A Wedding in Italy: A feel good summer holiday romance (From Italy with Love Book 2)

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘Abelie heard it too!’ Maria replied, giving a look of triumph as she dragged her sister into the fray. ‘Say it, Abelie!’ Maria insisted. ‘You heard her say she would not marry Alessandro.’

  ‘I. . .’ Abelie looked helplessly between Alessandro and Kate. ‘I do not think Kate meant never.’

  ‘But she said it!’ Maria shouted.

  ‘I didn’t say never,’ Kate cried. Her gaze went to Signora Conti, who was watching them, clearly struggling to follow the conversation and clearly desperate to intervene but feeling too weak. On another day and at full strength, this altercation wouldn’t even be taking place in her presence – she would have stamped it out in an instant. But for all Maria’s solicitude on her arrival, her mother had been forgotten at the first sniff of an opportunity to make Kate look bad.

  ‘And what about your husband in England?’ Maria folded her arms, and her look of satisfaction was supreme.

  Kate’s features hardened. ‘I don’t have a husband in England,’ she said. ‘I don’t know who told you I did, but it’s not true.’

  Abelie’s mouth dropped open. She stared at Kate, who felt wretched for the deceit. She and Alessandro had agreed early on that his sisters didn’t need to know about her ex-husband Matt – at least not yet. It wasn’t that they would never tell them, but they would pick the right moment, and it was more to spare any of them accidentally letting the secret out in front of Signora Conti than for any desire to deliberately lie to them.

  Kate could only assume that Orazia was behind this particular security breach, and that she had used her paid hours as a police officer well, investigating Kate’s past. Perhaps Maria had asked her to, or perhaps she’d done it for her own ends. It didn’t matter now – the secret was out and the damage was done.

  ‘Is this true?’ Abelie asked. ‘You have a husband?’

  ‘No. . .’ Kate replied, glancing quickly at Alessandro. ‘Not any more.’

  ‘They are divorced,’ Alessandro said, almost wincing at the word. Signora Conti was silent, watchful, and it was hard to imagine that she wasn’t picking at least some of this up, even just from facial expressions alone.

  ‘You know,’ Abelie said. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’

  ‘It was difficult. . .’

  ‘So now we are a family of lies,’ Maria said into the ensuing pause. She looked at Kate. ‘We did not lie to each other before you came.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, though. . .’ Kate looked pleadingly at Abelie. She was a young woman, and surely she wasn’t so stuck in the old ways that a divorce bothered her. ‘It doesn’t change the way I feel about Alessandro. . . it just means that I have a past. I wanted to forget about it, like a lot of people do. I wish I could, but I can never get away from it. It doesn’t make me a different person, though.’

  ‘I am not worried by divorce, but I am worried that you could not tell me,’ Abelie said quietly. ‘I thought we were friends, but perhaps not.’

  Something had changed between her and Alessandro’s youngest sister; Kate felt it shift in that moment, sensed everything slip out of sync. Abelie and Lucetta had been Kate’s greatest allies in her time in Rome so far, and if she didn’t have them, things would get a whole lot tougher. There was still Lucetta to tell, and then Kate would also have to face Signora Conti’s judgement on the matter too. Things looked set to get worse before they got better, if they ever got better at all.

  Kate was not to find out for some time. Signora Conti started to cough violently, a wretched sound, like someone drowning from within. They all turned to her, but the more they tried to help her stop, the worse she became, until she was gasping for breath. After ten desperate minutes, Alessandro took charge and called for an ambulance. His mother was going to hospital, whether she liked it or not.

  Chapter Seven

  Signora Conti had given birth to every one of her six children at home. She had never been in a hospital bed her whole life, and Kate could only imagine how her children felt seeing her lie there as they sat gathered around her sleeping form.

  ‘She will be unhappy when she wakes,’ Alessandro said. ‘It may have been better for us if she was still coughing. She would not be able to complain about being in the hospital.’ He turned a slight smile to Kate.

