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

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘You’d think, but Mum says he’s boring everyone at the pub about it at every opportunity.’

  Kate smiled. ‘Just like him. It’s nothing serious, though?’

  ‘Oh I don’t think so. Mum would have sounded a lot more worried than she did if the doctors were looking for anything sinister. She says they’re trying to find out why he’s so windy.’

  ‘God! Please, no more details!’ Kate laughed. ‘I hope he doesn’t wear his kilt too often if wind is a real issue!’

  Lily giggled, and Kate was relieved to hear it. Perhaps she’d been wrong – perhaps there was no need to worry about her sister after all. It was only natural, she supposed, that being so far away from a sister she was so close to would make her dread the idea that she might not be there when she was needed.

  ‘I’m glad I’m out here and away from Hamish and his wind right now and I think I’ll keep well clear until it’s been sorted.’

  ‘It is still weird to think you’re not coming back,’ Lily said. ‘Soon you’ll be a regular Italian and we’ll barely recognise you when we next see you.’

  Not that soon if I don’t get a job, Kate thought.

  One other consequence of Signora Conti’s illness was that Kate had postponed her estate-agent training with Shauna. Once Signora Conti had been discharged from hospital, Kate had been keen to offer support to Abelie, who was now the only daughter left at home and who had a job and commitments of her own (as all the Conti siblings did), whereas Kate had no job and very few commitments as of yet, and it seemed only fair she pitched in. To her surprise, Signora Conti was delighted with the idea, and she was happy to let Kate nurse her until someone else could take over. Kate was returning to her apartment every night exhausted but secretly rather happy with the progress they were making on a personal level. She was learning a fair amount of Italian too, not having a lot of choice when Signora Conti spoke so little English. And Alessandro told her one evening that his mother had started to call Kate her angelo – her angel – a fact that had apparently left Maria looking sour but made Kate swell with pride.

  Shauna hadn’t been quite so happy with Kate’s request to postpone joining her for a couple of weeks. Kate could understand it, of course, but Shauna’s attitude also strengthened the doubts that were already plaguing Kate about the decision she’d taken to accept the job, especially when everyone else still seemed to think it was a bad idea.

  ‘It might be a little while before that happens,’ Kate said to Lily now on the phone.

  ‘Perhaps, but I think you’ll get there. You always sound so optimistic and determined to make it work that I’m sure it will. I’m sorry we can’t visit yet, but we’re working on it. Honest.’

  ‘How could I be anything else?’ Kate replied cheerfully. ‘Anyway, I have Jamie arriving this weekend and he’s manic enough for ten people. I’ll probably never want another visitor again!’

  ‘I wish I could meet him; he sounds amazing.’

  ‘He is,’ Kate said. ‘I wish you could meet him too, but I’m sure it’ll happen one day.’

  ‘Is he staying with you?’

  ‘No, in a hotel. It’s probably better that way – I rather like my liver and he’d be doing his best to pickle it at every opportunity if he was here at the flat. This way I get a few hours’ break at least.’

  Lily laughed. ‘I thought it was a work trip.’

  ‘It is. You should see him on a proper holiday!’

  ‘You’re happy, though? With your new life?’

  ‘Getting there,’ Kate said. She could lie, say everything was fantastic, but Lily would see through it, and Kate was juggling enough lies at the moment without adding more. ‘It’ll work out, but it needs time.’

  ‘Like any big life decision, then.’

  ‘Hmmm. If you could arrange for Orazia to disappear that would be a big help. And perhaps get Maria brainwashed while you’re at it.’

  ‘If only,’ Lily replied. ‘There are a few people I’d sort out at home first if I could do either of those things.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Kate said. ‘We all have that one person who’s the bane of our existence, don’t we?’ Her gaze was drawn to the shadows creeping along the windowsill, stealing the colour from the room. She glanced at the clock. ‘Much as I hate to cut you off, I’m supposed to be visiting the matriarch in an hour. You know, because I’m Signora Conti’s angelo and she couldn’t possibly do without me.’

  ‘Don’t let the praise go to your head.’

  ‘No way.’ Kate grinned. ‘As if.’

