‘The past,’ Luca’s mother said, firmly, ‘is in the past. What I’d like to know is how you’ve enjoyed Geneva. I do hope my son has taken you for dinner by the lake.’
Georgia glanced over at Luca, who was looking at her as if to say, ‘I told you so’—his smile was so smug.
‘He did take me for dinner. He’s been the most obliging host I could have wished for.’
‘Well, that’s not hard, when he’s clearly smitten with his guest.’
‘Mère, s’il te plaît. Assez!’
Georgia laughed, not needing an exact translation to understand that Luca was reprimanding his mother. But Marj couldn’t seem to care less, shrugging and taking a sip of herchampagne, with a twinkle in her eyes that reminded Georgia of Luca.
‘Luca, I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you, but your father knew there was a woman involved in the mystery.’
Georgia saw the way Luca stiffened. ‘You’re certain he knew that?’
‘I am. He told me that his grandfather had told him that a woman had given the tiara to him. That’s when he started to become obsessed with the mystery all over again.’
‘That woman was my great-grandmother,’ Georgia said, her voice barely a whisper. ‘Delphine. The woman your husband was obsessed with finding.’
‘Georgia, if you’re uncomfortable discussing this?—’
She watched as Marj rose, wondering what the noise was as Luca stopped talking. ‘Please excuse me, I need to let our visitors in.’
‘Visitors?’ Luca asked.
‘You didn’t think it was going to be just the three of us, did you? I asked your sister and her husband to join us.’ She smiled as she passed Luca and patted his shoulder. ‘They couldn’twaitto meet Georgia.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, moving closer and sitting down beside her. ‘I promise I knew nothing about this.’
‘It’s fine,’ Georgia said with a shrug. ‘I can very much see from the look on your face that this is a surprise to you, and it’ll be nice to meet your sister.’
‘But it’s not just my sister we have to contend with?—’
Before he could finish what he was saying, there was a shriek of delight, followed by two little blonde whirlwinds screaming, ‘Uncle Luca!’ at the very top of their lungs.
‘The twins,’ he said, passing her his drink just in time as they ran across the room and leapt into his arms.
Georgia could barely stop laughing to greet his sister, who looked as if she could have died when she walked into the room and saw what her two children were doing to their uncle.
‘Georgia! I’m so sorry, they think their uncle is a toy to play with,’ said a voice that sounded remarkably similar to Luca’s mother’s. ‘I’m Elin and this is my husband, Nathan. And those are our wild girls, Stella and Luiza.’
Georgia put down both drinks and stood, holding out her hand. ‘Lovely to meet you.’
‘I have so much to ask you, but first of all, what have you done to my brother?’ she said, leaning in with a grin. ‘You’re the first woman friend of his we’ve ever met.’
Georgia knew she was blushing, but she couldn’t help it. ‘This is just business,’ she said. ‘Closure for your family, given the circumstances.’
‘You’re talking about the tiara?’ she asked, as Luca’s mother came back into the room. ‘Luca was the only one crazy enough to still be searching for that sapphire. The rest of us were more than happy to relegate it to the past.’
‘So, Mama hasn’t told you? The mystery has been solved, Elin, and if it hadn’t been for me beingcrazy enoughto keep searching, Georgia would never have discovered her family secrets.’
The girls shrieked again and launched themselves at Luca, and Elin took Georgia by the arm and led her away, gesturing for Luca’s mother to follow. ‘Let’s leave the men with the girls, and you can tell us all about these family secrets. I’m dying to know how you ended up here in Switzerland.’
Georgia glanced over her shoulder at Luca, but no matter how much he might have wanted to join them, he was most definitely otherwise engaged.
‘Have you asked her yet?’ Luca’s mother said, as she tucked her arm through Georgia’s and led her into the kitchen.
‘Asked me what?’
