Well, curiosity, which had been muted before, had crept through the crack in the door that had opened between them and was coursing through her.
She wasn’t going to feed it by asking any more questions, she decided.
Anyway, she was certain that he would shut her down if she tried to carry on the conversation. She could tell in the sudden stiffness of his stance as he reached down to hold Flora’s hand and began heading back towards the reception.
She busied herself with thinking about what the next ten days would look like.
At least she knew about the sleeping arrangements. She’d googled the details. She and Alessandro might be sharing a suite but it was vast enough for them to have separate bedrooms and sitting areas. Flora would be in a mini suite of her own, linked to theirs via an adjoining door. Georgie figured it was the sort of arrangement suitable for a couple who couldn’t stand one another but were having a holiday for the sake of their kid.
He’d texted her the link, probably to put her mind at rest or maybe to remind her that this was a business arrangement lest she forget, and she’d checked out every small detail of where they’d be staying.
Would Flora be hurtling in and out through that adjoining door?
Unlikely. She didn’t seem the sort of child who did a great deal of hurtling.
Georgie glanced across at her and stifled another thorny surge of curiosity to find out more about her, about why she was so quiet, about the things that interested her, made her laugh.
Would she notice that her dad and his girlfriend weren’t sharing a bedroom? Probably not and if she did, Georgie doubted it would register as anything suspicious. Even if Flora had not been so incredibly subdued by nature, six-year-olds weren’t given to the sort of speculation an adult would have shown at something like sleeping arrangements.
The email Alessandro had sent her had listed a military-style approach to the theme park. Rides and lunch, but then downtime because he had to work.
He had suggested that if she was around for some of the morning activities, then she could do whatever she wanted during that downtime.
Flora, he had informed her, was good at entertaining herself, which was something she was now appreciating.
Georgie had wondered whether that had been a not-so-subtle reminder about the non-involvement clause with his daughter in their deal.
Dinner would be an early affair and then he would return to work.
At the end of the ten days, he would fly back to New York with Flora to be collected by Sophia and Georgie would return to her duties on the slopes.
She hadn’t asked him how their so-called relationship was going to taper off and he hadn’t volunteered the information.
That was added to the list of things she wasn’t going to be curious about.
There was so much she was under instructions tonot be curious aboutand so manyKeep Outsignposts to be obeyed that she wondered whether she had the navigational skills to deal with it all.
She wanted to shamelessly wallow in the luxury of first class but as she watched father and daughter slip into their ridiculously comfortable seats, blasé and indifferent to their uniquely privileged position, all she could focus on was her chattering mind and her desperate attempt to shut it down.
CHAPTER FIVE
FLORA WAS EXHAUSTEDby the time they made it to the theme park. She was yawning and as they checked in, Alessandro scooped her up and draped her over his shoulder so that she could nod off.
Georgie, on the other hand, was wide awake and more than making up for Flora’s sleepiness with high levels of excitement.
The hotel was busy but she imagined less so because of the time of year and because it was evening and rides would be winding down. She hung back, gaping while Alessandro did the checking in.
She could see the black still water of a lagoon outside and, in the distance, a stunning view of a turreted Cinderella castle, which was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Kids in the grand foyer were being entertained by Disney characters, from Minnie Mouse to Rapunzel.
Music to one of the Disney films was playing in the background and all in all it was magical.
‘Ready?’
Georgie blinked at the sound of Alessandro’s voice because she’d forgotten that he was there.
‘You’ve checked in already?’
