(2012) Evie Undercover (22 page)

‘Eduardo and I couldn’t let our friends go back to England without saying goodbye, could we?’

For fuck’s sake, why not
? A
nd surely they weren’t goi
ng to get Eduardo, too! S
he could just imagine his leave-taking rituals before they flew off to England
, if his goodbyes earlier in the week were anything to go by
.
Her heart sank.

‘My poor Evie, you look so sad. I know that this is because you and Tom are going home, but I’m sure you’ll be back in Italy before too long. And we will be meeting many times before that.
Indeed, sooner than you think. Y
ou and Tom are not the only ones who
are
flying to London very soon – I shall be going on Tuesday.’ Scarlet lips beamed at Evie.

Ohhhh, shit!

She’d have enough to do in London in the following couple of weeks, what with Tom and
Pure Dirt
to deal
with, without having to think about Gabriela, too.
Gabriela was OK, but she was
quite
intense
.
S
he’d have to
find a way of
politely
keeping her at
a
distance
if she
and Tom
were going to have
a chance to see
how they got on in London.

‘
How come
you’re going so soon
?
I thought you
wer
en’t going
for at least another week.’

‘I start my work in a week’s time. By flying out on Tuesday, I will have some days to settle in before
that time
. I’m hoping that we will meet next week in London.’

‘Who’s going to be meeting who next week in London?’ Tom asked, coming up to them. ‘Sorry t
o keep you waiting, Evie.
I had a call from Chambers and I couldn’t not take it.’

‘I’m hoping that I will be meeting Evie.’ Gabriela’s smile all but reached from ear to ear. ‘I am flying to London on Tuesday, and I have just a few days before I must start
work. I’
m hoping that Evie will come with me in those days to help me to get some things I need.’

‘
I really wish I could, Gabriela,
but I’m working for Tom for the next two weeks so
I’m afraid
it won’t be possible.’ Evie’s smile was almost as wide as Gabriela’s.

‘Oh, that is such a shame. I think you have taste and could help me. She does have such good taste, does she not, Tom?’

Tom’s gaze ran down Evie’s purple and lime green striped sundress, then back up to the dark blue barrette on top of her head. ‘Pass,’ he said with a wry smile.

‘Perhaps, if you are not too tired, we could meet at the end of one of the days to shop a little, Evie.’

Which bit of ‘no
’ didn’t Gabriela get? Although
come to think of it, she hadn’t actually said the word ‘no’. She opened her mouth.

‘Oh, I think we can do better than that, Gabriela. You can work
at
the ho
use on Monday and Tuesday, Evie,
but for the rest of the week, your job will be to help Gabriela
to find what she needs and to
settle in
.
Perhaps you’d come back to the house on Friday afternoon,
though
, in case there are any loose ends that need tying up before the weekend
,
but Wednesday and Thursday are yours to spend with Gabriela. There now, you’ve got your helper, Gabriela.’

‘That is very kind of you, Tom.’ Gabriela was positively purring. Evie
struggled
to hide her annoyance.

‘Not at all, Gabriela
,’ Tom said cheerfully. ‘
It’s the least I can do after everyth
ing Eduardo has done to help
me. He’s gone way beyond the requirements of the job, and the result is one stunning home. No, you and Evie go off and have some fun – perhaps
take in
some places of interest
between the shopping,
maybe even
see
a show.’ He glanced across the terr
ace towards the car park. ‘
Speaking
of Eduardo
…’

Evie and Gabriela turned at the same moment and saw Eduardo hurrying towards them from the parking area on the far side of the terrace.

‘
Buon giorno!
’ he cried as he reached them, his hands outstretched, his face wreathed in smiles.

‘
I
must
settle
the
bill,’ Tom said quickly
, turn
ing to
leave
. ‘T
hen we
’ll
go
.
I’m off
to Reception. I won’t be long.’

There was a rustle of silk as Gabriela
moved
swiftly to Tom’s side and started walk
ing
alongsid
e him towards the hotel
entrance
. ‘I’ll come with you, Tom,’ Evie heard her say. ‘
I have written down my London address for you, but I
’d like
to
give you
my mobile number
.
’

‘I bet you would,’
Evie
thought, as she
turned
back
to Eduardo. He put his hands on her shoulders, looked into her face for a
long
moment, then
leaned forward and
lightly
kissed her on
both cheeks. The
musky
scent of his
cologne
embraced
her
. She stepped back and
smile
d brightly
. It was very kind of him and Gabriela to come and see them off, she told him, especially as it was still
very
early in the day.

