To Love Again

To Love Again.

Danielle Steel.

Chapter ONE.

In every city there is a time of year that approaches perfection. After the summer heat, before the winter bleakness, before snow and rain are even dreamed of. A time that stands out crystal clear, as the air begins to cool; a time when the skies are still bright blue, when it feels good to wear wool again, and one walks faster than one has in months. A time to come alive again, to plan, to act, to be, as September marches into October. It is a time when women look better, men feel better, even the children look crisp again as they return to school in Paris or New York or San Francisco. And maybe even more so in Rome. Everyone is home again after the lazy months of summer spent clattering along in ancient taxis from the piazza to the Marina Piccola in Capri, or they are fresh from the baths in Ischia, the sun-swept days at San Remo, or even simply the public beach in Ostia. But in late September it is over, and autumn has arrived. A businesslike month, a beautiful month, when it feels good just to be alive.

Isabella di San Gregorio sat sedately in the backseat of the limousine. She was smiling to herself, her dark eyes dancing, her shining black hair held away from her face by two heavy tortoise-sh.e.l.l combs as she watched pa.s.sersby walking quickly through the streets. Traffic was as Roman traffic always is: terrifying. She was used to it, she had lived there all her life, except for her occasional visits to her mother"s family in Paris and the one year she had spent in the States at twenty-one. The following year she had married Amadeo and become a legend of sorts, the reigning queen of Roman couture. She was by birth a princess in that realm, and by marriage something more, but her legend had been won by her talent, not only by acquiring Amadeo"s name. Amadeo di San Gregorio had been the heir to the House of San Gregorio, the tabernacle of Roman couture, the pinnacle of prestige and exquisite taste in the eternal international compet.i.tion between women of enormous means and aspirations. San Gregorio sacred words to sacred women, and Isabella and Amadeo the most sacred words of all. He in all his golden, green-eyed Florentine magnificence, inheriting the house at thirty-one; she the granddaughter of Jacques-Louis Parel, the king of Paris couture since 1910.

Isabella"s father had been Italian but had always taken pleasure in telling her he was quite sure that her blood was entirely French. She had French feelings and French ideas, French style, and her grandfather"s unerring taste. At seventeen she had known more about high fashion than most men in the business at forty-five. It was in her veins, her heart, her spirit. She had an uncanny gift for design, a brilliance with color, and a knowledge of what worked and what didn"t that came from studying her grandfather"s collections year after year. When at last in his eighties he had sold Parel to an American corporation, Isabella had sworn that she would never forgive him.

She had, of course. Still if he had only waited, if he had known, if " but then she would have had a life in Paris and never met Amadeo as she had when she set up her own tiny design studio in Rome at twenty-two. It had taken six months for their paths to cross, six weeks for their hearts to determine what the future would be, and only three months after that before Isabella became Amadeo"s wife and the brightest light in the heavens of the House of San Gregorio. Within a year she became his chief designer, a seat for which any designer would have died.

It was easy to envy Isabella. She had it all elegance, beauty, a crown of success that she wore with the casual ease of a Borsalino hat, and the kind of style that would still make an entire room stop to stare at her in her ninetieth year. Isabella di San Gregorio was every inch a queen, and yet there was more. The quick laughter; the sudden flash of diamonds set in the rich onyx eyes; her way of understanding what was behind what people said, who they were, why they were, what they were and weren"t and dreamed of being. Isabella was a magical woman in a marvelous world.

The limousine slowed in a last traffic snarl at the edge of the Piazza Navona, and Isabella sat back dreamily and closed her eyes. The blast of horns and invective was dimmed by the tightly sealed windows of the car, and her ears were too long accustomed to the sounds of Rome to be disturbed by the noise. She enjoyed it, she thrived on it. It was a part of the very fiber of her being, just as the mad pace of her business was part of her. It would be impossible to live without either one. Which was why she would never leave her business life entirely, despite her semiretirement of the year before. When Alessandro had been born five years before, the business had been everything to her, the spring line, the threat of espionage from a rival house, the importance of developing a boutique line of ready-to-wear to export to the States, the wisdom of adding men"s wear and eventually cosmetics and perfume and soap. All of it mattered to her intensely. She couldn"t give it up, not even for Amadeo"s child. This was her lifeblood, her dream. But as the years had gone by, she had felt an ever greater gnawing at her soul, a yearning, a loneliness when she returned home at eight thirty and the child was already asleep, tucked into bed by other hands than hers.

