The Italian Effect. Josie Metcalfe

      Unfortunately, there were two things wrong with the picture—Matt wasn’t her husband and Taddeo wasn’t her child.

      She must have made a sound, because suddenly both of them were looking at her. The expression of pleasure in their dark eyes was subtly different, but they had almost identical smiles of welcome on their faces.

      “Lissa! You’re late! Papa has already started the story,” Taddeo exclaimed. “Come and sit next to me so you can see the pictures.”

      When she hesitated, Matt seconded the invitation, but the expression in his eyes wasn’t nearly so candid.

      “Yes, Lissa. Come and sit next to us so you can find out if the sky is really falling down.”

      There was a sweet pain in leaning close to the two of them to share the book, knowing that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. One half of her mind was relishing every nuance, from the fresh, soapy smell of Taddeo’s skin to the deep resonance of Matt’s voice. The other half was desperately trying to preserve even a little distance, so that when she was no longer part of the circle, her heart wouldn’t forever mourn their loss.

      Dear Reader,

      I was only a child the first time I saw it, but I can still remember my first view of the Adriatic and the stark scenery of the southern Italian coast.

      Many people travel to ancient monuments to learn about other cultures. For me, though, the land of the inhabitants, the rocks they climbed and the sea they gazed out over, tell me far more of who those ancient peoples were, deep inside, where it matters.

      When I wanted to write Lissa’s story, that long-treasured region in Italy was the obvious place for her to meet Matteo and his daredevil son and to discover the powerful effect both of them would have on her life.

      Happy reading,

      Josie Metcalfe

      The Italian Effect

      Josie Metcalfe

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CONTENTS

       COVER

Dear Reader

       TITLE PAGE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       COPYRIGHT

       CHAPTER ONE

      TWO days into her holiday Lissa flopped back on her beach towel and heaved a great sigh.

      She might have booked it at the very last minute, but it was all exactly as the travel agent had promised. The Italian sky was impossibly blue, the sand was soft and white and the sun was warm and bright.

      It wasn’t exactly the exotic Far-Eastern destination she’d been looking forward to for the last six months, but it was her grandmother’s native country. She just wished she were visiting it under happier circumstances.

      As it was, all around her was a complete selection of nationalities and every one of them, from the oldest to the youngest, was enjoying themselves…and she was already bored to tears.

      ‘There’s nothing to do,’ she muttered, slapping shut the thick glitzy novel she’d picked up at the airport and closing her eyes in disgust. It was by a favourite author and she’d been so certain that it would be able to hold her attention. She needed it to be able to hold her attention because there were things she didn’t want to have time to think about.

      After the last year of non-stop activity and the excitement of making all those plans for her future…No, she wasn’t going to think about that disaster and the way it had changed her life for ever.

      She desperately needed this break and had been looking forward to having time to relax, but, oh, she was finding it so hard to unwind.

      Yesterday she’d hired a car to take a preliminary look at the local sights and had promised herself a longer look at the nearby countryside which her grandmother had described so many times. She had a whole month to fill, after all, she reminded herself with a silent groan, and it was still far too soon to start thinking about anything further away than that.

      This morning she’d even visited the hotel’s beauty salon for more than an hour’s pampering and then had promptly undone most of the beautician’s efforts with a dip in the sea. Unless she was willing to waste her time wandering around the small parade of souvenir-filled shops lining the sea front, all that remained was to lie here and listen to the world go by.

      Thank goodness the ice-cream vendor seemed to have switched his chimes off for a while. It had been a welcome surprise to recognise the very English sound of ‘Greensleeves’ instead of the ubiquitous ‘O sole mio’—at least until the thirty-seventh repetition.

      Lissa sighed again and then forced herself to play the game of trying to separate out all the different elements of the sounds surrounding her.

      First and most pervasive was the rhythmic susurration of the waves on the shore, punctuated by the raucous shrieks of seabirds. She’d watched them earlier, wheeling about the edges of the rocky outcrops that edged the beach.

      Almost as raucous were the children, their cries and laughter ebbing and flowing around her with the intermittent thuds of running feet. There were several family groups with youngsters ranging from a few months old to young teenagers, and the way they all seemed to play together it was difficult to tell which children belonged with which parents.

      Nearby was a young couple, honeymooners by the self-obsessed look of them and the shiny newness of their matching wedding rings. Their soft murmurs reached her on the fitful breeze and faded every so often into meaningful silences and husky laughter.

      If the steamy kiss she’d witnessed a few moments ago was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be long before they disappeared back to their room.