Siena

7|Dinner

The sight of Harry's back is all I have to stare at as I follow him angrily down the cobblestoned street. Even with his suit jacket on, I can tell the muscles in his back are taut judging by how tightly the fabric clings to his skin whenever he makes the slightest movement. With each step I take, an aching pain spreads throughout my feet, and I begin to regret my decision to wear heels today. I find myself slowing down my brisk pace once the familiar archway leading to Shakespeare's balcony becomes visible.

In the courtyard, I spot an older looking woman with burgundy red hair dressed in an elegant white pantsuit. Her green eyes are fixated on the stone wall underneath Shakespeare's balcony until her attention is ripped away from it at the sound of Harry's loud voice. The two of them quickly become wrapped up in a conversation, and I have enough time to close the remaining distance between us without Harry noticing.

I notice a stress line form in the middle of the woman's forehead as she argues with Harry, and I decide to reduce the tension between them by introducing myself. I clear my throat to gain their attention and offer the woman a friendly smile once her green eyes land on me.

"Hello, Ms. Styles. Your lovely grandson, Harry here, thought you should meet the woman behind the letter, so here I am," I tell her while shaking her hand. "I'm Sofia Garcia."

In the corner of my eye, I see Harry shaking his head at me as Ms. Styles returns my smile and shakes my hand back eagerly.

Ms. Styles shifts her attention back unto Harry who forces a smile. "Well, that was uncharacteristically thoughtful of you, dear." She pinches his cheek with her free hand, making him roll his eyes, before gazing back at me. "And it's so lovely to meet you, Sofia, but please call me Clarice," Clarice insists while squeezing my hand.

"Yes, yes, I'm so happy you two were able to meet," Harry adds in a cheerful tone, going as far as throwing his arm around my shoulder. I shudder at the feeling I get when his body presses into my side but manage to recover quickly. "However, I do remember Sofia telling me that she has some important business to attend to. I'll make sure she gets back to the office, and then we can look for a place to have supper nan," He informs his grandmother while leading me towards the arch.

"What are you talking about? I never mentioned having plans," I whisper to him.

"And I never mentioned introducing you to my nan, so I guess we're both liars," Harry retorts.

I plant my feet firmly on the ground just as we're about to walk under the arch and can tell the action frustrates him by the way he grunts in annoyance. Before Harry can resort to dragging me out of the courtyard, which I wouldn't put past him, Clarice walks over to us and says something that catches me and Harry by surprise.

"Wait, before you leave Sofia, I was hoping you'd consider joining me and my grandson for supper," She offers with a sweet smile. "I feel that there's still so much left to be said between us."

"I'd love to," I declare simultaneously as Harry utters the word no.

Both Clarice and I turn to look at him with our eyebrows raised, and a nervous smile etches onto his face. He removes his arm from around my shoulder and uses his hand to scratch the back of his neck.

"Erm, I mean, what I meant to say was is what about your fiancé?" Harry questions, standing up taller. "Don't you want to have dinner with him as opposed to two strangers?"

"Actually, my fiancé is working late tonight, so I'd love to have dinner with you and Clarice if that's alright," I explain to them both. "I know the perfect place we could go to."