  ‘At least she’ll feel more comfortable,’ Kate replied, giving his hand a quick squeeze. ‘I know the doctors haven’t identified her illness yet but she looked so very poorly. . . it’s terrifying to think how close she might have been to real danger. If you hadn’t called the emergency services when you did she might. . .’

  The sentence tailed off. Perhaps it was better not to dwell on what might have been and just give thanks for what was.

  Maria glanced at them, but as Kate caught her, she quickly looked away again. Her eyes were red and she sniffed loudly. It was tempting to feel that justice had been done in Maria’s case, and that the guilt she obviously bore from the situation was no less than she deserved. But Kate just felt sorry for her. They all loved their mother very much, and nobody deserved to lose someone that precious, not even a scheming cow like Maria.

  Isabella and Jolanda were due to arrive shortly. Lucetta had insisted on cutting short her honeymoon after receiving the phone call from Alessandro – despite his reassurance that their mother was now in the best place and getting excellent care – so she was travelling back. The nursing staff were already complaining that there were too many bodies in the room, so nobody had dared to tell them they were expecting many more. But this was a tight family, and there was no way that anyone was going to be missing when Signora Conti needed them most.

  The sound of Maria’s phone ringing made them all jump. Her husband had shot straight from work to collect their youngest child from Signora Conti’s home while Maria accompanied Alessandro, Kate and Abelie to the hospital, and then he had picked up the others from school. It sounded like he was phoning to update Maria on the situation at home and get an update from her on what was happening at the hospital. After a quick glance at Signora Conti, Maria slipped from the room to talk to him in the corridor, leaving Alessandro, Kate and Abelie looking balefully at each other.

  Kate wanted to say something, but she didn’t know where to start. She owed Abelie an apology, and although Maria’s absence would make that easier, she was afraid to rake it up again. It didn’t really seem like the right time either, but the right time might be a long time coming as things currently stood. Alessandro was owed an explanation too, for the things that Maria had revealed, but how did she even begin to explain why she’d said it? He knew she didn’t mean any of it, surely? They were OK, weren’t they? He was close to her now, his hand covering hers, but perhaps that was just the emotional stress of the situation. Perhaps, in the cold light of day, he would remember it and he would demand an explanation, and anything that Kate offered was going to sound immature and trite.

  ‘Abelie, I’m sorry you had to find out about the divorce the way you did. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you or deceive you. I just. . .’ She sighed. ‘I have no explanation. I was scared of what your mamma would think and I didn’t tell you because I thought you might think the same too.’

  ‘I am not a fool,’ Abelie said.

  ‘Nobody thinks you are,’ Kate replied.

  ‘I know that people divorce. When I marry, it will be for the rest of my life, but I know that is not always possible for others.’

  ‘It wasn’t possible for me,’ Kate said, sensing she might be getting somewhere. ‘Matt walked out on me, not the other way round. If not, I suppose we would still be married now.’

  Abelie turned her gaze to Alessandro. ‘Maria is right – we are a family who lies now. Are there more lies to come?’

  He shook his head. ‘We did not tell anyone because we were afraid Mamma would discover the truth and she would be upset.’

  ‘Did you think you would never have to tell her?’ Abelie asked.

  ‘Maybe. I do not know.’ Alessandro glanced at Kate uncert
ainly. She had nothing to add, because that point in the future had been as vague to her as it was to him. They had tried not to think about it and enjoy what they had, believing themselves safe in their secret for as long as they chose to keep it.

  ‘She would have discovered when you tried to marry. . . if you tried to marry.’ Abelie threw a pointed look at Kate. ‘Have you forgotten the rules? A divorced person may not marry in a Catholic church. Mamma would expect you to marry in church and she would want to know why if you did not.’

  Kate spun to look at Alessandro. ‘Is this true?’

  ‘There are things that can be done—’ he began, but Abelie cut him off.

  ‘Your husband must agree to annulment before you can marry Alessandro.’

  ‘My ex-husband,’ Kate corrected. ‘We’re divorced.’

  ‘But in the eyes of the church, you are still married.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous! How can that be?’

  Abelie shrugged. ‘It is the way of things.’

