Annie’s gaze wandered from Kim back to Colette, who looked troubled. “Colette, why all the questions? What about you and Luca—have you two done the deed yet?”

Colette colored and Annie’s eyes widened. Well, who’d have thought it? It really was the quiet ones you had to watch.

“It’s just...” The younger girl looked uncertain. “It’s just we had this...amazing night, but I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s busy with work. Didn’t you already say he had to go to Rome on business?” Annie reminded her.

“Yes, but it’s not just that that’s bothering me.” Colette’s eyes shifted uncomfortably.

“Colette, spill. What is it?” Kim asked.

“Something happened that night on the boat...” Her eyes left Annie’s face and settled on a spot on the table. “We were having such a...romantic time together and then he got this call. He was really mysterious about it. He hates mobile phones but this time he answered. He jumped up away from me to take it and then immediately afterward we needed to go back. I felt weird about it, especially the way he went so...cold after. And now it’s been days since I’ve heard from him.”

Mysterious calls that ruined the mood when you were with a fella? Annie knew those situations all too well. And they usually meant the same thing—you weren’t the only one he was seeing.

She looked at Colette sadly. She could tell that her friend was serious about Luca, and that she cared about him.

She hoped for her sake that she was wrong about this, but there was no way to be sure. Especially when dealing with Italian men in summer resorts, where having holiday romances and multiple women on the go was almost expected.

Kim replied before she could. “Colette, if you felt something was strange, did you ask Luca what it was about?”

“I did. He just told me it was nothing to worry about and that he needed to get home,” Colette replied.

Another bad sign in Annie’s mind.

“Well, if you’re concerned that he hasn’t been in touch, why don’t you just phone him? No reason why you should have to be waiting on him to call you.”

“I don’t have his number,” the younger girl admitted simply. “As I said, he hates phones.”

Oh, come on...

“Seriously?” Annie said disbelievingly and Kim flashed her a warning look. “He hates mobile phones? Yet he was able to take a call on the boat that night—an important one, apparently.”

The writing was on the wall here as far as Annie was concerned. Colette was being played for a fool. And she was damned if she was going to let that happen.