“Exactly.”
“What if my father never shows up here?”
“He has a shop, and it’s the height of tourist season. He must want to sell. He will return.”
“With my luck these days, I doubt it.” Julia raised her brows.
“Sister, you are in a gorgeous city, eating wonderful food. We are young, we are beautiful, we have a hotel suite. The city is full of gorgeous men. Why do we hurry?” Alessandra smiled, pointing at a group of men saluting her at the bar.
“Well, you rebounded quickly.”
“Not my first fiancé.”
“Seriously?”
“The first one was much better. But much less money.”
“You are only twenty-four. How did you already get engaged twice?” Julia couldn’t believe her ears. Of course, her sister was gorgeous, but still.
“It’s easy to find a man. It’s harder to keep him.”
“I need to sneak out to the bathroom. Be right back.” Julia stood up. “You need to go?”
“No, I’m going to enjoy my view and maybe make some friends over there.” Alessandra nodded toward the bar, where a group of young Eastern Europeans gestured at her to come join them.
Julia rolled her eyes. She took some time in the bathroom, checking her phone messages. None. Why did she expect to get any? She never did give Daniel her number.
“So, new friends?” she asked Alessandra when she returned.
“No, they were not very nice,” her sister said.
“Really?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m getting a headache. Do you mind if you order me a risotto? I will go to that farmacia right there and get some pills.”
“Do you want to go back to the hotel?”
“No, no, no. I need pills. You order, okay?” Alessandra rushed out of the restaurant.
Well, that was rather strange. The headache must have been bad. Julia ordered for both and looked at the garden below. Alessandra was right, of course. She should relax and enjoy the city. Positano was spectacular. If Sorrento was the city of yellow, Positano was the city of purple and pink. Everywhere she looked, petunias and bougainvillea bloomed wildly on the walls, the houses, the balconies, and even the roofs.
“Oh, the risotto looks magnifico,” Alessandra said, sitting down.
“Did you get your pills?”
“What pills?” Alessandra looked confused. “Oh, si, si, of course. But I’m feeling much better. Some of this risotto will help, too. So, as I said—we stay here for some days, and we go to the beach, and we do some shopping, okay?”
“You are in a much better mood now,” Julia observed.
“I feel much better.” Alessandra applied herself to the risotto with gusto.
“You do know I have to return home eventually. I must return to work in a few weeks, and I can’t abandon my house forever. My money won’t last forever, either. I was planning to return in ten days.”
“So we can stay here for a few days. Then we drive back to Milan and you stay in my hotel. And remember you have money now, from the sale of the house. So you take the money, stay for a little while, and then you go back to America.”
“You don’t have to give me your money, especially since you no longer have a rich fiancé,” Julia pointed out.
“No worries. I find another rich fiancé. I don’t need money. I need a sister near me. Use the money to buy appartamento in Milan, so you can come visit sometimes?”
“Do you have an apartment in Milan?”
Alessandra’s face darkened. “I did. With Antonio. I told him to move out by tomorrow.”
“So things are over between the two of you?”
“Of course it’s over. Did you hear all that shouting this morning?”
“I tried not to listen.”
“He said he was sorry, but I don’t accept any apology. It’s goodbye Antonio. I’m young, I find someone better.”
Julia laughed. “You are absolutely right. You will find someone a hundred times better. Maybe we buy an apartment together?”
“What a fantastic idea! Would you like some dessert?”
Julia patted her stomach. “I absolutely can’t eat any more.”
“Then we must shop and explore.”
Alessandra pulled her away from the crowded narrow streets by the beach and to the long wide Via Mulini, where craftsmen lined the walls, selling handmade jewelry, leather goods, and scarves. Julia picked out a bow for Mia, a collar for Lizzie, a pair of earrings for Mandy, a brooch for Francesca, a bracelet for Louisa, and wallets for Gian and her dad. It was only when she found herself paying for a present for Daniel, a leather belt, that she realized what she was doing.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t need any of these things. I’m terribly sorry.” She handed all the wrapped gifts back to the vendors and took the money back. What was she thinking? She was never going to see Daniel and his family again. And certainly not Lizzie. It was all over. She had lost her chance. She ran out. Well, it wasn’t all her fault. She did hear what Daniel had said. He did say it.
