Gorgeous Reads for Christmas (Choc Lit)

by Sue Moorcroft

  Clare thought for a moment. ‘I’d have only one cool guy on the course, not two.’

  Jenny gave her a rueful smile.

  ‘I did rather notice that my nephew’s smitten,’ Max cut in. ‘And, indeed, so is Mr Williams. But since I’m sort of an interested party, and a man, I’m above prying so I won’t ask which one you prefer.’

  Clare blushed. ‘They both seem very nice in different ways.’

  ‘That’s a very good answer to the question I didn’t ask.’

  All three laughed.

  ‘Well, as you both seem OK, I won’t interrupt you any further,’ Jenny said, starting to move away. ‘I’ll see if I can find Stephen or Nick.’

  ‘Oh, there you are, Uncle Max. How are you getting on?’ Stephen’s voice came from behind her.

  ‘I was just about to look for you, Stephen,’ Jenny said, turning to him with a smile.

  ‘I thought I’d come and see how my uncle was doing. Perhaps give him a few tips.’ He sauntered over to Max’s easel and leaned over him to study his work. He glanced up at the wisteria on the corner of the house, and then stared back at the picture. ‘Missing that first lesson must be to blame,’ he said.

  Laughing, he went over to Clare. ‘That’s really good, Clare,’ he said, his voice full of admiration. ‘With your work, I don’t even have to look at the view to know what you’re painting.’

  He glanced across at Max and they grinned at each other.

  ‘You two,’ Jenny said with a smile of amusement.

  ‘I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to scrutinising your paintings this evening, Stephen,’ Max said cheerfully. ‘I’m sure I’ll have much to learn from them.’

  ‘I’m not sure I should let you see what I’ve done: the quality of my work might make you give up on the spot.’

  ‘Ah, but you’ve no choice in the matter. If you look at today’s programme, you’ll see that our work’s going to be on display before dinner. What’s more, we’re going to have more than one occasion on which to gaze in awe at what we’ve all done in the day.’

  ‘Mmm,’ Stephen said, a mock-serious expression on his face. ‘I think you should skip that part of the programme, old man. Any sudden strain could damage your health, and I dread to think what might happen if you heard honest comments about your work.’

  ‘Your concern is deeply touching, but my aged bones and I will risk it. After all, we have a nurse among us.’

  ‘So we do.’ Stephen turned and beamed at Clare. ‘But if anyone’s going to need Clare to resuscitate them, I want it to be me.’

  Clare blushed.

  ‘What did you paint this afternoon, Stephen?’ Jenny asked, changing the subject. ‘In fact, why don’t we leave Max and Clare in peace and you can show me what you’ve been doing?’

  Footsteps sounded on the gravel path, and they turned their heads as Nick came into sight.

  ‘So that’s where you’ve all got to,’ he exclaimed. ‘I might have guessed.’

  ‘I’m afraid Jenny’s rather got caught up here, paralysed by the brilliance of our work,’ Max told Nick with a grin.

  ‘Huh.’ Stephen sniggered.

  ‘Come on, you two,’ Jenny said, moving across to Stephen and Nick. ‘I’d like you to show me what you’ve done.’

  As she walked past Max, she couldn’t resist glancing down at him. To her surprise, he was staring up at her. Their eyes met, and held. Her steps slowed, and stopped.

  For a long moment, the world hung in suspense and she saw only Max.

  Then abruptly she jerked her head away.

  Hurrying after Nick and Stephen, she struggled to summon the image of her father to her mind.

  ‘That was a colossal meal,’ Howard said, rubbing his stomach. ‘I’m not sure I’ll be able to get up from the table.’

  Jenny laughed. ‘Maria had something similar in mind for lunch, too. Can you imagine eating two such huge meals in one day?’ she asked, addressing the table as a whole. ‘How Italians manage to stay as slim as they do, I don’t know. Not all of them, of course, but the majority.’

  Clare sighed enviously. ‘They must have magic ways of burning off the calories. I just wish they’d share them with us Brits.’

  ‘You’re gorgeous as you are, Clare,’ Nick said. He put his arm round the back of her chair. She moved forward and he dropped his arm.