Oh, no, he
exclaimed
. After such a wonderful w
eek, he couldn’t let them
go
without
say
ing
goodbye in person, and Gabriela felt the same.
She
was happy to
know
that she already had friends in London, and he was happy to
feel
that Tom had become
a good
friend
. He
looked forward to seeing him frequently in Italy
. A
nd
,
he added happily
, Tom
would
need an interpreter until
he
was able to
speak Italian
or
until
he
, Eduardo,
was able to speak English
.

Tom would probably use his regular interpreter in the future,
Evie cut in,
but Eduardo
waved aside
her comment
with a flourish of his hand.
Evie was so much better in the role and so
much more beautiful to look at.
Tom
would never go back to using that
other
man. His grimace of distaste was accompanied by a gesture of dismissal.

She glanced across to
the reception area
, but
Tom
and Gabriela were hidden behind the other people there
, so she t
urn
ed
back to Eduardo
and
began to thank
him
for everything he’
d done for them during the week
.
I
n a graceful gesture, he
raised his hand to
interrupt her
. P
rofu
sely apologising for doing so, he said that t
ime was short
and
there was something he wanted to ask
her
;
h
e
would rather
ask
her
it
while she was by herself.

God, he wasn’t going to propose
,
was he
?
She stared at
him in horror.
That would be so, so embarrassing.

He gave a little cough. He’d sensed that she and Tom were close, he began hesitantly, but if this closeness did not last – he knew that he was being bold to suggest such a thing, but he was sure that she would understand why he’d said it when he finished what he
had to say
, and that she would forgive him for speaking in such a way – but if she and Tom drew apart when they were back in England, he would like her to consider returning to Umbria to work for him.

Her mouth fell open in amazement.

With his business expanding, he quickly explained, and with many people coming from England and America to buy properties in Italy, he needed to take on someone who was fluent in both English and Italian, who got on well with people, who had an eye for design – he paused for a moment and she thought she saw him wince as he glanced at the purple and lime green stripes in front of him
–
and who knew something about the property world.

He would like
E
vie to be that person.

He real
ise
d that she didn’t know much about the property business, but he could teach her what she needed to know, and he was confident that if they put their talents together, they would be able to make his enterprise one of the most dynamic in the region.

She stared at him, momentarily stunned by what he was saying.
It was a proposal all right – but
very different from
the one she’d feared.

‘
Grazie mille
,’ she began.
She
was very
flattered by
what he was
offer
ing, but although she’d loved her year in Lake Garda and her stay in Umbria, and hoped to come back again as
often
as she could, she couldn’t possibly imagine permanently leaving England and her friends.

He shrugged his shoulders
–
England and Italy were not so far away that she couldn’t often visit her friends in England. What was it – just over two hours in the air? That was nothing. He asked of her only to think about it, and to know that even if she turned his proposal down, the offer would always be there in case one day she might want to take it up.

It was very kind of him, she repeated, but she couldn’t imagine anything happening that could
ever
make her want to leave London. However, she assured him, she would think about it.

‘
Prometti
,’ he insisted with a smile.

‘
Prometto
,’ she laughed.

And she need not worry
,
he added with a
sad
smile
,
whatever he felt deep in his heart, he would ask no more of her than that they be friends; very good friends, but no more
.

Then he glanced at the watch on his slender wrist and threw up his hands in horror. He had a property to look at in Deruta and he had to be off. Regretfully, he would have to leave without saying a proper goodbye to Tom. Asking her to give him his best wishes, he took his business card from his pocket and gave it to her. Then he gave her a little bow, turned and went back to his car.

Life’s a bitch, she thought as she watched his convertible glide out of the parking area and turn down the steep hill. If only she could have fallen in love with Eduardo, everything would have been so much easier.

She turned to look back at the hotel
. The crowd of people had moved away and she
caught a glimpse of
Tom and Gabriela standing in front of the reception desk, talking and laughing together. They were getting on like a fucking house on fire, she thought irritably. Fair enough, Gabriela
had turned out to be
OK, but she would be even more OK if she stayed put in Italy.

Tom looked up and caught her eye across the terrace. He nodded to her, said something to
Gabriela and they
made their way
out
of the hotel
and across to her
.

‘Where’s Eduardo?’
Tom asked, looking around.

‘He couldn’t wait any longer. Something about a property in Deruta that he had to visit.’