Up in the magical, snow kissed mountains…

Two years ago, Annie Brewer’s life was turned upside down when her adrenaline-junkie husband died in a tragic climbing accident. So she’s hoping that moving to the beautiful village of Santorso in the Italian Alps will finally put her life back on track!

…anything can happen!

She might be going into business with her oldest friend – notorious lady-charmer Matt Brown – but men are definitely out of the question for Annie! That is, until she bumps into tall, dark and delicious Alessandro Lago on the ski slopes…and spontaneously says ‘Yes’ to a date! It must be the crisp mountain air but suddenly, anything seems possible. The only trouble is, chivalrous Matt is looking more gorgeous than ever…

A sparkling romantic comedy guaranteed to beat the winter blues, What Happens in the Alps… is one story you don’t want miss in 2016!

Also by T. A. Williams:

Dirty Minds

The Room on the Second Floor

When Alice Met Danny

What Happens in Tuscany…

What Happens in Cornwall…

What Happens at Christmas…

What Happens in the Alps…

T. A. Williams

Copyright

HQ

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2016

Copyright © Trevor Williams 2016

Trevor Williams asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © June 2016 ISBN: 9780008182595

Version date: 2018-06-08

TREVOR WILLIAMS

lives in Devon with his Italian wife. He lived and worked in Switzerland, France and Italy, before returning to run one of the best-known language schools in the UK. He has taught people from all over the world, among them Arab princes, Brazilian beauty queens and Italian billionaires. He speaks a number of languages and has travelled extensively. He has eaten snake, live fish and alligator. A Spanish dog, a Russian bug and a Korean parasite have done their best to eat him in return. He has written historical novels, humorous books and thrillers. His hobby is long-distance cycling, but his passion is writing. You can follow him on Twitter, @TAWilliamsBooks, find him on Facebook: facebook.com/TrevorWilliamsBooks or visit his website: tawilliamsbooks.com.

With many thanks, as always, to my lovely editor Charlotte Mursell.

Thanks to Giovanna Zanchi in Aosta for her wonderful photos of the mountains.

Thanks also to John Byrne for giving me that job all those years ago.

To Mariangela and Christina with love

Contents

Cover

Blurb

Book List

Title Page

Copyright

Author Bio

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Excerpt

Endpages

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

‘Don’t look down.’

The cable car had been running smoothly along, only a few metres above the gently sloping fields. Now, as they reached the massive red and white pylon at the cliff edge, there was a rumble of pulley wheels and they swept out into the void.

Ignoring Karen’s advice, Annie tightened her grip on the handrail, braced herself, and glanced out of the window and down. The valley floor was stomach-churningly far below them, the cars in the car park like models on a playroom floor. She took a deep breath and hastily turned her eyes back to her sister, doing her best to summon a weak smile.

‘I’m okay, Karen. Thanks for the warning.’ She swallowed hard and tried to sound unworried. ‘It’s an amazing view from up here, isn’t it?’ And it was. In the clear, late autumn air, the whole range of the Alps was visible on the northern horizon, with the Mont Blanc massif standing out crisply against a pale blue sky. Over to the left of them, coming in from France, cloud was beginning to build as the predicted snow approached, but for now, the Italian Alps were magnificent.

Annie decided to keep her eyes on her sister, rather than on the abyss beneath her feet. Karen, unworried, was still reflecting on the amazing lunch they had just had.

‘I’m surprised you haven’t been up here more often, seeing as you live here now. That restaurant was fabulous; great food, nice people and the best view I’ve ever seen.’

‘I’m so glad you liked it. I haven’t had much time for sightseeing. Don’t forget I only got to Santorso a few months ago and there’s been loads to do. Besides, you know…’ Her voice tailed off.

Karen knew all too well. ‘Three or four more minutes and we’ll be down.’ Her tone was supportive. Karen knew that Annie’s fear of heights wasn’t the only reason she was finding this hard.

A few minutes later, sensing the cable car begin to slow, Annie took a cautious look out of the window and felt an overwhelming feeling of relief as the roof of the bottom station appeared ahead of them, less than a hundred metres away. The trees around the car park looked close enough to touch. For the first time she had a chance to appreciate the sheer breathtaking beauty of the place with its lush pastures dotted with cows, squat timber chalets with logs piled against the walls in readiness for winter, and a stone church that had probably been standing there for the last five hundred years. Directly below them now was a mountain stream that snaked down from the high Alps at the head of the valley. The water was so clear, Annie could even see the shadows of trout passing over the gravel riverbed. She felt her heart rate begin to slow.

There was a gentle bump and the doors of the car slid open. Annie wasted no time in getting out, but didn’t reckon with the door handle. As she pushed past it in her haste to get onto solid ground once more, the strap of her bag got caught and she was stopped dead and spun round. Her right foot tripped over her left foot and she ended up sprawled on the ground. Luckily all that was hurt was her pride.

As Karen hurried across to help her up, she saw the red glow of embarrassment on her sister’s face. ‘Oh, Annie, how can you be so clumsy? Here, grab hold of my hand.’ She pulled Annie to her feet and they waited until the other passengers had left, before following them down the steps into the open. Annie, her cheeks a bit less red now, looked across at her sister.

‘Thanks, Karen. I don’t know why these things always happen to me.’

‘It’s just you, Annie. You’ve been like it all your life. Remember your wedding dress?’

Annie nodded. Some memories are impossible to forget. On the day she and Steve had got married, as she and her father had arrived outside the little country church and made their way up the path to the entrance, she had managed to slip, landing on her knees on the grass at the side of the path. The wedding photos clearly showed two brown marks at knee-height on the white silk of the dress. ‘I know. And it’s not as if I don’t try to avoid that sort of thing happening.’

‘I know, Annie. I know.’

Outside, once more in command of her faculties, Annie glanced across at the café and made a suggestion. ‘Time for a coffee before we head off? I promise I’ll try not to overturn the table.’

‘You drink too much coffee, you know, sis?’ Karen sighed. ‘Mind you, so would I if I lived here. It’s just so good.’

Annie smiled and they crossed the car park to the café. Even now, in late November, the sun was still warm enough for people to be sitting outside. As her eyes ranged over the crowded terrace for an empty table, Annie suddenly stopped and did a double take. A man was waving at them.

‘Matt?’ She took a better look. It really was him. ‘Is that you, Matt?’ He jumped to his feet and waved them over.

‘Annie, how wonderful. I thought it was you.’ He held out his hand, hesitated and then caught her by the shoulders and kissed her cheeks, before turning his attention to Karen. ‘And I believe this delightful creature is your baby sister?’

Annie grinned. She hadn’t seen Matt for a good while, but he had been Steve’s very best friend back in the old days. Before she and Steve got married, Matt had been ever-present in their lives, and even afterwards, right up to the time he had moved away from Turin to go and live in Tuscany. Annie had got to know him so very well and had always had a very soft spot for him, even if he could be a bad influence on Steve.

Both of them were climbing junkies; the higher the better, the more difficult, the more exciting. She could remember numerous occasions when Matt had arrived with Steve at midnight after driving all the way to Switzerland and back in a day to climb some insane cliff, oblivious to the fact that she had spent the whole day waiting for a phone call to say something terrible had happened. And then, of course, one day it had.

Luckily, the one big difference between the two men had always been that while Matt had been a womaniser, with a list of conquests the length of the Magna Carta, Steve had always been hers, and hers alone. Annie smiled as she heard Matt putting on the charm and saw the embarrassment on her sister’s face. She made the introductions.

‘Karen, you remember Matt, don’t you? He and Steve were best friends. And you know full well she’s my big sister, Matt.’ Karen was four years older than her; just turned forty, but the expression on her face at the moment was like a teenager.

‘Erm, hello, Matt. Of course I remember you from the wedding.’

Karen held out her hand and looked overwhelmed when Matt took it and shook it. Annie once again repressed a smile. Matt relinquished Karen’s hand and turned to his companion at the table. She was a very beautiful blonde girl, probably in her mid-twenties, at least ten years younger than Matt or Annie, but that, too, was par for the course with Matt, as Annie well remembered. He switched to accentless Italian. ‘Luisa, this is Annie and her sister, Karen. I haven’t seen Annie for a couple of years.’ The girl shook hands with them and gave a smile that exposed a set of sparkling, bleached-white teeth.

‘Pleased to meet you. Have you been up at Chamoux?’

Annie nodded, still amazed at bumping into him here. ‘Yes, and it was lovely, apart from the cable car.’ She turned her attention to Matt and surveyed him critically. He was looking very good: fit, healthy and no older than the last time they had met. And that, she well remembered, had been at Steve’s funeral. She did her best to banish the memory of that grim day. His lush dark hair was still without a trace of grey even though he, like she, was edging towards forty. ‘How amazing to bump into you like this, Matt. I haven’t seen you for ages.’

Annie and Karen sat down at the table with them and told them of the wonderful meal they had just had. Karen spoke English and Matt translated it effortlessly to Luisa. Just at that moment, the waiter appeared and asked what he could bring them. Karen ordered a cappuccino. Annie ordered her usual espresso.

The waiter emerged a couple of minutes later with the cups on a tray. He set them down on the table, along with a till receipt. Before Annie could reach for her bag, Matt produced a ten euro note and handed it to him. The man nodded, retrieved the slip of paper and disappeared back inside again. Annie raised her cup in Matt’s direction. ‘Thank you and cheers. How great to run into you again.’ And it really was. She gave him a big smile and he smiled back. The handle of the tiny brown coffee cup was hot to the touch so she contented herself with just breathing in the rich, strong aroma before setting it back down on its saucer again to cool. She looked across at Karen.

‘Matt runs a very good translation business.’ She turned back towards him. ‘Is that still going? You were in Turin, Matt, but then you left for Tuscany. That was a good few years ago. Where are you based now?’

‘Florence, and the business is doing really well. I’ve been there over five years now, but I won’t be there for much longer.’

Karen was also being cautious, just sipping the foam on the top of her cappuccino. ‘Surely that’s a fabulous place to live. Why leave, Matt? Where could be better than Florence?’

Matt raised his hand and pointed at the snow-covered peaks all around them. ‘Up here. Space and fresh air. Florence is getting more and more claustrophobic. Too many bloody tourists all over the place, vicious mosquitoes, and the heat in summer’s absolutely suffocating. I can work from anywhere, so I’ve pretty much made up my mind to come up here for some quality of life. Up here, twenty minutes in the car and I can be up on a ski slope or at the bottom of a climb.’ His eyes ran up and across the distant peaks. Annie saw that same expression of awe on his face that she remembered so well with Steve. Both of them had something deep inside that drew them to the mountains like moths to a flame. She shook her head, but made no comment as he carried on.

‘I’ve been a member of the climbing club here for years and I know the area really well.’ He cradled his cup in the palm of his hand for a few moments. ‘For my work, all I need’s a computer and a few bookshelves, so, like I say, I can work from anywhere, really. But what about you, Karen? I thought you were in the UK. Don’t tell me you’ve moved to Italy like your sister?’ She shook her head.

‘No, I’m afraid I’m off to Geneva on the early bus tomorrow and flying home to Bristol in the afternoon. It’s just been a long weekend, really.’

Matt transferred his attention to his coffee and drained the cup in one well-practised movement. ‘And you, Annie? How’ve you been?’ His voice was soft, compassionate, and Annie remembered how good he had always been to her. ‘I kept meaning to call you, but I didn’t know what to say. Somehow, having me crying my eyes out down the phone to you probably wouldn’t have helped.’

Annie smiled at him and told him the simple truth. ‘In fact, Matt, it would’ve helped a lot. We both lost our best friend that day.’ For a moment she was afraid her voice would give up on her, but she took a deep breath and managed to keep the smile on her face. He caught her eye and nodded.

‘I should’ve called.’ She saw that he, too, stopped to catch his breath before continuing. ‘So, where are you these days? Still in Turin?’

