Second Chances in Chianti (Escape to Tuscany Book 2) T.A. Williams (early reader books .txt) 📖

A few seconds later, an elderly man appeared at the door. ‘Buongiorno, Signora.’

She introduced herself. ‘Good morning. Signor Innocenti? Rita at the bar sent me over. My name’s Alice Butler.’

His face split into a smile. ‘Of course. Rita told me you were interested in the house. You’re the English lady, aren’t you?’

He invited her in and showed her around. It was small, with just one good-sized room downstairs, a little kitchen area at the rear, and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, but as far as Alice was concerned, it was more than enough for David and her for a few weeks’ holiday. There were two women already in there, giving the place a good clean, although the little patch of garden at the rear was still piled high with builders’ rubbish. Signor Innocenti assured her that this would all be removed the next day, and the place would be furnished and ready for her to move in as early as Saturday if she was interested.

Alice was definitely interested. Signor Innocenti reeled off a list of furnishings, cutlery, linen and utensils that would be provided, and named a weekly rental figure that was remarkably reasonable. Alice hesitated for a moment, wishing she could run it by David first, but then decided to go for it and told Signor Innocenti she would take it for four weeks, right up to the end of the first week of August. She gave him a couple of hundred euros from her purse as a deposit, and he scrupulously wrote out a receipt and gave it to her. She told him she would get the rest of the money while she was in Florence in the afternoon.

As she walked back to the villa, she savoured the thought that she would be staying here in Tuscany, with ample time to do some exploring. The fact that she might meet Matt and his lovely dog again, she assured herself, was totally coincidental and she reminded herself that she intended to dedicate herself to David and the state of their relationship while they were here.

When she got back to the villa, there was still no sign of David so she went up to her room, contacted a car rental company in Florence and booked a little Fiat 500 for the month, arranging to pick it up from the town centre at the end of the afternoon. Then, as she had told Millie, she booked a double room for the following night at the expensive luxury hotel in the villa where the Mona Lisa had once lived. She felt pretty sure David would approve – not least as she was determined to pay as her treat.

Finally, she phoned her mum to give her the news that she was staying on in Italy for the month and to tell her there was a spare room if she wanted to come over. Since her dad had died, she had been keeping a close eye on her so she was delighted – and secretly quite relieved – when her mother turned down the offer, telling her that she had already arranged to go to Cornwall with a friend. Alice promised to take lots of photos to show her the following week, when she came over to London for the second interview at the auction house.

Well pleased with all the arrangements she had made, she went downstairs again. Out on the terrace she found Millie all alone, picking at a salad. As she spotted Alice, her face lit up.

‘Al, you’re still here. I was afraid you’d gone off as well. The others are all leaving this afternoon, but I’m staying until tomorrow.’

‘Same as me. I was looking for David and I ended up down in the village. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him, have you?’

Millie shook her head. ‘No sign, I’m afraid. But I’m glad you’re here for a bit longer.’

Alice went over to give her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. ‘I wouldn’t go off without saying goodbye to you, Mil.’ She sat down, glanced around to see if the coast was still clear, and leant forward. ‘So, how did the meeting go?’

Millie grimaced. ‘Zoë had obviously been told to be on her best behaviour, so it went okay. With you out of the equation, they’re now talking about making me and Richie hook up, while Harry gets to charm the pants off no fewer than two new girls.’ She caught Alice’s eye and nodded grimly. ‘It looks like it’s all going to get a bit more raunchy – although it’ll still be for a general audience, so they can’t make it too explicit.’

Alice did her best to sound supportive. ‘So no full-frontal nudity?’

‘No way, but I’m just a bit worried that the two new girls will be younger and better looking than me…’

‘You’ll be fine, Mil. You’re a brilliant actor, and you’re gorgeous and you know it.’

At that moment Harry and Richie came out and joined them. There was still no sign of Carrie or David, so Alice asked them.

‘You guys haven’t seen David, have you? We’re renting a little house in the village and I wanted him to see it.’

‘He might have gone to Siena with Carrie. She took a taxi and said she’d be back mid-afternoon.’ Richie caught her eye. ‘Didn’t he tell you?’

‘The idiot’s left his phone in the room so he couldn’t. Yes, I imagine that’s what he’s done. Anyway, I’ll catch up with him this afternoon…’ She stopped to correct herself. ‘Or, rather, this evening, as I’m off to the Uffizi this afternoon.’

Harry grinned at her across the table. ‘So, Pals without Polly… That’s going to be interesting.’

She smiled back. ‘It’ll be fine, and I won’t miss being Polly the flirt. All right, it was fun while it lasted but it’s taken me five years to get out from under her shadow. I suppose it’ll be a bit strange for you without Layla, but Millie tells me you’re getting