They chatted for another twenty minutes, then Cellina said she had to go and start dinner for her family. Annabelle liked her. She was glad the other woman wouldn’t be a stranger to her at the family party.
Lucca still hadn’t called or returned. Unable to stand her own company any longer, she left the house and went for a walk. She almost forgot the floppy hat she wore to keep the sun off her face and had to go back for it.
When evening rolled around, she bought herself a cola, then geared up for the steep climb back to Lucca’s house. On the way, her cell phone rang. It was Guilio calling!
She moved to the side of the road and braced herself against a palm tree, not knowing what to expect when she clicked on. “Hello?”
“Annabelle? You’re a dark horse but I forgive you with all my heart for helping my son make the transition back to civilian life.”
Her throat swelled. “You should have seen us the night he fell in the hallway.”
“He told me about that.”
“You must be so thrilled to have him back for good.” Annabelle was overjoyed, not bothering to tamp down her excitement.
“You’ll never know.”
“Where is he now? Where are you?”
“One question at a time.” He chuckled. “I dropped him off at the farmhouse. Now I’m home at the villa.”
She gripped the phone tighter. “Is everything all right?”
“It couldn’t be better.”
“That’s music to my ears.”
“A lot of the reason for that has to do with you. Thank you for keeping my secret.”
“I about died when he appeared out of the blue. I was so afraid he’d find out.”
“Thanks to you, he didn’t!”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’ve got everything under control for the big surprise. I can’t change the date of the grand opening in August. However, we can honor him at the party. When I was in Milan, I moved up the date to Wednesday night and have informed Mel to change his flight arrangements. Your photo shoots will be over by then. We’ll have a mini grand opening where my son will meet the Amalfi Girl in person when he’s honored.”
Only two days away … Though she’d been in Italy just a short while, she felt like she’d lived here much longer. The images filling her mind were suffocating her. His farmhouse felt like home. She and Lucca had lived in every part of it. Each room—the hallway…the terrace…the kitchen—had their own memories.
“I’ll keep in touch with you about the details, but before we hang up, I just want to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“Lucca’s told me how you’ve nursed him. There’s no one tougher than my son, but after what he’s been through, he’s more grateful than you know for what you’ve done. I have it on good authority he’d like to keep you until you leave. He says you’re better than any nurse who has taken care of him since he was shot down.”
Annabelle groaned inwardly. She’d hoped Lucca wouldn’t want her to leave at all, but if he only thought of her as a nurse, and didn’t care for her for her real self, she couldn’t bear it. “I’m very flattered,” she said in a wooden voice.
“He tells me that after you go home, you’re thinking of taking up your nursing career at some point to work with war veterans like himself. My son has great admiration for you. Is that true?”
She stared blindly into space. “Yes, but I haven’t said anything to Mel yet. That’s something we’ll have to discuss after I get back.”
“Mel’s not going to like it, but be assured my lips are sealed. I’ll be checking in with you over the next few days. Ciao, Annabelle.”
“Ciao.”
Feeling the happiness drained out of her, she clicked off, hugging the phone to her chest.
It was déjà vu when Lucca heard a firm knock on the kitchen door. If it were Annabelle, she had a key and could let herself in. She’d left her car in the drive and had obviously gone somewhere. A walk maybe?