‘I can’t really imagine him making floral arrangements. He used to build computers in our living room.’
‘He has a wonderful feeling for flowers,’ Toni defended him.
‘I’m sure he does. When Gabri puts his mind to something, he masters it. That’s the pressure he puts on himself.’
Toni recognised him in Rosalba’s words.
The other woman’s hand strayed to her belly in that futile protective gesture soon-to-be mothers made that did nothing but soothe themselves. ‘But life isn’t a puzzle or a challenge, unfortunately, and people don’t function as cleanly as mathematics.’
Toni remembered him brushing his fingertips over ferns in the forest and realised he would have been seeing fractals – order in nature. Using the wind and the sunlight – all of it was striving for order in life because chaos had brought him to his knees.
‘Does he know?’ Toni couldn’t help asking, gesturing loosely to Rosalba’s stomach.
She nodded, giving Toni another stab she didn’t want. He hadn’t mentioned to her that his ex-wife was pregnant. She knew him well enough to suspect he would have been thinking about it during their unexpectedly probing discussions.
‘He brought me an enormous bouquet of flowers – at twenty-four weeks, when everything was fine. It’s a bit strange that he understood my feelings about this better than my partner, but life is mess.’
‘That’s true,’ Toni said emphatically. ‘And that makes sense, after everything you went through?—’
The way Rosalba’s eyes widened made Toni regret her words. Perhaps it was best not to mention just how much she’d heard about this woman.
‘I mean, he told me a little – about why he quit his job and came to the island.’
‘“Quit his job”?’ Rosalba repeated quizzically. ‘He wanted to sell his share in the company at one stage, but none of us had the funds to buy him out, so he’s still the majority owner.’
‘The majority… what?’
‘It’s been a wild ride. We started the company together when we were fresh out of university and everything happened so quickly. We couldn’t get the staff to keep up with expansion, so he just took it all on himself – piled it up high. Then I got it into my head that we needed a family as well and… Allora, you know.’
‘Not everything, apparently.’
‘It was terrible,’ Rosalba continued. Toni was inclined to insist it was none of her business, but the other woman went on and she didn’t have the heart to stop her. ‘I was certain he was having a heart attack from all our arguments, but at the hospital, they said everything was fine and the only thing they couldgive him was anti-depressants. But do you know the interesting part?’
‘No idea.’ Toni was still unsure about whether she wanted to hear this.
‘He’d decided to step back from work to be there for me. The week before he collapsed, he’d just found an interim CEO for the company and handed over. He held out until the only thing that collapsed was himself and the rest of us were provided for.’
‘That definitely sounds like Gabri,’ Toni murmured, thinking about last night. The burn in her chest flared up, remembering him ambling up the path with Cillian, injured and obviously shaken. He was so afraid of failure, convinced of his own limitations, but last night, he’d been so far from failing her. He’d put her world back together. Even before he’d found Cillian, he’d stayed with her, kept a level head.
Frustration rose in her throat. It would have been so much easier to leave if she’d never listened to his ex-wife singing his praises. He emphasised his flaws to her, but she’d grown attached to most of those flaws and now she discovered he had depths of capability and strength he himself didn’t appreciate – and he was the owner of a company that was probably worth more than I Do Destinations and Great Heart Adventures combined and he’d never mentioned it.
She had a few choice words for him brewing – if he turned up to hear them before she had to return to Portoferraio for the ferry.
‘Did you…?’ Rosalba bit her lip and hesitated, before continuing. ‘Forgive my curiosity, but are you and Gabri…?’
‘Toni!’
She turned at the sound of his voice, coming from farther along the path. He jogged in her direction, shirtless, a few droplets of water still clinging to his tanned skin – and a puzzled smile on his face.
Before she’d decided how to react, he’d slipped an arm around her waist and pressed an emphatic kiss to her forehead – after hesitating for a moment, deciding where to place it.
Despite everything – including the presence of his ex-wife – she wished he’d aimed for her mouth instead.
‘That’s an answer to my question,’ Rosalba said drily.
Only then did Gabri spring away, sending Toni’s stomach plummeting again. ‘Rosa?’ It was her turn to accept kisses – on the cheeks this time. ‘Wow.’ He said something in Italian, which Toni guessed was a compliment on her pregnancy glow.
After exchanging a few more words, she patted his arm and said in English, ‘I’ll come back later, hmm? Or we can meet in town when you’re finished? Looks like you have goodbyes to say… or something.’
