Love at the Italian Lake

by Darcie Boleyn

  *

  As Joe sipped a cold beer an hour later, he tried to ignore the stares from the bar staff and tourists. Sophia was sitting opposite him, sipping from her own bottle and grinning at him knowingly.

  Her plan for him had been one that he’d initially shrugged at, but now he was questioning his sense in agreeing. Because she’d suggested that he tan up too. He already had some colour from his swims and runs but the fake tan that had come out of the bottle was quite a bit darker. And Sophia had told him he had to apply it in a certain way.

  So he had two brown circles on his cheeks and a moustache with curly ends.

  ‘I’m glad you think it’s funny.’

  ‘Well I look like I’ve been dipped in tar, so at least we’re similar in looking silly.’

  ‘But that wasn’t my fault.’

  ‘No but it was kind of your fault that I got stuck in the water.’

  ‘How did I know you’d be such a weakling?’

  Sophia shook her head. ‘Really?’

  ‘No, I just didn’t think. Some boats come with steps at the back or a ladder you can throw over the edge but that one is ill equipped for swimming unless you have some upper body strength.’

  ‘And don’t come moisturised.’

  ‘Exactly. I have to admit that I did panic there for a moment when you slid from my grasp.’

  ‘You panicked? I was the one about to be devoured by the hungry fish!’

  ‘I don’t think there are any human flesh eaters out there.’

  ‘Have you been to the museum recently? I’m still shaking.’

  She held out a hand and Joe watched as it trembled. His heart shifted and he took hold of her hand and squeezed it. ‘I really am sorry. I wanted today to be fun not terrifying.’

  ‘It was fun, Joe.’

  ‘Honestly?’

  ‘I promise. And it will make a great story to tell someday. After I’ve recovered, of course.’

  ‘Would you let me buy you dinner tonight to make up for it?’

  ‘Dinner?’

  ‘Yes. I know a great little restaurant.’

  ‘That would be nice. You have the evening off?’

  ‘I’m working until eight but I can pick you up then.’

  ‘Okay. Cheers.’

  She clinked her beer bottle against his, then took a long drink.

  He brushed a finger over his face, then looked at it. There was a faint brown hue on his fingertip.

  ‘You won’t be able to get rid of it for a while.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

  He leaned back in his chair and let the afternoon breeze wash over him. He hadn’t let on exactly how worried he’d been when he couldn’t pull Sophia out of the water. It wasn’t that she was too heavy for him to lift or that she was weak, it was just that she’d been so bloody slippery. He’d had images of them waiting for another boat to come to help them out and then he’d have felt like a right idiot. What kind of man took a woman out into the middle of the water, then couldn’t get her out of it?

  And she was so beautiful in her skimpy black bikini – even with her streaky tan. He’d had to really focus on keeping himself from staring at her curves and from inappropriate excitement when he’d eventually dragged her from the water and she’d landed on top of him. It would have been embarrassing to get overly excited as they lay there on deck, hearts hammering with relief and exertion and both clad in just swimwear.

  But she was safe and Joe was more relieved than he’d ever been. And the thought of taking her back to her grandmother’s and not seeing her again for a few days made him feel so low. So he’d acted on impulse and asked her out again. That evening!

  He wasn’t sure what she thought it meant, but was glad she’d said yes. Maybe she was just being friendly.

  Yet as he gazed at her over his beer bottle, with her rosy cheeks and streaky tan, with her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders and her purple top clinging to her damp bikini, Joe knew that he saw something in Sophia that made him want more than just her friendship. She made him laugh at silly things and she helped him relax. He felt comfortable with her, like he didn’t need to try to be something he wasn’t. And although that made him a bit afraid, it also made him feel something else.

  And in spite of all his vows to stay away from women, he couldn’t deny that what Sophia made him feel most of all was, quite simply, hope.

