It had taken a stern phone call to Anna, during which they had both said things they’d instantly regretted, for them to finally call a truce. Anna was as shocked to hear that Alessandro had felt the need to come over to England to reassure her as Kate had been to see him standing on her doorstep, but she didn’t offer an apology, only stood by her assertion that what he had done was not noble, only the most basic courtesy that he owed them all. It made Kate’s blood boil, and she had to keep reminding herself of what Alessandro had said – that she shouldn’t be angry with a sister who was only looking out for her. There had been a phone call from Lily an hour later, who had heard about Alessandro’s arrival, and it was Lily who’d suggested they all share a meal to get to know one another. That had taken Kate by surprise too, but she was happy to hear Lily felt up to it and that she wanted to meet Alessandro properly. Lily had made the call to Anna – Kate was still feeling stubborn about the whole Anna calling Alessandro situation – and the date had been agreed. Kate had a feeling that Anna might give Alessandro a much harder time than Lily would, but she felt sure that he could win her over eventually. And if he didn’t. . . well, Kate was a grown woman and it was nobody else’s business what she did with her life. She wanted Anna’s blessing, but her heels were digging further and further in with each altercation, and if she had to do it without, she was certain now that she would.
Lunch was scheduled for one, and just as Kate had predicted, Anna and Christian arrived at midday, the former armed with pots and extra food of her own and an apron, the latter banished to the living room to watch TV or read the papers – anything to stay out from under their feet until the food was ready. It was a cautious hug that Anna offered Kate; she seemed uncertain whether she was back in the good books or not, and Kate in turn was uncertain whether she could trust Anna to be polite and tolerant towards Alessandro.
Kate smiled. ‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist coming to help. I can cope, you know.’
‘I know,’ Anna said as she unpacked the bags of organic carrots, parsnips and cabbage she’d just picked up from the local farm shop and put them by the sink to be washed. ‘But you have a lot of people coming over and I thought as well as helping, it would be a good idea to get here early and catch up.’
‘Catch up?’ Kate took the very expensive looking jar of horseradish sauce that Anna handed to her from the depths of her carrier bag. ‘The kind of catch up where you warn me that you’re not going to promise you’ll like Alessandro or that this dinner will suddenly make everything hunky-dory?’
‘Don’t be like that.’ Anna frowned and planted her hands on her hips. ‘Can’t you see I’m trying?’
‘You’re trying alright,’ Kate muttered.
‘It’s hard for me to understand, that’s all. But I will do my best to like him. After all, I want to feel confident that the man you’re going off to Italy with is the right man for you, so why put barriers in the way of that? I’m going to be happier if I think you’re OK; I’d have thought that much was obvious.’
‘I’m not exactly going off to Italy with him; I was going to go to Italy anyway. It just so happens that we’ll be a couple when I get there. My life won’t revolve around him.’
‘I didn’t say that. But support will be further away if it goes wrong.’
‘It won’t go wrong,’ Kate said, though she wished the conviction in her voice was what she truly felt in her heart.
‘You can’t know for sure,’ Anna said, airing Kate’s fears for her. ‘Look what happened with Matt.’
‘I was trying not to.’
Anna pulled a colander from a unit and began to tear the leaves from the cabbage to wash. ‘I have to say I am quite impressed that Alessandro has come to England just to meet your family.’
‘Well, I’ve met his, so I suppose it makes sense,’ Kate said, choosing not to remind her of the real reason he had come, which was almost exclusively Anna’s doing. It wouldn’t serve any purpose to bring up that argument again, and Kate could see that Anna really was trying to put a positive spin on things, even if that was only to convince herself rather than anyone else. ‘I wish you wouldn’t worry quite so much. Is my character judgement really that bad?’
Anna paused and turned to her. ‘No. But some people are really good at pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. You read about these things all the time – lonely women being conned by suave rogues.’
‘Lovely,’ Kate huffed. ‘So that’s what you think of me, is it? A sad, lonely, desperate divorcee who will throw herself at the first man who takes an interest?’
‘Of course not!’ Anna turned back to the cabbage and began to rip at it. ‘I’m just saying I have some right to be suspicious. You’d thank me if he did turn out to be a bad one, and I would never forgive myself for not intervening.’
‘You think you’d be a better judge than me? How come you’d be able to spot a con man but I couldn’t?’
‘Because you’re emotionally involved and I’m not. They say love is blind and I think that can be quite true.’
‘Besides,’ Kate sniffed as she filled a pan with water, ‘you’re talking about rich old spinsters being courted by men who want British passports or money. As Alessandro needs neither of those I don’t see how he could possibly be a danger.’
‘I don’t know what other reasons might be out there. Some men just get a kick out of screwing people over.’
‘Anna, he’s a policeman. What more proof do you want of his integrity?’
‘That doesn’t mean anything. He might not do anything to break the law but he might still be emotionally stunted. In fact—’
‘Whatever horror story you’re about to tell me, you can save it!’
‘Alright. . . no need to get shirty.’
