An Italian Dream

10

STELLA

Stella felt bad leaving Fern with an obviously hung-over and disgruntled Amber, but she was looking forward to a day with Chloe. Since she’d gone to uni they hadn’t had many mother-daughter days. They wandered into Capri town and hit the shops along Via Camerelle before taking the funicular down to Marina Grande and finding a restaurant on the waterfront.

Chloe had pizza, while Stella, inspired by their surroundings, tucked into sesame-crusted tuna. Colourful fishing boats bobbed on the water directly in front of the restaurant’s terrace, and further along the marina, scores of tourists were disembarking from a hydrofoil at the port.

One of the Italians Chloe had met the night before messaged her with the location of their yacht, so after lunch they wandered away from the commercial port to the tourist harbour with its gleaming speedboats and luxury yachts. The Silver Spirit was easy to spot, its size dominating the marina. Excitement ebbed through Stella at the idea of hanging out with some young – and hopefully good-looking – Italians on a yacht as impressive as this.

Stella whistled under her breath as they walked alongside it. ‘This is quite something.’

‘Told you.’ Chloe looked up and waved to a dark-haired Italian.

They climbed the steps to the yacht’s lower deck and the Italian came over to greet them.

‘This is Luca,’ Chloe said to Stella.

‘Ciao, Chloe.’ Luca kissed her on each cheek. He met Stella’s eyes and smiled warmly as he firmly shook her hand. ‘You must be Stella. Benvenuta.’ He looked between them both. ‘Welcome aboard The Silver Spirit.’

Luca spoke perfect English with a gentle accent. He was tall and good-looking with strong cheekbones and a deep tan. Stella was even more certain that she wanted to spend time with them.

The polished wood of the slatted deck was warm and inviting against the shiny white yacht and just the area they’d stepped onto was huge.

Chloe glanced back at Stella and mouthed, ‘OMG.’

They followed Luca across the deck to where another man was lounging on a large circular daybed. Stella had already spied another deck area on the level above and she could imagine how spacious the inside of the yacht was. No wonder Chloe’s mouth was gaping open.

‘This is your yacht?’ Stella asked, finally finding her voice.

‘My uncle’s.’ Luca turned to the man on the daybed, who stood and came over. ‘This is my cousin, Vincenzo.’

‘So it’s your dad’s yacht?’

Vincenzo shook her hand and smiled. ‘It is.’

He was somewhere in his twenties, younger than Luca, but dressed similarly in shorts and a linen shirt, completely at ease in surroundings that Stella could barely take in.

Vincenzo turned to Chloe and kissed her on each cheek. She giggled as he led her over to the daybed and they started chatting together. It wasn’t hard for Stella to see how smitten she was. Stella sighed, weighing up how much of a bad idea this was, because her heart was already betraying her head.

‘My other cousin Giovanni and our friend Desi have gone ashore, so you might not meet them today.’ Luca gestured to a covered seating area behind the daybed. They sat and a waitress in a crisp white short-sleeved shirt and smart black shorts brought over two glasses of champagne and placed them on the table.

‘So you have people who work on the yacht too?’

He grinned. ‘Of course. We have sixteen crew. Eight luxury bedrooms, dining rooms, lounges, a library, even a nightclub.’

‘Wow, it’s quite something.’ She looked around at the shiny walnut wood interior and the incredible sight of Capri covering the hillside, the villas sparkling in the sunshine.

‘As we said to Chloe and Amber last night, we’re heading to Naples, then along the Amalfi Coast for a couple of days at the end of the week. You’re welcome to join us.’ His words hung in the air.

Stella could sense Chloe’s anticipation as she listened in. She knew she was desperate for her to say yes. It felt exciting and adventurous. Probably reckless. These guys were strangers, yet it wasn’t just four blokes on their own; there was a whole crew. They wouldn’t be alone. She’d wanted this holiday to be an adventure of a lifetime after all…

‘Do you often invite people you’ve only just met to sail with you?’ Stella held Luca’s gaze, wondering if he was going to tell her the truth or not.

‘Honestly? Sometimes, yes. It’s not like we don’t have the space. New company is good.’ He rested his arm along the back of the seat and looked intently at her. ‘I know what it can seem like. We are young, we like to have fun. I think Chloe and Amber like that too, and maybe you…’

‘Yeah, I do.’ She lowered her voice, aware of Chloe not far away. ‘But I’m also not quite as young and naive as my daughter.’

Luca raised his glass. ‘I understand. You do what is right for you. But our offer stands. We like good company and new friends.’