Taste of Italy by Lula Woods

Author:Lula Woods
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-03-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Ben

It was a beautiful day for a drive.

The convertible, which my cousin had returned to me without a scratch, thankfully, was purring as we drove along early on a Thursday morning, the wind in Gail’s hair, which she held back with a scarf, as we drove down the E45 toward Naples.

I pointed out things of interest along the way and answered her questions about the national park and what it was like growing up in my Napoli. “I got into a lot of trouble, as a boy,” I said, and she laughed.

“That doesn’t surprise me. Do you have many siblings?”

“Oh, there are six of us. I am the middle child, with two older brothers—Domenico and Filberto—and three younger sisters—Luisella, Jolanda, and Ines. All of them are married, except Ines, who prefers her studies to people. She is a professor at the University of Hamburg and speaks five languages. She is definitely the overachiever among all of us, though that could be because she’s the youngest and wants to stand out.”

Gail said, “Well, you have a restaurant and a vineyard. Sounds like overachievement runs in the family.”

I smirked. “Perhaps.” Almost three hours later, we arrived in Naples, and I drove slowly through the downtown traffic—people and cars—pointing out more things of interest.

When I drove through a red light and narrowly avoided an oncoming car, Gail gave me a look. “Um, do traffic lights mean nothing to you?”

“It depends on the situation,” I replied with a grin, and proceeded to run a few more, laughing when she covered her face.

“You’re crazy,” she said as she peeked through her fingers, one hand now gripping the door.

“If you think this is bad, you should drive with the other members of my family. I am tame by comparison.”

“That makes me shudder.” She squealed as we turned a corner a little faster than necessary, and I laughed when she hit me lightly on the shoulder. “You did that on purpose.”

“Forse,” I replied with a wink.

“Maybe? Definitely!” I should have Gail drive with my brother Filberto, though she may never forgive me if she survived the trip.

“I will make it up to you soon, I promise,” I replied, blowing her a kiss. Her glare said she was skeptical, but I knew once she saw the vineyard, it wouldn’t even be an issue. It was my own slice of heaven.

Half an hour later, we turned onto a road that ran down the middle of a large field of grapevines. Gail gasped. “You call this small?” she said, her neck craning as she tried to take it all in.

“Well, it is in comparison to other vineyards. It’s just the right size for my family to manage,” I said and slowly passed a few cyclists who were taking a tour of the area. “We offer tours during the off-season, and meals, things like that. It keeps the money coming in until it’s time for the harvest.”

“This is amazing,” she said as we arrived at the top of the hill, exited the car and looked at the land below.

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