A Map for Bella Books 1-4

by Paula Kay

  Chase walked over to give Gigi a quick kiss on the cheek. “Oh, you hush now. You’re the best student ever, Gigi—”

  “—And you’ve come a long way, my darling,” Lia finished.

  “I suppose. I’ve had good teachers.” She winked at Kate. “And also Douglas threatened divorce if I didn’t learn how to cook him something besides scones and tea.”

  Everyone laughed. “Oh, stop. Douglas would think your bologna sandwiches were gourmet if you put a nice piece of cheese on them,” said Blu.

  “Meaning he’s not so picky?” Gigi laughed. “Yeah, he’s a keeper alright. And he certainly knew I couldn’t cook when he married me.”

  Now it was Lia’s turn to lean over and kiss Gigi on the cheek. “Yeah, but you can cook now. And that’s a fact. Don’t try to deny it. I’ll let you cook at the restaurant when you move here. That’s how much I believe in your abilities.” She winked at her friend.

  “Oh? Are you and Douglas moving?” Emily asked.

  Lia cringed. “Sorry, Gigi. I guess that’s really still very early stages. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Emily.

  “No. No, don’t be silly.” Gigi walked across the room to join the women at the table. “It’s still very early stages, yes. We don’t have a date yet. It’s just something we’ve been thinking about as a possible next step for us.”

  Gigi thought that Emily still looked embarrassed for asking the question and she reached out to put her hand on Emily’s. “Believe me, you all will be the first people who will know about and be invited for the big move-in party. And it will be a celebration. The more Douglas and I visit, the more we fall in love with Italy and specifically Castellina. And with Lia and Antonio here, it’s really starting to feel like our lives could be here too.”

  “Well, I for one can certainly see why,” said Kate. “After our tour today, Lucas and I think it’s about the most charming place we’ve ever seen. It wouldn’t take much to convince us.” She laughed.

  “Oh, be careful what you say around Lia,” said Blu, and she and Gigi both laughed.

  “Half of the buildings on this gorgeous property weren’t even here last year at this time,” said Gigi just as Lia came over to refill all of the women’s wineglasses.

  “Oh, stop. I am not going to apologize for wanting to be able to have my loved ones around me, and that”—Lia bent down to hug Kate—“includes you, Lucas, and that darling little Annie. You are always welcome. And I mean that.”

  “Thank you. You’re so kind—you all are. I couldn’t be more pleased about having Isabella in our lives—about you all. It really has been a huge welcome surprise all around.”

  Gigi raised her glass of wine. “To new friendships.”

  “—And may life continue to surprise us,” Lia added as the women clinked their glasses together.

  Chapter 10

  Lia came over behind Antonio, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book to four-year-old Annie. She put her arms around him from behind and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

  “Hi, honey. What’s that for?” Antonio turned his head slightly so that Lia could make out the smile that she loved so much.

  She leaned down again and whispered in his ear. “I’m just so happy to have everyone here. Can you believe it? Our living room is literally filled with everyone we love right now.”

  Blu and Chase were sitting close by on the floor with the older girls playing a board game. Emily, Richard, Lucas, and Kate seemed fully engaged in conversation across the room on the other sofa and Isabella, Jemma, and Rafael were laughing at the nearby table.

  Antonio grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “Yes, I love it too. And I really love seeing you so happy.”

  “I think it’s the perfect time to decorate the tree. Are you almost finished with your story?”

  Annie looked up at her. “Two more pages left.”

  Lia laughed. “So, you’ve read this one before, then?”

  “This is the third time tonight,” said Antonio, a big smile on his face.

  Lia winked, kissing him on the cheek again before she was off to the closet to pull out the ornaments for the tree. She and Gigi had decorated the house for Christmas long before everyone had started to arrive, but she’d left the tree to do all together, wanting to create a new tradition.

  “Everyone, it’s time to put the finishing touches on this magnificent tree that Antonio picked out for us.”

  Annie came running over to her. “Oh, do I get to help decorate your tree, Lia?”

  “You do, sweetie. And this tree belongs to everyone—to our whole family.”

  Annie looked up at her with the sweetest expression on her face. “I love our family.”

  Lia felt tears sting her eyes. “Me too, honey.” She looked in the box of ornaments until she found the one she was looking for. “Here’s yours, Annie. Why don’t you go first? Pick a spot and then we’ll give these to your mom and dad.”

  Lia had found the most gorgeous handmade ornaments that a woman in town sold in a little shop; she’d had each person’s name stitched on the ornament in beautiful crystals. She couldn’t wait to see what the tree looked like all done up with them and with the twinkling white lights that matched what Antonio had put up outside throughout the vineyard.

  Annie, Lucas, and Kate put their ornaments on the tree and Annie helped Lia to pass out the remaining ornaments. She’d picked up one for everyone, including Rafael.

  She discreetly tucked Thomas’s away in the box. She had a feeling that maybe he’d be there next year for his.

  “Antonio, would you do the honors, please? And I think we’re going to need the ladder for this one.” She handed Antonio the angel for the top of the tree. “Isabella, I have one more for you.”

