‘Or two or three,’ Joel said, and Christian grinned at him.
‘At least,’ he agreed. ‘Filled with gravy so it’s nice and squishy.’
‘No, mate,’ Joel said looking horrified. ‘Gravy? Keep them separate so they stay crisp – that’s the way to eat one properly!’
Alessandro looked slightly bewildered as the debate between the two men got underway, and Lily giggled.
‘You’d hardly think that they’re getting passionate about what’s essentially just batter,’ she said.
Kate turned to her. It was the first time she had heard Lily laugh since she’d got back from Rome, and it was a sound that made her heart swell. If nothing else came from this dinner, that one sound would be enough on its own to make it all worth the effort.
‘Apparently, batter is a very serious subject,’ Kate replied. She glanced across at Anna, who was smiling at Lily too.
‘Personally I can take or leave Yorkshire puddings,’ Lily said. ‘But your potatoes. . . Pass the gravy, would you?’
Kate, her eyes still trained on Lily, reached across the table. At the same time Alessandro shot up and reached for it too, so that instead of the thing she was trying to retrieve, Kate found her arm connecting with his, and the gravy boat he’d just grabbed in a bid to be helpful flew into the air and exploded all over the table and them both. The room was silent as everyone stared at the carnage.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’ Kate cried. ‘Are you OK? You’re not burnt, are you?’
Alessandro shook his head. ‘I am sorry. It was my fault; I was trying to reach it for you. I have ruined your food.’
Lily stood up. She reached for the bowl of roast potatoes, now drenched in gravy, and spooned a few more onto her plate. ‘Saves me a job,’ she said.
Everyone else looked at one another.
‘Although,’ Lily added, glancing up at Joel and Christian, ‘whether or not gravy works on Yorkshire puddings is a bit of a moot point now, isn’t it? You’re getting gravy whether you want it or not.’
Kate stared at Alessandro. His pristine white shirtsleeve was covered, and there was a good deal on his torso. There were even flecks of gravy in his hair. She supposed she hadn’t fared much better, though everyone and everything else apart from the food seemed to have escaped.
‘I’ll get you a cloth to clean up,’ she said, making to leave the table.
Alessandro licked at his hand. ‘It’s good,’ he said, the smile that Kate knew so well now playing about his lips. ‘Maybe I will eat it and there will be no need of a cloth.’ He licked some more from his sleeve.
Kate stared at him. But then she heard a guffaw from Anna, followed by a high-pitched giggle from Lily and laughter from the boys.
‘A man after my own heart,’ Joel said. ‘Why waste good food on a cleaning cloth?’
‘Exactly,’ Alessandro replied. He turned to Kate with a mischievous grin and she felt herself relax into the moment.
‘I suppose I should get myself cleaned up then.’
‘Don’t worry; I’m sure Alessandro will lick your gravy off too,’ Lily said, and the table erupted into fresh merriment. Kate couldn’t help but laugh too. Gravy explosions aside, perhaps today wasn’t going to be such a disaster after all.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
There was something poetic in the fact that it had been blazing sunshine the day Alessandro arrived, and the day she had to bid goodbye to him again it was raining. They stood at the entrance to the departure lounge at Manchester airport, Kate stalling for time. Every second she could keep him from going through was precious, even though she knew she would have to let him go, and they had timed it down to the wire. She tried to console herself with the idea that she would only be letting him go for a short while, and she would see him again as soon as she could get organised at home, which would be a lot quicker without him there to distract her. It was scant consolation, though, when already, even before he’d gone through to the part of the airport where she couldn’t follow, she felt the void he would leave in his wake open up before her. Nobody had ever made her feel this way before, and the force of the emotion almost overwhelmed her. She’d had no idea she could fall so hard and so quickly, but she had, and now she could barely imagine a life without him in it.
He glanced up at the departure board. ‘My flight,’ he said, angling his head at the monitor. ‘I am sorry.’
‘Sorry?’
‘I have to leave you now.’