Annie shook her head. ‘No, I’m up here now.’ She saw a flicker of interest in his eyes. For Luisa’s sake she switched to Italian. Karen knew the story well by now. They had been talking about little else all weekend. ‘I decided the time had come to make a change; a big change. After years of working for other people, I’m opening my own English-language school up here in Santorso.’ The blonde girl looked interested.

‘What a good idea. Whereabouts? In Santorso itself?’

Annie nodded. ‘Yes, I’ve leased a big apartment bang in the centre for the school.’ She and Matt exchanged glances. ‘It was time for a change. Get on with my life again.’

Matt nodded, but, mercifully, didn’t pursue the subject. The last two bleak years of her life were a subject Annie preferred to avoid. Instead, he expressed interest. ‘I’m looking for an office as well; at least, somewhere much smaller would do for that. I’m fed up of working from home. I need to separate business from pleasure. To be honest, just one decent-sized room with space for me, a computer, and a few bookshelves. So far all I’ve found are big places.’

Annie had a sudden idea. ‘You know, Matt, I might just have a solution for you. The flat I’ve taken for the school is pretty big; too big for me, really, at least for a while until the numbers build up. I reckon I could easily do without one of the rooms if you want to rent it off me as your office. Would that help?’

Matt beamed. ‘That would be amazing. Are you sure?’

Annie thought about it and the more she did, the more sensible it appeared. And some extra cash coming in would be a big help at this uncertain time. Of course Steve hadn’t had any life insurance so she was using all her savings plus an expensive bank loan to set up the school, and the finances were tight. And, although she hadn’t seen Matt for ages, she knew she could trust him and she had always liked him. She looked up and gave him a smile. ‘I’m absolutely sure. Are you around for a few days? Why don’t you call in and take a look.’

‘That’s great, Annie. I should be able to make it tomorrow. When’s the school opening?’

‘I’ve just had the brochures printed. The Santorso English Academy opens its doors to the public on the fifteenth of January. I just hope I get lots of students.’

Karen knew her sister well enough to see the conflict in her head. ‘It’ll be great, Annie. Just you wait and see. You’ll be fighting them off in a few weeks’ time. Everywhere you look around here there are hotels, restaurants, ski lifts and tourists, so English has got to be pretty well essential for anybody in that business. And Paolina says the same.’

Luisa glanced at her watch and held out her wrist towards Matt. He nodded. She stood up and excused herself, heading inside to the ladies’. Matt waited until she was out of earshot before asking, ‘Who’s Paolina?’

‘She’s my newly appointed school secretary/receptionist. In fact, if you decide to take a room off me we could share her if you like. As soon as the publicity starts I’m hoping she’s going to be busy talking to potential clients and convincing them to part with their money.’

Karen smiled across the table at them. ‘I like Paolina. And she’s very pretty. I imagine that helps attract the male students in a place like Italy.’ Karen had been introduced to Paolina the previous day.

‘That helps attract males in any country.’ An expression of heightened interest spread across Matt’s face. Before he could comment further, Annie leapt in to lay down the ground rules.

‘But if you do join us, it’s hands off Paolina, Matt. Got it? If she turns out to be as good as I think, I don’t want you doing your usual act and then dumping her.’ He raised his hand as if to protest, but she hadn’t finished. ‘Promise me you won’t lay a finger on her, or I won’t rent you that room after all.’

Matt raised both hands in surrender. ‘All right, all right, I promise. Paolina is off limits. Message understood. So, tell me, is your phone number still the same? I’ll give you a call tomorrow and hopefully we can meet up.’

Annie nodded. ‘Yes, still the same. Fine. So what’s on your programme for tonight? Are you and Luisa staying up here or is there some other girl waiting for you in Turin?’

‘We’re going to the casino down the valley at San Daniele. There’s a big show going on and we’re booked into the hotel there for the night.’

Annie was impressed. The Grand Hotel was very, very expensive. ‘Just come into an inheritance, have you?’

He shook his head with an expression that could almost have been one of embarrassment. ‘Erm, I’m not paying. She gets the room free because she’s performing there tonight.’

Annie shot him a look. ‘Performing? Are we talking performing as in singing, dancing, or something more exotic?’ Annie was grinning at him.

‘She’s presenting it. You know, introducing the acts and so on. She’s a bit nervous about it and she wanted me to come along to hold her hand.’

Annie had little doubt that the girl’s hand was not going to be the only part of her body to be held by Matt at the Grand Hotel that night. By the dreamy expression on Karen’s face, she was also imagining the scene to come. Annie caught his eye.

‘So is it serious this time, Matt? Am I going to be hearing more about her in the future?’ It was unlikely. Matt’s list of conquests read like a phone book with the pages fanned by the wind. If he had ever started carving notches on his bed head, Annie felt pretty sure that there would be precious little left of the bed by now. He gave her a little smile.

‘I like Luisa. Did you recognise her? She reads the news on Torino Channel Seven.’

Annie didn’t watch a lot of television, but she suddenly realised that she did in fact recognise her.

‘Have you been together long?’ Karen was clearly interested. Matt’s expression returned to one of mild embarrassment.

‘Erm, no, not really. We met at a party in Turin last week and one thing led to another.’

‘Whose party was that, Matt?’ Although she and Steve had lived there for almost ten years, Annie hadn’t been back to Turin for some months now.

‘It was a company do. Her husband’s something big in the film business and I’ve been doing some work for them.’

Annie was more surprised by the fact that Matt’s translation business now had links to the Italian film industry than the fact that his latest girl was married. There was nothing unusual about that at all. Karen’s face, on the other hand, was now a picture; part disapproval, part awe. This came as a surprise to Annie. She had never thought of her big sister as being the type to be attracted to a bad boy, but then, Matt tended to have that effect upon women. She suppressed a grin as she saw the look on her sister’s face. Clearly, Karen thought Matt was rather nice. In fact, considering Karen was a happily married woman, it looked as though she was finding him rather too attractive. Annie coughed to attract her attention and grinned as Karen dropped her eyes guiltily and pretended she hadn’t been staring at him.

Luisa returned to the table and Matt stood up. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get off.’ He held out his hand to Karen. ‘Goodbye, Karen. I hope I see you again.’

Karen also jumped to her feet. She wasn’t letting him off with a handshake. Annie grinned as her sister took two steps forward, grabbed him by the biceps, and kissed him on his stubbly cheeks. ‘Bye, Matt. I’m sure I’ll see you again before too long. I can’t wait to bring the family out here once Annie’s found herself somewhere to live.’

Matt stopped and turned towards Annie. ‘So where are you living at the moment?’

‘I’ve been squatting in the school, but now that I’ve got builders and decorators in there, I moved out last week. Do you remember Janet? Her husband Guido used to be one of your climbing pals. I’ve been staying with them at their B&B, but with the winter sports season about to start, I’m going to need somewhere of my own as soon as possible. They’re getting busy and they need my room, so it’s find a new flat as soon as possible for me or I’ll be out on the street.’

Matt nodded. ‘Of course I know them, although I haven’t climbed with Guido for a while. I’ve got my spies out, looking for a flat to live in just like you. Finding accommodation up here is bloody difficult. Everywhere seems to be rented out on a weekly basis to skiers in winter and walkers and climbers in summer. If I hear of anywhere, I’ll let you know.’

Annie nodded. ‘And I’ll do the same. I’m looking hard.’ She stood up and shook hands with Luisa, then gave Matt a kiss on the cheek. It had been very good to see him again. ‘Drive safely and be a good boy.’

He smiled down at her. ‘You know me, Annie.’

‘I do; that’s what worries me.’

‘So what about our Matt, then, Annie? You two going into business together at the drop of a hat sounds a bit cosy.’

Annie caught the waiter’s eye and raised a finger. As he made his way over to them through the maze of tables and chairs, she glanced across at her sister. ‘A drop of fizz wouldn’t hurt us, would it?’ After asking the waiter for two glasses of Prosecco she formulated her reply. ‘Hardly going into business together. I’m just talking about renting him a room. And it’s not as if we don’t know each other well. Matt’s great. I’ve known him for the best part of ten years although we’ve rather lost contact since the funeral. He and Steve were best buddies.’ Annie paused for a moment, her eyes fixed on her empty coffee cup, determined to keep her feelings firmly under control. Now, after over two years, it was still tough, but she was managing better as time went by.

She remembered the old days, when she and Steve had first started dating. Matt and one of his many girlfriends had so often been around. Annie could remember so many times when they had been up here in the mountains together; Steve and Matt doing some terrifying climb, while she and Matt’s latest sat down below and did their best not to worry too much. Dismissing the image, she returned her attention to Karen.

‘Although he’s got this translation business, he trained as a lawyer. He might be just the person I need to help me through a sea of red tape.’ She glanced up. ‘The Romans invented bureaucracy over here and Italy’s been getting worse every year since then. It’s a total bloody nightmare.’

‘Handy sort of chap to have around.’ Karen gave her a little grin. ‘But I was wondering if there might be anything developing between you two on a more personal level. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how utterly gorgeous he is. And he likes you a lot; that much is clear. Might it be time for you to start thinking about finding yourself another man?’

‘Me and another man? No way, Karen. As of now I’m concentrating on the school and that’s that. Even if I wanted, which I don’t, I haven’t got time for men at the moment.’

‘Not even him?’ Karen was grinning. ‘For a moment back there I was seriously considering divorcing Chris and throwing myself into Matt’s muscular arms. He’s irresistible.’

Annie was smiling by this time. ‘Oh, he’s a handsome devil, all right, but he’s got the morals of a tom cat. At least he always used to be like that and I don’t see him ever changing. Every time I saw him he’d have some other poor girl eating out of his hand, but they would never last. Use and discard would appear to be his motto and I fear our friend Luisa will soon discover that to her cost.’ She caught her sister’s eye. ‘Matt doesn’t understand the concept of monogamy, I’m afraid. He’s certainly not the man for me, even if I was in the market, which, like I say, I’m not.’ Her voice dropped. ‘I had Steve. I lost Steve. That’s it for me.’

‘Life goes on, Annie.’

‘Of course it does.’ Annie tried to sound as positive as she could. ‘And it is. That’s why I took the plunge and decided to open my own school.’

Chapter 2

After taking Karen to the bus station next morning, Annie drove back up to Janet’s lovely old bed and breakfast. Janet was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, so Annie dumped her coat in her room and came back down in search of a coffee. Apart from Janet, the dining room was empty

‘Coffee?’ Janet didn’t wait for a reply. She knew Annie well by now. ‘So, what’s on the cards today?’

‘I’ve got a visit to the accountant first thing and then it’s into the school to see how all the work’s going.’ A series of builders, decorators and other tradesmen had been transforming the first-floor apartment into a school and seriously depleting Annie’s bank balance for the last few weeks. She was just hoping that she would have enough money to pay for all the work. Yet again, she felt a shiver of apprehension. ‘Oh, yes, and I’m probably getting a visit from Matt.’

Janet glanced back over her shoulder, her hands occupied with the coffee machine. ‘Matt? You mean Matt Brown? We haven’t seen him for a while. Is he still living down south?’

‘Yes, he’s been in Florence, but he says he’s planning on moving up here.’

‘To Santorso?’ Annie nodded and Janet grinned at her. ‘It would be good to see Matt again. He was in Turin for years and then he moved away, but he still came up here to climb. At least up until a year or two ago. Is he still as gorgeous as ever?’

Annie smiled back. ‘Karen certainly thought so.’ She went on to relate their chance meeting with Matt and his girlfriend. Janet was impressed when she heard about the girl from the TV.

‘So he’s still the same old Matt. I suppose the leopard doesn’t change his spots that easily. So why’s he moving up here?’