  Chapter Eight

  Jamie’s hug was warm and very welcome. She hadn’t realised just how much she’d missed him until he was there, in front of her, for real and not just on a screen, sunlight catching the gold in his hair and his blue eyes crinkled in a warm smile.

  ‘You look amazing!’ she said, stepping back to appraise him. And he did, dressed in a soft blue shirt and jeans that showed off his slim hips. ‘Nobody would guess you’d been on a plane for most of the day.’

  ‘So do you. It’s so good to see you!’ He pulled her into his arms again and swung her around. She shrieked with laughter.

  ‘So, what do you want to do first?’ Kate asked as she linked her arm through his and they walked away from the glass entrance of his hotel. She felt like a kid let out to play without parental supervision for the first time; familiar places were shiny and new again and all possibilities were to be grabbed at once.

  ‘Now, I don’t believe I’m hearing this,’ he said in a mock stern voice.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t you recall the first place I head to whenever I hit Rome?’

  ‘The hotel bar? Red light district? Massage parlour?’ Kate gave a coquettish wiggle of her eyebrow and he chuckled.

  ‘Gelato!’ he said.

  ‘Oh!’ Kate grinned, almost bouncing along with the pleasure his company was bringing. ‘The gelato shop! The one we visited on my first day when you tried to marry me off to some random Irish man.’

  ‘There was nothing random about him; he had great credentials.’

  ‘How do you know? We’d never seen him before!’

  ‘Honey, the only credentials you needed were in front of your face. He was smoking hot!’

  ‘I hadn’t noticed. . .’

  ‘Liar!’

  ‘Some of us aren’t as shallow as you. Pretty faces, that’s all you care about.’

  ‘Ooooh!’ Jamie clutched at his chest. ‘Arrow through the heart! If you’re gonna keep insulting me then I’ll just go right back to my hotel and sulk!’

  ‘You can’t because I wouldn’t let you.’

  ‘Couldn’t stop me.’

  ‘You’d be surprised what I could do if I put my mind to it.’

  ‘Now that I can believe.’

  ‘So you’re taking me for gelato right now?’

  ‘No, you’re taking me for gelato – that’s how this works.’

  ‘You’re paying,’ Kate sang.

  ‘OK, but just this once and only because I love you.’

  ‘Aww, I love you too. Especially when you buy me gelato.’

  The shop had been refurbished, with wrought-iron fittings, delicate ironwork tables and pink and peach walls that glowed in the sunlight filtering through pretty white shutters. Kate was pleased to note that nothing else had changed and the gelato was every bit as good as she remembered. She’d gone for a scoop of pistachio this time, coupled with their new salted-caramel flavour, which was creamy, sweet, piquant and divine. Jamie had opted for a whole three scoops, which threatened to overflow from his bowl as he carried it to a table, but he made short work of it and laughed as he patted his stomach.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about this ever since I checked in at JFK.’

  ‘I don’t know how you stay so slim,’ Kate said, raising her eyebrows at him, half a bowl still left in front of her.

  ‘I’m active.’

  ‘I’m active too but I’m sure I’d look like a bowl o
f gelato if I ate it like that.’

  ‘I get a break, don’t I? It’s not like I can get it in New York.’

  ‘You have gelato in New York, surely?’

  ‘True. But it’s not like it is here.’

  He scraped his spoon around the edges of his bowl, eking out the last of the creamy goodness.

  ‘You’ll take the pattern off that bowl,’ Kate said.

  ‘Huh? Is this another of your sayings?’

  ‘My gran used to say it when you were intent on getting the last of the food off your plate. You know, like you’re scraping so hard the pattern will come off the china.’

  ‘If it tastes as good as the gelato I don’t care; I’ll eat the pattern clean off.’

  Kate giggled. ‘I’ve missed you.’

  ‘You’ve had Alessandro and his huge family to keep you company.’

  ‘I have. But they don’t make me laugh in the same way you do.’

  ‘Even Alessandro?’

  ‘Alessandro is good at other things. . .’

