Chapter Two #2
Leo answered in the same language. ‘Mum offered me Villetta Nascosta, but if you feel I’ll be treading on your toes by visiting I’ll think of something else.
’ Though the sinking in his stomach made him aware of how much he longed to go home and lick his wounds.
‘For the past few weeks I’ve been stuck in the chef’s accommodation, while my father-in-law moved into the second bedroom in the owner’s flat, so the villetta would seem luxurious.
’ He rolled his head on the pillow to release tension that had clamped down on his neck.
‘The chef’s room?’ Massimo sounded appalled. ‘Then Mum’s right. Come home.’
Relief filtered through Leo, but he wanted to emphasise that he didn’t intend to trespass anywhere on Massimo’s territory. ‘I wouldn’t dream of trying to move in with you and Sofi. I’d hate to play gooseberry.’
Mischief filled Massimo’s voice as he fell into the speech pattern of their mother. ‘And you would be. Sofi and I make the most of our time alone together, if you hear what I’m saying.’
Grinning, Leo followed suit. ‘Aye, I do. I hear you fine.’
Early afternoon on the following Monday, Leo prepared to exit the Black Falcon for the last time. Receipt of the funds from Isabella and Teddy had been confirmed. Leo was no longer a partner in the hotel.
His bags and boxes were packed into his red Lexus, which he’d arranged to sell today to a car dealer in Norwich.
On the way there, he’d drop off some of his stuff at a storage facility, then it would be him, a backpack and two suitcases travelling home to Como.
Though he’d always acknowledged in the recesses of his mind that one day he might want to return, he’d never anticipated quite such a yearning for the colourful streets of his boyhood.
And to exchange the rancid situation at the Black Falcon for the love of his family? Relief!
He found Isabella and Teddy waiting in the foyer as if to see him off the premises, but he didn’t pause as he rolled his suitcases over the blue carpet, just calling, ‘Bye now.’ Goodbye to helpless anger, goodbye to betrayal, goodbye to a relationship turned cold, goodbye to manipulative, unscrupulous Teddy.
And hello to a chunk of money that would make a nice deposit on a future business.
He didn’t yet know what that business would be – except it would be entirely and only his, with no partners to crap on him.
‘Cheerio, Leonardo,’ Teddy said jovially, as if Leo was a friend who’d dropped by.
Leo grinned at elegant, blonde Isabella, who looked wary, perhaps fearing a scene. ‘Good luck with the Mucky Duck,’ he said, knowing she hated the nickname the locals had bestowed upon the Black Falcon.
Distantly, Isabella replied, ‘Safe journey.’ Her hazel eyes seemed reluctant to meet his. Perhaps she wasn’t as comfortable as she’d pretended about this ending.
Four years they’d been together, and the moment her dad had wanted to return to her life, she’d become Daddy’s Girl. For a second, Leo felt the urge to say, ‘Watch your father. He’s manipulative.’ He bit it back. Isabella and her dad were no longer his business. He wheeled his luggage to his car.
As he drove between the hedges of the lane that would take him towards Norwich, his bags and boxes rustled with the motion of the car.
The sound was like distant applause that he’d finally extricated himself from an intolerable situation.
After dropping off the car and completing the formalities – further adding to his bank balance – he took a taxi to the railway station and then the train to Stansted Airport, where he’d booked a night in a hotel ready for Tuesday’s early flight to Milano-Malpensa.
Touching down there at 10 a.m., stepping from the plane into Italy’s blazing sunshine, it felt great – different somehow to the many visits he’d made while living in England.
Again, the word ‘relief’ filled his mind.
Rather than wrestle his luggage onto the train, he’d booked a car from Milano to Como and, chatting to the friendly taxi driver, was able to enjoy the ride past light industry decorated by occasional graffiti, and a Welcome to Italy sign.
As the route became more rural, the scenery began to feel like old friends, cypress trees marching in rows alongside farm fields, or towns full of pink, cream or lemon-coloured buildings wearing hats of terracotta tile.
It wasn’t long before he saw the first mountain, a distant green hulk in the afternoon sunlight.
His heart soared. He deliberately hadn’t told his family he was arriving today, hoping he’d be a nice surprise.
Sheenagh had assured him Villetta Nascosta would be ready for him ‘any day you want. But make it soon’.
His papà, Ferdinando, had texted a typically gruff message to say his mother was anxious to see him: Tua madre non vede l’ora di vederti.
It wasn’t Ferdinando’s style to say that he too would like to have his eldest son home, but Leo read it between the lines.
Why had he stayed away so much?
Well, for one thing, Isabella had never been enthusiastic about Italy or his family. And when taking time away from the Black Falcon together had been so hard . . .
Entering Como, pedestrians scooting through the traffic, the railway line running beside the road, his eyes drank in the familiar muted colours of the buildings until, finally, he saw the sunlit waters of the lake sparkling in the midday sun, as if welcoming him.
Even the mountains clad in summer green, buildings arranged on them like softly coloured parcels on uneven shelves, seemed taller and more impressively beautiful than he remembered.
The apricot-coloured Villa Panorama, with its pale blue accents, faced the water, its windows flashing in the sun.
Built into the slope below the village of Brunate further up the mountain, both the hotel and its gardens were terraced.
His driver steered the taxi expertly beneath the iron arch bearing the words Villa Panorama, took the short, sloping drive between yew hedges and halted at the carved wooden entrance doors that were permanently open.