Chapter 30
Amy took a deep breath; she wanted to get this right. ‘I know Billie is a difficult character, but I’ve always been aware how lucky I was to land this job, too. Billie’s always reminding me how there are coachloads of people waiting to step into my shoes. And she’s right.
‘But this week has made me begin to wonder about my future, about what I want it to look like. And I was beginning to realise that the constant moving around, the way Billie changes her plans at the drop of a hat, the frenetic nature of it all, the way she treats people… I began to see I didn’t want it; more than that I’m not sure I can tolerate it much longer.
And when you walked into my life, I started to seriously imagine an alternative. ’
Tad’s forehead crinkled into a frown. ‘So why did you change your mind? I really thought we were at the start of something special too, but then…’
‘But then… Billie happened. She told me it couldn’t ever work with you.
That our lifestyles aren’t compatible, and that she valued me enough to…
’ Amy paused, unsure how to phrase the rest of it.
She shook her head, the final decision made.
‘She told me she would ruin your career if I said I was going to leave her. That she needed me more than I needed you. That you and I were nothing more than a holiday fling, and you wouldn’t want me anyway if I caused you problems with your employers. ’
A muscle ticked in Tad’s jaw, his frown deepening. Before he could say anything, Amy settled a hand on his. ‘No, I know – it sounds bad. I knew she meant it though, and more than that, she could make it happen. I also thought I could stop her, if I gave her what she wanted.’
‘It doesn’t sound bad, Amy – it’s horrendous. That’s a complete abuse of her position as your employer. Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I should have – I realise that now, but I knew how much you wanted this week to go well, how important it was for Casa del Cibo to get a positive write-up. I didn’t want to mess with that.
And once I told you what we had amounted to nothing more than a one-night stand, well, I thought it was too late.
I was convinced I’d ruined it. And I wasn’t sure you liked me that much anyway, you know? ’
Tad paused, turning his hand over to take hold of hers. ‘Really?’
‘Well, I hoped you did, but there was no way I wanted to mess with the success of your career – I couldn’t live with myself if it was me who ruined it for you. You must see that?’
‘Aye, of course I do. And then I went and called her a selfish crabbit this morning and brought the world crashing down around my ears anyway.’
Amy allowed herself a grin. ‘She did deserve it, to be fair. Although I genuinely believe she’s going to do whatever Kelly wants to try to win him back. Sometimes I think she’s the one who is being manipulated more than any of us.’
Tad grimaced. ‘I think that’s a bit of a stretch, but it explains why she doesn’t want to do without you. Despite what she might believe about the appeal of working for her, not many people would still feel that way about a person who’d treated them like she’s treated you.’
Amy shrugged. ‘I don’t know about that. But I do know I need to stick up for what I want.
Stop being pushed around by other people.
By Billie.’ She smiled as the last of her indecision ebbed away.
‘Tad – I can’t begin to imagine why you would want anything to do with me after everything that’s happened, but I want to tell you that I didn’t mean what I said.
And regardless of what you must think of me after all the mixed messaging, you mean far more to me than I let on. ’
‘Clare told me to fight for you, if that’s what I really wanted – but it seems I haven’t been the one doing the fighting.
That’s been you all along.’ Tad squeezed her fingers, then threaded his through hers, locking them together.
‘You mean far more to me, too, than I’ve let on.
I don’t care what Billie Forsythe-Rogers writes about me, if needs be I can move on, remove my stain of a career from Casa del Cibo.
But more importantly, will you give me a chance to be a part of your life, moving forwards? ’
‘I think you’ve got that the wrong way around. After this week, and everything that’s happened, I think I need to ask you that question.’
‘No. You don’t. Although I should ask how you feel about being with someone who might end up working in McDonald’s?’
‘I might be there with you once Billie finds out about us.’
Tad grinned, and Amy was transported back to the afternoon they’d spent wandering around Riva, looking at tourist trinkets and eating ice cream.
Suddenly it didn’t matter what either of them ended up doing; right now she didn’t much care about that.