Annie told her what he had said and explained about his maybe renting a room at the school from her. Thought of room rental reminded her of the ever-more pressing matter of finding somewhere to live. ‘I’m going to spend this week seriously looking and, if I haven’t found anywhere by the weekend, I’ll move out of here and back into the school.’

‘You could always share a flat with Matt.’ Janet’s grin was positively mischievous.

‘Yes, and be kept awake every night by the bedsprings in the room next door. I don’t think so, thank you.’

‘Well, if he’s got time, bring him up here for a coffee this afternoon. It’ll be so good to see him again.’

When Annie got to the school around mid-morning, she found that there was now a fine new sign on the wall by the front door advertising the fact that the Santorso English Academy was on the first floor of the building. Even better, upstairs on the first-floor landing, the new illuminated sign was now hanging over the door. Even if there still wasn’t any furniture in the classrooms, at least it was looking like a school from the outside. She pressed the bell and Paolina buzzed her in.

A light dusting of snow had fallen while she had been with the accountant. After shaking her jacket off, she hung it on a hook by the door and headed for the room marked Reception, the only properly decorated, furnished and finished room in the school at the moment. The heating in the reception area was full on and the place was boiling hot. This was no doubt because Paolina, oblivious to the weather outside, appeared to be wearing little more than a lacy top and a short summery skirt that day. Annie walked in and set her bag down on the front desk.

She had discovered a few weeks back that Paolina’s hobby was scavenging local junk shops for old clothing that she then transformed into outfits for herself. So far, Annie had seen her in everything from a nineteenth-century ballgown to an ancient fireman’s uniform. She was a very pretty girl, in her mid-twenties, with long dark hair, and she somehow managed to carry off all but the most outrageous outfits. Today’s blouse was charming, although the moths had clearly had a go at it and either Paolina or her mum had embroidered colourful Alpine flowers over the worst of the holes.

‘Ciao, Paolina, how’s it going?’

‘Ciao, Annie. Everything’s fine. There was a phone call from a Signor Lagrange who wants to speak to you. He’ll be here in half an hour.’

At first, the preponderance of French names everywhere had come as a surprise to Annie. Santorso was in Italy, but its roots were French, going back to the time of the Kingdom of Savoy, and many of the locals still spoke a French-based patois. Annie didn’t recognise the man’s name and she wondered what he might want.

She changed from her lovely warm, fur-lined boots into indoor shoes and returned to her office to check her messages. There was a short text from Karen telling her she was just arriving in Geneva, and an email from her mother, asking if she was coming home for Christmas. Annie glanced at the calendar and sat back in thought. Christmas was less than a month away and she knew she had to make a decision. On the one hand she knew she should make the effort to go and see her mum, but on the other there was the fear that something terrible might happen here while she was away. Still, the longer she waited to make a decision, the more expensive the flights would become.

She stared out of the window. The school occupied the first floor of a fairly modern building and she had chosen the location because of the large, free car park right outside. It was still snowing, but not very hard, but with the overcast sky it looked, and was, cold out there. Trees, pavements and flower beds were dusted with white, while the roads were a mucky brown mess of salt, grit and ice. As she watched, the unmistakable noise of the snowplough scraping along the tarmac reminded her she needed to get the antifreeze level checked in her car. Although they were only at just over a thousand metres here in Santorso, she knew it could get very, very cold.

She had only had that one cup of coffee for breakfast, and she realised she was hungry and thirsty. A glance at the clock on the wall told her she just about had time for something before the arrival of this Signor Lagrange.

The bar was directly opposite the school, right alongside its sister establishment, the pizzeria. Crossing the slushy road without soaking her feet wasn’t easy, but Annie managed. At the bar she ordered a cappuccino and picked up a croissant filled with apricot jam. As she consumed her belated breakfast, she chatted to Signora Toniolo who owned and ran the place together with her husband, Beppe. Although Annie had only been in Santorso for a few months, she knew them both very well by now and liked them a lot.

She glanced around the room. Although it was the ground floor of a modern block, the walls had been lined with rough logs to give an Alpine chalet effect, and huge cow bells hung above the bar. Only a few of the tables were occupied this morning, but Annie knew this was only a temporary seasonal lull. As soon as the ski lifts opened and the winter sports season started in earnest, this bar and all the other town-centre bars would be packed with tourists from all over Europe and even as far afield as Russia and China. Brits made up a high proportion of the numbers and were responsible for an even higher proportion of the alcohol consumed. But, in spite of the recent snow, only the highest ski lifts were open at the moment and the season proper wouldn’t start until they had a real good dump of fresh snow.

Her phone started ringing. It was Matt.

‘Hi, Matt, how was the Grand Hotel and the show?’

‘Hi, Annie, the show was awful, but I was expecting that. I’ve never been a fan of Italian music, at least not since Puccini. As for the hotel, it was… you know me. I’ve never been one for these flashy places. All just a bit too glitzy, really.’

‘And the company?’

‘Nice.’

Annie thought she knew him well enough to recognise his choice of vocabulary for what it was. ‘Just nice? Nothing a bit special? Beautiful girl, luxurious surroundings, snowflakes fluttering down from a starry sky?’ Just for a moment she found herself wondering how it would feel to be with Matt underneath a starry sky. There had been a time, if she were totally honest with herself, way back when she first met Steve, that she had rather liked the look of Matt. He was tall, he was undeniably handsome and he had always been so very friendly to her. But she had chosen Steve and had no regrets. That was unless you counted Steve’s fatal obsession with danger.

‘You don’t get snowflakes and starry skies together. And, yes, it was a good night.’

‘So when are you seeing her again?’

There was the slightest pause. ‘Probably sometime soon, I expect.’ Matt didn’t let her press him any further. ‘So, how about I buy you lunch today?’

They arranged to meet at one o’clock. Annie put her phone away, very pleased that he might take one of the rooms for his translation business. However questionable his private life, she knew she could trust him and rely on his advice, and with all the responsibilities she was now carrying, that felt good. She glanced at her watch, swallowed the last of her coffee and headed back across the road.

Back at the school, she had only just started writing a reply to her mum’s email when Paolina appeared to tell her Signor Lagrange had arrived. Annie went out to meet him. He was a slim, balding man, maybe in his mid or late fifties, with a friendly, suntanned face.

‘Signor Lagrange? My name’s Annie Brewer. What can I do for you?’

He shook her hand. ‘Good morning. I’ve been advised to come and see you by a good friend of mine. You know Matthew Brown, I believe?’

Annie smiled back at him. ‘Yes, indeed. Would you like to come through to my office?’ Together they walked back along the corridor and into her little office. Annie apologised for the rather Spartan surroundings. ‘I’m afraid I’m waiting for the new furniture to arrive.’ He took a seat opposite her. ‘So how come you know Matt?’

‘We share a love of the mountains. He and I often go climbing together.

‘So you’re a member of the Santorso Climbing Club?’ Annie kept her voice expressionless.

Signor Lagrange nodded. ‘Yes, for many years.’ His face became more serious. ‘I was fortunate to know your late husband very well. We were all devastated by his death.’

Annie nodded, but made no response apart from murmuring, ‘Thank you.’

He leant forward. ‘Anyway, I’ve come to see you in your professional capacity as the director of this new school of English. I have a problem and Matt tells me you’re the person to solve it for me.’

‘Anything I can do to help.’

‘Are you, by any chance, familiar with the new Montalto Hotel?’ Annie certainly was. The ski resort of Montalto was situated directly above the town; a fifteen-minute drive up a series of tight hairpin bends that climbed hundreds of metres in a short distance. In fact, one of the places she was planning to visit in her search for an apartment was Montalto. The new hotel was being heralded as the valley’s latest five-star hotel, offering luxurious accommodation to visitors, as well as employment to a good number of local people.

‘I certainly am. It must be nearly finished by now.’

Signor Lagrange nodded. ‘Yes, indeed. Anyway, I’m the general manager of the hotel. As part of my duties, I have to ensure that our staff all have a satisfactory command of English.’ Annie leant forward in her turn. This was sounding promising. ‘This is where you come in.’

Annie resisted the temptation to get up and hug Signor Lagrange, but it took willpower. Here she was, the school not yet open, being presented with the sort of contract she could only dream of. ‘I’d be delighted to help.’

Together, they discussed the details and Annie soon realised that there was going to be enough work in this one contract alone to keep a teacher fully occupied for months and months. She spared a thought for the two new teachers she had engaged to start in January. It looked as if she was going to need them both. She and Signor Lagrange discussed everything and she arranged to come up to the hotel the following week to meet the staff and do a preliminary assessment of their levels. Finally, they shook hands on it and she promised to email him everything that afternoon. He looked relieved.

‘That’s excellent. The hotel opens to the public in March, so if lessons can begin early in the New Year, so much the better.’

Annie thanked him and stood up. But, before leaving, Signor Lagrange had one more surprise for her. He dropped an envelope on her desk. ‘It’s very important you get to know the hotel and the ski resort as well as possible. That’ll help a lot when you’re teaching my staff. I thought you might like one of these.’

Intrigued, Annie opened the envelope and pulled out what looked like a big credit card attached to a blue ribbon. It took her a moment to work out what it was. As she realised, her breath whistled out. ‘A season ticket?’ She looked up at him in wonder. ‘You’re giving me a season ticket to the ski lifts?’

He was smiling more broadly. ‘It’s a full season lift pass. Matt tells me you’re a very keen skier and I thought you might like one. I’ve got half a dozen to give to VIPs. You’re the first.’

Annie very nearly kissed him. She had been skiing for as long as she could remember and she always bought a season ticket. A split-second calculation told her this little piece of plastic was worth hundreds and hundreds of euros. She felt quite overwhelmed.

‘But… really, this is too much.’

He waved away her protestations and then caught her eye. ‘Your husband and I were good friends. It’s the least I can do.’

This time Annie did hug him. ‘Thank you so very much, Signor Lagrange.’

‘Massimo. Please call me Massimo.’

‘Thank you, Massimo. And I’m Annie.’

He saw the expression on her face and smiled at her. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you, Annie.’

Matt arrived, as arranged, just after one o’clock and Annie’s first act was to hug him as well. When she released him he took a step back and smiled at her. ‘And I’m pleased to see you, too.’

She smiled back and told him about her visit from Massimo Lagrange and the amazing business opportunity he had offered. ‘So, lunch is on me, Matt.’

She showed him round the school, giving him his pick of rooms for his translation business. He chose the first room on the left, opposite the reception area. This was a medium-sized room looking out over the car park and it had its own little bathroom. Annie apologised for the garish colours on the walls, but he declared himself perfectly happy to redecorate if he felt it necessary. She saw him looking hopefully towards the reception desk and she explained that he would have to wait to meet Paolina until another time as her lunch break started at twelve-thirty. She gave him a serious look. ‘But, remember what you promised. All right?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ He affected a totally unconvincing air of servility.

They went across the road to the pizzeria. She ordered a mixed salad while he chose a bistecca alla valdostana, and they nibbled olives and bread sticks while they waited for the food to arrive. Annie decided to steer clear of the subject of blonde Luisa and, instead, she told him all about her plans for the future. She avoided talking about Steve and told him how she had reached the decision to go it alone.

‘I’d been working in the same place in Turin for seven years and I’d just had enough of it. The trouble with teaching is that it’s so cyclical. You’re there at the beginning of term, you teach the class until the end of term and then they leave and move on, but you stay put. And, to be honest, I was pretty much running the school, but getting paid peanuts. It was getting me down.’

He nodded, sipping his water. ‘I can imagine. My life in Florence has been getting me down, too. The trouble with working from home is that you never get out. Nobody cares whether you’ve shaved that morning or whether you’re even wearing clothes.’ Annie’s eyes flicked over his stubbly face and he grinned. ‘All right, that was a bad analogy. I don’t shave every day anyway, but you know what I mean. That’s why I specifically want my office to be separate this time. This way I live in one place and I work in another, almost like a normal person.’

