Kitabı oku: «From Paris With Love Collection», sayfa 45

CHAPTER FOUR

‘OH, MY…’

‘What’s wrong, Gran? Are you all right?’ The lighting wasn’t so great in this dinner venue. A restaurant within easy walking distance of the conference venue, this ancient stone vault of a room had been transformed into a winter wonderland in honour of the season.

White church candles with multiple wicks, in a nest of holly leaves and poinsettia flowers, made a centrepiece for each of the small tables set for four. Sheets of fairy lights in icicle form hung from the high ceiling and, on one roughened stone wall, a slide show of Christmassy scenes was softly fading in and out as the scenes changed.

It was a beautiful setting for a dinner but the flickering light levels made it impossible to see things as clearly as Charlotte would have liked. She was convinced her grandmother had suddenly gone pale.

‘Stop fussing, Charlotte, for goodness’ sake.’ Lady Geraldine gave her a surprisingly sharp poke with her finger. ‘If you weren’t half-blind, you would have noticed what I just noticed.’ Her smile was almost gleeful as she lowered her voice. ‘Eye candy…’

‘Gran. Wherever did you learn an expression like that?’

‘I blame television,’ Lady Geraldine sighed. But she was still smiling. Still watching a point well beyond Charlotte’s shoulder. The entranceway, most likely, because Charlotte had deliberately chosen a table as far away from the door as possible. A nice, dark corner. With a bit of luck, Nico Moretti would be late and either he wouldn’t be able to spot her or the two unoccupied settings at their table would have been taken by another conference attendee and his or her partner.

But no. With a sinking heart Charlotte realised that to have grabbed her grandmother’s keen interest, this ‘eye candy’ would have to be spectacularly good looking. And judging by the way her elderly relative was practically fanning herself with her hand now, he was coming in their direction. Slowly, she turned her head.

Oh, my…was an understatement. Dr Moretti was wearing a beautifully fitting dinner suit, which always made men look good, but so were most of the other male guests here. Maybe the soft lighting had something to do with the way he stood out. Or more likely, it was the man’s sheer presence as he wound his way through the tables, pausing to smile at people he knew or share a few words in greeting.

He seemed to have a spotlight on him, in any case, and Charlotte knew her gaze was as transfixed as her grandmother’s. As focused as every other woman in this room.

If Nico was scanning the room, looking for her as he kept moving, he certainly gave no indication of it. Anyone watching would assume he knew exactly what table he was expected at. Charlotte could feel her grandmother’s interest sharpen into astonishment as he finally made a beeline for their corner, his face lighting up in a smile of sheer joy.

‘Carlotta. Cara…’ With his gaze locked on hers, Nico reached out and cupped one side of her face with his hand. It was an exquisitely tender touch. Over-whelmingly so. Charlotte had no hope of collecting her thoughts, let alone expressing them. His gaze suggested that if she didn’t want him to play this game she only had to say the word, but how could she when she couldn’t even draw a breath?

And she saw the moment the question in his gaze turned to delight.

Game on.

With a smoothness that suggested Nico was far too good at acting, he turned his charm onto the unsuspecting Lady Geraldine. He gently picked up the hand with its diamond rings flashing in the candlelight. He pressed his lips to it.

‘And you have to be Carlotta’s nonna. I’ve heard so much about you. This is…such a pleasure.’

And then Nico took hold of one of the two spare chairs and moved it so that it was as close to Charlotte’s as possible. He sat down and adjusted the silverware and then nodded at a nearby waiter, who instantly came to fill his champagne glass.

Lady Geraldine was watching this little show with rapt attention and she seemed as lost for words as Charlotte. Until Nico raised his glass, tilted his head in a silent toast to the women, took a long sip and then…smiled.

‘Um…Charlotte?’

‘Yes, Gran?’

‘Is there something you haven’t told me?’

