiling, remembering her pretend wine connoisseur persona from the airplane.

The waiter took their order and disappeared, leaving them alone again. Keira twirled the stem of her wine glass in her hand, looking Cristiano over with curiosity. She just wanted to get to know him better, find out all about him.

“What do you do?” she asked. “For your job?”

“This and that,” Cristiano replied. “Many different roles within tourism. This is my first season as a guide. I am often a waiter.”

“Ah,” Keira said knowingly. “Hence the wine knowledge.”

Cristiano nodded. “Precisely.”

“But what do you want to do?” Keira asked, probing a little more deeply.

“What do you mean?”

“For your career. In the future. You’re young, aren’t you? Have you thought about what you want to devote your life to?”

Cristiano shrugged. “I suppose not. I just want to be happy.”

It was a surprise to Keira that he could be so laid back about his job, his career, his future. But perhaps that was just the Italian way.

“Does waiting tables make you happy?” Keira asked.

“Does being busy all the time in New York make you?” Cristiano joked in reply.

Keira raised an eyebrow. She was thoroughly enjoying her time with him. He seemed fearless, and witty. She couldn’t help but be reminded of Shane, who had a sharp sense of humor. It had been one of the things that made her fall in love with him. Then there was the alcohol connoisseurism—though Shane’s had been a penchant for Guinness in contrast to Cristiano’s slightly more highbrow love for wine!

But Cristiano was completely different in many other ways. For starters, he dressed impeccably. Shane had been scruffy at the best of times, with a scraggly beard. Cristiano on the other had was clean-shaven. His skin was olive, contrasting Shane’s alabaster white, his eyes as black as coal while Shane’s had been pools of blue.

Keira shook the thoughts from her head. She didn’t want to think about Shane. And she definitely didn’t want to sit here comparing the two.

Their entrees arrived. They ate, drank, and continued to chat some more. Cristiano spoke to her about the history of Italy and their way of life. As he spoke, his accent soft and lilting, Keira felt the romance of the place come alive.

She was so enraptured by his words she didn’t even notice when her plate was cleared, or when a small board of cheese and Limoncello was placed before them.

“Have you tried our famous lemon liqueur before?” Cristiano asked her, with a twinkle in his eye.

“No, it looks very exciting,” Keira replied.

She took the small glass and sipped. The drink was like liquid candy, like a melted sour lemon bon-bon. She’d never tasted anything quite like it.