  Kate let out a sigh. The situation was getting more complicated by the minute. Not only did she have a whole web of lies to untangle, it looked as if she now had to ask Matt for a favour – a huge pain-in-the-arse kind of favour that he was very likely to say no to.

  ‘Is there another way?’ she asked.

  ‘But I thought you did not want to marry me,’ Alessandro said. Kate studied him. He was deadly serious, but in his eyes was that look, the one that gently teased her, and she knew she was on safe ground.

  ‘Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad,’ she said with a small smile. ‘Can we marry outside the church?’

  ‘It would be adultery to Mamma,’ Abelie said. ‘In her eyes you are still married to the other man, because that is what the church sees too.’

  It was a bit too late to worry about adultery, because if those were the rules then she’d committed adultery, loudly and enthusiastically, with Alessandro quite a lot since she’d arrived in Rome. Did Signora Conti think they were playing Scrabble on the nights he stayed over? Did revealing her divorce make that situation even worse? ‘Do you think,’ she began thoughtfully, ‘if I got the annulment from Matt, we could get married and your mamma would never need to know about the marriage in the first place?’

  Abelie frowned. ‘More lies.’

  ‘To protect her,’ Kate countered.

  ‘Or to protect you?’

  ‘What are you suggesting? That Alessandro and I can’t be together anymore? Because that is not an option—’

  ‘I know you love him,’ Abelie said, cutting in before the tirade that Alessandro himself looked set to let loose.

  ‘You have no idea how much,’ Kate replied fervently, emotion now getting the better of her and ready for a fight. ‘I have lied, and I’m sorry. But I would lie again, a thousand times a day to keep him in my life, and if I have to make enemies of everyone in Rome then I will do it, because I love him more than I have words for and I am not giving him up!’

  She stopped and held Abelie in a challenging gaze, aware that her chest was tight and her heart was racing.

  Abelie looked from her to Alessandro. There was a pause, and Kate wondered just what she’d unleashed. But then Abelie broke into a small smile.

  ‘Va bene. We will find a way, and one day I will call you sister.’

  The tension in the room seemed to dissipate with her words. Kate relaxed and allowed herself a smile in return. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘We must be honest from now,’ Abelie said, and she gave a disapproving look at Alessandro, who simply nodded and grinned, looking as relieved as Kate felt.

  ‘Please forgive us,’ Kate said. ‘No more secrets, I promise.’

  Abelie crossed the space to hug Kate and Alessandro in turn. As she retook her seat, Maria returned. Her expression was one of suspicion for an instant, but it cleared and she smoothed her features into polite neutrality. ‘Donato will come later with the children.’

  ‘Won’t it be too many people for the hospital room?’ Kate asked.

  Maria almost glared at her but then checked herself. ‘Family must be at the bedside. I want my husband here. Jolanda and Isabella will be here soon with their husbands and children, and Orazia is coming.’

  ‘Orazia?’ Kate flicked an uncertain glance at Alessandro, but his features were unreadable.

  ‘She is a friend of my mother’s,’ Maria said. ‘She wants to visit.’

  ‘I know but. . .’ Kate’s sentence tailed off. There was no argument for Maria’s assertion that wouldn’t make Kate look bad.

  ‘Mamma is fond of Orazia,’ Alessandro said mildly. ‘It will make her happy to know she has come to the hospital.’

  ‘She’s too ill to know who’s here at the moment,’ Kate replied lamely but nobody listened.

  Kate didn’t have to wait long to find out what mood Orazia would bring with her, as Maria’s friend arrived a few moments later. Maria must have phoned her as soon as the ambulance had been called for her to get there so quickly. As she entered, however, she barely acknowledged Kate. Instead, she began to fire a volley of questions at Maria and Abelie, an uncharacteristically soft expression colouring her features as she stared anxiously at the sleeping Signora Conti. After a brief exchange with the sisters, she turned her attention to Alessandro.

