by Melissa Hill
‘Don’t be silly, I was only kidding. I’ve had a long day myself so am going to turn in early.’
A beeping horn outside the gates from the taxi she’d called sent Annie rushing for the door. ‘Honestly, I shouldn’t be back too late tonight, I promise. See you later if you’re still up. And Colette – that is if lovely Luca’s not ravishing her on his boat again.’ She grinned and fanned her face. ‘Lucky wagon.’
Kim laughed. ‘Have fun.’
Arriving at his hotel – their agreed meeting spot – Annie headed straight to reception to have them call up and let Harry know she was here, but to her surprise he was already waiting for her in the lobby.
‘Hey there, handsome,’ she greeted, kissing him.
‘Hi,’ he replied with a weak smile. ‘I thought we might grab a bite here tonight if that’s OK.’
‘Of course.’
Straight away, she knew something was off.
The meal was lovely and perfectly civil, but he kept his eyes on the menu or his plate most of the time, refusing to meet her gaze. Annie’s stomach tightened with disappointment and her heart automatically closed over. She’d been around the block enough times to know what was coming.
And just when she’d thought things were going so well.
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked eventually, as he mulled over dessert options, his face glum and sombre and a complete contrast to his usual jokey demeanour.
‘No,’ he replied gently. ‘I’m just finding it so difficult to choose …’
‘I didn’t mean the dessert,’ Annie stated sharply. ‘I mean with you. You’re acting really strangely.’
He exhaled. ‘I just have some things on my mind, that’s all. It’s back to the real world soon and …’
Annie’s heart lightened a little. ‘And you’re worried about where that leaves us?’
‘No, I’m not worried about that at all.’
Now she automatically felt relief fill her stomach. OK, so he seemed pretty confident about where they stood. That was good, wasn’t it?
After dinner, he walked with her down to the beach, where once again they found themselves alone. She couldn’t help but reminisce about the first time they’d done this and all that had transpired since.
‘It’s so beautiful tonight,’ she commented as they walked. ‘Then again it always is. Everything about this place is beautiful. I’ll miss it when we leave.’
‘That’s true,’ he replied. ‘A place where the unexpected happens, wouldn’t you say?’
It was. Annie hadn’t come to the Amalfi Coast looking for anything she’d found there. New friendships weren’t on her mind, and neither was falling in love, but she’d found both just the same.
Or maybe they had found her. Maybe, like Felicity said, this magical place really did have the power to change lives.
‘Let’s sit,’ he instructed as he pointed to one of the blue sun loungers. Annie did as he asked, and he sat beside her, but still seemed tense.
‘What is it?’ she asked, wondering why the mood seemed so strange tonight.
Was he maybe becoming maudlin that their time together was coming to an end? She hadn’t figured him for the sentimental type. He’d seemed quite laddish and macho from the outset, but then again a lot of lads were when they were in a group, weren’t they?
And she knew he had a much softer, more romantic side. It was the one she’d truly fallen for.
Now he squeezed her hands gently, rubbing his thumbs over the curve of her knuckles.
‘Annie, I’m sorry. I haven’t been completely honest with you.’
Aha. So he was going to come clean about what had been bugging her since that night in the restaurant.
Well, this is good.
‘It’s just … I’m sorry, because I care for you and I don’t want to hurt you.’
Hang on, no. This was something different. More than a silly misunderstanding or a mistake.
A sickening feeling once again began to fill her stomach and she held her breath for a moment to gather her composure before she spoke.
‘What are you sorry about?’
He bowed his head. ‘I’m afraid there’s … someone else.’
This she hadn’t expected, and instantly she felt her hackles rise.
‘Someone else? You’re telling me you already have a girlfriend? And you’re telling me now – after all this time?’ Annie was incensed. ‘Don’t you think you should have mentioned something before?’
‘I know … and it’s been great,’ he replied. ‘But maybe things have started to get a little out of hand.’
‘A little out of hand?! It’s not as if we just had the odd drunken fumbling one-night stand. We’ve spent the best part of the last two weeks together and now you’re telling me you’re already taken. What kind of an arsehole are you?’
‘It’s nothing like that,’ he replied quickly. ‘Believe me, please. It’s not that. I don’t have a girlfriend, Annie, honestly.’
‘Then what is it? If you don’t have a girlfriend, then what’s the problem?’
‘It’s just … I’ve met someone else.’ His voice was soft and his eyes couldn’t look at her face.
‘Someone else – here in Italy?’
Now Annie felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. This she didn’t expect at all. So he wasn’t cheating on some poor girl from back home. He’d taken up with another one here.
While screwing her at the same time.
‘Yes,’ he confessed. ‘Believe me, it wasn’t intentional, just a chance encounter, really, but I haven’t been able to get her out of my head.’
‘A chance encounter? You make it sound like something from a romantic movie,’ she spat. ‘So you’ve spent all this time with me, romancing and shagging me, then you meet this other girl and suddenly, bam! Just like that, everything changed?’