The rush of emotion was a surprise, no less powerful than it had been that afternoon and focused on the same objective.
She stilled, and he did the same, their gazes locked.
She reached forward, hooking a finger into the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.
‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘I love a Maccy D.’
Tad hooted with laughter, then pressed a finger to his lips. ‘Me too. Don’t tell anyone.’
The levity brought them closer, their smiles fading as Amy travelled her fingers from the neckline of his T-shirt up across the warmth of his neck until they rested against the side of his head.
‘Can I kiss you?’ she asked.
‘Would you stop asking for permission?’ he said, his fingers mimicking hers as they inched closer. ‘That way I don’t have to either, and then we can kiss all the time. Like now.’
He closed the remainder of the gap between them, his lips brushing hers.
‘And now.’ He kissed her again with the lightness of a feather and Amy’s stomach did a cartwheel as he pushed himself against her, the strength of his hips against hers sending messages his lips had yet to match.
‘And now.’ He whispered the words again and again as the kiss caught up with the way their bodies were now pressing against one another, close but nowhere near close enough.
Amy felt herself sinking away, their surroundings fading as her total concentration focused on the way Tad was making her feel. She could have inhabited the moment forever, her frustration bubbling when Tad’s phone rang, and he pulled away far enough to see caller ID.
He pulled further away, his expression becoming serious as he took the call.
‘It’s Kathleen,’ he mouthed, then more loudly, ‘Hello, Kathleen. How is he?’
* * *
By the time he came off the phone, Tad didn’t need Amy to say anything, her expression said it all. She was clearly desperate to know what Kathleen had said.
Tad smiled, tucking his mobile away before he reached for her hand.
‘He’s going to be fine.’
Amy’s expression worked its way through a myriad of emotions. ‘Thank God. But – how? I thought he…’
Tad bit his lip trying to supress a laugh. It wasn’t funny – it had looked to everyone gathered as though Hugh was experiencing a heart attack. Luckily, though, it hadn’t been.
‘He has really bad indigestion.’
‘He has… what?’
Amy’s lips quirked into a smile – an action that had Tad wanting to kiss her. Not that there wasn’t much Amy didn’t do that had that effect on him, but that surprised smile had to top the list.
‘Indigestion. Apparently if it’s bad enough it presents as chest pains, can often be mistaken for a heart attack.’
‘I bet Kathleen is livid with him.’ Amy’s grin gave way to amused laughter.
‘I bet she’s giving him hell right now,’ Tad said. ‘Although they are keeping him in overnight to be absolutely sure.’
Amy nodded, her relief at Hugh’s diagnosis palpable.
‘I wonder if we shouldn’t make him some of your nanna’s chocolate mousse cake to welcome him back tomorrow?’
‘Not sure chocolate mousse cake is particularly good for indigestion, to be honest,’ she said.
‘I’m not sure Hugh will be too worried about that.’
‘No, you’re probably right. Can I help?’
‘No, Amy. It’s your nonna’s recipe, so you’re in charge. And when I say that I mean it. I’m yours to do whatever you need. Or want…’
Tad hoped she’d take the comment in the way he’d intended it, and was rewarded when she bit at the edge of her lip as a smile blossomed across her face.
‘What, you mean…?’ Colour followed the smile, then she picked up a large wooden spoon and smacked it softly against her hand. ‘Right then, Taddeo. We need to melt 175 grams of butter and don’t make me ask again.’
Tad did his best to dampen his growing ardour but failed. ‘Never call me by any other name… ever.’
The words came out as a growl, and the butter was forgotten as he swept her up into a hug and kissed her until he forgot entirely what his name was. When she smacked him with the wooden spoon, he wanted to forget all about the cake, too, but Amy had taken him at his word.
‘Butter, Taddeo,’ she said, her lips bee-stung from the kissing and more beautiful than ever as she lodged a hip on a high stool and watched his progress.
