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‘To whom?’
‘Any new piece of art has to be reported and examined’
She wrinkled her nose ‘And a fresco falls under that category?’
He nodded ‘A fresco, any uncovered relics, a ave a little se safe So much of it has already been lost’
‘And you knoho to call? You can sort this all out?’ He could al over
He gave a quick nod
‘Then I’ll leave it to you Let me know if there are any problems’ She spun away and walked to the door
Logan turned back to the wall and stood very still as he heard the quiet, retreating footsteps The enor to unfurl within his brain
He could almost see the millions of euros’ worth of plans for the prince tooff down the nearby Chiana River
In his wildest dreaet to round But Italian bureaucracy could be difficult And when it cas were usually painstakingly slow
He sucked in a deep breath The air in the chapel was still but every little hair stood up on his arms as if a cool breeze had just fluttered over his skin He knew exactly what this fresco would mean
He knew exactly who he would have to contact Who would have the expertise and credentials to say what should happen next Italy’s Arts Heritage Board had a fresco expert ould be able to deal with this
Lucia Moretti His ex
CHAPTER ONE
LUCIA STARED OUT of the , sipped her coffee and licked the chocolate froers
If her desk hadn’t been on so legs and put them on it She’d just coe Board Months of negotiations with frazzled artefact owners, restorers and suppliers Her patience had been stretched to breaking point, but the final agreeest Finally, with grants secured and papers signed, she could take a deep breath and relax
She pushed heropen a little wider Venice was hot, even for a woman who’d stayed there for the last twelve years, and the slassobstructed her view out over the Grand Canal A cruise ship was floating past herright now—in a fewhere any e currents they unleashed threatened the delicate foundations of the world-famous city So much of Venice had been lost already—it was up to the present generation to protect the beauty that remained
Her boss, Alessio Orsini, put his head around the door His eyes were gleahtened immediately in her chair Alessio had seen just about every wonder of the world There wasn’t much left that could make his eyes twinkle like that
‘I’ve just had the esture hih he was in his late seventies he would rarely sit down
‘What is it?’
He gave a little nod ‘There’s been a discovery A new fresco—or rather an old one Just been discovered in Tuscany during a chapel restoration I’ve given hilanced at her desk ‘See for you’
She smiled Alessio expected everyone around hiy he had But her interest was piqued already An undiscovered fresco could be a huge coup for the heritage board—particularly if they could identify the artist So many frescoes had been lost already
It seeh the whole of Italy was rich with frescoes From the famous Sistine Chapel to the ancient Roman frescoes in Pompeii
The phone on her desk rang and she picked it up straight away This could be theshe’d worked on in a while
‘Ciao, Lucia’
It was the voice Instantly recognisable Italian words with a Scottish burr Unmistakable
Her legs gave a wobble and she thumped down into her chair
‘Logan’ It was all she could say She could barely get a breath His was the last voice in the world she’d expected to hear
Logan Cascini The one true love of her life Meeting him in Florence had been like a drea art history at Florence University had brought Lucia out of her shell Meeting Logan Cascini had h she’d never had a shell in the first place
He’d shared her passion—hers for art, his for architecture From the moment they’d met when he’d spilled an espresso all down her pale pink dress and she’d heard his soft burr of Scottish Italian she’d been hooked
She’d never had a serious relationship Three days after ether Life had been perfect He had been perfect
They’d complemented each other beautifully He’d ht hiht up in a boheht later
She’d had dreaether until it had all co the job in Venice had been her lifeline—her way out And although she’d always expected to come across him at some point in her professional life she hadn’t realised the effect it would have
Twelve years Twelve years since she’d walked away froain?
Why on earth was he calling her after all this time?
He spoke slowly ‘I hope you are well Alessio Orsini suggested you were thein Tuscany at the Palazzo di Co the chapel for the upco of Prince Antonio of Halencia and Christina Rose, and yesterday wediscovery A fresco of the Madonna and Child It’s exquisite, Lucia It must have been covered up for years because the colours of the paint are so fresh’
His voice washed over her like treacle as her heart sank to the bottom of her stoiven someone her number He just hadn’t told her who