It bothers you, doesn"t it? Amadeo had watched her as she sat pensively in the long gray satin chair set just so in the corner of the sitting room.

What? She had seemed distracted as she answered, tired, disturbed.

Isabellezza Isa-beauty. It always made her smile when he called her that. He had called her that from the first. Talk to me.

She had smiled at him sheepishly and let out a long sigh. I am.

I was asking you if it bothers you very much not being here with the child.

Sometimes. I don"t know. It"s hard to explain. We have we have lovely times together. On Sundays, when I have time. A tiny tear had crept out of one of the brilliantly dark eyes, and Amadeo held out his arms to her. She had gone to them willingly and smiled through her tears. I"m crazy. I have everything. I " why doesn"t the d.a.m.n nurse keep him up "til we come home?

Alle dieci? At ten o"clock?

It isn"t, it"s only" . She had looked at her watch in irritation and then realized that he was right. They had left the office at eight, stopped to see their lawyer at his home for an hour, stopped for yet another minute to kiss their favorite American client in her suite at the Ha.s.sler, and " ten o"clock. d.a.m.n. All right, so it"s late. But usually we"re home at eight, and he"s never awake. She had glared at Amadeo, and he had laughed gently as he held her in his arms.

What do you want? One of those children that movie stars take to c.o.c.ktail parties when they"re nine? Why don"t you take off more time?

I can"t.

You don"t want to.

Yes I do " no, I don"t. They had both laughed. It was true. She did and she didn"t. She wanted to be with Alessandro, before she missed it all, before he was suddenly nineteen and she had missed her chance. She had seen it happen to too many women with careers they mean to, they"re going to, they want to, and they never do. They wake up one morning and their children are gone. The trips to the zoo that never happened, the movies, the museums, the moments they meant to share, but the phones were ringing, the clients waiting. The great events. She didn"t want that to happen to her. It hadn"t mattered so much when he was a baby. But now it was different. He was four and he knew when he didn"t see her for more than two hours in three days, he knew when she was never there to pick him up at school, or when she and Amadeo spent six insane weeks planning the next collection or the line for the States.

You look miserable, my love. You want me to fire you? To Amadeo"s astonishment as well as her own she had nodded. Are you serious? Shock registered in his eyes.

Partly. There must be a way for me to work part of the time and be here a little bit more too. She had looked around the splendor of their villa, thinking of the child she hadn"t seen all day.

Let"s think about it, Bellezza. We"ll work something out.

And they had. It was perfect. For the past eight months she had been chief design consultant to the House of San Gregorio. She made all the same decisions she had always made, she had her hand in every pie. The unmistakable hand of Isabella was still recognizable in every design San Gregorio sold. But she had removed herself from the mechanics of the business, from the nitty-gritty of the everyday. It meant overburdening still further their beloved director, Bernardo Franco, and it meant hiring another designer to carry out the interminable steps between Isabella"s concepts and the final product. But it was working perfectly. Now Isabella came and went. She sat in on major meetings. She pored over everything with Amadeo during one marathon day each week. She stopped in unexpectedly whenever she had an appointment nearby, but for the first time she felt she was truly Alessandro"s mother now too. They had lunch in the garden. She saw him in his first school play. She took him to the park and taught him nursery rhymes in English and funny little songs in French. She laughed with him, ran with him, and pushed him on the swing. She had the best of all possible worlds. A business, a husband, and a child. And she had never been happier in her life. It showed in the light that danced in her eyes, in the way she moved and laughed and looked when Amadeo came home. It showed in the things she said to her friends as she regaled them with tales of Alessandro"s latest accomplishments: And my G.o.d, how that child can draw! Everyone was amused. Most of all Amadeo, who wanted her to be happy. After ten years of marriage he still adored her. In fact, more than he ever had. And the business was thriving, despite the slight change of regime. Isabella could never absent herself totally. It simply wasn"t her style. Her presence was felt everywhere. The sound of her echoed like a perfectly formed crystal bell.

