‘You get my meaning,’ he continued. ‘You need to be that person now. It can’t only be for some time but all of the time, or else you will never have the happiness you want to help others achieve. You’ll forever be the person who came here to Italy as a runaway. Yes, the business is a great success and will continue to be so, but it will be hollow. I assure you. Don’t fall into the trap of letting work achievements distract you from the truth. It’s just somewhere to bury your head in the sand and hide from what frightens or challenges you.’
‘But I truly don’t know how to be the mother Lily needs. I’m not sure I even know how to be the wife Gabe needs. I’m never there.’
‘Hush,’ Antonio silenced her. ‘Have you not been listening to a word I said? You can do this, Kim. But first you must be honest, not only with Gabriel, but yourself. Maybe start by admitting to him how you feel. I’m sure he’ll understand.’
Panic stabbed her heart the moment the words left her mentor’s lips. ‘I can’t tell Gabriel what I just told you – about Lily. He’d hate me.Ihate me.’
Antonio scoffed. ‘Gabriel loves you. Very much. He won’t leave you, if that’s what’s bothering you. He’s one of the most honest and honourable men that I have ever known. He is also no fool. I expect he knows a lot about what you’ve been keeping hidden from him, and is waiting for you to come to him when you’re ready.’
‘Do you think?’ Kim replied as a small glimmer of hope ignited in her chest. The fear of Gabriel leaving was one she hadn’t had the courage to admit, but Antonio, as ever, had got to the bottom of her fears anyway.
‘I think you won’t know for sure until you talk to your husband. I can say all the right things in this situation, but it isn’t my assurance you need.’
‘You’re so perceptive it’s annoying,’ Kim said with a smile as she rubbed the errant tears from her cheeks. Despite her efforts, they’d defied her.
‘When Gabriel arrives, do you have plans to talk to him about this?’
‘Not particularly,’ she admitted. ‘There’s so much else going on right now …’
‘I think it would be the perfect opportunity for you to talk. The publicity is in place and the renovations are complete – all’s that left now is the party to celebrate Villa Dolce Vita’s introduction to the world. Everything is ready, Kim. And I can keep any last-minute things covered while you have some important time together with your family.’
Everything he was saying sounded good, but there was still so much for her to consider before her husband and daughter joined her here.
What if Antonio was right? But what if he waswrong? Gabriel was the best thing she’d ever had in her life and Kim was terrified of losing him.
Then Antonio patted his knees and sighed. ‘I’d better go. I have another meeting before I fly back to Milan this evening. We will talk again?’
‘Sure. Please give Emilia my best. And tell her I can’t wait to see her at the party.’
She stood and walked Antonio out as far as the door of the courtyard. He hugged her one last time before heading back to his car.
‘As you Americans say, you got this. And of course, honesty has always been your finest trait.’
Kim looked up at the glorious blue sky and closed her eyes.
If only he knew.
Chapter 12
Then
Annie still couldn’t believe it. It was so surreal that anything like this should ever happen to her.
She looked down over the crystal-clear water and rocky promontories as they flew overhead.
It was the first time she’d been on an aeroplane and though excited, she found herself equally nervous. She tried to keep her eyes from looking down but there was a certain morbid curiosity to it. Besides, she had a window seat, so looking down was practically inevitable.
Still, her mind kept going to the reason she was here in the first place, and to the person who had made this all possible.
Felicity Finch was dead. She died just weeks after her chat with Annie, but she only found out a few weeks after that when a solicitor arrived at the salon looking for her. He stood out immediately.
Six feet tall with a pasty complexion and shiny bald head, Rose’s place had never seen anyone like Patrick Campbell. No one knew who the man was or what he wanted, and the moment he asked for Annie she almost ran out the door. Had her mother sent him? Was he there to serve her with some trumped-up accusation of theft or worse?
The envelope he gave her was still in her handbag, along with Felicity’s letter:
Dear Annie,
I hope the words we shared did something for you. I hope that you find the true way for yourself and not choose a path that will lead to pain and hurt. When I heard you talk in the salon all those times about what you really wanted from life, I knew I had to help you reach your goal. I had to do for you what no one ever did for me. Give you a chance.
