The Italian Affair (3 page)

A sense of guilt shot through her at how badly she had treated Rick Caruso the night before. After all, like he had said, he had only been trying to help and he had been kind enough to give her a lift to the hospital.

Determined to be a bit friendlier, she approached him with a smile. ‘I see you’re up early.’ She noticed he had already pulled up the Roman blinds in the kitchen. Bright sunshine beamed through the leaded light windows.

Gina took him in quickly. He was sitting at the pine kitchen table, eating eggs and toast. He had already showered, his hair wet but not tied back in a pony-tail. He wore a black T-shirt stretched tight over his chest, emphasizing hard-earned muscles. Gina tried averting her gaze but didn’t quite succeed. The picture wasn’t entirely repulsive to her. Somehow she couldn’t ignore the warm flush it brought to her cheeks. She swallowed, trying to appear calm and uninterested. Not easy when her system had just gone into overdrive.

Then she noticed her kitchen. She stared in dismay at the collection of pots littering the sink. Her kitchen had never been in such a mess. He’d even managed to figure out the espresso coffee machine, so she hadn’t mistaken the tantalizing aroma of coffee when she had woken first thing.

‘You’ve obviously already made yourself at home,’ she said, unable to prevent the sarcastic note in her voice from slipping out. ‘Did you find everything to your satisfaction?’

Rick’s eyes narrowed. ‘Not everything: you’ve run out of sugar and you’ve no jam.’

‘Jam’s in the top right-hand cupboard,’ she said tightly, ‘so maybe you didn’t look hard enough?’

His eyes skimmed her speculatively. ‘Oh, I looked all right.’ He paused as he took a bite of his toast and swallowed. ‘What about you? Did you have a good night?’

Gina reached for a cup, sighing. ‘Not really, I couldn’t sleep. How could I after what happened yesterday?’

‘You looked pretty well out of it when I saw you.’

Gina froze. ‘You what? Are you telling me you came into my room?’

He leaned back casually. ‘Yeah, I did. You must have had a nightmare and I came in to check you were all right,’ he explained. ‘I was concerned.’

‘I’m sure that wasn’t necessary,’ she replied, realizing she sounded ungrateful again but unable to help it. Having him so close was unnerving. Even more so, having him eat breakfast and using her things was more than she could handle.

‘Would you like a hot drink?’ he asked, ignoring her furious look and giving her a smile as if he was enjoying himself. Now he was asking if she wanted a drink in her own home. She shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I can get it myself,’ she replied, through gritted teeth.

‘Don’t you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day?’ he told her, as he reached up to the cupboard to find the jar of jam. ‘That’s when your energy is at its lowest.’ A sound of jars
clinked and then Rick produced the jam, placing it beside her on the table.

Gina stared at the red jam which suddenly reminded her of her sister lying in a pool of blood. Maria was in hospital and here she was discussing what to have for breakfast. Suddenly she got up and rushed over to the phone. Rick was there before her, his hands on top of hers.

‘I’ve already phoned the hospital and she’s still stable; she hasn’t come around yet,’ he said, his face full of concern.

‘Are you sure?’ she said, conscious of his blue eyes as deep and as unfathomable as the sea outside.

‘I’m sure,’ he replied quietly. ‘So why don’t you sit down and relax? Then we’ll discuss what you’re going to do today. When you’re ready to go to the hospital, I’ll take you.’

His words took a few seconds to sink in. She untangled her fingers from his and dropped her arms stiffly to her side. Conscious of his close proximity, she took two steps back.

‘I … I’m just going to take a shower first,’ she murmured, feeling an overwhelming desire to be on her own. She hurried back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed to think. It would be a good idea to talk to her grandfather. Make him understand she didn’t need Rick Caruso.

Quietly, slipping out of the French doors, she made her way up the stone steps to her grandparents’ apartment. Halfway up, Gina paused to look at the sea. Several large fishing boats belonging to Rosselini Fisheries were heading out to deeper waters. They’d be away for a few weeks then would return filled to the brim with orange roughy, hoki, tuna, tarakihi and other fish destined for the local and international market. It always gave her a thrill to see her grandfather’s fleet on the sea. Some of the vessels he owned, others were contracted out to him by their skippers. Shading her eyes, a black silhouette caught her eye: an oil tanker, stalking them. A marine horn sounded. It was the tanker marking its territory, sending out a warning not to come too close. Even the sea had its
hierarchy, she thought.