The limousine stopped at the curb as Isabella caught a last glimpse of people on the street. She liked what women were wearing this year. s.e.xy, more feminine. Reminiscent of her grandfather"s collections in years before. It was a look that pleased her very much. She herself stepped from the car in an ivory wool dress, perfectly draped into a river of tiny, impeccably executed pleats. Her three long strands of enormous pearls hung from her neck at precisely the right depth of the softly draped neckline, and over her arm was a short chocolate mink jacket, a fur that had been designed just for her in Paris by the furrier once employed by parel. But she was in too much of a hurry to slip it on. She wanted to discuss some last-minute details of the American line with Amadeo, before meeting a friend for lunch. She glanced at the faceless gold watch on her wrist as a sapphire and a diamond floated mysteriously on its face, indicating only to the initiated the exact time. It was ten twenty-two.

Thank you, Enzo. I"ll be out five minutes before noon. Holding the door with one hand, he touched his cap with the other and smiled. She was easy to work for these days, and he enjoyed the frequent trips in the car with the little boy. It reminded him of his own grandchildren, seven of whom lived in Bologna, the other five in Venice. He visited them sometimes. But Rome was his home. Just as it was Isabella"s, despite her French mother and her year in the States. Rome was a part of her, she was born there, she had to live there, she would die there. He knew what every Italian knew, that a Roman was meant to live nowhere else.

As she walked decisively across the sidewalk toward the heavy black door in the ancient facade, she glanced up the street as she always did. It was a sure way to know if Amadeo was in. All she had to do was look for the long silver Ferrari, parked at the curb. The silver torpedo, she called it. And no hands touched that car, except his. Everyone teased him about it, especially Isabella. He was like a small child with a toy. He didn"t want to share it. He drove it, he parked it, pampered it, and played with it. All by himself. Not even the doorman at San Gregorio, who had worked there for forty-two years, had ever touched that car. Isabella was smiling to herself as she approached the impressive black door. At times he was like a little boy; it only made her love him more.

Buon giorno, Signora Isabella. Only Ciano, the grandfatherly doorman in black-and-gray livery, called her that.

Ciao, Ciano, come sta? Isabella smiled widely at him, displaying teeth as beautiful as her much celebrated pearls.Va b+?ne? It goes well?

Benissimo. The rich baritone rolled musically at her as he swept the heavy door open with a bow.

The door shut resoundingly behind her as she stood in the entrance hall for a moment, looking around. As much as the villa on the Via Appia Antica, this was her home. The perfect pink marble floors, the gray velvets and rose silks, the crystal chandelier that she had brought from Parel in Paris after long negotiation with its American owner. Her grandfather had had it made in Vienna, and it was almost beyond price. A sweeping marble staircase rose to the main salon above. On the third and fourth floors were offices done in the same grays and pinks, the colors of rose petals and ashes. It was a combination that pleased the eye as much as the carefully selected paintings, the antique mirrors, the elegant light fixtures, the little Louis XVI love seats tucked into alcoves here and there where clients could rest and chat. Maids in gray uniforms scurried everywhere, their starched white ap.r.o.ns making crisp little noises as they brought tea and sandwiches to the private rooms upstairs where clients stood through ardous fittings, wondering how the models survived entire shows. Isabella stood for a moment, as she often did, surveying her domain.

She slipped quietly into the private elevator, pressing the b.u.t.ton for the fourth floor, as she began to go over the morning"s work in her head. There were just a few things to take care of; she had settled most of the current business yesterday, to her satisfaction. There had been design details to work out with Gabriela, the chief designer, and administrative problems to discuss with Bernardo and Amadeo. Today"s work wouldn"t take her long at all. The door slid silently open and revealed the long gray carpeted hall. Everything about the House of San Gregorio was downplayed. Unlike Isabella, who was anything but. She was obvious and splendid and eminently visible. She was a woman one saw and wanted to see, a woman one wanted to be seen by. But the House of San Gregorio was a showcase for beauty. It was important that what they had to show there was not overwhelmed by the house itself. It wasn"t, it couldn"t be. Despite the beauty of the seventeenth-century building that had once been the home of a Prince, the wares of San Gregorio were too resplendent to be overwhelmed by anything or anyone. Isabella had created a perfect meshing of remarkable models, extraordinary designs, and incredible fabrics and brought them together with women who wore them well. She knew that somewhere, in the States, in Paris, in Milan, the women who wore their boutique line, their ready-to-wear, were not anything like the women who came to this address. The women who came here were special countesses, princesses, actresses, literary figures, television personalities, notables and n.o.bles who would have killed or died for San Gregorio"s designs. Many of them were women like Isabella herself spectacular, sensual, superb.