This was her chance to pull the plug on this crazy plan that Nico seemed perfectly happy to put into action. To pretend—in public—that they were a couple in love.

Trouble was, even for the short time it had been happening, it was casting a spell that was unbelievably powerful.

They said that falling in love was magical. Maybe even pretending to be tapped into some of that incomprehensible power.

Whatever. Charlotte could feel the waves of envy coming from the other women in this space. She could see the gleam of joyous disbelief in her grandmother’s eyes. Worst of all, she could almost feel what it would be like having someone like Nico head over heels in love with her.

And, God help her, she wanted more.

Just for an hour or two.

Just enough to give her a bubble of whatever this magic was so that she could remember it when times were bleak.

And there were going to be bleak times ahead.

Could there possibly be a greater gift she could give her beloved grandmother than to let her die with the peace of believing that the child she had raised was happy at last? That she would be loved and cared for in her absence?

It was a very strange feeling, this…giving in. Living in the moment without trying to weigh up any consequences or complications. It was incredibly liberating. Fun—like Nico had suggested it could be? Something was certainly lifting the corners of Charlotte’s mouth.

‘Gran…this is…Nico.’ Her words sounded hesitant. Breathless. The way they would if someone was about to reveal something secret. Something personal and precious.

‘Nico Moretti,’ he expanded. He laid his hand over Charlotte’s on the crisp, white linen tablecloth as he smiled at Lady Geraldine. ‘I am Charlotte’s…’ He hesitated, clearly at a loss for the right word to describe his relationship to her, and she held her breath. Could he really pull this off?

Nico turned his head and she could swear his sigh was one of pure happiness. ‘I am whatever Carlotta will give me the honour of being,’ he murmured.

‘Charlotte?’ The gentle word belied the ‘please explain’ undertone.

‘It’s been s-sudden,’ Charlotte stammered. ‘I was going to tell you today, Gran, but…’

‘But then you started worrying about me.’ Lady Geraldine clicked her tongue. ‘For heaven’s sake, child. This is far more important. I want to know everything.’

Oh, help…Charlotte tried to buy some thinking time by picking up her champagne glass. The Italian prosecco being served was astonishingly light. Delicious. She took another long sip.

‘We actually met years ago,’ Nico said into the expectant silence. ‘At St Margaret’s in London. It was my bad luck that Carlotta was unavailable at that time.’

Uh-oh…It took Lady Geraldine less than a split second to work out exactly what time Nico was referring to and that earned Charlotte a glance she would rather have avoided.

Gran knew there had been far more to the break-up of that relationship—the only one she’d ever known Charlotte to have—than she’d ever been privy to. It was the only aspect of Charlotte’s life she’d ever been shut out of and it was a cloud that had hung over them ever since. Something that was never mentioned but always there.

Charlotte drank the last of her wine and barely noticed the waiter refilling her glass as she listened to Nico continuing to talk.

Why hadn’t she thought that this pretence could open that particular can of worms?

And it was too late to stop it now. She was already in too deep.

About to drown?

He knew he’d said the wrong thing.

Nobody could have missed that electric glance that Lady Geraldine had speared her granddaughter with when he’d said that she had been otherwise attached when he’d first met her.

What the hell was that about?

Never mind. He knew he could redeem himself. He’d been quite confident of pulling this off from the moment he’d walked into this exclusive restaurant and spotted the table he needed to aim for.

The table where the two most beautiful women in the room were sitting.

Maybe Charlotte often wore an elegant silver dress to such a formal occasion but Nico had a strong sense that it was not usual practice for her to leave her hair loose like that—a tumble of soft waves that gleamed an ash blonde in the candlelight. Had she be thinking of him when she’d brushed it out and chosen not to wind it back into its prison of pins?

