Page 28 of An Italian Wedding Adventure

The ferry docked before she could formulate a response beyond an eye-roll and he started the car, revving the engine as he navigated off the ferry and then turned north on the Gardesana, the main road around the lake.

She waited until the engine had quietened to a mumble. ‘As much as I might like to.’ Forget him. She meant forget him.

‘As much as I’d love to have the last word, this time, I’m happy it goes to you, Miss Kir— erm…’

‘Miss Kirke,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I changed my name back.’

‘But you did take his? How long were you married?’

‘Only three years.’

‘Only?’

‘I suppose in comparison to how long you and I were together, Andreas, it’s a long time,’ she said with an indulgent sigh. ‘What’s the longest you’ve ever been with someone?’

‘Ten months,’ he answered matter-of-factly and waited to see how long it would take for her to work it out.

‘Wha— You’re not serious.’

‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ He kept his gaze on the road. ‘I thought you knew that.’

‘Your longest relationship was… with me?’ she clarified.

He answered with a shrug. ‘Relationships aren’t my thing. I didn’t get married to someone else since I last saw you.’

‘Obviously not,’ she said, her tone peevish, although he didn’t understand why. She was the one who’d stayed away when he’d returned from Pakistan and he had a gemstone to prove it – a reminder of his moment of weakness – hidden in the back of a drawer at home. ‘What about Kira?’ she asked.

Heat rose to his cheeks and he briefly considered denying there was anything between him and Kira, but Sophie had obviously picked up on something. His skin felt tight as he answered, ‘We’re friends. Every time we sleep together, we remember we’re better as friends and it’s been a while anyway. She would kill you if you suggested it’s a relationship. She’s worse than me.’

She sighed, but a fatalistic smile touched her lips. ‘And this is the future of I Do.’

‘It’s the future for Great Heart AdventureWeddings,’ he added gruffly. ‘Leading a tipsy wedding party on a hike with a long stop at the top for empty promises that no one can keep.’

‘You have to admit the name of Willard’s company is perfect.’

‘It’s supposed to be a heart with chambers and blood vessels sticking out of it, the thing that keeps you alive, not a cute symbol for emotions.’

‘You might be surprised at the real emotion in a wedding ceremony,’ she said carefully. ‘There’s adrenaline there too.’

‘Waiting to see if your partner will actually show up?’

‘I’ve organised fifty weddings and only one of them hasn’t gone ahead, and not because of cold feet. People usually solve their problems long before they get to this stage – or they never get to this stage,’ she added with a pointed glance at him.

He raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. ‘You’re the expert. I suppose that’s an advantage of getting married after a via ferrata. If they unclip, they could fall. They’re literally attaching their lives to the same cable.’ His voice trailed off. When he glanced at her, she was scribbling on her tablet again and she wasn’t looking at him, but her small smile made him uneasy.

‘That’s very romantic, Andreas,’ she finally said with a grin.

He sighed as he pulled the Panda off the Gardesana and up along the winding road to the tiny town where they would start their ascent. Sophie appeared to be concentrating on her tablet and Andreas found himself wanting to point out the view, nudge her into appreciating the sheer enormity of water and rock, but they weren’t here for that.

She wasn’t the eager novice she’d been when he first met her. She was a wedding planner struggling with her own cynicism – although she’d never admit that – who was so capable, it was a turn-on. He did want to get to know this new Sophie, and also dig out the pieces of the old Sophie that were hiding dormant inside somewhere.

One summit at a time…

* * *

Andreas kept up a murderous pace – at least she would murder him if they didn’t stop for a rest soon. His ‘easy hike’ had Sophie’s hair hanging limp in her face from sweat and now her thighs were screaming from the steep altitude gain and stony conditions. She had to keep her wits about her or she’d turn her ankle – or worse, she thought every time she caught a glimpse of the steep drop.

At least Lily and Roman would love this. Despite the fact that they’d only walked an hour from the quaint hamlet where they’d parked near a pizzeria that was now calling her name, the landscape was scrubby and wild. They were navigating a craggy ridge that loomed over the towns dotted along the lake far below.

---