A Little Piece of Paradise: A sweeping story of sisterhood, secrets and romance (Love from Italy Book 1)

by T A Williams

  ‘Bottoms up. So Chris’s gone over to the dark side, so what? The world’s full of desirable men. Just you wait and see.’ She took a sip. ‘Are you going to be okay having him come to stay at the end of the month?’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’ Sophie took a sip of wine and considered the question more fully. Yes, of course she would be okay, wouldn’t she? ‘He’s still my best friend. It’s not as though he’s been unfaithful to me or anything. It’s my own fault – I had my chance to say something and I bottled out. And like I’ve been saying all along, Paola’s a very suitable partner for him after all.’

  There was silence for a while before Rachel changed the subject.

  ‘Today’s September the fifth, isn’t it? I was talking to Beppe and he reckons we should be able to start harvesting the grapes around the middle of the month – unless the weather changes drastically – but there’s quite a lot of preparatory work to be done first. I’ll be helping him with that but if you feel like pitching in when the vendemmia proper starts – he says Dan’s offered to help as well – that would be really helpful.’

  ‘Of course. And what happens to the grapes? Does he make the wine here or somewhere else? Is there a cooperative or something?’

  ‘He does it all here. He’s got a very smart set-up in that low stone building alongside the garage where the Merc lives. It all looks very hi-tech with stainless steel tanks and lots of pipes and gauges and stuff. I’ll show you round one of these days if you like. He says he’ll talk me through the process, and I can’t wait.’

  ‘And then you’ll be able to start your own vineyard once we’ve sold the castle?’

  ‘It’s a lovely thought. By the way, shouldn’t we maybe start talking to real estate agents about putting the place on the market?’

  Sophie nodded. ‘Definitely. I’ve been wondering that myself. There are loads of agencies down in Santa Rita. We’ll have to ask Beppe or Rita which are the good ones.’

  ‘Or maybe we might do better with one of the big international firms, seeing as it’s a fairly important historical building with, hopefully, a hefty price tag. What do you think?’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right. Good idea.’

  ‘I’ve just finished the assignment I’ve been working on for uni so I’ve got a bit more time now. I’ll take a look on the internet and see who the big boys are. It’s a pity I’m no longer talking to Gabriel. He and his firm do a lot of real estate transactions. He knows about all that stuff.’

  ‘Well, why not use this as an excuse to get back in touch with him? You know you want to.’

  Yet again, Rachel just shook her head. ‘I know he won’t be interested, Soph. It’s like I told you. He’s a very honest, very straight person and after I so clearly demonstrated I didn’t trust him, why should he ever trust me again? Besides, it was all my fault and I’d die of shame if I ever had to talk to him about the way I behaved towards him. No, it’s best just to let it go.’ Sophie saw her pull herself together and plaster on a smile. ‘It now looks as though you and I are both going to be unattached – but that’s easily remedied. All we have to do is sell the castle, pocket the loot, and head for Monte Carlo where we can find ourselves a couple of toy boys.’

  ‘How old do you think we are, Rach? I’m not thirty yet for crying out loud. A toy boy for you would probably still be in school.’

  ‘I’m not that young, I’m going to be twenty-eight in just a few weeks’ time.’

  ‘While on that subject, I was thinking we should have a party to celebrate both your birthday and us completing our three months together, seeing as our last day of logging in is the thirtieth and your birthday’s the next day. What do you think?’

  ‘That’s a lovely idea. Who do we invite?’

  ‘I was wondering if some or all your Spanish friends might feel like coming back for the event? And, of course we need to invite Beppe and Rita, and I thought maybe Romeo from the hair salon with a few of his colourful friends. Then there’s Mariarosa and her husband down in Rome if she can spare the time. She’s a good friend. What about you? Anybody you want to invite apart from the Spanish brigade?’

