An Italian Island Summer

Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Epilogue Acknowledgements Keep Reading … About the Author Also by Sue Moorcroft About the Publisher Guide Cover Contents Title page iii iv vii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 v vi i ii AN ITALIAN ISLAND SUMMER Sue Moorcroft Copyright Published by AVON A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2023 Copyright © Sue Moorcroft 2023 Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2023 Cover illustration © Dania K. Sue Moorcroft asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780008525705 Ebook Edition © May 2023 ISBN: 9780008525712 Version: 2023-04-03 Dedication For Hollie Clark Matthews Thank you for making Paul happy Acknowledgements If ever I run away with the idea that I write my novels alone, preparing the acknowledgements sets me straight. To everyone who helped in the creation of An Italian Island Summer – my thanks! My brother Trevor Moorcroft, who compiled research on, amongst other things, reluctant fathers, drug assault, teaching English abroad and public transport in Sicily. Isabella Tartaruga, who answered so many questions about Italy and Italian people and their language – and then read an early draft of An Italian Island Summer. My brother Kevan Moorcroft for also reading an early draft and then advising on the head-hunting of Alfio. Author Adrienne Vaughan for information on the Dublin area; Vivienne Helm on overdose; Michelle Gialanze on hysterectomy and recovery. Especial thanks to cabin crew member Chloe Robinson who was so generous with her advice on airline protocol during a medical emergency; and to Domenica of Ceramiche Artigianali DoLù for answering my numerous questions about artisan ceramics. Any mistakes are mine, not theirs. Thanks also to Mark West for being my ever-patient beta reader and all the long authorly chats at the Trading Post, even though he has his own novels to write. Team Sue Moorcroft for their never-ending support, friendship and suggestions for character or place names. Social media friends for the fun and lovely messages. Pia Fenton and Myra Kersner for the writing retreats, Sunday evening WhatsApp calls and always being on the end of an email. My books wouldn’t reach readers if not for wonder-agent Juliet Pickering and the fabulous Blake Friedmann team; and everyone at Avon, HarperCollins, who publish my books with such skill and enthusiasm. Thanks also to my editors of foreign editions. It’s a joy to work with you all. And, most importantly, readers, for reading my books and following me on social media, subscribing to my newsletter or joining my street team; thanks for the lovely reviews and fabulous messages. And extra-special gratitude to those readers and reviewers who met Ursula as the best friend of Zia in an earlier book and asked me to write