A Little Piece of Paradise: A sweeping story of sisterhood, secrets and romance (Love from Italy Book 1)

by T A Williams

  Rachel pulled Sophie to her and they hugged. After that, by tacit agreement, they didn’t speak about it any further but Sophie felt the air had finally been cleared and she knew she could now move on. They had lost their mum, but she had got her sister back at last.

  Around mid-morning, they showered to remove the salt that had dried on their bodies and changed out of their swimming things. After that they set out on a walking tour of the town. Apart from modern shops, cafes and restaurants, there wasn’t much to see until they came to a steep flight of old stone steps leading sharply upwards towards a church built almost into the near vertical cliff face. The church itself was obviously not terribly old but the panel outside informed them that although this building had been constructed in the late nineteenth century, it had been built to replace a much earlier medieval church which had been destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 1887. Inside it was all fairly bland but there was an ancient baptismal font, probably salvaged from the old church, carved out of pink marble. The carvings appeared to show boats and armed figures who might even have been wearing turbans or similar headdresses, and Sophie took a few photos and resolved to mention it to Dan, in case it was a reference to his marauding Saracen pirates.

  Above the church was the old part of town and they climbed yet more steps, squeezing between ancient houses, mostly white, cream or faded pink in colour, until they emerged above the rooftops and had a clear view down across the town and the beach to the headland beyond. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sea was an almost unbelievable cerulean blue, with strange whitish swirls where currents moved the waters. A flotilla of little sailing boats with red sails, a massive multi-million dollar yacht and a faded green fishing boat added extra touches of colour to the scene, while the cluster of pink roofs of Paradiso, above them amid the trees, looked almost magical. Sophie breathed deeply – not just because of the hundred steps they had just climbed.

  ‘It’s a gorgeous area, isn’t it? I can see why Uncle George loved it.’

  ‘I was thinking the same thing. Although I’m looking forward to the financial security the proceeds of the sale of the castle will provide, it’ll be sad to lose the connection with Paradiso.’

  ‘How’s this for an idea? Let’s see how much we get for the castle but maybe we might have enough left over to buy ourselves a little piece of paradise of our own, somewhere we could come for holidays or just to chill out.’

  ‘I think that’s a great idea. And when you become a famous writer I can imagine you up there at your typewriter, Jeeves at your feet, looking out over this view as you plan your next bestseller while Chris, stripped to the waist and oiled, gently fans you with a palm frond.’

  Sophie couldn’t help laughing. ‘We live in hope – although the only oil that interests me at the moment is the oil I’d like to pour onto my former boyfriend if he’s stupid enough to turn up at the door.’

  Before returning to Paradiso, they went to a big supermarket on the outskirts of town and bought a load of provisions in readiness for Chris’s arrival on Friday. Thought of him once again raised the question in Sophie’s head of just what sort of relationship she had, and might have, with him. Pleased as she was at the thought of seeing her best friend again, she was feeling unusually nervous at the prospect.

  Chapter 14

  Chris’s train was bang on time on Friday evening. At Rachel’s insistence, Sophie took her courage in both hands and drove down in the Mercedes, dropping Rachel and Jeeves at a bar overlooking the beach first, but when she got to the station she couldn’t find a parking space for the big vehicle. In consequence she was sitting in the car in a no-waiting area, checking her mirrors for traffic wardens, when she saw him emerge from the station building. She jumped out and waved.

  ‘Chris, over here!’

  His face split into a broad smile and he waved back as he came across the road to meet her. She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a warm hug, kissing him on the cheeks, really glad to see him. He was looking very smart – and uncomfortably hot – in a dark suit, collar and tie.

  ‘Blimey, Soph, what’s with the car?’

  She affected an air of disinterest which quite obviously didn’t fool him one bit. ‘What, this heap of junk? Just something I found lying around the castle.’

  ‘How the other half lives, eh? You’ll soon be too posh to even talk to plebs like me.’

  ‘I’ll never be posh and I’ll never stop talking to you, Chris. You know that.’

