Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,9

initial marking of her territory by Virginia, ran smoothly and Lucy and the others were soon reminiscing about the good times they had had together as kids growing up. For some reason Virginia seemed to disapprove of stories of practical jokes carried out by her boyfriend and did her best to keep returning the conversation to the present day. Pietro and Bruno, on the other hand, spent the evening recounting tall tales of adolescent mischief and Lucy had tears of laughter in her eyes.

It was a great meal and a memorable evening and Lucy was sorry when it came to an end. It had been really good to catch up with old friends and even Virginia had mellowed as the night progressed and as she recognised that Lucy did not have designs on her man. They walked back to the cars together and as they said goodnight, Virginia even kissed Lucy on the cheeks, as did Bruno. As he did so, he told her how much he looked forward to seeing her again on Saturday at the wedding.

Chapter 3

Daniela and Pietro’s wedding went very well, although for Lucy it took an unexpected turn. The service was held in the local parish church in Poggio San Marco and the bride looked stunning in a simple but elegant white silk dress complete with veil. Everybody commented on how well she looked and how she positively glowed. Lucy was one of the very few to know that Daniela was now over three months pregnant and she had even dutifully held her friend’s hair this morning as she threw up in the toilet. Still, the service went ahead without any hiccups – or nausea – and the reception in a nearby hotel was perfect.

It was another beautiful warm spring day and Lucy was wearing her recently purchased, smart summer dress. In her escape from Mabenta she had lost almost all her clothes – although in truth there hadn’t been much requirement for more than shorts, T-shirts or surgical scrubs while she was there – and she had spent an enjoyable day in Siena earlier in the week replenishing her wardrobe. This dress and shoes hadn’t been cheap in a town centre boutique, but she had money in the bank. Although the pay with MSF wasn’t fantastic, the trade-off was that there had been very few opportunities to spend it, and so she knew her savings account was healthy enough to support her for a year or more if she wanted, before having to return to work.

As she stood at the back of the room and listened to the speeches, she reflected yet again on what she wanted to do. Being back in Italy felt very comfortable, so maybe she should look for a job over here, either with MSF or some other organisation. Although the nightmares were becoming less frequent, she knew she didn’t want to go anywhere too scary until she was once more back to normal. At the same time, there was no doubt in her mind that she had enjoyed working with people who so desperately needed her help and she wondered if a return to ‘ordinary’ medicine was what she wanted out of life. But before that decision had to be taken, she first had to come up with something to do over the next few weeks to avoid getting too bored while she enjoyed her period of R&R.

Her reflections were interrupted by a voice at her ear. She turned her head and saw an unfamiliar face. It was a friendly-looking man with dark hair. He was probably around her age or just a little older, impeccably turned out and with the whitest teeth she had ever seen. They were very much on display as he treated her to a beaming smile.

‘Hi, I’m Tommaso, but everybody calls me Tommy.’ His accent was Tuscan, probably local. He was brimming with confidence and looked like the kind of man who knew his way around members of the other sex – or thought he did. ‘I work with Daniela and I’m covering for her while she and Pietro have their honeymoon. You must be her English friend.’

Comprehension dawned. ‘Hi, Tommy. I’m Lucy. I remember Danni mentioned you.’ They shook hands. ‘How did you recognise me?’

He grinned at her. ‘Daniela told me you were drop-dead gorgeous, so it was easy.’

Lucy seriously doubted whether her friend had said anything of the sort, but it didn’t stop her blushing. It also confirmed her initial impression of