What Happens in the Alps... Read Online Free PDF Page A

school, giving him his pick of rooms for his translation business. He chose the first room on the left, opposite the reception area. This was a medium-sized room looking out over the car park and it had its own little bathroom. Annie apologised for the garish colours on the walls, but he declared himself perfectly happy to redecorate if he felt it necessary. She saw him looking hopefully towards the reception desk and she explained that he would have to wait to meet Paolina until another time as her lunch break started at twelve-thirty. She gave him a serious look. ‘But, remember what you promised. All right?’
    â€˜Yes, ma’am.’ He affected a totally unconvincing air of servility.
    They went across the road to the pizzeria. She ordered a mixed salad while he chose a
bistecca alla valdostana
, and they nibbled olives and bread sticks while they waited for the food to arrive. Annie decided to steer clear of the subject of blonde Luisa and, instead, she told him all about her plans for the future. She avoided talking about Steve and told him how she had reached the decision to go it alone.
    â€˜I’d been working in the same place in Turin for seven years and I’d just had enough of it. The trouble with teaching is that it’s so cyclical. You’re there at the beginning of term, you teach the class until the end of term and then they leave and move on, but you stay put. And, to be honest, I was pretty much running the school, but getting paid peanuts. It was getting me down.’
    He nodded, sipping his water. ‘I can imagine. My life in Florence has been getting me down, too. The trouble with working from home is that you never get out. Nobody cares whether you’ve shaved that morning or whether you’re even wearing clothes.’ Annie’s eyes flicked over his stubbly face and he grinned. ‘All right, that was a bad analogy. I don’t shave every day anyway, but you know what I mean. That’s why I specifically want my office to be separate this time. This way I live in one place and I work in another, almost like a normal person.’
    â€˜Nobody could accuse you of being a normal person, Matt.’ She was remembering just what easy company he was. After he left Turin years ago, Steve had missed him a lot; and so had she. In fact she had missed him more than she had ever admitted, even to herself. She looked up at him, a smile on her face. Over the past few years, she reflected, smiles had been in very short supply.
    After lunch, Annie insisted upon driving him out of town to say hello to Janet at their new B&B. As she turned into the narrow road leading up to the old house, she looked across at him. ‘I’d love to find somewhere like this for myself. Can you imagine?’
    Matt shook his head ruefully. ‘Some hopes. I’ve started asking around, but I’ll probably just have to take what’s going. There’s so little on the market up here and I’m so tight for time at the moment. And I’ve just heard that I’ve to get back to Florence today. So I’ve got a four-hour drive back down there when we get out of here, but I’m planning to come back at the weekend for a few days to see if I can find an apartment to rent.’
    When Janet saw Matt, she rushed across and threw her arms around his neck. ‘Matt, you don’t look a day older.’
    â€˜And you, Janet, look as gorgeous as ever.’ Matt turned to Annie with a smile. ‘It must be the mountain air. You both look fantastic. I can barely keep my hands off the two of you.’
    The girls exchanged glances. No, Matt hadn’t changed.
    â€˜Matt!
Ciao, caro
.’ Guido emerged from the corridor and came over to give him a hug. ‘How long’s it been? A year, two years?’
    â€˜At least two, Guido.’ Matt shot a glance across at Annie. ‘The last time you and I climbed together was with Steve.’ Annie did her best to