The last thing she wanted was for Kim to get word of this, especially with all the pressure she’d been under lately.
‘That would be lovely,’ the woman answered. Colette didn’t remember their names but Kim had introduced them earlier.They were some wealthy hoteliers from Denmark. The husband was into racehorses.
‘Have you seen the pool area?’ she asked as she led them back across the courtyard. Along with champagne trays, a bar had been set up poolside to keep the guests well-supplied with beverages.
Hors d’oeuvres were being passed around by the wait staff and, despite the last-minute catering issue, there seemed to be a plentiful supply of food and drinks.
‘Not yet,’ the man replied.
‘Let me show you,’ Colette insisted with a winning smile. Annie was in good hands with Ed. He’d take care of her. She just wanted to be sure that any unpleasantness the couple had witnessed was thoroughly erased before she left them.
Once she was sure the mini fire had been put out, she headed back up towards the house and was just ascending the steps to the courtyard when she saw him again. She attempted to walk past but he stopped her, reaching out to touch her arm lightly.
‘Luca,’ she said tightly, as her cheeks automatically flushed.
He smiled. ‘I see you still blush easily.’
‘It’s warm tonight,’ Colette replied, as she forced herself not to meet his gaze. He still looked the same, exactly the same. As if he hadn’t aged a day since the last time she saw him, the day they swam together at Fiordo di Furore.
Right before he dumped her.
Luca seemed to search her face for something. What? She didn’t know.
‘I was hoping you would be here tonight,’ he replied.
She fidgeted, unsure what to say to this. ‘What are you doing here, Luca? I didn’t realise you and Kim were close.’
‘We are not. But there was an issue with her catering company and they needed somebody to prepare the food. I offered to assist.’ He looked at the throngs of guests surrounding them. ‘Can we go somewhere quieter to talk?’
‘No,’ Colette said quickly. ‘I need to get back to Annie – and my husband.’
‘Please. It will only take a minute.’
She didn’t know what it was but there was something in the way he looked at her, and the sound of his voice, that made her waver.
But what could Luca have to say to her now that he couldn’t have said six years ago?
‘Why should I give you even a minute?’
‘I think you owe me that much,’ he replied.
She scoffed. ‘Owe you? After what you did?’
Luca looked confused. ‘What I did? You mean what you did.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Colette answered. ‘I didn’t do anything but wait around on the beach like a fool when you were never coming.’
‘Wait on the beach – for me? When?’
Colette couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was he really trying to pass this off as if it were nothing?
‘My last night – at L’Incanto. I waited for you for over an hour but you didn’t show. And then you sent me that … text. You didn’t even have the decency to tell me to my face.’
Luca took hold of her arm and began to lead her away from the crowd. He guided her to the far end of the terrace where there were fewer guests.
‘Colette, I do not know what you are talking about. I never made any arrangement to meet you anywhere close to Spiaggia Grande. For your last night, I asked for us to meet at Delfino.’
She was incredulous. ‘Are you standing here pretending that you didn’t send me a note to meet you there, and then while I was waiting around like a fool, send a text telling me that our time together was just a summer fling?’