And the grandmother! Nico had expected an English dowager of some kind. Tall and forbiddingly aloof. He had smiled the moment he’d set eyes on the old lady sitting beside Charlotte. Even from a distance he had caught the flash of her bejewelled hands and even a small tiara nestled in fiery red hair. He could sense her interest in the people around her and an ability to see beneath the surface of social niceties. This was going to be a much more entertaining evening than he could have hoped for.

‘I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought about her since then,’ he told Lady Geraldine with palpable honesty. ‘And then fate brings us together in the most romantic city in the world.’ He shrugged, his smile suggesting he hadn’t made much of an effort to stand firm against the winds of fate.

Was he overdoing things? Judging by the mistiness in Lady Geraldine’s eyes, she was swallowing this very happily, but from the corner of his eye he could see that Charlotte was simply sitting there, staring at him, her lips slightly parted and her expression dazed.

He still had his hand covering hers, so he picked it up. Such a soft hand. Such elegant, long fingers and neat nails that were not disguised by any unnatural colours. He touched his lips to her hand and then leaned forward as though drawn irresistibly to kiss her lips next. They looked soft, too, and when Charlotte unconsciously dampened them with the tip of her tongue, Nico realised that he actually did want to kiss her.

Dio… That wasn’t meant to happen. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat to take control of the unexpected shaft of desire but then he let his breath out in a soft sigh. Did it matter? Charlotte wouldn’t need to know it was anything other than good acting and it would certainly make his performance more believable. He opened his eyes and focused on the owner of the hand he still had imprisoned in his.

‘It was meant to be,’ he said softly. ‘I’m lucky enough to have been given a second chance and even luckier that this beautiful woman seems to feel the same way.’ He added a few words in Italian, knowing how limited Charlotte’s grasp on the language was, and hoping that it would add to the impression of sincerity.

It had more of an effect than he had anticipated. Lady Geraldine sniffed delicately and picked up her linen serviette to dab at the corner of her eye.

‘Bella,’ she said, her Italian accent flawless. ‘Carlotta è una ragazza fortunate.’

Beneath his fingers, Charlotte’s hand stiffened with tension. ‘What?’

‘She said you are a lucky girl,’ Nico murmured. ‘That the story of how we met is beautiful.’

‘At last…’ Lady Geraldine smiled mistily at her granddaughter. ‘Oh, darling. I can’t begin to tell you how happy this makes me. This…this is the best night of my life.’

Charlotte’s lips trembled but she managed to smile. In the instant before she turned to look at her grandmother Nico caught the flash of emotion in her eyes that told him how huge this gift of happiness was.

And she couldn’t have given her grandmother this if it hadn’t been for him. It made him proud.

It made him want to give more.

The interruption of the first course of their dinner arriving was a welcome distraction that gave Charlotte time to try and collect herself. Not that she had the slightest appetite and she couldn’t help her gaze straying sideways to look at Nico at noticeably frequent intervals as she wondered how he could be so incredibly good at this pretence, but that was just the sort of behaviour a woman who’d just fallen head over heels in love would display, wasn’t it?

No wonder Gran believed it all. Charlotte had been sucked in herself. She’d totally forgotten the fear of the conversation touching on that no-go period in her life. And the way she’d felt when he’d picked up her hand and kissed it…No. What had been utterly shocking had been the way she’d felt when he’d leaned closer and looked as though he was about to kiss her on the lips.

The hum of conversation around them and the elegant strains of the Christmas carols being played by a quartet in the restaurant foyer had faded into nothing more than background static. The flickering light of the candles seemed to mirror the tiny flames licking her skin. Heating her blood and pooling somewhere deep in her belly.

A moment’s madness, fuelled by what she could swear was an equal level of attraction in Nico’s eyes. But they were dark eyes and the light was low. She couldn’t possibly have seen his pupils expand and she must have imagined the electric charge that came through her fingers where his skin was still in contact.

The shock of hearing her grandmother respond to Nico in Italian had been enough to break the extraordinary spell being cast, which was just as well. Nico was enjoying himself quite enough. How appalling would it be if he knew he was having a genuine effect on her?