‘Something like that. I didn’t expect it to, but it did. I’m sorry, Annie, like I said, it was completely unexpected, out of my control. Her spirit is just so bright and lovely that you can’t help but fall for it—’
Annie sucked in a jagged breath. ‘You love this girl?’
His eyes fluttered nervously, but he couldn’t look at her. She studied his face. He looked truly penitent.
She’d never seen that before. Every time she’d been dumped or blown off, the expression on the guy’s face was nonchalant – that’s if he bothered to tell her at all. Whereas Harry’s face now was full of regret and confusion, and somehow that hurt even more.
‘Answer me,’ she urged.
‘It’s too early to know,’ he finally replied. His eyes returned to hers. ‘But perhaps … I could.’
There was no holding back the rage now. ‘So what about me?’ she spat. ‘What about us? What now?’
‘Annie, please believe me when I tell you I never meant any of this. When I met you that first night, I thought you so vibrant and alive; it was like a shot of something electric in my veins, and I’ve loved the time we’ve spent together. I really care about you.’
He was breaking her heart while telling her how much he cared? It made no sense to Annie. His kindness in disappointing her was a million times worse than the harshness she’d received all the times before.
‘Obviously it wasn’t enough,’ she answered bitterly. He didn’t reply. ‘Not enough to compete with whatever this other girl could give you, anyway.’
‘She hasn’t given me anything. It’s not like that. I didn’t sleep with her, if that’s what you’re getting at.’
‘No, you just slept with me. Multiple times. And now you’re just casting me aside because something better’s caught your eye.’
He didn’t even try to deny that. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t even know her that well, to be honest. But there’s something there, I’m certain of it. And for that reason alone, I have to be honest with you. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise. I think you know that I’m not the kind of guy to mess people around, or at least, I hope you do.’
‘Damn you, Harry,’ Annie cried as she marched away down the beach. That was part of the problem. She did know he wasn’t that kind of guy. And because of that, because she knew he was different, she’d purposely held back, treaded carefully, protecting her heart.
And then, just when she’d let her guard down, he’d sucker-punched her.
‘Annie, wait – hold on,’ he called out, hurrying after her as she raced back up the steps. ‘That’s another thing I wanted to tell you. My name’s not actually Harry – it’s just what the guys have always called me because of my surname. A nickname.’
She didn’t bother to stop walking. What was the point?
And she had no idea why he was telling this her now, nor did she care.
Because Annie knew that already; she’d spotted it on his credit card the first night he took her to dinner.
His name wasn’t Harry at all, but Edward – Edward Hargreaves.
Chapter 38
Then
Colette was nervous. Luca said he hadn’t been in touch because he’d been called away on business.
But things had definitely changed. Since that night on the boat, she’d started to have serious doubts about whether he was interested in her or, like Annie said, he was playing her.
She’d listened to her friends and their words of caution hadn’t been lost on her.
Kim advised her to let instinct guide her decision-making. If Luca wanted a relationship beyond Colette’s time here then he’d make that clear. Then it would be up to her to decide if it was what she wanted. Kim also reminded her that there was an ocean between them and those weren’t easy hurdles to overcome.
And then there was Ed. In his last text he had straight out asked to meet up soon for coffee.
There’s this great little café I found, very traditional, brimming with crazy locals – I think you’d love it.
Colette was intrigued. Ed was so charming and funny that time in Sorrento – the opportunity to chat some more with him would be lovely. She was sure whatever this place he was talking about would be right up her street, too, but to be fair while friendship was all he seemed to want, it still felt wrong to take him up on the offer.
I appreciate the invite, thank you – but I’m kind of already seeing someone …
He responded immediately:
Oh I’m so sorry, I can see how the invite might have come across. I wouldn’t want to step on any toes. I meant merely as friends. And compatriots, of course. :)
I’m a bit busy this week, she hedged, unsurely. I’ll let you know …
Colette wished she had Kim’s wisdom and Annie’s street-smarts, especially when it came to matters of the heart. The problem was that her heart was her guiding force.
She couldn’t deny that she was happy Luca had called to the villa today, asking her to come for a drive.
He hadn’t abandoned her, lost interest in her because he’d got what he wanted, or whatever Annie had been trying to suggest.
He’d also told her to bring a swimming costume, and she wondered if they were going out on the boat again. The thought of a repeat of that wonderful night under the stars filled her with an all-too-familiar desire, and she knew that no matter what – if any – intentions Luca might have beyond this trip, she was already caught in whatever web he had already spun around her.
When Luca’s car eventually arrived at Fiordo di Furore, a tiny beach situated low beneath an ornate arched bridge, Colette had at first been a little disappointed that it wasn’t the boat. But all too soon she became completely taken by the picturesque spot and aquamarine waters of the fiord.
‘Is this it?’ she asked from the bridge, steeling herself for the inevitable trek down another of Italy’s endless stepped walkways to access the beach.
He chuckled. ‘It’s one of the best places to swim. And also not so many tourists are willing to make the thousand-step descent.’
