Meet Luca

(Day 7 of 30 – story crumbs from the world of Loveandpizza.it 🍕)

Right – it’s time to meet the first of the two men who turn Carolina’s tidy little year in Napoli completely upside down. This is Luca.

He owns every room he walks into

Luca walks into a room like he owns the place, and somehow you just… believe him. He’s confident. He’s charming. He takes up space without ever seeming to try, and he takes you to the sort of places that come with a view, a wine list as long as your arm, and a waiter who clearly knows him by name. He’s the kind of man who makes things happen – which, after the year Carolina’s had, is not nothing. (He’s also, as it happens, her boss. Yes. I know. 🙈 We’ll get to that.)

Here’s the catch, though. For all that swagger and all that certainty, Luca has one enormous blind spot: he never actually asks. He decides. He decides where you’re going, what you’d like, what kind of evening you’re having – all without the faintest thought as to what you might want. 🙄 He doesn’t ask Carolina about her life, her dreams, the person she’s trying to become. He can’t be bothered to get to know Lisa, Carolina’s best friend and personal lifeguard, which tells you everything. To Luca, what Luca thinks is simply how things are. Full stop.

(More on all that when I interview him later this month – assuming he lets me get a question in. 😅)

Maddening… and utterly magnetic

And that’s what makes him so maddening, and so easy to fall for, all at once. Because that certainty is magnetic from across a crowded room: it looks like a man who’s got it all figured out. It’s only up close that you notice he’s figured it all out for you, without ever asking. We’ve all known a Luca: all charm and presence and grand plans, and not the faintest idea who you actually are underneath it. Book boyfriend material? Oh, totally – all dazzle and grand gestures and “trust me, you’ll love it.” 😏

That’s Luca. Remember him, because tomorrow you’ll meet the other one, and let’s just say he makes a rather different sort of entrance. 😏

If Napoli, complicated hearts and a bit of emotional chaos served warm sound like your sort of thing, make sure you don’t miss the day the book’s back. 👉 Join the relaunch list, pick your edition – English, Italian or Portuguese – and your slice is saved.

So tell me in the comments: have you ever fallen for a Luca – someone all charm and confidence, who decided everything for you without ever once asking what you wanted? 👀 (No judgement. We’ve all been there. 😌)

Dani. x

P.S. Loveandpizza.it is coming back in English, Italian and Portuguese. Save your slice and you’ll be first to know the moment your edition’s ready. 🍕