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

‘We were going to put out a press release some time soon, but we’ve been hanging on, seeing as so many people are on holiday. The news coming out like this has caused quite a stir, so it’s actually been a better launch than we thought.’ He gave Alice a grin. ‘But I intend to have a few choice words with Richie about his girlfriends and his behaviour towards them.’

Alice smiled back. No irreparable damage, and Richie getting a smack on the wrists seemed like an ideal solution. She was glad for Millie and the others that Conrad was reacting so pragmatically.

As for Felicity – ‘call me Fliss’ – the famous movie star, it turned out that she had been best friends at school with Tracey and had regularly holidayed with her since they had been in their teens. As a result she was clearly accepted as part of the family. She parked herself alongside Alice and monopolised her, clinging to her arm and demonstrating an encyclopaedic knowledge of all the twists and turns of the often complicated storyline of Pals. Alice was feeling quite overwhelmed by the time Paolo came out to announce that dinner was served. She went over to Conrad and his wife to thank them for their hospitality and take her leave, but they wouldn’t hear of it.

‘You must stay. Please don’t go.’

It genuinely sounded as if he meant it. His wife repeated the invitation with equal sincerity, so Alice thanked them most warmly and sat down to another excellent meal served by Paolo and Rosanna. To her surprise, Fliss took up station alongside her and the two of them chatted all the way through. In the course of the meal, Alice couldn’t help noticing that Zoë appeared remarkably relaxed in this company, and the other members of Conrad’s family looked similarly at ease with her. Apparently, she had been in London for some meetings but was now here on holiday. By the look of it she and the family were very close and this wasn’t the first time she had holidayed with them. This close friendship at least went some way towards explaining why Conrad refused to ditch her.

By the end of the meal, Alice and Fliss had really got to know each other unexpectedly well and the megastar had even talked about the events leading up to the recent collapse of what was her second marriage, although she was only a year older than Alice. She said she was here in Italy for a few days’ holiday without a partner and she was enjoying the freedom. Alice gave her a brief rundown of what had happened with David and told her that she, too, was happy on her own. Just how true that was remained to be seen and she avoided mentioning Matt. In fact, they bonded so well that Alice even offered to take her to Florence and show her around, but Fliss shook her head ruefully.

‘I’d be mobbed. That’s the trouble with being such a recognisable figure. And some of the people can be seriously objectionable. I suppose, as you’ve been out of it for a few years now, you manage better, but back at the height of Pals you must have had the same sort of trouble.’

Alice nodded soberly. ‘I certainly did. Most people were nice, but the few that weren’t were really scary. And social media was even worse. I still stay well away from it.’

‘It can be brutal.’

The dinner party broke up around ten and Alice said goodbye to everybody, with warm thanks to the host and hostess. Conrad thanked her again for the research she had done on Amerigo Vespucci and told her he hoped they could meet up again before the end of the month. With Zoë now here, Alice reckoned that would be unlikely, but she didn’t mind. She felt confident that relations between her and Conrad were now restored and she was glad, even though in every likelihood their paths would never cross again. Although stubborn, he was a good man deep down and she liked him.

Fliss took her arm and insisted upon accompanying her to the gate in the fence and kissing her goodbye. ‘I’ve really enjoyed meeting you and talking with you, Alice. Who knows? Maybe we’ll work together some time.’

Alice was about to tell her that her own acting days were over, but it was such an intriguing thought that she couldn’t help a little surge of excitement at the prospect.

‘That would be amazing. Anyway, I’ve rented a little house in the village. If you feel like a chat any time, just come down or give me a call and I’ll come up and meet you here. It would be good to stay in touch. Tracey’s got my number.’

When she got home, she found she had a reply from Matt. Disappointingly, it was to tell her that he would be away for a couple of days, but he hoped they could meet up next week. Suppressing a little sigh, she went up to bed with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there was considerable satisfaction at how well this evening at Conrad’s villa had gone, but this was tempered by the knowledge that she would have to wait before seeing Matt again.

Chapter 20

Next morning, she toyed with the idea of taking a different route for her run, just in case the paparazzi lying in wait for Felicity might recognise her, but natural curiosity and the desire to see Matt and his dog again – if they were still about – took her back up the road. She did, however, deliberately camouflage herself for the run in a baggy T-shirt, baseball cap and sunglasses, and kept her face averted as she passed the two men. She could feel their eyes on her as she went past, but she felt confident that was probably more an instinctive reaction to