Her thoughts returned to her grandfather. He had originally come from a small coastal village in Massa Lubrense in Italy and had once told her that when he’d sailed from Naples as a young man, he’d made a vow that when he got to Nelson in New Zealand and made his fortune, he’d build a house overlooking the Tasman Sea so he wouldn’t forget his roots. He’d done just that.

She admired her grandfather because of what he’d achieved. He’d arrived penniless in New Zealand, leaving Italy after the Second World War and had built up Rosselini Fisheries through hard work and determination. And, as he often had told her, ‘Luck.’

Gina reached the top apartment and entered through the back door to the kitchen. Maggie, the housekeeper, was busy frying bacon. Saying a polite ‘Good morning,’ Gina passed quickly through the steam-filled kitchen until she reached a conservatory. Her bare feet made no noise on the cool terracotta tiles. Large potted palms and fragrant flowers in terracotta tubs grew everywhere giving an exotic feel to the room. Her grandparents would be having breakfast at the table, near the far end of the conservatory, just as they had done every morning for the past fifty years.

‘Gina, my darling,’ said her grandmother warmly. ‘Come and have breakfast with us.’

Gina noticed her grandmother’s face was pale and drawn as if she hadn’t slept much either.

Gina smiled affectionately. ‘I’m not hungry, really, Nonna. Just a cup of coffee will do.’

Her grandmother tutted. ‘You must eat more. You’ve lost too much weight already.’

It was true, Gina thought. She had lost a few kilos. Stress had played havoc with her system over the past three years. Even so, she replied, ‘I’m fine, honestly I am. And I’m not thin. I’ve seen photos of my mother and she looked exactly the same at this age.’

Her grandmother sighed sadly. ‘
Sí
… you look more like your mother every day.’

Gina loved hearing about her mother, but right at the moment, her mind was elsewhere. She had to sort out this business with Rick Caruso before anything else. She sat down at the table opposite Anthony. She noticed he hadn’t even greeted her, had just given her a brief smile.

‘You’ve arrived early,’ she said to him. ‘I thought you might have been at the hospital.’

‘I dropped in earlier on. And I’m going back shortly after I’ve seen your grandfather. We’ve got a few urgent things to discuss.’ He pointed his fork at her. ‘You know something? You should listen to your grandmother and eat more. She knows what’s best.’

Gina ignored his remark, turning back to her grandmother. ‘Where’s Nonno? I thought he’d be down for breakfast.’

‘He will be in a minute,’ replied Rosa. ‘He had a phone call that couldn’t wait.’

‘In that case, I think I’ll go and find him. If you’ll excuse me—’ She rose to her feet.

‘Why don’t you sit down, Gina,’ interrupted Anthony. ‘We have to talk. It’s important.’

Gina’s mouth pursed rebelliously at his tone. ‘Talk? What about?’ She flicked a worried glance at her grandmother. ‘Is it Maria? Have you heard something?’

Rosa shook her head, her smile strained. ‘No, my dear, but there are a few things worrying us.’

‘OK. But let’s wait for Nonno before we discuss anything,’ suggested Gina. She sat down again.

A few seconds later, Luigi came in, frowning. He gave a smile as his gaze met hers. ‘
Buongiorno
, Gina.’

Gina acknowledged the greeting and smiled back, thinking how much she loved her grandfather in spite of his gruff ways. He sat down at the head of the table and unfolded his napkin, then placed it on his knee. As usual he was dressed immaculately in dark trousers and a white shirt. He looked so distinguished with his dark features and grey hair. Gina waited patiently for him to speak but when he
didn’t she prompted, ‘Nonno? What is it you want to discuss?’

To her surprise, he said, ‘Anthony will tell you, while I eat.’

It wasn’t like her grandfather to let him take the lead. Anthony’s deep voice was arrogant and immediately put her on edge.

‘We’ve had a family conference and made a few decisions. We’ve decided that—’

‘Just a minute,’ interrupted Gina. ‘You’ve had a family conference without me?’

Her grandfather’s voice boomed out warningly, ‘Gina….’ His smile dropped from his face. ‘Anthony is Maria’s husband now and is part of this family, whether you like it or not. And when you start taking some responsibility for yourself, you can also make decisions around here.’

Gina’s blood started to heat. ‘What? For God’s sake, I’m thirty years old. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to make decisions for me just because I made one big mistake in the past.’ She whirled around to face Anthony. ‘And why have you employed Rick Caruso?’

