Page 28 of Far from Home
Amy knew she hadn’t been the easiest of children, especially during her teenage years. She had loved her mum – there could be no doubt about that – but she was the first to acknowledge that their relationship had never been a warm, cosy one. Somehow her mum had always been too unemotional, too withdrawn, and now, of course, she knew the real reason why. Not only had she lost her husband, but she had taken the decision to expel the father of her child from both of their lives and that must have taken its toll. If the letter in the safe was right, it had been her choice to sever all links with him, out of a sense of shame or guilt, and the result had been devastating, forever stunting her emotionally.
Amy knew that her mum had been a deeply religious woman – at least she had been after the death of the man Amy had been brought up to believe had been her father – and she had also been very stubborn. But, even so, surely she should have come clean and told her only daughter the truth as she entered adulthood? Amy now found herself in mourning for three parents, two of whom she had never met. She gave a deep and heartfelt sigh and headed for the hotel to change in readiness for her drinks with Adam.
After a quick shower, she stood in her room for a minute or two, trying to decide what to wear for theaperitivo. In spite of the glamorous name, she knew that this wasn’t going to be a James Bond-style black tie and evening gown event where they would be sipping vodka martinis, shaken not stirred. It would probably just involve sitting at a table in the piazza outside the hotel like she had been doing most evenings since arriving here. On the one hand, she wanted to look good but, at the same time, she had no intention of throwing herself at him. First, that wasn’t the way she was made. She had never been a particularly ostentatious person and she hadn’t brought a dress with her that could be described as even mildly scandalous. Secondly, there was the unresolved question of Adam’s relationship with Danny and she would look pretty foolish if she tried to act as a seductress, only to find that he wasn’t interested. And third, of course, was Gavin. Whatever his defects, she was still in that relationship and it wouldn’t be fair on him.
In the end she opted for one of her favourites, a light pink linen blouse and a pair of white jeans. Checking herself out in the mirror before leaving the room she decided that she would do. At least she was clean and she looked presentable. She went downstairs just as it was striking the half hour and found Adam waiting for her in the bar. He gave her an appreciative look and held out his hand. ‘Wow, you look great.’
She was completely unable to stop her cheeks from flushing as she shook hands with him and she hastily pointed towards the open doors. ‘Shall we go outside? It’s a beautiful evening.’ She didn’t remark that he was also looking very good in a light grey polo shirt and faded jeans. She could have done, but she didn’t.
Outside they sat down at her usual table and Giuliano came over to see what they wanted to drink. Adam didn’t hesitate.
‘It has to be champagne, doesn’t it? This is a celebration, after all.’
Amy shook her head. ‘It’s been a long day and if I have more than a glass of wine I’ll probably fall over. Besides, that would mean you have to drink the rest of the bottle and I imagine you don’t want to get hammered if you’ve got to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Instead, I would quite like an Aperol spritz.’ She glanced up to see if Giuliano had understood her order, even though it had been delivered in English, and she saw him nod.
Adam also nodded. ‘Okay, you’re the boss.’ He ordered a beer for himself and once the restaurateur had disappeared inside, he repeated his earlier comment. ‘You do look great, you know. Martin would have been so pleased.’ He leant towards her. ‘You have his eyes.’
Amy swallowed hard as she stared back into his eyes at close quarters. ‘I wish I’d known him. Tell me, did he have a special someone?’
‘I’m afraid that’s one area where I can’t help you. We never spoke about women but I would be surprised if he didn’t have somebody. He was a good-looking guy, as well as being charismatic.’ He waited until the drinks had been placed in front of them. ‘But to my knowledge, he never had a live-in girlfriend.’
The conversation drifted away from her father and Adam told her all about his upcoming trip to Brazil, which sounded pretty scary, trekking off into the wilds of the Amazon rainforest. She warned him to be careful, particularly to look out for snakes or those fish which could strip a man to the skeleton in two minutes. She wasn’t totally sure of her facts but she remembered hearing about something like that in a documentary. He promised to take care and then he got her to tell him about her job. In the end, although she had intended not to mention it, she told him about her scare when she had collapsed in the kitchen, and he was quick to offer advice in his turn.
‘The doctors were right, you know, Amy. You can’t take your health for granted. However much you enjoy your job, you’ve got to learn to take it easy.’ He then went on to make the suggestion that had been running around in her head ever since arriving in Sant’Antonio. ‘Why don’t you give up the day job and move over here? I’m sure you can find something to do and it’s a great place to live. Remember, your health has to be your number one priority. To be perfectly honest, that’s part of the reason I moved away from Hollywood. The pressure there is non-stop.’
