“But you don’t cook, Aunt Ruby. And unless there’s a microwave…”
Matteo spread his hands. “You can take lessons. Many chefs here offer classes.”
“Better send for Stefano,” Ariana said.
“Don’t and can’t are two different things.” Ruby put a hand on her hip. “I never said I didn’t know how to cook.”
“You’re kidding,” Ariana said, shocked at this revelation. “All these years, and I’ve never seen you turn on a stovetop.”
“I didn’t want Stefano to feel like he wasn’t needed, and the kitchen is his domain.” Ruby waved her manicured hands. “But yes, I learned how to cook as a girl in Texas. Grits, brisket, enchiladas, peach marmalade. And I learned more here in Italy.” She shrugged. “It’s been a while, but cooking is like tap dancing. It’s something you never forget.” A dreamy glow softened her face like a soft-focus filter.
“This I have to see,” Ariana said. “I still think we should send for Stefano.”
“Wouldn’t he love it here?” Ruby’s eyes brightened.
“And let’s take cooking classes. We’ll have a cooking fest and invite all the neighbors.” She turned to face an attached room with a stone fireplace so large a person could stand in it, and a long rustic table that could comfortably seat a crowd. “What fun we’re going to have.”
“We don’t know anyone here,” Ariana said.
“We know Matteo,” Ruby said as the slender young driver inclined his head. “And that wonderful hotel concierge, Vera Orsini, who helped me find a real estate attorney to handle the purchase. And the attorney. Look, that’s four, and their spouses or plus-ones. They can each bring another interesting person or two, and there you have a party of sixteen or twenty. See how that happens?”
“I’m not helping you cook for that many people. I can’t imagine how exhausting that would be. We’ll get take-out.”
Ruby dismissed her comment. “Darling, you’ve been cooped up in an office far too long. Insular, that’s what your life has been. Let me show you the other side.”
Ariana opened her mouth to protest, but Ruby clapped her hands and sashayed from the kitchen, clearly bent on a mission. “On we go. Bedrooms on the second floor.”
Lightly touching the dusty railing on the grand, curved staircase, Ariana followed Ruby up the stone steps. Halfway up, Ruby paused on a landing.
“Wouldn’t this make a marvelous atelier?” Ruby said, turning to the spacious hall below them. “I can just see models swooping down this staircase, with rows of beautiful clients on either side of the catwalk. Why, this could almost be Paris, in dear Hubert’s atelier—that’s Givenchy, darling. Rest his dear soul.”
“First, a hotel, now an atelier.”
“Did you leave your imagination at home?” Ruby turned again and climbed the rest of the stairs with the nimbleness of a dancer. “Oh, and make another note. We’ll need plants inside and out. Palm trees, ferns, and bushels of flowers.”
Just watching Ruby was making Ariana tired. A thought struck her. Just when had they reversed roles? Then another thought occurred to her. “Aunt Ruby, did your doctor change your medication recently? Because you’re acting awfully euphoric.”
A wave of disappointment crossed Ruby’s face. “How dare you suggest my enthusiasm for life is medically enhanced.”
Immediately, Ariana felt guilty. Especially since, at Ruby’s age, she might not have another chance to live her dream. Maybe that’s what this was.
“All my life, I’ve traveled the world at a moment’s notice,” Ruby said, standing imperiously at the top of the stairway. “Location filming, film festivals, commercials, photoshoots, runway shows. This is my life, darling. And I’m going to live it. You can join me—or get a flight home. But I won’t stand for any more complaining.” Ruby lifted her chin. “I will excuse you on account of your condition.”
Ariana winced with remorse over her hasty words. How and when had she become so narrowly focused and judgmental? Perhaps her aunt was right about her insularity.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have questioned you like that.” Ariana reached the top of the stairs and wrapped her arms around her aunt. Aside from her mother, Ruby was the only family she had. So what if her aunt was a little flamboyant, a little adventurous? At her age, Ruby could do whatever she wanted.
Ruby hugged her back with surprising strength. “Leave the old you in L.A. Here, you can be a brand new you.” Ruby smoothed her hands over Ariana’s cheeks. “Like those little silkworms that feast on mulberry leaves, you’ve been trapped in a cocoon, but now you’re ready to fly.”
“But I’m worried about the baby,” Ariana whispered, even though Matteo was waiting outside.
“All the more reason to have fun right now.”
Ariana blinked back a surge of emotion. Between work and Phillip, Ariana had spent a decade of her life worrying about making other people happy. “I hardly know how to do that .”
Ruby smiled and kissed her cheek. “You’ll have a month to figure it out. Who knows what could happen?” She took Ariana’s hand, and they walked on.
To Ariana’s surprise, the bedrooms were large and airy, with windows that opened over the lake with the most spectacular views. Each room had parquet floors, fireplaces, high overhead beams, and antique wood furniture that only needed bedding. And maybe a rug and a pot of fresh flowers. Ariana caught herself imagining how she’d decorate each room.
“Choose any bedroom,” Ruby said. “The rest we’ll set up as guest rooms or whatever you’d like. One could be a nursery.”
“Maybe,” Ariana said, still overwhelmed. She couldn’t take much time off as long as she worked for Kingsley. What if the baby became ill? Kingsley had fired people for less.
Ariana walked into the largest of the high-ceilinged rooms that featured a fireplace, bookshelves, a sitting area, and a private balcony. Connected to the main bedroom was an adjoining room. The bathroom was not one but two, each with an enormous tub or shower, chandeliers, gilded mirrors, and space for furnishings. Although the fixtures were circa the 1950s, Ariana wouldn’t have changed much. Everything had been immaculately cared for. She glanced into another room, which she took for a dressing room.
“I’ve never seen a closet like this, Aunt Ruby.” A long, trifold mirror stood at one end beside a raised step and upholstered stools. Walls of closets and drawers would have held several times her wardrobe. “It’s an entire dressing room, and it’s even larger than your closet. I didn’t think that was possible. This should be your retreat, Aunt Ruby.”
“I don’t need this much. Why don’t you take it?”
“I’d be lost in here.”
Ruby smiled. “Not if you weren’t alone.”
“I’m in no hurry to audition replacements.” Ariana found herself vacillating between never wanting to date again and longing for a soulmate.
“You never know where you’ll find talent,” Ruby said.
Ariana chuckled and ran a hand over her abdomen. “I’m on the cusp of a major life change.” As she peered from a wide picture window overlooking the serene lake, she smiled. Waking to this view would be blissful. “Villa Fiori is rather magical, isn’t it?”