Kate tried to smile, tried to hide the lump that was pushing up into her throat. ‘That you came at all is a lovely and unexpected bonus. You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s been amazing to see you and I think you might have done wonders with my family too; I think they’re secretly big Alessandro fans now, though Anna especially would never say it because she’d have to admit that she was wrong.’
‘Good. I am glad they are happy.’
‘I think so. It will make things easier when I come to Italy.’
‘I hope that is soon now.’
‘It will be. . . I’m working on it as best I can.’
He smiled down at her, brushing a stray hair from her face. ‘Ti amo troppo.’
‘Ti amo troppo,’ Kate replied.
He nodded. ‘You are learning fast.’
‘When it comes to love, yes.’
He bent to kiss her. ‘I will be half a man until I see you again.’
Her reply was strangled by the tears that now took her breath.
‘Don’t cry,’ he said. ‘It will be soon.’
She nodded. ‘Soon,’ she whispered.
He gave her one last kiss, and then he was gone.
The house had never felt so vast and empty and it had never felt less like home. The old rooms she had once loved now felt like prison cells, barriers to her new life and to her reunion with Alessandro. The change in weather hadn’t helped, the grey drizzle pressing in at every window, reflecting her mood. She had tried to shake her melancholy in the best way she knew how, by cutting the pieces to start a new dress. Sewing, creating anything, always made her feel peaceful and calm, but today she struggled to keep her mind on any of it. She had a pretty fabric with pastel seaside scenes printed on it, something she had picked up in the closing down sale of a haberdasher’s a few months before, and she fetched it from the box that she’d packed it away in to go to the charity shop, when she’d thought she might not have time to make something from it after all.
The first piece she made too small, and then when she cut it again she nicked into the seam allowance. By the time she had decent pieces cut, she’d had enough and no patience to begin sewing and it was lucky there was any fabric left to sew at all. There was certainly no room for error now, and with her brain seemingly elsewhere there was plenty of opportunity for mistakes. With a sigh, she packed everything away and went to get her umbrella.
‘Kate. . .?’ Lily opened the door wider as she saw who was on her step. Kate noted with approval that she was dressed and looked tidy, despite her being at home and Joel being back at work now. Less than a week ago she would have stayed in her pyjamas all day and would probably have gone back to bed in the same ones too.
‘Have you got time for a miserable cow?’
Lily smiled. ‘Always. I haven’t got much in the way of snacks, though, so I hope you’re not hungry.’
‘Oh. . . well, if you need shopping I can go for you—’
Lily shook her head. ‘I need an excuse to go out myself. Joel is doing his best but he comes home with all sorts of things that don’t go together, so I have to do it sooner or later and if you and Anna and Joel keep shopping for me I’ll never go again. Thanks, but when every last crumb is gone I’ll psych myself up for the supermarket.’
‘We could go together?’ Kate said.
‘I don’t think so.’
Kate took her gently by the arm and began to walk her down the hall. ‘You’re already dressed, I have my coat on and if I leave you to think about it you won’t go. Get you
r shoes on and we’ll go together right now, so neither of us will be backing out. I’m feeling miserable as sin and half an hour fondling marrows in the fresh produce section will cheer me up no end.’
Lily looked set to argue, but then she gave a sigh. ‘I suppose I have to go sooner or later.’
‘Exactly. And you should make the most of me while I’m still here.’
‘How about some lovely nuts?’ Kate asked, holding up a bag of cashews as Lily leaned on the trolley and stared into space. She could have been mesmerised by the tinny music piped in over the sound system, but it was obvious to Kate that her mind was far away from the supermarket.
‘Huh?’
‘Nuts!’ Kate repeated, shaking the bag at her.
‘No. . . I don’t think so.’
