Chapter 5
‘Thank you for organising dinner,’ Ged says to Matteo as we leave the formal dining room and make our way across to the bar and lounge area. ‘It was delicious.’
Matteo smiles. ‘No problem. Birdie has briefed the butler and two waiting staff as to our requirements for the week.’
‘Thank goodness for Birdie. She’s really saved the day.’ Ged looks admiringly at Matteo. ‘I hope it wasn’t too big a favour for you to ask.’
Matteo shrugs in a non-committal way while I swallow down the urge to tut. Even just hearing Matteo say Birdie’s name makes my hair stand on end. And lord knows what Matteo will have to do in return. I shudder the thought away.
‘That reminds me,’ I say to Liberty, who sits next to me, opposite Nacho, who is struggling to take his eyes off her. ‘I need to pop something in the group chat about organising Christmas dinner. You know how fussy the others can be.’
‘Yeah. They’ll hate all this posh nosh. One of them will probably bring a ton of Greggs in their suitcase just in case.
’ Liberty lets out a tinkling laugh and brushes her sleek glossy dark hair over her bare shoulder.
She is wearing a strapless silver boob tube that appears sprayed on and leaves nothing to the imagination.
She has teamed it with low-slung dark denim joggers elasticated at the ankles and sky-high strappy silver Louboutins.
The choker of diamonds around her neck seems eye-wateringly real as do the drop earrings sparkling at her lobes.
She places an elaborately manicured hand on my bare arm.
Even her tanned fingers seem extra soft and pampered.
She looks expensive, she smells expensive and she feels expensive.
‘You can’t beat a Greggs sausage roll and crisps for breakfast.’
Nacho is momentarily alarmed before he hesitantly laughs along.
His body is very much his temple. He’s made that clear on numerous occasions and, to be honest, it’s evidently working in his favour.
While Matteo is dark and moody and effortlessly sexy, his brother is equally handsome but more try-hard sexy.
As in off-the-charts gym, protein and bone broth obsessed.
He has zero body fat and perfect cholesterol.
He’d probably need to be rushed to hospital to have his stomach pumped if he so much as glanced at a Greggs pasty.
‘How’s Eddie?’ I ask Liberty. ‘Is he looking forward to coming to the wedding?’
She twists the stem of her wine glass. ‘Yeah. I think so. I’ve barely seen him this month.’
‘But you’ve been out to visit him, though, haven’t you?’
She nods. ‘A few times. On the jet… which is nice. It’s so much quicker. You go to sleep on take-off and when you wake up, you’re there.’ I notice her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
‘Are things going well?’
‘Why don’t you ask him?’ She nods towards Matteo. ‘He’s the one spending all his time with Eddie, not me.’
Cripes. What the heck is going on here?
Matteo clears his throat. ‘Eddie has some big-name talent who just happen to be working on records all at the same time. Not all of them are with me and Birdie. He has fingers in all sorts of pies.’
Again, I bristle at the mention of her name.
‘Ooh, can you drop a hint, please?’ asks Ged. He is always desperate for the latest music gossip. He works in the music industry where gossip travels faster than broadband. ‘Who is collabing with who? Are you still working with Harry?’
Ged met the pop god once for a brief five minutes and now they are on first-name terms. Whereas I actually recorded a demo with him that is going to go (very probably) on his new album, yet even I would still use his full name when in company.
I flick my eyes to Liam. Celebrity is his favourite subject.
He is obsessed. He is also being unusually quiet.
While Matteo reluctantly spills trade secrets to an enraptured audience, I lean over to Liam.
‘Hey, are you okay? You seem awfully quiet.’
‘Do you think it would be possible to change rooms?’ he says, sounding worried.
‘You don’t like your room?’ I’m so surprised. Matteo asked for them to be put in the honeymoon suite. I assumed it would be fabulous. ‘Why, what’s wrong with it?’
‘Nothing, it’s fine. It’s lovely. Really lovely. It’s just…’
‘Is it the view?’
He shakes his head.
‘The bed? I thought the honeymoon suite had a triple king-sized four-poster.’
‘It does, it does. It’s not that. The décor is spectacular. Mind-blowing. It’s just…’
I frown, waiting for him to continue.
‘I think it’s haunted.’
He jumps as Liberty barks with laughter, slapping the bar so hard it makes the glasses rattle. ‘Haunted? Did you really just say haunted? Who by?’
Liam pales. ‘I don’t know.’ He shrugs. ‘You heard it too, didn’t you?’ He gives Ged a pained look.
‘I heard something,’ Ged says, putting a comforting hand over Liam’s. ‘But we don’t know for sure what it was.’