She walked silently toward a pair of double doors at the end of the long hall and pressed down on the highly polished bra.s.s handle. She appeared like a vision in front of the secretary"s desk.

Signora! The girl looked up, startled. One never quite knew when Isabella would appear, or just what she would have on her mind. But today Isabella only nodded, smiled, and walked immediately toward Amadeo"s office. She knew he was in. She had seen the car. And unlike Isabella, he rarely strayed to the other floors. He and Bernardo kept mainly to their upstairs offices. It was Isabella who prowled, who wandered, who appeared suddenly in the mannequins" room, in the corridors outside the private fitting rooms, in the main salon with the long gray silk runway, which had to be constantly replaced. That was a source of constant irritation to Bernardo, ever practical in his directorship of the house. It was on his shoulders that the budget fell. As president and chief of finance, Amadeo designed the budget, but Bernardo had to live with it, seeing that the fabrics and beads and feathers and wondrous little ornaments fell within the limits Amadeo had set for them. And thanks to Bernardo they always existed well within that budget. Thanks to Bernardo the house had been carefully and at times brilliantly run for years. Thanks to Amadeo"s investments and financial ac.u.men they had prospered. And thanks to Isabella"s genius with design they had gloried as well as flourished. But it was Bernardo who bridged the world of design and finance. It was he who calculated, speculated, weighed, and pondered what would work, what wouldn"t, what would cost them the success of the line, or what was worth the gamble. And thus far he had never been wrong. He had a flair and a genius that made Isabella think of a matador, proud, erect, daring, flashing red satin in the face of the bull, and always winning in the end. She loved his style and she loved him. But not in the way that Bernardo loved her. He had always loved her. Always. From the first day he had met her.

Bernardo and Amadeo had been friends for years and they had worked together in the House of San Gregorio before Isabella had appeared on the scene. It had been Bernardo who had discovered her in her tiny atelier in Rome. It had been he who had insisted that Amadeo come to see her work, meet her, talk to her, and perhaps even convince her to come to work for them. She had been remarkable even then, sensationally beautiful and incredibly young. At twenty-two she was already a striking woman, and a genius with design. They had arrived in her little studio that day to find her wearing a red silk shirt and a white linen skirt, little gold sandals and not much else. She looked like a diamond set in a valentine. The heat had been crushing, but even more so moments later when her eyes met Amadeo"s for the first time. It had been then that Bernardo realized how much he cared too and that it was already too late. Amadeo and Isabella had fallen instantly in love, and Bernardo had never spoken up. Never. It was too late, and he would never have been treacherous to his friend. Amadeo meant too much to him; for years he had been like a brother, and Amadeo was not the kind of man one betrayed. He was precious to everyone, beloved by all. He was the one person you wanted to be like, not a man you"d want to hurt. So Bernardo didn"t. He knew also that it saved him the pain of finding out that she didn"t love him. He knew how much she loved Amadeo. It was the governing pa.s.sion of her life. Amadeo actually meant more to her than her work, which in Isabella"s case was indeed remarkable. Bernardo couldn"t compete with that. So he kept his pride and his secret and his love and he made the business better; he learned to love her in another way, to love them both with a pa.s.sion of his own, and a kind of purity that burned like a white fire within him. It created enormous tension between him and Isabella, but it was worth it. The results of their encounters, their rages, and their wars were always splendid: extravagantly beautiful women to parade down their runways " women who occasionally paraded into Bernardo"s arms. But he had a right to that. He had a right to something more than his work and his love for Amadeo and Isabella. He burned with a kind of bright light all his own, and the women who drifted through the house, models or clients, were drawn to him by something they never quite understood, something never fully revealed, something Bernardo himself no longer consciously thought about. It was merely a part of him now, like his infallible sense of style, or his respect for the two people he worked with, who in their own way had become one. He understood perfectly what they were. And he knew that he and Isabella could never have been like that. They would have remained two, always two, always in love, always at war; had she even known his feelings, they would have met like colliding constellations, exploding in a shower of comets across the heavens of their world. But it was not like that with Isabella and Amadeo. It was gentle, tender, strong. They were soldered as one soul. To see Isabella look into Amadeo"s eyes was to see her disappear into them, to move into a deeper part of herself, to see her grow and fly, her wings stretched wide. Amadeo and Isabella were as two eagles soaring across their private sky, their wings in perfect harmony, their very beings one, their unison complete. It was something Bernardo no longer even resented. It was impossible to resent a pair like that. They were beautiful to see. And now he had grown comfortable with what was a fiery working relationship with a lady he loved from afar. He had his own life. And he shared something special with them. He always would. They were an indestructible, inseparable threesome. Nothing would ever come between them. The three of them knew that.