  Chapter 13

  Sophia ended the call, then lay back on the bed. She’d phoned her parents to let them know how her break in Malcesine was going and to tell them about the speedboat adventure. She thought it would make them laugh. However, once she’d heard her Mum’s voice, panic rose as she wondered how to tell her the truth. She’d listened to her mother talking about her brothers and the regulars at the restaurant and she’d been overwhelmed with the knowledge of the impact the revelation would have on all of their lives.

  And she missed them all so much, yet… she didn’t feel the urge to go home. Not right now anyway. She knew that if she packed up and went back now, that she’d feel as if she was leaving unfinished business here in Italy.

  In more ways than one.

  There was her nonna and the secret, of course. She needed to work out how to deal with that one.

  Then there was Joe.

  If she went back to London now, she wouldn’t have the chance to get to know him better and something about that idea made her heart sink.

  Towards the end of the conversation, she’d been about to tell her mother that she’d got stuck in the water but she knew that if she said anything about Joe, that her mother would instantly want to know everything. And Sophia wasn’t sure what she felt about Joe, about where their friendship was heading or what she wanted from him. As well as what he wanted from her. She knew that something in her voice would betray her and her mother would either become excited about the fact that Sophia had been spending time with a man she liked, or that she’d be shocked and warn Sophia to stay away from all men after what she’d been through with Lee. Besides, whatever the outcome, Sophia knew her mother would be concerned and she didn’t want that. Not when there was nothing, really, to worry about.

  And what about what she’d learned in the letter? Speaking to her mother was hard when Sophia knew something that her mother should know too. Secrets this big tore families apart, they wounded people and made it impossible for them to reconcile. Sophia had found herself longing to be honest yet unable to say anything because it wasn’t her place to do so.

  She’d asked if her mother wanted to speak to Nonna too, but Stella had declined, saying she’d ring her next week as she had a million things to do.

  So what should she do now? Shower and get ready for her dinner date with Joe, probably. But the issue of the secret would still be there, hanging over her and making her worry about her family.

  She had to speak to Nonna about it now or she’d never be able to relax and enjoy Joe’s company. They’d had a good day together, in spite of her dip in the lake and subsequent inability to get out. Looking back on it now, she could see the funny side. It was easier to smile about something when you weren’t terrified of being dragged under the water by a giant fish. Sophia wanted to be able to giggle about the speedboat ride with Joe when they went out for dinner, not worry about the fact that she was keeping a something huge from her Mum. Because of her Nonna.

  She got up and padded across the landing, then down the stairs. She could hear her grandmother humming in the kitchen and smell the delicious aroma of freshly baked rolls.

  This wasn’t going to be easy, but it was one of those things that had to be done.

  ‘Nonna?’

  ‘Si, bella.’ Nonna turned from the table where she was putting bread rolls onto a wire rack. ‘Oh my darling, what is it? You look like you’ve been bitten by a spider.’

  ‘I need to speak to you.’

  ‘Is something wrong?’ She opened her arms and Sophia walked into her embrace. ‘And you’re trembling. Come si
t down.’

  Sophia allowed her nonna to push her down onto a chair then accepted the shawl that she retrieved from the cupboard in the hallway. It smelled of lavender and paper from being kept folded in their cupboard with all the paperwork.

  ‘Do you want coffee?’

  Sophia shook her head. ‘No, thank you. Can you sit down? I need to tell you something.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Nonna sat next to Sophia and rested her gnarled hands upon the tabletop. Sophia looked at them with their slightly swollen knuckles and thick blue veins that ran under the olive skin, like rivers heading to the sea.

  ‘Go on,’ Nonna said.

  ‘I love you so much.’

  ‘I love you too.’

  ‘And I have missed you. I didn’t realize how much until I actually came out here again but it’s been a long time and now I’m with you, I… I just want to spend more time with you.’

  ‘Sophia, that means so much to me to hear that. I have missed you too. Just as I miss your mother… and your father. And, of course, your brothers and my great-grandchildren.’

