When in Rome: A Novel

When Amelia and Noah go into town, Noah tells her that the flirting between the two of them must stop. Amelia tells him that she’s not looking for a relationship either, and she thinks, if it weren’t for her crush, they could be good as just friends. They go to a diner that has some cell phone service unlike the rest of the town, and Amelia gets several messages from Susan about maintaining her diet while on vacation. Noah tries to talk to Amelia about how she feels but she shuts him down, just as he often does when she asks him personal questions. At the diner, their server jokes about Amelia and Noah’s relationship, mentioning that she thought Noah would never go after another woman after his ex-fiancée from New York City broke his heart by not coming back to Rome with him when his grandmother got sick. Amelia feels surprised by this news, but even more so by how easily their server and other diners relate it to her while Noah sits quietly in agony. Noah gets up to do the server’s job of pouring coffee while she talks with Amelia. The server and other diners nearby want to make sure Amelia won’t leave Noah and break his heart; they all believe the two of them make a good couple.