  ‘In English please,’ he reminded her in reply to a question she’d asked in their native tongue, and while Orazia sent a sharp glance Kate’s way, the vexation cleared from her face and she nodded shortly. Kate was used to Alessandro reminding people to speak English in front of her, but she’d never felt more pathetic and useless about it than she did at that moment. Orazia was probably tired of hearing it, and the others must be too – they had enough to worry about without trying to frame every sentence in a language not their own. Hell, Kate would probably have felt the same in their shoes.

  ‘It pains my heart to see her so ill,’ Orazia said. ‘I have told our superiors at the Questura and they have agreed that you do not need to work for a few days.’

  ‘Grazie.’ Alessandro gave a tight smile. Orazia leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, and he rubbed her back as she wrapped her arms around him. ‘Grazie, Orazia,’ he repeated.

  Kate’s stomach lurched at the sight. He seemed to be more comforted by that one small gesture from Orazia than anything she had said or done over the past few hours. It was obvious when she thought about it, however, because Orazia understood the family better than Kate could ever hope to; she had known them for years – had worked, socialised, even shared a bed with Alessandro. Of course she’d know just what to say and do. Kate wanted to hate her but Orazia, for once, appeared sincere, her sympathy real and candid, and despite the kick of jealousy in Kate’s gut, she could hardly complain. Orazia was an old friend of the family, no matter what else she was, or what trouble she caused, and it was obvious she cared a great deal for Signora Conti. And Kate found herself unexpectedly wondering whether she’d misjudged Orazia after all.

  ‘I don’t know whether I want to strangle her and finish off what the virus failed to achieve or to kiss her for still being alive,’ Kate said.

  Lily let out a giggle on the other end of the phone. ‘Sounds like you’ve had one hell of a week.’

  ‘You could say that. I’m so glad she’s home, and I don’t mind helping out at all – in fact, I’m mighty honoured that she’s letting me nurse her when she has all those actual daughters queuing up to do it – but she isn’t half hard work.’

  ‘But do you think it’s bringing you closer?’

  Kate mulled over the question for a moment. There was certainly an understanding between her and Signora Conti that seemed not to have existed before she’d been rushed into hospital. Kate couldn’t say what had triggered it, nor could she pinpoint at what exact juncture things had changed, but she felt they had. Perhaps it was simply that they had spent so much time together. Abelie had probably had something to do with it too, now absolutely on Kate’s side, as was Lucetta after a day of sulking that w
as directed more at Alessandro than Kate. Perhaps Uncle Marco had put in a word on Kate’s behalf, as Alessandro had asked him to. Even Maria had developed a grudging tolerance of Kate’s daily presence. In the end, they’d all been so terrified they were losing Signora Conti that it had somehow pulled them together.

  ‘I suppose it is,’ she replied. ‘Though she’s going to hate me again when I tell her about the divorce.’

  ‘I don’t think she really hated you before,’ Lily scolded. ‘You have to stop assuming that people are thinking the worst of you just because they aren’t singing your praises from the rooftops.’

  ‘I know – you’re right. It’s just hard fitting in and pessimism is my natural default setting.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s true either, or you wouldn’t have taken the plunge and moved to Rome in the first place. Does she really need to know about Matt?’

  ‘Apparently, if Alessandro and I want to marry in a Catholic church she’s likely to find out because we’d have to do all this expensive and official church stuff; divorcees can’t marry there unless they do. And she’s pretty big on that.’

  ‘Wow.’ Lily was silent for a moment. ‘Things are changing fast.’

  ‘They are. What’s new there?’ she asked.

  Lily’s reply was delayed. ‘Not a lot,’ she said.

  Kate frowned. It wasn’t like her sister to hold back, but Kate had the distinct feeling she was doing just that.

  ‘Everything’s OK, isn’t it? There’s nothing I need to know about?’

  ‘Of course everything’s OK,’ Lily said breezily. A bit too breezily, but Kate let it pass. If Lily had something important to say, or something that troubled her, Kate had to trust that she would reveal it when she was ready. ‘Mum says Hamish is having a camera up his bum but apart from that it’s very boring here.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say a camera up his bum is exciting!’ Kate said. ‘I’m sure Hamish doesn’t think so.’