Chapter 29
Amy was back at the bar again. She hadn’t arranged to meet Leo for breakfast but she’d gone there to see if she could accidentally-on-purpose bump into him and it seemed he’d had the same idea.
‘Thanks so much for last night,’ she said. ‘It was such a good evening.’
‘It was great you could come. It was good to see you and Papà get on, but I thought I wouldn’t get a word in edgeways at one point!’ He laughed.
‘Sorry.’
‘No need to be. I’m glad you cheered him up. He was moping around yesterday. I’m sure it was something to do with that woman, Stella, from the shop. He looked very shifty when you mentioned her. I’ve got the feeling there’s some history between them.’
‘He definitely brightened up when I said her fiancé had left her in the lurch.’
Leo took a sip of his coffee. ‘Sounds like she’s on the rebound. I don’t want Papà getting hurt.’
‘Do you think he’s going to get involved with her?’
‘He was muttering something about taking her out to the pizzeria and I got the distinct impression I’m not invited.’
‘So, you’re free tonight?’ The words were out before she had the chance to think about playing it cool.
‘Are you asking me out?’ The smile on his face told her he already knew the answer.
‘Maybe…’ She studied the dish of sugar sachets.
‘I’d love to see you tonight, but I can’t make it.
I have to go and help a friend and he’s relying on me.
I wish I was not busy all day. I would love to repeat our walk up to the Old Chapel, without the cleaning this time, but I cannot.
The plaque is nearly finished but it is a lot of work.
Once I get absorbed in the carving, it is like I cannot stop. ’
‘When you get in the flow? That’s how it used to be with me and Grandpa. He’d be fiddling with his woodwork, I’d be making my pots. As soon as I got on that wheel it was like I was in another world. I would only look up when Mum brought us a pot of tea. I miss that… and him, of course.’
‘I wish I had a potter’s wheel in the workshop you could use.’
‘Oh, I’ll find something to do, don’t worry about me.’
‘Thanks for being so understanding.’ He stood up.
She picked up her bag. ‘I might take a long walk in the hills, there’s only so many times I can potter around the backstreets before someone reports me to the police for suspicious activity!’
‘Come with me. I can point out the start of a good path. It is a roundabout way into the countryside but a beautiful one.’
Amy had been meaning to pass by Stella’s shop to ask after her necklace, but she wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to spend a few more minutes with him.
‘Thanks, Leo, I’d like that. If you’re sure it’s no bother.’
She followed him through the winding streets until they were nearly at the entrance to his workshop. He pointed through an alleyway.
‘If you cut down between those two houses, you will find a road at the bottom of the steps. It curves to the right and winds down to the stream. You cross over the little donkey-backed bridge by the old mill house and take the sloping path from there that takes you up into the hills. You cannot miss it.’
Amy nodded, hoping he was right.
‘Honestly, you cannot go wrong. You will see the bridge as you descend. Once you are over it, you follow the path. It slopes upwards again until you reach a crossroads, you can see the Old Chapel from there. Don’t take that path, follow the other path and keep going.
After three or four kilometres you will come to an old rustico set amongst olive trees, my great-grandparents’ old place.
It should be a nice day but if the rain comes and you want to shelter, there is a key under the urn by the front door. ’
‘That’s very trusting of you.’
‘There’s not much there but old farm equipment and furniture Nonna could not bear to get rid of. Most of it is too heavy to lift. You would need a van and a forklift truck to empty the place.’ He laughed. ‘And anyway, why wouldn’t I trust you?’
‘You hardly know me.’
‘I know enough. Have a good walk.’
‘Ciao, Leo.’
‘Wait a moment.’ He pecked her on the cheek, just as she turned her head. His lips just brushed the edge of hers, sending a shiver of pleasure through her. ‘Would you fancy coming over to the workshop tomorrow morning? I’ve got something you might be interested in.’
‘Yes, sure. If I don’t turn up, you’ll know where to send the search party!’
After she’d walked a few yards, she glanced back over her shoulder. He was still standing by the entrance to the workshop, watching her.
* * *
The first part of Amy’s walk had been easy enough but she could see that the next part of the path spiralled its way upwards.
There would be some steep stretches before she reached the crossroads that led to the Old Chapel.
She leant over the humpbacked bridge, glad to stop for a while.
There was no one in sight, the gurgling stream the only sound.
The stream was wider than the trickle she’d expected.
It must have been the main source of water for the village, once upon a time.
But now the mill it had once powered stood abandoned, its huge spoked wheel nothing more than a decorative feature for a passerby like her to admire.
After a few minutes she walked on, glad to have something more concrete to do than ambling around the village.
She didn’t hold out much hope she’d find further clues to the time Grandpa might have spent in Liguria.
But she wasn’t yet willing to leave. She’d already decided to stay for the service to commemorate the return of Pietro Parodi’s bones.
She was determined to be in the congregation when Leo’s plaque was unveiled.
She didn’t want to think about what would happen after the celebrations.
She and Leo were only friends but she knew she was falling for him.
And that quick brush of his lips, which she wasn’t sure was entirely accidental, had her believing he was starting to feel the same way.
But staying in the village and pursuing a relationship with him was just a fantasy, a wonderful way of putting off the inevitable decision of what to do with the rest of her life now that the person who’d meant the most to her had gone.