One Summer in Italy

by Sue Moorcroft

  ‘I suppose so.’ He shifted restlessly. ‘They’re your only family and I wouldn’t want to stop you going back to Montelibertà or having other travel adventures. But don’t feel you have to rush.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she responded politely, feeling as if he was being nice because she’d helped him above and beyond the call of duty with Amy and he didn’t want to seem as if he was kicking Sofia out.

  She let the beginning of another week pass by, feeling vaguely depressed and unsettled, then on Wednesday decided to give Amy a nudge, catching her coming in from meeting Matt during his lunch hour.

  Amy was all smiles as she swept in, bringing with her the scent of the garden. ‘Hey!’ She looked a different kid from the frightened and angry waif Sofia had befriended back in May. Matt was definitely good for Amy, a nice guy with a sense of humour and a sense of decency, and Sofia had no idea why his mum had allowed the stepdad to act with such meanness towards him.

  ‘Got a second?’ Sofia asked casually. ‘Let’s go into the conservatory.’

  Once they were seated in rattan chairs, looking out into a large garden Levi seemed to treat mainly as a meadow, Sofia got straight to the point. ‘I get the impression from Levi that you’re thinking of staying here for a bit.’

  Amy coloured hotly. ‘I’m thinking about it,’ she admitted cautiously, her fingers pleating the front of her top. ‘But I’ll travel on with you if you want. I know you want to be out of the UK for at least two years.’

  On edge, Sofia wanted to close her hand over Amy’s to still her fidgeting fingers. ‘It’s OK, honestly. I understand that things have changed for you. You’ve straightened everything out with your family in Germany and you’ve found this great family in England too. I think it’s terrific, Amy, honestly. I would hate you to think even for a minute that you have to come with me.’

  Tears began to form on Amy’s eyelashes. ‘I’m sorry, Sofia. You’ve done so much for me, following me to England and everything, I feel really shitty for bailing on you. But it’s just that I like it here at the moment.’

  ‘I know.’ Sofia was so anxious to soothe Amy’s fears that she left her chair and knelt beside the younger girl so she could slide her arms around her. And at least focusing on Amy gave her a chance to ignore the slimy sick feeling inside herself as she saw her departure from this little market town drawing inexorably near. An insistent phrase began to hammer around her skull. This means it’s time to say goodbye to Levi. Time to say goodbye to Levi. To distract herself, she pulled Amy closer into her embrace and searched for words of comfort. ‘I began my travelling on my own, didn’t I? I’ll carry on that way. I’ll miss you, of course, because we’ve become real friends. That’s why I promised Levi I’d stick with you when he had to come back here.’

  Amy sniffed dolefully. ‘I don’t think I would have survived—’ She halted.

  Sofia’s stomach turned over as she realised what she’d said. Numbly, she sat back on her heels, wanting to bite back the words. But it was too late.

  Another still moment, then Amy yanked herself free, turning on Sofia a fierce and red-rimmed glare. ‘When he had to come back here? That means you knew he was my real dad!’ Amy’s face, aside from those accusing eyes, was dead white. ‘That’s why you followed me to the UK! Not because we were friends, not because you were frightened I wouldn’t be OK, it was because you knew!’ Her eyes glittered. ‘And now, lucky you, you’re sleeping with Levi and hasn’t that worked out well? For you!’

  Then she leaped to her feet, spun around and made a dash for the door. She was halfway across the hall and headed straight as an arrow for the front entrance when Sofia put a spurt on and was able to grab her arm. ‘Amy!’

  Amy had to pause or race out of the door towing Sofia behind her like a water skier. ‘Get off!’ she hissed, eyes flashing, all sign of the shy, quiet Amy lost in the raging teenager who’d taken her place.

  Sofia only tightened her grip. ‘Wait! Listen!’

  Grudgingly, Amy paused.

  Sofia released her hold. ‘I’ll go,’ she said quietly. ‘This is your home. It has to be me who goes.’

  Amy stared resolutely in the other direction.

  Heart aching, Sofia turned towards the stairs. It cost her enormous effort to lift her feet from one step to another but she managed it.