As Isabella stood outside Amadeo"s office door for a moment, she smiled to herself. She could never see that door without thinking of the first time she had seen it and these halls. They had been different then. Handsome but not as strikingly elegant as they were now. She had made them something more, as Amadeo had made her something more. She grew in his presence. She felt infinitely precious, and totally safe. Safe enough to be what she was, to do what she wanted, to dare, to move in a world with no limits at all. Amadeo made her feel limitless, he had shown her that she was, that she could be everything she wanted to be and do everything she wanted to do, and she did it all with the power of his love.

She knocked softly on the door few people knew about. It led directly into his private office. It was a door only she and Bernardo used. And the answer came quickly. She turned the handle and walked in. For a moment they said nothing, they only looked as the same thrill swept through her soul that she had felt since she had first seen him. He smiled in answer. He felt it too. There was unfettered pleasure in his eyes, a kind of gentle adoration that always drew her to his arms like a magnet. It was the gentleness in him that she loved so much, the kindness, the compa.s.sion he always had. His was a different fire from hers. His was a sacred flame that would burn forever, held aloft for the sad and weary, a proud light, a beacon to all. Hers was a torch that danced in the night sky, so bright and beautiful that one almost feared to approach it. But no one feared to approach Amadeo. He was eminently welcoming. Everyone wanted to be close to him, although in truth, only Isabella was. And Bernardo too, of course, but differently.

Allora, Isabellezza. What brings you here today? I thought we settled everything yesterday. He sat back in his chair, one hand held out to her, as she took it.

More or less. But I had a few more ideas. A few" . He laughed at the word. A few with Isabella meant thirty-five, or forty-seven, or a hundred and three. Isabella never had a few of anything, not a few ideas, or a few jewels, or a few clothes. Amadeo smiled broadly as she bent for a moment to kiss his cheek and he reached out and touched her hand.

You look beautiful today. The light in his eyes bathed her in sunshine.

Better than this morning? They both laughed. She had been wearing a new cream on her face, her hair tied up high on her head, a comfortable dressing gown, and his slippers.

But Amadeo only shook his head. No. I think I liked you better this morning. But " I like this too. Is it one of ours?

Of course. Would I wear anything not ours? For a moment the dark eyes flashed into his green ones.

It looks like one of your grandfather"s designs. He studied her carefully, narrowing his eyes. He had a way of seeing and knowing all.

You"re very smart. I stole it from his nineteen thirty-five collection. Not totally, of course. Just the flavor. She grinned. And the pleats.

He smiled at her in amus.e.m.e.nt and bent toward her again for a rapid kiss. The flavor is excellent.

It"s a good thing we don"t work together full time anymore, we"d never get anything done. Sometimes I wonder how we ever did. She sat back in her seat, admiring him. It was impossible not to. He was the Greek G.o.d of a hundred paintings in the Uffizi in Florence, the statue of every Roman boy, long, lean, graceful, elegant; yet there was more. The green eyes were knowing, wicked, wise, amused. They were quick and certain, and despite the golden Florentine beauty of his genes, there was strength there as well, power and command. He was the head of the House of San Gregorio, he had been the heir to a fairly major throne, and now he wore the mantle of his position well. It suited him. He looked like the head of an empire, or perhaps a very large bank. The neatly tailored pin-striped suit accentuated his height and narrow figure, yet the broad shoulders were his own. Everything about Amadeo was his own. There was nothing fake or flawed about him, nothing borrowed, nothing stolen, nothing unreal. The elegance, the aristocratic good looks, the warmth in his eyes, the quick wit, the sharp mind, and the concern he had for those around him. And the pa.s.sion for his wife.

