Excitement bubbled over inside Colette as she waited in Naples for the train to Sorrento.
She still couldn’t believe she was here, back on the Amalfi Coast after all these years.
She really needed this, perhaps more than she realized. And she was almost glad Ed wasn’t going to be able to make it until the day of the party, allowing her more time to relax and catch up with Kim, and hopefully Annie, too.
There was just too much going on at home, and after her last disappointment, it would be a relief to get out of London for a while.
She stood and watched the tracks, waiting for the train’s impending arrival. She’d taken the very same ride almost six years before, and she could still vividly remember the emotions that had filled her back then.
Italy had been like a dream, really. She’d been so naive back then, inexperienced in both life and love.
She’d never dreamed that things would’ve turned out the way they did. That this was the place where Colette’s heart had been broken, yet where her ultimate love story had begun.
Ed didn’t really see it like that, of course. He wasn’t romantic. He tried, but big gestures of affection weren’t something that came naturally to him. She understood. It was OK.
That day in St. James’s Park had been a nice, though short-lived, diversion. Still, she appreciated the effort he had made.
A little while later, Colette picked up a taxi upon arriving at the station in Sorrento, and found herself chuckling as her driver immediately reminded her of Jacopo that first day when he’d taken her to Delfino.
There was a smile on her face as the memory of that visit to the restaurant returned, when she’d been so unsure of herself and full of wonder and awe at her surroundings.
She wondered if Mama Elene was still there and even whether Delfino was still open. Luca’s face suddenly flashed before her then. His incredible smile and piercing blue eyes were vivid in her memories.
Was he still here in Positano? Had he finally done what Mama Elene had teased him about and settled down? Got married to Lidia, maybe, or some other gorgeous Italian girl worthy of his true affections, once he’d got bored of charming gullible tourists?
There was no way of knowing, of course. A lot could’ve changed and probably had, but Colette hoped at least that the little slice of heaven that was Delfino hadn’t.
Impulsively asking the taxi for a diversion from her original destination, she sat back and stared out the window, wondering what the hell she was doing.
“Wait for me,” she instructed him a little while later, as she closed the car door and walked hesitantly down the laneway toward the familiar entrance.
It was just the same. Nothing had changed at all and Colette was happy to see that. A large smile painted her features as she stepped inside, fully expecting to see Mama Elene behind the counter.
“Welcome to Delfino. Table for one?”
Colette looked at the much younger Italian woman. “Hi. No, actually, I was just wondering if Mama Elene was here? I’m an old friend.”
“I’m sorry, but Mama Elene passed away a couple of years ago. I am Carlotta.”
“Oh.” Colette’s heart sank at the news. She couldn’t believe the warm, smiling woman was truly gone. “What about Luca, her nephew? Do you know him?”
“Of course I know him.” Carlotta smiled in such a way that Colette knew in her bones she and Luca were romantically involved. Hell, for all she knew the attractive woman in front of her could well be her former lover’s wife! “He is the owner of the restaurant now, but he just stepped out. You can wait a few minutes and he will be back,” she explained and Colette’s heart quickened.
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” she said quickly, panicking now. “I was just passing and I really need to go anyway. It’s no big deal, truly.”
“He was only going out for a few minutes,” Carlotta insisted. Then she looked behind her, back toward the kitchen. “In fact, I think he might already be back.”
“Really, it’s OK.”
Colette had to get out of there now. She turned and walked quickly out the door and kept her gaze to the ground as she rushed back to the taxi, terrified of maybe bumping into him on the street outside.
She couldn’t see Luca now. She just couldn’t. She didn’t want to look into that face, those eyes, and not know what she would feel.
Reaching the car, Colette told the driver to take her straight back to Sorrento as originally planned.
No more walks down memory lane while she was here—it was much too dangerous.
From here on, it was all about the now.