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

the end she ran off when she was still in her teens. I didn’t see her again for ten years. In that time she got married and divorced twice, and she collected some serious mental scars as a result. When she came to me for help, it was as a last resort, and she was a mess.’

‘And so you helped her.’

‘Of course, I helped her – she’s my sister.’ Conrad looked up again. ‘I started her off in the business and she did really well. She turned out to be a brilliant director – except for the way she treats people.’ Alice saw him shake his head sadly. ‘I tell her to go easy on them, she agrees, but it seems to be something she can’t control. The results she produces are always great – just look at the success of Pals – so what can I do? The thing is, I know what she’s been through, what’s made her the way she is, and I feel sorry for her.’ He shook his head ruefully. ‘And, like I say, she’s my sister.’

‘But why doesn’t she want people to know?’

‘Pride, I suppose. After everything that’s happened to her in her life, she’s incredibly low in self-esteem.’ This didn’t really tie in with what Alice had seen over the years, but maybe it had just been an artificial veneer of confidence. ‘She doesn’t want people to think she only got where she did because she’s the sister of the boss. I get that, so I’ve always gone along with it. Going off the radar, marrying a couple of times and changing names muddied the waters sufficiently, and so nobody’s picked up on it.’

Alice sat back and let this bombshell sink in. It explained so much, but it also firmly dashed any hopes there might have been that the new series might have a change of director. She nodded sagely to herself – no question she had done the right thing in walking away from Pals Forever.

Just then Paolo appeared, carrying a plastic tray with coffees and croissants, and he handed them round before sitting down alongside them. They sat and chatted about everything from vineyards to Amerigo Vespucci for almost an hour, before a nurse appeared and announced that one of them could see Zoë, but only briefly. Conrad stood up, braced himself and followed the nurse through a door with a ‘No Entry’ sign on it. When he came back five or six minutes later, he had a look of relief on his face.

‘It wasn’t a heart attack, thank God. She’s suffering from heatstroke. It was a serious attack and she’s badly dehydrated, so they’re keeping her in overnight, but the doctor says she’ll be fine tomorrow or, at worst, in a day or two.’ Then he surprised Alice. ‘She asks if you can go in and see her, Alice. Would you do that?’

‘Yes, of course.’

He caught her eye for a couple of seconds. ‘And, Alice, I’d be grateful if you didn’t mention anything about my little indiscretion.’

She gave him a reassuring nod of the head and, not without some trepidation, followed the nurse back through the door and along the corridor. She found Zoë hooked up to a drip, eyes closed and with a weary expression on her face, but looking a whole lot better than she had done out there on the hillside.

Alice went over to the bedside and leant towards her. ‘Hi, Zoë, how’re you feeling?’ She saw the eyes open and readied herself for a caustic reply, but it didn’t come. Instead, Zoë reached out and caught hold of her wrist, pulling her gently down until she was able to kiss her on the cheek. As she looked up at Alice, there was genuine gratitude in her eyes.

‘Thank you so much for saving my life, Alice. The doctor says if I’d been left there for long, I’d have died.’ For a moment there was a flash of the cynical Zoë that Alice had come to know so well. ‘Why didn’t you leave me to die? That way, you could have joined the others in the new series.’

Alice straightened up in shock. ‘Why didn’t I do what? What are you saying? Of course, I came running and, of course, I called for help.’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Zoë, you and I have had our differences on set, but when it’s a matter of life and death, all that goes out the window. No job’s worth a human life and that’s for sure. No, I’m pleased I could help and I’m delighted to hear that you’re going to make a full recovery.’

‘You’re so sweet. Thank you, really, thank you.’ As Zoë’s eyes closed again, the nurse gave a little shake of the head and Alice headed back to the others. She was astounded by Zoë’s tender tone, but also appalled by her insinuation that she might, even for a moment, have considered turning a blind eye and leaving her to her fate. If it hadn’t been for Conrad’s account of Zoë’s troubled past, she would have screamed in frustration – instead, she walked out feeling happy, knowing she had done the right thing.

Chapter 23

By the time she got back home it was late afternoon and she was feeling unexpectedly tired after the stress of the day. She went upstairs, lay down on the bed and dropped off to sleep within minutes.

She was woken a good while later by the sudden onset of a torrential deluge outside the open window, thankfully this time not accompanied by thunderclaps. Along with it came a breath of blissfully fresh air, wafting into the room.

She stretched lazily and then checked her emails: there were two, both of them fascinating in their own way. The first was from Matt and it was anything but wordy.

Hi Alice. Hope you’re okay. Can’t wait to see you. Off to dinner at La Pergola. A venerdì. Matt.

She couldn’t help grinning. He certainly didn’t waste words in his