Lady Geraldine wasn’t eating much either, and that was enough to send Charlotte’s thoughts in a darker direction. Her grandmother might be in her eighties but she had always been a woman of amazing energy who lived life to the full. Nobody would deny her the maximum extent of whatever modern medicine could do to prolong that colourful life, but you had to balance additional time earned by what the quality of that life would be. Major surgery and chemotherapy would be a miserable time and it was possible that the end would not justify the means.

Something like despair gathered in a cloud over Charlotte as she toyed with her entrée. Thank goodness Nico and her grandmother were so engaged in conversation. Nobody would thank her for destroying the joyous atmosphere that had been created at this particular table.

‘So your mother is still living in Ireland?’

‘Yes. With husband number four.’

‘Good gracious! What was wrong with the first three?’

‘My mother has trouble resisting offers that seem to give her a better opportunity to experience the best that life can give. She is a free spirit, Lady Geraldine, who is not bothered by what others think. A bit like yourself, I’m guessing?’

Gran actually laughed with delight. If she’d had a fan in her hand, Charlotte thought, she might have smacked Nico’s hand with it. Instead, the old lady gave him an almost shy smile.

‘You can call me Jendi, dear,’ she told him. ‘As my friends do.’

‘I’m honoured…Jendi.’

‘And your father? Is he still living, too?’

‘No.’ Charlotte saw the way Nico laid down his fork as though he had caught the lack of appetite around him. ‘He died some years ago now.’

‘Oh…’ The sound was one of sympathy. ‘Too young. Was it an accident?’

‘A broken heart.’ Nico’s voice was expressionless. He was stating a fact.

Charlotte couldn’t help her eyebrows rising at such a non-medical notion from a man with his training. She didn’t say anything but maybe her breath had escaped with a disparaging sound because Nico flicked a glance in her direction. His words, however, were directed at Lady Geraldine. His new friend.

‘They called it a heart attack, of course,’ he said. ‘But his heart broke when my mother left him and on every visit I made back here, I could see his slow decline.’

‘That’s terrible,’ Lady Geraldine declared. She was frowning now. ‘But at least it hasn’t put you off marriage, Nico.’

‘M-marriage?’

The word was so shocked that Charlotte knew the game might be up. Had it not occurred to him that it was a natural direction for someone’s thoughts to go in when faced by two people who were ‘meant to be together’ and had made the connection at last?

‘Early days, Gran,’ she said in a stage whisper across the table. ‘Don’t frighten the poor man.’

‘Frightened? Me?’ To give him credit, Nico recovered fast. He actually winked at Lady Geraldine. ‘We men like to pick our own time, that’s all. The element of surprise, you understand?’

‘Oh, of course.’ Lady Geraldine beamed at him. ‘I promise I’ll be surprised.’

She wouldn’t be the only one. Nico was only supposed to be posing as her new boyfriend, that’s all. Something that would make Gran happy because it offered hope for her not having a lonely future. This was getting out of hand. He was sharing family secrets as though he was already a prospective grandson-in-law.

How on earth was she going to explain what had happened here tonight if, by some miracle, her grandmother’s treatment was effective and she lived for years after this?

The interruption of formal speeches in praise of the symposium and its organisers filled in the time between courses and prevented any further bonding between her gran and Nico, but it didn’t lessen the increasing tension Charlotte was experiencing. It only got worse as people began to mingle between the tables and Richard Campbell came to say hello.

‘Did you enjoy listening to Charlotte this morning, Lady Geraldine?’

‘Oh, I did. So much. Thank you for arranging things, Dr Campbell. I am the happiest woman in the world tonight.’

‘So I see.’ It was impossible not to respond to the glow her grandmother was exuding. No one would believe that she could be facing confirmation of a terminal disease within days. And the misty look she was giving the young couple at her table was just as easy to read. Richard’s jaw sagged visibly as he followed her gaze.

