Master Touch by Jasmine Cresswell

Author:Jasmine Cresswell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Published: 2012-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

SANDI WATCHED AS Gabriella disembarked from the plane on the arm of the pilot, a stewardess carrying her flight bag following and two other members of the crew striding in front to clear a path.

Gabriella looked radiant, walking proof that life begins at forty. Whereas the passengers trailing behind her looked crumpled and harassed at the end of their long journey from New York, she looked elegant and serenely rested. She floated through the arrivals lounge, wafting delicate clouds of perfume and smiling with exquisite graciousness at everybody who recognized her.

Richard and Sandi were standing together at the gate. Gabriella, who invariably noticed men long before she noticed women, exclaimed with delight. “Richard darling! Carissimo, how are you?”

Despite their divorce, Richard was no more impervious to Gabriella’s charm than any other man. He took her hands and raised them to his lips. “You’re looking as magnificent as ever, my dear. Rome must have agreed with you.”

“Rome always agrees with me,” she said. “It is the world’s most civilized city.” She retrieved her hands and offered her cheek for his kiss, her eyelashes fluttering closed for a brief moment. “Darling Richard, these kind people have made my flight from New York simply wonderful.”

Sandi watched her turn the full power of her smile on the captain, a man of around fifty who blushed tomato-red with pleasure and stammered something about how delighted he’d always be to fly a plane carrying Gabriella Barini. The copilot stood by, looking envious.

The stewardess, only slightly less dazzled than the men, held out Gabriella’s flight bag. “Good-bye, Miss Barini. It’s been a pleasure serving you. We hope you’ll fly with us again.”

“But of course.” Gabriella extended her smile to the stewardess and then, needing somebody to hold her flight bag, finally noticed Sandi. “Dearest child!” she exclaimed, waving her hands vaguely. “So here you are! I wondered where you had got to.”

Sandi was much too sensible to waste time pointing out that she’d been standing right there the whole time. “It’s good to see you again, Mother,” she said cheerfully. She kissed Gabriella’s delicate pink cheek and took the flight bag from the stewardess. Her mother’s hands were designed for fluttering and gesturing, not for practical tasks like carrying luggage.

They parted from the airline crew, and this time it was Richard who forged a path for Gabriella while Sandi hurried alongside carrying her mother’s case. Gabriella concentrated—with considerable success—on looking beautiful.

They walked straight to the exit, not bothering to wait for the rest of Gabriella’s luggage. Sandi had already arranged to have somebody from the studio come to collect it. Her father’s chauffeur-driven limousine waited directly outside the main exit, and Gabriella greeted the driver with a kindly nod. She had difficulty remembering her daughter’s birthday, but no trouble recalling enough personal details to charm her fans.

“Hello, Stanley, how are you today? And how are your wife and baby?”

“They’re both very well, thanks. My little girl cut her first tooth yesterday.”

“How very precocious of her! She is only seven months old or so, isn’t she?”

“Six months last week, Miss Barini.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.