by Holly Greene
This brought on a fresh wave of laughter. Finally Sarah stood. “I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go home.” She laid her book down on the lounge seat.
Nate glanced at it. “Lily Forbes? I thought you loved her books, and even more so after meeting her. Aren't you taking it home?”
Sarah glanced back at the book with a little smile. “I did...but no. I'll let someone else enjoy it. I think I'd rather focus on writing my own romance with you than reading about someone else's. ”
She already knew that Lily wouldn’t mind.
And with that, Sarah and Nate joined hands and walked out of the airport.
Epilogue
BellaVita enjoyed a steady flow of customers all year long, and the month of December was no different.
As Marco and Valentina closed up their trattoria on New Year’s Eve, they sent their customers into the night with wishes for good health for the year ahead and a promise to see them soon, as many of their customers were locals who made a habit of eating there on a regular basis.
After they had cleaned up their restaurant and retired to the apartment upstairs for the night, they sat down in their living room as they did every New Year’s Eve and went through BellaVita’s bulging guest book, as well as various letters and notes they’d received from happy customers throughout the year.
It was a long-held tradition and one Marco and Valentina honoured year after year.
There were two unopened letters and one recently-arrived package also still intact that stood out having all come from abroad, and Valentina brought fresh coffee into the room to drink while they carried out their ritual.
One of the letters was postmarked from the US.
Dear Marco and Valentina,
You probably don't remember us, but we passed through your trattoria in September, while we were in Verona for our honeymoon. (Well, belated honeymoon, but that's beside the point!) While we were there you gave us both some excellent advice on love and on life in general, and we've taken it to heart. We've worked on making our marriage stronger instead of trusting to fate to guide us. Thank you for the excellent food and excellent wisdom. When we return to Verona we will be sure to come back and visit you.
Love, Nate and Sarah
P.S. We got an early Christmas present this year...we just found out we're expecting our first child! If it's a girl we will probably name her Juliet.
Valentina smiled as she put the letter aside. “Isn't it interesting?” she said to her husband. “So many people leave all of love to fate, instead of reaching out and taking control.”
Marco picked up another piece of unopened mail and read it. This one was postmarked from Dublin and was in a large stiff envelope.
Marco and Valentina,
When I visited your trattoria I was still grieving the loss of my wife. I didn't know how to get over her death and my trip to your city was only because of a promise I made her. You told me that moving forward in life didn't have to mean moving on from her memory, and that I shouldn't be afraid to be happy and whole again. It's something similar to a letter Hannah wrote to me before she died. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for your kindness. I'm still struggling, but things are getting easier. I'd like to think eventually it won't hurt quite so bad but I guess time will tell.
Also, have included a photo of your beautiful restaurant.
Cheers.
Declan O’Neill.
Marco pulled out the photograph, an enlarged black and white print, from between two stiff pieces of cardstock. It was a lovely, artsy shot of the interior of the trattoria; Marco and Valentina were in one corner of the shot, sitting at a table, smiling at each other and holding hands.
“Oh, how lovely!” said Valentina. “We'll have to frame it for the wall.”
The next item was a mystery; it was a slightly heavy, medium-sized package with a London return address. Inside was a loosely bound manuscript with a note on top.
Dear Marco and Valentina,
I can't thank you enough for what you said to me when I visited you this Autumn. You told me to stop looking for Juliet and I would find her. Well, I tried to take your advice, and I think it worked. I've stopped trying to force love to fit where it shouldn't, and I'm not chasing that idea of a picture-perfect romance anymore. I feel more optimistic about love than I have in years.
And you gave me a great idea for my book! It won’t be published until next year, but I wanted to send you an advance reading copy. I hope you enjoy it.
Much Love,
Lily Forbes
Valentina lifted up the book proof.
The plot centred around a romance novelist who had been so unlucky in love as to give up on it entirely. She's trying to write a modern-day version of “Romeo and Juliet” but has writer's block, so she goes to Verona for a dose of inspiration. Now that she's sworn off the idea of love, it seems that Cupid has plans for her, and she finds more than inspiration in the city—a new chance at romance with a handsome Italian stranger.
“Hmm,” Valentina laughed, “I remember her. It sounds like she took a great deal of inspiration from her own trip here.”
The couple sat quietly for a while, in that sort of contented silence that's never awkward with the ones you know and love so well.