  They were, after all, the first steps on her next journey.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Packing sucked. Sofia felt as alone as she ever had. As alone as when Aldo died. More alone than when she’d packed up and sold their house. More alone than when she’d stepped onto the plane to Italy. More alone than when Levi had roared out of Montelibertà on his Ducati.

  Automatically, she tossed clothes into her suitcases and swept personal things into her backpack. She grabbed her toiletries from Levi’s bathroom and fished her shoes from the bottom of his wardrobe.

  It took a bit of doing to haul the suitcases down two flights from the top of the house to the hall, but she managed it. She leaned her backpack against them then sat on the bottom step to wait for Levi to come home from his office, which he usually did between five and six. The shit hitting Amy’s fan didn’t mean Sofia was prepared to cheapen the brief but intense affair she’d had with him by leaving without saying goodbye. That wasn’t any way to do it.

  The time crawled by. She used her phone to book a room in the Travelodge for tonight. Then she followed her heart towards where, if she couldn’t be right here, she wanted to be.

  She rang Gianni. She had to wait till he was located and her call redirected to him and he replied, ‘Pronto.’

  ‘Ciao, Gianni,’ she began. ‘It’s Sofia. Is—’ She had to draw in an unsteady breath and swallow before she went on. ‘Is the job offer still open? I’m thinking of returning to Montelibertà.’

  ‘Come,’ he said instantly. ‘We’ll talk when you get here. We’ll arrange things.’

  Another of those unsteady breaths. ‘Will Mia—’

  ‘The past is past,’ he said softly. ‘She knows that.’ They talked for several more minutes, even discussing the possibilities of formal education in hotel management as part of Sofia’s development, and she ended the call feeling reasonably sure she could make a life for herself with or near her Italian family, especially when Chiara called within a minute to celebrate the news, burbling joyfully about introducing her to all her friends.

  When she’d ended that call too, Sofia could hear Amy moving around in her room and wondered whether to go up and try to apologise again. Even more than being obliged to leave Levi now, practically this minute – she glanced at the clock and saw it was turned five already – she hated knowing Amy thought she’d been a false friend. It added several extra chunks of lead to her already weighty heart.

  Before she could fully make up her mind whether to go up, the sound of a key in the door set apprehension walking its cold fingers down her spine.

  Levi stepped into the hall and grinned at her, eyes alight, hair falling over his forehead. ‘What are you—?’ Then his gaze fell on the suitcases and he stopped short, the grin falling from his face. ‘You’re leaving.’ Disbelief laced his voice.

  Heart beating up in her throat, Sofia climbed to her feet, trying to smile. ‘I’m afraid it’s time.’

  His eyes fixed on her. ‘You must really want to get on with your next adventure.’

  She knew he was referring to their discussion when he’d told her there was no rush. Was it only last night? The hours had trickled through her hands like sand. While she’d waited on the step she’d had time to consider this farewell and, as if she could hear Aldo singing, Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye, had decided not to tell him about the harsh words Amy had flung at her. What purpose would it serve? Levi’s relationship with his daughter was too new and fragile for Sofia to want to threaten it.

  So she held onto her smile. ‘The summer’s getting away from me.’

  He nodded. He didn’t come any closer, just shoved his hands in his
pockets and frowned. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Montelibertà. I decided to give Gianni’s offer of a job a try. Hope Mia can live with it.’

  Slowly, Levi nodded. ‘I can see why you’d want to return. It’s just that I thought we’d have more time than this.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Would it be OK if I came over sometime?’

  For some reason, Sofia had talked herself out of the possibility that Levi would want to carry things on, even on an occasional basis. Did she want to see him again? Just as when he was leaving Montelibertà, she suspected the crumbs of comfort from a few flying visits might damage her more than being brave and ending it now, while things were so good. And the way Amy felt about her would make things awkward too. A lump formed in her throat.

  As she stood silently struggling, Amy’s voice came from the top of the stairs. ‘She let the cat out of the bag,’ she said flatly. ‘She admitted she knew about you being my bio-dad. I thought she was my friend but she was just keeping a promise to you to keep an eye on me. And we know what she’s like about promises.’

  Levi’s gaze sharpened as it flitted to Amy, but his voice was gentle. ‘I see. Could you come down here a minute?’