‘It was a groan. A sort of eery moan. Loud and clear. It went on for quite a few seconds.’
‘Well, it certainly wasn’t me!’ Liberty is loving this. She winks playfully at Nacho.
Nacho takes a beat to successfully read between the lines and begins laughing along. He likes what he is hearing. He likes it a lot. It earns him an eye roll from his big brother.
‘It sounded like a disgruntled spirit,’ Liam continues, undeterred. ‘I know what I heard.’
‘This place does have a magical feel to it. A pull in the wrong direction, if you know what I mean.’ Liberty holds up her hands. ‘Or perhaps you’re just nervous about the wedding?’
‘Then how do you explain the fact that my bag moved on its own from one end of the room to the other? Didn’t it, Ged?’ While Ged nods, his face growing serious, Liam continues. ‘And the missing sock? And the strange wet patch that mysteriously appeared in the centre of the room?’
The laughter dies down. He has our full attention. We all jump a mile as the lounge door creaks open. The butler enters and begins silently stocking the bar with more wine. Matteo asks him in French if there is a chance Ged and Liam can change rooms.
There follows an exchange that I can just about follow.
The butler shakes his head apologetically. Something about not tonight due to lack of staff but they will prepare a room first thing tomorrow morning. Matteo thanks him and relays the unfortunate news to Ged and Liam.
‘I’m sure Connie and I could swap with you,’ he says. I give him a sweet smile. Who the heck wants to sleep in a haunted bedroom?
‘In fact, I’m shattered from all the travelling. I’m going to call it a night,’ Ged says, draining his glass. ‘But I’ll stay up all night guarding Liam with a cross and some holy water if I have to.’
Liam yawns. ‘Me too. Goodnight, lovelies.’
‘Good idea. See you in the morning,’ I say, standing up as Matteo eases my chair back for me.
Such a gentleman. I reach up to kiss his cheek.
The butterflies are already beginning to flit around in my stomach.
His warm fingers entwine in mine as he gives me a sleepy smile.
As the four of us cross the lounge, I look back over my shoulder to see Liberty and Nacho still sitting at the bar.
Matteo is holding open the door. ‘Coming?’ I ask Liberty.
‘You old marrieds go ahead.’ Liberty laughs, waving us away. ‘We youngsters are going to have a nightcap. Buenas noches.’
Matteo raises an eyebrow at his brother.
Once we close the door, I blow out my cheeks. ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.’
Matteo shrugs but his tone contradicts his actions. ‘They’re adults. They can do what they like.’
But what he’s not saying is that if Liberty and Nacho act on their attraction it could not only cause major disruption at the wedding once Eddie gets here, but because Nacho is Matteo’s brother, will Eddie want to continue working with him?
This could jeopardise Matteo’s career. Especially if Eddie pulls the plug and forces not just the current pop stars to withdraw from their partnership, but all of the recording artists they have lined up for the next two years.
Bugger.
The next morning, Matteo and I wake early to watch the sunrise.
Matteo is still reeling from jet lag. The crisp, fresh, floral-scented air fills our nostrils as we walk through the beautifully manicured gardens.
Old-fashioned street lamps light the way to the edge of the property.
We stand on a wooden pergola clearly designed for this very activity as the sun peeks above the horizon.
It casts a faint orange glow over the water, the emerging outline of boats and yachts, and the greenery of the coastline far below us.
It is simply stunning. And being here, with Matteo’s warm arms wrapped around me, is nothing short of magical.
I drag my gaze to his face. I hope he can see the love shining from me because I’m fit to burst with the strength of feeling I have for him.
‘Connie, there’s something important that I—’
He’s cut off by an almighty, blood-curdling, high-pitched scream coming from the house.
We both instinctively race back towards the chateau.
Thank God I’m a runner. I leap over the small ornate hedges that mark out the immaculate lawns, jumping over the neat flower beds like an Olympic hurdler, and tear towards the main entrance with Matteo hot on my heels.
We burst into the hallway to see two staff members already hurtling up the stairs.
Following them, I can hear banging on a door and Liberty shouting, ‘Guys? Is everything okay? Did you see the ghost?’
We hurry down the corridor to join her.
An unnerving quiet descends as she stops hammering on the bedroom door.
We huddle in the corridor, glancing at one another for answers.
Liberty is wearing a fabulous scarlet lace bra and the skimpiest of matching knickers.
Nacho appears, sleepy and topless, with a towel round his waist. The staff are hurrying to tighten ties and fasten shirts as we lean towards the door, waiting for a response.