My new friend gave me a little nudge of encouragement and melted away. I stood there, clutching my art portfolio, my heart thumping.

“I can’t come to lunch with you, Leo,” I said. “You know that. You are a married man. It wouldn’t be right for you to be seen with another woman.”

“And you think the same applies to my wife?” he asked, frowning. Then his face softened. “Besides, it is only lunch. Not a nightclub at the Lido. Not even an intimate dinner at the Danieli as we once shared. You have to eat. I have to eat. Why not?”

I was going to be firm. I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. This isn’t fair to me. You are offering me something I can’t have—like that carrot dangled in front of the donkey, just out of reach. Always, just out of reach. Don’t you realize that every time I see you, it breaks my heart to know that you are married to someone else? And it’s stupid, really, because we hardly know each other. We’ve met a couple of times, and they were wonderful and romantic for me, but they weren’t real life. Just a beautiful dream. You don’t really know me, and I don’t know you. I might be absolutely awful.”

This made him laugh, then the smile faded. “I know when two people are instantly attracted to each other,” he said. “But I do understand. I would not want to damage your reputation in this city, and I’m sure the report of any little outing together would get back to my father quickly enough.” He stood there, his eyes looking into mine in a way that I found so disconcerting.

“My tree?” he said. “Could we not meet occasionally by my tree? Have another little picnic one day? You remember in the Giardini? Behind the statue? Nobody would see us there.”

“They would see us coming or going,” I said. “I’ve already come to realize that this is a very small town. Everybody knows everybody. This very conversation is now being reported back to your family, I can assure you.” I took a deep breath, went to touch his arm, then thought better of it. “You have your life, Leo. You have a wife, and soon you’ll have a family. And I’m not part of it. I can’t ever be part of it, so please don’t do this to me.”

His eyes clouded. “I don’t want to cause you pain ever. I just needed to see you. To prove that you were real. In the boat last night, I thought I was dreaming. Imagining things. You are truly here for a year?”

“If a war doesn’t interrupt my studies.”