What are you doing down here all dressed up today by the way? Other than sharing a few" ideas with me, of course. He smiled again as their eyes met, and Isabella broke into a smile.

I"m having lunch with some ladies.

Sounds terrible. Can I lure you to a room at the Excelsior instead?

You might, but I have a date with another man after lunch. She said it smugly, and laughter danced in her eyes, as well as his.

My rival, Bellezza? But he had no cause to worry and he knew it.

Your son.

In that case, no Excelsior. Peccato. A pity.

Next time.

Indeed. He stretched his legs out ahead of him happily, like a long, lazy cat in the sun.

All right. Shut up. We have work to do.

ecco. The woman I married. Tender, romantic, gentle.

She made one of their son"s horrible faces, and they both laughed as she pulled a sheaf of notes out of her handbag. In the sunlight in his office he saw the sparkle of the large emerald-cut diamond ring he had bought her that summer for their tenth anniversary. Ten carats, of course. What else? Ten carats for ten years.

The ring looks nice.

She nodded happily as she looked down at it. It looked good on her long, graceful hands. Isabella wore everything well. Particularly ten-carat diamonds. It does. But you look nicer. I love you by the way. She pretended to be flip, but they both knew she was not.

I love you too. They shared a last smile before plunging into work. It was better now. Better when they weren"t together every day. By the end of the afternoon he was always hungry for her and anxious to get home. And there was something special now about their meetings, their evenings, their lunches, their days. She was mysterious to him again. He found himself wondering what she was doing all day, where she was, what she was wearing, as the thought of her perfume filled his mind.

You don"t think the American line is too subdued? I wondered about that last night. She squinted at him, not seeing him but the designs she and Gabriela had gone over the day before.

I don"t. And Bernardo was ecstatic.

s.h.i.t. She returned her eyes to his with genuine concern. Then I"m right. Amadeo laughed at her, but she didn"t smile. I"m serious. I want to change four of the fabrics and add one or two of the pieces for France to that line. Then it"ll work. She looked certain, as she always did. And she was rarely wrong. That absolute certainty of hers had won them fashion awards for ten years. I want to bring in those purples, and the reds, and the white coat. Then it will be perfect.

Work it out with Bernardo and tell Gabriela.

I already did. Tell Gabriela, I mean. And Bernardo"s new soap for the men"s line is all wrong. It hung in my nose all afternoon.

That"s bad?

Terrible. A woman"s perfume should stay with you. The smell of a man should only come to you as you go to him and leave you with only a memory. Not a headache.

Bernardo will be thrilled. For a moment he looked tired. Occasionally Isabella and Bernardo"s wars exhausted him. They were essential to the business though, and he knew it. Without the fierce pull of Isabella and the stern anchor of Bernardo the House of San Gregorio would have been very different than it was. But as the axle that kept the two wheels from flying off in separate directions, he felt the strain on him was at times more than he enjoyed. But as a three-some they were a miraculous team, and all three of them knew it. And when all was said and done, somehow they always managed to stay friends. He would never understand it. With Isabella raging and calling Bernardo names that he had never even dreamed she knew, and Bernardo looking as though he might at last commit murder, he would then find them after hours in one of the private fitting rooms, drinking champagne and finishing a plateful of the day"s sandwiches like two children at their own tea party after the grown-up guests have gone home. He would never be able to figure it out; he was just grateful that it worked that way. Now, with a sigh, he looked at his watch. Do you want me to call him in? He never had to deliver messages for Isabella. She always delivered them herself. Straight from the hip. To the groin.

You"d better. I have to be at lunch at noon. She looked at the unreadable watch. That had been a present from him too.