“See what I found,” Alessandra said brightly, running up to her with a necklace in her hands. “What’s the matter? You look like you will cry in a minute.”
Julia rubbed her eyes. “I think I might. Maybe I better go to the hotel. I need a siesta.”
“No, no hotel. We go to the beach, then.”
“I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
“It’s Positano. We buy you a beautiful bikini, and you take your top off and get a gorgeous tan.”
“Oh, God, it would be so me to take a top off and end up all over Instagram with my boobs hanging out. No, thanks. I think I’ll keep my top on. But, sure, the beach sounds good.”
Julia and Alessandra stretched out on colorful towels on super-sharp hot rocks in Italian fashion and made fun of tourists burning their feet trying to take iconic Amalfi pictures. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible day. Especially, when a group of muscular men from Croatia brought them mysterious frozen drinks with umbrellas and sang them a song.
“It’s good for you to be young and have fun,” Alessandra said as they walked exhausted to their hotel.
“Sure, you may be young, but I’m old. Can we have a real siesta now?” Julia begged.
“Yes, okay.”
“Who are you texting all the time?”
“Just my friends in Milan. They’re helping me cancel wedding plans.”
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I keep forgetting you still have to deal with all that.”
“No worries. I’m here with you, and I can have a lover from Croatia if I want. Life is good.” Alessandra waved dismissively.
Julia laughed as they reached the hotel shortly and fell in exhaustion on her bed for a very welcome nap.
Chapter 34
A long walk to the beach down the winding streets of Positano, past the thick crowds, cleared Daniel’s head. So Julia was here to find her father. He looked at Alessandra’s texts on his phone. Nico Marino. Galleria Marino. An art dealer, of course—the painting Julia received. Perhaps Nico had it in his shop. She had said her mum painted it. If he wasn’t in his shop today, he must be off somewhere buying more art.
Daniel sat down on the steps in front of Santa Maria Assunta and searched on his phone for any art sales in the area. Nothing. He tapped on his phone in frustration. It shouldn’t be that difficult. He tapped Gian’s number.
“Daniel? Ciao. You find Julia, brother?”
“I did, but I need your help with something. I must help Julia find her father. He has an art gallery in Positano, but he is not here. The gallery is closed. I’m trying to find him. Help me think. If you have a gallery here and you decide to buy art somewhere else, do you go to Rome or is there somewhere closer where there’s good art?”
“Si. Why go to Roma? Go to Ravello. Only a short distance to drive. If you are selling art in Positano, everyone wants Amalfi art, sea and mountains. You would sell paintings from Ravello and Positano, no?”
Daniel smacked his forehead. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Ravello. Did you and I ever go to Ravello? I can’t remember.”
“No, it’s a quiet town. Artists, musicians. They have opera in the summer. Not something we liked. Not enough girls and vino.”
“No.” Daniel laughed. “Not for teen boys looking for clubs. But perfect for Julia’s father looking for art. I’ll go there. Thank you.”
“Prego.”
Daniel texted Alessandra he thought he guessed where Julia’s father was. There was still a dilemma of actually finding the man in Ravello and explaining the entire issue of needing him to come back to Positano with him.
—Does Nico know he has a daughter?—
—Si—
—Didn’t want to give away Julia’s story. Thank you—
—Prego—
—Going to get him—
Alessandra had texted him Nico’s picture earlier. Daniel supposed he’d recognize him when he saw him. He shrugged. He’d have to count on being lucky then.
“Oh, forget luck,” he said and walked toward the address Alessandra had given him for Nico’s shop.