‘Nobody could accuse you of being a normal person, Matt.’ She was remembering just what easy company he was. After he left Turin years ago, Steve had missed him a lot; and so had she. In fact she had missed him more than she had ever admitted, even to herself. She looked up at him, a smile on her face. Over the past few years, she reflected, smiles had been in very short supply.

After lunch, Annie insisted upon driving him out of town to say hello to Janet at their new B&B. As she turned into the narrow road leading up to the old house, she looked across at him. ‘I’d love to find somewhere like this for myself. Can you imagine?’

Matt shook his head ruefully. ‘Some hopes. I’ve started asking around, but I’ll probably just have to take what’s going. There’s so little on the market up here and I’m so tight for time at the moment. And I’ve just heard that I’ve to get back to Florence today. So I’ve got a four-hour drive back down there when we get out of here, but I’m planning to come back at the weekend for a few days to see if I can find an apartment to rent.’

When Janet saw Matt, she rushed across and threw her arms around his neck. ‘Matt, you don’t look a day older.’

‘And you, Janet, look as gorgeous as ever.’ Matt turned to Annie with a smile. ‘It must be the mountain air. You both look fantastic. I can barely keep my hands off the two of you.’

The girls exchanged glances. No, Matt hadn’t changed.

‘Matt! Ciao, caro.’ Guido emerged from the corridor and came over to give him a hug. ‘How long’s it been? A year, two years?’

‘At least two, Guido.’ Matt shot a glance across at Annie. ‘The last time you and I climbed together was with Steve.’ Annie did her best to remain impassive.

‘You must come and see us more often, Matt.’ Janet caught his eye. ‘Annie’s told us you’re coming to live up here. It’ll be just like old times.’

Again, Matt glanced at Annie. ‘Not quite like old times.’ His voice was low. Annie took a deep breath and managed to make an effort to reply.

‘Not like old times, but time goes on. It’s the future that’s important now.’ The more she said it, the more she found she was starting to believe it.

After coffee and biscuits with Guido and Janet, Annie drove Matt back to where he had parked his car. This turned out to be a rugged-looking pickup truck. She looked across at him with a grin. ‘So what happened to your old Land Rover?’

He shrugged. ‘When it finally packed up on me, I sold it to a chap in Lucca for spares. But I managed to get this thing cheap. One of my jobs this year was down in Cinecittà in Rome. They’d acquired two or three of these for some movie and they were selling them off at the end of production for a fraction of list price. It’s got a few dents and scratches.’ He caught her eye. ‘There’s a mark on the dashboard that they told me is Johnny Depp’s blood.’ Annie wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. ‘Anyway, if the predicted heavy snow really does arrive tonight, I’ll need the four-wheel drive.’ He leant over and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Thanks for lunch and thanks for renting me the room for my office.’ He opened the door of her little Panda and hauled himself out into the cold. ‘I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on. You know, Annie, I’m glad; really glad.’

‘Me, too, Matt.’ And she meant it. It was a wonderful coincidence that they had both chosen this time to relocate to the mountains. The past two years had been so terribly lonely for Annie. It was going to be so very good to have an old friend at her side. And a very handsome old friend at that. Which reminded her. ‘Just remember you promised you’d keep your hands off Paolina.’

That evening, Annie had promised to take Janet out for dinner. She offered Janet her choice of restaurants and was surprised to hear that she wanted a pizza. As they drove down to Santorso, Janet explained that she so rarely had pizza these days, she was only too happy. Secretly, Annie wondered whether it was just because she knew that Annie’s finances were stretched and she wanted to keep the cost of the meal down.

Annie took her to her local pizzeria where Signora Toniolo and her husband greeted her as an old friend. As they ate their pizzas, they chatted and Annie got a surprise.

‘I wasn’t sure if I should tell you, but Matt phoned us a long time ago, asking about you.’

Annie looked up from her Margherita. ‘Asking about me?’

Janet nodded. ‘It wasn’t that long after Steve’s death and he wanted to know how you were coping. He was asking if you were still living in Turin, still working and all right for money.’

‘Matt was asking you about me?’ Annie put her fork down and took a sip of red wine. ‘I wonder why he didn’t contact me direct.’

‘I suppose he was afraid he might disturb you or something. Of course, we couldn’t tell him very much as we hadn’t seen you either.’ Annie nodded. After Steve’s death she had more or less gone into voluntary purdah for months, unwilling to meet people, not wanting to face the inevitable expressions of concern and condolence. Janet went on. ‘All I could say to him was that you’re a tough cookie and I was sure you’d be okay.’ Janet caught Annie’s eye. ‘And I was right.’

Annie sat and thought for a while before answering. ‘I suppose you are right. I am okay, now. But I’m not sure how tough I am. The last two years have been the worst of my life. There were times when I just didn’t know how to go on.’

‘I can imagine. We were devastated when we heard the news. But you’ve got over it and you’re getting on with your life.’

‘I couldn’t just carry on moping. But, Matt? That was sweet of him.’

‘Matt’s a good man. And he likes you a lot.’

‘My sister said the same thing. It’s just a pity he’s such a bastard with women.’

‘He’s getting older, just like the rest of us. He’ll change, I’m sure.’

Annie shook her head. ‘I very much doubt it.’

Chapter 3

That night it started snowing again, this time seriously, and it didn’t stop for forty-eight hours. By the time Friday came along, the whole town was underneath a thick layer of the white stuff and strangely quiet, everyday noises muffled by the snow. But, among the inhabitants of Santorso, things were buzzing. Signora Toniolo in the bar told Annie first and then Paolina confirmed it; the ski lifts had started working all around the valley. The skiing season had begun and it was still just the beginning of December.

By eleven o’clock, Annie had done everything that needed doing at the school and she couldn’t wait to take advantage of her wonderful new ski pass. Leaving Paolina in charge, she pulled on her skiing clothes, strapped her skis to the roof of her little Panda and set off for Montalto.

The snowploughs had been working hard and, with the aid of her winter tyres, she found it quite easy to drive right up the winding road to Montalto through the pine trees and grassy meadows, now buried under a thick layer of snow. She parked close to the big chairlift, carefully avoiding leaving the car under any of the trees, all of which were laden with snow. She and Steve had made that mistake years ago with their old cinquecento. When they returned, they found it nearly buried in a huge pile of snow that had then frozen. It had taken them almost an hour to hack their way into the car and then reverse out again.

It was almost lunchtime by now, but it was still bitterly cold. The sun was just beginning to burn off the low cloud, but it would be an hour or two before the temperature rose above freezing. Her visit to the slopes didn’t start too auspiciously. As she stepped out of the car onto the frozen ground, her feet slid out from underneath her and she almost did the splits, ending up on her bottom on the very cold ground. She pulled herself to her feet, her breath forming clouds in front of her in the frozen air, dusted herself off and reflected that it was just as well her sister hadn’t been there to witness that little scene. She made her way gingerly around to the back and sat down on the rear bumper to put on her ski boots. As she did so, she noted that there was no queue for the main lift. Tomorrow, Saturday, once skiers from Turin and Milan had made their way up the motorway, it would be busier, but for the moment she felt as if she had the place to herself.

Once she had tightened her ski boots and fastened her jacket, she pulled on her hat and released her skis from the rack on the roof of her faithful old car. Then, finally, she was able to put her gloves on and she began to feel life returning to her frozen fingers. Feeling rather grand, she flashed her new ski pass and took the chairlift up to the first station. Below her, the pistes had been cleared, but there were very few people on the slopes. After years of riding in chairlifts, she was no longer scared stiff. Although she knew that in all probability she might be killed if she fell off one of these lifts, she wasn’t anything like as scared as when she was hundreds and hundreds of feet off the ground in a cable car. It was a question of degree. She was just grateful that Montalto didn’t have any cable cars.

Evidently, she was going to be one of the first skiers of the season. That, too, was exciting. As she skied off the lift at the top and stopped to adjust her goggles and gloves, she found she was humming to herself. She hadn’t done that for a very long time. It felt good, really good. She stood there for a few moments, staring out across the snow-covered mountains, and she felt the familiar stinging in her eyes, but this time, she didn’t cry and she didn’t stop humming. She ran a gloved hand across her face, pulled her goggles into place, and set off.

An hour later, after a few fast downhill runs, she had warmed up and decided to ski down a particularly difficult black run; a steep mogul field of dips and bumps, bordered on both sides by thick forest. It was tough, technical skiing and she was concentrating hard. As she reached the left-hand side of the piste, within touching distance of the thick canopy of conifers, she threw herself into a sharp turn back in the opposite direction, her knees flexing hard under the compression. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another skier flash past, bouncing over the bumps, hopelessly out of control. At the same time, a movement further down the slope caused her to jam in the edges of her skis and stop dead, her hand over her mouth in silent horror.

A big black dog came running out of the trees, right in the path of the other skier. The man was powerless to take evasive action and the two figures converged with an awful inevitability. She clearly heard a cry and a yelp as the skier smashed into the dog, sending both of them flying into the air. The dog landed several metres further down the slope, its body limp and lifeless like a rag doll. The man bounced, rolled, and finally ended up on his face, perilously close to the trees, one ski still attached, the other stuck upright in the soft snow at the side of the piste. As Annie looked on, he stirred, sat up and then, without making any effort to help the injured dog, pulled himself to his feet, clipped on his missing ski, and set off down the hill once more.

Annie was appalled.

She skied down to where the body of the dog lay motionless in the snow. She stepped out of her skis, sticking them into the snow in the form of a cross to warn any other skiers of the danger, and went over to the dog. He was a fine-looking black Labrador, but he was quite unconscious. She knelt closer and was relieved to see he was still alive; his white, steamy breath clearly visible in the frozen air. His tongue was hanging out and blood was running from his mouth into the snow. She sat down beside him, her hand resting on the dog’s head, and debated what to do. Then she spotted a silver medallion attached to his collar. On it was a phone number. She pulled out her phone and dialled the number. It was answered almost immediately.

‘Pronto.’ It was an old man’s voice. He was speaking Italian, so she spoke to him in the same language.

‘Hello, I’m afraid there’s been an accident.’ Annie found she was panting and had to stop for breath before being able to carry on and give the man the story of what had happened. Luckily, both he and she were very familiar with the layout of the ski runs and he understood immediately when she described where the accident had happened.

‘Thank you very much for your kindness. Somebody’ll be there in ten minutes. Can you wait?’

‘Of course.’ Just at that moment, she saw a movement. The dog’s eyes fluttered, and then opened. She was quick to relay the good news. ‘He’s just opened his eyes. I think he’s going to be all right.’

‘That’s marvellous.’ She couldn’t miss the relief in the man’s voice. ‘His name’s Leo, by the way. Ten minutes.’ He rang off.

Annie pushed her phone back into her pocket and bent down closer to Leo the dog. His eyes were rolling and he was panting for breath, but he was conscious. She reached out and cradled his big furry head in one arm, stroking his cheek with the other. Gradually, he began to come round. After a few minutes, he managed to turn his head towards her. Her eyes met his and her heart went out to him. He really was gorgeous; and all the more gorgeous for being so vulnerable.

‘How’re you feeling, handsome?’ She found she was speaking Italian to him. Remembering what his owner had told her, she tried his name, still in Italian, seeing as he was an Italian dog. ‘You okay, Leo? Are you all right, Leo?’ This time there was a definite response from him. He stirred and tried, unsuccessfully, to pull himself to his feet. He struggled for a few moments before slumping back down again, exhausted by the effort. ‘You’ll be all right, Leo. Good dog, Leo.’ Annie was still talking to him some minutes later when she heard sounds behind her. She looked up as two men appeared, one wearing a bright blue jacket and the other a ski instructor, manhandling a metal stretcher sledge. She looked up and greeted them, naturally in Italian.

The man in the blue jacket gave her a big smile and murmured his thanks as he unclipped his skis and settled down beside the dog. He was probably around her age, mid or maybe late thirties, and looked very friendly, although he was clearly concerned for the dog.