  Rachel shook her head. ‘Not really. I’ve lost contact with most of my English friends and there’s no point inviting anybody from the States. It’s too far away and too short notice. Think of the cost of flights. Of course, there’s Dan. He should still be about.’ She glanced up. ‘And what about Chris?’

  ‘He’ll be here then anyway.’

  ‘And if he wants Paola to come?’

  Sophie had already considered that. ‘If he wants to bring her, that’s fine by me. He’s my best friend and I’m happy he’s found somebody. I hope it works out between the two of them.’

  She almost managed to fool herself.

  Chapter 22

  That evening after dinner, Sophie decided to do something radical. She settled down in her room, secure in the knowledge that Rachel was in the lounge with Jeeves watching Raiders of the Lost Ark for the millionth time. It was perfectly clear to her that Rachel was missing Gabriel, the man she had acknowledged as being The One for her, and would dearly like to hear from him but was too stubborn to make the first move. Sophie remembered that Rachel herself had offered to call Chris on her behalf the other day, so maybe this had indicated a subconscious desire for Sophie to do the same for her.

  She racked her brain for his surname and managed to retrieve it from her memory: Anderson, Cooper and Gomez was Gabriel’s law practice and Rachel had said he was Cooper. It was the work of a few moments to locate the firm’s website and identify the direct email address of Gabriel Cooper, partner.

  Slowly and carefully, Sophie set about composing an email to him. It took her over an hour and numerous rewrites until she was happy with it. In it, she explained to him who she was and the fact that she was writing without her sister’s knowledge. As simply as possible she indicated to him that it was clear to her that Rachel was missing him and bitterly regretted how she has misjudged him, and yet was unwilling to contact him. After ten minutes’ thought, she went back and replaced unwilling with ashamed, hoping it would convey the way Rachel was feeling. She told him they were currently in Italy on holiday and asked him if he felt like giving her sister another chance. Finally, after much deliberation, she pressed Send.

  Twenty-four hours later there had still been no reply. It was looking more and more as though Rachel had been right in her belief that he wanted nothing more to do with her and she was starting to feel terrible for interfering. She should have just minded her own business. If Rachel ever found out, this would be yet another example of her meddling big sister thinking she knew best. It therefore came as a major relief when her phone beeped that evening just as the two of them were coming out of Uncle George’s study after logging onto the computer. Sophie glanced at the screen, saw she had received an email from Gabriel and hurried off, ostensibly to the loo. She ran up to her bathroom, closed the door behind her and locked it before perching on the toilet seat to see what he had written.

  Dear Sophie

  Thank you most warmly for your email. You can’t imagine how good it was to hear from you. I’ve been dying to get in touch with Rachel for weeks but her last words to me were that I should never try to contact her again and I have obeyed this instruction, although it has been hard.

  I miss her very much and desperately want to talk to her. Could I ask you to ask her to contact me by phone, email or text? Please do try to convince her that I miss her and want to talk with her. What happened is no big deal and we can work through it – at least I know I can.

  Thank you once again for your intervention. I am in your debt.

  Kindest regards

  Gabriel Cooper

  Sophie almost whooped with joy. Her risky ploy had paid off. She opened the door and ran out, calling to her sister who appeared from the lounge looking worried. Jeeves, alongside her, was looking equally perturbed.

  ‘What’s up Soph? Is something wrong?’


  ‘Nothing’s wrong. In fact, it’s the opposite. Look.’ She thrust her phone into her sister’s hand and waited for an explosion of joy from her.

  The explosion, when it came, was anything but joyful. Stiffly, Rachel handed back the phone and spun on her heel, heading for the stairs. When she was halfway up she stopped and looked back down.

  ‘You just had to stick your nose in, didn’t you? You always were a bloody know-it-all and you’ll never change. Why can’t you keep out of my business and my life?’ Her voice disintegrated into what sounded like a sob as she whirled around again and ran on up the stairs until she was out of sight. A couple of seconds later Sophie heard a door slam.