Once there, he walked into every shop near Nico’s and asked the owners if they knew where Nico might have gone for the day. It was in the lemon candle shop that the owner told him she thought Nico might have gone to see an old friend in Ravello. The friend owned the gallery in the main square, and the two might go to the opera concert that night. Daniel was so delighted he nearly kissed her, but settled for buying one of her candles instead.
He left the candle on the stone wall by his car as he hopped in and began the hour-long drive to Ravello. It was already mid-afternoon, and he worried he might not find Julia’s father by the evening.
Daniel drove as fast as his car would go, only stopping for a pizza at a bar on the cliff above a beautiful beach. He snapped a picture to show later to Julia.
It took less than an hour to reach white-and-green Ravello, the stark contrast to the colorful Positano, and find the Petit Amalfi art gallery just off the main town piazza. Daniel half expected it to be closed, requiring him to keep on searching all afternoon, but it was open, a few couples looking at the paintings on the walls, discussing prices. The owner wasn’t at the front of the gallery, but he heard voices in the back and walked casually in.
Two men sat at a small bar table, drinking wine and debating something in heated voices. They turned toward him as he walked in.
“Buona giornata.” He nodded. “Nico Marino?”
“Buona giornata. Si. Nico Marino.” A man with dark brown hair, much like Julia’s, nodded to him.
“My name is Daniel Stafford. I’m your daughter’s friend.”
“My daughter? I don’t have a daughter.” Nico looked at the other man, raising his brows.
Daniel pulled up a picture of Julia on Instagram. “Here. This is Julia. She is your daughter who lives in the United States. Her mother gave her to a couple in Texas for adoption.”
“Julia.” Nico stood up and took Daniel’s phone. He touched Julia’s picture with his fingers. “Her mother told me about her before she died. She is so beautiful. All grown. Not a child.” He scrolled through the Instagram feed, looking some more, then examined Daniel carefully. “And you are who again?”
“I’m her friend.”
“Aha. Thank you for bringing me her pictures, Daniel.” He pulled up a chair and pointed to it. “Sit. How did you know to find me?”
Daniel sat down and tried to explain. “Well, sir, your daughter is here. Well, not here in Ravello. Julia is in Positano, trying to find you. But your store was closed. She asked for my help, and I asked people in the other stores. They said you were here. I’m here to ask you to return if you’d like to meet Julia.”
“My daughter is in Positano? Now?” Nico’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
“Yes. Waiting to meet you.”
“Antonio, you hear? My daughter is in Positano.” Nico got up again, then sat back down. “But I don’t know if I should meet her.”
His friend descended into a string of rapid Italian that Daniel didn’t understand. They argued for a while, and then Nico stood up yet again.
“You drive me.” He pointed to Daniel. “And tell me more about how you are her friend.”
“I would be happy to.”
In truth, Daniel was nervous about spending an hour in the car with Julia’s father, not that Nico had ever been involved in Julia’s life, but still, Daniel had spent a night ravishing his daughter recently.
“So how long you have been my daughter’s boyfriend?” Nico asked, as they began a slow drive back to Positano.
“We met in Rome a few days ago, but I am sort of a boyfriend.”
“What is this—sort of? You are or you are not.” Nico narrowed his eyes at Daniel.
“I would like to be her boyfriend. More than a boyfriend, to be honest. I’m not sure that’s what she wants.”
“How did you meet my daughter? Hey, slow down, I do not want to fall in the sea.”
Daniel pressed his foot on the brake. “She popped out in front of my car in Rome.” Daniel turned his head toward Nico. “Oh, no, I didn’t hurt her.” He checked to see if Nico looked angry. He didn’t. “So when did you learn you had a daughter?”
“Her mother told me. When she was first sick. I loved her mother. I wish she told me a long time ago.”
“Were you married?”
“No, I was too late.” Nico went quiet.
“What happened?”
“We were young when we met. She came to Positano with her family as just a young girl for the summer. I worked in a ristorante here. We were together all summer. See that beach over there?” Nico pointed at the small beach Daniel had taken a picture of earlier. “She used to meet me there late in the evening after I worked, every day. We sat there almost until morning some days.”