‘I’m not shirty! It’s just that we seem to be going round in circles. Please, can you get these ideas out of your head and give him the benefit of the doubt? Just try, for me?’
Anna was silent for a moment. She tore the last of the leaves from the cabbage and tossed the stalk into the bin. ‘Only because I know it means a lot to you,’ she said finally.
Kate pulled her into a hug. ‘Thank you. It does mean a lot to me and if you give him a chance I know you’ll love him.’
‘I can’t promise but I will try. I won’t hold back if I see something I don’t like, though.’
Kate smiled. ‘I know you won’t be capable of holding back. But I honestly don’t think that will happen.’
Anna sniffed the air. ‘Does your meat need checking?’
‘It’s fine, I just checked it before you came.’
‘What’s the joint?’
Kate shrugged. ‘I don’t know. . . it’s just beef, I didn’t really look.’
‘So how do you know the correct way to cook it?’
‘I looked at the instructions on the label.’
Anna frowned. ‘Nobody uses the instructions to cook meat.’
‘What are they there for then?’
‘For people who don’t know how to cook.’
‘That’s me then. So it’s lucky there are instructions for me to follow or we’d be eating raw meat.’
Anna rolled her eyes. ‘It’s a good job I’m here.’
‘I have cooked Sunday dinner before – many times.’
‘Yes, but you’ve never had an Italian over for Sunday dinner before – they know about food.’
‘And you’re saying I don’t?’
‘Clearly not judging by the way you’ve tackled your roast. . .’
Kate opened her mouth to reply, but then she grinned.
‘What?’ Anna asked.
‘Nothing,’ Kate replied, but her grin spread. Anna would never admit it, but Kate had a feeling she was warming to the idea of Alessandro already. Otherwise, why would she care so much that he approved of their cooking?
‘Where’s your veg scraper?’ Anna asked, her tone brusque.
Yep, she was definitely more bothered about the success of this
afternoon than she was letting on. At least Kate hoped so, because it would make life a lot easier.
Kate had never seen Alessandro look scared of anything, not even when he’d been hunting down a known felon at the Colosseum, but he looked something close to scared now, sitting at the dinner table, surrounded by her sisters and their partners, all regarding him with curious eyes. A huge slab of roast beef took centre stage on the table, a little charcoaled around the edges but under the circumstances, Kate reflected, it could have been a lot worse. It wasn’t as if she’d been short of distractions in the kitchen, and Anna’s well-intentioned help had ended up as more of a hindrance by the time she’d finished either trying to take over Kate’s kitchen or talking her ears off. The joint was flanked by her best serving dishes – usually reserved for Christmas Day so they looked incongruously festive right now – containing as many vegetables as she could think of to accompany the meat. The collection was finished off by a steaming pile of golden roast potatoes and a plate of Yorkshire puddings standing next to a holly-and-ivy decorated gravy boat.
‘It smells wonderful,’ Alessandro said. His smile was fixed, as if someone had stapled it to his face. Kate tried to give him a reassuring one of her own, but it felt a bit the same if she was honest.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘It won’t match up to your mother’s cooking but I hope you’ll like it.’
‘I am sure it will be delicious,’ he replied. ‘What is it called?’
‘Roast beef with all the trimmings. The trimmings just means it has veg and potatoes with it.’
He nodded. ‘Ah. I do not eat this at home.’
‘We have it every Sunday. . . well, most Sundays anyway.’
‘You don’t,’ Anna said, raising her eyebrows at Kate.
‘Sometimes I do,’ she replied defensively.
‘It must be a great deal of work to prepare,’ Alessandro cut in.
Kate glanced at him. Conversation had never been so stilted between them, and she wondered vaguely if someone had sent a cardboard cut-out in the real Alessandro’s place. She hoped things would improve, because she didn’t like this new and boring Alessandro; she wanted the teasing, witty version back, and she wanted Anna and Lily to meet that version too.
‘So, Alessandro,’ Anna turned to him, ‘Kate says you’re a policeman.’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you like your job?’
‘Yes.’
‘And are there a lot of criminals in Rome?’ she asked, throwing a pointed look at Kate as she did.
He shrugged. ‘It is a large city. In every large city there are criminals. But I am proud that we keep Rome as safe as we are able.’
‘Christian,’ Kate cut in. ‘Would you mind carving for me?’ She threw a pointed look of her own at Anna. Another comment like that and she would have to take her sister in the kitchen and give her a good slap.
‘No problem,’ Christian said cheerfully. He seemed to be the only person in the room unaffected by the odd atmosphere, and he whistled softly as he began hacking at the meat in a way that was like no carving Kate had ever seen before, although she was quite sure she had seen something similar being done to a victim during a horror movie once. But it was easier to let him get on with it and he seemed to be happy enough with his little chore. It was clear that Anna never let him anywhere near a job as important as carving at home.
‘I think law enforcement must be a very difficult job,’ Joel said, and Lily nodded agreement. ‘Anyone who does it has my respect.’
‘I think so too,’ Kate said, grateful beyond words that her youngest sister was there to lend some support.