‘Ciao, Leo.’ He knelt beside the dog and ran his hands gently along the length of his body. Annie was delighted to see the end of the dog’s tail wag weakly. She shifted slightly to one side, but left her arm supporting the big dog’s head.

‘Are you all right?’ The young ski instructor’s accent was local, with a slight French inflexion. She was thankful he was speaking to her in Italian, rather than the local patois that she found almost incomprehensible. He sounded genuinely concerned for her well-being. She looked up and gave him a smile, answering in Italian that came quite naturally to her now after ten years in the country.

‘I’m fine, thanks. I’ve just got a cold bottom from sitting on the snow too long.’ She glanced down at the dog and back up again. ‘What are you going to do with him?’

The man in the blue jacket looked across at her. His face was only a few feet from hers and she couldn’t help noticing his brilliant blue eyes, the exact same colour as his jacket. ‘I don’t think he’s broken anything. He’s let me touch him all over without jumping or yelping. We’ll just have to hope he hasn’t sustained any internal injuries. He’s very groggy, but you said the impact knocked him out, didn’t you?’

Annie nodded. ‘Out like a light for a few minutes, I’m afraid.’

‘That would explain his weak state. I think it should be okay to put him on the toboggan.’ He glanced up at the other man. ‘Paul, we’ll take him down to the car park and then I’ll run him down to the vet in Santorso.’ There was authority in his voice. His accent was northern Italian and well-educated. Annie found herself wondering just what it was he did up here.

‘Sure thing.’ Paul nodded and slid the sledge as close as possible to the dog. The man in the blue jacket reached his arms underneath the Labrador and then, with Annie still cradling Leo’s head, he straightened up and lifted the dog onto the sledge. Leo didn’t make a sound. They wedged him in with a blanket and straps to stop him rolling off and then Paul didn’t waste any time. He eased the sledge out onto the piste and slipped away down the hill. As he went, he gave Annie a big smile. ‘See you again, I hope.’ Annie watched him with considerable admiration. The sledge was solid and heavy, and Paul was skiing without the use of sticks, just steering by hanging on to the handles, for all the world like skiing with a long wheelbarrow behind him.

The dog’s owner stood up and held out his hand to Annie. She took it and he helped her to her feet. Only when she was standing did she realise how tall he was for an Italian, probably as tall as Matt. As for her, she hadn’t been joking about her cold bottom. Not only was it cold; it felt as though her right buttock had gone to sleep. Surreptitiously, she hopped from one leg to the other to get the circulation flowing.

‘Thank you again, most warmly.’ The man shook her by the hand and the bright blue eyes caught hers. ‘Really, thank you. Leo’s my father’s dog and dad lets him run free all over the place. Normally he manages to keep out of trouble, but not this time. My name’s Alessandro, by the way.’

‘And I’m Annie.’ For a moment, it looked as if he was going to make a comment but then, without any more ado, he stepped into his ski bindings and headed off down the slope in the wake of the stretcher, leaving her still wondering who he was.

Annie watched him go, one hand kneading her backside to warm it up, worried for the Labrador, hoping his injuries wouldn’t prove to be too serious. The man with the blue eyes was skiing fast and well, clearly at home on the slopes. Hopefully, she would see the dog again before too long and, she realised with some considerable surprise, she found she was hoping she would also see the man with the blue eyes again. This was a very new sensation for her after her years of marriage and then two grim years of mourning. Just then, for the first time that day, a ray of sunlight cut through the cloud and illuminated the piste and the trees all around her. For the second time that day, she found she was humming to herself.

Chapter 4

Annie got back to the school just before dark and was fortunate to find a parking space very close to the front door. She rang the bell and waited for the buzzing sound that announced that the door was unlocked. The first thing she saw when she pushed the door open and stepped into the reception area was a pile of cardboard boxes and her heart lifted. The brochures had arrived.

She stood her skis up against the wall and dumped the heavy boots on the floor. Paolina got up from her desk and smiled. ‘You look as though you’ve had a good day. You’re glowing.’ This afternoon Paolina was wearing an amazingly hairy grey sweater that had evidently started life on the back of somebody a good few sizes bigger than her. She looked like an Old English sheepdog but, at least, the heating had been working less as a result and the temperature in the room was sub-tropical rather than tropical.

Annie smiled back. ‘Absolutely great and quite exciting. I’ll tell you all about it once I’ve had a look at the brochures. Everything all right?’ Annie had had a recurring dream, more of a nightmare, over the past weeks that the five thousand brochures either wouldn’t arrive in time or, if they did, that there would be some terrible typo on the cover. She picked up a copy from an open box and took a deep breath, hardly daring to look.

‘They’re perfect, Annie, and the SEA logo looks really good.’ Paolina sounded enthusiastic.

Annie braced herself and took a good look at the brochure. Paolina was right. It looked perfect. After flicking through it, she released her breath and gave Paolina a big smile.

‘Fantastic, Paolina. They look fantastic. We need to celebrate. I’ve got just the thing.’ Annie ran through to the kitchen, soon to become the teachers’ room, and pulled a bottle of Prosecco out of the fridge. She grabbed two tumblers and took them back to Paolina. She was just tearing the foil off the top when the doorbell rang. She hastily stuffed the bottle into a drawer as Paolina pressed the button to open the door. To their surprise, a man appeared, carrying a huge bouquet of flowers. Paolina’s eyes widened.

‘Can I help you?’

‘Flowers for you.’

‘For me?’ Paolina’s eyes were even wider now. The man pulled out a pair of reading glasses and studied the clipboard in his other hand, then looked up first at Paolina and then at Annie. He glanced back at Paolina.

‘It’s for somebody called Annie Brewer.’ He pronounced it Brevver.

‘That’s me.’ Annie gave the disappointed Paolina an apologetic look as she took the huge bunch of flowers from his hand.

‘Sign here, please.’ The man handed her a clipboard and she signed it absently. As he was about to go back out of the door a thought occurred to her.

‘Does it say who the flowers are from?’ He shook his head.

‘Not on my sheet, it doesn’t. There’s an envelope inside the cellophane. It’ll be in there. Goodbye, ladies.’

Together, they removed the flowers from the cellophane wrapper and found a little envelope stapled to one corner. Inside was a card with the word Grazie printed on it in big letters. Below this was a short, handwritten message. Leonardo the dog thanks you for your life-saving intervention. He has a headache but he is going to be fine. It was signed Alessandro. The other thing that was strange was that it was written in English – perfect English. Paolina was craning her neck to read the card so Annie passed it over to her without a word and went off to the kitchen to look for a vase. Nothing in there was big enough, so she ended up bringing out an old glass vase inherited from the last occupant of the apartment and a big plastic jug. As they divided the flowers between the two receptacles, Annie related the story of the Labrador on the ski slope. Paolina was impressed.

‘So the flowers are from the man in the blue jacket. Did you get the rest of his name?’ Annie shook her head.

‘Just his first name: Alessandro. And that’s all I gave him. I just said my name was Annie.’

Paolina continued. ‘And you said this Alessandro was very handsome.’

Annie didn’t remember saying anything of the kind. ‘I just said he had nice eyes.’

‘Amazing bright blue eyes, you said, which means you liked them a lot and so that means you found him handsome.’

Annie didn’t bother trying to question Paolina’s logic which, if the truth be told, was pretty much spot on. He certainly was a handsome man. Even though he had been wearing a woolly hat and heavy jacket, she had been able to see that.

‘So, if you just told him your first name, how did he know your surname and how to find you?’ Paolina sounded bemused.

Annie shook her head. The only way he could have found out her name was if he knew somebody who knew her and there was, of course, somebody up at the ski resort who did indeed know her name. ‘Massimo.’ She saw the look on Paolina’s face. ‘Signor Lagrange who gave me the lift pass. They must know each other. There can’t be too many other women up here with a name like Annie and an English accent.’

‘You haven’t got an English accent.’ Paolina sounded scathing. ‘At least, hardly at all. When I first met you I just thought you were from down the valley; Turin probably.’

Annie had no time to register the compliment. She was still thinking hard. So, she thought to herself, if Massimo and he are friends then I can easily find out about him. Once again she felt a sensation of surprise that she should be interested in a man again. This hadn’t happened since Steve’s death and it was a strange, but not altogether unwelcome, sensation. What was it Karen had said about life having to go on?

‘And seeing as the blue-eyed man was able to get to you so quickly, he must work up there. Maybe he’s something to do with the ski school or the hotel.’

‘He certainly skied well enough to be an instructor, but he wasn’t wearing the regulation red jacket with the white bands around the chest. Who knows what he does?’ Annie finished stuffing the last of the flowers into the plastic jug and looked up. ‘Why don’t you take this half of the bunch home to your mum, Paolina? It’s Friday today and they’ll probably be dead by Monday if we just leave them here. I’ll keep the ones in the vase in my office for now.’

Paolina was only too happy to accept. ‘I’ll tell her they’re a present from my new boyfriend. She’ll be ever so impressed.’

‘You’ve got a new boyfriend?’ Only a few days earlier, Paolina had been relating the sad end to her most recent romance.

Paolina grinned. ‘Well, yes, but this one would be more likely to send me saucy underwear than flowers, but mum doesn’t need to know that.’

‘That was quick.’ Annie was impressed. Clearly, Paolina hadn’t wasted time in replacing her previous boyfriend. She glanced at her watch. ‘It’s almost five o’clock. That’s when local radio said the first advert would go out. Quick, turn the radio on.’

They had to wait ten minutes until the full length version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ had finished before the advert came on, but it was worth the wait. It sounded very good, very professional, and Annie was well pleased. When it finished she looked across at Paolina with a broad smile. ‘So, it’s started. Our advertising campaign is under way. Fingers crossed that it works. Now, where’s that bottle of Prosecco?’

They were halfway through the wine when the doorbell rang again. Annie opened it to find to her surprise that it was the accountant’s secretary, accompanied by two friends. She had just heard the radio advert and they wanted some information about English courses. Annie gave them a big smile and opened a second bottle of Prosecco.

As the evening progressed, the doorbell rang three more times, producing a number of potential students, eager for information about the school. Any doubts Annie might have had about the effectiveness of radio advertising were blown away. By nine o’clock, when everybody finally left, the Academy already had half a dozen definite enrolments. Annie went down to the pizzeria with a broad smile on her face.

Annie was halfway through her Quattro Stagioni when something funny happened. She was sitting by the pizzeria window, from where she could see out onto the road, directly opposite the entrance to the Academy. As she set down the little carafe after pouring herself some more red wine, she glanced out of the window. As she watched, a man came walking along the pavement until he reached the door of her building. He glanced round furtively and then set a bag down on the ground at his feet. From it, he produced a screwdriver and, to Annie’s amazement, started to unscrew her brand-new sign. For a moment she sat there, wondering if maybe the man had been sent by the sign makers to rectify some defect, but a glance at her watch told her it was unthinkable that they would still be working at almost ten o’clock at night. What on earth was going on? She jumped to her feet and ran out into the street.

Outside, the snow had finally stopped and it was freezing fast. She rather wished she had stopped to collect her coat before rushing out as it was very cold indeed. She crossed the street and went up to the man with the screwdriver. ‘Can I help you?’

He jumped and glanced over his shoulder at her. He was a short, stocky man, maybe in his twenties or early thirties, his face half hidden by a scarf and a hat, but there was no disguising the expression of guilt on what she could see of his face. Before she could say anything else, however, he reached down, grabbed his bag, and set off along the pavement at a run. Annie followed him for a few metres, but in her indoor shoes she didn’t stand a chance. She slipped on the ice and only avoided doing herself some permanent damage by grabbing hold of the mirror of one of the parked cars. Once again she was thankful Karen hadn’t been watching. Reluctantly, she turned gingerly round and went back to inspect the sign. As she did so, she heard footsteps and turned to find Beppe, Signora Toniolo’s husband, hurrying across to see what had happened. He was a normally friendly-looking man with a shining bald head and an expansive waistline. Now he was looking worried.

