2

The tears on her cheeks were still damp and her temper still hot when her the family Calvary pounded on the door of Kelly's Boston apartment. Before she could drag herself off the sofa, the door burst open and her sister swooped In looking a bit like outraged avenging fireballs.

Kelly was completely humiliated that she couldn't manage to smile at their ready\-for\-anything attitude. Had her sister gotten here before she'd kicked Levi the mink to the curb, he'd probably be quaking in his two hundred dollar designer loafers.

The Winston sisters were something else. Singly, they had their own distinctive personalities and achievements, but united they were a force to be reckoned with. And nothing United them like a common enemy—In this case the man who'd lied to Kelly for over a year.

Jessica settled on her side, patting her back and murmuring inept but well\-meant platitudes about how she was better off without the lying, cheating scumbag and how things will get better. She went on and on until Kelly wanted to scream.

Andrea, as she noticed, was saying nothing, but her agitating pacing and the flags of color on her cheeks suggested that an explosion was in the offing. Andrea took her duties as the most oldest and most successful of the Winston sister seriously. She also had their fathers volatile temper.

'Andrea, maybe you should have a sit,' Jessica suggested. 'My eyes are spinning from trying to follow you around the room.'

Her eldest sister responded with a frown. 'I'm trying to decide whether to haul this Levi's sorry *** into court or just track him down and beat him to a pulp.'

Kelly and Jessica exchanged a look. With Andrea, neither option was entirely out of the question. Both she and her husband; Shane Caruso had a law degree, a powerful sense of justice and a protective streak.

'I don't think that's necessary Andrea,' Jessica the peacemaker commented calmly. 'Getting you or Shane's name splashed in the papers will only make Kels feel worse and humiliated. Then the whole world would know that that creep played her for over a year. It's bad enough that we haven't told mom or dad this. If dad finds out then you'll be in court defending him on a murder charge.'

Andrea sighed. 'True.'

They all fell silent. Their father was a boisterous Italian who'd put the fear of God into more of their dates than any of them cared to recall. And those were the nice guys. Levi the mink wouldn't stand a chance against their father.

Andrea folded her arms and peered intently at Kelly. 'Are you positive you don't want me to do something? There are lots of ways to get even that don't involve bloodshed.'

'Forget it Andrea,' Kelly assured her. 'It's bad enough that you both know he managed to hide a wife and a kid from me, that I trusted and believed him every single time he evaded my questions about why we couldn't see each other on weekends, why we spent so little time in public.'

'Why did he tell you tonight? Was he feeling guilty?' Jessica asked.

'I wish,' Kelly admitted. 'I ran into him while they were out buying sneakers for the kids. It was the first time I had to see him with a ring. Even then, he tried to drag me out of sight and throw another lie about how he was being dutiful, that it didn't mean anything. Yada yada yada yada. His wife had seen us and given him a frozen look that scared the daylights out of him which tells me that this isn't the first time Levi's been caught straying. I don't know how he managed to get away from her to come over here to try to explain.'

'You didn't listen to a word he said did you?' Andrea demanded.

'Hell no. When I left them at the mall this morning, I called you guys quickly. And when he came this evening, I wanted him long gone when you got here.' She sighed. 'How stupid of me. I should've figured this out long ago.'

Jessica nudged Kelly in the ribs. 'It's gonna be fine'

'Is it? You two just flew all the way from Tuscany. Because of Levi. It's just not fair. What am I going to do now? I certainly can't continue working at Voyage Industries. If this isn't proof that you should never get involved with someone at the same company, I don't know what is. My stomach twists into a knot just at the thought of seeing him again. And to think that a day ago, I did everything to bump into him in the hallways.'

'You need to take some time off,' Andrea said, her expression thoughtful.

'What I need is another job.' Kelly corrected. 'It's something I should've done a long time ago. That receptionist job didn't pay the rent.'

'You don't need to look right away,' Andrea started. 'If you're short on cash, I can lend you whatever you need.'

'Says the high powered criminal defense attorney who is rolling In dough and has no time to spend it,' Jessica said. 'I'll chip in, too.'

Andrea nodded. 'I mean, don't you think it's time you followed us back to Italy? This is a sort of sign if you ask me.'

Kelly's eyes widened. 'Oh my God that's why you two came all the way isn't it? To drag my sorry *** back home.'

'We're your sisters Kels. We'll show up for you anytime but yes, we did come all the way to drag your sorry *** back home.'

'This is also my home.'

'Not if the rent is getting jacked up next month.' Jessica looked from Andrea to Kelly, passing a sad and pitiful expression. 'We ran into your landlord on our way up.'

