Page 50 of 2 Books in One Bundle

‘And what did Dante say about you?’ he asked.

She shouldn’t tell him. It was private, wasn’t it? And Rafaello had never approved of his friend’s marriage in the first place, so he would agree with Dante anyway. He’d be glad to hear it.

But she couldn’tnotsay it.

Because it filled her head and her lungs and her consciousness.

‘He said...he said that he respected that I had my own life to lead, and that although he’d prefer to keep our marriage going for another few months, to be on the safe side, I must not feel any...any obligation to stay in Italy with him for all that time...that I could head back to the UK whenever I wanted.’

The stone in her throat was harder and larger than ever. It was suffocating her now.

‘And then...then he said there was plenty of time before we had to think about our...our divorce...’

She fell silent. Her mouth was as dry as dust. Her eyes sank again, too heavy to keep looking at Rafaello. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to see what expression might be on the face of Dante’s friend, who had never wanted him to marry her at all—for any length of time or for any purpose.

For a moment there was silence. Then she heard Rafaello speak, calmly and dispassionately.

‘Well, he has spoken his mind, and now you know where you stand. Ah...here is your breakfast. While you eat, you must tell me what you plan to do now.’

Connie drew a breath. It was painful. Her throat was tight and she felt weak as a kitten, with incoherent thoughts whirring in her head like a swarm of flies.

The waiter was setting out her breakfast—orange juice, hot fragrant coffee, freshly bakedcornettiand delicate pats of butter and pots of apricot jam. She didn’t want to eat, but knew she must. She had no strength in her. None at all.

Rafaello poured coffee for them both and sat back, his cup in his hand, crossing his legs in a relaxed fashion. As she ate, forcing herself to swallow slowly but steadily, he kept silent, but he was still looking at her, she knew.

She finished hercornetti, thenlooked back at him... Dante’s friend. ‘You never wanted him to marry me, did you?’ she said tiredly.

He paused before answering. Then: ‘I thought it very...risky. You were strangers to each other—complete strangers. And he was running on anger at the time, and that’s never a good aid to wise decisions. But since then...’ He paused again, and now he was frowning slightly. ‘Since then you seem to have worked things out between you. I’d hoped—’

He broke off, taking a breath.

His voice was gentle when he said, ‘Connie, what do you intend to do now?’

She forced herself to speak. To say what she dreaded having to say. She had tried to deny the need to say anything, but no longer could. She had to face saying the words.

‘I have to leave him,’ she said.

The words fell into a heavy silence.

‘I think,’ Rafaello said eventually, ‘that is the right decision. For both of you.’

His eyes rested on her but she could read nothing in them. They were as inscrutable as any lawyer’s.

‘But I also think you should do one more thing,’ he added.

She stared at him dully. She was breaking up inside and it was agony.

‘What...what thing?’ she asked, her lips numb.

And Rafaello told her.

Dante stared at the text on his phone, frowning as the taxi edged through the traffic in Geneva, en route to his client’s hotel.

Dante, ciao. Connie wasn’t at the Falcone—looks like she’s headed into the city on her own.

Immediately, he texted Connie.

Sorry to hear you missed Raf. Have fun in Rome. What are you going to be seeing?

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