Chapter 14

BO

The setting sun illuminated the ocean, making it sparkle and making it seem magical.

"Are you sure it's okay we're not back at the boat yet?" I asked Neptune as he led me towards a cute little restaurant that looked as if it was family-run.

He nodded. "We're not leaving port until the morning, we've got plenty of time to enjoy dinner."

"Do I get to hear the explanation for the choice of eatery?" I asked.

"How do you know there is one?"

I shot him an amused smile. "You've been sharing your history with me all day, why should dinner be any different?"

He chuckled. "Good spot. I've been eating at this restaurant for longer than it's been one."

"That doesn't make any sense..."

"Zio Tuna!" a little boy yelled, running out of the door and straight at Neptune.

He captured him in his arms and swung him around, asking the boy something in a language that I assumed was Italian.

The boy answered, chattering away without Neptune being able to get a word in edgeways.

We made our way into the restaurant and I had to admit to being more intrigued than ever about where he'd brought me.

The boy ran over to a woman and tugged on her apron. She nodded once at whatever he was saying, and watched in amusement as the boy pulled Neptune towards the stairs.

I watched in fascination, a little confused by what was going on, but still finding it adorable.

The woman made her way over to me and smiled. "Hello," she said in heavily accented English. It made me worry that she might not be able to understand my own. Neptune didn't seem to be having any problem understanding me, but that didn't mean no one else would.

"Hi," I responded.

"I'm sorry for my son. He has been excited since learning Zio Neptune was coming."

"That's okay," I said.

"You should have a seat." She gestured to a cosy-looking table with a candle flickering in the middle and what appeared to be a pot of peanuts beside it.

I sat down and looked around. There were several other people dining, all of them engaged in their own conversations and not paying any attention to me.

The woman appeared beside me a moment later with a bottle of wine. "Zio Neptune's favourite."

I nodded and let her pour some of the red wine into the glasses. I didn't know enough about wine to have much of an opinion on it, but I didn't want to seem rude.

Neptune reappeared a few minutes later and said a few words to the woman in Italian before taking a seat opposite me. "I'm sorry about that, I should have thought about how Marco would respond when he found out I was coming."

"That's okay. Why do they keep calling you Zio Neptune?"

"Oh, uncle," he responded, picking up one of the peanuts and eating it. "Though I suppose there should really be several greats in there."

My eyes widened. "Your sister's family?"

He nodded. "I used to come home to have dinner with my parents here, then my sister and her family, then my nephew and his family, so on and so forth. Rosa and Marco are the youngest in the line."

"And they know who you are?"

He nodded. "Hard not to when I keep coming and haven't aged."

"And are they dolphin shifters too?"

He shook his head. "At some point, the shifter blood became too thin and they lost the ability to shift. It's a shame, I could have taught Marco some tricks to play on his mother otherwise."

I laughed. "Except you'd have probably taught them to Rosa when she was little, so she'd already know them."

"Hmm, you make an excellent point," he responded. "What would you like to eat?"

"What would you order?"

"A parmigiana or seafood risotto. Rosa's chef is excellent at both."

"Then how about both and we can share?" It was a bold suggestion, especially with some of his family watching, even if they were several generations removed from him.

"An excellent idea. And then tiramisu to finish with, though I'm always so full I can barely finish it."

"I'll help," I assured him.

He ordered the food for us and Rosa disappeared into the kitchens, probably to relay it to the chef.

"So how long has it been a restaurant?" I asked, picking up my wine and taking a sip. Even though I didn't know anything about the vintage, I could tell it was good.

"About a hundred and fifty years, I think. It's been passed down through the family since it opened. Before that, it was just the family home I visited."

"And do you normally bring dates here?"

He chuckled and took a drink. "I think you know the answer to that."

He was right. I did know the answer to that. I wasn't the first person he'd brought here, but the list wasn't very long. It should scare me that he was thinking about things between us in such a serious way, but it just felt right. Like everything fit together. Whatever this is, there was no doubt that it was intense, and that I'd already opened up to him in ways I'd rarely talked to anyone before. And from the things he'd said to me, I had to assume he felt the same.

I watched him for a moment, trying to work out what I wanted to happen next. I'd not dated much, mostly because of having to work. Moving around a lot made it virtually impossible to keep up something long distance, and that wasn't actually going to change just because I liked someone now.

But the thought of letting whatever this was slip through my fingers sat heavily on me. I didn't want this to end. It had been nice to slow down and take in some of the scenes around me today, and Rome had been perfect for that, especially with his knowledge of history and important events that had transpired at each of the places we'd visited.

"Bo?" Neptune asked.

I met his gaze. "Yes?"

"Are you all right? You seemed lost in thought."

"Oh, I was just thinking about today," I responded. "It's been wonderful."

He beamed at me. "It has," he agreed. "I liked being able to share it with someone."

"What would you have done if you hadn't been taking me on a tour of Rome?"

He shrugged. "Probably gone for a swim somewhere, maybe had a nap, then come here for dinner. That part hasn't actually changed."

My heart warmed towards him, not that it was difficult for that to happen. It was adorable to think that he was over two thousand years old and still came home for family dinner, even if it was a little unconventional.

"I'm honoured you brought me here," I said honestly.

"I wanted to share it with you."

"Maybe you'll let me cook something for you tomorrow," I suggested without thinking. "A meal my family taught me. The Yangtze River and my family home might be far away, but I can still share that with you."

"I'd like that." The way he smiled at me made my heart constrict, and made me start to think that leaving the cruise ship was going to be one of the hardest things I'd ever done.