Treasured Dreams Read Online Free

was hard to believe, because all the other Calucci women in her family were fabulous cooks.
    â€˜Glide it across.’ Nonna clutched her fingers around Rosalina’s hand and curled the rubber spatula from one side of the fine sieve to the other, forcing the mashed sweet potato through the small holes. ‘ Come questo .’
    â€˜Yes, Nonna.’
    â€˜Makes it easier. Comprendere ?’
    â€˜ Si, Nonna.’
    Rosalina’s grandmother was not one to argue with. Nonna chose to ignore the fact that Rosalina had spent two years in one of Italy’s finest culinary schools. Rosalina didn’t mind, though. Any chance to refine her skills under her grandmother’s expertise was golden.
    Nonna plucked a cork board from the cluttered duchess shelf and placed it on the bench next to the stove. She then opened the oven door, and the delicious aroma of roasted garlic wafted about the kitchen. Nonna removed the tray and placed the parmesan puffs onto the cork mat.
    The temptation to eat one of the steaming pastries would have been impossible to resist had Rosalina been able to reach them. Having the leg cast removed couldn’t come soon enough.
    She glanced at the clock over the fireplace. Two more hours until Nonna’s friends arrived for their monthly gathering. They’d originally taken turns when it came to who’d host the afternoon tea, but it wasn’t long before Nonna’s amazing cooking and her dominating personality overrode their plans, and the venue had been permanently fixed at Nonna’s villa for as long as Rosalina could remember.
    Preparing for these afternoons filled with food, laughter and the occasional tear from one of the ladies, produced some of Rosalina’s fondest memories of growing up in this kitchen. Nonna was blessed to have such a wonderful group of ladies to grow old with, and they’d certainly shared some significant ups and downs together. Nonna became a widow in her early fifties, but with the abundance of Calucci family and her lifelong friends surrounding her, she was rarely alone.
    Rosalina plucked fresh herbs from the ceramic pots Nonna had moved from the windowsill to the table for her. She finely chopped the chives and parsley and folded them into the sweet potato and mashed ricotta cheese with a little sea salt. Then she added half the flour and folded it in with a spoon.
    Once again, Nonna showed her how to mix by guiding her hand, and despite Nonna’s petite fingers, the old lady had a strong grip.
    The last big feast Rosalina prepared had been for her own engagement party. She’d set the long table up in the vineyards that stretched from the back of the villa right up to the lowest row of grapevines.
    It had been a magical afternoon. And night, too. Archer had surprised her by cleaning and decluttering the upstairs ballroom and inviting guests from Australia. Her heart ached at the weight of what had happened after that wonderful night. It was hard to believe that was five weeks ago. She sighed as she recalled Archer whisking her around the dance floor like a professional ballroom dancer.
    Rosalina suddenly remembered a moment at her engagement party that had slipped from her mind. In light of everything that had happened since then—the helicopter crash, the treasure stolen from the yacht, her broken leg and Archer’s broken ribs—it wasn’t surprising she’d forgotten.
    But now it came back to her as if she were reliving the moment.
    Rosalina had been wearing a bracelet. It was a silver chain with only one small pendant dangling from it. This chain had been given to her by her mother the very last time Rosalina had seen her.
    At the engagement party, she’d been dancing with Archer, and he’d twirled her around to meet Nonna. But when Nonna had seen the bracelet, a look of horror had swept across her face, then she’d raced out of the room.
    Rosalina hadn’t had a chance to chase her, and after