  ‘I’m sorry that we all live so far away.’

  ‘It is the way of life, Sophia. Children grow up and move on and nothing stays the same. Your mother had her own life to live and she made her own choices. That is how it should be. A parent should never hold their children back. One day, perhaps you will be a mother too and you will understand.’ She smiled and covered Sophia’s hand with her own.

  ‘Perhaps. But… I’m just going to have to say it.’ She stared hard at the bread rolls with their crusty golden exteriors. She knew that inside they would be soft and fluffy, perfectly cooked to cover with creamy butter and sweet strawberry jam, or fragrant lemon curd made from locally grown lemons.

  ‘What, bella?’

  ‘The other day, when you asked me to get the box of photographs… I found something else. I didn’t mean to but it just fell out of the box and… and I think I shouldn’t have seen it but I did.’

  ‘Sophia!’ Her nonna shook her head. ‘I cannot think what you might have found. There are no secrets here.’ She bit her bottom lip and her eyes widened. ‘Oh my goodness.’ She covered her chest with both hands.

  ‘I’m so sorry. I dropped the box and the letter fell out. The envelope wasn’t sealed and so I shouldn’t have but… I read it.’ She hung her head and her dark hair flopped forwards over her face. She let it hang there like curtains around a stage.

  ‘You found the letter I wrote for your mother?’

  Sophia nodded.

  ‘The letter that tells her… the truth about…’

  Sophia nodded again.

  ‘Oh… Sophia, I’m so sorry. That wasn’t meant for your eyes. I wrote it a long, long time ago, when I had a little health scare. I got it into my head that I didn’t have long left. But I was wrong and I am fine and… I am a tough old woman and may well live for many more years.’ She reached out and gently lifted Sophia’s chin. ‘It is not your fault that you found the letter and I do not blame you for reading it. Perhaps, my tesoro, you were meant to.’

  ‘Meant to?’

  Nonna inclined her head. ‘Secrets have a way of escaping. Sometimes they are helped along by the people who hide them and sometimes by other means. Regardless, secrets will out and this one has been a long time hidden. Have you told your mother?’

  ‘No. Of course not. It’s not my place to tell her.’

  ‘No, it’s not. But I know you are close.’

  ‘I couldn’t tell her… it’s too big a secret.’

  ‘I will tell her then.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Give me some time to think about it. Per favore?’

  ‘Of course. But please take care when you do tell her because she’s going to be devastated.’

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘Well… yes! Why wouldn’t she be?’

  ‘I have often wondered if she would be happy to find out that I’m not her biological mother. I have been a disappointment to her for the way I reacted to your father. I believed that she might be happier to know the truth because then she could free herself of me and not feel guilty.’

  ‘No, you’re wrong. She does love you… whatever’s gone on between you. She never told me any of it but I knew something wasn’t right. But for all that might not be perfect in your relationship, I know that Mum loves you. She always has.’

  She met her grandmother’s wise old eyes then and saw sorrow in their depths.

  ‘I will tell her, bella, I promise. It is time. This is the sign I guess I was waiting for.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘No, my sweetheart, thank you.’

  *

  Joe walked up the incline towards Sophia’s grandmother’s house. The evening air was mild and fragrant with the sweetness of the flowers that bloomed in window boxes and burst from flowerpots outside front doors and shop fronts. He was warm in his grey polo shirt and black jeans but not uncomfortably so.

  He’d been looking forward to seeing Sophia since they’d parted ways earlier that day. Ridiculous, as he’d spent the best part of the morning and early afternoon with her. But Sophia had got under his skin and though he kept telling himself she was just a friend, he couldn’t get the way her beautiful dark eyes seemed lit up from within, and the way she smiled so openly, out of his head. There was just something magnetic about her and he was being pulled into her field. Joe knew he should call this evening off and keep his distance for a bit, to allow his emotions to settle, but that idea made him irrationally irritated, and he kept finding reasons to justify seeing her again.

