Amalfi. Italy. Home. For all he had been born and brought up in London, sent to school in the home counties, for part of him, Italy would always be home. Matteo half closed his eyes. He could feel the warmth of the sun, smell the all-pervasive scent of lemons mixed with the salt of the sea, see the vibrant blues and greens of that God-blessed coastline. ‘We honeymooned there too.’ He smiled at Charlie. He might not remember the honeymoon but he remembered the planning. ‘Paris, then the Orient Express to Venice because the book is one of your favourites…’ But at the shuttered look on Charlie’s face he paused, uncertain, hating the holes in his memory. ‘Have I got it wrong?’
‘No, that was the plan, but we didn’t get any further than Paris.’ She looked away, her cheeks pink. ‘A business deal gone wrong. We postponed the rest.’
‘I’m sorry,’ he said futilely. What had he been thinking? They had planned the honeymoon together and she had been so excited.
Charlie waved a dismissive hand. ‘I understood. It’s ancient history. I mean…’ She stopped, a stricken look on her face. ‘I am so sorry. Ancient history to me, but the future to you.’
‘No, don’t apologise.’ This was ridiculous. They were married, in love, and yet they were dancing around each other like guarded strangers. ‘I should apologise, for not having taken you to Amalfi yet. It shouldn’t take an accident and memory loss to prompt me. But let me make it up to you. This can be a second honeymoon.’
He smiled but, to his surprise, Charlie avoided his gaze. Dread curled around his gut. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Lovely.’
CHAPTER TWO
‘YOU’RE DOING WHAT?’ Phoebe froze in her chair, her wine glass held up to her half-open mouth. ‘Are you insane?’
Charlie plonked her bag onto the kitchen table and sank wearily into the opposite seat, pulling the wine bottle and spare glass waiting next to it to her. She had no idea how to truthfully answer that question. ‘It would look weird if I didn’t go with him, and the doctor said very clearly that Matteo wasn’t to get any shocks. He knows we’re married; there’s no good reason why I wouldn’t go.’ Besides, she couldn’t help replaying the moment she’d first seen him, lying so still, hooked up to all those machines, the doctor’s words echoing in her head. He is very lucky. She had to make sure he was on the road to recovery before walking away. Again.
Phoebe looked over at their grandmother for backup. ‘Can you hear this, Gran? No good reason? There’s plenty of good reasons, Charlie. Number one, you’re getting divorced. Number two, you’re supposed to be flying out to Vietnam on Friday. What is Lexi going to say?’
Charlie poured a generous glug of the wine into her glass and gratefully accepted the bowl of soup her grandmother held out to her, helping herself to bread from the plate in the middle of the table. ‘This smells incredible, Gran, thank you. I don’t think I’ve had a chance to eat since breakfast; there’s something about hospitals that makes you lose all sense of time and appetite.’ She took a bite of her gran’s home-made bread, still warm from the oven, and immediately felt a little better.
‘Pheebs, you know that Lexi has fallen in love—or lust—with some rugby-playing New Zealand backpacker. From what I can tell, she’s at the smitten, can’t-spend-a-second-away-from-him phase. Honestly? I think she’ll be relieved if I don’t turn up to be an awkward spare wheel on her holiday romance. And as for your number one, that’s kind of the problem. Matteo doesn’t know about the divorce, Phoebe. He doesn’t even remember getting married. As far as Matteo is concerned it’s last year. The day before our wedding.’
‘But it’s not. A lot has happened since then and you have wasted enough of your life on him. You don’t owe him anything, Charlie.’
‘No, but we are still married and I am still his next of kin, for the next six weeks anyway. It’s my responsibility to get him safely to the villa and keep an eye on him until his concussion heals. Then, I just need to think of a good excuse to come home and by the time my absence looks suspicious hopefully he’ll have remembered.’ It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all she had. ‘I did promise “in sickness and in health” after all.’
‘Oh, Charlie. You promised for ever and ever, through good times and bad. And they are lovely sentiments, but that’s all they are.’
‘Phoebe!’ her grandmother scolded, and her cousin looked shamefaced.
‘I’m sorry, Charlie, but you have to admit, even by your standards this is a terrible idea.’
Charlie rubbed her eyes. All the adrenaline that had fuelled her through the long afternoon of tests and doctors had faded away, leaving her as worn-out as her grandmother’s ancient tea towels. ‘Phoebe, I know you’re just trying to help, that you’re looking out for me and I appreciate it, I really do. But I have to do this.’ She hesitated, trying to find the right words. ‘This isn’t me doing something crazy because someone told me not to or because it looks like fun. This is me trying to do the right thing. I hate that we failed, Matteo and I. I hate what happened to us. That in the end I couldn’t make it work.’ She took a large gulp of her wine, looking for the courage to say
