Page 69 of Italy and Forever

Rhys had to blink back spots in his vision as he waited for the shaft of panic to recede. When he studied the man next to her, he concluded it was Laurie, despite the unfamiliar sight of him in chinos and a collared shirt. As he watched, Ginny smiled up at him and he clutched her elbow in a brief touch.

They were not sleeping together, but he still felt sick hearing the gossip.

‘She says it’s very casual and we shouldn’t interfere, blah blah. Sophie wants to interfere, of course. I’m trying to talk her out of it.’

Rhys wished he’d never agreed to this wedding – or kissed Ginny. That last part was a lie. He’d kiss her again without a second thought. He just wished it didn’t hurt.

‘Good luck,’ he said as steadily as he could.

Andreas clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a wave as he headed back into the crowd of milling guests.

‘Uh, Andreas,’ he called after him, too restless not to react. His friend turned, lifting his chin to prompt him. ‘I, um… I didn’t get a chance to say the other night. The job in Canada – it’s two years. Maybe permanent. I’ll be… gone a while.’

He had a lot of trouble reading Andreas’s facial expressions when his friend was silent, but when he spoke, the reluctance in his voice was obvious. ‘You were scared I wouldn’t be happy for you? That’s amazing. I mean, we’ll miss you,’ he muttered gruffly.

‘Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. There was a lot of wedding… stuff.’

‘When do you go?’

‘Two weeks from Sunday. I’ll go spend some time with Mam.’ He gave himself an ‘out’ in case he wanted to avoid Ginny.

‘Okay.’ Andreas’s heavy sigh was close to disapproving. ‘I’ll hate to see you go.’

All Rhys could do in reply was shrug.

‘But I can see why it might do you good, a big change. I hope it means you’re moving on with your life.’

That comment made him think – unhelpfully – of Ginny once more. He searched her out again, helpless not to. She felt like some kind of step forward, but he knew that direction was a dead end.

How the hell had Sophie got the impression she was sleeping with Laurie?

‘It’s… time for a change.’ He gestured to the glowing willows dripping colour over the drive. Then he lifted his camera and caught the shot of Andreas before his friend could pose.

‘You’ll visit, right?’ Andreas asked quietly. ‘You’ll have to meet the baby.’

‘Of course,’ he answered. One day, the prospect wouldn’t be quite so daunting.

29

She sat next to Laurie at lunch. Whether it was Sophie’s matchmaking, Ginny’s poorly thought-out obfuscation or sheer bad luck, Rhys didn’t know, but it made him wonder what Sophie and the others would think if they knew the truth. It made him want to tell them the truth, even though that option was stupidity, now Andreas knew he was leaving the country for longer this time.

He was thankful for the distraction when an older man in a felt waistcoat raised himself out of his chair and cleared his throat. Rhys stood as unobtrusively as he could, coming around the table for a better angle with his camera.

‘Welcome to the Falknerhof, our farm and vineyard, which has been in our family for generations. My name is Englert Franz. I have the great honour to be Andreas’s uncle. We actually have a fifth season, here in the Eisacktal, our valley. It’s called the Törggelen time and it’s the tasting of the new wine – accompanied of course by fresh food from the autumn harvest.’

He paused, lifting his glass of cloudy, partially fermented wine.

‘There is no better time for a wedding,’ he said, his voice rough with emotion, ‘especially a wedding most of us never expected would happen. Andreas, my snotty little boy, bringing Sophie into the family, and now the little Poppele coming at Christmas, are the best things you’ve ever done. Climb Everest? Pah! The world is more beautiful from here. To Andreas, finally doing the right thing and marrying his Sophie!’

Englert Franz – Rhys was fairly certain his first name was Franz, despite the way he’d introduced himself – raised his glass in a toast to a chorus of, ‘Hear, hear!’ and ‘Bravo!’

A hand on Rhys’s arm made him turn and those stunning brown-green-whatever-they-were eyes looked up at him, winged with a swoosh of eyeliner. Her gold stud seemed to accent her cherry-red lipstick.

Three hours and he’d missed her. This was not good.

‘Take a picture of Andreas and Sophie,’ she said urgently, and he snapped out of it just in time. Or perhaps not in time. He couldn’t tell what Ginny thought he so urgently needed to photograph. ‘You should have seen his face when Franz said, “His Sophie.” It’s such a convoluted love story, so many years in the making.’

Rhys studied Ginny as she peered at the bride and groom with a wan smile. ‘Your sentimental nature has recovered from last night’s shock?’