G.o.d. We"re playing second fiddle to ladies" lunches now. But there was laughter in his eyes. He knew that in Isabella"s life that would never be true. Other than himself, and Alessandro, it was the business that Isabella lived for, that kept her breathing and kicking and eight hundred percent alive.

Amadeo picked up the phone and spoke briefly to his secretary. She"d call Mr. Franco at once. Which indeed she did, and he came at once as always. He strode into the room like an explosion, and suddenly Amadeo could feel Isabella tense. She was already preparing for battle.

Ciao, Bernardo. Isabella smiled casually at him as he walked into the office in one of a hundred dark suits that he owned, all of which looked exactly the same to Isabella. He wore the same gold pocket watch on each one of them, the same impeccably starched white shirts, and ties that were usually dark with tiny, tiny white dots. Or when he felt very outrageous, tiny red ones. I love your suit. It was their standing joke. She always told him that his suits were excessively boring. But the simplicity of his suits was part of his style.

Listen, you two, don"t start today. I"m not in the mood. Amadeo looked ominously at them, but as always his eyes laughed even when his lips did not. Besides, she has to be at lunch in forty minutes. We"re only second best to her lunches now.

That figures. Bernardo squeezed out a small smile and sat down. How"s my G.o.dson?

Alessandro is perfect. The dining room curtains, however, are not. Amadeo started to grin as Isabella told the tale. He loved the boy"s mischievousness, the fire in the dark eyes so much like hers. When I was here yesterday, solving your problems for you she raised an eyebrow, waiting for Bernardo to take the bait, and was clearly disappointed when he did not he borrowed my manicure scissors and fixed" them, as he put it. He cut off roughly a meter which, he tells me, got in his way everytime he drove his favorite truck along the window. He couldn"t see the garden. Now he can see the garden. Perfectly, in fact. But she was laughing too, as was Bernardo. When he smiled like that, twenty of his thirty-eight years fell away from him and he was barely more than a boy himself. But he had worked too long, and when he wasn"t being amused by tales of Alessandro, he often looked austere. Much of the weight of the House of San Gregorio was on his shoulders and it often showed. He had worked hard and well for them, and it had taken its toll. Never married, childless, too much alone, and too often at work, late at night, early in the morning, on Sat.u.r.days, on holidays and holy days and days when he should have been somewhere else, with someone else. But he lived for what he did, he wore his responsibilities like his dark suits; they were a part of him, like his hair, almost as dark as Isabella"s, and his eyes, the color of the Roman summer sky. His was the face the models fell for. But they meant little to him. They amused him for an evening or two, not more. Your new soap doesn"t work. As usual she gave it to him straight, and Amadeo almost winced, waiting for the battle to begin.

Bernardo sat very still. Why not?

It gave me a headache. It"s too heavy.

If someone cut my dining room curtains in half, I"d get a headache too.

I"m serious. Her eyes leveled ominously into his.

So am I. Our tests all show it"s perfect. No one else felt it was too heavy.

Maybe they had bad colds and couldn"t smell it.

Bernardo rolled his eyes and burrowed back into his chair. For G.o.d"s sake, Isabella, I just told them to go ahead on production. What the h.e.l.l do you want me to do now?

Stop it. It"s wrong. Just like the cologne was wrong at first, and for the same reasons. This time Amadeo closed his eyes. She had been right about that one too, but it had been a battle Bernardo had lost with pain. And fury. He and Isabella had barely spoken to each other for a month.

Bernardo"s lips tightened, and he dug his hands into the pockets of his vest. The soap has to be strong. You use it with water. In the bath. You rinse it off. The scent goes away. He explained it to her through narrowed lips.

Capisco. I"ve used soap before. Mine doesn"t give me a headache. Yours does. I want it changed.

G.o.dd.a.m.n it, Isabella! He slammed a fist on Amadeo"s desk and glared at her, but she was unmoved.

She smiled victoriously at him. Tell them at the lab to work overtime on it, and you won"t be held up in production by more than two or three weeks.

Or months. Do you know then what happens to the ads we"ve already run? They"re wasted.

They"ll be more so if you go ahead with the wrong product. Trust me. I"m right. She smiled slowly at him then, and Bernardo looked for a moment as though he might explode.

Do you have any other pleasant surprises for me this morning?