A Map for Bella Books 1-4

by Paula Kay

  Blu didn’t answer Isabella right away. The truth was that Arianna had talked to her just a bit about Lucas, but she wasn’t sure if she should relay the extent of the conversation to Isabella. She wasn’t even sure if she remembered it exactly right.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I wish you would. I can pretty much handle anything now.”

  “True,” Jemma said from the backseat.

  “But, I mean Lucas already told me that he didn’t think that Arianna had loved him as much as he loved her, so it’s not like I’m disillusioned about what their relationship was or anything,” said Isabella.

  Blu smiled at Isabella. She didn’t need to keep anything from her. She’d already decided months ago that Arianna’s daughter deserved to know anything and everything that Blu and any of the others could tell her about her birth mother. “Oh, it’s nothing really bad, honey. I’d asked a few questions about him at different times when Ari had opened up to me about you and that time in her life—which wasn’t often, by the way. She’d really only said that Lucas was a bit much—that maybe he wanted more of a commitment from her than what she was willing to give him—at least at that time anyway. I think she felt a little stifled by your father—by Lucas. But she didn’t say he wasn’t a good guy or anything like that. I think she did have a lot of respect for him.

  “Thanks.” Isabella smiled over at her. “I kinda didn’t really expect anything other than that. He is a good guy. I think you’ll both like him and his wife very much.”

  “And your parents sure are being cool about it, aren’t they?” Jemma asked.

  “Yeah, they really are. They continue to amaze me by how well they’ve handled everything. It’s been so great to see them and I wasn’t sure how much I was going to talk to them about Lucas, but they knew I’d been to see him and how it all went. Well, it just came up naturally in the conversation and they said they’d love to meet them too.”

  “That’s really great, Bella. It’s a wonderful thing to all be together for the holidays. This is going to be a special Christmas for all of us. I know your grandparents sure are happy to have you all here, and I couldn’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve been missing that one.” Blu laughed and gestured toward Jemma in the backseat.

  Jemma laughed. “Mom, I saw you a few weeks ago in London.”

  “Oh, I know. But it’s not the same when we’re traveling—staying in hotels.”

  “Well, we’re pretty much all traveling now—to get to the villa, I mean,” said Jemma.

  “But it feels like home, doesn’t it?” Blu said.

  Isabella was grinning. “I sure think it does. After those suites that Lia and Antonio had built just for us?” She looked toward Jemma in the backseat, laughing. “Lia even let us pick out the colors for the rooms.”

  Blu laughed too. “I think maybe your grandmother is secretly trying to build a commune on the top of that lovely hill where they live.”

  Jemma giggled. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”

  Blu debated for a moment whether it was a good time to bring up to Jemma what had been on her mind all morning. She looked at her daughter in the rearview mirror, long blond hair blowing, a big smile on her face and a lovely sweetness about her that Blu had almost lost a few years back.

  Her heart ached sometimes for the love she had for Jemma and Kylie. They’d been through some rough patches for sure, but with Chase by her side, she’d never lost sight of what had been the most important thing—family. It was something she desperately wanted for Jemma one day, and it was nice to see that her daughter had softened a bit—no, she’d softened up a lot in the last year or so. It was something Blu was keenly aware of, and it made her proud to think of how far Jemma had come.

  “Hello? Earth to Mom.” Jemma was laughing and tugging on a strand of Blu’s hair.

  “Oh, sorry, what were you saying?”

  “I was just asking you about your meeting today? What it’s for?”

  “Well, funny you should ask. In fact, it’s something that I wanted to talk to you about.”

  She noticed the look that passed between the two girls. “It’s not bad, and it’s just something we’re thinking about—Chase and I.”

  “Okay. Go on. It sounds important.”

  “So this is very early stages, but we’re considering a move to Florence.”

  “Really? Where did that come from? Wait, are you going to sell the beach house?”

  “No, honey. We won’t ever sell the house. Too many memories there, right?” She glanced again in the rearview mirror and then back at Jemma with a smile.

  “Well, it’s your house of course, but I love that house. Bella, you really need to go there some time, doesn’t she, Mom?”

  “Yes, Chase and I were actually just talking about how we need to do a holiday at our place before we move. It would be fun to have everyone to the beach.”

  “Okay, so what’s this Florence move all about? Sounds rather exciting,” said Jemma.

  “It is. Chase has been offered a head chef position there at one of the best restaurants in the city. And me?—well, you know how much I love the fashion scene of Italy, and I’ve been doing so many European shows lately. It’s still early stages, but one of my friends is introducing me to a real estate agent today. Chase will spend a few days at the restaurant before we fly home. And we’ll see how it all goes.”

  “Wow. That sounds exciting, if you ask me,” said Isabella.

  Blu could see Jemma nodding in the rearview mirror. “I agree. As long as we’re—as long as you’re keeping the beach house—I’m on board.”

  Blu laughed at her daughter’s words. “Well, I’m glad I have your permission then.”

  “Oh, Mom. That’s not what I meant. You know I want you, Chase, and Kylie to be happy, and I do love Italy as much as we all seem to.”