  Silence fell on the castle and Sophie made her way into the lounge, turned off the TV and put the lights out. Followed by a subdued Labrador, she went along the corridor to the kitchen, idly reflecting that the fitters had promised they would have finally finished by tomorrow night. She opened the back door and followed the dog outside into the warm evening air. It was almost completely dark by now and an owl was calling from high up in a nearby tree, but she barely noticed. As she wandered around to the front and let herself and the dog out of the main gates, all she could think about was her sister’s reaction. She followed Jeeves across the piazza and onto the path leading towards the headland, her brain churning.

  What she had done had been with the best of intentions. It was patently clear that Rachel was missing Gabriel and wanted nothing more than to get back together with him. Surely Rachel herself could see that, and yet she had reacted so badly. Sophie kept asking herself how on earth what she had done could have been so wrong. Yes, she had been interfering with her sister’s life, but hadn’t she now got the outcome she so badly wanted? Why couldn’t Rachel see that and accept that the result was the only thing that counted?

  When Sophie and Jeeves emerged onto the open headland, she slowed and stopped by a rocky outcrop, leaning back against the still warm stone, her eyes ranging over the bay. With distant lights twinkling and the last vestiges of the sunset still tingeing the western horizon a deep violet, it should have been a beautiful view, but she barely noticed that either. She felt terrible. Her attempt to help her sister find happiness had blown up in her face. Now Rachel was unhappy, Sophie herself was disheartened and even her faithful Labrador, instead of running off into the bushes to hunt for sticks, had plonked himself down alongside her and was resting his big hairy head against her thigh, emitting plaintive little whines as he tried to work out what was wrong with his mistress.

  ‘Bugger!’ Sophie growled it out loud, but it didn’t help.

  Finally, after several long minutes she roused herself and her dog and turned back towards the castle. She knew she owed it to her sister to try talking to her. Back home, she found an unopened bottle of ten-year-old Torres brandy brought by the Spaniards and dug two glasses out of the heap on the ping pong table. She went back up the stairs, tailed by her dog, walked along to Rachel’s room and knocked on the door.

  ‘Rach, it’s me. Can I come in?’

  There was no reply. She tried the door handle, feeling sure it would be locked, but to her surprise it opened. The lights were off and the room was empty.

  Rachel had disappeared.

  Sophie stood there blankly for a few moments, wondering what had happened to her before some instinct made her look in the bathroom. She immediately saw that her sister’s nightie was no longer hanging on the radiator and her toothbrush and toothpaste had disappeared from the shelf above the basin. A hasty check of the room revealed that Rachel’s big beach bag had also gone, presumably stuffed with clothes.

  Sophie hurried downstairs to the kitchen and immediately spotted that the Mercedes keys weren’t hanging on the hook by the back door.

  ‘She’s done a bunk, Jeeves. Do you realise? She’s gone.’

  She slumped down on top of a dusty toolbox left by the kitchen fitters and felt a warm hairy body press against her leg and a big paw land on her thigh. She grabbed hold of it for a few moments before persuading him to lie down as she reached for her phone and typed a hurried text.

  Please come back, Rach. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to meddle. I just want you to be happy. Please come back. x

  After pressing Send she eyed the bottle of brandy for a few moments before deciding to be sensible. She got up, went over to the slick new fridge and poured herself a glass of cold red wine instead. She took it through to the lounge and as she sat there sipping it, there was just one thought going through her head: it was happening again. Just like six years ago, Rachel had left in a huff. The only solace Sophie could find was that her sister had left the majority of her clothes here so hopefully she wasn’t about to do anything as radical as jump on a plane to the USA.

  And then, of course, there was the little matter of the two of them having to sign in together before midnight tomorrow or lose the castle.

  * * *

  Sophie had a broken night. A couple of times she woke up, convinced she had heard a door, and even on one occasion went so far as to creep out into the corridor to check whether Rachel’s room was once more occupied, but found it empty. Next morning, as the sunlight reached in through the open window and awakened her, the first thing she did was to hurry next door just in case, but there was still no sign of her sister. Feeling jaded, she returned to her room, pulled on shorts and trainers and took Jeeves out for his morning walk around the estate. She deliberately wandered down past the garage but there was no sign of the Mercedes. The bird had flown.

