‘I think I’ve a long way to go before I have enough money for anything quite as fancy.’
And crashing back to reality, Bess realised she probably did too.
‘When the boys were young, we’d take them to Norfolk.’ Marianne smiled with her whole face. ‘We’d head right up the coast. The boys would swim in the sea, eat fish and chip suppers, exhaust themselves. I remember the salty tingle on my skin and theirs.’ She gulped and Bess didn’t miss the enthusiasm wane. ‘I miss those days.’
‘What was Gio like as a boy?’
‘Cheeky.’ Bess laughed at that. He hadn’t changed. ‘Sensitive too, although he hid it well. His brother Marco was much thesame; they’re rather similar.’ She met Bess’s gaze. ‘I’ve made some mistakes as their mother; I have a lot of regrets.’
‘Gio seems to want you around.’
‘He was always more lenient on me compared to Marco. Can’t blame Marco, though; he was the parent to Gio for years when neither me nor the boys’ father were capable.’
Bess didn’t pry, she didn’t ask for details. Given her friendship with Gio, it felt like a betrayal to find anything out about his past unless it came from him.
Gio showed up while Bess and Marianne were upstairs finding the Christmas ornaments stashed in the very top of the wardrobe in Bess’s bedroom. Shoved right to the back, they had easily been forgotten about.
When he handed over Marianne’s phone, Bess urged him to come in.
‘You sure?’ A car was waiting for him at the kerb.
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll tell my mate.’
‘I’ll do it,’ said Marianne, zipping past them and out to the car.
Gio gave the driver a wave. ‘A mate from the station came to see me and offered me a lift round to save me the taxi fare or trying to get myself on and off a bus.’
When he stepped inside, his gaze didn’t leave Bess’s, his eyes watching her every move. ‘Something smells good.’
‘All Bess,’ Marianne announced before recounting exactly what she’d served up tonight. She made it sound more like cordon bleu cooking than a simple meal for two.
‘Fancy helping us with the Christmas tree?’ Bess beamed at him if only to break the tension between them. There was definitely more than friendship in the air tonight.
‘You’ve left it late.’ The teasing note in his voice did little todefuse the crackle of intimacy Bess was beginning to yearn for every time they were close.
‘We picked it up a couple of hours ago.’
They barely heard Marianne say that she’d leave them to it while she cleared up the kitchen.
‘Come on then,’ he said and when her eyes fell to his knee, added, ‘I’m not useless. I can hobble around a tree and put a few ornaments on.’
‘We’ll start with the lights.’
He pulled a face. ‘I should’ve pretended I couldn’t manage. Hate doing the lights.’
But between them, the lights were strung in no time.
‘You need a break.’ She spotted his discomfort after they’d circled the tree a few times and he’d bent down to flip the switch to illuminate the tree, making it easier to make adjustments to ensure that the twinkling was evenly spaced.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘We’ll carry on in a bit. Let me see if I can help your mum finish the cleaning up.’ She’d shooed her out of the kitchen twice already and told Bess she was happy to do it all.
Bess came back to the lounge with two cans of Coke and handed one over to Gio.
‘Don’t tell me, she told you to go away again?’ He grinned.
