It felt as though every bone in his body had turned to rubber. A really heavy, exhausted kind of rubber. All the frustrations of the night, his fears as she left for an evening with another man, his worry that she wouldn’t return his admiration – they all disappeared with a single breath.
It was Cesca who broke the silence that followed. ‘Well I don’t usually do that on a first date. Especially with a guy who didn’t even go on the date.’
The corner of his mouth twitched. ‘I’m glad to hear it.’ He reached out for her, gathering her into the crook of his arm. Like him, her movements were slow, weighed down by satiation. She curled into him again, one of her thighs sliding between his.
‘Stay for a while.’ Like his body, his words were heavy with fatigue.
‘OK,’ she mumbled into him. ‘Just for a bit.’
Before he could protest, her breathing turned heavy and rhythmic, as sleep began to steal its way across her. He closed his eyes, letting it take him, too, still holding her against him.
23
This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet
– Romeo and Juliet
‘We should be able to leave early next week.’ Gabi’s voice crackled down the telephone line. ‘I just want to make sure the baby is sleeping a little better before we go. The poor little thing is waking up every two hours.’
‘Next week? That’s very soon.’ Cesca’s thoughts turned to Sam, who she’d left back at the villa an hour earlier. ‘I thought you’d be gone for longer.’
Gabi laughed. ‘What happened to the girl who wanted to go back to England? Has Varenna made you fall in love with it? That happens, you know.’
Staring out at the village square, Cesca saw how easily it could. The village had a character of its own. Traditional yet welcoming, a little piece of old Italy along the banks of Lake Como. ‘It’s a beautiful place to stay,’ she admitted. ‘I’ll miss it when I have to leave.’ The thought of returning to London made her chest hurt. She couldn’t bear to go back to that old life, not that it was any kind of existence, really. Living hand to mouth, dodging landlords and cosying up to bosses. Not able to write a single word . . .
‘Your contract is to stay until the end of the summer, right?’ Gabi asked. ‘And it would give me and Sandro the chance to check on his sister a few more times if you stayed around. You don’t have to leave on our account.’
‘We’ll see,’ Cesca replied, her mind still on London. ‘I don’t want to outstay my welcome. I’m here to do a job, after all, and once that’s done I won’t be needed here any more.’ There was that tight feeling around her ribs, again.
After Gabi hung up, Cesca stayed in the telephone box to call Hugh. Since that first week in Varenna, she’d only spoken to him a couple of times.
‘How lovely to hear from you,’ Hugh said, afte
r she identified herself. ‘Would you like me to call you back? I know how expensive these long distance phone calls can be.’
‘It’s OK,’ she told him. ‘I’ve bought an international calling card with the money the Carltons paid me in advance.’ She didn’t want to be that girl any more.
‘Very wise. So how are you doing, poppet? Have you managed to get much writing done?’
‘As a matter of fact I have.’ Her voice was full of smiles. ‘I’m three quarters of the way through the first draft. I can’t tell you how good it feels.’ What a difference a few weeks made. She was happy to give him a positive answer.
‘That’s wonderful, I can’t wait to read it. I don’t suppose you can send it over to me, can you?’
She laughed. ‘It’s on the computer at the villa, and there’s no internet access there. Besides, I’d like to wait until it’s finished if that’s OK.’
‘I suppose I’ll have to wait then. It won’t be that long until you come back, will it?’
Another reminder of the limited nature of her stay here in Varenna. An unwelcome one, too. Why couldn’t she just stay here for ever, in her lovely cocoon with her writing and Sam?
Oh, Sam. She didn’t want to think about leaving him right now. Not after the past few days.
‘A couple of weeks, possibly,’ she told him. ‘I spoke to Gabi earlier – she’s the housekeeper – and they’re talking about returning to Varenna next week. I’ll need to hand everything over to them and make sure it’s all shipshape.’
‘I thought you’d be rushing back just as soon as they arrived. Not that long ago you wanted to leave straight away.’
‘Yeah, well, I may have been a little precipitate,’ she admitted. ‘Uncle Hugh, I’m so glad you found me this job. It’s changed everything.’ It wasn’t hyperbole either. When she looked in the mirror this morning after cleaning her teeth she wasn’t sure she recognised the girl looking back at her. In such a good way, too. She looked healthier, stronger, and so much more in control. For the first time in years she was taking life by the horns. And the ride was starting to feel amazing.
‘I can’t tell you how happy that makes me, my darling.’ Hugh’s voice cracked as he replied. The closest he came to admitting to emotion. ‘Now you have to keep it up when you get home. We can look into grants, competitions, the opportunities are out there. You just need to take them.’