An Accidental Christmas (An Italian Romance Book 4) by Diana Fraser

Author:Diana Fraser [Fraser, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Escape To Italy, Clean & Wholesome, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Hearts Desire, Lifetime Love, Life-Changes, Second Chances, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Romantic Schemes, Beautiful & Feisty, Love-Family & Forever, Christmas Holidays & Celebration, Christmas Time, Holiday Whimsy, Festive Season, Lost In Italy's Mountains, Widower, Devoted Family Man, Traditions & Families Land, One Tradition At A Time, Italian Romance Series
Publisher: Bay Books
Published: 2017-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The next few days flowed one into another as family, tradition, town, and country all blended into one harmonious holiday season, which Ursula could never have imagined in her wildest dreams.

Her imagination definitely stopped short of conjuring up someone like Demetrio. She’d never met anyone like him. Their chemistry was undeniable but so was his commitment to his wife’s memory and love. And to the land, family, and tradition of which he was an integral part. Ursula had an uneasy feeling that if any one of these three things were taken away, then he would lose something of himself. She guessed that was how he felt about his wife’s death—something was missing and Ursula didn’t know if anyone could fill the gap his wife had left behind.

But she pushed all her doubts to the back of her mind. She only had a few more days, and Demetrio had promised her an excursion to an unknown destination. She’d enjoy his company and not think about the future because that would come anyway, like it or not, and she had a funny feeling she wouldn’t.

The road trip—thankfully not in a tractor and without a dog blanket in sight—only took fifteen minutes down the winding road, to the foot of Mount Amiata.

“Aren’t you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“There’s a sign up ahead. It should tell you everything you need to know.”

Ursula read the road sign as it flashed by. “Bagni San Filippo.” She turned to Demetrio. “Baths? Here?”

“Indeed. Mount Amiata is a volcano, you know, although it’s a dormant one. It has natural thermal springs flowing from deep underground. We’re going just outside Bagni San Filippo to Fosso Bianco.”

“Fosso Bianco? White Bones? That sounds gruesome!”

“It’s the sulfur. It bleaches the landscape and the trees, giving it an eerie look. But the water reputedly has great powers. It would be a shame not to see it while you’re here.”

They parked at the natural spa, and the slam of the car doors sounded loud in the chill air. They looked over the fence, and Ursula gasped. Before her were spread white terraces, dotted with steaming blue pools. “Wow!”

“You can bathe in some of the pools if you like. Marianna gave me her swimsuit for you, in case you wanted to.”

“But all the notices warn people not to.”

He shrugged. “They’re over-cautious. The council has to cover itself. But so long as you don’t put your head under, and know which pool to go in, it’s fine. Of course, the only problem is the lack of changing facilities.”

She glanced at him shyly, as an idea formed. “We have the car.”

He grinned. “I guess we do have the car, if you think that’s enough?”

“Well, it’ll be a bit awkward but”—she looked at the bright blue steaming pools set amidst white stone—“I can’t pass this up.”

They returned to the car, and Demetrio held up a towel while Ursula wriggled into Marianna’s swimsuit and then pulled a thick coat over the top. She jumped out.

“Your turn!” She laughed, feeling more carefree than she’d felt in years.

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