It wasn’t long before Tad was busy measuring out the rest of the ingredients. Chocolate in its open wrappings, a bag of flour and what was left of a block of butter littered the work surface.
He watched her checking the saucepan beneath the clear glass dish, then brought the butter and chocolate across.
‘The quicker we get these melted and cooled, the quicker we can get on with the rest of it,’ she said.
Amy poked at the ingredients in the clear bowl, moving them around as the butter began to melt. Then she paused. ‘I can’t believe I’m leaving tomorrow. But if I still have a job when I get home, I promise I’ll do my absolute best to get a positive write-up for this place.’
The thought that Amy was still leaving the following day, especially after everything they’d been through, had Tad rubbing at his forehead.
He didn’t want her to go, even though logic dictated she would have to.
She would have to get back to her real life – a life within which he hoped she would make room for him.
‘I don’t want you to stay working with that woman simply to get this place a decent write-up in a newspaper article, no way – and if Billie doesn’t value you regardless of everything that’s happened this week, she’s insane – but whatever you decide to do, you have my full support.
And if it doesn’t work out with the newspaper article?
’ He shrugged. ‘It’s not the end of the world.
’ Determined to stay in the here and now, he brightened and pointed to a springform cake tin.
‘Anyway – let’s focus on the cooking. Can you line that with some foil, please? ’
They worked in unison, and it reminded him of that first evening, when they’d made the improvised peach tart dessert. Although everything had changed since then, and this evening there was far more flirting, touching and kissing in the warm, ambient atmosphere of the Casa del Cibo kitchen.
‘You don’t even have to cook it. Sometimes Nanna just chilled it and we ate it as a mousse,’ Amy said as she spread the last of the mixture into the foil-lined tin, then beckoned him to lick the spoon.
Tad stepped closer, fully prepared for her to smear some of the chocolate across his face – hoping she would.
Instead, she drew him closer, and they both licked from the same spoon, before she wiped her finger across the remnants of the chocolate, holding it out to him.
He took her finger in his mouth, licking, then sucking at it.
He heard the spoon clatter onto the work surface as Amy abandoned it, and their kisses became fuelled by chocolate and a level of desire Tad struggled to contain.
‘Need to put it in the oven,’ Amy said. ‘For about an hour…’
As quickly as possible, Tad twirled the cake tin into a baking tray and poured hot water around it, then slid the whole thing into the oven. Amy’s expression as he turned around had his stomach fluttering.
‘An hour you say…’ he said.
‘Yeah.’
‘Should be enough time,’ he added.
‘Mmm,’ she said.
Tad grabbing her hand and heading for the door. She pulled away and he turned, confused, to see her selecting a clean wooden spoon.
‘In case you need to be kept in line, Taddeo,’ she said, grinning as she led him towards the stairs.
* * *
Nanna Gold’s Chocolate Mousse Cake
300g dark chocolate (70 per cent or similar)
50g milk chocolate
175g unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
100g light muscovado sugar
100g caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180?C and put the kettle on to boil. You’ll need a 23cm springform tin and extra strong foil. It’s vital to line the tin carefully to prevent water getting into the cake when it cooks.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl above a pan of water, let it cool. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars until very thick and creamy like mayonnaise. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and then the cooled chocolate mixture.
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg white mixed in quickly. Then fold the rest of the egg whites in more carefully.
Amy had to concentrate on her breathing when she watched Tad do this bit of the recipe. Crazy to think a man mixing egg whites into chocolate could do that to her, but she wasn’t going to complain about it.
Pour the cake mix into the springform tin, stand it in a deep roasting tray and pour hot water around it, about 2.5cm up the cake tin, then load it all into the oven.
Cook for 50 mins to 1 hour. And what you do in that time is completely up to you…
When it comes out of the oven, the cake will be damp and moussy, but the top should be cooked and dry.
Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before you try to take it out.
Then also be careful when you take off the foil – go gently.
Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraiche, or ice cream, or cream, maybe some fruit – whatever you like. Enjoy!