Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,95
Florence where he and Lucy had eaten on the day he was first outed by Tommy, and her parents were most impressed with the place and the food. He drove them there in the Mercedes – the Ferrari, apart from being too small for four people, had not been out of the garage since the day they went to Punta Ala – and Lucy could sense her father’s fascination with the luxury vehicle.
That night, after David had returned to the villa, Lucy was surprised to hear her father tackle the subject of relationships; something he had scrupulously left to her mother all her life so far.
‘Lucy, sweetheart, are you sure you’re going to be able to cope with being with somebody like David?’ Seeing the expression on her face, he was quick to clarify what he meant. ‘Don’t get me wrong. He’s a good man, and your mother and I like him a lot, but he comes from a very different world, you know. Is that going to be a problem for you?’
‘It’s something we think you should consider, Lucy.’ Her mother laid a comforting hand on top of hers.
‘Oh, I’ve been considering it all right, I can assure you. Not a day goes by without me wondering whether we can make it work and how.’ She gave a frustrated shake of the head and a sigh escaped her lips. ‘It’s complicated. I really do like him an awful lot and I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me. If he were to get really serious, I honestly don’t know what I’d do. I know I want to be with him, but I also know I’d want to keep on working. And if I took another job somewhere else, what then? What if I decided to go back to MSF?’
‘You’d work it out, Lucy.’ He mother gave her hand a squeeze. ‘You’re a bright girl and he’s a good man and you’d come up with a solution, I’m sure. Don’t forget, you can’t expect to have everything the way you want it. Life – and relationships – demand compromise.’
‘I’m sure you’re right. Yes, as far as the practicalities are concerned I expect we could sort something out, but, deep down, it’s a question of principle. I know what I think about the injustice of most of the world’s wealth being in the hands of the very few and that isn’t going to change. Sooner or later my principles are going to come up against my feelings and it’s going to be tough.’ She shrugged, trying to release some of the tension creeping into her shoulders, and did her best to sound positive. ‘Anyway, I’ve only just started going out with him and everything’s going so well at present, so I’m going to let the future look after itself for now.’
On their last night before flying home to the UK, David invited Lucy and her parents up to the villa for dinner. She and he had been keeping chastely apart while her parents were here and she had been missing him a lot. To her surprise when they got there she found that he had prepared the meal by himself, rather than asking Fioretta for help. There was ham, melon, finocchiona and fresh figs as a starter and then he had made a wonderful mixed salad, all apparently grown in the vegetable garden on the estate. They ate outside on the terrace in front of the villa from where they had a spectacular view out over the hills as far as the distant mountains. He had decided to do a barbecue and, assisted – or at least tailed – by Boris, he grilled a fine selection of meats, along with skewers of prawns and octopus interlaced with baby tomatoes. To drink there was champagne, followed by Armando’s red wine, and it was a lovely evening. As the sun sank below the hill behind them, they sat back and enjoyed the peace and quiet, while Boris noisily crunched his way through the remains of a massive T-bone steak at their feet.
‘And when’s your friend getting married?’ Lucy had told her mum all about Nicole’s upcoming wedding.
‘This time next week in Avignon. David’s going to come with me, so I’ll have my plus one for a change. Normally at weddings I end up all on my own.’
She saw her mum smile contentedly. ‘It’s about time you got yourself a plus one, Lucy. You’re very lucky to have found David.’