  She locked his bag in the boot and as she drove him to the bar to meet up with Rachel and Jeeves she gave him a quick run-down of events so far. Although it was almost half past six, the streets and promenade were still packed with noisy people and she reassured him that up on top of the hill in Paradiso it would be a whole lot quieter. He nodded approvingly.

  ‘Do you realise that in less than three months I’ll no longer be eligible for a Club 18-30 holiday? We old folk need a nice quiet holiday destination.’

  ‘That means you’ve still got three months to go wild.’ She grinned across at him. He had always been sensible and grounded, and she had never seen him do anything particularly wild. Not that she minded – she wasn’t that sort of person either. That had always been her sister’s preserve. She turned onto the road that ran alongside the beach and, to her amazement, discovered no fewer than three free parking spaces right outside the bar. She gave a surreptitious sigh of relief. She had been dreading trying to squeeze the big vehicle into a narrow space with Chris watching.

  Rachel was sitting at a table on the higher deck, overlooking the beach and the bay. She spotted them and waved and, as she did so, Sophie saw a big black head emerge from under the table, tail wagging as he recognised who it was.

  ‘Chris, you remember Rachel, don’t you?’

  Chris went over and extended his hand, but Rachel caught hold of his shoulders and pulled him down so she could kiss him on the cheeks. Sophie smiled as she saw him blush.

  ‘Chris, hi, long time no see.’

  ‘Hi, Rachel, of course I remember you. You’re looking great.’

  And Sophie agreed that she did. With her tanned face and limbs and the new short skirt she had bought in Albenga earlier in the week, she looked gorgeous, and Sophie felt sure Dario would like what he saw when he met up with them here at seven as arranged. Things had been going well between Rachel and her Italian man and the plan for tonight was for her to go straight off for dinner with Dario and leave Sophie alone with Chris.

  ‘And you look as handsome as ever, Jeeves.’ Chris bent down and made a fuss of the dog. ‘Been behaving yourself?’ For a moment it almost looked as if the Labrador nodded.

  ‘You’re look as if you’re boiling, Chris. Take off your jacket and tie.’ Rachel reached over to help him. ‘You’re at the seaside now. You could roll your trouser legs up and tie a knotted handkerchief on your head as well if you like. Has Sophie told you we’ve got a pool up at the castle? You can have a swim when you get up there if you fancy it.’

  She shot a surreptitious wink across the table towards Sophie who almost blushed. Clearly, Rachel was determined to get Chris out of his clothes as soon as possible. Sophie, while not averse to a swim herself or, indeed, to seeing Chris in his swimming things, was definitely going to take things a whole lot more slowly, not least because she still hadn’t completely made up her mind about the whole best friend to boyfriend thing. Could that happen? Did she really think of him that way? She had certainly felt a flash of strong affection for him as he had emerged from the station, but the exact nature of this affection was hard to judge. For now, she told herself firmly, she was very pleased to see him and that was all that counted.

  Dario arrived punctually at seven and, after exchanging greetings with Sophie and Chris, took Rachel off for dinner. Sophie and Chris carried on chatting, catching up on what had happened over the past weeks since they had last seen each other, before she glanced at her watch.

  ‘I was going to cook you din
ner tonight but then I thought you might prefer a real Italian meal.’

  ‘Anything, Soph, really.’

  ‘There’s a super restaurant up at Paradiso and I thought we could eat there – but before you say anything, this weekend’s on me to say thank you for all you’ve done for me.’

  Needless to say he objected to letting her pay but she was adamant and insisted, telling him this was something she really wanted to do and now that she was living rent-free, she had the means to do it. Reluctantly he gave in and they set off back up the hill. He was clearly very struck by the panoramic views as they climbed higher and when she saw the expression of awe on his face as they crunched to a halt on the gravel outside the castle, she almost laughed. His eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets.

  ‘Blimey, what a place!’ He climbed out of the car and just stood there, staring in amazement. ‘I tried looking it up on Google Earth but the aerial shot doesn’t do it justice. Wow, it looks like the kind of place a princess should live in.’