They carried on chatting about less contentious subjects and all too soon he finished the last of his beer, gave her an apologetic glance, and stood up. ‘I’m sorry, but I need to make a move. I promise I’ll take you for that meal when I get back from Brazil.’
‘Well, you just look after yourself. Stay away from those creepy crawlies.’ She stood up as well and when he came over to say goodbye, she caught hold of his shoulders and kissed him on the cheeks. He didn’t recoil and, in fact, he looked as though he enjoyed the contact. She certainly did. Armed with that impression, she stepped back and finally found the courage to bring up the subject that had been playing on her mind all evening. ‘How’s Danny going to cope while you’re away?’
A look of surprise spread across his face. ‘Danny? He’ll be fine. He’s got Pierpaolo to look after him, after all.’
She watched him walk off across the piazza and there was one thought going round and round inside her head.
Who the hell was Pierpaolo?
She didn’t know what to think. Nobody had mentioned the name Pierpaolo to her before, so who could he be? Maybe this Pierpaolo was Danny’s love of his life? If that were the case then what did this mean as far as Adam was concerned? Did he have a significant other and who might that be? She had never liked uncertainty and these questions continued to nag at her all evening, even as she enjoyed a generous helping of the chef’s delicious lasagne made with spinach, mushrooms and aubergines. As she ate, she kept reminding herself that she was still in a relationship with Gavin – assuming he could eventually summon up the energy to contact her.
Chapter 16
Around mid-morning the following day she drove down to Pisa to collect Lucy from the airport, but first she had a lot of stuff to buy for the house: sheets, towels and new pillows, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, some decent glasses and a vacuum cleaner. This way, at least, she knew she would be able to get by when she finally moved in, although it occurred to her that if she decided to sell the place, she was going to have all this stuff on her hands. Still, that was a problem for further down the road.
Lucy’s plane was on time and Amy was delighted to see her friend again. Even though little more than a couple of weeks had passed, so much had happened and she spent the whole drive back to Sant’Antonio trying to relate all the events, discoveries and new friendships that had presented themselves. For now, she made no mention of Adam, not because she didn’t trust Lucy not to say something to Gavin, but because she really didn’t really know what to say.
Back at the house, Lucy was totally blown away by how beautiful it was but, predictably, she was even more impressed with Lorenzo Pozzovivo. Amy had to remind her that not only was he married with two little kids, he also didn’t speak a word of English, but it was still a struggle to drag her friend away. Fortunately, the sight of the big black dog and the prospect of a walk in the sunshine with Max did it, and Amy led both of them up the hill to the tumbledown shed where they sat down side by side, admiring the view, with Max sprawled at their feet. Conversation lagged for a minute or two and Amy began to realise that Lucy had something on her mind, so she glanced across at her friend.
‘You mentioned gossip. What’s the news back in the big city? Added any more conquests to your list?’
‘No, not really… It’s not that.’ Lucy was now looking downright uncomfortable. ‘You know I told you I’d joined the gym? It’s the one in the basement of the squash club just along from the office. You know the one.’
‘Of course, that’s where Gavin plays squash.’
‘Erm, yes, about that… The thing is, I saw him there last week.’ Amy saw her take a deep breath. ‘There’s a two-way mirror – or should that be a one-way mirror? – between the gym and the bar. People on the bikes or treadmills can see out, but the people in the bar can’t see in. Well, I was on one of the bikes, pedalling like a maniac, when I saw Gavin.’ She reached across and caught hold of Amy’s hand. ‘I wanted to call you and tell you last week but I thought it would be better face-to-face. You see, he was with another woman.’
‘When you say “with”… maybe she was his playing partner.’
Lucy shook her head. ‘He was wearing normal clothes and she was all glammed up, looking as though she was ready for a night out. When she came up to him she kissed him and he ran his hands… well, let’s just say he put his hands where he shouldn’t have.’
‘I see.’ Amy sat back against the wall of the shed with a sigh and felt the whole thing shake. Very cautiously she shuffled forward again until she was leaning on her hands with her elbows on her knees. ‘And there’s no way you could have been mistaken? Wrong man, different sort of kiss, or whatever?’ She glanced sideways and saw Lucy shake her head. ‘Right, I get the picture.’
