AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘That’s such a sad way of looking at things, Alessio.’
Wake-up call.Alessio stiffened, reminded of why what this woman and many others called sad, he labelled realistic—because it was realistic to protect yourself from the pain of loss, and if loving came with loss then he was happy to discard that fantasy.
‘Let’s agree to disagree on that one,’ he said, his voice cool. ‘Trust me on this. We play along for a bit, have some fun in the process, and in a couple of weeks’ time you’ll find that telling a small white lie to help an old man out will have been worth it...’
The ‘old man’, Sophie discovered the following morning, had a spring in his step now that he had been given something to live for.
Since when had he ever admitted to her that he’d been longing to see Alessio involved with a suitable woman?
He had scoffed at his son’s love-life, jabbing his finger disapprovingly at all the pictures in those articles he had shown her over the years, but he had never banged on about his son settling down, far less framed his own happiness as being something influenced by Alessio’s choices. They’d barely been on speaking terms, for heaven’s sake!
Yet now he was heaping praise on the newly outed lovebirds, encouraging them to spend time together and leave him to get on with his recovery, happy in the knowledge that his world was a brighter place.
‘This isn’t going to end well,’ Sophie said worriedly now, as she and Alessio were waved from the door by a beaming Leonard, who had declared himself fit to handle the rest of the work on his house remotely.
They had been discussing the possibility of going on a wine and food tour with a private guide. They would visit the vineyards near one of the lakeside towns and sample the local cuisine, all in five-star luxury. But on hearing of the lovebirds’ sudden relationship, Leonard had been only too happy to send them on their way alone. Nothing, it seemed, should stand in the way of their blossoming love affair.
‘It’ll be fine,’ Alessio murmured. ‘We have the freedom to enjoy ourselves while we’re here. Let’s not find ways of downgrading the opportunity.’
He turned to look at her, swivelling her and then holding her in place. In truth, Alessio was happy with the turn of events.
The shock of bumping into his father outside the bedroom door had faded with astonishing speed.
As far as he was concerned, there was nothing not to like about this arrangement.
On every front, it ticked the boxes.
Firstly, he had rescued his father from another possible episode by eliminating a potential source of stress. Hadn’t the consultant specifically warned of the dangers of his father worrying to the point where his health would be impacted? Good progress was being made on that front, so why would he jeopardise that?
Secondly, he had legitimised the relationship between him and Sophie. No more sidelong glances...no more hot, fleeting brushing of hand against hand. Now there was positive encouragement to spend time together!
And thirdly, perhaps for the first time in a very long time, he could feel the strength of a bond he had thought perished.
It felt good.
He had relegated his relationship with his father to a distant holding pen, wherein they co-existed without any real communication.
Things had been changing on that front ever since he’d discovered the whole mess with his father’s finances.
And now?
Now things had changed even more—and, yes, that felt good.
‘We can do the vineyards another time.’ he said. ‘Right now, I want to take you to a little village that’s not very far from here. The last time I visited was some time ago. I want to show it to you... We’ll have lunch. Look at these skies. Bright blue. Cold, yes, but the day is waiting to be explored.’
Sophie could feel all her urgent doubts ebbing away.
Today he looked devastating, in black jeans and a thick black rollneck jumper, over which he wore a tan cashmere coat.
Against the backdrop of colourful houses and majestic mountains he looked every inch the sophisticate. Very expensive...drop-dead gorgeous...and thrillinglyall hers.Sort of...
Her heartbeat quickened.
They were here, weren’t they?
Of course this relationship—if you could even call it that—wasn’t going anywhere! But just for the moment Alessio had dumped them in this situation and one thing was clear...
She hadn’t stopped fancying him.