  Jamie held up a hand. ‘Please. . . don’t torture me with the details! So,’ he continued, ‘tell me if I’m up to speed: Orazia is still trying to get her perfectly manicured claws into your man, Maria is on her side, everyone else was on your side until they found out about the divorce and now you don’t know whose side they’re on but you think secretly that they might be on hers, apart from Mamma Conti, who wasn’t on your side, but now that she has a reason not to be on your side suddenly is. . . Does that make sense to you? Because it sure as hell doesn’t to me!’

  ‘Pretty much sums it up.’ Kate licked a drip from her finger. ‘It’s got to the point where even I don’t know what’s going on anymore. I have been thinking that maybe I’m a bit wrong about Orazia though . . .’

  ‘Oh? How so?’

  ‘I don’t know. . . but ever since Alessandro’s mum got ill, she’s been behaving pretty decently actually – visiting her and the family, fetching bits and pieces, being almost courteous to me. . . Maybe she’s coming to terms with the fact that things have changed and that Alessandro and I are for keeps. I can’t say we’ll ever be best friends but. . .’ She shrugged.

  ‘Maybe, but I wouldn’t let your guard down.’ Jamie reached across, swivelled his spoon in Kate’s bowl and pulled out a large cloud of gelato like candy floss on a stick, which he proceeded to stuff into his mouth.

  ‘I won’t,’ Kate replied, frowning in her attempt to hold back a laugh. He grinned in return and went to take another spoonful, but her deepening frown must have turned into something genuinely scary because he seemed to change his mind and let his spoon drop back into his own bowl. ‘But I hate thinking the worst of anyone,’ Kate continued. ‘I want to believe that we’ve turned a corner on the whole thing. I can’t quite believe it yet, even though I’d like to, but the idea is a nice one.’

  ‘And what about this job? They’re all telling you not to take it. . . do you think maybe you should listen to them?’

  ‘I think it’s OK for them to tell me I’m being played for a fool because they all have a job or don’t need one, and if they did need one, they’d find it much easier to come by. I have to take opportunities when I see them and they don’t seem to understand that. What do you think?’

  ‘I think you’re right. After all, it’s what America thrives on – seized opportunities. I say go for it and see what happens. The worst is that you’ll eventually tell her to shove her unpaid training up her ass, but the best is that it turns into a real break that could make you big bucks.’

  ‘See!’ Kate smiled as she let her spoon clatter into her bowl. ‘I can always rely on you to see things for exactly what they are – and to say them exactly how you see them.’

  ‘So you want me to come and entertain Mamma Conti?’ he continued.

  ‘The problem is, if she knows you’re coming she’ll try and cook a banquet and I don’t think she’s up to it. And even if she doesn’t know you’re coming, when you turn up she’ll be trying to cook as soon as you arrive. I’m sure she’d love to see you, though.’

  ‘Maybe you can cook for her.’

  Kate raised her eyebrows. ‘Me? Cook for Alessandro’s mother? Are you kidding?’

  ‘I’d help.’

  ‘But I can’t cook anything she likes.’

  ‘Who’s been doing it so far?’

  ‘Mostly Abelie. The others bring in stuff they’ve cooked at home, or they come and take over the kitchen to give Abelie a break. Nobody has even considered me cooking. I think Alessandro might have let on I’m not that great.’

  ‘I thought he liked your cooking. You cooked for him in England, right?’

  ‘I think he might have lied about liking it.’

  ‘I bet Mamma Conti can lie with the best of them if she had to.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Kate gave a wry smile. ‘That makes me feel so much better about it. I will do anything for that woman – take her to the toilet, bring her drinks, blanket wash, even argue with her for an hour about why she should be taking her meds when she absolutely refuses to – but not that. My cooking is too shameful; she’d probably end up back in hospital.’

  ‘Alessandro can cook?’

  ‘Yes, but I think even he’d baulk at the idea of putting something in front of his mum. I mean, she’s the kitchen queen – nobody does gnocchi like she does. Come to think of it, nobody does anything like she does.’

  Jamie leaned across the table. Kate recognised the look only too well, despite not having seen it for a good few months. It was his reckless, here-comes-a-crazy-idea look. ‘Why don’t we cook for her? You and me? She’s in no position to complain if she doesn’t like it!’