  Paula smiled vaguely in Jenny’s direction, and then turned to Max, who was next to her. ‘Howie and I were saying earlier how flattered we were that you were choosing to spend so much of your precious time with little old us.’ She tinkled a silvery laugh, took an amoretto from the bowl in the centre of the table and popped it into her mouth.

  Jenny groaned inwardly. Paula and Howard could easily bore Max into staying away, she thought in a moment of despair. Their silly twitterings were hardly the adult conversation he’d sought. She couldn’t let them monopolise him, but what on earth could she do to stop them?

  At that moment, Max glanced at her across the table and smiled. She felt herself relax a little, smiled back, and then forced herself to turn to George, who was sitting next to her.

  ‘I think there’s definitely been some progress in your use of the brush, Mr Rayburn,’ she said, trying hard at the same time to listen to Howard and Paula’s conversation with Max.

  ‘All I can say is,’ Max was telling Paula, ‘I’m enjoying myself enormously. I’m very grateful to all of you for letting me join in. Originally, I’d only intended to come over in the evenings, but I seem to have become a fixture in the day, too. It’s certainly a very different week from the one I’d’ve had if you hadn’t been here – but it’s turning into a very interesting one.’

  ‘What would you have been doing if we hadn’t been here? You don’t seem to be the sort of person who’d lie by a pool all day long and do nothing,’ Howard said, sliding his arm around the back of Paula’s chair and leaning a little closer to Max.

  ‘I’d have a swim before breakfast, and again in the afternoon, but I suppose I do that now, anyway. But you’re right, lying in the sun isn’t for me. If you weren’t here, I’d probably spend more time relaxing on the loggia –the veranda that runs around part of the house.’

  ‘It sounds heavenly,’ Paula sighed.

  ‘It is. I expect that I’d linger there, reading or looking at the view. Being on a slope means that there’s usually a gentle breeze so it’s all very pleasant. But having said that,’ he added with a laugh, ‘knowing me, the truth is I’d probably go back to my computer and work out of habit. I suspect that I’m going to have more of a rest by joining the class than I would’ve done by staying on my own.’

  ‘Your life here sounds idyllic,’ Paula sighed, ‘computer or not. Don’t you think so, Howie?’

  ‘Absolutely. I’m like you about work, Max. If I was holidaying here, I’d need a hobby to keep my mind off my job. Books are only OK for so long.’ He slipped his arm from the back of Paula’s chair to her shoulder. ‘Nope, I’d have to do something other than just read and swim.’

  ‘I couldn’t sit still and read all day any more than you could,’ Max agreed. ‘But I’m extremely lucky that I can pursue my interests in both England and Umbria: I’ve been collecting pictures in a small way over the years. It’s just a hobby, but I love it, and I’ve every intention of spending a large part of my time in Italy visiting galleries and exploring little shops in out-of-the-way places. Who knows, I might find a hitherto-undiscovered masterpiece,’ he added with a laugh.

  ‘Ooh, what fun,’ Paula declared. ‘Isn’t it, Howie?’

  ‘It certainly is. I envy you, Max.’

  ‘And galleries and museums aren’t the only places to visit. Nearly every church, no matter how small the town, has at least one painting worth seeing. In fact, I’d planned to take Stephen round some of the nearby churches this week. Funnily enough, though, just after I told him of my plan, he confessed to a burning desire to join the art class.’

  Out of the corner of he
r eye, Jenny saw him glance affectionately at Stephen, who was deep in conversation with Nick and Clare. Then she felt Max’s eyes come to rest on her. Struggling not to look at him, she tossed her blonde plait over her shoulder, kept her face firmly turned towards George, and made a great effort to focus on what he was saying.

  ‘Jenny seems very easy to get along with, and a good teacher, too,’ she heard Max say as he turned back to Howard and Paula.

  So he thought she was easy to get along with, did he? A glow of happiness crept through her body.

  ‘Oh, she is. She’s a lovely person. Howie and I have already learnt so much from her. But about your hobby, Max. You’re lucky to have the luxury of buying paintings – most people can’t afford much more than food and drink. It’s—’

  ‘Paula,’ Howard said sharply. He sounded distinctly annoyed, Jenny thought. She glanced at him in surprise and saw him frowning.

  Paula’s laugh was shrill. ‘I was only going to say that I’m so pleased that someone’s able to preserve all these wonderful paintings, Max.’

