As they sat there, his arm around her shoulders, watching as the swallows in the sky above them were gradually replaced by bats, her thoughts turned, yet again, to just exactly what she wanted out of life. Up until just ten days ago, there had been no doubt in her mind: her job, and her ambition to rise as far up the ladder as she could in JMGP, had been her overriding ambition. Now, with the arrival of Mark, the waters had been irrevocably muddied and Dexter’s big news this afternoon had only added to the burden she now carried on her shoulders. The man or the job? She knew full well she wasn’t the first woman in history to be faced with this dilemma and she wouldn’t be the last, but knowing that she wasn’t unique didn’t help.
As the shadows lengthened and old-fashioned lamps came on to illuminate the scene, she turned her head towards him, resting her cheek on his chest directly on top of his three bullet wounds. ‘Mark, will you come and visit me in LA?’
He glanced down and she immediately knew that his mind had been running along similar lines.
‘Of course I will.’ He bent down and kissed her softly on the forehead. ‘And will you come and visit Carmen and me in Umbria?’
‘Just as soon as I can. The thing is… you maybe know that American companies aren’t great as far as long vacations are concerned. It might not be a long visit, but I promise I’ll come.’
‘And you’ll try not to forget me?’ His eyes were smiling, but his tone was melancholy.
‘I’ll never, ever, forget you, Mark.’ She stretched up and kissed him hard on the lips. ‘Never.’
She didn’t say anything else as she was struggling as hard as she had ever struggled before in her life to stop the tears from running.
It wasn’t easy.
Chapter 23
Emma woke early next morning and peeked out of the side of the curtains from the bed. Today was overcast and the sky matched her mood. She turned her head on the pillow and looked across at Mark beside her. He was still asleep and supporting herself on one elbow she watched him as he lay there, his strong chest gently rising and falling in time with his breath. Without stretching for her watch or her phone she had no idea what time it was, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was here beside her.
For now.
She felt herself smiling down at him as her eyes ran across his body and up to his face. As her eyes reached his eyes, they opened.
‘Buongiorno, signora.’ His face broke into a warm smile.
‘Buongiorno, signore. You looked very peaceful.’
‘And I was. How long have you been awake?’
‘Not long. I was just lying here thinking.’ She didn’t tell him what she had been thinking about. The clouds behind his blue-grey eyes made it clear that he knew.
He leant across and kissed her, reaching out with one arm to pull her tightly against his body.
‘You’re amazing. Did you know that?’
She nuzzled against his chest, gently kissing his battle scars one by one. ‘Not as amazing as you.’
He reached over with his free hand and checked the time. ‘Six thirty. Our last day together. Let’s make sure it’s unforgettable.’
* * *
When they got down to breakfast a couple of hours later, Rich and Marina were already there and it was immediately obvious that Marina had been crying. Rich was sitting close beside her and he was holding her hand. He hadn’t been crying but he was looking pretty miserable. Emma immediately did her best to cheer them up, even though their sombre mood so accurately matched her own.
‘Hi, guys. Mark and I have just been saying that seeing as this is our last full day together, we need to do our very best to make it unforgettable. I know you two will be seeing each other again in a month or so, but we owe it to Emily and Robert to make sure we give them the very best final day we can.’
She deliberately omitted any mention of when she and Mark might be seeing each other again, if ever, and concentrated on sounding positive and in control of the situation and of her emotions.
At least for now.
‘Marina, I want you to book us into the most fabulous, romantic and exquisite restaurant in Venice for dinner tonight. Ideally, make it somewhere that was operating back then before the First World War so I can take a final few photos. Can you do that?’
She was delighted to see a little smile form on Marina’s face. ‘I’ve already done that, if you’re agreeable. It’s called the l’Antica Trattoria and it’s supposed to have been there since the Napoleonic wars. It’s a twenty-minute walk from our hotel and everybody says the seafood there’s exquisite.’
Emma smiled back at her. ‘I knew we could count on you, Marina. That sounds fantastic. And what about our trip along the canal to Venice this afternoon?’
Once again, Marina was on the case. ‘It’s a bit pricey, but I’ve arranged for a water taxi to pick us up partway and take us right to our hotel. They said they’ll give us a little tour of Venice en route.’
‘Terrific.’ The smile still firmly plastered onto her face, Emma did her best to keep the mood positive. ‘Right, seeing as we’re celebrating today, I think I can allow myself a plate of bacon and eggs.’ She glanced across at Mark. ‘You going to join me? I think we’ve earned it.’
He grinned back. ‘A double helping for me.’
* * *
They drove down to the outskirts of Padua and left the car in a big car park. From there, they took a taxi into the city centre. Marina queried with the driver where he thought they should start their tour and he had no hesitation.
‘You have to start with the Basilica di Sant’Antonio. It’s one of the wonders of the world.’
Marina turned to the others with a smile. ‘Exactly what I thought. Great. First stop the basilica.’
He deposited them in the wide square, directly opposite the massive church. This turned out to be the oriental-looking building Emma had glimpsed from afar the previous evening. Marina took over from Mark as their guide as this was a city she knew well.
‘The basilica was started in 1232 and it took almost a century to finish. It’s a unique mixture of styles, predominantly Romanesque and Byzantine. See the domes on the roof, for example. And if you wonder how I know that, it’s because I used to work as a tourist guide in my holidays when we were living here.’
The bulbous domes were unlike the roof of any church Emma had seen before and there was no missing the eastern origins of the design. Among them were tall, slim bell towers that reminded her of Turkish minarets. Altogether it was an astonishing building and Emma wasted no time in taking a load of photos and adding it to her list. Professionally, what particularly appealed to her was the relative absence of tourists, in comparison to Pisa and Siena and even Bologna. Here, she felt sure, it would be fairly straightforward to find the space for the film crew to operate.
From there, Marina led them into the maze of cobbled streets of the centro storico. Emma was very happy to follow her lead, walking hand in hand with Mark. Here among the ancient buildings, there was a real romantic feel and, for once, she abandoned herself to it for a couple of hours and just enjoyed being with him, doing her best to keep her thoughts in the present, rather than the looming future.