Page 86 of In Italy for Love

‘I’m discovering how I would have reacted right now,’ Alex snapped. ‘How am I the one to promise her a future? She’s better off without me and you should understand that.’

‘You empty-headed fool!’ He added several more muttered insults in Furlan, most of them about how badly he smelled. ‘You’re just lucky your family is looking out for you.’ He took a deep breath and released it on a huff, before looking from Elena to Maddalena to Stefano with a sharp nod. ‘It’s time for plan B.’

Alex groaned. ‘Is this some kind of intervention? Can I have a coffee first, or is coffee not allowed in the war room?’

‘Sit and be quiet while we fix your life.’

‘The last time you tried to fix my life I got stranded overnight in the hills!’

Berengario straightened. ‘And look how well that turned out! If it weren’t for us, you’d still be here spending more time with accordions than people, thinking your life was over! Just imagine if she’d never come to stay here, hmm? Or if she’d moved back to the farm when I fixed the wiring?’

‘You fixed the wiring? When? Why didn’t you tell me – or her?’

‘Three weeks ago! You were already half in love with her and torturing yourself with guilt – and behaving extremely rudely, I might add. We had to take action.’

‘She could have been staying with Maddalena all this time? You made her think she was a burden on me!’

‘Youmade her think that as some twisted excuse for your own feelings.’

Alex’s chest seized up and his mouth snapped shut. His hair stood on end remembering the day Berengario had turned up with the woman who’d lit his feelings on fire in what should have been a one-night stand, how he’d lashed out and felt terrible about it. Hehatedit when Berengario was right.

‘Butyou’reLaura’s grandfather!’ he said, raising his voice. ‘Jules was on the farm Laura loved, in Laura’s jacket, sleeping inmy bed. Shouldn’t you have been worried she’d take Laura’s place? That I’d forget her – or at least forget some small detail of her, with Jules right in front of me?’ His voice rasped at the end, losing strength.

Berengario gripped his forearm tightly. ‘No onewill ever take Laura’s place,’ he said, his voice low and hard. ‘It’s not even possible. Do you think I loved her so little that I could replace her?’

‘That’s what you think of me!’ Alex accused, his mind racing.

This time he did get a slap to the back of his head. ‘Stupidel!’ Then another one for good measure. No wonder he’d been tempted to deck Luca, if his own grandfather-in-law cuffed him over the head. ‘You can’t replace her either. Do you think Elena is a replacement for Maddalena’s mother? Of course not! She is Elena. Laura is even more deeply etched into you than that stupid tattoo on your arm. Falling in love again doesn’t change that.’

‘But if that’s true, I belonged to someone else first; if Laura truly is so deeply etched in me, why would Jules want to stay with me?’

‘Sometimes I ask myself that,’ Berengario mumbled. ‘Did she say it was a problem that you were married before? We don’tcome as naked babies into our relationships. We come with scars – sometimes we come as grizzly old men into new relationships.’

‘You’re not a grizzly old man,’ he assured Berengario.

‘Of course not! I’ve reclaimed my youth. I was talking aboutyou. Iknowit hurts. I know you don’t think you’re ready. But you can’t pretend it didn’t happen anyway.’

‘You pushed us,’ he protested weakly.

‘Would you have preferred it if I helped her pack her things and move down to the farm? Left you in peace? If given the chance, maybe she would have preferred Davide!He’scertainly never been in love before.’

‘Nonno,’ Laura’s cousin grumbled. ‘If Alex was half in love after two weeks, then so was she. You can quit using me to make him jealous.’

‘That worked last time too,’ the old man pointed out. ‘But we’re not here to go over the past. We have to make a plan for the future – foolproof, this time. Stefano, thank you for bringing your designs.’

The long-haired old man shuffled a few papers in front of him. ‘Yes, since we’ve got the bay leaves, I thought something else botanical would be nice and I’ve brought a few ideas.’ Selecting a picture of what looked like an olive tree, Stefano held it up next to Alex’s arm with a thoughtful hum.

‘Yes, there’ll be time for that later,’ Berengario said. ‘Do you have those forms, Elena?’

She adjusted her reading glasses. ‘I checked again to be sure and technical draughtsman is definitely on the list of occupations allowing visas. He’ll need a translated copy of his diploma and an English test result. You have that already, yes?’

Alex managed to nod, his mouth hanging open. ‘I took the IELTS exam in England.’

‘We’ll need police clearance certificates from Italy and England, too, but I think we can fill in the form expressinginterest while we wait for those. Apparently the process can take three to five months.’

‘Threemonths,’ Berengario said firmly. ‘If I have to travel there myself and give those immigration officials a shake!’

‘Immigration?’

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