Second Chances in Chianti (Escape to Tuscany Book 2) by T.A. Williams (online e reader .TXT) 📕

thick undergrowth and dense forest looked untouched by human hand, and the shadows under the trees were so deep that it was almost like looking into the mouth of a wide cave.

They carried on up the hill, shaded from the direct sunlight by the trees on the other side of the fence, following the line of the wire until they reached a little promontory. Here somebody had positioned a wooden bench with its back to the fence, in just the right position for them to be able to look back down across the parallel lines of the vines to the villa and then on past it to the tree-covered hills beyond. An acacia tree, festooned with sweet-scented bunches of white blooms, provided welcome shade. It was a charming place and a charming view, and Alice stopped.

‘Would you mind if I did a bit of sketching?’

David shook his head. ‘Of course not. Why don’t you stay here and I’ll walk on a bit further? I’ll come back in… what, a quarter of an hour or so?’

‘Or a bit longer if you see something that interests you. You know me when I start sketching.’ She pecked him on the cheek, released his hand and sat down on the bench, pulling out her pencil and opening her pad. She normally worked in oils, and she felt sure a good sketch of this view could form the basis for a full painting when she got back to Bristol. In all likelihood, given that she had just seen Zoë, it would become a permanent memory of the charming location of her last-ever dealings with AAATV.

However, before she could start drawing, her phone bleeped and she saw that she had an email. Her excitement grew as she discovered it was from the auction house in London. She opened it and, to her delight, she saw that she had been shortlisted for the position. While she started to read it through, she found herself giving a little squeak of pleasure. As she did so, she heard an answering squeak from behind her – well, not so much a squeak as a brief high-pitched yelp – and she turned round to see what sort of animal might be on the other side of the fence. At first she could detect nothing in the dark shadows cast by the thick canopy of trees, but then she noticed some movement. From the depths of the forest, a far from wild animal emerged and trotted across towards her.

The dark shape emerging from the undergrowth was a dog, a handsome big black Labrador. He was wagging his tail and continuing to make little whining noises of canine pleasure as he came towards her. There was absolutely nothing of the aggressive guard dog about him and Alice felt confident he had identified her as a friend.

She had always loved dogs, but had never been able to have one. Her mother was allergic to animal hair and since Alice had left home for university – and then the USA and then university again – it just hadn’t been feasible for her to keep one. Although she hadn’t finished with the auction house email, she set down her phone on the bench, got up and went over to say hello. The fence was taller than she was, so the only way she and the dog could get acquainted was by him sticking the tip of his nose through the wire. She rubbed it with her fingers and he emitted a series of happy grunts.

‘Hello, dog.’ It occurred to her he would probably respond better to Italian, so she tried again. ‘Ciao, cane.’

In response, her fingers received a lick from the tip of his tongue. She wondered where his owner might be. His leather collar was a bit scruffy but his coat was glossy and he certainly didn’t look underfed, so it seemed unlikely he was a stray. She had just spotted a silver medallion attached to his collar when she heard a piercing whistle from somewhere in the woods. The dog immediately spun round and charged off, crashing through the dry undergrowth as he obeyed the command to return to his master.

Alice went back to her bench and sat down again, returning her attention to the email from the auction house and reading it through carefully to the end. It contained more details of the conditions of employment and the salary on offer which, as expected, wasn’t great by comparison with Hollywood. However, she knew she had more than enough extra money coming in from her royalties to enable her to live comfortably, even in an expensive city like London, if she got the job. The email informed her that she was invited to a second interview in ten days’ time and, as they knew she was in Italy, they offered to pay her airfare.

She picked up her sketch pad, settled back and let her eyes run over the lovely, relaxing Tuscan scenery before her. The email had come at exactly the right time. Of course, there was no guarantee they would offer her the job but, if they did – and hopefully she would know by the end of next week – this would give her an attractive alternative to making a return to Hollywood. If, as looked likely, Zoë was indeed to be the director in charge of the new series, Alice felt pretty sure she would decide to walk away. Millie wouldn’t be too happy, but she would survive – as would the others.

Alice had come here with serious doubts about picking up her acting career again, and now she was reasonably hopeful that she might get the offer of an excellent alternative job. It could prove to be the way into a fascinating and fulfilling future, relying upon her brain, rather than her appearance, and drawing upon the expertise she had studied so hard to develop. Of course, she knew she would feel some regret at not being able to work