Kelly pressed her palm on her face and wanted to cry till she couldn't anymore.

Jessica rubbed her back 'I can't imagine a more perfect place to get your head straight. Dad needs help in running the palazzo. Everyone back home misses you Kels.'

'Considering I haven't been back there in four years. Which is when grandma died.' She muffled into her palms.

'Which is all the more reason to come with us,' Andrea said. 'Being with your family is just what you need. Especially with what's happening at the palazzo.'

'What's happening?' Kelly looked up at her sister, dragging her palms from her face. 'Is dad having problems with the palazzo?'

'I'll save that for later,' Andrea waved. 'Working at the palazzo will keep your mind occupied all day, and by night you'll be so exhausted, you'll fall right to sleep.'

   Kelly wasn't sure she wanted to go away. She was all too use to her present life. Going back to Italy felt like she was running away from her problems and she didn't want to run. 'But why should I give Levi the satisfaction of running away?' Kelly argued. 'He's the scumbag.'

Jessica looked at Andrea. 'She does have a point. The Winston's never run away from things.'

Andrea scowled at both of them. 'So what are you going to do? You'll face him every now and then when he walks in the hallway of voyage? That sounds like a hell lot of fun don't you agree?'

Actually it didn't. It sounded like he'll, Kelly was forced to admit.

'Cmon Kels, you know I'm right, Andrea continued persistently. 'You'll have time to heal. To decide what you want to do next. It's about time you put that college degree of yours to use. You were wasting your time at Voyage on the off chance that someday there would be an opening in the marketing department. This could be the best thing that ever happened to you, if it finally gets you to find the right job, instead of something safe but boring.'

   ' if you say so,' she said bleakly.

'Would you rather sit in this apartment and cry all day?' Andrea demanded. Paragraph next line would you rather sit in this apartment and cry all day?' Andrea demanded.

    'No.' Kelly said firmly. How has she let herself be fooled by the impeccable breathing how has she let herself be fooled by that impeccable breeding? Levi Reid. Being charming and a pedigree didn't mean a man had character.

'Good. That's settled then,' Andrea said. 'We'll help you pack. We can leave first thing in the morning. I already booked our flight.'

'What? You did that already?'

Andrea shrugged. 'You're not that hard to convince.'

'I haven't even turned in my resignation at work,' Kelly protested. Not that she had any great desire to show her face around there as long as there was any chance at all she could bump into Levi.

'Email it in,' Andrea said curtly.

'But—'

'No buts,' Andrea said firmly.

Kelly sighed. 'OK, then. How am I supposed to explain it all to mom and dad?' She asked, grabbing at straws to keep from facing the inevitability of this trip. Their mother, to all outward appearances, might be a gentle black African belle but had the same kind of iron will their father had. She was every bit capable as Joe Winston of making Levi's life hell.

'Don't worry about them. Leave them to me.' Andrea said. 'Right now all they know is that you need a break from everything and you're coming back home. They couldn't care less about anything else right now. We'll just have to break it down to them when we get home. Whenever things get really really crazy and frantic at work, I just go back home and remind myself that there is a life after court. Knowing that my family is there calms me.'

'Agreed,' Jessica said at once. 'You always thought the Tuscany was magical.'

'I was a kid. It was summer vacation and we spent most of the time in Grandma's garden which was all too beautiful.'

'I can't imagine a more perfect place to get your head on straight.'

Kelly sighed. If only home would hold a few of those magical healing properties for her, she would be enternally grateful. Right now, with the image of Levi's kids and his wife's Icy disdain in her head and Levi's stinging admission still ringing in her ears, she had her doubts.

1

        'I like to be there for Danielle every day, even if it's only for part of this trip. Even if it means dragging her around with me,' Adrain De Luca dragged his hand lazily through his hair. 'Normally I'd leave her behind with my parents, but this is going to be for a month and it's not fair on them at their age.'

   A tiny frown appeared on Shawn's face as he pulled open Adrian's fridge to grab a bottle of beer. 'So you've got a problem then.'

'It appears so.' Adrain stared at his best friend settling into a stool in his enormous kitchen. 'Taking her along is the only way I'll be able to look after her and the business. I mean it's the only way I've known, and it's a precarious balance that so far seems to be working. I don't want to upset that balance, and abandon her for a month —and shortly after I get back I start filming the next tv series for eight weeks or so, and I'm going to need my parents goodwill for that.'

'I can come to Italy with you and look after her just while you're in the meetings, it would be amazingly helpful.' Shawn sat on the opposite him.