‘Especially with all that Mafia wandering around Italy,’ Joel added, and Kate almost choked on the wine she had just taken a gulp of.
‘I’m pretty sure there aren’t Mafia bosses on every street corner,’ she said, glancing quickly at Alessandro and hoping he wasn’t offended. Suddenly this dinner didn’t seem like a good idea after all. At the very least she should have briefed not only Anna, but everyone else on what not to say. Next he’d be asking how many Cornettos a day Alessandro ate.
Alessandro, to her relief, smiled patiently. ‘Most of what I deal with is simple. Lost tourists and stolen purses and other such things.’ He looked at Kate, and for the first time that afternoon she saw a little of the old Alessandro in his eyes.
‘But that’s how you met, isn’t it?’ Lily asked. ‘Kate’s stolen purse?’
Alessandro looked to Kate for guidance. He must have guessed that she wouldn’t tell her sisters about the actual first time they’d met, when she’d been drunk and ridiculously vulnerable on the Spanish Steps and he’d had to pick her up and see her back to her hotel.
‘That’s how we met,’ Kate replied for him.
‘I think it sounds romantic,’ Lily said. She turned to Joel. ‘Doesn’t it?’
‘I suppose,’ Joel said, looking as though he wouldn’t know romantic if it slapped him around the goolies.
‘I expect you get a lot of women coming to you reporting stolen things,’ Anna said.
Kate frowned. Anna had promised to behave, and this wasn’t Kate’s idea of behaving.
‘Some,’ Alessandro said. ‘I do what I can to help make it better so it does not spoil their trip to Rome.’
‘I’ll bet you do,’ Anna said.
Kate kicked out, and her foot connected with a shin under the table.
‘Ow!’ Christian cried, almost dropping the carving knife. He stared at Kate. ‘What. . .?’
‘Oh God, I’m so sorry,’ Kate said. ‘I must have slipped crossing my legs.’ She glanced at Anna and could see the ghost of a smile. Kate glowered at her. Was she doing this on purpose? Did she find it funny?
‘Pass the plates,’ Christian said, gathering up the carving utensils again.
One by one everyone held theirs out as he served the meat.
‘Help yourself to everything else,’ Kate said. There was a flurry of activity, and Kate was gratified to see Lily help herself to a pile of potatoes. Her little sister had lost so much weight over the previous couple of weeks that Kate was almost convinced she would end up in hospital. Kate saw Anna look too and noted the approving smile.
‘You might always burn the meat, despite reading the cooking instructions,’ Anna said to Kate, ‘but you do know how to cook roast potatoes.’
‘What do you mean I always burn the meat? Cheeky cow! I always burn the meat because you always insist on trying to help me and get under my feet instead!’
‘You’d burn the meat anyway. Matt said you did it every time. . .’ Anna stopped. ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, glancing between Kate and Alessandro.
Kate shook her head. ‘Could you pass the peas?’
At least Anna had the decency to look embarrassed this time. She had probably not meant that comment as a jibe in the way she’d been trying to wind Kate up with the others, but this one had cut in a way the others hadn’t. Alessandro didn’t need reminding that Kate had had a life before him, with a man who was firmly entrenched into her family in a way he could never be. Kate didn’t need reminding of it either. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed the comment at all, but it was hard to tell what was going through his mind as he concentrated on spooning some of Anna’s organic spring cabbage onto his plate.
‘Would you like the carrots, Alessandro?’ Anna asked him with uncharacteristic shyness. He looked up.
‘Yes, please.’
She reached across the table and handed him the dish with a small smile. ‘They’re good,’ she said. ‘I get them from a local farm shop and he grows them without any chemicals at all.’
‘You should try the parsnips too,’ Lily said. ‘Anna’s honey-roasted parsnips are amazing.’
‘You cooked them?’ Alessandro asked Anna.
‘I only helped today. Kate’s done most of it.’
‘You’ve helped a lot,’ Kate said. ‘With more than the cooking.’
Anna smiled. It seemed that things were mo
ving in the right direction at last.
‘I’m starving,’ Lily said. ‘I’ve been saving myself all day for this.’
‘Well there’s plenty,’ Kate said. ‘And I don’t want to have to freeze any of this as I’m supposed to be emptying the thing, so you’d all better eat up.’
‘I think we can assist with that,’ Christian said, scooping a mound of potatoes onto his plate. He went for the Yorkshire puddings next, and after helping himself to one, handed the dish to Alessandro, who took one.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘A Yorkie,’ Christian said. ‘The best bit of the dinner.’
‘Yorkshire pudding,’ Kate said in reply to Alessandro’s slight frown of confusion.
‘Oh, I have heard of these but I have never eaten one,’ he replied.
‘There’s not much to them really,’ Kate said. ‘I don’t know why everyone gets so excited about them but they do. Sunday dinner’s not really Sunday dinner without one.’
Rome is Where the Heart is: An uplifting romantic read, perfect to escape with (From Italy with Love Book 1) Page 27
