One Night in Italy (48 page)
Me and Mr Jones
Three charming brothers – which would you choose?
Meet the women in love with three very different brothers . . .
Izzy’s determined to escape her troubled past with a new start by the sea – but flirtatious Charlie Jones is causing complications.
Alicia’s been happily married to loyal Hugh for years but secretly craves excitement. Maybe it’s time to spice things up?
Emma’s relationship with David was once fun and romantic but trying for a baby has taken its toll. Then temptation comes along . . .
As the future of the family’s B&B becomes uncertain, Izzy, Alicia and Emma are thrown together unexpectedly. It seems that keeping up with the Joneses is harder than anyone thought . . .
From the queen of summer reading, this is a sparkling tale of heartbreak, hope, friendship and love.
Praise for
Me and Mr Jones
‘Funny, sunny and wise. An absolute treat’
Katie Fforde
One Night in Italy
Lucy Diamond lives in Bath with her husband and their three children.
One Night in Italy
is her eighth novel. When she isn’t slaving away on a new book (ahem) you can find her on Twitter @LDiamondAuthor or Facebook at facebook.com/LucyDiamondAuthor
By the same author
Any Way You Want Me
Over You
Hens Reunited
Sweet Temptation
The Beach Café
Summer with My Sister
Me and Mr Jones
Christmas at the Beach Café
Acknowledgements
You can’t write a book about an Italian class without trying one for yourself. Massive thanks therefore to Cinzia Azzali and a big
buongiorno
to Lindsey, Dina, Annabel and Maria. And see – I told you this book wasn’t about you, you can relax now.
Thanks as ever to Lizzy Kremer, agent extraordinaire, for feedback, guidance and laughs. It’s great being on Team Kremer!
Grazie
to the wonderful people at Pan Macmillan: Caroline, Natasha, Jeremy, Wayne, Anna, Jodie, Becky . . . I feel so lucky to work with you. Aperol Spritzes all round!
Love and thanks to Fran Punnett, as well as Dave, Ella, Darcey and Marnie who told me about the coolest places in Sheffield and took me to some of them. You are all so much fun to hang out with. When can I come back?
A glass of prosecco to my writing buddies in Bath – Jo Nadin, Anna Wilson, Catherine Bruton and the entire Monday night collective. I love our authorly chats . . . and lunches . . . and drinks . . .
Thanks to everyone who has left me nice messages on Facebook and Twitter, or has emailed to say they enjoyed one of my books. It makes all the difference! I hope you like this one as much. Finally, thanks to my family – Martin, Hannah, Tom and Holly – for too many reasons to list. You’re the best.
First published 2014 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2014 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-4854-5
Copyright © Lucy Diamond 2014
The right of Lucy Diamond to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Macmillan Group has no responsibility for the information provided by any author websites whose address you obtain from this book (‘author websites’). The inclusion of author website addresses in this book does not constitute an endorsement by or association with us of such sites or the content, products, advertising or other materials presented on such sites.
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Table of Contents
Prologue Io ricordo – I remember
Chapter One Mio padre – My father
Chapter Two Arrivederci – Goodbye
Chapter Three Una telefonata – A phone call
Chapter Four Il segreto – The secret
Chapter Five L’investigatrice – The detective
Chapter Seven Una amica – A friend (female)
Chapter Eight La Cucina – Cooking
Chapter Nine Il diario – The diary
Chapter Ten Buon Natale! – Merry Christmas!
Chapter Eleven Riunione – Reunion
Chapter Twelve Emergenza – Emergency
Chapter Thirteen La vigilia di Capodanno – New Year’s Eve
Chapter Fourteen Che lavoro fai? – What do you do for a living?
Chapter Fifteen Il bar – The bar
Chapter Sixteen Una scoperta – A discovery
Chapter Seventeen Il foglio di calcolo – The spreadsheet
Chapter Eighteen L’agenzia di lavoro – The employment agency
Chapter Nineteen La fotografia – The photograph
Chapter Twenty Cosa stai facendo? – What are you doing?
Chapter Twenty-One La cena – Dinner
Chapter Twenty-Two Il caffè – The café
Chapter Twenty-Three All’ufficio – At the office
Chapter Twenty-Four L’abito nuziale – The wedding dress
Chapter Twenty-Five All’ospedale – At the hospital
Chapter Twenty-Six Coraggio – Courage
Chapter Twenty-Seven Mi dispiace – I’m sorry
Chapter Twenty-Eight L’attrice – The actress
Chapter Twenty-Nine Il giardino – The garden
Chapter Thirty La verita – The truth
Chapter Thirty-One Il ragazzo – The boyfriend
Chapter Thirty-Two Il spettacolo – The performance
Chapter Thirty-Three Due notti a Roma – Two nights in Rome
Chapter Thirty-Four Qual è il tuo numero di telefono? – What is your telephone number?
Chapter Thirty-Five Due settimane dopo – Two weeks later