There was something slightly embarrassing about the fact that I couldn’t locate my own fiancé. Surely I, if anyone, should be able to get through to him. He must know he was running late – why hadn’t he let me know? If we had some clue as to how long he would be, we could persuade Gino to wait, or maybe even pick him up along the way, but clearly none of us had any idea where he’d gone, other than to San Spirito, which was presumably a large-ish district of the city.
As I listened to Nick’s phone ring, over and over, I heard Gino talking to someone outside the van.
‘Ah, you are the missing party of one!’
No answer from Nick again. I was feeling more pissed off by the second. Unless the two of them appeared in the next two minutes, I was going to have to navigate the delights of Chianti alone. Not that I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the countryside and the vineyards, because I was. But it felt pressured, in the way that everything with Nick’s family seemed to. I wondered if I’d ever be able to completely relax around them.
Gino’s head popped into the van. ‘OK. We go.’
‘I insist we wait for my son and granddaughter!’ piped up Rosamund from the back. ‘If it’s just us, we don’t mind missing some of the tour. Do we?’
‘Not at all,’ piped up Peter.
‘Ah, but it is not just you,’ said Gino, standing aside. ‘We have another paying guest and therefore we must go and begin our tour. Otherwise I get complaints. And then I lose my job.’
He was being a touch dramatic, I thought, and of course I was perfectly down with the idea of waiting until Nick andDaisy deigned to rock up. Perhaps the party of one could be persuaded.
I checked my phone one more time (nothing!) and when I looked up, Aidan was clambering into the van. My stomach lurched.
He took one look at me and recoiled.
‘Go!’ instructed Gino. ‘Get into the van please,’ he said, herding Aidan into the seat next to me.
He looked lovely of course, all tousled, like he’d overslept and hadn’t had time to shave. He was wearing a simple black shirt and blue jeans and as he took the seat next to me (couldn’t he sit in the front?!), I screamed internally. It was bad enough not having Nick here, but now I was going to have to spend the whole day withhim. I pretended to check my phone again so that I didn’t have to make eye contact.
‘And who might you be?’ asked Sophia, leaning forward in her seat.
‘I’m Aidan,’ he said simply, turning in his seat so that his face was right there in my peripheral vision.
‘And what do you do, Aidan?’ asked Sophia.
Was this really her first question when meeting somebody new?
Aidan cleared his throat, seemingly finding it a strain to speak. I wondered if – like me – he wanted nothing more than to get out of this bus immediately.
‘I’m a travel journalist,’ he replied.
‘Ooooh, exciting. What are you working on?’ asked Sophia.
Aidan left it a couple of beats longer than was strictly necessary to answer.
‘A piece on Italy out of season. I’m doing Rome next.’
‘Oh, what a lovely idea,’ she said, even more enthused than before.
Did it seem weird that I was completely mute, not even looking this supposed stranger in the eye? I kept my phone in the palm of my hand – perhaps they’d think I was preoccupied with getting hold of Nick. What would I do if Aidan really was nothing to me? How would I act? I had my arms crossed defensively, I realised, uncrossing them. I wouldn’t be defensive with someone I’d only just met, would I?
‘I have my own clothing line, so I travel here a lot on business,’ Sophia went on. ‘We stock in La Rinascente, Florence’s premier department store.’
‘Very impressive,’ said Aidan.
‘So, if you’d like to interview someone,’ continued Sophia, ‘I’d be more than happy to step in. And certainly, for my family and I, travelling out of season is an absolute must. Who wants hordes of tourists swarming the streets and clogging up the restaurants? We like the exclusivity of travelling either in the autumn or around now, just before the summer rush.’
So she still considered Rosamund, Peter and Nick her family.
Gino started the engine. ‘Please put on your seat belts, it is the law here in Italy and I will get into trouble with the police if you do not.’
We all did our seat belts up as instructed. I tried not to react to Aidan as he dug around next to my thigh trying to put his belt buckle in the right slot. I shifted as far away from him as I could, shuffling to the left so that no part of me was touching any part of him.