  ‘Funny you should say that. It’s actually going to be the place where two princesses used to live.’ He retrieved his bag and she led him up the steps and in through the front door, telling him more about her plan to write a novel and, as always, he was immediately very supportive.

  ‘Brilliant idea. How many times have I said that’s what you should do? And what a location for a story!’

  She showed him to his room and left him to change into something lighter while she and Jeeves went for a quick walk in the garden. By the time she returned to the back door, she found Chris, now wearing shorts and a T-shirt, poking about in the pile of rubbish she had brought down from the top floor. She couldn’t help noticing that he had rather nice forearms as well as strong leg muscles and this only served to increase her feeling of attraction towards him.

  ‘How come you’ve suddenly developed an all-consuming interest in trash, Chris? Thinking of a career change to recycling operative?’

  ‘Trash? Some of this stuff’s amazing. Look at this.’ He was holding a dusty, worm-eaten wooden case containing a dozen old vinyl LPs that she had had no hesitation in consigning to the bin. ‘I’d need to check current values, but some of these records are almost certainly worth anything upwards of a hundred pounds each.’ He pulled one out and wiped it reverently against the leg of his shorts. ‘Look at this: Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. We sold a copy of that last year in one of our specialist music auctions and I seem to remember it went for almost two hundred pounds.’ He looked up in awe. ‘Wow, if you’ve got any more of these, you’re sitting on a goldmine.’

  Sophie was equally amazed. ‘To be honest, I don’t really know what we’ve got. Part of our instructions have been to clear the junk out of the top floor rooms and I’ve barely started.’

  ‘If you like I could take a look. In fact, I’d love to take a look.’

  ‘Thanks, but that would make this a bit of a busman’s holiday for you.’

  ‘No worries. Really, I’d love it. The chance to root around in the attic of an old castle is the sort of thing people in my profession dream about.’ He shot a grin across at her. ‘All right, I know my dreams are boring.’

  ‘Well, if you’re sure, you can take a look tomorrow. For tonight, you’re mine and I’m taking you out for a really good dinner.’

  This time she deliberately chose the menù gastronomico for both of them and it was predictably outstanding – although far, far more than she could possibly eat. To go with it she ordered a bottle of Grignolino, an excellent, slightly effervescent light red wine from nearby Piedmont, as a special treat. As well as the familiar antipasti, including the omelette, this menu also included a platter of fresh seafood ranging from mussels to scallops, with a heap of dressed crabmeat in the middle. This was followed by no fewer than four different types of pasta – not as alternatives, but served one after the other – and ended with a T-bone steak whose aroma had Jeeves salivating under the table. By the time the selection of desserts arrived, Sophie knew she was on the point of exploding. She was also finally approaching the moment she had been dreading when she would attempt to find out if Chris might consider her as more than a friend and vice versa.

  However, before she could launch into some sort of tentative declaration, she heard an American voice at her shoulder.

  ‘Hi, Sophie, buon appetito.’

  She looked up, finding herself feeling almost embarrassed. Until Dan had told her about his best friend in the US, she had felt attracted to him and here she was now with another man. Hastily doing her best to swallow her embarrassment – and a burp – she greeted him.

  ‘Hi, Dan, back from Rome?’

  ‘I’ve literally just climbed out of the car now. I’m hoping I’m still in time to get something to eat from these guys.’ No sooner had he spoken than the elderly lady – whose name Sophie now knew to be Carmela – appeared and confirmed that she would grill him a steak.

  ‘Can I introduce my good friend, Chris, from England? Chris, this is Dan. He’s living just up the road and he knew my uncle.’

  ‘Hi, Dan. It’s good to meet an American. This means I don’t have to try to speak Italian.’ He gave Dan a smile and held out his hand.

  The two men chatted amiably as Sophie debated what to do. Should she ask Dan to sit down with them, even though he already knew that Chris was here supposedly so she could see whether she fancied him as more than a friend and vice versa, or should she take the easy way out and let the American eat alone? She quickly realised that she only had one option. Dan had become a good friend and of course she had to ask him to join them. Her talk to Chris would have to be postponed – for now. She waited for a break in the men’s conversation before indicating the empty chairs at their table.

