"Nora," a very familiar voice reached her from behind a group of people and as she looked up, her eyes met Martin's.

"Hi," she said, beaming at him, her hand on Daniel's shoulder, "I can't leave now I must meet... Oh."

She stopped talking and bit her lip when Martin's hand came to rest on Daniel's shoulder, very close to hers. "You are Daniel's father. I can't believe that I haven't figured it out earlier... You two have the same eyes... And that's what you meant when you said my grandmother helped you when you moved her. She loved children, she helped you with Daniel, just like Clelia and Adele... " Nora continued, feeling out of breath but unable to stop the words from tumbling, unfiltered, out of her mouth.

All the pieces of information she had gathered since she had arrived, fitted nicely together, she finally got a clear picture. She had to keep talking otherwise... Otherwise she would start thinking. And she didn't want to think that this man... this man she... liked more than she cared to admit... was married...

Oh gosh. This wasn't good. Nora dropped her gaze that had been fixed on Martin's while she talked, and removed her hand from Daniel's shoulder. The boy must have a mother. Martin isn't single, a small, obnoxious voice spoke in her mind. Where do you fit in this picture, what is Martin doing in your life, in your thoughts...

As if she could sense Nora's discomfort, Clelia spoke from behind her. "Well hello, you two. Shall we let daddy talk to Nora while we grab a tart from Mary?" She extended her hand towards Daniel who took it immediately, nodding eagerly. "Will you keep an eye on the books for me, Nora?"

"Of course," Nora muttered, moving behind the stall, using it as a temporary wall between herself and the bewildering man standing in front of her.

"Don't make him eat too much, Clelia, please, he still has to have his dinner before I leave him with Adele... if our dinner is still on..." he muttered the rest of his line so that only Nora could hear it. "Will you come for dinner with me now that you know Daniel belongs to me?"

Nora took a deep breath and met his eyes again as she replied, "Daniel is wonderful. If it's only for him, then you don't need to worry at all... But won't his mother mind?"

"No. Will you please let me explain it to you later, when we're alone?" he begged, shifting his weight uneasily even as he ran his hand through his hair.

Nora was burning with curiosity, but as Daniel skipped back to his father's side just then, his cheeks smeared with what looked like strawberry jam, she only nodded. She would have to wait for his answers.

She noticed how Martin exhaled deeply, as if he had been holding his breath for a very long time, before he said, "I'm... so glad. I... didn't know how to tell you about him, I was afraid that..." He shook his head. "I'll be back here at nine, is that ok?"

"Yes." Nora told him, then turned to Daniel, "You have a nice evening with Adele. I'll see you on Monday."

"Oh, you might see each other before," Clelia said, "he usually comes over to my reading group on the weekends."

"Clelia told me you will be reading tomorrow." Daniel said, his large, curious eyes searching Nora's.

"That's true!" Nora said, realising that with everything else happening in her life, she had nearly forgotten about it. "Until tomorrow, then."

"See you, Nora." Daniel said, and grabbing his father's hand, started pulling him away.

"I'll be back soon." Martin smiled at her over his shoulder.

Then they were gone, vanishing slowly into the crowd in the direction of the castle.

The moment they were out of sight, Clelia asked, "Are you two... Are you seeing Martin tonight?"

"Yes." Nora replied carefully, handing a paper bag with a couple of books to a customer. She didn't feel like talking about Martin with Clelia. But she didn't even want her godmother to jump to conclusions. "We need to talk about Daniel."

"Oh, I see. It seemed... The way he was looking at you..." Clelia mumbled, while she gift-wrapped a huge fairy tale book for an old woman smiling at Nora from behind the stall.

Nora smiled back before she asked Clelia, "Why are you asking?"

"I thought, the whole town thought, actually, that he and Victoria... that they would finally get together, officially. See, they are both veterinarians, single parents, and their children are the same age..."

After that, Nora forced herself to tune Clelia out, and focused on the books and customers. She didn't want to hear anything more, she needed to make her opinion about Martin alone, without listening to the small town gossip first.

However, Clelia's words were still unpleasantly fresh on her mind, when she saw him coming towards them again more than an hour later.