  As the day progressed, she kept on calling and sending messages to her sister but to no avail. Rita came and went and the kitchen fitters finished and left, but Sophie hardly noticed. That afternoon she couldn’t concentrate on her writing so she set off on a long walk with her dog. She toyed with the idea of calling Dan to see if he wanted to join her but decided she wasn’t feeling very sociable, so she and Jeeves went on their own. The hours passed and she started having to come to terms with the possibility that Rachel might not reappear at all today and, of course, that would mean they couldn’t log in and so, according to the terms of Uncle George’s bequest, the castle would pass to some unknown beneficiary.

  She sweated her way up the hill past the little chapel in the blazing heat and did a lot of thinking. Surely Rachel wouldn’t be so pig-headed as to throw away potentially millions of euros out of sheer pique. The words ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ came to mind and she wondered if her sister would really be so crazy. Inside her head, Sophie had already started making plans for the future based on inheriting half of what looked likely to be an astronomical sum. If Rachel really didn’t put in an appearance today, things would irrevocably change. Yes, they would have the remains of the money Uncle George had left in the bank safety deposit box plus the proceeds from the antiques fair, the record sale, and the upcoming arms auction which should amount to a very handy sum indeed, but wouldn’t be as potentially life-changing as if they sold the castle. Even a heaped bowl of ice cream at the little cafe in the next village didn’t help and by the time she got back home again, she was feeling not only weary and sticky, but despondent.

  She let herself in through the side gate and followed Jeeves up to the back door. However, as she reached the garage her heart leapt. The Mercedes was back. She dropped to her knees and hugged the surprised dog tightly to her chest.

  ‘She’s back, Jeeves, she’s back.’

  With a newfound burst of energy she ran to the back door and threw it open. There, sitting on one of the new ultramodern steel barstools in the empty, pristine kitchen was Rachel and she was smiling. Sophie’s relief was palpable and she ran over to hug her sister.

  ‘Rach, thank goodness you’re back. Where’ve you been?’

  Rachel was still smiling. ‘I spent the night in a rather nice little hotel up in the hills above here and I’ve spent all day down at Bagni Aurelia. Lunch there was really rather good.’

  Delighted as she was to see her sis
ter looking and sounding so cheerful, Sophie couldn’t help wondering how it could be that she had changed from bitter, angry victim to happy sister again so quickly. Yes, Rachel had always had the tendency to blow up dramatically and then return to normal equally quickly, but after a major shoot-out like last night, it was barely credible that she should now be so calm. Something wasn’t right. She took a closer look at her, but could read nothing untoward on her face. She looked perfectly relaxed – and happy.

  ‘Have you phoned Gabriel?’

  Rachel shook her head but the smile didn’t fade in the slightest. She still looked like the cat that had got the cream and Sophie’s bemusement increased. ‘No, but I will. It’s only mid-morning over there now. I’m waiting for lunchtime. I need to be able to get him alone.’

  That was perfectly reasonable and sounded quite genuine. Still, Sophie told herself, until she actually heard the two of them talking she wouldn’t hold her breath. She went upstairs and changed into her bikini and, to the delight of her dog, headed for the pool with him. She spent an age floating about in the water, gradually recovering from the stress of the past hours and the effort of the long walk this afternoon. When she and Jeeves finally climbed back out again, she spread her towel on one of the sunbeds in the shade and stretched out with her dog alongside her. Within seconds she was asleep.

  She was woken by her phone ringing. As she picked it up, she saw that she had slept for almost two hours and had been joined by Rachel who was sitting on an adjacent sunbed, still smiling. Sophie answered her phone and she saw her sister’s smile change to a broad Cheshire Cat grin.