‘Don’t be cheeky. He knows she’s right for him. If you could have heard the way he spoke of her tonight, the way he said, “She’s all mine.” Oh, it’ll be wonderful to see him married. And then I must set to work on you.’
‘Mamma, you set to work on me twenty years ago,’ he said with a laugh.
‘I want you to find a woman as perfect for you as this one is for Luke.’
‘Well, that may have already happened.’
She gave a little shriek of joy. ‘Is this the mystery woman, the one you’ve been dropping hints about and won’t bring to meet your family?’
‘How could I? We’ve been in England. But I’ll bring her to meet you soon, I promise.’
‘You’ve made up your mind?’
‘Yes, definitely.’
She shrieked again and threw her arms around him.
‘What’s all the fuss?’ Toni asked, appearing and clapping Primo on the shoulder.
‘Primo’s going to be married, and so’s Luke,’ Hope said ecstatically.
‘I thought Luke only met her today,’ Toni said. ‘Isn’t it a bit soon-?’
‘What does time matter when two people are made for each other?’ his wife reproved him. ‘Perhaps we’ll end up having a double wedding-Primo and his mystery woman, and Luke and his fiancée.’
‘Mamma, will you calm down?’ Primo begged. ‘I can’t even think of a wedding yet. There are-practical difficulties.’
‘Well, if you’re not careful, your brother will steal a march on you. Come and meet her.’
He followed her, happy to be home in the place he loved and wishing he could have brought Olympia with him. He had thought of her all the time he’d been away and every moment on the plane back. He’d even worked out how he would arrive without warning, take her by surprise and then tell her the truth.
But he’d reached her hotel to find that she’d gone out for the evening, nobody knew where. Resigned, he’d come to the party to please his mother, yet now he found his thoughts fixed on Olympia again. How he longed to bring her here openly to meet his family. He was smiling as he let his mother lead him across the room.
There was Luke in animated conversation with a young woman who stood with her back to Primo, her black hair elegantly dressed and streaming down her back in glossy waves.
That sight caused a nervous flinching inside him. Even from this angle there was something dreadfully familiar about her, but it couldn’t be-it surely couldn’t be-
Then she turned and the nightmare became real.
He was still some feet away from her and now that little distance seemed like a mile, going on for ever. He approached slowly, like a sleepwalker, transfixed, watching the ironic smile on her face until at last, after a long, long time, he stood before her.
‘Olympia,’ he murmured.
‘Signore!’ she murmured in return.
She was cool and composed, but her eyes warned him of trouble to come.
Hope embraced her.
‘My dear, I want to introduce you to Primo, whom I was just telling you about. I can’t believe you two haven’t run across each other before.’
‘Oh, no,’ Olympia said silkily. ‘I’ve never met Signor Rinucci before.’
She extended her hand and when he took it her fingers tightened in a grip that was painful, warning him to say nothing about the real situation. She needn’t have worried. Nothing on earth would have persuaded him to tell anyone about this disaster.
‘Never mind,’ Hope exclaimed. ‘The two of you have met now, and that’s all that matters. Yes, Toni, I’m coming! I must see to my guests, but I’ll be back.’
She hurried away, leaving the other two gazing steadily at each other.
‘So you’re Primo Rinucci,’ Olympia mused, still smiling. ‘I kept thinking I’d probably meet him before this, but somehow it never quite worked out. I’m not sure why.’
She gazed charmingly into his face, as though inviting him to speculate.
‘Some things-are hard to explain,’ he said vaguely.
‘Oh, I don’t think it’s as hard as all that,’ she said. ‘Several reasons come to mind. I’m even a little surprised to meet him now, but it has all the charm of the unexpected, don’t you think? Or perhaps charm is the wrong word.’
‘Indeed,’ he said vaguely.
He was trying to pull himself together, alarmed to notice that she seemed perfectly in command of the situation while he was floundering.
‘Is that the best you can manage?’ she asked. ‘You don’t have a lot to say for yourself, do you? Strange, I remember you as such a clever talker.’
‘Olympia,’ he whispered, ‘please don’t jump to conclusions.’
‘I didn’t jump to this conclusion. It bounded out and socked me on the jaw. Inside I’m still reeling, but some things become clear even when you’re in a state of shock. Don’t you find that?’ Her tone expressed merely interest.
‘I’m in a state of shock right now,’ he said wryly. ‘But your powers of recovery seem remarkable.’
‘Yes, but I knew first. Your mother showed me your photograph and gave me your name.’
And then he realised her sharp wits had told her all she needed to know. Now she had him at a hopeless disadvantage.
He pulled himself together and tried to match her amused tone, saying, ‘Personally I enjoy dealing with the unexpected. You can get some pleasant surprises that way.’
‘And some nasty shocks,’ she said coolly. ‘Not to mention severe disappointments.’
‘Isn’t it a bit soon to judge that?’
‘I don’t think so. Some judgements are best made immediately.’
‘And some can be made too soon,’ he murmured.
In the soft light it was hard to be sure but he thought she went a little pale.
‘Yes, I discovered that years ago,’ she said. ‘I thought I was past having to learn it again, but I was wrong.’
The throb of hurt in her voice made him draw a sharp breath.
‘Don’t confuse me with David,’ he whispered. ‘I’m not like him.’
‘You’re right. David was a cheapskate but he was honest in his way. At least I knew his name.’
‘I never meant to hurt you. Please believe that.’
‘I do.’ But the brief hope this gave him was dashed when she added, ‘You never gave a second thought to whether you hurt me or not. Or even a first thought.’
‘Come into the dining room, everyone,’ Hope called. ‘Supper is served.’
He looked a question at her, but without much hope, and Luke appeared at her side. As they walked away together Primo remembered his mother describing how Luke had spoken of Olympia-‘She’s all mine.’
He’d been away in England for only a few days, yet it seemed that they were almost engaged. He tried to ignore the faint chill this thought caused him and put on a smile for the other guests.
A malign fate caused him to be seated directly opposite Olympia, where he had a grandstand view of her and Luke, laughing and talking over the meal, sometimes with their heads together. The candles on the table were reflected in her eyes and their glow seemed to pervade her whole being. How could he blame Luke for seeming entranced by her? He was entranced himself. He had never seen her look so beautiful, but it was not for him.
After the meal came dancing and every man there competed to dance with her. To Primo’s rage they generally raised an eyebrow in Luke’s direction in silent acknowledgement that she was ‘his’ woman. Grinning, Luke would give his permission, then watch her with fond, possessive eyes. Primo fully understood that feeling of possessiveness. It was the same one that made him want to knock his brother to the floor, throw Olympia over his shoulder and run away to hide in a cave, where no man’s eyes but his own would ever see her.
‘Glorious, isn’t she?’ said a voice at his elbow.
It was Luke, having made his way around the edge of the floor to join his brother.