Kate put the bag back onto the display. ‘It was actually only a joke,’ she said. ‘But I can see that my jokes are wasted on you today.’ She was beginning to wonder if she’d badly misjudged this shopping trip – perhaps Lily hadn’t been ready after all. The shop was hardly busy, but everywhere there were mothers with children. There was one now, just along the display, playing peek-a-boo with a baby in a car seat strapped to the trolley while her companion – perhaps Grandma – was choosing some oranges. Not exactly what Lily needed to see. ‘Do you want to go home?’
‘No. . . of course not. Sorry. . . I must be really boring company right now.’
‘No more than me going on about how much I miss Alessandro. But if you’re not up to this yet I can take you home and come and finish up for you.’
Lily threw her a melancholy smile. ‘And then what? That’s OK today, but you won’t always be here and then what will I do?’
‘I don’t have to leave yet. . . I can wait until—’
‘No you can’t and I wouldn’t want you to. I have to help myself before anyone else can help me; I know that. I have to go back to work soon and be part of life again, and I have to face all the constant reminders of what I’ve lost. The world is full of children and mothers and I can’t hide away from that fact forever.’
‘I know, but nobody says you have to rush it.’
‘I say I have to rush it. I’m a burden to everyone like this.’
Kate rubbed her arm. ‘No you’re not, and you would be there for anyone else if the tables were turned. We all want to help you get through this.’
Lily took a deep breath and forced a smile. ‘And keep that Italian stud-muffin waiting for you in Rome? Not on my watch!’
‘I think we’re at a point now where we’re more certain of each other. He knows that even if it takes a little longer, I will go back now for sure.’
‘He might, but that doesn’t mean you should have to wait if there’s no reason.’
‘You’re a reason. You’re my sister, the most important reason. . .’
‘And I have a good support network even with you gone so you needn’t worry.’
‘You and Joel. . .’ Kate didn’t dare ask, but it was something Lily hadn’t mentioned and Kate needed to know. If they were almost back to their old selves, or at least communicating again, Kate was certain that they would pull through together, and that would reassure her more than anything else. If she thought they would be OK, she could leave for Rome happy and guilt free.
‘It’s tough, but I think we’ll get there.’
‘But he’s not supporting you—’
‘I don’t need his support. Or at least, if I do, he needs mine too and he’s hardly had that over the past couple of weeks.’
‘But Anna and I want to support you both.’
‘And you do. Even from Rome you could do that. We have these things called telephones now, you know, and they’re ever so clever. Besides, Rome is only a couple of hours away and what’s to stop me flying over to see you?’
Kate gave a small smile. ‘True.’
‘So I’ll have lots of excuses to go there and I’ve always wanted to.’
‘You’d better – as soon as I’m settled.’
‘I might get some apples,’ Lily said. ‘I haven’t had any in ages. Joel doesn’t consider fruit to be proper food.’
‘You’re OK with me going though?’ Kate asked as they began to wheel the trolley towards the fruit displays.
‘Of course.’
‘And you really do like Alessandro?’
‘He’s wonderful. I think he’s the most perfect man. A bit too perfect, actually. I’m thinking there must be some dark secret he’s hiding.’
‘Really?’
‘No, silly! You’ll be happy. I’m sad that you couldn’t live in England with him but I think he’s the man for you. And I can tell by the way he looks at you that he adores you.’
‘But you know it’s my decision to move to Rome? Alessandro. . . well, he might have come to England if I’d asked him, but I’m not going to.’
‘I know. It’s a new start for you, and it’s a good one. Anna thinks so too.’
‘She does?’ Kate asked with a bewildered smile.
‘Yes, but you know that she’d never say it to you because that would mean she’d have to admit to being wrong about him before she’d met him.’
‘We can’t expect miracles I suppose,’ Kate said, turning her attention to a bag of Granny Smiths.
‘Not huge ones. But sometimes tiny ones do happen and if you don’t go to Rome and get yours I will be very cross about it.’
