‘What? What’s Lily got to do with anything?’
‘But that’s exactly it, isn’t it? What’s Lily got to do with anything – that’s how it’s always been for you.She’s never considered in your life, always at the bottom of the pile. But this is too much, Kim, way too much. How dare you …’
‘I’m sorry,’ she gasped, tearfully. ‘Don’t you think I don’t know I’m a terrible mom? I see you two together and I just feel like a third wheel. I’m not even on the same wavelength, and half the time she doesn’t really notice if I’m there or not.’
‘Because you never are!’ He stood up in disgust. ‘And you think this gives you the right to mess up our family, and not just ours, Antonio’s too?’
‘What … what has Antonio’s family got to do with this?’ Kim asked, frowning. ‘He and Emilia have their own problems to contend with just now.’
‘And you screwing her husband while she slowly loses her mind is going to help?’ Gabriel raged.
Kim’s mouth dropped open. ‘What?’ she gasped, floored. ‘You think me … and Antonio … What the hell? How could you possibly think that?’ She was seriously gobsmacked that he would utter such a thing. Never mind the fact that Antonio was old enough to be her father, he was also a close mutual friend of both hers and Gabriel. He and Emilia had introduced them, for goodness’ sake!
‘So you’re denying it?’ he said, but she noticed his voice had lost some of its bluster.
‘Of course I am. Because you are completely and utterly wrong. I am not sleeping with Antonio; he is my friend and business partner and nothing more. Yes, we’ve had to spend lots of time together over the last eighteen months or so while trying to get this venture off the ground, but it’s a business partnership and was never anything else. God, the very thought makes me feel ill. Especially with poor Emilia being the way she is …’
He looked at her. ‘You’re serious.’
‘Yes. I’m absolutely serious. I would never cheat on you, Gabe. I love you, and to be honest I can’t quite understand why you put up with me. But I’m not cheating, I swear.’
He was shaking his head. ‘I don’t get it. Emilia was so sure …’
‘When did you talk to her? And what did she say?’ Kim was baffled as to where all of this had come from.
‘She called here earlier to talk to you while you were out with the others. She seemed upset, some mistake with the licences? She said that Antonio was angry with her and it was all your fault. I tried to calm her down, and then she confided that she thought there was something going on between you two. That Antonio was going to leave her.’
Hearing this saddened Kim to the core. ‘Aw, Gabe, she hasn’t been well for a while. You know that. She was just being paranoid.’ But the mention of the licences now triggered a memory in her brain.
The way Antonio had been at the town hall meeting, and how he’d squirrelled away the planning documents that had caused the trouble without her seeing them, promising her he’d take care of it and find out who in the company had been behind it.
Could Emilia have been behind the new application, albeit unintentionally? She was a company director and signatory on all the plans. Could she have mistakenly resubmitted the applications? If so, then perhaps her prognosis was worse than Kim, or indeed Antonio, originally suspected.
Then another thought struck her. Could Emilia also be the one behind the so-called plagiarism claims?She was the only one who had some sense of the truth; Kim had once confided in her that some of the inspirational quotes might not be wholly original, though she hadn’t breathed a word about any journal. But Emilia hadn’t seemed to think there was any issue at the time.
But now, because of her (unfounded) suspicions of an affair, could she perhaps be trying to get back at Kim and sabotage the launch of Villa Dolce Vita? It made sense.
Kim breathed deeply, deciding it was time to come clean to Gabriel once and for all about the notebook and how The Sweet Life originally began.
‘The quotes – some of the original ones – they’re not actually mine,’ she confessed meekly, explaining how everything had barrelled out of control once Emilia and Antonio had come on board. ‘I never purposely meant to pass them off as my own, or use them to launch the business. They were just … there, and the longer it went on, the easier it was to just keep going.’
Gabriel seemed taken aback, but much to Kim’s relief, not particularly horrified or upset with her.
‘Of course you wouldn’t have intended anything untoward, and knowing Antonio and Emilia as I do, I totally get how it all could take on a life of its own. But more importantly, why the hell wouldn’t you tell me any of this – let me know what was really bothering you all this time?’ he said, reaching for her hand. ‘We could’ve figured this out together.’
‘I didn’t know if itwaspossible to figure out. Instead I’ve just fought fire after fire, hoping that it would all be OK in time for launch night. But I realise now I should’ve included you from the get-go.’
‘Yes, you should. We’re a team, you and I. In every regard.But you don’t seem to realise it.’ He put his arms around her and pulled her close. ‘I’m sorry I accused you like that. I just thought that could well be the reason for your frequent absences, and the … tension … between us since Lily and I got here. That being said, I couldn’t quite imagine you and Antonio together but—’
‘Ugh. Please don’t. I need to talk to him, though. Obviously Emilia’s deterioration is worse than any of us thought, maybe including Antonio. He needs to know just in case …’
‘Sssh, not now.’ Gabriel nestled her into the crook of his neck. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d been together this way. It felt wonderful and Kim instinctively felt all of the tension leave her body. But then she exhaled.
It was now or never.
‘I’m sorry that I haven’t been a good wife to you or a mother to Lily,’ she began. Her heart was beating so hard it felt like a congo drum in her chest. She was so scared he wouldn’t understand. That she’d bare her soul to Gabe and he’d just tear it apart.
Still, she continued.