  A moment’s pause, when Sofia thought maybe Amy would refuse, then Amy ran lightly down, Sofia drawing aside to let her past.

  Levi lifted his arm invitingly and Amy stepped close so he could loop it lightly around her shoulders. ‘Tell me what happened.’

  Amy recounted the afternoon’s spat, Levi nodding as he listened. At the end of the slightly garbled story of how Amy concluded that Sofia had probably followed her to England so he could sleep with Levi again he nodded very slowly. ‘So you asked Sofia to leave?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘So I wonder why she’s going right now, today?’

  Amy frowned in thought. Then she shot Sofia a guilty look before dropping her gaze to the floor. ‘I was upset and I was going to leave but she chased after me and said she’d go instead.’

  Levi reached out a hand and tipped up Amy’s chin. ‘You’re an adult, Amy, and I don’t want to come the heavy-handed dad on you – I’m not even sure I know how – but I’m worried that constant running away is going to cause you problems sooner or later.’ He paused, his gaze never wavering from Amy as he added carefully, ‘I understood what drove you to leave home in the first place, and even what sent you chasing off to the UK, but are you beginning to use flying off in a strop as a legitimate way of punishing people? Sofia’s been good to me as well as you, and I’m afraid I put her on the spot. I told her I’m your father out of my need for a listening ear. Then I asked her not to tell you in case you did another disappearing act.’

  ‘But—’

  Levi gave Amy’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. ‘I put her in an awkward position and she did the best she could. It wasn’t Sofia’s secret, it wasn’t her problem and it wasn’t her responsibility, but she did her best to come through for us.’

  Amy stared at the floor again, a red tide creeping up her neck.

  But Levi wasn’t finished yet. ‘I’m not sure why you’re angry with her about this but not angry with me.’

  The red tide became darker.

  Levi was inexorable. ‘I notice she was going to leave without telling me about your part in what happened.’ He waited, but Amy still made no reply. Sofia began to feel sorry for her.

  ‘Will you do something for me?’ Levi continued, his face grooved and drawn. ‘Will you go up to your room to give me some privacy to say goodbye properly to Sofia?’

  At the strain in his voice Amy’s eyes flew to his in horror. ‘But you told me you didn’t want her to— Oh, no! Look what I’ve done!’ she gasped. Then she swung round and grabbed Sofia’s hands. ‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry I lost my temper. Neither of us wants you to go but Levi said we had to let you do the travelling and have the adventures you’ve always wanted. He said even if we love you, we have to. You don’t really have to go tonight, do you? I’m truly sorry I was such a bitch.’

  Sofia simply couldn’t speak. Amy’s words twirled dizzingly her mind. Neither of us wants you to go … even if we love you … Dimly, she was aware of Levi gently detaching Amy from Sofia, murmuring that she should leave him to try and sort things out now.

  Then suddenly it was just Sofia and Levi standing in the hall together with her suitcases between them and the sound of Amy’s closing bedroom door echoing down the stairs.

  She gazed at him, her eyes swimming with tears. ‘You told Amy you don’t want me to go?’ she whispered.

  Levi smiled a lopsided smile and took her hand. ‘Do you think you could come out from behind your wall of suitcases for this conversation?’

  When they were standing toe-to-toe, he laced his fingers with hers. ‘For the record, if you had only come to England in order to sleep with me, I would be sublimely happy. And, no, I don’t want you to leave, though I recognise the selfishness of that. Even had my darling newly-discovered-and-occasionally-bratty daughter not decided to have a tantrum and then in an effort to make amends start tossing around words like “love”, I had intended to have a long and serious conversation with you.’

  ‘What were you going to say?’ Sofia felt the lead weights beginning to drop from her heart one by one as what might be happening began to dawn on her.

  He dipped his head to brush her lips with his. ‘That I love you and would like a future with you. That it might be possible, in a few months, for me to travel with you, if I can coax Wes back and once I know what Amy’s doing. You could go on ahead until I could join you. That is, of course—’ he kissed her again, more deeply this time ‘—if you have feelings for me too.’