  Lia pulled out the last ornament as everyone stood around the tree, the girls oddly quiet as Lia took the final one out of the box and handed it to Isabella. It was the ornament with Arianna’s name on it. Lia went to stand next to Antonio, putting her arms around him as they watched their granddaughter take a few steps up the ladder that Antonio had left out.

  “I think Arianna’s should go near the top—near the angel,” said Isabella.

  When she was finished, she came over to give both Lia and Antonio big hugs. “It’s as if she’s looking down on us—at this family she helped put together—isn’t it?”

  Lia didn’t miss the tears in Isabella’s eyes as she spoke. It was a touching moment and the room was silent. Even the children were quiet as Antonio strung the lights and the whole room was lit up by the tree.

  Lia brought Isabella in for another tight hug. “I think Arianna is always looking down on us—proud to see us all here, spending time with one another, loving one another. She would have loved that so much, Bella.”

  Isabella smiled at her. “I love you so much. I’m so grateful for how easily you all have taken me and my family in—it’s really all been a dream for me—better than I ever could have imagined.”

  “Sweetie, your grandfather and I feel the same way. You are our dream. You do know that, sweet girl, don’t you?”

  Isabella grinned and nodded. “I have a lot to be grateful for. Sometimes I forget that and let little things drag me down.”

  Lia could only guess that her granddaughter was referring to the issues she’d been having with Thomas. “Thomas, you mean?”

  Isabella nodded and then grinned as she pulled her ringing phone out of her pocket. “Wow—speak of the devil.”

  Isabella held the phone up so that Lia could see Thomas’s name on the screen. “I think I should take this.”

  “I think you should too.” Lia smiled as Isabella walked away, and then she stood back arm-in-arm with her husband, surveying the room, now buzzing with chatter and the laughter of the children.

  “Honey, I think this is going to be one of our best Christmases yet.”

  Antonio leaned down to kiss Lia on the lips. “I think
you’re right about that, my darling.”

  Chapter 11

  Isabella listened as Thomas filled her ear, first with apologies and then question after question, wanting to know everything that was going on. She felt herself grinning at the sound of his voice despite how nervous she felt about talking to him. She couldn’t not talk to Thomas. It wasn’t possible to cut him from her life. She knew it listening to him now, missing him and wishing she could watch the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed and the smirk he got on his mouth when he teased her.

  “Thomas.”

  “Yes?”

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay, go on. Man, Iz. I’m just glad you’re speaking to me. Please don’t ever ignore me like that again. It was driving me mad.”

  “Was it?” Isabella’s voice sounded quiet even to her own ears. Thomas always said the right things to make her feel better, and she was counting on him to do so now.

  “Yes, goofball. You had to know that your not speaking to me was going to make me just a little crazy.” He laughed but Isabella had the feeling that neither of them thought the conversation was very funny.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I just needed a little time. That’s what I wanted to tell you. That I’m sorry.” She felt like she was stumbling over her words a bit and willed herself to be normal.

  “Okay. And now? Are you angry with me, Iz? I know I screwed up. But I—I can’t handle it when you don’t speak to me.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I really am. It was immature of me.”

  “Well, unless you’re saying you were doing it to hurt me—which I’m really not sure if that is what you’re saying—then it sounds like you were trying to do the best thing for yourself. You know, I’ll always get behind that, Iz.”

  Isabella swallowed the huge lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Thomas had always supported her. For as long as she could remember, he’d stuck up for her and wanted the best for her. She’d never doubted that. She’d never doubted him or their friendship. Until the kiss. She couldn’t stop the thought. It was there. It was probably always going to be there and she’d just have to learn to ignore it. She sighed.

  “Iz? What? Did I say something wrong?”

  “No. Let’s talk about what’s going on there. Have you been to a lot of holiday parties? How’s everything going with Natasha?”

  She couldn’t not ask about his girlfriend. That would mean that things weren’t, in fact, normal between them.

  Thomas was silent on the other end of the line for several seconds.

  “Everything’s okay—for the most part.”

  “Care to elaborate on that?”

  “Not really. I’d rather talk about you. When I talked to Jemma the other day, she told me that Lucas and the family were coming. How has that been? Okay with your parents there and everything?”

  “Yes, it’s all been so easy, really. It’s remarkable how much everyone fits in here—or more likely it’s just that Lia, Antonio—and everyone, really—are so very welcoming.”

  “It certainly sounds like it.”

  The phone went silent for a few seconds.

  “Thomas? Still there?”

  “Yep. I’m sorry everything go so messed up, Iz. I never meant to hurt you.”

  Isabella took a deep breath before she spoke. “I know. I know you didn’t. I’ll be okay. I just needed a little time. I need to figure out what I’m going to do after Christmas.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Jemma and I need to sit down and talk about it, but Rafael’s here now so I’m not sure if that is changing things for her or what. I’m kind of assuming that it is, the way those two seem to be hitting it off.” Isabella laughed.

  She was incredibly happy for her friend and had to admit that it was hard to imagine her and Rafael not ending up together. He seemed pretty clear with his intentions, and from the few little conversations she’d had with Jemma since his arrival, she seemed to be doing a good job opening up to the possibility of real love with him.

