The Italian Inheritance (11 page)

The new developments painted him in an entirely different light. Anna felt a bit bewildered. She wasn’t sure what to make of it all.
For a moment there she’d been horrified at the th
ought of kissing her brother—e
specially since it felt as amazing as it did.

It was all too much.
Giovanni
dead, DNA tests,
the inheritance
, her attraction to Rafael, the fact that he was also Giovanni’s
son, his orphaned past...

Anna felt like her senses were in overdrive. The need to get away suddenly overwhelmed her. She had to process all the conflicting thoughts and emotions flying through her mind.

“I
...I
think I need to be alone for a while,” she s
tammered, jumping out of the chair
and reaching for her tote bag
. At his surprised look she added. “I
t’s a lot to take in.”

“Where will you be?”
Rafael
asked quickly t
hen added, “In case I need you for anything.”

“I don’t know.
Probably o
n the beach.”

Throwing her bag over her shoulder,
Anna said a brief goodbye and
hurried out of
the office.
She made a beeline for the steep rocky steps that lead down the cliff face to the little marina and the beach. The urge to feel the sand between her toes and to take deep fortifying breaths of salty sea air was almost desperate.

Her mind raced.

So
,
Rafael still suspected her of being a fraud.
After all she’d told him.
Unbelievable. But at least he
had
brought up the DNA test. That was the most sensible suggestion he’d had since
they’d first met
.
A paternity test was a sure-fire way of discovering the truth
.

And
there was the small issue of the money.
Ten
million dollars. If she inherited, Rafael would lose that money. Would he be bitter? Men had murdered for less. The thought made her pause and she glanced up and out over the steep cliff. The Bay of Naples stretched as far as the eye could see, impossibly blue and still. Nothing like the tumultuous feelings crashing around inside of her.

No. Rafael didn’t strike her as the murderous type. Passionate, yes, and hard in
a
ruthless, street-wise kind of way, but murder...? She didn’t think so. Anna continued down the endless steps, her rhythmic footsteps therapeutically helped detangle her thoughts.

So he’d grown up on the streets. That was a surprise. He must have had a rough childhood. Perhaps that’s where
his distrusting nature had stemmed from?
Maybe he’d been forced to defend himself from an early age. Anna sympathised. She knew all about that.
S
he
hadn’t had to
defend herself with her fists, but she’d used her intelligence and sheer hard work to get where she was today. Maybe
her
and Rafael were more alike than she’d thought.

Except her father hadn’t come to her rescue, like he had
to
Rafael’s. In some ways it was ironic that Giovanni had died leaving her all this money. Perhaps she was going to get her Fairy God-Father after all.

Finally Anna reached the last step. It was a long way down and she was covered in sweat and gasping for a cool drink. She slipped into a nearby cafe and ordered a bottle of still water, enjoying the blissful coolness. Anna looked around for a chair. Unfortunately many wilted beach-goers had the same idea. There were no free tables.

“Excusi,
Signorina
,” came a voice from behind. Anna swung round. “Would you like to join me?” A short, stocky man of about forty-five was sitting in nothing but swimming trunks, sipping an espresso. He had masses of dark hair spread across his chest, shoulders and upper arms. Amidst all this hair nestled a thick, gold chain.

It was on the tip of Anna’s lips to decline, but on closer inspection, saw only genuine kindness in the crooked smile and dark, sparkling eyes. “Er...okay, thanks.” Anna sunk into the chair gratefully.

“You are from England, yes?” asked the man.

Anna nodded.

“I am Leonardo. I live in Capri. I have a boat service. If you like I can show you around the island?”

“Oh, well, actually I was heading for the beach,” smiled Anna. “But thank you all the same.”

“No, no,” insisted the man, “The only way to appreciate the beauty of Capri is by boat. I am taking a few tourists in half an hour to the Blue Grotto. You should join us.”

“That’s very kind of you,” said Anna, wondering if perhaps she should take a boat trip after all. Rafael had mentioned the Blue Grotto last night and she did want to see it. It was a scorching hot day to bake in the sun and she’d be quite safe with other tourists on board. “Okay, perhaps I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Excellent!” Leonardo clapped his hands. “I will be honoured to have such a beautiful lady on board.”

Leonardo turned out to be most informative and Anna spent the next half hour learning all about the island and its colourful history.

Leonardo’s boat was moored in the Marina Grande, next to a long jetty. Two couples and an elderly man were waiting besides the mooring. The one couple were obviously very well off, judging by the diamonds dripping from the woman’s ears and wrists. The other couple were holding hands.

Newlyweds, thought Anna, wistfully. She studied the man. He was clearly besotted with his new wife.  He looked kind and dependable. Lucky girl, mused Anna. She was keen to start on that journey
,
too. But until she found a suitable mate, her family plans would have to wait.

They clambered aboard and cast off. Soon they were skimming over the clear blue water, the wind in their faces. Anna laughed with delight. It was all so incredibly beautiful. They sailed around the island admiring the scenery and the impossibly blue water. An hour into the trip they anchored near the Blue Grotto. The entrance to the marine cave was partially submerged and far too small for the boat to enter.

“You must all swim inside the Grotta Azzurra,” Leonardo told them. “It is the best way to see the spectacle.”

“What’s so special about it?” asked the elderly gent.

Leonardo explained. “The sunlight passes through the underwater entrance and illuminates the cavern. It glows with a magical blue light. Magnifico!” He clapped his hands together to emphasise his point. “There are many grotto’s on the island,” he told them, “but this one is the most well known. You must see it!”

“Will you show us?” asked Anna, who was keen to see it
,
but didn’t want to go in alone.