‘It was your grandfather’s decision,’ Anthony informed her. ‘Didn’t Rick tell you?’

Gina snorted, putting her hands on her hips. ‘Huh. Don’t lie. I know you were behind it, even if it is Nonno paying him.’

What really annoyed her was the way Anthony always treated her as if she was a teenager who didn’t know her own mind. He had an arrogant attitude towards women bordering on the old-fashioned. Maria might have been willing to accept it, but that didn’t mean to say she had to.

‘OK, so I suggested it,’ he admitted. He gave a shrug. ‘So what?’

She turned to her grandfather. ‘Nonno … please.’

Luigi’s gaze softened as he looked at her. ‘Anthony is right. We don’t know why Maria was shot and, until we do, I’m not taking any chances.’ He waved his hand in the air. ‘Rick Caruso is a man to be trusted and we could do with his help just now.’

‘I’m sure anyone would help if you paid them enough,’ she said
hotly. As soon as she realized what she had said, Gina regretted it. She didn’t mean to hurt her grandfather by her refusal but couldn’t he understand she wanted to manage her own life?

Luigi’s face turned thunderous as he thumped the table. The cutlery rattled and a glass toppled over, spilling fresh orange juice all over the pure white linen tablecloth. ‘That’s enough, Gina. I won’t have that kind of talk here. Caruso comes from a fine Sicilian family. His parents have been in New Zealand as long as our family – over fifty years.’ His thick eyebrows knitted together angrily.

Gina took a deep breath, not wanting to upset her grandfather any further but feeling she had to make a stand.

‘It doesn’t mean because Maria has been shot that someone wants to shoot me as well.’

No one spoke. An odd silence filled the conservatory. Her gaze travelled from one face to another. She added slowly, ‘Well, does it?’

‘You’ll do what you’re told, Gina,’ her grandfather said. ‘And I don’t want any arguments. Not with Maria lying in hospital at death’s door.’

She exhaled. ‘Please, Nonno, I can look after myself.’

Anthony reached over and put his hand on her arm. ‘Gina, you make a fuss about nothing. Listen to your
nonno
. He knows what he is doing.’

‘I am listening. I don’t want Rick Caruso following me around. So please … get him to back off.’

‘He’s to be trusted and he’ll be discreet,’ Anthony replied, as if he was speaking to a child. ‘We’re only doing what we think is best. Don’t make things difficult.’

‘Since when have you decided what’s best for me? I don’t care whether he’s discreet or not, I’m not having it and that’s final.’ Her mouth tightened rebelliously.

A cough behind her had her whirling around. Rick was standing right behind her and it was obvious he had heard everything she had said. He smiled but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

‘Mr Rosselini, may I have a word with your granddaughter in
private?’ he asked politely. A tiny nerve beat in his temple.

‘Sí
, of course,’ he said, his eyes full of speculation.

Before she realized it, Caruso had grabbed her arm, and firmly marched her into the hallway.

‘Let’s get one thing straight, shall we?’ He towered above her, his hands curving around her shoulders. ‘You …’ he paused, ‘have a family who is very worried. Your sister is lying in hospital and all you can do is stir everyone up about what you want and don’t want.’

She exhaled again. ‘I do not. You’re wrong.’

His hands dropped from her shoulders. ‘OK, prove it,’ he said, his eyes narrowing.

She shoved her hair back from her face. ‘God damn you, Caruso. All right. But just don’t interfere in my life, do you understand?’

Caruso didn’t answer. He smiled instead, a slow easy smile that quietly turned Gina’s stomach inside out.

Whether she realized it or not, Caruso had just won the first round.

The electronic security system in both apartments needed updating, Rick decided. It would take some time. But what the Rosselinis did have security wise seemed to be in working order. He’d also briefed the guards he’d recently hired to patrol the property, making sure they knew to report anything unusual or suspicious to him.

A high stone wall surrounded most of the Rosselini estate. At the bottom of the garden there was a sheer drop of fifty feet to the road below. In his estimation, it was unlikely an intruder would enter from that side unless they had mountaineering gear. He had fleetingly thought about implementing electronic detection equipment but that would be a waste of time, since any bird or animal could set it off. Besides, Mr Rosselini didn’t want to lock up his property as if he was in a prison. Something to do with the Second World War when he’d been a child, he’d told Rick. He’d been locked up once before and would rather be dead than have it happen again. Rick could fully understand that.