  ‘Are you kidding me? She could complain if she was in a coma! That’s one thing the woman does well no matter what.’

  ‘We’ll hire a chef, then.’

  ‘What? You’re crazy! Who’s going to do that?’

  ‘There are plenty of chefs in Rome. I’m sure I could find someone.’

  Kate was silent for a moment. But then she gave her head a tiny shake. ‘No,’ she decided. ‘She would absolutely hate it.’ She let out a sigh. ‘I mean, if you’re determined I’ll put the idea to Alessandro but I think he’ll say the same as me. She won’t want anyone in her kitchen.’

  Jamie leaned back in his seat and eyed her thoughtfully. ‘It doesn’t have to be her kitchen. It could be yours and we could take it over to her.’

  ‘My kitchen is deeply shit.’

  ‘But it’s a kitchen just the same. I only need an oven and a bowl to whip up a mean meatloaf. Come on – let’s introduce her to some good old American food.’

  ‘Don’t forget you came to Rome to work. Don’t you have actual clients to fit in? And meetings and all the other things your boss is paying you to do?’

  ‘But I won’t be doing those all the time. I can create a workable schedule for this. In fact, I’m a genius at creating a workable schedule when it comes to making room for fun.’

  Kate let out a sigh. This was only going to end one way, and that was with Jamie getting what he wanted. He had a knack of persuading you to say yes without even realising you had. But maybe a day in her kitchen fooling around with Jamie was just what she needed. Despite throwing herself into every new challenge life in Rome presented, and despite loving it (when she wasn’t in some state of emotional turmoil) she was tired. Some days everything just seemed like doggy-paddling against the tide, and the shore looked further and further away the harder she swam. A day with Jamie, burning stuff, splatting her kitchen walls with food and just laughing, sounded like a very appealing prospect. Jamie had no connections to anyone, no allegiances, no grudges to play out. He was just her friend, pure and simple, and that was one thing she needed right now.

  ‘The thing about meatloaf,’ Jamie began as he emptied the ingredients from a carrier bag onto Kate’s kitchen counter, ‘is that everyone thinks their recipe is the only one. I happen to put oatmeal in mine, but Brad’s mom thinks that�
��s the most disgusting idea since composting toilets and swears by dried breadcrumbs.’

  ‘Well, as I’ve never eaten meatloaf I’m hardly equipped to judge. And I’m guessing Alessandro’s mother hasn’t either.’

  ‘But,’ he continued, ‘it’s wholesome, and comforting, and easy to make, so we can do enough to feed everyone. She’s going to be a convert, I guarantee. We’ll cook it here and prepare the vegetables so all we have to do is drop them in a pan when we get to Mamma Conti’s house, and sprinkle some Texan love over the plates as we serve up, like my momma used to.’

  ‘Don’t you think we should stick with salt and pepper?’

  Jamie threw her a grin, and then followed it with an apron.

  ‘You bought me an apron?’ Kate turned it around to take a good look. It bore the tags of the shop he’d purchased it from, and it wasn’t a cheap place. ‘You didn’t need to do this.’

  ‘We’re going to be professional about this,’ he said, pulling an identical blue-and-white striped apron from the bag for himself. ‘We’re a team, so we need to look like one.’

  Next from the bag came a white hat. Kate rolled her eyes as he punched the inside to pop it to its full height.

  ‘A chef’s hat? A bloody chef’s hat? What the hell do we want one of those for?’

  ‘Because it’s funny,’ he said. ‘Put it on and quit your whining.’

  ‘What else have you got in there – Gordon Ramsay?’

  ‘No. But I do have this excellent wine to cook with – or rather, to drink while we’re cooking. And I have an iPod full of Dolly Parton. I mean, if we’re making my momma’s meatloaf then we have to listen to Dolly – it’s the law.’

  ‘Personally I’m more of a Coldplay kind of girl, but I suppose we could give it a whirl, just this once.’

  ‘It’ll help the food taste better, trust me.’

  ‘Hmmm, how many times have I fallen for those two words – trust me – and come a cropper?’

  ‘By cropper I’m assuming you mean I got you in trouble?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Harsh.’