‘Charlotte? You and…?’

‘Nico Moretti,’ Nico said, extending his hand.

A new challenge, then. Could he pull off this pretence with the people who worked with Charlotte?

‘Delighted to meet you, Richard. Although I think we met some years ago. At St Margaret’s?’

‘That was where he first met Charlotte,’ Lady Geraldine put in.

‘Mmm.’ Richard was giving Charlotte a strange look and Nico’s heart sank. He remembered that impression he’d had when he’d been listening to her speak this morning. That her playing down her femininity might reveal a sexual preference that didn’t include men. Maybe her closest colleagues were aware of something that was kept strictly private. Something she didn’t want her grandmother to know, either.

Was that what had been hidden beneath that absolute conviction that she would never be fulfilling her grandmother’s dearest wish of settling down and having babies? Suspicion on Jendi’s part might also explain that charged glance directed at her granddaughter, which he’d inadvertently provoked.

Charlotte certainly seemed bothered by something. As soon as possible after Richard moved on to another table, she excused herself, muttering about needing a bathroom. He saw her ask a waiter for directions and then head out a door that led to a long balcony. Presumably the bathrooms opened off the balcony to one side of the restaurant.

Which meant that Nico could also excuse himself and head in that direction. He could catch Charlotte before she came back into the dining room and just check that he wasn’t causing even more trouble for her, although exactly how to broach the subject of her sexuality in a sensitive manner was entirely beyond him at the moment.

The balcony ran right along the canal side of the restaurant. It was quiet out here with the added darkness that came from the still water of the canal. Nico didn’t need to use the facilities so he paced back and forth, waiting what seemed an interminably long time for Charlotte to reappear. What was she doing in there? Twisting her hair back into some impossibly tight ‘hairdo’? He hoped not.

A gondola drifted past below with just a single light making the ornate brass ornament on the prow of the boat gleam. A couple sat, wrapped in blankets against the cold and silent as they gazed in wonder at the magic of touring this city at night with only the ripple of the boat to disturb the serenity.

The tap of high heels on stone disturbed the moment for Nico. He turned and Charlotte’s step faltered.

‘What are you doing out here?’

‘Waiting for you.’

The only light now that the gondola had passed came from the fairy lights of the restaurant and a small Christmas tree that was being used to reveal where the door to the bathrooms was. Silver light that made Charlotte’s dress shine and cast a spotlight on the way the fabric clung to her body and revealed noticeable curves. It also caught matching strands in her hair. It would look golden in the sunshine, Nico thought. Chameleon hair. He could imagine her eyes could create that illusion too. Maybe they would take on a blue hue under a summer sky. Or when she was happy?

Right now they were a stormy, slate grey.

‘Why?’

She sounded nervous and added to that impression by pushing her fingers through her hair. The gesture ruffled the loose waves. It was a supremely feminine movement. Confusing, given what Nico was there intending to find out. The reminder made him shake off his focus on how unexpectedly attractive Charlotte was looking. He cleared his throat.

‘I…um…It seems to be going well. Your nonna is happy.’

‘Mmm.’ He could see Charlotte swallow. A ripple that ran the length of her elegant neck. ‘Too happy, maybe.’

‘Is there such a thing? Especially at a time like this?’

Charlotte sighed. ‘She is happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so…so contented.’

‘There you go, then. It’s been a good thing to do. A reprieve from thinking about less happy things. One that you may be able to use for some time.’

Charlotte looked away, watching the tail end of the gondola as it turned a corner. ‘But I didn’t think things through. I thought other people would just think you were sharing our table for dinner.’ Her voice rose and the words sped up a little, revealing how unsettled she was. ‘I didn’t expect to start a rumour that will follow me back to St Margaret’s. I have no idea what I’m going to do about that.’

‘You don’t have to do anything.’ Nico paused, trying to select his words carefully. ‘Unless it’s going to cause personal distress?’

