NOT GIVING UP ON FOREVER

Chapter 73

They pulled into some local fashion boutiques and went shopping. Teo enjoyed picking out tons of different dresses for Anna, loading up on a skinny, sleep-deprived salesman named Chuck. She laughed and clapped her hands over every new dress Teo put on the poor assistant.

Chuck, swaying under the weight of potential purchases, obediently followed the couple into the dressing room and was inexpressibly glad to get rid of the burden, even expecting a sickly percentage of the possible proceeds.

Teo gestured to the leather seat opposite the fitting room.

"And you will parade in front of me in all these wonderful dresses so we can choose beautiful options!"

"Like in the movie 'Pretty woman!'" Anna giggled.

"Like in the movie 'Pretty woman.'" Teo nodded and stretched out in his chair, turning on the MP3 player.

"I'll put on the music!" snatching the device from him, the girl laughed.

"Hey! I want to put on the soundtrack of the movie!" Teo smiled as he wrestled with the girl, but he lost, and the player ended up in her frail hands.

"Ta-da!" Anna exclaimed sarcastically. "Now sit down and wait for me to come out!"

Brenton Wood's 1967 song "Oogum Boogum" started playing, and Teo couldn't help but laugh. Anna stepped out from behind the screen in the sexiest of ways, showing off a chic blue ruffle dress that Teo immediately brushed aside, sending her for the next one. Enjoying a few more choices in the most mind-blowing colors and designs, he approved of a champagne cocktail dress when Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" was already playing. Anna was effectively spinning in front of him, forcing him to lower an embarrassed look hiding genuine admiration.

"Decided," she whispered in his ear and kissed him on the lips, embarrassing him to the point of blushing.

Later in the evening, they were strolling quietly along the quay. Ricardo and Leticia were glad to accompany them.

The air on the quay was fresh and breezy, and the vendors of trinkets and other souvenirs were eager to sell.

Anna held Teo's hand and tried unsuccessfully to read the emotion on his face. He had always been such a mystery. Now she needed to know what he was thinking, and she didn't have the heart to ask.

"Here we are!" Teo said proudly as they approached the luxurious Burton restaurant in the futuristic Port Nuova neighborhood. "My treat!"

They entered a chic room with an ultra-modern design, executed in a minimalist manner with Italy's inherent elegance. Ricardo involuntarily gasped, and the girls hurried to take the most beautifully decorated table. Teo had obviously been to this place more than once. The waiters knew him, and several of the visitors asked for his autograph.

"I'm so glad you're rich and famous," Ricardo said enthusiastically. "Thanks to you, we can go to such luxurious places for free!"

Everyone laughed and began to choose dishes from the menu. Teo was relaxed and advised friends of things he has tried in previous visits. For Anna, he and the waiter for a long time have been choosing the best vegetarian dish. Anna was very pleased with Teo's tender attitude, attention to the smallest details of her life. She watched admiringly as he explained to a waiter she knew that Anna liked this sauce, not the other, that the chef always added meat, and she didn't eat meat. He asked the drink be necessarily so-and-so, the first dish so-and-so, the second one so-and-so.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear, and he beamed.

Over dinner, the atmosphere of tension seemed to dissolve completely. Teo was having a lively discussion with Ri in Italian, and the girls were discussing the latest fashion trends and the guys themselves.

"You're so lucky!" delightedly mumbled Leticia. "Teo is a rare gem, and he seems to breathe you!"

"Thank you," Anna murmured, looking away.

"You're a wonderful couple that nothing can break."

Anna looked at Teo and nodded at Leticia.

"I guess so..." she drawled. "Nothing indeed..."