Thousand steps? Colette’s eyes widened.
Luca retrieved a basket and umbrella from the back of the car and soon they were on their way.
Eventually, they descended onto the pebbly beach and found an intimate spot at the far end, where Luca set up a beach umbrella and towels.
‘You brought your swimming costume?’ he asked and she nodded. She was wearing the one-piece under her summer dress.
Before she knew it, he was stripping and Colette gulped, trying hard not to stare. Few men in their swimwear looked like Luca did in his, and possibly even fewer without.
Folding her dress tidily on the blanket, she followed him into the water. He kept backing in while she walked towards him.
‘Shouldn’t you turn around?’ she laughed. ‘How will you know where you’re going?’
He winked. ‘I prefer this view.’
The water deepened and soon they were both treading hard to keep their heads above it. Luca pulled Colette close and held her in his arms. The sudden action caused her to laugh and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
‘I am so glad to be back,’ he said. ‘I missed you.’
Colette searched his eyes. Did he really? He looked back at her, the depths searching hers.
‘You do not believe me.’
‘No,’ she replied, sighing. ‘It’s not that.’
‘Yes, it is. I can see it,’ Luca answered. ‘What troubles you, my Colette?’
His Colette? She wanted to be.
They bobbed in the water, and Luca picked up her legs and wrapped them around his waist as he supported them both.
‘Tell me.’
She swallowed the lump in her throat at his question. If she wanted the truth there was no better way to get it than to ask. And no better time than the present.
‘That night on the boat, the phone call. You were very secretive about it.’
His brow wrinkled. ‘Secretive? I think I was just annoyed. You know how much I hate those things. I wish they had never been invented, and that Mr Jobs had stayed working in his garage,’ he added light-heartedly.
But Colette wasn’t to be dissuaded by humour. ‘Who was it?’ she asked, surprised at her own insistence. But she needed to know. ‘On the end of the line that night.’
Luca shrugged. ‘My father. He and I … Let’s just say we do not bring out the best in each other.’
She let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She believed him. It wasn’t another woman or something he was trying to hide, like Annie had suggested.
He’d already told her that he worked in his father’s business more out of duty than anything else. So if the two men clashed, it made sense that a phone call interrupting a personal moment would put Luca out of sorts.
‘I’m still confused, though,’ she admitted. ‘When I’m with you I feel amazing. Then when you were gone and I didn’t hear from you, I wondered what was happening. I still don’t know why you’re interested in me. What it is that you want.’
Luca looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Is that all?’
‘No,’ Colette admitted, deciding to be honest. ‘I want to know what we are. What is this thing between us?’ she questioned. ‘Is it just a summer fling, or something more?’
‘Summer flings can be wonderful,’ he mused. He grinned from ear-to-ear until he saw the expression on Colette’s face.
‘Is that what I am to you?’
His expression immediately became apologetic. ‘I was just making a joke. You want to know what you are to me. You want to know if there is more than just the time you have left here in Italy.’
‘I want the truth, yes.’
‘Well, I cannot tell you for certain.’ Her face fell at his words. He shrugged. ‘I do not know what tomorrow will bring,’ he continued. ‘I cannot say what will be with any certainty, but I can say what I hope will be.’
‘What does that mean?’ she asked, her voice testy. He was maddeningly obtuse.
He smiled. ‘Not right now, OK? There is much going on in my life right now. Today is just a day to enjoy the su
n and each other.’ He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear. ‘I will not play with your emotions. I would not be so cruel. I promise I will answer you, just not now. Now, I just want to be here – with you in my arms.’
‘That’s not fair. Why should I wait around for you to make a decision, to tell me what’s really going on?’
‘I do not intend to tell you, my Colette. I plan to show you. Before you leave here, I will make all the arrangements and soon, you will know. I hope to know also.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean – you are having summer fun right now. When you leave next week, it is over. Italy is gone. But I will still be here. You think you are the only one who wants to know what tomorrow brings for us? I do also. But first, I want you to know your heart. Then, I will show you what is in mine.’
‘I think I already know what’s in mine,’ she admitted softly.
‘Then we have no problem,’ he replied with a smile, kissing her on the nose.
Colette rested her head on his shoulder.
She just hoped that what they both wanted was the same thing.
Chapter 39
Then
Kim was about to climb a mountain, literally and figuratively.
As she and Colette began their trek along the grey volcanic gravel trail upwards to the crater of Mount Vesuvius, her thoughts were going a mile a minute.
Since she’d met Emilia and Antonio that day in Amalfi, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the French woman’s suggestion and the notion that with The Sweet Life, she just might have something good on her hands, something tangible.
Something she could use as a first step to the rest of her life.
Weeks ago, back in New York in Natasha’s bedroom, while she and her friend planned this getaway to Italy, the thought of a different life had really only been a fantasy. But now, purely by chance, a source of change had fallen into her lap.
One that someone actually believed she could accomplish and succeed with.