‘Annie, Annie, what’s wrong? Has something happened?’

She gave him a little smile and explained about the man with the screwdriver and, together, they inspected the sign. The man had only managed to remove one of the screws so far and Annie even saw it lying on the pavement at her feet. As she picked it up, she heard Beppe voicing the same thoughts that were passing through her head.

‘He was trying to steal your sign, your brand-new sign. Now why, I wonder, would he want to do that?’ He removed the screw from her unresisting fingers and twisted it back into the hole until it was quite well bedded. Years of kneading pizza dough had given him powerful hands.

Annie was puzzled. ‘Maybe he’s just a weirdo who likes stealing shiny new signs.’ Even as she said it, Annie knew that it didn’t ring true. Beside her, Beppe’s face showed what he thought of the notion. Maybe the man’s motives were more sinister.

‘I wonder if it’s one of your competitors, trying to get at you.’ Beppe caught her by the arm and led her back across the road. ‘Come along, Annie, it’s too cold out here and you’ve still got half your pizza left. When you’ve finished eating, I’ll tell you a little story.’ He grinned at her in the garish light of the Pizzeria sign. ‘But I’ll let you eat first.’

Annie did as instructed and returned to her food, mulling over what the man had tried to do and what Beppe had said. As far as competitors were concerned, the only one she knew about in Santorso was the ABC School. From what she had heard from Paolina and others, it didn’t enjoy a good reputation, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would stoop to underhand means against a new arrival. Or did it?

She was still working her way through the pizza when her phone rang. It was Matt. As she saw his name come up, she felt suddenly pleased.

‘Hi, Matt, where are you?’

‘Just north of Turin on the motorway. There’s snow on the ground here and the radio’s telling me you’ve had a load of it up there.’

‘I think you might need your four-wheel drive if it snows any more. So are you coming up to do a bit of house hunting?’

‘Yes. I’m staying the night with a friend just down the valley.’ Annie decided not to delve too deeply into the sex or identity of the friend in question. Quite probably, Luisa the TV girl already had a rival, if not a replacement. How he lived his life, she had realised years ago, was his affair and the girls he picked up bore their share of responsibility as well. ‘And, yes, I’m going to do the rounds of the agencies tomorrow.’

‘Good luck with that. I’ve been looking for flats all week, but with no joy so far.’

‘Do you need a hand to move your stuff?’

‘Thanks, Matt, but there’s no need. It’s just a couple of bags. All my things are at the school already.’

‘I’ll call round to the school at the end of the afternoon tomorrow to see if you need anything.’ Annie was struck by his caring tone and she remembered what Janet had told her about his enquiries as to her well-being.

‘Thanks, Matt. You’re a sweetie.’ She realised that she was really pleased he was back in her life.

‘Anything for you, Annie.’ She blew him a kiss and immediately found herself wondering how it was she was having affectionate thoughts about two men in the space of less than a day.

Annie carried on with the pizza that was by now fairly cold until, finally, she could eat no more. She dropped her knife and fork on her plate and sat back. A few minutes later, Beppe came over.

‘Finished?’ Annie nodded in response. ‘Nothing else; an ice cream, some coffee?’ Annie shook her head. Beppe indicated the spare chair at her little table with his hand. ‘May I?’ Annie smiled and waved him down. He took a seat and began his story. It fairly quickly emerged why he had been so insistent that she finish her food before hearing it.

‘When we first opened the pizzeria here, back in the eighties, there was a scruffy little local restaurant just along the street from us. The building was demolished when they extended the car park, but for the first year, we were in competition. From the very first day we opened for business, things started to happen. One day we’d find the dustbins overturned and rubbish all over the street. On one occasion we found the window had been smashed and, worst of all, we kept finding that somebody had…’ Beppe looked across the table apologetically. ‘Please excuse me, Annie. What we found was that somebody had… used our front doormat as a toilet.’ Mercifully he didn’t go into any greater detail.

‘Oh, God, that’s disgusting. But, are you sure it was him?’

‘Nowadays I daresay we could use DNA testing to prove it, but not back then. All I know is that the day he closed his doors and moved away, these events stopped.’

‘Beppe, that’s enough.’ Signora Toniolo had emerged from behind the bar and had been following the conversation. ‘You’ll frighten the poor girl.’

‘It’s all right. I’m fine.’

Signora Toniolo wasn’t so sure. ‘And don’t you worry about what Beppe was saying. The man trying to steal your sign was probably just doing it for a laugh. You’ll see, it’ll be fine.’

Annie certainly hoped she was right.

Chapter 5

Next morning, Annie packed her bags and said goodbye to Janet and Guido, wishing them well as their busy season started. She knew they would have precious little free time now until Easter. She drove back to Santorso and hauled the bags up the stairs to the school. She stood at the window of the room where all her stuff was piled up and wondered how she was going to fit a bed in there. The room where she had been sleeping before was now draped with dust sheets and in the process of being redecorated. The bed she had used and the mattress were leaning, upright, against the corridor wall. Outside, it was a brilliant sunny day and it didn’t take her long to decide what to do. She could always sort out her bed later on. For now, the call of the slopes was overpowering.

She changed into her skiing clothes, picked up her skis and boots and headed for the car. Half an hour later, she was in the car park at Montalto, pulling on her boots. Being a Saturday, there were more people about, but as it was still very early in the season, there were no crowds and only a tiny queue for the lift. She travelled up on the chairlift alongside a young Russian couple who totally ignored her and spent all their time cuddling and kissing. For her part, Annie concentrated on the pistes below and was pleased to see them relatively empty. It was wonderfully quiet up there, the only sound the hiss of the snow beneath the skis.

She had a very enjoyable morning, skiing down a variety of descents, including the near-vertical Cock’s Comb, named after the famous Hahnenkamm piste at Kitzbühel in Austria. This run was still icy, particularly on the higher part, and it took a lot of concentration and a fair amount of nerve, but she got down without incident and felt very proud of herself as she reached the bottom, skidding to a halt in a huge cloud of snow. She then discovered that her efforts had not gone unnoticed.

‘Ciao, Annie.’ She looked round to see where the voice was coming from. She soon spotted him. It was Massimo Lagrange and he was sitting on the terrace outside one of the restaurants alongside a lady with a mass of black curls. Both were in their shirtsleeves, enjoying the brilliant sunshine. Somehow he had managed to get himself a table in the midst of all the crowds. Annie checked her watch. It was just after one o’clock and loads of people were queuing up for somewhere to sit down and have lunch. Massimo beckoned her over and Annie waved back. She took off her skis and stood them up in one of the racks and then picked her way through the crowds to get to him. As she passed, she heard a number of grumbles and what were probably Russian expletives, but she kept her head down and ignored them.

‘Ciao, Annie. Let me introduce you to my wife. Annie, Raffaella; Raffaella, Annie. We watched you ski down the last part of the Cock’s Comb. That was very impressive. You ski beautifully. Here, come and sit down.’ Annie shook hands with both of them, shrugged off her jacket, and took a seat. It was a wonderful view, out across the slopes towards the high mountains. She looked back at Massimo and smiled.

‘Thanks for the seat. I could do with a sit down. My leg muscles aren’t up to strength yet so early in the season.’ She glanced down at their empty plates. ‘I hope I didn’t interrupt your lunch.’ Massimo’s wife smiled back at her. She was a friendly-looking lady, probably in her early fifties.

‘Not at all. We’d already finished. We’re just about to order some coffee. Can we get you anything?’

Annie began to protest, but Massimo held up his hand. ‘No, you’re our guest here today. I recommend the lasagne al forno. Not traditional mountain fare, I’ll admit, but it’s really good here.’ Somehow, without Annie seeing him do anything, Massimo managed to attract the attention of a waitress who came across immediately.

‘Signor Lagrange, what can I get you?’

He caught Annie’s eye. ‘A portion of lasagne and a half litre of red wine?’

She smiled. ‘Just a glass of wine please, but some water as well or I’ll fall over.’

The lasagne was excellent and Annie found she was feeling very hungry. As she ate her lunch, she chatted to Massimo and Raffaella. They were very knowledgeable about the valley in general and Montalto in particular. As she listened, Annie realised that this was her opportunity to find out more about the Labrador and his owner, or, more precisely, the son of the dog’s owner. As she finished her pasta, she recounted the events of the previous day and soon realised that her notion that it had been Massimo who had revealed her identity was correct.

‘Alessandro told me all about it. He took Leo down to the vet in Santorso but he was back again within a couple of hours. The vet gave the dog some tranquillisers to keep him quiet, but he said he should be all right again by this morning.’ Massimo looked round. ‘I haven’t seen him today yet, but I’m sure he’ll be round here somewhere.’

‘And Alessandro lives up here?’ Annie managed to avoid calling him the man with the amazing blue eyes. Massimo nodded as Annie continued. ‘But the dog belongs to his father?’

Raffaella leant forward and explained. ‘That’s right. Alessandro’s father owns all of this. I suppose that’s why Leo gets to run wherever he likes. To him, it’s just like his own garden.’ She opened her arms to take in the whole ski domain. Annie was stunned. Raffaella went on to explain. ‘He’s an old man now and it’s Alessandro who’s in the driving seat most of the time.’

Massimo clarified. ‘Alessandro’s the CEO, the president of the company. Mind you, old Signor Lago still keeps an eye on most of what happens up here. I don’t think he’ll ever retire properly.’

‘So the man I met is called Alessandro Lago?’ The others both nodded and Annie filed the information away for future use. ‘And he and his father both live up here?’

Massimo nodded. ‘Alessandro’s got an apartment at the hotel, while his father lives in the big chalet in the trees over there. I bet you haven’t even noticed it. It’s tucked away out of sight. It’s an amazing place and the view from his lounge is incomparable.’ Annie followed his pointing finger and could just make out a chimney and the ridge of a white roof in the midst of the snow-covered fir trees.

‘And what about you, Annie? Where do you live?’ Raffaella caught the waitress’s eye and called her over. ‘Anything else, Annie? A coffee, maybe?’

‘An espresso would be lovely, thanks.’ After the waitress had left, Annie answered Raffaella’s question. ‘I’m afraid I’m still looking for somewhere to live at the moment. I hadn’t realised how difficult it was to find somewhere round here for a long let.’ She smiled. ‘At the moment I’m sleeping at the school.’

Raffaella and Massimo exchanged looks. ‘That doesn’t sound very comfortable. We’ll keep our eyes open and we’ll let you know if we hear of anything.’ Massimo glanced at his watch and stood up. ‘Well, we’d better make a move.’

Annie stood up as well. ‘Me, too. Thank you very much for lunch. You’re so very generous.’

‘You’re welcome, Annie. You’re welcome.’

Later that afternoon, Annie emerged from the shower at the school and started drying herself off. She was just thinking about where to start in the room piled high with boxes when the doorbell rang. As it was the weekend, the school was closed and she wondered who it might be. She was casting round for something a bit more substantial than the towel she was holding when the door opened. She squealed and ducked back into the bathroom for cover.

‘Ciao, Annie. Are you there?’

Annie relaxed as she recognised the voice. She poked her head round the bathroom door and saw that it was Paolina and, along with her, a pretty, red-haired girl who Paolina introduced as Rita. Annie emerged from the bathroom to greet them. Rita held out her hand and Annie shook it but, as she did so, she lost her hold of one end of the towel and squealed again, desperately and unsuccessfully grabbing it before it fell down at her side. She scrabbled around with her hand for the elusive corner of the towel, located it and wrapped it round her body again. The two girls exchanged glances and did a magnificent job of not falling about laughing. Annie, her face now glowing with embarrassment, shuffled back into the bathroom and pulled on her clothes.