   Adrain eyed him thoughtfully. 'Really? You mean it? I can ask Laura'

'What? My sister? She's in France. Honeymoon remember?'

'Shoot, I forgot. I thought they were back already.' He leaned back, sighing.

'So what's this about?'

'It's like a real time vlog. It would have photos, blog posts, and field-tested travel advice. But most importantly, it would have a livestream that users could follow."

'A real-time vlog. That...that has advantage, I have to admit. People crave narrative, drama and feeds. Your fans will love you.'

"Exactly, and the DIY approach makes the adventure seem all possible and positive for them."

'We're talking no-holds-barred footage then? That's.....tempting.'

'It better. I can do everything with Danielle on my hip except the meetings.'

'Besides I need a vacation or at-least a break from work myself.'

'Absolutely. You'd be of help Shawn. I'm trying to set up a contract with a family there to supply my restaurants. I tasted some of their products at a trade fair, and I was really impressed. My manager said I needed to pick out a lifestyle and blog about it. I choose Italy. I want to see how they operate, taste the whole range, negotiate the price and see if we can strike a deal. And doing all that with Danielle on my hip really won't work.'

   Shawn laughed wryly. 'No, I can see that. Not exactly professional, and not fair on her either.'

'No it isn't and she's my top priority. If necessary, I'd cut the trip short rather than compromise my relationship with her, but I don't want to have to do that, because this is a great business opportunity and it could be great for her future as well as mine.'

   'I do owe you a lot,' Shawn grinned. 'You cooked for my almost wedding.'

'That was supposed to be my wedding gift to you.' Adrain said shortly.

  'Except there was no wedding. Or a bride to begin with. And you wouldn't let me pay you for it.'

   'It's the least important thing in the world right now Shawn.' Adrain started. He knew Shawn had the money being a sales manager but it didn't mean he would let his best friend pay. 'Okay Here's the deal. Come to Tuscany with me. Look after Danielle so I can work with a clear conscience and still put her to bed every night, and we'll call it quits.'

  'Quits? Are you crazy Adrian? I know what your outside catering costs!'

   He shrugged. 'There's a substantial mark-up. The true cost is nothing like the tariff. And you know how precious my daughter is to me. Nothing could be more important than leaving her with someone I can trust while I'm over there.'

   'You know I can't say no.' Shawn laughed. 'Are there women?'

  Adrian rolled his eyes with a chuckle. 'Do you have a case packed and ready to go?'

'Definitely.'

He nodded and got to his feet. 'Good. I'll get Danielle's stuff together and we'll go. I'm not sure, but we might even be able to fly out today.'

   'We leave today?!'

  'Is that a problem?'

'Not at all Adrian fvcking De Luca. Could've warned me earlier.' Shawn placed his bottle on the counter slapping his thighs, he got to his feet. 'How soon are we leaving?'

   Adrian shrugged. 'Half an hour, maybe.'

'I'm gonna go home and grab a couple of shirts and pants. I'll call you when I'm done.'

'Don't forget your passport man.'

   'Whatever.' Shawn turned his heel, reaching for the door then he stopped, turned and looked at the chef over his shoulder. 'Oh and Adrian, Grab some food will you?'

  Adrain laughed. 'Food? Food is easy. I can do food.' After Shawn left, he called his manager to prime her, then he called his mother and rang the charter company he used from time to time, and found they had a small jet flying to Florence for a pickup; he could hire the whole plane for the 'empty leg' rate, but it was leaving the airport at three. And it was twelve forty already.

                                      •*•*•

From start to finish, boarding the little jet had been a breeze. They'd driven right up to the Jet center terminal , their luggage and the baby's car seat and buggy were handed over, and the car had been whisked away to secure parking. The security check in was thorough but almost instant, and then they had a short work to the plane.

At the top of the steps the pilot greeted them by name I feel welcomed them aboard, gave them their ETA, a benign wether report and told them there was a car waiting for them at Florence.

'Mr De Luca.' A woman approached them with her hand extended.

'Amy is it? We've flown together before?'

'We have sir. It's a pleasure to welcome you and Danielle on board again, and Mr Gallo, I believe? I'm your cabin crew today, and if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask.'

Shawn smiled at Amy as they shook hands, and turned her attention back to Adrian. And when it was done, they got settled.

'That lady was literally checking you out and you didn't even notice. All the smiles she gave were personal and directed to you.' Shawn smirked.

Adrian snorted and shots Shawn a look. 'Please, she's not my type. It will be a cold day I'm hell before I married someone again.'

