Have you seen it yet? Where are you?
He almost typed back that he was in Italy of course, then decided now was not the moment for a facetious reply. Too much was riding on today for flippancy.
1) About to read it. 2) On the edge of my seat at Caffé Sul Lago. Where are you?
He waited for the double blue ticks to confirm she’d read his message. He paused another couple of seconds to see if the pulsing dots would indicate she was writing a reply, but nothing happened. Turning his attention back to the article, Tad pulled in a deep breath and began to read.
‘It’s pretty good, isn’t it?’
The familiar voice had Tad flapping down the magazine, swivelling to look at her as she peered over his shoulder. How was she here?
‘I love that photo of you,’ Amy said, pointing to the shot of him at the summit of the mountain. ‘I so wanted you to kiss me up there that day. Do you remember it?’
‘Remember it?’ he said as she slipped into the seat beside him. ‘Etched into my brain. Do you remember our dodgy private detective thoughts about Hugh? We were kind of right, even though we didn’t know why.’
Amy grinned, leant forwards to kiss him, then nodded. ‘We were. I thought I might find you down here.’
‘I mean, I’m not complaining, but how are you here?’ he said.
‘Officially I’m scouting for Billie’s next adventure. She’s been offered a hosting role on a series airing sometime next year – they’re planning on calling itBillie’s Best Bites.’ Amy’s eyebrows arched, her mouth scrunched in amusement. ‘I think the title works on more than one level. It made me chuckle a bit, but Billie’s thrilled about the whole thing, so I’m saying nothing. Anyway, the first episode is all about pizza. So, I’ve been tasked with getting some background info for her – and I couldn’t think of a better place to start than here!’
Tad’s expression darkened. A dim and distant thought about a cookery programme with Billie Forsythe-Rogers and an episode on pizza making risked poking its head above the parapet, but it wasn’t that which had him frowning. They’d regularly discussed Amy’s feelings on moving away from Billie, and how she was going to achieve it and yet she hadn’t mentioned it.
Amy took stock of his face and laid a hand on his.
‘I wanted to wait until I got here to tell you – I’m simply doing some of the legwork, before Fiona takes over. She can’t start until the autumn, but Billie knows her uncle and says she’ll be the perfect replacement for me.’
‘You’ve handed in your notice?’ Tad leant forward.
‘I have. Fiona will be perfect for the role, I’m sure.’ Amy frowned, her expression clouding for a moment and Tad wondered what had happened, how difficult Billie had made it for her. Wondered if it had impacted on the article – aware he couldn’t care less if it had. Then her expression brightened. ‘Between you and me, I think Billie and Fiona’s uncle might have had a bit of a thing back in the day. And now Kelly is totally out of the picture – he completely trashed Billie on a late night chat showand I think she finally realised they’re never getting back together – it was the best thing he could have done, actually, because it’s spurred her into looking elsewhere, at last. And you’ll never guess what Fiona’s uncle’s name is…’
‘Probably not,’ he said, grinning again.
‘Mr Wright.’ Amy laughed, then raised an eyebrow. ‘Billie seems really taken by him. And, I mean, he might end up being Mr Right Now, but he’s a widower, so she’s not trampling toes and I’m sure he won’t complain. Whichever it turns out to be, it’s given her a fresh perspective, and I think she’s truly mellowed.’ Amy took stock of his incredulous expression. ‘No. Really. Anyway, I’m booked into that little hotel down the street from Casa, in case you were wondering.’
‘You could have stayed at Casa,’ he said, then he grinned. ‘I would have squeezed you in.’
‘Inappropriate. At least get a girl a coffee first. Anyway, after you read the article, you’ll realise you’re going to need every room you’ve got for proper paying guests,’ she said, tapping a fingertip on the open spread of the magazine.
‘Really?’
Amy went and found someone to get her a coffee while Tad skim-read the article, the smile on his face broadening as he reached the end. It was good. It was better than good – it was brilliant. One of the final paragraphs in particular stuck out for Tad.
It might not look like much, but Casa del Cibo holds the secret to a perfect cookery holiday. Never judge a book by its cover, they say, but sometimes you know when something is right. If you want to really learn, Tad and the team are on hand to guide your every move. No pretences or silly cheffy egos are on show here, just genuine people doing genuinely good work. If you don’t book yourself a week at Casa del Cibo, then you will be missing out.
‘“It might not look like much?”’ Tad said, shaking his head incredulously as Amy retook her seat.
‘Let it slide – Billie could have made it so much worse.’
‘True. Why did she do such a 360?’
‘I wanted to tell you, but she made me promise – said it would be a lovely surprise for you,’ Amy said.
32
The words didn’t come close to explaining what had gone on in the days after Amy returned to the UK, the turmoil as Billie tried and failed to reclaim Kelly. For once, most of what had gone on had remained behind closed doors, hadn’t appeared on social media or the mainstream – that was until Kelly had appeared on the chat show in America and had, in an attempt to make light of their time together, utterly thrown Billie’s feelings under the bus.
They’d watched the episode together, Billie clinging on to Amy’s hand at first, then stalking around the room as anger took control. Malcolm had phoned, as soon as the show was finished, and Billie cried – sobbed down the phone to him. Malcolm had arrived twenty minutes later and between them, he and Amy got Billie through the darkness of that night and into the brighter light of the following day.
