Page 40 of A Riviera Retreat
Vicky shook her head. ‘No. I’m on a self-imposed news blackout, to be honest. I’d rather wait and hear everything from Anthony. At least I know then it won’t be fake news. I must admit I was hoping to have heard details about his flight by now. All I know is he’s got one for the fourteenth.’
‘Maybe he’ll give you his eta this evening,’ Amy said.
Vicky nodded absently. ‘Hope so. I wonder if Matilda’s seen a villa she likes today. It’s a big step, moving to another country on your own. You were very brave to do it.’
Amy was silent for a moment, swirling her wine around her glass. ‘To be honest, it didn’t feel brave. In some respects, at the time it seemed preordained – my marriage falling apart at the same time as my favourite aunt dying and leaving me this amazing villa. Suddenly I had an escape route. The perfect place to run to and hide away from the world.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I came here to lick my wounds and keep my promise to Tasha.’ She glanced at Vicky. ‘Both my aunt and my mother disliked – hated even – my husband. Tasha’s dying wish was for me to divorce him and she intended to give me the means to do so.’ Amy brushed a tear away. ‘It wasn’t until the reading of her will that I realised what she meant. I just wish I’d had the sense to kick-start divorce proceedings when I moved here. Now it seems I might have to fight Kevin to keep the villa.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But fight I will.’
‘How did you and Kevin meet?’ Vicky asked curiously. ‘I know the old cliché, opposites attract and all that, but you strike me as being an unusual couple.’
‘I was a dancer in another life, as you know, and Kevin produced a show I was in. We fell in love – well, I thought we did – and he persuaded me to give up dancing, marry him and become his personal assistant. So I did. More fool me,’ Amy said. ‘In my defence, I was nearly thirty, had never achieved the coveted role of principal dancer within the company and in my heart I knew that it was unlikely to happen. Always the understudy, that was me.’ Amy smiled ruefully. ‘And my feet were showing signs of a ballet dancer’s nightmare – bunions. Besides, I thought once we were married we’d have a family. Giving up dancing professionally seemed the sensible thing to do at the time.’
‘I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you,’ Vicky said. ‘You seem to have found your niche though, living here and running the retreat.’
Amy smiled, glad that Vicky hadn’t said she was young and there was still time to meet another man. Maybe there was. But she’d accepted years ago now that her dream of having her own family would remain that forever – a dream of what might have been.
‘I am happy living in Belle Vue and running retreats, even if it’s not the life I expected or envisaged having for so long,’ she said slowly, looking at Vicky. ‘As a way of life, it works for me – and it’s definitely one that I’ll fight to keep, if necessary.’
* * *
It was late afternoon when Troy dropped Matilda and Chelsea back at the villa.
‘Thank you,’ Matilda said. ‘I haven’t seen anything today that really inspires me to buy, but please do keep me on your mailing list.’
‘Of course. But do seriously think about that apartment in the marina complex. It’s got so much going for it.’
Matilda nodded. ‘I’ll definitely give it some more thought,’ she said, knowing full well that she wouldn’t. The apartment itself, with its view out over the Mediterranean, had a certain appeal, but the thought of living in the complex made her shudder inwardly.
As they walked into the villa together, Chelsea said, ‘Troy’s right about the facilities at the marina complex. You’d never be bored. In fact, you’d probably never have to leave the place, there was so much to do on-site – swimming, tennis, boules, a restaurant, a bar and a social club. All that before you go down to the harbour and set foot on an actual boat.’
‘You forgot the monthly book club,’ Matilda said, laughing. ‘I found the thought of all that activity exhausting. Not my scene at all. Although the book club might have been interesting.’
Chelsea laughed. ‘It did all sound rather full on. Right, I’m going to dump my stuff and then get on with prepping dinner.’
‘I’m going to have a quiet ten minutes in my room and then go for an amble around the garden,’ Matilda said. ‘Clear my head from all Troy’s jargon and hard sell.’
‘Catch you later then,’ Chelsea said and made for her own room.
Opening her laptop to quickly check her emails, she saw her dad had sent her one with a picture of the flowers he’d placed on her mum’s grave. She quickly typed a thank you note before scrolling down and stiffening in shock. Today of all days, there was one from Kit. She hadn’t heard a peep from him after her humiliation at the hands of his wife and stupidly she’d forgotten to block him. She caught her breath, reading the single word in the subject line, ‘Sorry.’
Chelsea stared at the screen for half a minute, her mind reeling, her heart racing. Was he serious? She could feel the anger that had consumed her all those months ago rising up again inside. She could take the opportunity to tell him exactly what she thought of him. Spew out the words of contempt, the nasty names she’d shouted aloud into the empty air of her bedroom. Did ‘Kit’ even realise his life could have been in danger if they’d ever come face to face at that time?
Her fingers hovered over the keypad as she hesitated. Should she answer him? Chelsea waited for several seconds, trying to rationalise her thoughts, before she decisively pulled the lid of the laptop down and closed it. She’d read the email itself later. She needed time to calm down. To think things through.
Amy was in the kitchen having a drink of water when Chelsea walked in.
‘Hi. Did Matilda find her dream home today?’
‘No,’ Chelsea shook her head. ‘But we had fun.’
‘I had a phone call from her son earlier,’ Amy said. ‘It’s her birthday the day before you all leave. He wondered if we could surprise her with a cake?’
‘I’ll make one,’ Chelsea said instantly, looking at Amy. ‘We could arrange a secret party too?’
Amy nodded. ‘I’d already decided to do that. As it will be the last evening, I thought we’d have a barbecue.’
‘It’ll make our last evening here extra special,’ Chelsea said, methodically starting to lay out the ingredients she needed for dinner. ‘I thought I’d cook my mum’s favourite meal tonight,’ she said quietly. ‘Coquilles St Jacques for starters, roast chicken with all the trimmings for main and pavlova for dessert.’
‘Sounds delicious,’ Amy said before turning to Chelsea, a gentle look on her face. ‘Has today been difficult?’
