Best Friend to Wife and Mother?. Caroline Anderson

frown flashed across his face. ‘No, Amy, of course not. I didn’t think you’d want to talk about it and it just puts an elephant in the room.’

      ‘So—no elephants waiting for me?’

      He gave a quiet grunt of laughter, the frown morphing into a sympathetic smile. ‘No elephants, I promise.’

      ‘Good,’ she said, smiling back as the last knot of tension drained away, ‘because I’m really, really hungry now!’

      ‘When aren’t you?’ he muttered with a teasing grin, pulling out his phone, and moments later Massimo appeared and led them across the courtyard and into a bustling kitchen filled with laughter.

      There were five people in there, two men and three women, all seated at a huge table with the exception of a pregnant woman—Lydia?—who was standing at the stove, brandishing a wooden spoon as she spoke.

      Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at them expectantly, the men getting to their feet to greet them as Massimo made a quick round of introductions, ending with his wife. She’d abandoned her cooking, the wooden spoon quickly dumped on the worktop as she came towards them, hands outstretched in welcome.

      ‘Oh, I’m so glad you’ve both decided to come over and join us. I hope you’re hungry?’

      ‘Absolutely! It smells so amazing in here,’ she said with a laugh, and then was astonished when Lydia hugged her.

      ‘Oh, bless you, I love compliments. And you’re Leo,’ she said, letting go of Amy and hugging him, too. ‘I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you. You’ve been my hero for years!’

      To Amy’s surprise, Leo coloured slightly and gave a soft, self-effacing chuckle. ‘Thank you. That’s a real compliment, coming from another chef.’

      ‘Yeah, well, there are chefs and chefs!’ Lydia said with a laugh. ‘Darling, get them a glass of wine. I’m sure they’re ready for it. Travelling with a baby is a nightmare.’

      ‘I’m on it. Red or white?’

      Leo chuckled and glanced over at Lydia. ‘Judging by the gorgeous smell, I’d say a nice robust red?’

      ‘Perfect with it. And it’s one of your recipes,’ Lydia told him with a wry grin. ‘I’ve adapted it to showcase some of our ingredients, so I hope I’ve done them justice.’

      They launched into chef mode, and Amy found a glass of iced water put in her hand by one of the other two women. It appeared she was also English and her smile was friendly and welcoming.

      ‘I don’t know about you, but travelling always makes me thirsty,’ she said. ‘I’m Isabelle, and I’m married to Luca. He’s a doctor, so more of a sleeping partner in the business, really. And this is Anita, the only native Valtieri wife. She’s married to Giovanni. He’s a lawyer and he keeps us all on the straight and narrow.’

      ‘Well, he tries,’ Anita said, her laughing words heavily accented, and Amy found herself hugged again. ‘Welcome to Tuscany. Have you had a good day so far? I thought Leo was supposed to be at a wedding today, but obviously not.’