“Hi,” he smiles, “I know you are still pissed with Charlotte; I thought I’d come with a peace offering,” he holds up a bottle of champagne with a big bow around it, “and a thank you for everything you’ve done here and in the town. We finally did it.”
I take the champagne from him and shake my head.
“Yep, we did it. Contract complete, well apart from this one small thing I’m finishing,” I nod my head in the direction of the grotto. “He’s not coming, is he?”
“He said he would try, but he was held up with some business,” he sighs, “so, no.”
I feel my face redden, my eyes water, and realise I had been looking forward to seeing him more than I’d even let on to myself.
“Shit.”
“Yeah,” he shakes his head, “um, look, Charlotte’s in the car…”
I sniff and give him a slight smile, and he turns to walk around the corner, presumably to beckon her over.
When she sees my face, she flies straight into my arms.
“Oh, Pru,” she murmurs into my hair, “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s OK,” I whisper, trying to swallow my sobs, “I should have known better.”
“No,” she shakes her head, “I’m sorry for everything. For Tristan being a stupid idiot, for lying to you, for siding with Serena, I’m sorry for it all.”
“You didn’t side with her,” I shake my head, “you helped her. I can’t be angry with you for that. I would have done the same thing.”
“No,” she shakes her head, “by not telling you that she was here, by not trying to mend the fences between you, I’ve driven you away from me too, isolated you. I’m so sorry.”
I sniff and pull away, give her a gentle smile. I don’t tell her that I’ve done my fair share of isolating myself too, or that Serena would go abso-fucking-lutely ballistic if she knew that her rotten little step-daughter had been living in the palazzo with me since the night Tristan sailed away.
Charlotte is not the only one who can keep a secret.
Thankfully, I don’t have to keep that one any longer. Valerie had been informed she could only stay as long as Tristan was away and had agreed to go home to her father when her uncle returned. It wouldn’t surprise me if that is the ‘business’ he is dealing with now. Calling Christopher, rounding up Valerie, dealing with his shitty family and their problems like he always does. That and evicting a sorority from his home.
I almost feel guilty. Almost.
“Serena will likely be going home soon,” I say now to Charlotte, keen to broach the subject first-hand, so there are no more wedges to be driven between us. “I found Valerie. I understand Tristan is going to tell her to go home to Christopher, probably organising that as we speak.”
“Oh, Pru,” Charlotte beams, “that’s wonderful news. I’m sure Serena will be so relieved, so happy that you found Valerie. I know you two will mend your breach.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” I chew my fingernail, “anyway, the thing is they can all go back, back to the States and to Tess. She will smooth the waters between Christopher and Serena too, she’s like that.”
“I don’t know,” she frowns, “I don’t know if Serena is going back, back to Christopher.”
“What?” I know my eyes have grown as round as saucers at this news.
“She won’t turn him,” she shakes her head, “and he won’t budge on his assertion she must. They haven’t seen each other since she left the States, and they barely speak now. She’s heartbroken. And I think when she flew over here, it was never really about just searching for Valerie, if that was even what she really planned all along. I think Serena came to Italy to be near me, and you, even if she won’t admit it.”
“No wonder she won’t speak to me,” I shake my head, allowing a few tears to fall, “I started all this when I attacked Tristan.”
“No,” she sighs, “this was coming. You said all along that she and I were fools to agree to marry humans, that it wouldn’t last. Nick and I have been discussing this for a while too – especially since the whole Mafia problem reared its head. Seeing what happened between Serena and Christopher helped us accept the fact too – people need to be equals in a relationship if it is to work, equals in all ways.”
“Tell me you aren’t leaving Charlotte?” I spin to Nick.
“No, never,” he says, looking at her, his eyes brimming with love.
“Take a long, hard look at him,” Charlotte says, studying my face to see my reaction.
I do as directed, and gasp.
