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‘Are you OK with this? Because I’m well aware you’ve had a hell of a day and I don’t want to push it, but it does sound as if they want to meet us, or me, at least. If you don’t feel up to company, just say so and I’ll bring something over to you and you can have a quiet evening on your own. Up to you.’
Her stomach rumbled, answering the question, and she smiled ruefully. ‘Honestly? Yes, I’m tired, but I’m absolutely starving, too, and I’m not sure I want to spend the evening on my own. And anyway, as you say, it’s you they all want to meet. I won’t understand what you’re all saying anyway, so I’ll just sit in the corner and stuff myself and watch you all.’
‘I think you will understand, at least some of it. His wife’s English.’
‘Really?’ Another knot of tension slid away, and this time her smile felt a bit more spontaneous. ‘That’s good news. I might have someone to talk to while you’re in meetings.’
Leo chuckled. ‘I’m sure you will. I’ll just bath Ella quickly and give her a bottle and pop her into bed, and then we can go and meet the rest of the family.’
Ella! She hadn’t even given her duties a thought, but now she did. ‘Will it be all right to leave her, or do you want me to stay with her? It’s you they want to meet.’
He picked something up off a side table and waggled it at her.
‘Baby monitor,’ he said, by way of explanation. ‘They really have thought of everything.’
They had. Absolutely everything. There were posh toiletries in the bathroom, the fridge was stocked with milk, juice, butter and fresh fruit, there was a bowl of brown, speckled eggs and a loaf of delicious-looking crunchy bread on the side, and a new packet of ground coffee next to a cafetière. And teabags. Amy was glad to see the teabags. Real English ones.
While Leo heated the baby’s bottle and gave it to her, she made them both a cup of tea and curled up on the sofa to wait for him. Ella fussed a little as he was trying to put her down, but it didn’t take long before she went quiet, and she heard a door close softly and Leo appeared.
‘Is that for me?’ he asked, tilting his head towards the mug on the table in front of her.
She nodded. ‘I didn’t know how long you were going to be, so it might be a bit cold. Would you like me to make you a fresh one?’
‘No, it’s fine, I’ll drink it now. Thanks. I ought to ring Massimo anyway. I don’t want to keep them waiting and Ella’s gone out like a light.’
‘Before you call him—did you say anything to them? About me, I mean? About the wedding?’
A frown flashed across his face. ‘No, Amy, of course not. I didn’t think you’d want to talk about it and it just puts an elephant in the room.’
‘So—no elephants waiting for me?’
He gave a quiet grunt of laughter, the frown morphing into a sympathetic smile. ‘No elephants, I promise.’
‘Good,’ she said, smiling back as the last knot of tension drained away, ‘because I’m really, really hungry now!’
‘When aren’t you?’ he muttered with a teasing grin, pulling out his phone, and moments later Massimo appeared and led them across the courtyard and into a bustling kitchen filled with laughter.
There were five people in there, two men and three women, all seated at a huge table with the exception of a pregnant woman—Lydia?—who was standing at the stove, brandishing a wooden spoon as she spoke.
Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at them expectantly, the men getting to their feet to greet them as Massimo made a quick round of introductions, ending with his wife. She’d abandoned her cooking, the wooden spoon quickly dumped on the worktop as she came towards them, hands outstretched in welcome.
‘Oh, I’m so glad you’ve both decided to come over and join us. I hope you’re hungry?’
‘Absolutely! It smells so amazing in here,’ she said with a laugh, and then was astonished when Lydia hugged her.
‘Oh, bless you, I love compliments. And you’re Leo,’ she said, letting go of Amy and hugging him, too. ‘I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you. You’ve been my hero for years!’
To Amy’s surprise, Leo coloured slightly and gave a soft, self-effacing chuckle. ‘Thank you. That’s a real compliment, coming from another chef.’
‘Yeah, well, there are chefs and chefs!’ Lydia said with a laugh. ‘Darling, get them a glass of wine. I’m sure they’re ready for it. Travelling with a baby is a nightmare.’
‘I’m on it. Red or white?’
Leo chuckled and glanced over at Lydia. ‘Judging by the gorgeous smell, I’d say a nice robust red?’
‘Perfect with it. And it’s one of your recipes,’ Lydia told him with a wry grin. ‘I’ve adapted it to showcase some of our ingredients, so I hope I’ve done them justice.’
They launched into chef mode, and Amy found a glass of iced water put in her hand by one of the other two women. It appeared she was also English and her smile was friendly and welcoming.
‘I don’t know about you, but travelling always makes me thirsty,’ she said. ‘I’m Isabelle, and I’m married to Luca. He’s a doctor, so more of a sleeping partner in the business, really. And this is Anita, the only native Valtieri wife. She’s married to Giovanni. He’s a lawyer and he keeps us all on the straight and narrow.’
‘Well, he tries,’ Anita said, her laughing words heavily accented, and Amy found herself hugged again. ‘Welcome to Tuscany. Have you had a good day so far? I thought Leo was supposed to be at a wedding today, but obviously not.’
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