back of the house. The conservatory had seen better days. A few of the small panels of glass were missing and others were cracked or damaged. Something crunched beneath his feet. He knelt down; a small fragment of red glass was under his shoe. He brushed it off as he heard a small cough.
His head shot back up, looking out across the terrace.
A woman.
Who on earth was here?
According to his mother this place had been deserted since Sofia had died. That was why it had fallen into the state it was in. He hadn’t stood up yet. Wondering how to deal with the mysterious woman on the terrace.
Could she have broken in? Was she some tourist who had spotted the giant pale pink neglected house and decided she could squat here? He moved his head, squinting at the figure.
A brunette. In her twenties. Dressed in something short and red. He shifted uncomfortably. Whatever she was wearing, it seemed to have inched upwards as she lay in the rocking chair, sleeping with her legs stretched out and resting on the low wall. He could see a hint of black underneath. She moaned a little and shuffled in her seat, the hard wood beneath her obviously not as comfortable as she wanted. The chair rocked back and forth.
He straightened up, trying to get a better look. On the terrace was an empty glass and a bottle of wine. Was she drunk?
Maybe Sofia had a wine cellar that everyone had forgotten about and some light-fingered thief was now drinking her way through the contents?
Now, he was getting angry. He’d come here for some peace. Some tranquillity. The last thing he wanted was to have to call out the local polizia.
He strode out onto the terrace ready to tackle the intruder. But his footsteps faltered. He’d only really glimpsed her from sideways. Now he could see her clearly he was surprised.
Her hair tumbled around her face, chocolate at the roots, blonde-tipped courtesy of the sun—or a salon. Her dress was indeed almost around her hips revealing her well-shaped firm legs blessed with a light golden tan. Her chest went up and down lightly beneath the thin cotton of her dress that did little to hide her curves.
There was something vaguely familiar about her. Something he couldn’t quite place.
His foot crunched on a stone on the terrace and her eyes flew open.
Before he even had a chance to speak she was on her feet, her eyes wide and her hands grabbing for the nearest item.
‘Mi scusi, non volevo spaventarti...’
He’d automatically reverted to his native language but it did nothing to stop the wine glass being hurled in his direction and catching him squarely on his brow. It shattered at his feet on the terrace as he took another step towards her.
This time she had the wine bottle, brandishing it like a weapon in front of her.
‘Don’t move, buster. Take another step and I’ll... I’ll...’
She glanced sideways. And he caught the wave of fear that had rolled over her.
But the comedy of the moment hadn’t escaped him. He stepped forward and took the empty wine bottle firmly from her hands and smiled. ‘You’ll spring vault backwards past the hot spring and straight down to the beach and the lovers’ arch?’
Her eyes widened even further. If it were possible they were the biggest brown eyes he’d ever seen. Like a dark whirlpool that could suck you right in.
Waves of confusion were sweeping over her face. The obvious change from Italian to English seemed to have caught her unawares. Her head flicked sideways to the lovers’ arch. He could almost read her mind. Only someone who was familiar with this property would know about the hot spring and private beach beneath.
And there was still something vaguely familiar about her...
Her body was still stuck in the vaguely defensive stance. ‘You know about Neptune’s arch?’
The accent. That was what it was. And those eyes. The plummy accent had sounded strange when she’d shouted so quickly. A bit like a member of the British royal family yelling at him. He smiled again and set the bottle down on the terrace, folding his arms across his chest.
He was around ten inches taller than her. He didn’t want to intimidate her. She didn’t look like the cat-burglar type.
He let out a laugh. ‘I invented it.’ Then shook his head, curiosity piqued even further. ‘I didn’t tell you it was called Neptune’s arch.’
She jerked. As if she were getting used to his Italian accent speaking English to her.
Her gaze narrowed. Now, she looked angry. She planted her hands on her hips. ‘Who on earth are you, and what are you doing in my house?’
‘Your house?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you Sofia’s goddaughter?’
She shook her head. ‘Yes. Well...no.’
‘Well, make up your mind. You either are, or you aren’t.’
She gritted her teeth. ‘No. Posy is Sofia’s goddaughter. She’s my sister.’ She frowned again. ‘But who are you? And how do you know Sofia?’
The more she spoke, the more he felt the waves of familiarity sweeping across his skin. She wasn’t an actress. He knew every British actress that spoke as she did.
The hairs on his arms stood on end in the cool coastal breeze. Realisation was hitting home. Chances were this English siren was staying here. All hopes of hiding away on this island in peace and quiet were gently floating away in the orange-scented air.
‘Sofia was a good friend of my mother’s. We stayed here often when I was a child and a teenager.’
She mirrored his position and folded her arms across her chest. ‘Well, you’re not a teenager now and Sofia’s been dead for two years.’
‘I was at her funeral. I never noticed you.’ Even as he said the words he was struck by the realisation that he wasn’t likely to forget a woman like this. She was downright beautiful. As beautiful as any one of his Hollywood leading ladies.
In fact, she was much more natural than most of them. No Botox. No obvious surgery. And skin that was clear and unblemished. If only the public knew just how much airbrushing went on in film studios.
It made him smile that she didn’t remember him. Didn’t recognise him.
But right as that thought crowded his brain, he saw the little flicker behind her eyes.
‘What’s your name? Who is your mother?’ It wasn’t a question, it was a demand.
Something sparked inside him. It had been a long time since someone had spoken to him like that. Being a Hollywood movie star meant he was usually surrounded by ‘yes’ people. Part of the point of coming here was to get away from all that. He just hadn’t expected to reach the opposite end of the spectrum.
He sucked in a breath. ‘You tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.’
Her beautiful
