Feeling a whole heap lighter inside, she grinned with the whole of her face. ‘I don’t have anything planned for Wednesday. Have you anything in your diary?’ she directed at Dante.
He shook his head.
‘It’s a date.’
Riccardo translated for his wife, who showed her pleasure by beaming as widely as her husband.
Back in their room, Aislin began to pack her things in her super-posh suitcase, practically dancing a jig with happiness.
Four more nights with Dante! Perfect. She’d give Orla a call in a few minutes and let her know...
‘Do you want the balance of the money transferred to Orla?’ Dante asked, breaking through her happy thoughts.
‘Yes, please.’ She bounded over to him and threw her arms around his neck. ‘You must be delighted your plan has worked out so well.’
Expecting a kiss, she was disappointed when he kept his gaze focused over the top of her head. ‘It is good that he saw reason. The deal with me will make the D’Amores far more money than the deal with my competitor would have.’
‘Well, I for one am thrilled it’s all worked out for you.’
He gave a tight smile and unhooked her arms from his neck. ‘I’ll transfer the money now.’ He stepped away and removed his phone from his jacket pocket.
‘I’ll call Orla and let her know to expect it, and let her know I won’t be back until Thursday.’
‘Thursday?’
‘The D’Amore dinner’s on Wednesday,’ she reminded him.
He perched on the armchair and gave his attention to his phone. ‘There will not be a dinner.’
Her stomach dropped like a brick. ‘But we said we were going.’
He raised a hefty shoulder nonchalantly.
‘Surely you don’t want to upset him this late in the day?’
He shrugged again. His fingers we
re busy working on his phone. ‘The contract will be signed tomorrow.’
‘Is there not a grace period for him to change his mind?’
‘No. Once it is signed, then that’s it.’
‘So you lied about going to his house for dinner?’
‘You agreed to it, not me.’
She stared at him, willing him to look up from his phone so she could see what was in his eyes.
‘You said you were free,’ she pointed out evenly. The crushing weight was expanding but she refused to acknowledge it. Her overactive imagination could be leading her on a path that was something out of nothing. Dante had made no secret to her of his dislike for Riccardo and, after the way Riccardo had treated him, she understood why he would be reluctant to accept his hospitality.
He probably thought, too, that he would be putting her out. After all, she had told him only the day before that she could never move from her home because she would miss Orla and Finn too much.
He was being considerate.
‘It is not important,’ he said. ‘I will let him know after the contract is signed that we won’t be attending.’
‘I don’t mind going. You’re going to have to work with him...’