A Place in the Sun(36)

“G, we’re doing a run for drinks. You coming?”

Gianluca, Katerina, and Massimo were standing near the sidewalk, waiting for me to join them. The old seaside village of Monterosso stretched out behind them, flat and just as colorful as Vernazza.

“Uh…no.” Matteo grinned wider as I continued, “You guys go on ahead.”

I didn’t wait to see Gianluca’s reaction, instead turning back to the shore and smiling when Chiara dropped her things in the vacant chair beside mine. Paolo and Adrianna plopped down on the other side of her and we had a good group going, chatting and laughing as we lathered on sun cream beneath our umbrellas.

“You hardly even need it,” Adrianna said, twisting in the sand and tipping her head toward the sun.

“I assure you, my pale English arse needs to be dipped in it.”

Chiara laughed. “You’re so tan now. Sunkissed. Not like when you first got here.”

Exactly, and it would all go away if I burned myself to crisp. “Do my back, will you?”

Matteo nearly cut in then. I could see him out of the periphery of my eye, salivating at the idea of lathering me up.

Chiara grinned suggestively. “I think he can do it for you.”

Oh bloody thanks, Chiara.

Matteo didn’t even wait for my approval. He stepped forward and yanked the tube out of my hand, squeezing a bit of cream on his hand and dipping down beneath my umbrella. I nearly jumped out of skin when his hand hit my lower back, mostly because the cream was freezing cold against my skin.

He laughed. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes. Get on with it then,” I teased.

In truth, it’d been ages since I’d had a man touch my bare skin. I forgot how nice it felt. I let my head fall forward as he brushed it up between my shoulder blades and was really getting into it when a giant ice chest slammed down into the sand an inch in front of my feet.

“Hey!”

I whipped my head up and glared at Gianluca, who was standing on the other side of the cooler with his hands propped on his hips. His head was tilted to the side and he had this funny little expression on his face.

“You almost done?” he asked. “I’m ready to swim.”

“We’ve got enough wine and beer for days!” Katerina sang, twirling through the group with a bottle of wine in each of her hands. She looked like a goddess in her white cover-up. “Here, everyone drink up before we head into the ocean.”

Oh god, I’d skipped lunch because we’d had such a late breakfast, and I knew dipping into wine this early in the day was a recipe for disaster, but then Katerina popped the cork and handed me a plastic cup nearly filled to the brim. The white wine smelled delicious and it was still chilled from the refrigerator in the shop. I took a tentative sip and nearly moaned with how good it tasted, so crisp and light.

Katerina clinked her plastic cup with mine. “Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

I tipped back the rest of my cup, too anxious to get in the water to bother with ladylike sips. I’d hardly finished when Gianluca peeled off his t-shirt and dropped it on my lap.

I stared down at it. “What? Haven’t you got a chair of your own to clutter up?”

“Why bother? We can share. Now come on and show me if all your swimming has paid off.”

At some point Matteo had finished putting sun cream on my back, but I hadn’t noticed. Gianluca had arrived and everyone else had sort of faded into the background. He turned and headed for the ocean and my gaze followed after him on its own accord. I’d caught glimpses of his abs when he’d wipe his brow during work, but this was different. This was Gianluca shirtless in black swim trunks. This was Gianluca with his tall frame and strong, muscular back. This was Gianluca turning to look over his shoulder and waving at me to join him in the water with a perfect dimpled smile. Bloody hell. He was so gorgeous I wanted to scream, and I wasn’t the only one. Chiara and Adrianna were watching him with stars in their eyes as well, and then they turned to one another and then to me and we all sort of let out this exasperated laugh. At least I wasn’t alone in my longing. As long as Gianluca had his shirt off, we would all suffer.





THAT DAY ON the beach was a dream, a day that comes around once or twice in a lifetime. The group got along so well. Once it was clear that I wasn’t really interested in Paolo or Matteo, they turned their sights on Chiara and Adrianna, and I was free to just hang out and enjoy the day.

We started in the water, swimming until our feet couldn’t touch and then going a bit farther. I didn’t get out until my fingers were pruned and my arms were sore. I headed back to shore and tugged my chair out from the beneath the umbrella so I could tip my head back, close my eyes, and enjoy the sunshine on my skin. It was so warm and lovely. I dug my toes into the sand and kept my eyes closed as long as I could, trying to soak the rays into my soul.

“Here, you little beach goddess.”

Katerina held out another cup of wine for me and I didn’t even pretend to resist this time. She pulled her chair out beside mine and we sat there, watching the boys in the water and enjoying the view in silence until we’d sipped the last few drops of wine.

“It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Life here?”

I nodded, staring out into the distance. Monterosso beach felt like a secluded gem. On one side, clear blue water extended to the horizon with Vernazza shining in the distance, and on the other side, high rocks plunged into the sea, seemingly separating Monterosso from the rest of the world. “It’s not even fair.”