They walked slowly to the low, stone wall that bordered the end of the terrace. The heat was intense. The sun, at the height of its strength, burnt down on the flagstones. Waves of heat rose around them, the parched air still and shimmering.
Zoe pointed to the trees in the distance.
‘There they are – across the first valley – which is called the Valle dei Sogni – Valley of Dreams – more dreams for you! That’s the end of your property and then if you follow the line of that ploughed field across…’ She swivelled in front of him, every nerve of her body hotly aware of his closeness. Once again she could smell the faint tang of his perfume as he stood close by her side. He screwed up his eyes as he peered directly into the sun and Zoe noticed the small, smiling lines that formed around his deep-set eyes. He even looked good in bright light. She gulped and continued, ‘I have a plan of the whole estate if you’d like to look at it…it’s in my jeep?’
He looked at his watch. ‘It’s getting near lunchtime – would you be able to join me for a working lunch?’
Zoe made a small attempt at thinking about it but, even so, her answer flew from her lips.
‘There’s a favourite trattoria of mine in Siena, Luigi’s – we could eat there and I could show you the plans.’
‘Sounds perfect!’ Alex smiled as he spoke and Zoe smiled back. A wide open smile that stretched her cheeks. Really this smiling thing was so easy.
Zoe was still smiling when they entered the trattoria as the owner came to meet them.
‘Buon giorno, Zoe, buon giorno, signor!’ He ushered them to a corner table in the cool of the interior. Zoe was well known in the town and had eaten in the trattoria most days when she had been teaching. Now she often brought clients to the restaurant. Although it was not on the tourist route it had a great family atmosphere and the food was always excellent.
They ordered aperitifs and went to wash their hands. Zoe looked into the mirror and saw a ridiculous smile pasted onto her face. As she dried her hands she tried a sad frown at her image in the mirror. She shook her head…it just didn’t work.
The meal passed in a leisurely way. They talked mainly about the Villa Sognidoro, but their conversation drifted easily into interests they found they had in common.
‘So you first came to Italy to teach,’ Alex said. ‘I taught for a while too – some years ago now. I enjoyed it but then I moved on.’
‘Me too. I studied history of art at uni and then took a TEFL course so that I could teach English abroad…my first choice was Italy. I came to Siena to look at a particular painting…’
‘Not Duccio’s Maestà …’ Alex interrupted her and she looked at him in amazement.
‘Yes, it’s one of my favourite early Italian paintings!’ She continued to stare at him. How could this be? It wasn’t as though it was the Mona Lisa.
‘Mine too… I went to see it yesterday as soon as I arrived. It’s fabulous – the wonderful darkness of the Madonna and the soft blue folds of her robes.’ His voice died away as though he was actually looking at the painting, whereas he was looking closely, very closely, at her lips.
Zoe carried on where he had left off. ‘And her gentle features – her smile!’
‘Her smile is like yours – it’s there and then it’s not there…or rather even when you are not smiling your mouth looks ready and waiting! Much more elusive than the Mona Lisa’s!’ Alex stopped abruptly and looked away, breaking the enchanted thread that had hung between them. He picked up his wine glass and drained it quickly.
They had shared a small carafe of the local wine between them, aware that they both had to drive away. Away from each other, Zoe thought to herself miserably, as their time together seemed to be drawing to a close.
‘Would you like a coffee?’ Alex asked.
‘No, not unless you want one,’ Zoe replied quietly. Suddenly she wanted the lunch to end. She realised she had done most of the talking and he had told her little of himself. This was supposed to be a business lunch and she had quite simply lost her head. She looked at her watch.
‘Actually I had better get back to the office – I do have another appointment this afternoon.’ Zoe thought firmly of the Partridges, the English couple that she had lined up for a converted mill on the other side of Siena. The same clients that had turned down the Villa Sognidoro. ‘Maybe we should meet again tomorrow when you have had time to think things through?’ she added, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible although every fibre of her being wanted him to make another meeting. Tomorrow, the day after or…every day and night for the rest of her life.
‘I’m afraid I have to get to Florence airport by this evening. This was a flying trip.’ Zoe’s heart sank…not only had she failed to tie up the business knots but she could feel Alex Knight disappearing out of her life as quickly as he had flown in. Faraway in her own thoughts she suddenly realised he was still talking.
‘I am seriously interested in making an offer on the Villa Sognidoro. Would you be able to check out the details for me? I should particularly like confirmation that there will be no new building permitted in that superb view.’
Zoe forced herself back to the work in hand. ‘If you are serious, then the next step would be to go to a notaio and draw up a preliminary contract. Of course, I’ll check out local planning permissions, that’s part of my job. My boss did tell me that the area was a designated site of natural beauty so there should be no possibility of new building.’
‘Your boss?’ Alex looked at her for a moment as though confused and then hastily continued. ‘Yes, of course. I’m sure he knows his locality but I mustn’t let my heart rule my head…although it usually does!’ He smiled at her ruefully.
She gave a small smile back but felt a slight and irrational touch of anger. If he was so ruled by his heart couldn’t he have attempted to take her hand across the lunch table? Made the very smallest of first moves? All that talk of her smiling lips. Hadn’t he shared her strong sense of it all being so right between them? She shook her head at her own stupidity. Usually men were accused of going too fast and being impatient.
They walked out into the sunshine and over to their cars. Zoe made a last effort to act in her usual businesslike manner
‘Why don’t you take the plans with you – they’re only copies that I made at the office. They’ll give you something to think over.’ She reached into the back seat of the jeep and pulled out the long roll of plans and gave them to him.
‘I certainly have a lot to think about!’ he said, his grey eyes holding her gaze for a moment longer than necessary. ‘I shall be back in England late tonight. I live and work in Bath – I’ll ring you tomorrow.’
‘Bath, my parents live near there!’ Zoe said in surprise as yet another coincidence linked them together.
‘Really – it’s a small world!’ he said and his voice sounded suddenly sad.
Then he got into his car and, with a wave that was almost a salute, he drove away.
Back once more at the office, Zoe made herself the coffee she had refused at the restaurant. She needed the caffeine to help her through the rest of the day. She sorted listlessly through some files of properties and made a selection to take with her in case the Partridge couple found the mill house not to their liking. She still had half an hour to kill before she needed to leave to meet them. She idly turned on the computer and scrolled through her in-box of emails. The list was long and she was only halfway through when the door flew open and Paolo, in his usual way, burst into the office.
‘Ciao,