me dry-mouthed and reaching for my glass of acqua minerale ….
“A ND THE NEXT MOMENT , he asked if he could join you,” Carly observed dryly.
“Actually I asked him. It seemed the mannerly thing to do, considering how helpful he’d been. My Italian was obviously minimal, but his English was excellent. We struck up a conversation and when he discovered my interest in the historical buildings and churches of Florence, he offered to introduce me to his city.”
Carly rolled her eyes. “How original!”
“I thought he was very kind—not to mention knowledgeable. He was an architect, you see, and well qualified to give me a guided tour.”
“Right! And show you his etchings while he was at it.”
“Carly!”
“Well, you can’t blame me for wondering! So how long before you decided you were in love with him?”
“About five minutes.”
“Oh, come on, Gran! You don’t mean that.”
“I do. It really was love at first sight, for both of us. Parafulmine, Marco called it. A lightning bolt without the thunder. Fate’s way of letting us know we were meant to be.”
Unprincipled and smooth-talking, as well. Carly couldn’t repress the cynical thought. “Did he try to kiss you that first day?”
“He did better than that,” her grandmother said, fondling her gold heart pendant. “He proposed.”
“He did not!”
“He did. ‘Will you marry me, Anna?’ he said. And I said I would.”
Carly glanced again at the photograph. “Well, he was definitely attractive. I can see how you might’ve fallen for his good looks.”
“Oh, he was so much more than just a handsome face. He was beautiful on the inside, and he brought out the very best in me. That’s why I need to see him again, Carly. I need to tell him that, despite all the things that went wrong and all the tears we’ve both shed, I have never for a moment regretted loving him.”
“So it wasn’t all moonlight and roses, then?”
Her grandmother gazed off into the distance, seeming pursued by memories. “No,” she said slowly. “Sometimes it was pure hell, and I don’t know how we survived. But nothing could put a dent in my certainty that he was my other half and we would have our happy-ever-after ending.”
“So what happened?”
“The war,” Anna said. “Let’s go for a breath of fresh air in the garden, precious, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
CHAPTER TWO
T HEY WERE HALFWAY to the gazebo near the pond, sufficiently far from the house that no one could overhear their conversation, but close enough that the walk didn’t overtax her grandmother’s strength, when Carly noticed a couple heading toward them.
“You’ve got more company, Gran,” she said. “Mom and Dad are here. Did you ask them to stop by?”
Dismayed, Anna said, “Gracious, no! This isn’t a story Grace would understand, nor would she appreciate my sharing it with you.”
And she wouldn’t appreciate finding them together now, Carly thought, aware that her mother had always resented her closeness with Anna.
“Why are you here, Carly?” Grace demanded the second she arrived within hailing distance. “You don’t usually stop by during the week.”
“It was kind of spur-of-the-moment, Mom. Gran had a little business she wanted me to take care of, and she’s in a bit of a hurry.”
“What sort of business, Mother? If it’s your heart, you shouldn’t be wandering around so far from the house.”
“It’s not my heart, dear,” Anna said placidly.
Grace flicked a glance from her mother to Carly, and when neither offered any further explanation, motioned impatiently with her hand. “Then what? Are we allowed to hear or is it a big dark secret between the two of you?”
Carly’s father dropped a kiss on Anna’s head and urged her to a nearby garden bench. “It’s a big dark secret,” he teased, attempting to lighten the moment. “Some silver-haired admirer living on the third floor has swept you off your feet, and you’re getting married again. Admit it, Anna. You want Carly to help you elope.”
Oh, Dad! Carly stifled a horrified giggle. You have no idea how close to the truth you’ve come!
Unruffled, her grandmother said, “Not quite, Taylor. I want to go to Florence, that’s all, and I’ve asked Carly to make the travel arrangements.”
“Florence, as in Italy?” Grace fairly choked on the question.
“The very same, dear. It’s always been one of my favorite cities.”
If she’d hoped to fool anyone into believing she hadn’t dropped news on par with a minor earthquake, Grace soon disabused her of that notion. “And Carly, of course, has explained it’s absolutely out of the question.”
“That was my first reaction,” Carly admitted, “but now that I’ve had chance a to think about it, it doesn’t strike me as such a bad idea, after all.”
Her mother stared at her, slack-jawed. “Why in the world would you encourage such a foolish request?”
“Why is it foolish, Mom? What’s to stop Gran from going to Italy if she wants to?”
“Well, her age, for one thing. And if that’s not enough, how about the fact that she can barely make it from her suite to the dining room without a blast of oxygen to get her there? A journey like this will kill her.”
“Rubbish, Grace!” Anna declared. “I’m a lot tougher than you give me credit for. Provided I take my medication and travel first-class, both of which I intend to do, I’ll be just fine.”
“I swear you get dottier by the day!” Frustrated, Grace appealed to her husband. “Taylor, talk some sense into your mother-in-law.”
“It is a fair distance for a woman your age to travel alone, Anna, especially considering your health problems,” he pointed out mildly.
“I’ll hardly be alone, dear. I’m sure Carly will take me to Boston, check me in at Logan, and see to it that I have a wheelchair. And the flight attendants are very kind. They’ll keep an eye on me.”
But she wasn’t winning them over, Carly saw. Her mother’s face registered growing outrage. Her father, ever the voice of calm reason when the unexpected or unusual occurred, looked distinctly perturbed. And in truth, Carly herself was beginning to have doubts. Her grandmother’s secret might have struck a romantic chord in the telling, but when put to the test, grand passion wasn’t stacking up so well against the practicalities.
Her