'Didn't say you should marry the woman.' Shawn gave a fleeting smile. 'Was that from me?' Shawn asked, pointing at the stuffed dinosaur toy Danielle was happily playing with.

'You sent it to her when she was born. She loves it. I have to take it everywhere with us.'

'I'm flattered. At least I'd done one thing right, then.' Shawn zipped the bag up, stashed it in the baggage compartment, and sat down opposite Danielle and across from Adrian.

'I need to make a quick call to sort out where we're going to stay tonight. Can you entertain her please. I won't be a moment.'

'Sure,' Shawn shut the avenue of thought and turned her attention to amusing Danielle.

Danielle didn't really need entertaining. He knew that from being around her most of the time, not with the dinosaur to chew and cackle, so Shawn was free to listen to what Adrian was saying. Not that he could understand it, because he was speaking Italian.

'Ciao. A dopo.' Adrian walker back in. Then he put his phone away and sat across Shawn. 'Well, that's our accommodation sorted,' he said with relief. 'I phoned Joe Winston to tell him I'm bringing a friend and a baby so we'll make our own arrangements but he wouldn't have any of it. He says there's plenty of room for you, too, they're fine with us all staying at the palazzo, as from tonight. Problem solved.'

'Wow, they live in a palazzo?'

'Apparently its an old Medici villa. I've seen pictures of it, and it's very beautiful. It's beautiful. It's been in the family for centuries, which is why I want to deal with them because it's not just business, it's in their blood, it's who they are. The meetings will be there, too, so if Danielle kicks off and you can't cope, I won't be far away.'

  'I have to warn you, I don't know anything about babies so it won't hurt to practice on Danielle so I can make my mistakes first with someone else's child.'

   Adrian chuckled, ruffling Danielle's dark curls gently. 'You won't make mistakes, and even if you do, you won't break her. She's pretty resilient.'

   Shawn's smile turned into a grimace.

'Chill Shawn, she's just a little person. She'll let you know what she needs.'

  'Yeah if you can mind read a nine-month-old baby.' Shawn shook his head. 'Anyway, So when's the camera crew arriving? I thought we were gonna fly with them.'

Adrian shook his head. 'Nope. I already called my manager. She said they'll definitely fly in later today or tomorrow.'

'Tuscany here we come.' Shawn cheered and Adrian laughed.

3

'Are you telling me or asking me?' Kelly demanded.

The rest of her family who were assembled around the palazzo kitchen counter seemed to be sitting in quiet acceptance but Kelly wasn't having any of that. She stared at her dad. Was he serious? Was he telling her that the palazzo was going to be a setting for a reality tv show —well not exactly a tv show but more like a blog or something.

'I'm telling you what's happening and asking if you're prepared to be part of it.' For a large man, her dad was very soft spoken when he wasn't angry and today was no exception. If Kelly's question had irritated him, he showed no signs of annoyance, maybe everyone was just glad to see her.

When she flew in yesterday, her mom had hugged the living daylights out of her. They'd celebrated till Kelly was too tired and decided she had to go to bed. She was more excited when she woke up this morning feeling refreshed and fresh.

And now they decide to tell her that she's going to be involved in a vlog?

'Do I have a choice?' She asked, looking at her sisters. She was now mad at them for dragging her back home. They knew all along and didn't think to give her heads up?

'Of course you do baby,' her mom started. 'But I would like you to consider what this means for the palazzo—money going into bakers bins and tables, good publicity, free publicity.'

'What if something goes wrong? What if there's a disaster and the palazzo gets sued? That won't garner good publicity.'

'It's nothing serious Kelly, you're exaggerating.' Jessica stated. 'Do you have any idea how many people watched the last series of DLK?'

Kelly thought her question was rhetorical but when Jessica paused, obviously waiting for her answer, she shook her head. She had no clue.

'Two million. Every night. And you know how people follow his vlog?'

Kelly had known DLK—De Luca kitchen, the series filmed in London was popular but she hadn't realize how popular.

'And Adrian De Luca is the star.' Andrea shrugged and dipped her coffee.

Kelly stared at her sister in disbelief. So is this all about the money or the star?'

'Don't be quick to criticize, the publicity like I said will be good.' Her mom chirped, smiling. Then got to her feet. 'Excuse me. I have to see that everything is being arranged for our guests.'

'It doesn't look like you're lacking publicity here. This place seems to be running just fine.' She argued turning to her dad.

'Kelly,' her dad sighed. 'This partnership will be good for the hotel and that's it.'