“Of course. Follow me!” And with that Leonardo dived overboard and swam towards the entrance with strong strokes.

“I guess that’s our cue,” laughed the posh lady’s husband and he took off his shirt and followed suit. Anna slipped out of her dress and dived in, in her bikini. The lovers elected to stay on board, holding hands and dangling their feet off the back of the boat clearly more interested in each other than the sights.

Soon the three of them ducked through the entrance and emerged inside the blue grotto. It was as magnificent as Leonardo had promised. An incandescent blue glow illuminated the cave, making the water appear luminous. Anna clambered onto a rock for a better view. The rich husband did the same, sitting a bit too close to Anna for her liking.

Just then, much to Anna’s amazement, Leonardo broke into song. His deep tenor echoed powerfully off the cavern walls.

“The acoustics are incredible,” remarked Anna clapping. The sound seemed to reverberate around them, on and on until it faded into the gentle lapping of the water against the bordering rocks.

Ten minutes later several more swimmers had entered the grotto so Leonardo suggested they head back to the boat. Once outside, Anna noticed that two more boats had anchored outside the cavern. One was a large luxury yacht. They had to swim past it to reach Leonardo’s vessel.

Anna was breast-stroking past when she saw a toddler appear on the deck of the luxury yacht. The sun danced off her lovely golden curls. She was holding tightly onto a little bear.  Anna watched in horror as the toddler veered ever closer to the edge of the yacht.

“Don’t!” she yelled, but the little girl didn’t hear her. There appeared to be no one else on deck. Where the hell were the parents?

“Watch out!” tried Anna again, but to no avail. Then to her horror, the toddler tripped and fell straight overboard.

“Leonardo, help!” cried Anna, swimming frantically towards the spot where the toddler had gone in. She dived and luckily the water was so clear, she managed to find the little girl straight away. Grabbing an arm she tried to pull her towards the surface. Then a pair of male arms joined her. Together they got the girl to the surface.

“Here, pull her onto the deck,” gasped Anna, treading water. Leonardo did as requested and then Anna clamoured up the ladder of the
luxurious
vessel, and
bent
down over the little girl.

At that moment a woman appeared from below, having just realised the little girl was missing. “Serena? Where are you Serena? Hey, who are you?”

Then she spotted the child lying inert on the deck. “What happened,” she gasped, running towards the little girl.

“She fell overboard,” hissed Anna, repositioning the girls head to clear her airway. Then she began mouth to mouth resuscitation.

“Come on,” begged Anna, pumping the little chest. Eventually the girl’s eye lids fluttered and she began to wretch. Anna turned her onto her side and let her vomit until her stomach was empty. The child gasped and inhaled, then began to cry.

“She’s okay,” whispered Anna taking the girl’s pulse. It was getting steadier by the second. Anna was filled with relief. “She’s going to be okay.”

“Oh, thank God,” cried the woman who had been joined by her husband. They were both very pale.

“I can’t begin to thank you enough,” said the man. “I don’t know what happened. One minute she was there and the next she was gone.”

“You really ought to keep a closer eye on her, especially on a boat,” pointed out Anna. She was secretly fuming that the parents could be so stupid as to let the little girl wonder out onto the deck alone.

“You are right, of course,” admitted the man. “It was very foolish of us and very nearly catastrophic, if not for you.” He looked at Anna with respect. “Your fast thinking saved our little girl.”

Anna bit her lip. “It was nothing, really.”

“Please, won’t you join us for dinner tomorrow night? It is the least we can do to say thank you.” The man glanced appreciatively at her breasts.

“I’m a nurse so I’m trained in first aid. I don’t need dinner.” Anna crossed her hands over her chest.

“Oh
,
please,” cried the woman, cradling her child’s head in her lap. She hadn’t noticed her husband’s blatant staring. “It would be an honour to have you over for dinner. After all
,
you saved our Serena’s life.”

“If you insist,” smiled Anna giving in. The wife seemed nice enough.

“Wonderful.” 
Serina’s mother
clapped her hands with joy. “My goodness, where are my manners. We haven’t even introduced ourselves. My name is Tanya and this is my husband, Adriano Mancini.”

Adriano took Anna’s hand and pumped it enthusiastically. He was still struggling to keep his eyes above her neckline.

“Pleased to meet you,” said Anna. “This is Leonardo.” The boat operator stepped forward and shook hands with the couple.

“Can we give you a lift back to the marina?” enquired Adriano. “We’d better get Serena to the clinic right away.”

Serena was still sobbing quietly in her mother’s arms. “She should be fine now, so I wouldn’t worry too much,” said Anna quietly to Tanya, who was anxiously stroking the child’s head. “But yes, it’s a good idea to get her checked out.”

“No thank you,” said Leonardo. “That is my boat.” He pointed to where the others were waiting anxiously. “I’d better get them back to the marina.”

After more
t
hank-you’s and hastily made arrangements for the following night, Anna said good bye to the Mancinis.

Rafael spent a horrible day scrutinising abandoned warehouses, old schools and derelict buildings in hope of finding a shelter for Streetwise. Nothing seemed suitable. In desperation he rang the Mayor again and had it out with him, which didn’t do him any good. It seemed his hands were well and truly tied... to bloody Mancini.

He called
Rico
. The private detective hadn’t checked out Anna’s story yet. Not that it really mattered now that they’d decided to do the DNA test. The thought of seeing Anna again made his pulse quicken. He couldn’t forget about that kiss.

Walking to his
Vespa
, parked behind the yacht club, Rafael thought he was imagining things when he spotted a bedraggled Anna, in nothing but a bikini, trudging up the hill. After a double-take he realised she was chatting away to an Italian man he’d never seen before.