A dramatic aria blared out through the speakers.
She looked at him quizzically. ‘I thought…’
He shrugged. ‘LaBohème.Is my favourite.’
‘Really? Mine too,’ she said, tongue in cheek.
The early morning sun was peeking from behind Vesuvius, as they sped along theautostradatowards the villa.
Lucy sank into the leather upholstery, too tired to make conversation. Her eyelids fluttered as she surrendered to the gentle rocking of the car, the steady thrum of the engine and the sweet, soaring sounds of Puccini.
As they drew up outside the house, Dario quietly pulled on the handbrake and turned off the engine, his gaze resting on Lucy’s tangled hair and half-open mouth.
‘Lucia,siamo arrivati.’No answer. ‘Lucy, we are here,’ he whispered, lightly running his hand along her arm. She awoke with a jolt and a little piggy grunt.
She clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘Scusa.’
Dario bit back a smile.
Giving herself a shake, she unfastened the seatbelt. ‘Grazie, Dario.’
‘Un momento.’He reached inside the glove compartment, his arm accidentally brushing her thigh.
‘I have waited for the opportunity to give you this.’ He handed her a well-thumbed book, entitledScavi di Ercolano.‘This mean excavation of Herculaneum. Is written in Italian and English.’
Lucy flicked through the pages. ‘Herculaneum. Valentina told me about this place and I’m planning to go very soon. Thank you.’
Dario’s eyes were looking directly at her, and she felt something flutter inside. His five-o’clock shadow made him more… more ruggedly handsome.
‘The villas and the mosaics in Herculaneum are… I have no words to describe.’ He sighed. ‘Giancarlo and me, we went with the school. We wanted to be archaeologists after that.’
‘I can’t wait to go there.’
Lucy opened the car door then lightly kissed Dario’s cheek, her face and neck growing hotter than molten lava. ‘Grazie– for the lift, and the book.Buona notte.’
‘Sogni d’oro.’
As he turned on the ignition, he noticed Lucy’s phone glinting on the floor.
He picked it up and smiled, instantly recognising the screensaver to be from that classic film,Vacanze Romane,with Audrey Hepburn riding side-saddle on Gregory Peck’s Vespa.
‘Hey, Lucia!’ he cried, running towards her. ‘You forget this.’
She whirled around and tutted. ‘What a numpty. Thanks, Dario. Good night – or should it be good morning?’
He jumped back in the car and watched her hurry up the steps two at a time. She turned and waved as she shut the door. He waved back, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.
He reversed up the driveway, jumped out to shut the gates, and momentarily looked down at the house, imagining her…
Lucy woke with a start as the book fell to the floor. She turned off the bedside lamp and lay in the half-light, still but sleepless, wondering what it was Matteo had wanted to tell her.
Chapter Fourteen
The night sky was swollen with rain. Dario emerged through the sliding doors of the hospital and breathed in the chilly air. He could still smell the stench of alcohol and vomit all around him. This was the last thing he’d needed after his seventh consecutive late shift.
He longed to get home and jump in a hot shower. He’d been momentarily tempted to leave the drunken, abusive businessman in the alley where he’d found him, but despite applying pressure to the wound, blood had continued to spurt everywhere. Gathering his strength and holding his breath, Dario had bundled the stranger into his car and delivered him to A&E. Before he left, he’d managed to track down the man’s wife to let her know of her husband’s whereabouts.
Walking back to the car park, Dario shuddered at the volcanic eruption his phone call had unleashed, and even started to feel slightly sorry for the unsuspecting man lying in its fiery path.