When Annie emerged from the bathroom once more, Paolina announced their intentions. ‘We’ve come to help. Where do you want us to start?’

‘There’s no need for that, Paolina, I’m just trying to make space for a bed in the room where all my stuff is. That shouldn’t be too hard.’ In fact, given the mountain of boxes and furniture that had come up from Turin with her, she knew it wouldn’t be quite as easy as she was suggesting.

‘No, we’re here now, so just show us what you want to do.’

Brushing off Annie’s protests, the girls were soon hard at it, shifting boxes and furniture, cleaning and tidying. Annie was very moved that Paolina should come in on a Saturday to help out. They chatted as they worked and Annie learnt that both had been at school together in Santorso. It soon emerged that nothing of any major significance took place in the town without these two knowing about it. Annie told them about the attempted theft of her new sign the previous night and there was an exchange of meaningful glances.

‘Sounds like it could be Gruglio up to more of his dirty tricks.’ Paolina had no doubt.

‘Who’s Gruglio?’ Annie hadn’t heard the name before.

Paolina deferred to Rita, who filled Annie in. ‘He owns the ABC School. He used to run a very seedy nightclub before that and I could tell you any number of stories about what he got up to.’

Annie was puzzled. ‘That’s one hell of a career change; from nightclub owner to language-school principal.’

‘The school was set up by his girlfriend.’ Clearly, Rita really was well informed. ‘She was Australian or South African, I think. Anyway, she set the school up and then, less than a year later, she dumped him and left for home. So, as the club had been closed down, he took over the school.’

‘But… qualifications…?’ Annie couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Is he at least fluent in English?’

‘Can’t speak a word as far as I know. He’s got a Sri Lankan running it for him. Poor girl; I don’t envy her one bit.’

‘Anyway, Annie, stealing your sign sounds just like the sort of thing he’d do.’ Paolina caught Rita’s eye. ‘I know – we’ll do a bit of sniffing around next week. Between us, we know a good deal about what goes on up here in the valley.’ Of that, Annie had no doubt at all.

As the daylight gradually gave way to night, they managed to rearrange the room so that there was just enough space for Annie’s bed amid all the boxes and furniture. Finally, as they were sitting in reception, drinking tea, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Matt. With him, he had brought a bag of food and drink. Annie noticed the immediate expressions of interest on the faces of the two girls when they caught sight of him, but she felt relieved she had at least been able to warn Matt off Paolina, who was working out really well at the school and was definitely too precious to lose. Annie made the introductions.

‘Hi, Matt. These are Paolina and Rita. Girls, this is Matt. He’s one of my oldest friends.’ She kissed him on the cheeks and watched as he proceeded to produce a bottle and set it on the counter.

‘Hi, ladies. First things first – have you got wine glasses?’

‘Somewhere in a box, but we’ve got tumblers in the kitchen.’ As Paolina went off to find the glasses, Matt opened the bottle of Prosecco.

‘What’s this in aid of?’ Annie watched as he filled the glasses.

‘It’s not every day you move house.’ He grinned. ‘All right, this is only temporary, but there’s always a good excuse for drinking Prosecco.’ They toasted Annie’s new home as he produced a panettone and chocolates from the bags he had brought.

They sat down and chatted, Matt as ever managing to charm the girls with his impeccable Italian and his good looks. Annie heard him repeating the story of his life that she knew well by now. His father had been in Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service, based in Rome for many years, and Matt had gone to school there. Although he had returned to the UK to study law at university, he had come back to Italy again in his mid-twenties and had been here ever since. He was fluent in both languages and this, of course, explained why he was such an effective translator.

‘So what are you girls doing tonight?’ Matt looked across at Annie first.

‘A quiet night in, I think. I’m worn out after skiing and unpacking.’

Matt turned his attention to the other two. ‘Now I bet you girls know where there are a few good parties up here in Santorso, don’t you?’ Paolina smiled and shook her head, but Rita gave him a look that Annie recognised. The invitation in the girl’s voice was quite clear as she replied.

‘I know where there’s going to be a great party tonight. Paolina, you’re going out with Davide tonight, aren’t you?’ Annie saw Paolina flush.

‘Not necessarily. I could always put him off.’ Her eyes were firmly fixed on Matt. For his part, he was looking nonchalant.

Rita wouldn’t hear of it. ‘No, of course not, Paolina. You go out with Davide and I’ll sort Matt out.’ She caught his eye. ‘Would you like me to show you the local night life, Matt?’ Paolina made no response, but she was looking daggers at Rita across the table. Seemingly unaware, Matt glanced at Annie.

‘Sure you don’t fancy coming out on the town with us, Annie?’

For a moment, Annie felt tempted. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been out dancing and it would have been fun to dance with Matt for once. But then she thought better of it and shook her head. ‘No, I’m staying in. But don’t let me cramp your style. You young people go out and have fun.’ But as he walked out with his arms around the two girls, she felt a strange sensation. If she hadn’t known better, she would have described it as jealousy, but that couldn’t be. This was Matt, after all.

Chapter 6

When Annie surfaced around nine o’clock on Sunday morning and set about making coffee, she was still thinking about Matt and shaking her head in disbelief. What was it she had said about him to her sister? The morals of a tomcat, and she hadn’t been exaggerating. If he had spent the night with Rita, she just hoped the girl’s subsequent almost inevitable disappointment at then being dumped by him wouldn’t impact on Paolina and then on the school. More to the point, there had been no missing the interest in Paolina’s eyes, so, unless Rita did it first, Annie resolved to find the appropriate moment to enlighten her as to Matt’s true colours.

She glanced out of the window. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sunshine flooding across the car park had already reached her car. As a result, the ice was visibly melting on the windscreen. Her phone started ringing. She had to hunt round the cluttered kitchen before she found it and managed to answer. It was Paolina with a suggestion.

‘Ciao, Annie. It’s such a beautiful day, why don’t we go skiing?’

Annie was about to say no when her eyes slipped out through the window again and she saw the sunlight reflecting on the snow that covered the mountains behind the town. It was a fairy-tale scene and she knew there was only one sensible option. ‘Paolina, I know I should stay home and tidy up a bit; my room looks like a train wreck. But, even though it’s a Sunday and it’ll be busy on the slopes, it’s too fine a day to miss. Yes, let’s go skiing.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘How about if I pick you up from home at ten?’

They reached Montalto at ten-thirty. On the way, Annie tried a couple of times to bring the conversation round to Matt, but Paolina seemed unwilling to talk about him and Annie dropped the subject. The car park was much fuller than the last time Annie had been up there, but there was still ample space. They were able to get straight onto the main chairlift without wasting time in a queue, and by eleven they were up at the middle station. It was there that Annie got her first surprise of the day. Waiting for them by the recently illuminated fir tree chosen as this year’s Christmas tree was none other than Rita from last night. Somehow, Annie had assumed Rita would still be with Matt.

‘Ciao, Rita. Did you have a good time last night?’ As she asked, she could sense Paolina’s impatience to know more.

Rita nodded, a touch of what could have been regret noticeable in her expression. ‘Yes, thanks, Annie.’

Paolina butted straight in. ‘So, come on, how did it go with il bellissimo Matt?’ Evidently, Paolina had no compunction about prying into her friend’s affairs.

‘He was great. We went to a party out by the airport. He insisted on giving me champagne and we did a bit of dancing.’ She glanced across at Paolina, her eyes shining. ‘He’s an amazing dancer. But it wasn’t a very late night. After we’d been there for a while, Matt told me he was feeling very tired and he had to get some sleep, so I was home by eleven.’ The regret was all too clear in her voice now, but Rita didn’t stay despondent for long. Out here in the fresh air, with a cloudless blue sky above them, it simply wasn’t possible. ‘So that’s why I was up early and I sent Paolina the text suggesting coming up here.’

‘Well, I’m really pleased you did.’ Annie gave a silent sigh of relief. Her little sermon to Matt had obviously worked.

‘He’s too old for you anyway, Rita.’ Paolina clearly saw the ten-year age gap as insurmountable. From the expression on Rita’s face, she didn’t agree.

‘He’s only thirty-six. I’m twenty-five, after all.’

‘Well, I’m twenty-six.’ Paolina was clearly making the point that she felt better qualified to vie for Matt’s attentions.

Annie couldn’t forget Matt’s birthday. He was only a week older than she was. Both of them would be thirty-seven early in the New Year. She breathed in deeply, the crisp mountain air cold on her lips. She pulled off a glove, dug in a pocket, pulled out a lip protection stick and ran it over her lips. As she was doing so, they heard a voice calling to them. All three of them turned as a ski instructor swept by at the head of a gaggle of little children in crash helmets, like a Chinese dragon in a festival parade.

‘Ciao ragazze!’ He raised his hand in salute.

Annie recognised him as he went past, rather glad to be included in the greeting as a girl alongside girls a lot younger than her. It was the same ski instructor who had appeared with the sledge to rescue the big black dog. She had felt his eyes on her then and she felt them again now as he sailed past. What was his name? Her eyes were still following him and he had almost disappeared across the slope, trailed by his cortege of six-year-olds, when it came to her. Paul. That was it. The Italian with the French name. She turned to the other two girls and saw from their faces that they knew him.

‘Do you two know him?’ They both nodded.

‘Paul Cornaz. He was at school with us.’ Rita glanced across at Paolina. ‘You had a thing for him for a while, didn’t you?’

Paolina nodded. ‘But he wasn’t interested in me. Every time I tried to talk to him he just clammed up and ignored me. Shame, because he’s got the most amazing thigh muscles.’ She caught Annie’s eye and looked a bit bashful. ‘I’ve got a thing about men’s thighs.’

Annie was surprised to realise that she, on the other hand, had had her eyes trained on another part of the young skier’s body. Clearly, different parts of the male anatomy appealed to different women. She shook her head to clear it of the image of Paul’s muscular bottom and reached for her goggles. As she did so, just to add to her confusion, she saw a tall figure in a blue jacket ski elegantly past and found herself wondering if it might be Alessandro with the bright blue eyes, rather hoping it was. As he, too, disappeared from sight, she pulled her goggles down over her eyes and got a grip.

‘Bè, andiamo?’

They had a spectacular morning, skiing their way around the natural amphitheatre that made up the ski domain of Montalto. Away to the right of them, at the head of the valley, was the bulky mass of Mont Blanc, while back behind them they couldn’t miss the magnificent monolith that was the Matterhorn, or Cervino, as the Italians called it. The two girls skied fluently and naturally, unsurprising as they had started almost at the same time as they started to walk. They did red runs and blue runs, black runs and some powder snow, although the depth of the powder hadn’t built up quite enough by then. It was only a degree or two above zero, but the unbroken sun warmed them through their clothes. By the time they stopped for a late lunchtime sandwich at the mid station restaurant, all three of them were boiling hot. By a stroke of really good luck, as they reached the chalet-style wooden building, a group got up from one of the tables on the terrace and the girls found themselves sitting in the sunshine gazing out over a natural spectacle of rock and snow that was hard to beat. Around them, people were stripped to their shirtsleeves, lapping up the sun even though they were in the depths of December. Annie took off her jacket and relaxed.

‘We’re lucky people.’ Paolina was in no doubt. Annie could only agree.

‘What a day. It’s good to be alive.’ And it was. Annie closed her eyes for a moment, glad of the concealment afforded by her dark glasses. There had been times over the past two years when she had seriously questioned just how much she had to live for, after Steve’s death had smashed her whole world apart. Now, out here, two years on, she could almost feel the shoots of new life growing inside her. Her eyes stung and a tear rolled down her cheek, but this time it wasn’t a tear of abject desperation. Steve had gone, but her own life would go on. She reached up and rubbed it away just as their food arrived. Annie picked up her glass and held it out. ‘Cin cin. It’s been a great day.’