She'd moved back to this quiet safe-haven. She'd moved back home to rebuild her life and she wasn't happy to find that she might be cast into public eyes which was the last thing she needed. She needed space and time. Isn't that why she had left Boston? Not happy at all. 'I'm not interested in being part of it. It seems to me you've just found a perfect chef to partner with you accompanied by his own circus.'

'I have never worked with a circus. People, yes, children, yes, animals, no, and definitely not circuses.'

Kelly jumped as a deep masculine voice spoke up behind her like molten lava down her spine. From the seat beside her she heard Jessica catch her breath and then sigh, and Kelly didn't need to turn her head to know that Chef Adrian De Luca was standing behind her and had obviously heard her every word. She could feel the eyes of everyone else in the room. They were watching her, waiting with interest to see what she was going to do.

She had no idea what Adrian De Luca was thinking and she didn't want to turn around to read the expression on his face, but he had addressed her as she couldn't sit there pretending to be deaf. She turned in her seat to find the devil himself watching her. A rather handsome devil, she had to admit, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't want him here.

Of course, she recognized him immediately. No introduction was necessary, at least from her side. Jessica was right, DLK was a huge ratings winner and, even if Kelly hadn't actually been glued to her television like everyone else for the last season, she certainly caught a few episodes and knew who Adriann De Luca was. But why did he have to turn up here?

Joe Winston's hand extended. 'Joe Winston,' he said. 'And you're Adrian De Luca. It's good to meet you. Welcome to palazzo Valtieri. And you must be Mr Gallo.'

'Shawn, please,' Shawn said, smiling as he shook Joe's warm and firm hand.

'Shawn welcome. My wife Lauren and I have been looking forward to meeting you both. She's just making sure everything is comfortable.' Joe said, waving away the staffs who led them in. 'These are my girls, Andrea, Kelly and Jessica.'

  Both men gave a subtle nod towards the girls. 'It's nice to meet you Mrs Caruso, Jessica and Kelly Winston.’

‘It’s a pleasure.’ Andrea said getting to her feet. Then to her dad she said ‘Dad, I have to run, I’m due court, but I’ll be joining later.’ She kissed him on the cheek and trailed out.

‘Do you have any other objections miss Winston?’ He was looking straight at Kelly now.

She frowned. I’m sure I have a lot more objections, chef De Luca and without more information, a lot more information. I won’t make a decision about my involvement.’

‘Don’t say no just yet.’

Kelly met his gaze and thought of all the ways she could say no to him but then his intense expression give way to his mouth and his seriousness dissolved into something else altogether. Somethings slightly carnal and iniquitous, and Kelly forgot all about the blog, all about cameras invading the Palazzo, all about saying no as his smile raced through her.

‘Your daughter?’ Joe interrupted.

    Adrian looked back at Joe. ‘She’s in the car. One of your staffs took her. ‘The place is beautiful by the way.’

‘Thank you. Come on, let me show you your rooms.’ Joe led them out of the kitchen and around the walkway under cloisters and through a door into a spacious, airy sitting room with French doors opening out onto to a terrace. The sun had dipped below the horizon now, blurring the detail in the valley stretched out below them, but Adrian was fairly sure the view would be amazing

Everything else about the place seemed to be, and he knew it would be crammed with wonderful photo opportunities.

Joe pushed open a couple of doors to reveal two generous bedrooms, both of them opening out onto the same terrace and sharing a well equipped bathroom. There was a small kitchen area off the sitting room, as well, and for their purposes it couldn’t have been better.

‘If there’s anything else you want, please ask, and Lauren hopes your hungry. She’s been cooking up a storm ever since you rang and we’d love to join us once you’ve got the baby.’

‘That would be great, but she didn’t have to go through any trouble. We don’t want to impose.’ Adrian said but Joe wasn’t having any of it.

‘No way. She’s a chef, too, and not offering you food would be an unforgivable sin,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Just as soon as the baby’s settled, give me a call on my mobile and I’ll come get you. My brothers will be arriving with their wives as well tonight and we don’t in anyway dress for dinner, so don’t feel you have to change. We’ll be eating in the kitchen as usual.’

The door closed behind Joe and Adrian turned to Shawn. ‘Sure sounds like the wanna meet us, or me, at least. If you don’t feel up to it—‘

Shawn’s stomach rumbled, answering the question, and Adrian laughed. ‘So that’s a yes. Will it be alright to leave Danielle in the room? She was asleep when the staffs picked her up. Where is she anyway? Joe did say he was gonna send someone to bring her up.’

‘Probably on their way.’ Adrian picked up something up off a side table and wagged it at Shawn. ‘Baby monitor. They really have thought of everything.’