  He knocked the front door then stepped back and waited. He put his hands in his pockets then pulled them out again but couldn’t find a comfortable way to rest them, so he tucked them back in.

  He waited.

  There was no response.

  So he knocked again.

  Nothing.

  He’d definitely said eight. He checked his watch and it was five past eight. So where was she?

  He took a step back and peered up at the first-floor windows. The net curtain over the one on the left billowed gently but there was no sign of life.

  What should he do?

  He’d booked a table at the small restaurant on the front and he wanted Sophia to see how beautiful it was there. So if he left now, he’d have to go straight there and cancel. Or eat alone.

  He knocked again but there was still no answer. Concern churned in his gut. What if something was wrong and Sophia was hurt or needed help? If he left, then she could be inside, lying on the floor, willing him to enter and save her.

  Irrational?

  Maybe.

  But he was starting to understand that he wasn’t always rational when it came to this woman.

  He tried the handle and it gave beneath his hand, so he entered the hallway and closed the door quietly behind him.

  ‘Sophia?’

  He walked through to the lounge but it was empty. Then he tried the kitchen but it was the same. She could be upstairs, possibly drying her hair and unable to hear him over the noise.

  ‘Sophia?’ He said it louder and this time there was a bang from upstairs, then he heard footsteps.

  Sophia appeared at the top of the staircase.

  ‘I hope it was okay to come in but I was knocking and no one answered, then I got worried and… are you okay?’

  She shook her head as she descended the stairs, clinging all the while to the banister.

  When she stood before him, he could see that her eyes were puffy and red and she was clutching a tissue.

  ‘What is it? What happened?’

  She placed a finger over her lips then pointed in the direction of the first floor. ‘Nonna’s resting.’

  He followed her through to the kitchen then sat at the table with her.

  ‘I told her about the letter. About knowing the secret.’

  ‘Oh!’ He rested his hands on his knees. ‘And how did that go down?’


  ‘Not as badly as I anticipated but it was still hard.’

  ‘Of course it was. And is she going to tell your mum?’

  ‘Yes. But she asked for some time to get her head around it.’

  ‘Well that’s a good thing, right?’

  She shook her head and a tear ran down her cheek. Before he could stop himself, Joe had reached out and smoothed the tear away with his thumb. Sophia met his eyes and something passed between them. Joe felt as if he’d been struck by lightning as something hot and white shot through his chest.

  Suddenly Sophia was out of her chair and in his arms. Her hands were in his hair and her lips were against his and he was holding her tight. So very tight.

  As they kissed, his hands roamed her curves and desire welled inside him. He feathered kisses over her cheeks then down her neck and over her collar bones, yearning to go lower, yet being held back by the knowledge of where he was and the fact that she’d been upset. He didn’t want to take advantage. But if she’d taken his hand and led him upstairs in that moment, he’d have struggled to hold back.

  When they finally parted, Sophia laid her head on his shoulder and he held her there, her legs across his lap, his hands on her waist. She felt so small, so warm. So soft and so perfect.

  And though he was thrilled by the kiss and his whole body throbbed with pent-up need, Joe groaned inwardly as the reality of what had just happened sank in.

  Now he was really in trouble…

  Because he was falling for Sophia Bertoni.

  Chapter 14

  Sophia helped Joe to straighten out the blanket, then she sat down next to him. After they’d finally let each other go, Joe had suggested that because she was upset they forget about going for a meal and, instead, he’d get some food together and bring it back to her grandmother’s. She’d been touched by how considerate he was, especially as she knew he’d have to cancel the reservation he’d made. But when he returned, Sophia had asked if they could go outside to eat it as she needed some fresh air and she thought that Nonna needed some space.

  So here they were. Joe had found them a spot just off the lake path, in a sheltered corner, so they could enjoy being close to the water while also having some privacy.