‘Not today, sweetheart.’

Daniela pulled a disappointed face, but Marco knew that seconds later her attention would be distracted by something else.

‘Gina, which one’s your favourite?’ she asked.

Gina moved closer, realizing she was looking at rows of Murano glass jewellery. There were earrings, necklaces, rings, even ornaments shaped like animals. And there were bracelets. Gina’s eyes hungrily scoured the display. She couldn’t see an identical piece, but there was a beautiful bracelet in shades of blue that reminded her of the one that she’d lost on the opening night of Carnival. She was suddenly assailed by feelings of guilt and sadness, remembering her beloved father, and everything that had happened in the months leading up to his death. Gina found that she couldn’t take her eyes off the window, lost in her memories.

‘… just like the one Papà found,’ Daniela was saying.

‘What’s that?’ Gina asked, but the words were gone, and Daniela was chattering on about something else entirely now.

‘Are you OK?’ Marco asked Gina, his eyes filled with concern.

‘I’m fine,’ she insisted, pulling herself out of her reverie, forcing herself to move on. ‘How are you feeling now?’ Gina asked, as she fell into step alongside Daniela as Marco dropped back to look at some paintings in an antique shop. ‘I heard you weren’t very well the other evening.’

‘I’m OK now,’ Daniela shrugged. ‘I was really sick at the time, but it only lasted for about a day and then I felt much better. Rosina said it must have been a twenty-four-hour bug. I’m really glad, as I wouldn’t have wanted to miss today.’

‘Your mum must have been very worried about you,’ Gina said, thinking of how Marco had gone racing home after their evening together at the Palazzo Malipiero.

Daniela frowned, slowly lowering her hot chocolate cup. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I saw your dad – I bumped into him,’ Gina explained, feeling the colour rise in her cheeks. ‘And when he got the call that you were ill, he rushed home to be with you.’

‘It was my nanny, Rosina, who called him. My mamma, she’s in heaven.’

Gina felt a chill creep up her spine at this revelation, and felt horrified at her mistake, realization dawning as she put the pieces together that she should have known this all along. Daniela continued to explain.

‘There was an accident. With one of the helicopters. It was three years ago now …’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Gina apologized, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. She searched her brain to try and recall having been told the terrible news, but she was sure no one had mentioned it before now. It explained so many things, she realized, as she began slotting together incidents and conversations.

‘It’s OK,’ Daniela said lightly. ‘It seems like a long time ago now. Sometimes I can’t really remember her any more. My dad’s still really sad about it, and so are Uncle Edoardo and Grandpa. But you make Papà smile, Gina.’

‘Do I?’ It was a lot to take in, but inside Gina something was softening, melting like gelato in the sunshine. She felt devastated for Daniela, and for Marco; it was impossible to imagine what they must have been through. But Gina couldn’t help but wonder what the news might mean for her and Marco and their blossoming friendship.

Daniela ran off ahead, her long, dark hair streaming out in the breeze behind her, as Gina turned to Marco who had caught up and met his eyes, filled with questions.

‘Marco … Daniela told me about your wife, I’m so sorry.’

‘It sounds like we have a lot to talk about,’ Marco said softly.

‘Yeah, I guess we do …’

‘So, are you free tomorrow night?’ he asked. ‘Can I take you out for the evening?’

‘Sure,’ Gina replied, feeling hope and possibility spring inside her. ‘I’d love that.’

Chapter 24

‘Davide!’ Lucia exclaimed in excitement, as she snatched up her phone, seeing his name displayed on the screen. Instantly, there were butterflies in her stomach, and she felt like a giddy schoolgirl.

‘My love,’ she purred, as she answered the call, almost dancing around her suite. It had been more than a week since they’d spoken, and he’d sent only the briefest of messages to wish her good luck on the opening night of La Traviata.

‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Davide’s rich Italian tones came down the line, all the way from the Caribbean. He sounded jealous and angry, and Lucia felt a surge of adrenaline. She adored a tempestuous relationship – the dramatic fights, the painful breaking up and oh, the delicious making up – and it seemed as though her scheme to get Davide’s attention had worked.

‘What do you mean, amore mio?’ Lucia asked, her cat-like eyes wide with faux-innocence, as she admired herself in the full-length mirror, her satin chemise hugging every curve of her body.

‘You know exactly what I mean,’ Davide shot back. ‘I’ve seen those photos. You think we don’t get the news out here in Mustique?’

Lucia smiled, a thrill of triumph shooting through her, delighted to have read him so well. She’d known exactly what would drive him crazy, arousing his Italian machismo, and his possessive instincts.

‘I was lonely,’ she pouted. ‘It was just a bit of fun, to distract me from daydreaming about you. I can’t stop thinking about all the things we’ve done together. You remember that night at the Ritz in Paris, with the melted chocolate and the whipped cream, when I—’

‘Damn it, Lucia, you’re a temptress, you know that?’

‘I miss you,’ she murmured, a tremble in her voice, and was horrified to hear the real emotion there. She needed to be in control at all times.

‘Who is he?’ Davide demanded.

‘What do you mean? I thought the papers made it quite clear—’

‘That wasn’t Brad Redford, I’m pretty sure about that.’

‘Why would you say that? I’m going to be in his movie, you know. Brad and I have become very good friends, and he’s writing a starring role especially for me in the new High Voltage film.’

Davide hesitated, letting the news sink in. ‘Congratulations,’ he said, his voice more like a growl.

‘Thank you,’ Lucia purred, pleased that she’d hit a nerve. ‘And anyway, why shouldn’t I date whoever I want? You’re married, Davide. You’re on holiday with your wife. Do you expect me to live like a nun while I wait for you?’

It was as though her anger roused his passion once again.

‘Don’t play games with me, Lucia. I’ll be back in Italy next week. I demand to see you.’

‘I’m very busy with my performance,’ Lucia said dismissively. ‘I can’t simply abandon everything and come running just because you snap your fingers.’

‘Lucia,’ Davide growled. There was a warning in his tone and Lucia thrilled to hear it. ‘I will see you. And I don’t want you dating that man again – whoever he is.’

Davide hung up the phone, but Lucia was overjoyed by his reaction.

She thought of Marco – he was a good-looking guy, handsome and sexy, and Davide was clearly driven to distraction by the thought of her with another man. Her plan had worked perfectly, and now it was time to step it up. Lucia needed to see Marco again. And she needed to make sure Davide knew about it. She would drive him wild with jealousy; he would be hers.

Lucia swept into the Casanova Bar and all eyes turned towards her, in her white body-con dress that left nothing to the imagination. Her adrenaline was racing after the confrontation with Davide, and she couldn’t stay cooped up in her suite any longer. A waiter was instantly at her side, ushering her to a private booth, though the moneyed clientele of the White Palace weren’t the sort to pester a famous face anyway.

‘Uno Spritz,’ she demanded. She was performing this evening and knew she shouldn’t be drinking, but one wouldn’t hurt. She needed it to calm her down and slow her racing thoughts.

She scanned the bar. Lucia had noticed the man as soon as she’d sat down – a morose figure with a dark ponytail and goatee beard, working his way through a whisky on the rocks, clearly drowning his sorrows. It had taken her a second to place him, but then she remembered: she’d seen him from her window, walking with Brad and Marco in the hotel gardens. She wondered what his story was. Perhaps he had some interesting information that she could use.

‘Waiter,’ she snapped, clicking her fingers at him as he began to walk off. ‘Ask that man at the bar to join me.’