about you being upset and broken-hearted.'
'Jodie recognised very quickly that calf love means
nothing when one finds the real thing.' Lorenzo’s
smile might have taken some of the sting out of his
words, but Jodie still gave him a sharp look, and
wasn’t surprised to see the cold gleam in his eyes.
'Well, I hope the two of you will be very happy,
Mr…' Sheila began insincerely.
'Lorenzo Niccolo d’Este, Duce di Montesavro,'
Lorenzo introduced himself, with cool, insouciant
confidence.
'You’re a duke?' Sheila asked faintly.
Lorenzo inclined his head in assent, and said
suavely, 'But please do call me Lorenzo.'
Suddenly Jodie was almost beginning to enjoy herself.
'And how is Councillor Higgins?' she asked
sweetly, turning to explain to Lorenzo, 'John’s father
is a local councillor.'
John’s mother had, she noticed, begun to turn an
unflattering shade of pink. It was funny how Jodie
was beginning to remember all those occasions on
which John’s parents had let her know that they considered
her to be just that little bit inferior to them.
Of course she was behaving very badly, she knew,
but sometimes behaving badly could be fun!
'that’s one of the benefits of being married to you
and not to John,' she murmured to Lorenzo as they
moved away to allow Sheila to greet some new arrivals.
'What is?'
'No mother-in-law,' she said succinctly.
By now they had begun to attract rather a lot of
attention, as people recognised her and did a small
double take before turning to look more closely and
curiously.
Lorenzo had put his hand beneath her elbow in a
very solicitous manner — probably because he was
afraid that she might trip in her high heels and end
up flat on her face and thus disgrace them both, Jodie
reflected as she managed to negotiate the unlevel
ground.
'Jodie…'
She spun round with a genuine smile as she heard
the warmth and pleasure in the voice of the local doctor.
'Dr Philips!'
He gave her an enthusiastic hug and then smiled
down at her. 'You’re looking well.'
'Italian food, Italian sunshine—'
'And an Italian husband,' Lorenzo cut in, making
the doctor laugh.
'I shouldn’t say this,' the doctor whispered with a
grin, 'but I always thought you were wasted on young
John. A nice enough lad, but a bit on the weak side—
and very much under his mother's thumb.'
'Poor John — that’s not very kind,' Jodie protested,
but she still laughed.
Lorenzo lifted two glasses of wine from a passing
waiter's tray and handed Jodie one.
She still hadn’t seen either Louise or John, although
she thought she had caught sight of Louise’s
parents. She had always liked Louise’s mother, but
she had no wish to see her now. Naturally, as a
mother, she would support her daughter no matter
what that daughter might have done.
And besides, honesty compelled Jodie to admit that
if Louise and John did love one another, then surely
it was only right and proper that they should be together.
She no longer cared what they did, because
her own life and her own feelings had moved on. She
looked at Lorenzo and allowed herself the pleasure of
a private fantasy in which she would suggest to him
that they leave and go back to their hotel. He'd agree
with satisfying alacrity and an even more satisfyingly
intimate smile because of the sensual pleasures to
come. She gave a small sigh as she relinquished this
unlikely but, oh, so alluring scenario.
'Your leg?' Lorenzo questioned immediately, misunderstanding
the reason for her sigh.
Should she fib and pretend that it was bothering
her so that they could leave?
But before she could say anything the vicar and his
wife had joined them, and Lorenzo had become involved
in a discussion with them about Florence.
Jodie took a small sip of her drink, and was looking
for somewhere to put her glass when she heard Louise
saying sharply, 'I want a word with you!'
Louise was on her own, and there was no sign of
John.
'Don’t think I Don’t know what You’re up to and
what You’re doing here,' her ex-friend whispered angrily.
Jodie could feel her face starting to burn. She was
guiltily aware of her original motive in coming here.
But perhaps there was a chance, instead, to forgive—
to end the bitterness between them?
'This is real life, Jodie, not some romantic novel,'
Louise was saying. 'John isn’t going to take one look
at you and throw me over to come back to you.'
'Good. Because I honestly Don’t want him to,'
Jodie told her. 'Louise, I’m married now, and I—'
'Married? You?' Louise gave her a contemptuous
