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CHAPTER ONE

      ITALY HAD TO BE the most beautiful place in the world.

      Daniella Tate glanced around in awe at the cobblestone streets and blue skies of Florence. She’d taken a train here, but now had to board a bus for the village of Monte Calanetti.

      After purchasing her ticket, she strolled to a wooden bench. But as she sat, she noticed a woman a few rows over, with white-blond hair and a slim build. The woman stared out into space; the faraway look in her eyes triggered Daniella’s empathy. Having grown up a foster child, she knew what it felt like to be alone, sometimes scared, usually confused. And she saw all three of those emotions in the woman’s pretty blue eyes.

      An announcement for boarding the next bus came over the public address system. An older woman sitting beside the blonde rose and slid her fingers around the bag sitting at her feet. The pretty blonde rose, too.

      “Excuse me. That’s my bag.”

      The older woman spoke in angry, rapid-fire Italian and the blonde, speaking American English, said, “I’m sorry. I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying.”

      But the older woman clutched the bag to her and very clearly told the American that it was her carry-on.

      Daniella bounced from her seat and scurried over. She faced the American. “I speak Italian, perhaps I can help?” Then she turned to the older woman. In flawless Italian, she asked if she was sure the black bag was hers, because there was a similar bag on the floor on the other side.

      The older woman flushed with embarrassment. She apologetically gave the bag to the American, grabbed her carry-on and scampered off to catch her bus.

      The pretty blonde sighed with relief and turned her blue eyes to Daniella. “Thank you.”

      “No problem. When you responded in English it wasn’t a great leap to assume you didn’t speak the language.”

      The woman’s eyes clouded. “I don’t.”

      “Do you have a friend coming to meet you?”

      “No.”

      Dani winced. “Then I hope you have a good English-to-Italian dictionary.”

      The American pointed to a small listening device. “I’ve downloaded the ‘best’ language system.” She smiled slightly. “It promises I’ll be fluent in five weeks.”

      Dani laughed. “It could be a long five weeks.” She smiled and offered her hand. “I’m Daniella, by the way.”

      The pretty American hesitated, but finally shook Daniella’s hand and said, “Louisa.”

      “It’s my first trip to Italy. I’ve been teaching English in Rome, but my foster mother was from Tuscany. I’m going to use this final month of my trip to find her home.”

      Louisa tilted her head. “Your foster mother?”

      Dani winced. “Sorry. I’m oversharing.”

      Louisa smiled.

      “It’s just that I’m so excited to be here. I’ve always wanted to visit Italy.” She didn’t mention that her longtime boyfriend had proposed the day before she left for her teaching post in Rome. That truly would be oversharing, but also she hadn’t known what to make of Paul’s request to marry him. Had he proposed before her trip to tie her to him? Or had they hit the place in their relationship where marriage really was the next step? Were they ready? Was marriage right for them?

      Too many questions came with his offer of marriage. So she hadn’t accepted. She’d told him she would answer him when she returned from Italy. She’d planned this February side trip to be a nice, uncomplicated space of time before she settled down to life as a teacher in the New York City school system. Paul had ruined it with a proposal she should have eagerly accepted, but had stumbled over. So her best option was not to think about it until she had to.

      Next month.

      “I extended my trip so I could have some time to bum around. See the village my foster mother came from, and hopefully meet her family.”

      To Daniella’s surprise, Louisa laughed. “That sounds like fun.”

      The understanding in Louisa’s voice caused Danielle to brighten again, thinking they had something in common. “So you’re a tourist, too?”

      “No.”

      Dani frowned. Louisa’s tone in that one simple word suddenly made her feel as if she’d crossed a line. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry.”

      Louisa sighed. “It’s okay. I’m just a bit nervous. You were kind to come to my rescue. I don’t mean to be such a ninny. I’m on my way to Monte Calanetti.”

      Daniella’s mouth fell open. “So am I.”

      The announcement that their bus was boarding came over the loudspeaker. Danielle faced the gate. Louisa did, too.

      Dani smiled. “Looks like we’re off.”

      “Yes.” Louisa’s mysterious smile formed again.

      They boarded the bus and Daniella chose a spot in the middle, believing that was the best place to see the sights on the drive to the quaint village. After tucking her backpack away, she took her seat.

      To her surprise, Louisa paused beside her. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

      Daniella happily said, “Of course, I don’t mind! That would be great.”

      But as Louisa sat, Daniella took note again that something seemed off about her. Everything Louisa did had a sense of hesitancy about it. Everything she said seemed incomplete.

      “So you have a month before you go home?”

      “All of February.” Daniella took a deep breath. “And I intend to enjoy every minute of it. Even if I do have to find work.”

      “Work?”

      “A waitressing job. Or maybe part-time shop clerk. That kind of thing. New York is a very expensive place to live. I don’t want to blow every cent I made teaching on a vacation. I’ll need that money when I get back home. So I intend to earn my spending money while I see the sights.”

      As the bus eased out of the station, Louisa said, “That’s smart.”

      Dani sat up, not wanting to miss anything. Louisa laughed. “Your foster mother should have come with you.”

      Pain squeezed Daniella’s heart. Just when she thought she was adjusted to her loss, the reality would swoop in and remind her that the sweet, loving woman who’d saved her was gone. She swallowed hard. “She passed a few months ago. She left me the money for my plane ticket to Italy in her will.”

      Louisa’s beautiful face blossomed with sympathy. “I’m so sorry. That was careless of me.”

      Daniella shook her head. “No. You had no way of knowing.”

      Louisa studied her. “So you have no set plans? No schedule of things you want to see and do? No places you’ve already scouted out to potentially get a job?”

      “No schedule. I want to wing it. I’ve done a bit of research about Rosa’s family and I know the language. So I think I’ll be okay.”

      Louisa laughed. “Better off than I’ll be since I don’t know