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

fact, wearing something as open as this tonight feels positively weird. I keep looking down to check I’m not going to fall out.’

She caught David’s eyes looking down her cleavage as she spoke and she choked back an attack of the giggles. Although he had seen her naked countless times, this was the first time he had ever seen her in such an expensive and revealing dress, and it was probably making him feel even more disoriented She caught hold of his free hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, as she saw him swig down the champagne he was holding in his other hand in one go.

At that moment Carrie wafted along, clad in a diaphanous little number that could have come straight out of a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Alice had to admit she looked lovely. As Carrie walked past Harry, Alice couldn’t miss the look he gave her as he caught sight of her. It was not dissimilar to the look on a python’s face at the sight of an unfortunate little white mouse being dropped into its cage. Luckily, Richie was chatting to Benny and didn’t notice. Alice didn’t have time to dwell upon the possible ramifications of this, as the unmistakable sound of a knife tapping a glass attracted her attention and that of the whole gathering. Antonia was holding up a hand for silence.

‘Welcome everybody and thanks for coming. On behalf of Conrad and all our colleagues at AAATV, I hope you have an enjoyable, restful and productive few days here. Tomorrow morning I’d like us all to sit down together so Zoë and I can run through what we have planned for Pals Forever. We’re all very excited about it and we hope you will be, too. We’re going to leave the afternoons free for you all to relax or maybe visit some of the lovely places around this part of Tuscany. But, for tonight, just take it easy and catch up with each other. I’m looking forward to hearing what you’ve all been doing since I last saw you.’ Antonia glanced across at Paolo, who had changed out of his porter’s waistcoat and was now wearing a plain white shirt with a black bow tie, a spotless white napkin folded across his forearm. Clearly, he was a man of many talents. ‘Paolo, would you be so kind as to tell the cook we’re ready to eat?’

As he bowed and disappeared back through the French windows, Antonia directed them all to their seats. Little handwritten cards indicated where they were all expected to sit and Alice breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that she and David were going to be at the opposite end of the table from Zoë, although she had a feeling he might have preferred to be closer to the director he idolised. The not-so-lucky candidates for that honour turned out to be Layla on one side and Millie on the other, while Alice and David were next to Antonia who was at the other end of the table.

The meal was excellent. Paolo was assisted by a young waitress in a white blouse and short black skirt who blushed every time she came near Harry. He gave no sign of noticing her, but clearly his presence alone was enough to keep her cheeks permanently glowing. Alice concentrated on chatting to Antonia and Benny, and tried to involve a visibly shell-shocked David.

They were served a sumptuous selection of antipasti, ranging from freshly carved Tuscan ham with fresh figs to a cold seafood salad of mussels, prawns and baby octopus – all accompanied by typical Tuscan bruschetta made with wonderful crunchy unsalted Tuscan bread loaded with chopped tomatoes and dripping with thick green olive oil. To drink there was excellent local Chianti Classico or white wine from a producer only a few kilometres down the road.

The antipasti were followed by another traditional Tuscan dish – pappardelle al cinghiale. These broad strips of pasta in a rich wild boar sauce were delicious, but Alice did her best to resist temptation when Paolo came round with seconds. Five days of eating like this could seriously affect her ability to fit into her clothes, if she wasn’t careful. She was quite proud of the fact that, as a result of eating sensibly and taking a decent amount of exercise while at university, she was still able to fit into her old clothes, like the dress she was wearing, and she didn’t want to have to invest in a whole new wardrobe.

After the pasta came some of the biggest steaks Alice had ever seen – and when living in the USA, she had seen some pretty massive slabs of beef. Fortunately, they were not expected to attempt to eat a whole one each. Paolo cut the meat vertically into strips, sprinkled the slices with scales of Parmesan and rocket leaves, drizzled olive oil over them and gave the guests as many pieces as they felt they could manage. The result was delicious. Alice was mildly surprised to see Layla eating meat again. The last time they had dined together, Layla had been on a celery-and-carrot diet and had wrinkled up her nose as the others ordered real food. Tonight, at least, it looked as though she had let herself off the leash a bit. Thoughts of leashes reminded Alice of the black dog she had seen earlier, and she queried this with Paolo.

‘He belongs to our neighbour. He’s often out working on his estate and the dog’s always with him. The place was really run-down before he took it over, but it’s coming on well now.’

‘And does he live in the woods?’

‘He lives in the old tower. He bought it a couple of years ago and he’s been working hard since then. He’s a nice guy but we don’t see a lot of him.’

‘Well, at least he’s got a nice friendly dog for company.’

At the end of the meal Paolo brought in