  ‘Sit down, Dan, and join us. To be honest, we’ve just about finished, but I could do with a coffee and it’s always good to catch up. How was Rome?’

  He pulled out a chair and sat down. Seconds later Carmela arrived with his cutlery, napkin and glass. As Sophie ordered two coffees, Chris picked up their wine bottle and held it out towards Dan.

  ‘There’s a drop of Grignolino left if you feel like it.’

  Dan shook his head. ‘Thanks, but I’ll just drink water tonight. I’ve been eating out a lot in Rome over the past week and I need to detox.’

  ‘Was that a business trip?’

  ‘Research. I had to take a short trip down to Sicily and then I’ve been picking brains at Rome University – la Sapienza.’

  Sophie was quick to explain. ‘Dan’s a lecturer in Medieval History at Harvard. He’s over here on a sabbatical.’

  ‘Fascinating.’ Chris sounded genuinely interested. ‘Listen, Dan, I wonder if I could ask you something, but only if you can spare the time. Are you going to be around tomorrow? I’m only here for two nights but there’s something you could help me with if you have a moment. I’d be extremely grateful.’

  ‘I’ll be here, and I’m happy to help. What’s the problem?’

  Chris told him how he worked for an auction house and had been in Milan to value a private collection of paintings that would be coming on the market in a couple of months. ‘The thing is, I’m struggling to identify one of the paintings. It’s a portrait of an austere-looking old man and he looks familiar, but I’ve drawn a blank. It isn’t signed but from the style and the materials it looks to me as if it has to date back to around about the fifteenth or early sixteenth century. If I could work out who the man is, that would be a major step forward. I wonder if a medievalist might be able to shed some light on who he is. I’ve got photos of the portrait on my iPad.’

  ‘Sounds fascinating. I’ll call in at the castle tomorrow. Say, mid-morning if it suits?’ Dan glanced across at Sophie. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really must go and wash up before my steak arrives. I’ve been on the road for hours.’ And he left.

  Chris caught Sophie’s eye and threw her into confusion. ‘Dan’s a good-looking chap, and bright with i
t. Are you considering him as a replacement for your Roman boyfriend by any chance?’

  Sophie shook her head. ‘No, he’s just a friend.’ For a moment she almost launched into speaking to him about their own relationship but the sight of Dan emerging from the front door of the restaurant stopped her in her tracks – that was a conversation for when she managed to get Chris alone.

  * * *

  Sophie and Chris were in the lounge, sitting on a sofa side-by-side – a chaste distance apart – watching one of Uncle George’s old black and white movies when she heard the front door slam. She had been trying to think of a way of opening up about the way her feelings for him were changing but kept chickening out. After all, she repeatedly reminded herself, she had once managed to convince herself that Claudio was her one and only, and look where that had got her? Even so, she was on the point of taking her courage in both hands when the sound of the door made her shelve any such plans for now. Jeeves raised his head, clearly debated for a moment whether he should bark, but then decided he was far too tired and lowered his head to the floor again with a thud. Seconds later the lounge door was flung open and Rachel stomped in. You didn’t need to be an expert in body language to see that she was furious.

  ‘Hi, Rach, what’s up?’

  Her sister came to a halt in front of them and Sophie saw her take a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself – which didn’t work. ‘What’s up is that he’s married, that’s what!’ She almost had smoke coming out of her ears. ‘He’s bloody well married.’

  ‘Dario?’

  ‘Yes, of course, bloody Dario…’ Sophie saw her stop in mid flow and make a real effort. ‘Sorry, Soph, I shouldn’t take it out on you.’

  She dropped her bag onto an armchair and slumped down beside it. By this time Jeeves had worked out that support from him was needed, so he pulled himself to his feet and trotted over to rest his nose on Rachel’s knee, his tail wagging slowly. She stroked him gently as she continued – this time in a calmer voice.