  Howard nodded. ‘She’s right about that.’

  ‘But we look like having a fine collection of our own to take home with us, don’t we, Howie?’ Paula added. ‘Jenny said some very kind things about our work.’

  ‘I hope you do,’ Max said with a smile. ‘It’d make the week worthwhile for you, and it’d make Jenny very happy, I’m sure.’

  His eyes returned to Jenny’s face.

  ‘Are your paintings here or in England?’ Howard asked.

  Max pulled his gaze away. ‘Mostly in England. I’ve got a few pictures here as well, but my main collection is at home. But don’t get carried away and imagine rooms full of Leonardos. It’s only a very modest collection, something I do for fun.’

  Howard picked up the bottle of dessert wine, leaned in front of Paula and divided the last of the wine between his glass and Max’s. ‘What style of art do you go for?’

  ‘I’d say I was quite eclectic – a bit of everything, but contemporary art probably predominates. Certainly, the pictures I’ve got on my walls here are contemporary. And the ones in this house, too.’

  ‘Did you bring them over from England?’ Howard asked.

  ‘That’s right. I know that these are fourteenth-century houses, but I felt that contemporary art would go better with the style of furniture I’ve chosen. Classical wouldn’t work as well.’

  ‘I love looking at paintings.’ Paula’s voice was tinged with wistfulness.

  ‘From what I saw this evening, you’re a pretty good artist yourself, Paula. Your work today was really impressive.’

  ‘You’re just saying that, Max,’ she simpered.

  ‘Not at all. Out of all of us, you and Howard are the only ones who seem to have a natural flair. Any flair, at all, for that matter. I reckon you could be extremely good if you wanted to. I’m sure you’d be able to sell your work.’

  ‘It’s sweet of you to say that, Max, but I’m sure I wouldn’t. Who’d want to buy anything painted by little old me?’ She giggled.

  ‘Paula was told the same thing at school,’ Howard said, glancing affectionately at his wife, his irritation clearly gone. ‘But it’s a difficult business to succeed in and she’s never attempted to make it her career. It’s always been a bit of a regret, which is one of the reasons why we chose this sort of week for our honeymoon. It’s a moment of luxury amid the humdrum of everyday life.’

  ‘I wondered why you’d come here and not gone somewhere like the Maldives,’ Max remarked.

  ‘Ugh.’ Howard grimaced. ‘The very thought of it. As I said before, we’d be bored stiff, doing nothing but sitting in the sun by a hotel pool. We’ve got the sun here, and a pool, but we’ve got something more, too. No, this is ideal for us.’

  Max smiled broadly at them. ‘I’m glad that it’s living up to expectations.’

  ‘Oh, it is,’ Paula said tremulously. She paused a moment, and ran her finger round the rim of her water glass. ‘Can I be very naughty?’ she asked in a little girl voice. Pouting, she glanced at Howard, and then back at Max. ‘Howie’s going to be very angry with me – he said I mustn’t ask you.’ She stopped and bit her lip.

  ‘Ask me what?’ Max prompted.

  ‘If we could take a little peek at your paintings. We’ve seen the ones here, so we guessed you must have others in your house, and we’d love to see them.’ Her words came out in a rush.

  How rude, Jenny thought in annoyance. She glanced at Max’s face, wondering how he’d handle it. They’d gone too far and she wondered if he’d drop the genial exterior and say so.

  Howard took his arm from Paula’s shoulder, looked reprovingly at her, and then glanced apologetically at Max. ‘I’m really sorry, Max. Paula shouldn’t have asked you that – your house is private.’ He turned back to Paula. ‘You know Max’s house is off limits. Nick told us Jenny said that when Stephen offered the use of Max’s internet.’

  Paula gave an embarrassed laugh. ‘Silly me. I forgot. Please, don’t be angry with me, Howie. I’m sorry Max. I seem to be saying all the wrong things this evening.’

  ‘You don’t need to see Max’s paintings,’ Howard went on, as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘There are paintings everywhere you turn in Italy. And as for the internet, we can always use the café in Montefalco when it’s open.’ He turned to Max. ‘Paula knows that perfectly well.’