She frowned at him. ‘What kind of personal distress?’

‘Well…you might have someone in your life that wouldn’t be happy to know about this…this illusion you’re creating.’

‘I don’t…’ She was trying to process his meaning. Then she made an impatient sound. ‘I told you I wasn’t in a relationship.’

‘Not with Mr Right,’ he murmured.

There was a moment’s dead silence and then Charlotte’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, my God…you think I’m a—’ An incredulous huff broke her words. ‘Are you serious?’ And then she turned away but not before Nico had seen a fierce sparkle in her eyes.

Oh…Dio…He’d really put his foot in it now, hadn’t he? Was she about to start crying again?

No matter. He had come prepared. He reached for the neatly pressed handkerchief he’d pushed into his jacket pocket just before he’d left his room. He pulled it out and, as he did so, something glinted in the light and bounced on the stones with an audible ping.

Charlotte turned her head. ‘What was that?’

‘Nothing important.’ Nico knew what it was. It had been weighing his pocket down earlier today. But then he’d forgotten all about it after he’d arrived at the symposium. After he’d been swept along by listening to the story Charlotte had told them. Weirdly, it hadn’t occurred to him to think about it again all day. Or remember to take it out of his pocket.

His grandmother’s ring. The one his father had given his mother. The one she’d left behind when she’d broken the marriage and Nico’s true family. Maybe it was better if it got left behind at the bottom of a Venetian canal. Drowned and lost. Like his belief in true love and marriage and happy families for ever had been lost so many years ago.

But no. This ring was the only thing his father had left him as his inheritance. The only link he could touch that went back to his early childhood. It was important. Nico ignored Charlotte and his gaze raked the rough stones as he searched for what he’d dropped. It must have come out of his pocket at speed, propelled by being caught in the folds of the handkerchief. Had it already bounced irretrievably into the waters of the canal?

Like Charlotte’s laptop?

No. There it was, precariously balanced right beside a stone balustrade on the very edge of the balcony. He would have to be careful not to nudge it over the edge, he realised as he stooped. Trying to slow his movement, Nico dropped to one knee and reached for the ring.

‘What on earth are you doing?’ Nico could see the ripple of the long, silver dress as Charlotte stepped closer. He sighed and held the object up to show her.

‘It’s my grandmother’s ring,’ he said heavily. ‘It’s a long story…’

He wasn’t going to get a chance to tell her any of it, however. A startling shriek cut through the night air.

‘Charlotte! Nico! Oh, my goodness…’ Lady Geraldine had come out through the restaurant doors and was standing there, her hands clasped in front of her as though in prayer. ‘Is this…? Are you…? Oh…how romantic. A proposal. In Venice, of all places…’

It took a long moment for the full horror to sink in but, yes…here he was, on one knee. Kneeling in front of a beautiful woman with a backdrop of a Venetian canal, holding up what was obviously an engagement ring in his hand.

He bought a fraction of time by getting to his feet somewhat awkwardly. He caught the panicked look in Charlotte’s eyes. They were going to have to confess now, weren’t they? Ruin the happiest night of this sick old lady’s life.

No. He could fix this.

With the ghost of a wink to let Charlotte know he had things in hand, Nico grabbed her hand and shoved the ring onto her finger. It was a tight fit but he gave it an extra push to get it over her knuckle. Was it pain that made Charlotte gasp? Maybe it was the shock of how fast he’d moved or this unexpected twist in the show they were putting on. That didn’t matter either. Maybe people would think she was simply shocked at how quickly he had managed to sweep her off her feet.

He kept hold of Charlotte’s hand and gave it a squeeze. She dragged her gaze up from the ring and met his eyes and he tried very hard to give her a silent message.

Trust me. We can get through this without hurting anybody.

And then he turned and pasted a smile onto his face.

‘Jendi…What wonderful timing. We wanted you to be the first to know.’