Page 111 of The Wrong Wife

Same eyes.

Same fire.

Same steel.

Alba likes her designer wear—Alessia warned me about that. And considering her outfit probably clocks in at around three hundred thousand euros, she wears it with an ease that suggests she’s not flaunting anything at all.

A Loro Piana camel cashmere coat.

Ferragamo boots.

A Brunello Cucinelli power suit in rich chocolate brown.

A large Bottega Veneta bag that can hold a laptop.

Diamond studs, substantial but restrained. Probably Cartier.

An intricate white-gold bracelet. Chanel?

And on her wrist, a vintage Bulgari watch—one I suspect is sentimental rather than strategic.

Her heels strike the flagstones in a crisp staccato that echoes through the vaulted corridors—stone that has intimidated far more seasoned executives than she.

“Nico.”

We exchange air kisses.

“I didn’t know you were coming by,” I say pleasantly.

She gives me a knowing look, lips quirking. “You mean Alessia didn’t mention it.”

“No,” I reply. “She didn’t.”

“That’s because she doesn’t know,” Alba says breezily. “I’m a surprise.”

She most definitely is.

Before I can interrogate that further, employees begin streaming in from various wings of the Palazzo.

Alba is intercepted—hugs, kisses, questions flying from every direction.

“How long are you staying?”

“Are you excited about the Tokyo opening? ”

“You look incredible—are you seeing someone?”

People know Alba. And she knows them right back—by name, by project, by detail. She responds in French, Italian, Spanish, and English, effortlessly covering, by language, about ninety percent of our workforce.

Alessia knows her people at Pietra Alta.

Alba knows everyone at the House of Alighieri.

Alessia is an introvert; and she told me that Alba is an extrovert, and Toni somewhere in between.

Alba draws energy from people the way Alessia draws it from the land.

I’ve heard enough of Alessia’s one-sided phone conversations with her sisters to know that Alba is vivacious and relentless, while sweet, sharp Toni is mischievous and observant, the baby of the family.