Early in 2015 I was helping my friend organise her 30th birthday. She’d decided on the function space above a favourite little restaurant, Verde in Darlinghurst, Sydney.
A few weeks ahead of the celebration we went in for a tasting. It was the first time I’d seen the head chef and owner, Antonio. He was older than us and so handsome that once he’d sat us down and gone off to get something, my friend and I realised we were both blushing. His Calabrian charisma was undeniable and his smile took my breath away.
On the day of my friend’s party I went in early with flowers and set about rearranging the private dining room. The wait staff were already rolling their eyes at all the fuss I was going to, and as I unplugged this lamp fashioned out of an old sambuca bottle I managed to break it. A waitress materialised and whisked it away before I heard this unholy commotion coming from downstairs. Antonio flew up the stairs in a rage ready to raise hell with whoever had broken his beloved lamp, but as soon as he saw me his face instantly softened into a flirtatious grin. “Well I can’t be mad at you now can I?”
The next day, I popped back into the restaurant to collect the ridiculous amount of decorations I’d brought in. Antonio invited me to sit down for a coffee and we had a pleasant little chat about my job in the jewellery trade and a recent work trip to Italy. I didn’t think much of it.
In the months that followed, my relationship came to an impasse and I went through a breakup that was a real reset moment. I quit my job in sales at Bvlgari, bought an apartment in the CBD and set a path forward to creating my own jewellery brand.
As the dust settled, Antonio called me out of the blue. I suppose a friend must have been in the restaurant and mentioned I was newly single. When I confirmed that I was no longer in a relationship, he didn’t hesitate before asking me out for dinner.
I’ll never forget walking nervously into a Potts Point restaurant that Sunday evening in spring. Already waiting at the table, he looked up at me with that incredible smile and I was struck by this overwhelming feeling of finally being home. I knew then and there that I was in love.
We were married four years later and have two beautiful children. Walking into that function room 11 years ago I never could have imagined I’d have my hen’s party there and be engaged to the owner! I had my baby showers in there too, and it holds so many happy memories. Now it’s the home of my own jewellery studio.
Breaking that lamp set in motion a chain of events no one could have predicted. It’s not an exaggeration to say it changed the course of my entire life; it was a real Sliding Doors moment.