Kate switched off the laptop and squeezed her eyes shut, massaging her temples. No matter how many times she did the sums, setting up in Rome was going to be tougher than she had imagined. The deposit on the apartment she’d chosen was huge for a start, as was the cost of moving even the tiny amount of belongings she had decided to take with her, which, even though expensive, was still cheaper than buying it all again once she got to Italy. Then there was the flight, the money she’d need to live on until she was earning there, the costs of various government permits, selling and legal fees on her house – and she still had to split the profits from that with Matt too. . . The list seemed endless and terrifying now that she saw the whole of it as more than just a distant dream. The date to move had been fixed and plans were in place, but Kate wasn’t entirely sure that her odds of success were any good at all. She’d spoken to Alessandro and Lucetta about it all, and they had both assured her that help was at hand whenever she needed it, but she wasn’t about to arrive in a foreign country to set up a new life and immediately rely on handouts. This was her venture, and she would succeed or fail by herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the front door. Kate frowned as she looked up at the clock. It had just gone 10 p.m., a bit late for an unannounced visit. She was just wondering whether to ignore it, thinking it could be trouble, when her phone bleeped a text.
I’m outside your house.
It was Anna. Why the late hour and why the surprise visit? Kate pulled her dressing gown tighter and rushed to the front door, pulling the safety chain off and opening up to reveal her sister on the step.
‘Is everything OK?’
‘Yes. I know it’s late, sorry, and I know you weren’t expecting me, but I’ve been asked to go to London for a few days for work and I wanted to catch you before I went.’
‘Not that I’m not happy to see you but couldn’t it have waited until you got back? I’m not going anywhere for a couple of weeks.’
‘I know. But I needed to do this while it was in my mind.’
Kate stepped aside to allow her in and then bolted the front door again.
‘I won’t stay long,’ Anna added.
Kate smiled. ‘I don’t mind how long you stay. But I expect you’ve got an early start tomorrow if you’re off to London.’
‘A bit, yes. I won’t beat about the bush. . . it’s about our inheritance.’
Kate blinked. ‘Dad’s money? What’s made you think about that after all these years?’
‘I was just thinking. And Lily had said you were worrying about money. I know that you p
loughed yours into this house when you were buying it with Matt and I suppose he’s in no position to ever reimburse you now, so you’ve lost that money forever.’
‘Legally I have no way of getting it back anyway, even if I was going to try – which I wouldn’t. It’s not fair to ask Matt for that amount of money after all this time, especially when he has a baby on the way.’
‘I know you would never ask for it back. It’s one of your more admirable and yet frustrating traits.’ Anna followed as Kate made her way back to the living room.
‘So is there a problem with yours?’ Kate asked. ‘I thought you’d invested it in some super-duper savings account. It must be something big if it’s brought you round at this hour, but if it’s financial advice you’re hoping for you’ve definitely come to the wrong place. What does Christian have to say about it? Have you talked it over with him?’
‘Sort of. But he agrees that it’s money I was given before I met him and so not really his business.’
Kate raised her eyebrows as she gestured for Anna to sit in the space on the sofa she’d just made by moving the laptop. ‘Not his business? He doesn’t care if there’s a problem?’
‘None of his business what I choose to do with it. There’s no problem. . . Kate. . . I want you to have it.’
Kate stared at her. ‘What?’
‘You need some start-up money and I have some doing nothing.’
‘But—’
‘I know you’re going to argue, but I also know that Dad always looked out for everyone as best he could. He bypassed Mum and left some of his estate directly with us because he knew that one day we’d need help and Mum wouldn’t be able to give it. We all love her to bits but we also know that she’s a complete flake when it comes to coping with real life. You need help now and Mum isn’t able to give it, just as he’d predicted, and I think he would be happy to know that Lily or I could step in.’
‘It’s your money; you need it!’
‘Not right now I don’t. Maybe one day but we’re OK, me and Christian. We both have good jobs and we have a bit saved between us. Think of it as a loan if the idea really bothers you, but you know it makes sense to take it.’
Rome is Where the Heart is: An uplifting romantic read, perfect to escape with (From Italy with Love Book 1) Page 28