Reaching Hearts (Hearts Series) by Sabrina Lacey

Author:Sabrina Lacey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Lacey Publications
Published: 2014-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

14

Annie

Stomach: Making noises no one should ever have to hear

________

“Mi scusi. Cibo? Umm… negozio…ummm…” Standing in the sunlight with the pale cement sidewalk throwing a glare into my eyes, I frantically thumb through the English/Italian translation book

The old Italian man sitting with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of red in the other, leans forward as though to hear me better. It’s not my volume that’s the problem. He’s got his ear cocked in my direction. Feeling terribly helpless and dumb, so I thumb faster. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to find it.”

I hear footsteps and a voice come up behind me. “What are you looking for?”

Slouched over the book, I look over. My eyes almost fall out of my head. A man with black hair, almond-shaped eyes, and olive, sun-kissed skin, is smiling at me. He looks maybe forty. I’m only twenty-three, but he’s so handsome, all I can think is, wow.

Standing straighter, I manage a smile back and self-consciously smooth down my black, clipped rat’s nest. “I’m looking for the grocery store. Or whatever you call it, I’m not sure. I need food.”

He says something in Italian to the older guy, and his voice is really easy on the ears. They seem to know each other. I can’t be sure, though, but they appear to be familiar. If I knew what they were saying, maybe I’d know. People in Tuscany prefer if you speak Italian and I speak none. In Verona, they were nicer, but in Verona I was still thinking of Brendan and Corinne. So I ran. Again.

Their exchange complete, the handsome stranger offers, “I can show you.”

I look down at the cement and catch site of my black tights tucked into dirty sneakers. I feel so dingy and dark compared to this man. He’s everything you’d expect of casual elegance. He’s got two buttons open on his white cotton shirt and I sneak a glance at his chest. Just one little glance can’t hurt.

“Um… that’s very nice of. Grazie.”

He motions with his hand, this way. Together, we walk in silence for awhile. I’m really not good at talking to new people. Adjusting the strap of my purse out of habit, I hold the translation book to my chest like a shield. But I came here to change, so I force myself to speak first. It feels like someone is pressing razors into my eyeballs, it’s so hard. I cough, straining to overcome the dryness in my throat. “Um…Do you live here?”

He nods. “Did you just arrive?”

“How did you know?” I stare at the sun’s halo-like light around the edges of his hair.

“You don’t know where are the stores,” he points out with a jog of his index finger. “I’m not… erm…come si dice?”

I know that come si dice means how do you say it, so I smile. “Psychic?”

He nods and repeats as though to memorize the word, “Psychic. Si. Psychic. Psychic.”

I love his voice. I also love his Roman nose. I find it very appealing that there’s nothing feminine about it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.