  “Who’s Rafael?”

  “Oh, sorry. It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in another time.”

  “Okay. Well, I suppose I should get going.”

  “Natasha is waiting for you?”

  The phone went quiet again. Isabella got the distinct impression that there was a lot that Thomas was not talking about.

  “No. No, she’s gone to her parents’ place in the country.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, we had a bit of a falling out, I’m afraid.”

  “Well, are you going to fix it in the next few days? Before Christmas?”

  No matter how annoyed Isabella felt toward Natasha, the idea of Thomas alone in London for Christmas was not going to make her feel any better.

  “I don’t know, Iz. We’ll see what happens, I guess. We’re talking today, anyway. But don’t worry about me. You go be with your family. Give everyone my best. I’ll phone you again on Christmas, okay?”

  Isabella felt herself smiling. It felt good to be talking to Thomas again. It felt normal, and she realized that amid all the changes in her life, she was liking normal these days. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks for calling, Thomas.”

  “Izzy?”

  Isabella looked up at the sound of her mother’s voice to see her peeking in from the doorway.

  “Oh, hey, come on in.”

  “Lia told me that you were in here on the phone with Thomas.”

  “Yeah, I just hung up with him.”

  “How’d it go? Do you want to talk about it?”

  Isabella looked over at her mom and then wrapped her arms around her neck. “I’m so glad you’re here, Mom.”

  Emily laughed. “Where else would we be, silly girl? I’ve missed you a lot, and it would be hard for your father and me to imagine not spending Christmas with you.” Emily took Isabella by the hand and led her over to the small sofa in the corner of the room. “Now tell me about Thomas. Is everything okay now? I must admit to feeling a little anxious about the two of you.”

  “Really? How so?” Isabella was genuinely curious about what her mother was referring to.

  “Oh, I know that friendships change—that they come and go—but I’ve always imagined that the two of you were sort of in it for the long haul, you know?”

  Isabella smiled, remembering the conversation that she’d finally just had with her best friend. “Well, I think we are too. And the conversation actually went pretty well. At least we’re talking again now.”

  “That’s good, honey. You look like you’re feeling better about things.”

  “I am. And tell me about you and Dad. What do you think about Lucas and Kate? Mom, everything seems great, but I really hope it hasn’t been too awkward for you and Dad. You’d tell me if it was, wouldn’t you?”

  Emily seemed to be studying her. Isabella knew that she was probably carefully weighing her words, but at least nowadays Isabella felt confident that she and her mother were doing a great job communicating, something that wasn’t always the case between them.

  “I’m not going to say that we weren’t nervous to meet Lucas—to see the two of you together. I’m sure that has to be a bit strange for your father. But honey, it’s so worth it to see you happy and I can tell that meeting him—meeting all these new people in your life—has been life-changing for you. And your father and I could not ask for more than that for you.”

  Isabella hugged her mom as she felt overcome with emotion. “Thanks, Mom. It means so much to me—your support. And I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you want to be a part of everything—of everyone here. And it means a lot to them too. Lia, Gigi, and Blu just think the world of you.”

  Emily looked her in the eyes. “Well, it certainly helps that everyone is so welcoming and lovely, and that includes Lucas and Kate. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know them, and your father and I think they are a very sweet family, including that little sister of yours.”
Emily laughed.

  Isabella couldn’t talk about Annie without grinning. “Annie’s great, isn’t she? I knew she wasn’t shy, but it’s wonderful to see how easily she fits in with the girls here. And they took her right in under their wing.”

  Emily laughed. “Yes, she told me yesterday that Gabriella invited her to live here with them.”

  Isabella laughed too, and they both turned toward the door when they heard Jemma’s voice as she entered the room.

  “Bella? Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you two.”

  Emily stood up from the sofa. “No, come in. I need to go see if there’s something I can help Lia with in the kitchen.”

  Emily gave Isabella a kiss and a hug, and Jemma came to sit beside Isabella on the sofa, handing her a mug.”

  “I come bearing gifts of hot chocolate in my quest for a much-needed chat with you.”

  Isabella laughed at the look on her friend’s face and settled back into the sofa. With her long-awaited chat with Thomas and now the familiar feeling of settling into a good long talk with Jemma, it seemed that she was getting a bit of normalcy back in her life once again.

  Chapter 12

  Jemma was dying to talk to Isabella. Firstly, about the conversation she assumed had happened between Isabella and Thomas, and secondly, they needed a good catch-up chat after everything that had happened between herself and Rafael. Jemma was still pinching herself over everything that had transpired in the last few days.

  “How’d it go between you and Thomas? Sorry, I saw you leave earlier with your phone and assumed it was him calling. Did you two patch things up?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I mean, it felt great to talk to him. I’m not sure what it would be like to see him, but I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re speaking to him. I’m sure he is too.” Jemma leaned in to give Isabella a hug.

  “Enough about me and awkward relationships…” Isabella winked at her friend. “That was pretty sweet what Lia did with the ornaments, huh?”