Outside a snow-covered Verona was settling into herself for the night, a few winter tourists snuggling into their beds in warm hotels, and locals shutting up their homes and dreaming of New Years resolutions. The Italian couple thought back over all the people who had come through their trattoria over the years, each with different ideas on love and on life.
So many people, all searching for the magic of the city to change their lives.
But the couple now putting their coffee cups in the kitchen and retiring quietly for the night knew the real secret of Verona; the magic didn't lie in any legends about people who had once lived there.
It was in the hearts of people who decided to love and be loved, and would let nothing—not family, past heartbreak, or any other obstacle—stand in their way.
FROM THE AUTHOR
I very much hope you enjoyed this story.
Please check out other titles in the Escape to Italy series - SUMMER IN SORRENTO, SPRING IN SICILY & WINTER IN VENICE.
All are available to read free via Kindle Unlimited.
Read on for a short excerpt of SPRING IN SICILY.
Spring in Sicily
Three very different women arrive on the stunning island of Sicily for a cookery class promising incredible food, breathtaking scenery and a taste of Italian culture. It is hosted every year in the spring by Chef Isabella, in her little stone villa in the old town of Taormina.
Thirty-five year old Kate hopes a short break will take her mind off her infertility problems. Can time away help her come to terms with the fact that she may never be a mum?
Martha is in Sicily against her will. The break was a 50th birthday gift from her children, all of whom have now fled the nest. With the family gone and nobody left to mother, she has no idea what to do with herself. Can she rediscover some of her zest for life while in Italy?
Olivia is a travel writer, in Sicily to write a feature on the growing popularity of Isabella’s famed cookery class. She is intrigued to find out what makes previous guests rave about the short break. Is it the food, the location and the incredible scenery?
Or is there an alchemy about Chef Isabella, and her instinctive way of knowing that her students require more than cultural or food knowledge, but a means to balm their souls...
1
“Sicily?” Olivia Bennett narrowed her eyes at her features editor and annoyedly blew a strand of hair out of her face. “Come on, Erica, you can’t be serious…”
“Why not?,” Erica replied. “Sicily is beautiful—especially in the spring. You get to sit in the sun, eat loads of Italian food, and come back fifteen pounds heavier. Who wouldn’t want to do that?”
“Me, actually,” Olivia responded, irritated. “The place is just
full of fatty foods, ugly beaches, and pushy men. And everything smells like fish.”
“Jeez, Olivia,” Her editor rolled her eyes, “did somebody from the island kick your dog or something?”
Olivia held her tongue and stared past Erica out the window.
Four years before coming to The Wanderer, one of the USA’s premier travel magazines, she’d started out her brand new travel-writing career by following her then-publisher Richard on what was supposed to be a grand tour of Sicily—which was to double as a romantic holiday for the young lovers.
Excited for a shot at European romance and set on finding the hidden gems of Italy, she eagerly accepted the offer. But three days later, she found herself alone on a Sicilian beach vomiting undercooked garlic prawns and unable to find a decent area on the island that wasn’t a tourist trap. When she finally got home, she almost considered giving up travel writing altogether. Or at least anything vaguely related to Italy, which was forever soured in her mind.
Snapping back to reality, she turned her gaze back to Erica and sighed.
“I just—I thought I might’ve earned a little bit of leeway, I guess.”
Erica had recruited Olivia to The Wanderer based on her large established following, and evocative articles on East Asia, South America, and the Middle East.
Her first assignment for The Wanderer, an exploration of glaciers in Patagonia, had been hailed as revolutionary, and was already generating buzz for a slew of awards.
But Sicily was quickly becoming the it place in Europe for American vacationers, and the combination of a hyped location, and an incredibly popular writer was just too enticing to pass up.
“Look,” Erica conceded, “I know this isn’t ideal. But we need our best talent covering our top regions. And Sicily truly is it this year. I’ve gotten hundreds of enquiries about this self-taught chef who’s got a cooking class there that’s supposed to be incredible. We want you to check it out to see what the hype is all about.”
She slid a glossy paper brochure towards Olivia. On the cover was a photo of a woman in her seventies. Dressed in a striped floor length dress and her silver hair pulled back in a tight bun, she had the look of an Italian grandmother who spent hours fussing over her sauces.
“Oh come on,” Olivia cried, exasperated. “I write about authentic culture, not this touristy nonsense.” She shook her head. “I can’t take this assignment. There’s no way this ends up with a positive article, not with this whole thing going on too.”