"I'm off then," she said, taking her handbag. "Do you want me to come back later and help you pack?"

"Oh no. You two have fun, and don't worry." Clelia said, smiling at Martin. "Richard and his friends promised to help me tonight. Just remember the reading group, please, I'll need you at three tomorrow afternoon."

"All right. Have a good night, Clelia," Nora said, reaching Martin on the other side of the stall.

"And don't worry, I'll walk home with her, she won't be alone," Martin added.

Nora wished he hadn't said that, she could see her godmother's mind working fast as she tried to understand what she was seeing-- Martin's hand closed tightly around Nora's. Somehow, it had become a habit neither of them wished to break. Nora sighed; she didn't know herself what it meant, why it felt so good, but she didn't owe Clelia any explanations. She was an adult who had been responsible for her own actions and heartbreaks for too long to change it now.

They made their way across the busy square in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Nora wished Clelia hadn't told her anything about Victoria. It didn't help that Martin had mentioned that woman to her before... Nora hadn't quite known how to behave around him before this evening, and now, when Daniel and Victoria were added to their confusing acquaintance, she felt lost.

But neither a son, nor a potential girlfriend matters between friends... That's what you wanted, anyway, a friendship, nothing more, she reminded herself, sighing, feeling him watching her but refusing to meet his eyes until they stopped in front of a small Italian restaurant halfway between the square and the castle.

"This was the only one that still had a free table when I called this morning. I hope you like Italian cuisine."

"I do. It's fine." Nora smiled at him as he opened the door for her.

A waiter was in front of them the moment they stepped inside, taking their coats away, then leading them to a table by the window set for two.

From the way he smiled at her companion and the speed with which he brought the bottle of red wine which Nora hadn't noticed Martin ordering, she understood that the two men knew each other well. But, as a real professional, he didn't let anything slip, not even when he returned to light a candle set in the middle of their table and take their orders, treating Martin as an esteemed customer rather than a friend.

"Lino is the owner," Martin explained when the waiter left them alone to bring their food. "He married a local girl and opened this restaurant soon after I came to live here. I send him customers from the castle, and he gives me a bottle of wine on the house whenever I come..."

Nora laughed. "Now that sounds like the mafia."

Martin laughed, too, pouring some wine into her glass, "Maybe it does, but as you know yourself, it is not fun to restart your life, especially in such a small place like this. We all need friends."

She nodded, closing her eyes briefly as she inhaled the aroma of sunshine and summer ricocheting off the sides of her glass as she twirled it between her fingers, flaring up towards her nose. And the wine tasted as good as it smelled.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Martin observing her.

"I was lucky," he continued after a short moment of silence, interrupted only by hushed voices of the other customers and the soft sound of burning wood from a huge fireplace on the other side of the room. "When I came here, I met this group of elderly ladies, ready to help me when they found out I was alone with Daniel. He was a baby back then, only a few months old. Your grandmother was the one who helped me the most in the first years."

Nora nodded, tearing her eyes off him with difficulty to smile at Lino who just brought their pasta. She couldn't help herself, the more time she spent with Martin the more... fascinating she found him. How could he have managed, coming here, with a baby, a single father...

She had so many questions but she decided to simply listen to what he decided to tell her tonight.

"So, you two moved here..." she prompted, bringing a piece of pasta to her lips. She didn't feel hungry, but it looked delicious.

"Some three years before Barbara..." Martin cleared his voice; it seemed to Nora that he missed her grandmother as much as she did. "You were rarely around then, and when you were, we weren't-- while my father lived, before the pandemic, we were always travelling, visiting someone during holidays. And then everything changed, and now there's never enough time to leave this place." He smiled as he set his fork on his half-empty plate and took a sip of wine. "I won't talk anymore unless you start eating, it's getting cold."

He reached out to her over the table and pushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her cheek a little too long, as if it was something he wished to do for a long time.

She closed her eyes and ordered herself not to lean in his touch, it wasn't right, she shouldn't... Winning the battle with herself she reached for her fork and finished her food while he refilled their glasses and finished eating too.

They only started talking again when Lino took their plates away and came back with a selection of desserts on a long silver tray which he set in the middle of the table for them to share.