“You loved her?” Daniel asked.
“I did, but I did not tell her. She went home and did not tell me she was pregnant. She thought I did not care for her, so she went to America and gave away Julia. I came to see her later in Milan, asked her to marry me, but she said no, she wanted to study at the university, not be a wife. I came to ask again many years later, but she was married to someone else already.”
“So you missed your chance. Did you ever stop loving her?”
“No. Never stopped. So I came again. And this time her husband was gone. Their marriage was not good. I found her in Malcesine when her other daughter, Alessandra, was still little. I went to see her many times and painted my art. I do not like the north, though. I ask her to come live with me in the Amalfi, but she did not want to leave the lake. And I could not part with the Amalfi. So we did not marry, but we loved each other until she died.”
“It sounds like you were happy.”
“We were. And now I have a gift of Julia.” Nico smiled.
“You are right. She is a gift.”
“Do you love my daughter?”
Daniel didn’t hesitate. Not after he’d been asking the man personal questions. “I do,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking of her for more than a second.”
“But that is not love,” the older man said. “Love is when you want to be a better person for her. When you do anything to make her happy.”
“I would. I would do anything. I came to get you, didn’t I?”
“Did you want something in return?” Nico raised his brows.
Daniel felt his ears burn, the blush quickly spreading to his cheeks and neck.
“Aha, real men do not lie to each other.” Nico smacked him in the shoulder lightly. “Va bene. You are young. You have much to learn about love. But I should not give you a hard time. I believe you. You came to find me for Julia. That’s amore.”
Nico stayed silent for the rest of the drive, looking out the window. Reminiscing, likely. Wondering what his daughter was like, looking forward to their meeting. Daniel, on the other hand, was a nervous w
reck. Now what? He’d leave Nico to meet Julia and wait. For what? For Julia to say she loved him and forgave him for saying he cared more about the dog than her? It would never happen like that.
He parked the car in front of Nico’s shop and texted Alessandra.
“Tell them to meet us in Ristorante Bougainvilla. It is a beautiful place on the beach, purple bougainvillas all around,” Nico said.
Daniel texted obligingly.
—Are you coming too?— Alessandra texted back.
—No—
—Why not?—
—Let her meet her father. I don’t wish to interfere. Also need to plan the apology—
He shook Nico’s hand. “They will meet you there in ten minutes. Good luck. She is an amazing woman. You’ll love her.”
“You are not coming?”
“There’s an errand I must do. I may see you later on.” He walked away before Nico could talk him into coming with him.
Daniel took a different route to the beach, walked through the narrow crowded streets for a while, sat at a bar by the water, and ordered a sparkling water. Julia would be busy with her father for some time longer. He imagined her face as she met Nico, the joy bringing out her dimple, her smile, the light in her eyes. Nico was a nice man; she would love him. What he wouldn’t give to be there to watch the two of them hugging, telling stories, enjoying each other’s company.
But he had to concentrate on his apology. He needed something she couldn’t ignore.
A grand gesture.
Something that could get him noticed after the major event of her life of meeting her father. Yet he didn’t wish to take away from that, either.
A group of girls passed by him carrying heaps of colorful towels, and an idea sparked. Daniel looked up. The windows of Ristorante Bougainvilla were right above him. He walked out to the boardwalk overlooking the dark gray rocks of the beach. There were loungers everywhere, filled with colorful towels. How long had Julia been up there? He probably didn’t have much time.
There was nothing to lose. He asked one bikini-clad person, then another, then her friend. Soon, a group of them were assisting, moving the loungers out of the way, collecting more towels. A few of the guys, seeing the bikini crew move, came over and offered to help. Then more women. A few kids dropped off their starfish-decorated towels. He had enough in minutes. Two American teens ran up the stairs to the bar and came back with candles.
The House by the Cypress Trees Page 24