  ‘How remiss of me,’ Max exclaimed in annoyance. ‘I never got round to sorting out your internet. I meant to have a landline and Wi-Fi installed in this house, too, but in the rush of being ready to open on time, it got overlooked. Of course, you can use my computer. Just ask me whenever you want to come across. And by all means have a look at my pictures at the same time. It’s the least I can do – I’m invading your space every night, after all.’ He smiled at them both.

  Still the even-tempered man, Jenny thought, frowning slightly. No sign of a different sort of man beneath the surface – a man who could drive her father to his death. She really didn’t know what to think. He seemed so different from the man she’d heard about over the years.

  Paula and Howard glanced at each other. ‘That’s very sporting of you, Max; thank you,’ Howard said. ‘I still feel badly that Paula asked you, though.’

  ‘Yes, thank you so much, Max.’ She turned to Howard. ‘Oh, Howie darling! I’m the happiest bride alive.’

  Jenny glanced from Paula, whose face was wreathed in smiles, to Max. His expression was inscrutable. She looked down at her plate, and bit her lip in sudden anxiety and confusion.

  Chapter Seven

  Jenny turned round at the sound of footsteps approaching the table.

  ‘Max,’ she exclaimed, and felt a momentary embarrassment at how pleased she’d sounded at seeing him there. ‘I didn’t expect to see you again until dinner. I thought we’d worn you out this morning and you were going to have a break from us this afternoon.’

  ‘I thought so, too,’ he said, sitting down opposite her, ‘which is why I disappeared at the end of the class. But you get used to having company, and it suddenly felt quite lonely, sitting on my own with my coffee, knowing that you were so close – that all of you were close by – so I decided on the spur of the moment to hitch a lift with you into Bevagna.’ He paused. ‘I hope you don’t mind,’ he added, a trace of awkwardness in his voice.

  A wave of pleasure surged through her at the thought of spending the whole afternoon with him. The degree of pleasure she felt took her quite by surprise. But of course, having more time with him brought her goal that much nearer. No wonder she was delighted.

  ‘Not at all,’ she said, beaming at him. ‘And I know the others won’t mind either. They were saying at lunch how much they were looking forward to seeing you this evening.’

  ‘Which reminds me, Jenny. I didn’t get a chance to ask you this morning, but you looked a bit worried last night. Is everything all right?’

  ‘Everything’s perfect,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s just that P
aula seemed to be going a bit over the top – I couldn’t help overhearing – and I was worried you might be bored. I wouldn’t want you to stop coming across to us. That’s to say, none of us would …’

  ‘You needn’t worry on that score. It would take a lot more than Paula to put me off joining you in the day, or at dinner for that matter. I’m enjoying myself far much too much.’

  Relief swept through her, and she felt her tension drain away. Until that moment, she hadn’t realised the strain she’d been under since the evening before, when she’d had to listen to Paula and Howard hassle Max and been unable to do anything about it.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it. You coming to Bevagna is a bonus for us. You’ll be able to add to what I’ve already told the group about the town – you must know it so much better than I do. I read up about it before I came, but I only had time to go there twice in the week before everyone arrived, and that was mainly to work out how to organise today’s visit.’

  ‘You won’t need any help from me, I’m sure. Your handouts this morning covered everything imaginable. I was quite impressed.’

  She laughed. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. From the short amount of time I’ve spent with you, I’d say that you’re not easily impressed.’

  ‘You make me sound quite formidable,’ he remarked with a grin. ‘Like a bad guy from a Dickensian novel, or a domineering sort of father who demands impossibly high standards from his children.’

  ‘Dickensian?’ She slowly ran her eyes down his face, lingering a moment on his lips. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said lightly. Her look returned to the dark eyes that were gazing at her with open warmth. ‘And certainly not like a domineering father.’

  There was an imperceptible pause on his part. ‘Good. I wouldn’t want to come across as unreachable. I wouldn’t like that at all, Jenny,’ he added quietly.

  Their eyes met across the table, and neither moved for a long moment.

  ‘It’s time I got my things ready for this afternoon,’ she said, and she stood up.

  They stepped off the minibus, crossed a small patch of grass and stared ahead of them at the ancient pink and grey stone bridge which spanned the river flowing around the walled town of Bevagna. Beneath the arch, clear green water reflected the pillared colonnade of the building on the other side.