‘Great, thanks, Sinclair. I believe Laney and Erasmus are arriving on Saturday morning. Anyway, Marina’ll come and pick you guys up on Friday afternoon.’ She exchanged glances with Marina in the mirror. ‘You wouldn’t mind picking Ethan up again on Friday, would you?’ As she saw Marina’s eyes and smile widen, she reflected that it was without doubt a rhetorical question.
Back at the hotel, Ethan disappeared up to his room and Emma was about to go out and look for Mark and Rich to tell them that their illustrious guest had arrived when it occurred to her that today was the third day of filming of Sweet Memories back in Hollywood and she hadn’t spoken to Elliot since Monday. Yesterday she hadn’t even thought about the new film. Was her Italian ‘holiday’ taking the edge off her Hollywood executive persona? And if so, was that a good thing? She looked down at the phone in her hand and mulled it over for a few moments before deciding to leave well alone. He hadn’t called, so that meant everything was fine. It was his responsibility now, not hers. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She returned the phone to her pocket and went down to the pool.
As she had expected, Mark and Rich were by the very secluded pool, but once again, Mark had eschewed the water and was lying in the shade, still wearing a T-shirt. Rich on the other hand had obviously just come out of the water as he was still dripping when he addressed her.
‘Tell Ethan to come down for a swim. The water temperature’s perfect. And why don’t you have a swim as well, boss?’
Emma glanced at the water and thought about how inviting it looked. She had been planning on going back to her room to spend an hour on the internet checking out the locations Marina had earmarked for tomorrow, but she could do with a little break after the crowds and hustle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
‘I think I’ll do just that, Rich.’
Back home in LA she would never have dreamt of skipping work for the sake of a swim but this wasn’t LA. All right, she wasn’t on ‘holiday’, but she knew there was no real reason why she couldn’t have a dip in the pool and do her work later on.
Mark looked up from his book. ‘Did the great man arrive safely?’
‘Yes, and we’ve done the whole Leaning Tower thing with him.’ Then, out of what the rational part of her brain clearly identified as sheer mischief, she chose to elaborate. ‘A whole bunch of American tourists turned up at one point and I had to take him in my arms and kiss him until they passed.’ She gave them both a grin. ‘I love my job.’
By the time she had changed into a bikini, wrapped herself in a towel dressing gown from the back of the bathroom door, and made her way back out to the pool again, she found Ethan and Marina already there. He was fooling about with Richard, trying to push him into the water while Marina, now wearing an even smaller bikini, stood by and watched the show wide-eyed. There was no doubt about it. Ethan had an amazing body, although Emma knew more than most the extent of the relentless hours of hard work and discipline that went into keeping him looking so good. For a moment or two, Emma also allowed herself the treat of seeing two good-looking men grappling hand-to-hand. Then, as they both finally toppled sideways into the water, she slipped off her robe and turned to set it down on a sunbed next to the other good-looking man around here. As she did so, she distinctly caught Mark’s eyes on her body and she gave him her biggest smile.
‘Not coming in, Mark?’
Was he blushing? Surely not. When he replied, however, he sounded quite relaxed, so maybe her eyes had been deceiving her.
‘No, thanks, I’m happy as I am. Enjoy your swim.’
She toyed with the idea of diving in, but the memory of her embarrassment some years previously when she had done just that at a friend’s house, only to resurface without the top half of her bikini, persuaded her to be more cautious. While she rather liked the thought of having Mark’s eyes on her, that might be too much, too soon. Instead, she walked carefully down the tiled steps at the shallow end and slowly sank down until the water covered her shoulders. Only then did she lie back and let her feet float to the surface, her eyes trained on the cloudless blue of the sky above and the tops of three majestic palm trees that leant over the pool. It felt wonderful and she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so relaxed. The last holiday she had taken had been almost two years ago and that had been a mad rush back to the UK to see her parents, coupled with two days in London meeting people for work. It had rained all week and she had returned to LA feeling little fresher than when she had left. Now, a happy smile on her face, she floated and swam about in the water for a good long while before climbing back out again.
By now Marina had joined the two men at the far end of the pool and Emma had no doubt she would be enjoying herself immensely. After all, how many girls could say they’d been swimming with a Hollywood A-lister? And, for that matter, with the man who might become the next king of Hollywood?
Emma went over to a shower in the corner and washed the pool water off her body and rinsed her hair. Then, returning to the sunbed where she had left her robe, she dabbed herself reasonably dry before stretching out on top of it and lying back. The sun was pleasantly warm on her body, the air filled with the heady perfume of the lavender and broom plants that surrounded the pool, and she was very aware that she was lying, half-naked, alongside a man whose very presence gave her goosebumps. It felt really good and she found herself smiling, although she had to remind herself that he was already taken.
‘So, are you happy with the way things are working out so far?’
She rolled her head towards the sound of Mark’s voice. ‘So far, so good, thanks. We’ve found some great locations, Rich is sounding good, Marina’s a treasure, and I’ve got my very own history expert at my side. What more could a girl want?’
His eyes flicked towards where Ethan was still swimming. ‘Maybe a Hollywood megastar at your other side?’
His voice was so studiously neutral it screamed curiosity, and she had a little smile to herself. Maybe he was interested after all. Mind you, she reminded herself, she had better restrict herself to just flirting with him. He already had a wife or girlfriend waiting for him back in Umbria, so maybe enough was enough now. The last thing she wanted to do was to annoy him or to cause any kind of friction within the group. He had been a mine of useful information so far and she knew his knowledge would be even more helpful from tomorrow when they hit the real historical heart of Tuscany. There was no way she wanted him to feel left out or miffed in any way. She rolled onto her side and propped herself on one elbow as she replied, but only after taking a quick look down the pool to be sure the others were still well out of earshot.
‘Not this megastar. In fact, no megastars. Ethan’s a sweetie. I’ve known him for quite a few years now and we get on well together but, and I know this is going to sound ridiculous seeing as he’s a Hollywood idol and all that, but I’ve only ever thought of him as a friend, more like a sweet little brother really. Underneath that hunky exterior, he’s remarkably insecure. I’m sort of his shoulder to cry on.’
‘Well, we all need a shoulder to cry on from time to time. He’s a lucky man to have you as a friend.’
There was something in his voice that cut straight to her heart and she couldn’t help herself. Stretching out her free arm, she caught him briefly on the forearm with her hand. She gave him a reassuring squeeze before releasing him again.