All He Saw Was the Girl

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Book: Read All He Saw Was the Girl for Free Online
Authors: Peter Leonard
rack, a line of cleavage visible where the
tee-shirt tapered into a V.
        She
picked up her wine glass. "Do you like Tuscan wine?"
        "I
must 'cause I'm drinking it like it's beer," McCabe said.
        "Take
your time, savor it." She showed him how, put the glass up to her lips.
"You take a little in your mouth, chew it, let it slide under your tongue
and down the inside of your cheeks, taste the different flavors: black cherry,
spice, a little of cinnamon."
        McCabe
was staring at her mouth, with those lips, an urge to lean over and kiss her.
Jesus.
         She
said, " Parla Italiano ? "
        McCabe
said, " Un poco. Enough to confuse myself. I go into a store to buy
something and say quanto costa?. The person gives me the answer in
rapid-fire Italian. I have no idea what he's saying."
        "It
was the same with English."
        "You
sound fluent," McCabe said. "Perfect."
        "I
grew up speaking English. Used to spend summers in Michigan.'
        "No
kidding," McCabe said. "Where?"
        "The
east side of Detroit. Have you ever heard of St Clair Shores?"
        "I
was born right near there," McCabe said.
        She
said, "I would have guessed Connecticut, or maybe New York."
        "Why's
that?" McCabe said. "You think I have an east-coast accent?"
        "You
know how it is. You look at someone and imagine where they're from? That's what
I did."
        Sure.
Like he did with her. Thinking she was a fashion model from Milan. He said,
"Why Detroit?"
        "I
have an aunt and uncle who live there. They would drive us north to Harbor
Springs. They have a house on Lake Michigan. We would build a fire on the beach
and cook marshmallows and watch the sunsets."
        McCabe
said, "What's your uncle's name?"
        "You
don't know him." she said.
        "Maybe
I do."
        She
looked at her watch again, the second time in the past ten minutes.
        He
said, "You have to be somewhere?"
        "I
am meeting a friend in Villa Borghese."
        Her
cell phone rang. She took it out of her purse and said, "Pronto ."
She listened and said, " Ciao ," and put the phone away.
        She
said, " Mi displace. I have to go."
        He
said, "Maybe I should go with you. You never know, someone might try to
steal your purse." He knew if she left now he'd never see her again.
        "It
is a long walk. Stay here. Let me buy you another glass of wine."
        She
was blowing him off, but in a nice way. He finished his Brunello and said,
"Black cherry and cinnamon, huh? Yeah, I see what you mean." He stood
up and offered his hand. "It was nice meeting you."
        She
got up too and moved toward him and kissed him on the cheek.
        "Maybe
I should take you up on your offer," she said. "You can protect
me."
        She smiled
and he felt a rush of adrenalin, grinning, but trying not to, excited, but
trying to hold it back. He'd miss Italian, his six o'clock class, but he was
learning a lot in the company of this real Italian girl and figured he'd learn
even more. He was going to Sicily with Chip and Brianna and a girl he was kind
of interested in named Trish from New York. The train left at 8:06 that night.
So he had an hour and a half to make a move.
      
            
        As
they walked through the narrow streets of the Condotti neighborhood, McCabe was
thinking things like this only happened in movies, and he was going to take
advantage of it, give it his best shot. Get her number and when he got back in
town, call her and set something up. They moved past a cafe with outside tables.
A waiter in a white jacket was serving drinks to a tourist couple. He glanced
over, seemed to recognize her and said, " Ciao, bella."
        The
girl said, "Ciao, Enzo," waved but kept walking.
    ----
        

Chapter Five
        
        Twenty
minutes later they were at the Pincio, looking down at Piazza del Popolo where
they'd met an hour earlier. This was an even

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