“Even better,” Erica said eagerly. “Readers love negative reviews. Half the travel shows on TV now are about crusty expats irritated with their surroundings. If this thing is a crock of crap than expose it.”
Olivia rolled her eyes, but Erica could see she was reconsidering. “Besides,” she continued, “it’s only five days. Kick butt on this, and we can send you wherever you want on your next assignment.”
Olivia took a deep breath. She reminded herself that she was lucky—at twenty-nine, she had an incredibly enviable position and wasn’t tethered to a desk. She knew she had to consider it.
“Can I think about it?” she asked.
“Take the night,” Erica responded over the ring of the phone on her desk, “but I’m gonna need to know in the morning.”
Afterwards, Olivia pushed open the door to a coffee house up the street from the office. She found the crowds of busy professionals oddly soothing—it helped her clear her head and think.
And she sure needed to think after that meeting. She ordered a black coffee and found a place at a bay window. She sat there for a few moments, sipping occasionally from her coffee.
Suddenly, she remembered the pamphlet Erica had given her. She pulled it from her back pocket and began reading.
THE FOOD OF LOVE
CHEF ISABELLA’S SICILIAN COOKING CLASSES
Experience all that Taormina has to offer in this four-night, five-day culinary vacation.
Visitors have the chance to work with self-taught Sicilian chef Isabella Bottaro, whose work has been featured in countless cookery magazines and books all throughout Italy.
Spend your days exploring the enchanting Sicilian town of Taormina—its sprawling mountains, sloping hillsides, luxurious beaches, and classical Italian and Greek streets that bring out the best of Sicily.
Evenings at Isabella’s Villa are spent feasting on authentic handmade Sicilian recipes specially picked to match the skill level and needs of students - beginners and experienced chefs alike.
“Right,” Olivia muttered under her breath, “even cheesier than I thought.”
It read like the thousands of other tourist brochures she’d collected over her travels. They all advertised “authentic cultural experiences” that usually turned out to be based on stereotypes than local flavor.
It was exactly this kind of cultural disintegration that she strove to combat in her writing.
Still, she’d promised Erica she’d give it a chance. She scanned the rest of the brochure.
ISABELLA’S PHILOSOPHY
Experiencing the world begins at the dinner table. While it is easy to find “authentic” in any corner of the world, what makes Isabella’s class different is the attention she gives to each and every student. Isabella believes that cooking is a personal experience meant to be lived and enjoyed in the moment. Whether the student comes with no experience or has professional training at top cookery schools of the world, Isabella will provide one on one guidance and insight. After all, as Isabella always says, “Non c'è megghiu sarsa di la fami.”
Always one to do her homework, Olivia pulled out her phone and entered the Italian phrase into her translation app.
“Hunger is the best sauce,” it said.
That made her laugh; the phrase was pure kitsch—but it had elicited a response. It was sufficient at least, to make her start looking up travel site reviews of the cookery course.
All gave the Isabella’s Villa high marks, most saying the same laudatory things. But then, she came across one in particular that caught her attention:
“MaryEllen87:
I’m not one to fall for touristy things like classes or tours, but my girlfriend insisted we take Isabella’s cooking classes together on our trip to Sicily. I only agreed after looking at pictures of the grounds and the proximity to Mount Etna. However, when we arrived, I was instantly taken aback by the sheer beauty and warmth of the villa. Its stone walls shone brightly in the sunlight and glimmered in the moonlight. The patios became a place of refuge, a perfect setting to release all of our travel woes.
“But what really won me over was Isabella herself. I’m not a cook by any means. I prefer a hamburger over a fancy seafood dish. I was skeptical at what I could possibly learn in five days, but here I am, back in Chicago a month later, and I am still in love with cooking. Isabella made her “classes” accessible, personable, and I left her villa feeling like I could conquer the world. I cannot thank her enough for it. This place and experience is not one to miss. See Taormina and meet Isabella. It will change your life.”
“It will change your life?” Olivia muttered. “Please.”
But it was a challenge if ever she heard one.
As she finished her coffee, she began composing an email to Erica; she’d made her decision.
End of excerpt
Continue reading SPRING IN SICILY
Also by Holly Greene
Escape to Italy Series
Spring in Sicily
Summer in Sorrento
Autumn in Verona
Winter in Venice
Holly Greene is the pseudonym of international No 1 bestselling author Melissa Hill. Check out more great books by this author on Amazon
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