THE ITALIAN EFFECT by Josie Metcalfe

Author:Josie Metcalfe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

‘THAT was a truly dreadful afternoon,’ Matt announced as he sprawled back in his chair and groaned.

‘I don’t think I’ll want to eat for a week,’ Lissa agreed, trying to forget just how many sick people they’d had to deal with.

‘At least, not at that restaurant,’ he added slyly, and she nearly choked on her coffee.

‘Well, one good thing has come out of it,’ she pointed out when she had herself under control again. ‘We’ve discovered that the restaurant where the wedding reception was being held was part of the same hotel where your last food-poisoning victims were staying, so that has narrowed the search for a common cause down a bit.’

‘You’re right. For a while I was beginning to wonder if we’d got some sort of water-borne infection in the San Vittorio area. E. coli, perhaps. That would have been a total disaster for the tourist trade, never mind the health of the local residents. At least we now know that the problem is limited to one establishment.’

‘I would hate to see what happens to the restaurant’s insurance premiums when the bridal party sues for compensation for a ruined wedding reception,’ Lissa said with a grimace. ‘To say nothing about the number of people who are going to have to stay in hospital until they’re strong enough to go home.’

‘How can any amount of money replace the bad memories of today?’ Matt argued. ‘Her wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of a woman’s life, isn’t it? Even if the hotel were to supply that couple with another reception at a later date, it would never be the same.’

‘What do you mean, the happiest day of a woman’s life?’ Lissa challenged, deliberately concentrating on being contentious rather than allowing herself to dwell on the abandoned might-have-beens in her own life. ‘That’s a very sexist remark. Don’t you think the man might be just as happy to be marrying the woman he loves?’

Matt seemed almost startled by her words and was silent for a moment, the expression in his eyes very analytical as they met hers. ‘Sometimes, I wonder,’ he admitted slowly, softly, almost as if he wasn’t aware that he was speaking aloud.

Lissa had a strange feeling that something momentous was going on inside that clever head.

What had he meant? Did he wonder whether a man could be just as happy as a woman, or was it more basic than that? Was he wondering whether there was such a thing as a happy marriage?

Perhaps if she knew what had happened to Taddeo’s mother, she might be closer to understanding, but all the while she was reluctant to talk about her own secrets, she could hardly presume to ask Matt to talk about his.

‘Well, at least I’ve got some time off coming up in a couple of days,’ he said suddenly, almost leaping to his feet as though to escape his thoughts. ‘Anything special planned then, or would you like to come on a trip?’

‘A trip?’ The suggestion was completely unexpected, especially after he’d been sunk in such deep thoughts.

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