  Heart soaring, Sofia raised herself up on tiptoes and pressed her body all along his as she returned his kiss. ‘Really deep feelings, actually.’ She felt some of the tension leave him at her words. ‘And,’ she murmured against his lips, ‘it seems to me I could sort everything … by staying here with you.’

  Instantly he pulled back to look into her face. A huge smile curved his mouth. ‘What? Here in little ole Bettsbrough?’

  ‘Here.’ She kissed him. ‘There.’ She kissed him again. ‘Anywhere you are.’

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Promise #6: Be happy, Sofia.

  ‘Here? Seriously?’ Sofia, pulling off her crash helmet, shook out her hair, laughing in delight as she dismounted from her perch on the pillion of Levi’s motorbike. She gazed up at the building in front of her. ‘This is where we’re spending our honeymoon?’

  Levi pulled off his own crash helmet and gazed up at Hotel Alba in satisfaction. ‘I thought you might like it.’ He began to unfasten his jacket in deference to the July sunshine and Sofia quickly followed suit.

  The double doors to reception stood open invitingly and Gianni stood there smiling, hand in hand with Mia as if to give his wife reassurance that the arrival of Sofia would mean no lessening of Gianni’s affection, as Chiara dashed forward to fling her arms around her cousin. ‘You came!’

  Sofia laughed, though she had to wipe her eyes with the backs of her hands. ‘Did you know about this when you all came to England for the wedding? It was only two days ago and you said nothing!’

  ‘It was a big secret, all planned by your husband. For months we’ve held a reservation for Mr Levi Gunn and Mrs Sofia Gunn.’

  Then Gianni was effusively kissing each of Sofia’s cheeks, an example followed, with more reserve, by Mia. ‘Welcome,’ she said, ‘though we’re not at all convinced by what your husband has planned for this evening.’ She smiled when she said it though.

  Sofia turned to Levi. ‘You’ve planned something else?’

  Levi shrugged, grinning lazily. ‘Let’s get checked in. The evening will look after itself.’

  When evening came Sofia hadn’t been able to get him to divulge the secret but she put on a summer dress – the kind that didn’t crease easily as it had had to travel in her backpack – and let Levi lead her from Hotel Alba.
‘Come on, you’ve got to tell me now! Where is this special place where you’ve booked dinner?’

  ‘I’ll show you.’ They walked down into the town, through Piazza Santa Lucia and Piazza Roma to … Via Virgilio.

  Sofia gurgled with laughter. ‘Are we going to eat at Il Giardino?’

  His eyes shimmered with amusement. ‘I have to admit I kind of like the idea of Davide having to serve you drinks with a smile but, no, I’ve booked the terrace. I thought you might enjoy the fact that Benedetta’s rules don’t apply to you now.’

  Laughing, she reached up to press a kiss on his cheek. ‘Got to admit it will be fun to be a punter when I was never allowed there unless on duty.’ She began to tow him up the hill in her eagerness to go.

  A table had been reserved for them with snowy linen and gleaming silver. They drank Orvieto Classico and laughed when Benedetta suddenly appeared and greeted Sofia with an acerbic ‘I hope you’re here to work your notice!’ But she smiled and wished them both well, proving that she had a human side, even if she hid it well sometimes.

  ‘We are so going to have to come back with Amy,’ Sofia hissed, as Benedetta departed for the dining room, probably to give some poor server a hard time about how they held their tray. ‘She would adore having Benedetta be nice to her. And Davide!’

  Levi raised his glass to clink with hers. ‘If we could get her attention between her volunteering for worthy causes all over Bettsbrough and finding excuses not to go to university.’

  They were halfway down their second bottle of Orvieto Classico, replete from wonderful tortellini followed by rich tartufo, when Levi became suddenly serious. He took Sofia’s hand. The darkness had dropped softly around them, lights springing up all over the terrace, and Sofia felt as if they were enclosed in their own enchanted grotto.

  ‘What would your father think of me, do you think?’ His voice was gentle.

  Instantly, Sofia’s eyes brimmed, though she smiled tremulously. ‘He’d think you were perfect. He’d say, “Promise me, Sofia, you will remain as happy as this man has made you today.”’ She laughed. ‘And he’d probably demand you promise to make me happy and he’d have a lot of ideas of how you should do that because he always had plenty of opinions.’