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‘And this is the very beautiful Bella,’ the Countess said, co forward to take both of Bella’s hands in hers She was a toucher, was Claudia And very char ‘Alberto was very fond of you, my dear Proud too He went to London to see you perform, did you know that?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Bella said, looking discomfited by this information
‘He would be very glad to see you and his son together’
Sergio waited for Bella to deny that they had a relationship, but she didn’t She just smiled, then threw him a look that said please rescue me
He wasn’t inclined to do any such thing He wanted Claudia to think they were an item But he didn’t want the whole world to know Not just yet
‘We’re keeping our relationship a secret for now,’ he told their hostess ‘Don’t want the paparazzi getting wind of it So as I told you over the phone, Claudia, not a word about her staying at the lake here with me’
‘I will not breathe a word,’ she replied with a conspiratorial smile ‘But you must promise me that I will be the first to know, if and when you plan to announce your engagement’
Bella looked startled whilst Sergio laughed ‘We’re not quite at the engagee yet But if and e are, you’ll be the first to know’
‘Wonderful,’ she said, clapping her hands together ‘I love any excuse for a party, as you well knoe should go inside and into the dining roo out in search of us You kno she is Italian cooks are such temperamental creatures,’ she informed Bella
After that, the evening went siven the social skills of their hostess The Countess had the knack ofto pry, even if the end result was that she uncovered all sorts of personal details in the process Bella finally confessed over dessert that she had been feeling seriously burnt out for soer holiday than a io jumped in and said it would be no hardship for hi s, which seee and experience But then Sergio recalled what she’d told hiht stand He’d found that unusual but rather sweet He found her blushing sweet, yet sexy at the same time
God, but he had it bad!
The irl Claudia always hired when she had a dinner party Angela refused to wait on tables, clai she was a cook, not a waitress
‘We’ll have coffee in the music roo iio and Bella as she stood up
They exchanged glances as they both stood up, Sergio taking Bella’s ar her in Claudia’s wake To reach the h thehim with her eyes that she was seriously impressed The e, with several intirandly in a se s and a view of the lake that was truly spectacular during the day and still enchanting at night
When they were seated—on a brocade-covered sofa and chairs, which were more comfortable than they looked—Bella complimented Claudia on the beauty of the room, then asked her if she played the piano
‘Alas, no,’ their hostess replied ‘The Count was the pianist And a brilliant one at that I loved listening to him play Do you play the piano, Bella?’
‘I do,’ she ad the years he’d lived in the same house as her They hadn’t even had a piano ‘Not all that well, however,’ she added ‘In the perfor the piano was mandatory We also had lessons in composition It helps to play the piano if you want to write songs Of course, writers nowadays use an electronic keyboard rather than a piano I keep one in my apartment in New York It costauto recording, ayour work’
‘You actually write songs?’ Sergio asked, then kicked hi surprised
Her expression was rueful ‘Yes, Sergio, I actually write songs I wrote the el in New York I’ve earned aling it’