Santo let go of her hand and drove for a few minutes before pulling up outside a small restaurant that had been his favourite for years. ‘Today you are going to eat food that someone else has cooked for you. This place is incredible. Even you will be impressed.’
He needed to spend more time with her, he realised. He needed to make sure that their relationship wasn’t just about sex.
He chose a quiet table in the corner of the courtyard, shaded by the tangled leaves of a mature vine. The tantalizing aroma of garlic and spices drifted from the kitchen and the sounds of sizzling mingled with the hum of conversation and the occasional raised voices of the chefs.
They ordered a selection of dishes to share and Santo watched as she tasted each one. At one point she went into the kitchen to question the chef and then pulled a notebook out of her bag and scribbled in it.
She was an instinctive cook, he realised, finding it a pleasure to watch her sample flavours and textures.
‘This is good. But I’d make it without the pine nuts—’ she dissected the food with her fork to study the composition ‘—and possibly lighter on the spices because they’re overwhelming the flavour of the fish. If we served it with a green salad it would be a perfect healthy lunch for the Beach Club. And I’ve been thinking about that—’
‘About the menu at the Beach Club?’
‘You want to attract a young, sports-mad crowd. So you should serve a mixture of light, healthy food and a few pasta dishes that deliver carbohydrate without thick calorie-rich sauces. Increase the fish and vegetables. The current menu looks like a homage to comfort food.’ She scribbled more notes for herself and he watched, thinking how much he’d underestimated her.
‘Would you be willing to review the menus for the whole Ferrara Group?’
Her cheeks turned pink. ‘Would you want me to?’
‘Definitely. Whenever we build a new hotel, Laurel oversees the development of each fitness centre. She advises us on equipment and she helps us find the right staff.’
She put her pen down and picked up her fork. ‘Is that how Cristiano met Laurel? She worked for you?’
‘She was Dani’s best f
riend at college and I employed her as my personal trainer. Cristiano was so impressed he asked her to advise on all our fitness centres. I never thought I would see Cristiano fall crazily in love, but he did. When he and Laurel split for a while he was like a different person. It was a great relief to everyone when they got back together. They never stopped loving each other and it was their love that held them together.’
She stopped eating.
Slowly, she put her fork down on her plate as if she could no longer face the food.
All the happiness seemed to have drained out of her.
Santo rewound the conversation in an attempt to work out what he’d said. Maybe she’d misinterpreted his story. ‘So basically Cristiano was not willing to entertain the idea of divorce because he loved her so much.’
‘That’s romantic.’ Her face was horribly pale and she sat back and gave up the pretence of eating. ‘This is delicious but I’m not very hungry. I’m sorry.’
‘There is no need to be so polite. But a moment ago you were chatting happily and now you look as if I delivered bad news.’ She’d been fine until he mentioned Cristiano’s name. Aware that Cristiano had been cool with her at the wedding, Santo made a mental note to warn his brother to lighten up. ‘If something is wrong, I wish you would just tell me.’
‘Nothing is wrong. I’m having a really nice day. Just a bit tired.’
If she was tired, then that was his fault, Santo thought as they left the restaurant. Guilt flashed through him. They spent a substantial chunk of every night making love. He’d thought she enjoyed the physical side of their relationship as much as he did, but now he was wondering whether she just saw that as another one of her duties. He made a mental note to let her sleep through the night instead of keeping her awake.
He was all too conscious that he was the one who had propelled her into this marriage.
She’d married him because she felt she had a responsibility towards Luca.
Was she regretting that now?
* * *
Their marriage limped along for another few weeks with Santo going out of his way to fulfil the role of perfect husband. He showered her with expensive gifts, took her on glamorous nights out, even flew her to Paris to sample the food in a restaurant she’d mentioned. But the harder he tried, the worse she felt. Santo took to coming to bed later and later and when he did eventually slide into the bed next to her, he didn’t touch her.
For Fia, it was the final straw.
The one thing that had always been good about their marriage was the sex, and apparently he no longer even wanted that. She was well aware that, before he’d married her, Santo didn’t have a history of long relationships. He had a short attention span when it came to women, was easily bored and had a ferocious sex drive. No matter what he’d said at the beginning, it was obvious to her that he’d had enough of sleeping with the same woman.
And as far as she could see, that could have only one outcome.