They were accompanied through their meal by a small group of totally fearless sparrows who flitted around beneath and sometimes on the tables, picking up and devouring any crumbs that fell from the plates of the guests. Annie had just finished her toasted sandwich and was beginning to think about a return to her unpacking, when she felt the lightest of touches on her shoulder. She glanced up.

‘Ciao, ragazze.’

It was Paul, the ski instructor. He clumped around the table in his heavy boots, leaning down to kiss Rita and Paolina on the cheeks. As he kissed Paolina, Annie clearly saw her cheeks redden, so, she thought to herself, maybe the schoolgirl crush was still operative. When he got to Annie he pulled off his glove and held out his hand. She reached up and shook it. It was warm and strong.

‘Ciao, Paul. We saw you with your flock of little kids.’ He grinned and Rita grabbed his arm.

‘There’s a spare seat, Paul. Do you want to join us?’

He glanced at his watch and accepted the offer. ‘I’m taking a Russian oligarch and his “niece” for a tour of the pistes in ten minutes’ time. I’d better not be late for him or he’ll have me bumped off.’ He looked over at Annie. ‘Last time I saw you, you had a very cold bottom. Tell me it’s warmed up now.’

Annie saw the expressions on the faces of the other two girls as she struggled to mask the fact that she had been thinking about his bottom only a couple of hours ago. What was happening to her? This interest in men’s bottoms was a very recent development. She cleared her throat and hastily explained to Paolina. ‘Paul came to rescue the dog involved in the hit and run accident last week.’ She returned her eyes to Paul. ‘And, yes, my bottom and the rest of me are as warm as toast after a fine morning’s skiing.’

They sat and chatted and Annie thoroughly enjoyed his company. From the look on Paolina’s face, so did she. Before long, Paul glanced at his watch and stood up. ‘And now, if you don’t mind, I have to go and meet my Russians. I hope to see you all again.’

Once he had left, Annie caught Paolina’s eye. ‘You know, Paolina, I rather get the impression Paul fancies you.’

Paolina scoffed, but her cheeks reddened as she did so. ‘Don’t be so silly. He hardly looked at me.’

‘I’m not so sure.’

‘Anyway, I thought he was checking you out, Annie. And talking about your bottom and so on.’

Annie laughed. ‘Nothing going on there, I can assure you. Besides, he’s ten years younger than me for a start.’ Secretly Annie felt rather pleased that the girls should think the young ski instructor might have a thing for an older woman like her.

Paolina shook her head. ‘Well, Matt’s your age, but that wouldn’t stop me.’

‘Or me.’ Rita’s face still bore the ‘what if’ expression from earlier on. ‘But I noticed Paul looking at you, too, Paolina.’ She hesitated for a moment. ‘Annie, can I ask you something? What about you? Are you all alone or have you got a boyfriend or a husband? You’re very pretty, you know.’

Annie took a deep breath. ‘I used to be married, but my husband was killed in a rock climbing accident.’ She stopped to take another breath and was pleasantly surprised to have been able to speak about Steve’s death in an almost normal voice.

‘Oh, how awful.’ Rita and Paolina exchanged glances. ‘When did it happen? Were you married long?’

So Annie told them the story. And, for once, she managed to tell the whole tale without breaking down. She told them about how she and Steve had first met at an excruciating drinks party at the British Council, how they had got married in a little church near her parents’ home in South Devon, how they had lived so happily together in Turin until that awful day. But, this time, as she told the story, she found she was recounting it factually, almost emotionlessly, almost dispassionately. And, as she told it, her eyes swept out over the snowy slopes, up the valley towards the high Alps. The sun was reflecting off the ice on the rocky summits, sending sparkling rays out in an explosion of light that disappeared into the vastness of the cloudless sky. The powerful and almost terrifying beauty of the scenery reached deep inside her and a sense of unexpected serenity spread throughout her whole body. She suddenly found she was smiling across the table at the two girls. ‘I loved him dearly, you know, and he loved me, but the mountains were in his blood.’

‘How awful for him, and for you.’ Rita was appalled. Annie managed to keep the smile on her face.

‘It was awful, really awful, but what’s done is done. I can’t bring him back, however much I’d like to.’

‘Oh, Annie.’ Paolina didn’t know what to say.

‘It’s all right, Paolina. Life goes on. It’s taken me two years to realise it, but I know that now.’ And she meant it.

When it was time to leave, they ran into a problem. First Paolina and then Annie went downstairs to the basement area of the restaurant in search of the toilets. They found them all right, but the queue of desperate-looking women waiting to take their turn was so long, it reached halfway back up the stairs. They looked at each other and Paolina shook her head. ‘Looks like a long wait.’ She gave Annie a little smile. ‘And I’m not sure I can last that long.’ Annie felt the same way, so she came up with a pragmatic suggestion.

‘Into the woods?’

Paolina nodded and they climbed back up to break the news to Rita. They left the terrace and went across to where they had left their skis. Once they were all clipped in again, Annie led them off down the slope. She scanned the trees on either side of the piste until she saw a likely spot. A couple of ski tracks ran into the trees along what was probably a path in summer. She slowed, glanced back at the others and pointed, then skied into the trees for ten or twenty metres until they were safely out of sight of anybody on the main piste.

Paolina wasted no time in stepping out of her skis and disappearing behind a bush. The snow was so deep she had trouble walking in it, but such was her desperation, she struggled through it until she reached her objective. Rita kept guard while Annie sidestepped across to a thicket on the other side of the track. Having seen the trouble that Paolina had had, she decided not to unclip her skis. She took a good look round, pulled down her trousers and squatted, praying that nobody would choose that moment to come skiing down the path.

She had just about finished doing what she had come into the trees to do when, to her horror, she saw something charging straight towards her. She just had time to realise that the big black shape was a very friendly Labrador, when the dog reached her. He was clearly delighted to find her down at his level and he put his paws up on her shoulders and set about licking her face. She put up her hands to fend him off, but he was insistent. Unfortunately, the effect of this weight suddenly pressing against her began to push her backwards. She felt herself moving, slowly at first, but gradually gathering speed, and she realised she was sliding backwards towards the main piste. She ran over a clump of some kind of plant, probably heather, covered in snow, and got a frozen, wet bottom as a result. She had ditched her poles so she scrabbled desperately at the passing branches until, mercifully, she managed to get a grip on something solid enough to arrest her descent. She glanced up and around her. The dog had stopped following her and was sitting in the snow, looking on with what could have been a smile on his face. Another six feet and she would have emerged onto the open mountainside, bare bum on display for all to see. As it was, she was still just about hidden and was able to pull up her trousers without being spotted by anybody. Well, almost anybody.

From behind her she heard hoots of laughter as Rita and Paolina followed her trail in the snow. As Annie got to her feet and zipped herself up, her face glowing with embarrassment, Rita handed over her poles, still unable to utter a word, such was her mirth. Behind her, Paolina concentrated on petting the dog, her shoulders shaking as she creased up with laughter.

‘Well, that’s a lesson learnt.’ Annie was conscious that some of the snow, if not the heather, she had run over was still sticking to her under her clothes and she felt it begin to melt. It was an uncomfortable feeling. ‘Always, always, always take your skis off before having a pee.’

‘Oh, Annie.’ That was all Paolina managed to say. The dog, in the meantime, came lurching through the snow towards Annie and stood up on his hind legs to greet her once more. She looked down at his collar and spotted the same medallion she had seen before.

‘Well, Leo, it would seem you’re fit and well again.’ Instinctively, she looked around, just in case the man with the blue eyes might appear. There was no sign of him and, although this meant he hadn’t been around to witness her recent debacle, she felt a sense of disappointment. ‘Just you watch out next time you decide to cross the piste.’ She grinned at the other two. ‘And I’ll be sure to watch out next time I have to pee in the snow.’

In spite of a strong coffee after her salad that evening, by ten o’clock Annie was feeling really tired and she headed for her temporary bedroom. Without turning on the light, she made her way across to the window and looked out into the night sky. This room was on the west side of the building and the view from the window was amazing. It was a crystal-clear, moonlit night and, to the left, she could see all the way down the valley, the steep sides rising up like walls, while, to the right, her eyes could make out the high Alps beyond which lay the French and Swiss borders. Ahead of her, snaking up the mountainside, was the road to Montalto, with faint clusters of lights marking numerous little hamlets dotted across the mountainside. Headlights showed tiny, distant cars picking their way down from the ski resort to the valley floor. Higher up above them, as Annie’s eyes acclimatised to the dark, she made out sheer, snow-covered peaks that stood out like pale ghosts against the sky. The sky itself was a deep velvety blue, almost a violet colour, studded all over with stars. It was a stunning view and she leant forward, rested her head against the freezing glass, and stared and stared, as memories came flooding through her brain.

Her thoughts turned, as they had done so often over the last two years, to Steve. Somehow she had always feared that his hobby – more of an obsession, really – of mountaineering might be the death of him. She would dearly have loved him to give it up, but she knew it would have been unfair to ask it of him. He had loved the rocks and mountains and, in a way, the manner of his death had been what he would have wanted. His death had been a freak accident when a rock fall tore him and his rope from the cliff face and sent him crashing two hundred metres to instant death. If she had insisted he give up climbing he might still be alive today, but would he be happy? The stars twinkled down at her and memories flooded her brain.

But then, out of the blue, another image entered her head. This was a different face; a face with strikingly bright blue eyes. She blinked a few times, but the image stayed clear and true before her. She shook her head and tried to rid herself of the vision by concentrating her attention on the mountains before her, but all that happened was that she found herself focusing on the distant lights of Montalto, high up on the side of the mountain. Up there, she knew, was where she would find him again. And, she thought to herself with awe, there was no getting away from it. She really did want to see him again: Alessandro Lago, the man with the amazing eyes.

Chapter 7

Annie had only just got up and dressed on Monday morning when the doorbell rang. It was still early and Paolina hadn’t arrived yet, so Annie went to the door. To her surprise, she was confronted by two large, uniformed firemen. Flashing blue lights reflected up the stairwell from the road.

‘You called the fire brigade, signorina?’ They were both wearing shiny helmets with visors, along with dark overalls with fluorescent yellow stripes running across their chests. Annie felt quite intimidated by their sheer presence.

‘No, not me. There must be some mistake.’

The two men exchanged glances. The smaller of the two, wearing a red helmet, produced a clipboard and read off a printout. ‘At 0813 this morning, a call was received at emergency headquarters from a signorina Annalisa Brevia, informing us of a serious fire at this address. Was that you, signorina?’

Annie was perplexed. ‘My name’s Annie Brewer, not Annalisa whatever you said, but I definitely didn’t make any emergency call. There’s no fire here. You can see for yourselves.’ She opened the door wide and beckoned them in. It didn’t take long before they were satisfied that there was no fire. They weren’t happy, though.

‘We don’t like hoax calls, signorina. If we find out you were responsible for calling us out, you could be in serious trouble. Tell me, have you got a mobile phone?’ The fireman with the clipboard was obviously the spokesman.

Annie pulled out her phone and showed them the number. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t match the number on their printout. Maybe it was because she was looking so baffled, but the man’s tone began to change from aggressive to something more conciliatory. He looked round the reception area. ‘So, what is this, signorina? A hotel?’

Considering there were two signs outside indicating that this was a school, Annie wasn’t overly impressed by his powers of observation. She explained that it was a private English-language school and repeated her assertion that she had nothing to do with what had been, pretty clearly, a hoax. She was just coming round to wondering if this might in some way be linked to the attempted theft of her sign when the fireman demonstrated that he wasn’t as silly as he looked.

‘Do you have any enemies, signorina?’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so, but a funny thing happened on Friday night.’ She went on to tell them about the sign, mentioning that Beppe from the pizzeria would be able to vouch that she was telling the truth. As she spoke, they both began to relax. Finally, the fireman with the red helmet replaced the clipboard under his arm and straightened up.

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