  “I know, sweetie. I’m just teasing you. And you’ll always have a room to come home to whether we’re at the beach or somewhere else.” Blu glanced over at Isabella. “As will you, my dear.”

  Blu certainly had come a long way over the years when it came to opening herself up to family and love—Arianna had taught her a lot about that—unfortunately, mostly after she was gone. And then Chase came along and broke right through any of the tough walls she’d still had up. There wasn’t anything that was more important to Blu than her family.

  She looked over at Isabella’s striking profile in the front seat next to her and smiled. Arianna would always be a part of their lives, just as Isabella was now too.

  Chapter 4

  Jemma’s favorite place to paint was outside on the terrace at Lia’s and Antonio’s villa. She loved how the early morning sun lit up the vineyard below, which went on for as far as she could see. Being here reminded her of how far she’d come in only a few short months.

  It was hard to believe that not even a year ago she could have lost her life because of some stupid decisions with a guy who’d been so wrong for her. She felt like a completely different person now—someone with a love for life, her painting, her family, and her friends. The past months traveling with Isabella had been the perfect thing for her and it was getting to be time to decide what would be next.

  She’d been talking to Gigi and Douglas about going to the orphanage again. She wanted to do some painting there—to paint some portraits of the children and capture everything she loved about Casa de los Niños. And she was also curious about Rafael. They’d been communicating sporadically the past few months; she’d always consider him one of her good friends, but lately their friendship seemed to be hinting at something deeper. She wondered if she was ready to take a chance—to explore where her heart seemed to be tugging her.

  She’d only shared her feelings with Isabella, thinking maybe it would be the right time for her also to visit the orphanage. But Jemma didn’t think Isabella was doing as well as she let on. The kiss that had happened between her and Thomas had really thrown her before they
’d left London. She said that she was doing fine, but Jemma knew better.

  “Hey, early bird.”

  Jemma looked up to see Isabella making her way across the terrace, a mug of what was sure to be lovely Italian coffee in each hand.

  “Morning. I’ll come join you at the table.”

  Isabella finished her painting with a final stroke of the most perfect color orange and headed over to join Isabella at the table.

  “It’s so gorgeous here, isn’t it?” Isabella said.

  “I think it must be the most beautiful place on earth. And can you believe what your grandparents have done since we’ve been here last?”

  “I know. The place looks great, and I must say that we did an excellent job decorating our suites from afar.” Isabella giggled. “Are we even crazy for thinking about leaving, Jem? Maybe we should just stay here for a few months.”

  “I know what you mean. I was just thinking about that, actually.”

  “About staying?” Isabella took a sip of her coffee and sat back in her chair.

  “No, not exactly. Just thinking about our next adventure. Well, honestly I was thinking more about going to Guatemala. I guess I’ll talk to Gigi and Douglas more about it this week. I think he’s arriving any minute, yes?”

  Douglas had gotten into Florence the night before. Gigi had told them that he was going to spend the night, and knowing him and his jet lag, he’d be up at the crack of dawn to drive to the villa.

  “Mm-hm.”

  “What?” Jemma thought she noticed a look about Isabella.

  “Huh?”

  “You look funny.” Jemma laughed.

  “Gee, thanks. Nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

  “And?”

  “Oh, just how great Christmas is gonna be this year—how nice it will be when everyone’s here.”

  “Oh, I know. You have no idea how fun it is to hang out with Kylie here. She can’t get enough of playing with Gabriella, and soon your sister will be here too. It’s really pretty incredible how that all worked out.”

  “I know. I’m still pinching myself about Lucas coming. It is very surreal.”

  “Do you really think your parents are okay with everything? I mean, are you nervous about them meeting?”

  “No, not really. I guess it might be a tiny bit awkward at first, but they’ve handled everything so well. I don’t think this will be different. My mom’s already gone a little bit crazy buying Christmas presents for the kids, Annie included in that.” Isabella laughed.

  “And they arrive the day after tomorrow?”

  “Yep. Monday. And they’ll stay the rest of the week.”

  This time Jemma knew there was something that Isabella wasn’t saying. “Hey, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I dunno. You just seem a little down, I guess. I know I promised I wasn’t going to talk about Thomas, but don’t think I’ve not noticed that you haven’t been taking his calls.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Isabella didn’t look shocked exactly but Jemma guessed that she still didn’t want to talk about Thomas.

  “He texted me.”

  “Did he? And?”

  “And he wanted to know how you were doing.”

  “So, what did you tell him?”

  “I told him that you were fine. Busy. And that he should call you.”

  “And that’s when he told you that I wasn’t taking his calls?”

  Isabella looked like she was trying to keep from crying, and Jemma didn’t want to make her feel bad. She hated how upset the whole thing had made her friend feel. It really was a bit of a mess. She felt confident that the two of them would recover from it all, but not if Isabella wasn’t speaking to him.

  “Yeah, well, all I’m saying is that maybe you should talk to him. I guess I don’t really understand why you’re not. It seems like you left on good terms and all.”

  “I know. You’re right. Honestly, I’ve just felt that I needed a little space from him—time to get my head around the whole thing, I suppose. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes. Of course it does.” Jemma noticed a car pulling up the driveway. “Hey, do you think that’s Douglas already?”

