**switches between POV**

"Are you sure this is a good idea Lizzie?"

"Adrijan, stop worrying, you sound like James" I laughed

"Look, you don't even know the guy, what if he tries to....."

I laughed and gave Adrijan a gentle slap on his arm. He looked worried.

"Don't worry, Im a big girl and I know how to handle myself."

He smiled slightly and placed his hand on mine. A feeling of warmth shot up it.

"Just don't  get hurt ok? I don't want to have to rescue you again" His eyes glinted under the fluorescent hotel room light.

"I will ring you if I need help, ok?" I said. He relaxed his posture slightly.

He nodded and I walked towards the door.

"Be back by 12!" He yelled after me

"Yes, Mother"  I sarcastically replied

I hurriedly walked down the corridor and into the lift. It was almost 7 and Giovanni said he would be picking me up.

I walked through the lobby into the open air. It was surprisingly cold this time of night. I pulled the loose cotton shawl around my shoulders and walked down the street. The lights from the new city shone brightly and lit up the night sky. I heard someone shout my name.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth!"

I turned around to see Giovanni stepping out of a black Mercedes. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt that had a few buttons undone. He was smiling at me as he walked up and kissed my hand.

"Buonasera Bellisima!" 

"Good evening Giovanni" I could feel my cheeks glowing bright red after he called me beautiful.

He placed his hand on the small of my back and motioned for me to get in his car. It was amazing. Leather seats with heating, built in sat-nav and a touch screen radio.

Giovanni's POV:

She let out a small gasp as she sat in my Mercedes. I smirked slightly and got into the drivers side. I turned on the heating and she gave me a thankful smile.

"So where are you taking me?" she asked

"It's a surprise" I replied

"I like surprises" she whispered.

I clenched the wheel and drove down a small alley. After a while I parked my car at the side of a small road and got out. Elizabeth got out and folded her arms.

"I thought we were going to dinner, Why have we stopped?"

"Close your eyes Bella"

She hesitated and then placed her hands over her eyes. I placed my fingers on her elbow and walked her through a door in a stone wall. It was dark for a while and we walked slowly.  All of a sudden a glowing light shone through and we walked into a restaurant.

It was very quiet with only a few people sat around. A young couple sat in the corner, feeding each other pasta. An old woman sat at a table, alone, clutching a picture of her lost lover. In the middle sat a group of men laughing and shouting about their successes of the year. 

I led Elizabeth down a small flight of stairs in a courtyard full of seats. In a few hours this place would be bustling with life but I wanted Elizabeth to see the beauty of Bari before all the university students arrived.

"Open your eyes"

Elizabeth's POV:

I couldn't believe my eyes. This was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. The courtyard was basked in the twilight glow from the moon. A large church at the end covered in hundreds of ornate stone carvings.

Giovanni pulled out a chair for me and I sat down. He sat and handed me a menu.

"Giovanni, This is amazing. How did you find this place?"

"I have lived here my whole life. These places are only known by the locals and the tourists don't usually pay much attention."

I scanned the menu. So many delicious dishes. I felt my mouth beginning to water as I read down the list.

"So we have 5 courses but I'm guessing you don't want to eat that much?"

My eyes widened. How could a man so fit eat that much food?.

"How do you eat that much?" I said peering at his stomach

"I have a big appetite but we usually only eat that on a formal occasion."

"I love food but I think I might explode if I eat that much!" I cried. Giovanni laughed and ran a hand through his Jet black hair.

"Can I recommend the orecchiette con cime di rapa. I think its called turnips top in English?"

"If you mean Turnip Tops then it sounds lovely."

He smiled and called over a waitress. she  took our order and came back a few minutes later with two plates of Orecchiette.

"Oh, I wanted to say congratulations for beating Trapani this morning" I added in.

I picked up my fork and took a huge bite of pasta. It was absolutely amazing.

"Thank you, How did you know about it?" he asked, clearly intrigued. He was chewing on some pasta, he didn't look impressed at it.

I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone and showed him a news article.

"I thought i'd look you up before we met" I said as I scrolled through the article.

A huge picture of him scoring the goal appeared on screen. I tapped it an a video emerged. I pulled the phone towards me and sat watching and waiting for the big moment.

"So what do you think?" He asked, placing his hand on mine. The bolts of warmth shot up my arm again.

"Impressive.....But"

"But what?"

"Why did you look away from the goal, you scored didn't you?"

Giovanni's POV:

My throat closed up slightly as though I couldn't speak. I didn't think me looking away was so noticeable.

"It's nothing......" I said as I began to cough

"Didn't you think you would score?" She questioned, very persistently.

I cleared my throat and took a gulp of wine.

"I just, I didn't want to let my team down. Being on Bari's team is a huge amount of pressure, I loved the team when I was a child and I don't want to be know as the one who...who" I was distracted by a hand stroking mine. I looked up to see Elizabeth  stroking my hand. Are eyes met and I immediately felt my hands tingling.

"You don't have to explain, I understand" She smiled at me.

I had a sudden impulse to do something crazy and I grabbed her arm and started pulling her away from the table.

"Wait, where are we going? What about the Orecchei-" I cut her off

"The pasta was bland anyway, come on!"

We held hands as we ran through the winding streets, past the church and along the waterfront. We finally made it to the beach. 

"A beach?" Elizabeth question, placing her hands on her hips.

"Don't you like it?"

"It's a lovely place but I was looking forward to dinner?"

I  laughed as I grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to me. She gazed up at me with her big green eyes, they sparkled like the starts in the sky. I placed both of my hands on her cheeks and stroked them gently, She smiled and I did the same. I leaned in and our lips touched. A surge of warmth spread through my body like wildfire. I had never felt this way about anyone before.

Elizabeth's POV:

Suddenly there was a flash of light, each one getting brighter, the noise growing louder as it got closer. I broke the kiss, the warmth still raging and I spun around. Behind us must of been at least a dozen paparazzi.

"Giovanni! Tell us who this new lady of yours is" Cried one

"Miss, Miss, Face the camera!" yelled another as he edged closer, pushing the camera in my face.

"On the count of 3 I need you to hold my hand tight and not let go" whispered Giovanni, his breath tingled my ear.

"Giovanni, Can you comment on the Trapani Calcio victory?"

"3"

"Miss, What is your name?"

"2"

"A picture of the happy couple?"

"1"

Giovanni gripped my hand and practically dragged me down the beach. He was a lot faster than me and I could barely hold on.

"Giovanni"

We kept running, faster and faster.

"Giovanni"

The paparazzi edging nearer, hot on our trail.

"GIOVANNI!" I screamed as we came face to face with a wall. It towered over us, we were ants in comparison.

We were completely surrounded. Blinded by the flashing lights I could barely see that the number of paparazzi had grown from a dozen to two dozen.

"I'm sorry" Giovanni whispered in my ear. I gripped his hand tight.

"Miss, What is your name?" yelled a rather tall man with a camera.

"Miss, Miss, Are you from Bari?" asked a reporter, notebook in hand.

The paparazzi were edging towards us, we were pressed up against the wall, my back flat against it. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Giovanni scanning the alley for ways to escape. He noticed me staring and shrugged his shoulders. We were stuck.

Suddenly the sound of a car horn tore through the cries of the crowd that had gathered. A black range rover came speeding towards us. There were people everywhere running left, right and centre, trying to escape the maniac in the car.

The range rover swerved, only a few inches away from us and it nearly hit the wall.

A door opened up and we were pulled inside.

"Elizabeth, What the Bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

I peered at the person who had saved us.

"JAMES!"

----------------------------------------------------

**Sorry I have not updated in a while, I have just gone back to school.**

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