‘The piano?’
She shook her head again, embarrassed that she had learnt neither. She had always enjoyed music, but she’d received singing lessons instead of taking up an instrument.
‘Then come with me. Perhaps learning to play something will help to settle your mind. I know it always helps me. Or would you rather read?’
‘No, thank you,’ she said quickly. ‘I would much prefer to learn to play an instrument.’
‘While you’re here, my darling, you will find life perhaps simpler than it was for you in Greece.’ Her aunt’s smile was kind, her gaze warm. ‘I suspect you’ll come to like finding yourself here, without being part of such an exclusive social circle. In fact, your mother and I often spoke of it, of you spending time here as a young adult without the pressures of being in Greece.’
‘You did?’ Why had her mother never said anything to her? It would have made coming to London so much easier if she’d known it was part of her mother’s plan for her future.
‘We were always exchanging letters, and it was one of the things she wrote of most. Giving you a year or two in London, away from Athens, although I dare say she’d have liked to come with you.’
Alexandra followed her aunt upstairs, unable to stop herself from comparing this kind, warm woman to her mother. They were so similar, both in looks and demeanour, and she began to wonder why she’d ever thought to resist the opportunity to move into her home. She would never stop missing her mother, but she couldn’t help but wonder if this was where her mama would have wanted her to be in her absence. With the only other woman in the world who could love her as if she were her own.
And maybe one day she’d tell her aunt why she could no longer read; why she would forever punish herself by removing books from her life. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as that day came flooding back to her—most of the time she was able to push it from her mind, but other times it was like a wave crashing through her thoughts, and there was nothing she could do not to remember.
11
PRESENT DAY
The restaurant was completely different to the bar they’d spent their first night at. Ella walked in and looked around, liking the light-filled space and immediately imagining the walls hung with beautiful pieces of art. She was just about to tell the maître d’ that she had a booking, when Gabriel caught her eye, standing and waving to her from a table at the back. She gestured towards him and walked through the restaurant, her skin flushing when he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
‘You look beautiful,’ he said, smiling as they both sat down.
‘Thank you. It’s so nice to be out for dinner on a Sunday night.’
‘Not your usual way to end the week?’
Ella laughed. ‘Most definitely not. I’m usually eating takeout with my diary in front of me on a Sunday, planning out the week ahead for work.’
He looked like he was struggling not to laugh.
‘I sound like a complete bore, don’t I?’
‘No, you sound like a woman who takes her work very seriously. There’s nothing wrong with that.’ Gabriel picked up the wine list, smiling at her over the top of it. ‘In fact, I wouldn’t expect anything less from London’s most successful young art dealer.’
Ella blushed. ‘Has someone been reading up on me?’
He put the list down. ‘Graduated from Sotheby’s Institute of Art with an MA in Art Business, made her mark on the art world by selling a Warhol for over one million pounds before she was twenty-five, and was then asked to open what has become one of Soho’s, if notLondon’s, most exciting new galleries showcasing work from contemporary artists in England and abroad. Does that sound about right?’
‘It sounds like I should have done some reading of my own, onyou,’ she said, shaking her head and leaning back in her chair.
‘I’m impressed,’ he said. ‘You’ve accomplished a lot since graduating. I only wish I’d thought to look you up before now.’
Ella was never comfortable talking about her own success, but she also knew that she should accept his praise graciously. Shehadachieved a lot; she just wasn’t great at acknowledging it. ‘Thank you. It’s been a busy few years. But tell me more about you. I want to know everything that happened between your leaving school and now. How did you become a member of the London Symphony Orchestra?’
‘How about I order the wine first? It’s a long story.’
They swapped smiles, and Ella found herself wondering how, after kissing so many frogs over the past ten years, she’d managed to pick up with Gabe so effortlessly. She was going to have to send Daisy a gift basket, although the thought alone made her want to laugh. Was a gift basket appropriate thanks for the woman who’d so nonchalantly put her in Gabriel’s path again? Perhaps she should think of something more extravagant.
‘First of all, do you like rosé, and second, why are you smiling like that?’
Ella bit her lip for a moment to disguise her smile. ‘Yes to the rosé, it’s my favourite, but I have no idea what smile you’re talking about.’
Gabriel just shook his head and waved the server over, ordering a bottle of wine before leaning back in his chair.
‘So tell me, how does a man convince his family that being a musician is a good idea, or did they always believe in your talent? I don’t think I ever met your family when we were younger.’
