‘That’s a ridiculous expense and not very green,’ Rosalie said loudly. A couple strolling arm in arm turned to look at her.
‘I’d like a car.’ Erin took out her phone as if ready to book, but her eyes shifted between Rosalie and Jade. ‘And an Uber driver would be as local as your taxi firm.’
‘Or you could take the train.’ Rosalie, clearly not prepared to alter her stance, made for the stairs without saying good night.
‘Is this our first sisterly spat?’ Erin called after her before adding, under her breath, ‘Och, fuck.’
Awkwardly, Jade ushered Erin into Reception and gave her a card for a taxi company, which she could use or otherwise.
Erin hovered. ‘Just wondering... do you have a thing with Leo?’
Caught off guard by such an out-of-the-blue question, Jade replied stiffly. ‘No,’
‘I thought... He’s sexy AF and there seems to be a connection.’ Erin still didn’t say good night and leave.
Sexy was easy to understand and Jade was pretty sure what ‘AF’ meant. As Erin seemed genuinely interested, she foundherself unbending. ‘We were together once. He left. It seems to happen to me a lot.’
Erin’s expression softened. ‘Joey left me too. You live with it all your life, but occasionally – maybe when one of your sisters lets slip that she could phone him – it matters, doesn’t it? Night.’ Without further sharing of her thoughts and feelings, Erin turned to climb the curving stairs.
Jade let herself into the apartment. There, she stood in the kitchen she’d shared with her grandmother for so much of her life, turning over Erin’s words in her mind.It matters, doesn’t it?
Gran’s:I sometimes wish you’d send a wee message to Joey.
And Rosalie’s:I have his phone number.
She took Gran’s laptop from the kitchen drawer, plugged it in and powered it up. She wasn’t actually going to email Joey from Gran’s account. Of course she wasn’t. That would be wrong on several levels.
She wanted to know whether,ifshe ever wanted to, she could contact him. Like Rosalie.
Except, it turned out, she couldn’t, because Gran had never shared her passcode. She tried Gran’s birthday, Nonno’s and her own. Maybe it was Joey’s. But Jade knew nothing of that but the year.
Angrily, she turned off the laptop and snapped it shut, scolding herself. ‘Idiot. You’ve known them five minutes and are already falling prey to sibling rivalry. So what if Rosalie can speak to him? Good for her.’
Chapter Ten
In Leo’s view, it had been worth returning to Como for Thursday evening alone, when Massimo and Sofi hosted family aperitivi in their apartment to announce their impressive feat of being eleven weeks pregnant. Leo was glad to be there to witness the joy and delight on his parents’ faces.
Though still a touch wan after her bug, Sheenagh squealed, happy tears sliding over the faded freckles on her cheeks. Ferdinando awarded the prospective parents long, wordless hugs, kissing their cheeks and growling something too husky to understand. Leo, mindful that he wasn’t supposed to know before their parents, loudly congratulated and enthusiastically embraced. Sofi blushed and Massimo beamed.
Leo allowed an hour for the news to be relished before making an announcement of his own. ‘I’ve been studying the details of businesses for sale and I’m arranging to see one in Italy soon. It’s in Riva.’ Riva del Garda was a few hours away, at the north end of Lake Garda, smaller than Como but just as pretty, and popular with tourists.
Sheenagh squealed again, pulling him into her arms and tousling his hair as if he were a child. ‘You might stay here and make bambini like your brother?’
He laughed. ‘One thing at a time, Mum.’
On Friday, expecting Sheenagh for coffee, he was checking the terrace furniture hadn’t received unwelcome calling cards from the birds when his phone buzzed. He backed into the shade of a palm tree to read the screen, heaved a huge sigh when he saw the name, and answered. ‘Good afternoon, Isabella.’
‘Oh, Leo,’ she said mournfully. ‘I’m going mad with guests and their insurance companies. It’s been in the local papers. Such bad publicity.’
He dropped onto an iron chair with a green cushion. ‘Has anybody said the Black Falcon’s to blame?’ He imagined the office, and Isabella’s desk by the window, wondering if Teddy had taken over Leo’s old desk. Even in the early days of the discord, Teddy used to casually sit in Leo’s chair. It had been a power play of course. If Leo sat somewhere else, Teddy had won; if Leo tried to claim his territory, Teddy would roll his eyes and tell him not to be petty.
‘Not as such,’ Isabella admitted. ‘But it’s created a tsunami of admin. And Daddy says he’s booked his ticket to South Africa fortomorrow.’ The final word was close to a whine.
Leo thought it wisest not to comment on Teddy’s actions, so tried to be lighthearted. ‘The police officer hasn’t been back in touch, so I think she’s knocked me off her list of suspects. I wasn’t the thief in the night.’
Isabella huffed. ‘Nobody ever thought you were. It was process. Or procedure, whatever they call it. Anyway,’ she said, moving on, ‘Daddy’s made a suggestion.’
He knew he wasn’t going to like it, because he didn’t like Teddy. ‘What’s that?’