  Isabella grinned and stood up. “Oh, do you think maybe we should change out of our PJs?”

  There was that look again. “Nah, we’re fine.”

  Isabella came around and started smoothing Jemma’s hair back.

  “What are you doing?” Jemma laughed. “Trust me. Douglas does not care what we look like.”

  “Oh, I know. I’m just fixing your bed-head a little bit.” Isabella giggled.

  The two girls got up to walk over to the car just as Douglas got out.

  “Well, aren’t you two a wonderful early morning sight?” Douglas smiled widely as he put an arm around each of the girls.

  “Surprise!”

  Jemma heard the second voice from the other side of the car and rushed out of Douglas’s arms into those of her friend’s. “Rafael! What are you doing here?”

  He squeezed her tight for several seconds before creating just a bit of space between them as he looked into her eyes. “Are you surprised?”

  “I’m so surprised. Are you kidding me?” Jemma looked over at Isabella, still standing next to Douglas with a big grin on her face. “And you! You knew, didn’t you?”

  Isabella nodded and walked over toward the two. “Yep. I sure did.” She stuck out her hand toward Rafael. “Good to meet you, Rafael. I’m Isabella.”

  “The lovely Bella I’ve heard so much about.” Rafael grinned, bypassing her hand as he gave her a big hug. “I’m a hugger, Bella.”

  “Oh, we’re all huggers around here.” Douglas laughed as he saw Gigi coming from the house toward him. “Speaking of which—excuse me while I go grab that beautiful wife of mine.”

  Jemma looked at Isabella, and they both grinned at the happy reunion taking place between Gigi and Douglas.

  “Let’s give those two a moment, shall we?” Jemma said, taking Rafael by the hand. “Come on in the house. I’ll get you a coffee.” She turned back toward Isabella. “Coming, Bella?”

  “I think I’m gonna go for a little walk. I won’t be long.”

  “Are you sure? Do you want me to come with you?”

  Isabella was smiling at her, but Jemma wondered if she needed to talk.

  “No. No, you go get Rafael settled. I’ll be fine. Nice surprise, huh?”

  Jemma knew how wide her grin was, and she felt her face was flushed with all the excitement as she took a few steps to give Isabella a big hug. “Yeah, I had no idea. I can’t believe he’s actually here.”

  Isabella was smiling at her. “Go. We’ll talk later.”

  “Okay. Have a nice walk, Bella.”

  Chapter 5

  Isabella pulled her jacket a little tighter around her as she made her way down the long driveway. The air felt cool against her cheeks, but she enjoyed it. Normally, she liked to walk at this time in the early morning. It usually helped her to sort out ideas she was having about her characters and what they were doing in her story. Today, she just needed some time alone to think.

  She’d done everything she could to put what had happened between herself and Thomas out of her mind, but she was only lying to herself and apparently everyone else could see it too. She closed her eyes for a few seconds as she stopped at the bottom of the hill to stretch, breathing in the cool morning air as she did so.

  She allowed herself to remember that one incredible moment that they’d shared in London—the kiss that had made time stand still for her. The kiss that she’d first thought might change everything. Had it really happened not even a week ago? She shook her head, as if doing so could make the memory go away. It was bittersweet to remember. It hadn’t changed things—not for the better anyway.

  Thomas was still with Natasha, still choosing her, and when Isabella was being totally honest with her feelings, it left her feeling hurt and angr
y. She knew that it was risky—maybe too risky, in fact—to take a chance that there was anything more than friendship between them. She’d told Thomas that she didn’t want to risk it—what they had—but it was a lie. She’d risk it all to taste his kiss on her lips again—to not have to wonder if there was something more between them, maybe even the true love of a soulmate that Jemma had talked to her about.

  But what could she do? She hadn’t been taking Thomas’s calls because she didn’t trust herself to keep up the lie. And her greatest fear was that once words were spoken—her true feelings made known to Thomas—there’d be no going back. He’d feel awkward for not being able to give her more than friendship, and then there was Natasha, of course. No, she couldn’t ever tell him. And she couldn’t speak with him until she trusted herself to act normal with him.

  She took her phone out of her pocket to check the time. She didn’t need to go for a long walk. She needed to get back to the house, around her friends and family. If anything would help her take her mind of Thomas, it was the festivities happening around the villa these days, especially now that Rafael had arrived.

  She smiled to herself as she remembered the look she’d seen on Jemma’s face when Rafael had hugged her to him. There was most definitely something between those two other than just friendship. Isabella was sure of that after seeing them together. She was anxious to get to know him a little better; and knowing Jemma, she’d be wanting the three of them to spend some time together for the same reason.

  She took one last deep breath in as she stretched her arms high overhead and then turned to go back up the long driveway to the villa.

  Isabella laughed as she poked her head into the kitchen, where there seemed to be a lot of commotion going on. “What’s going on in here and what smells so divine?”

  Gigi came over to kiss her on the cheek and hand her a fresh scone wrapped in a napkin. “I just took these out of the oven. Go sit over there by the kids and I’ll bring you a coffee.”

  “And they’re delicious!” said Rafael right before he took a big bite.