by Lily Zante
“Shall we go?” Nico took her arm and hugged her closer to him. He felt a warm stirring inside him. Although he had asked one of the hotel maids to ensure that the pensione was clean and ready for Ava, now that the time had come, he no longer wanted her to go there.
“Are you sure you don’t want to spend a night here? It’s late and we are here now. Or you could stay with me.” It was worth a try. “Would you like your room here for one more night?” He broached the subject carefully, dancing around, seeing that she was feeling skittish all of a sudden. He stared at her and repeated the question. “Ava?”
But her attention rested on a point far beyond Nico’s shoulders. She shook her head, her eyes widening all of a sudden.
“Ava? If it really makes you uncomfortable, I’ll take you to the pensione now.”
But she wasn’t listening to him. She said the one word that sent blood rushing through his body.
“Connor?”
Chapter 6
“There you are!” Connor’s face beamed unnaturally as he stood next to a shell-shocked Nico.
With the two of them standing side by side, Ava couldn’t help but notice they were complete opposites. They were similar in age, with Nico at thirty-two just a few years younger than Connor, but they were poles apart. How could she have fallen for two men who were so different?
Nico turned sharply, and she watched, motionless, as his gaze swept over the rather exuberant Connor. The man was making a habit of turning up in places where they least expected him.
“What are you doing here?” Ava regained some of her composure.
Connor barely batted an eye and turned to Nico instead. “We were supposed to have come here for our honeymoon.”
“Thank goodness for Ava’s sake you didn’t,” said Nico dryly.
The insides of her stomach knotted as Ava watched the two men exchange idiotic pleasantries in front of her. Neither of them appeared to acknowledge her discomfort at being talked about as though she were not here.
“Why are you here, Connor?” she asked.
But he ignored her again and addressed Nico, conspiratorially. “I was hoping to woo her back and to get her to fall for my charms again, but I didn’t really stand a chance, not when I found her in bed with you.”
Nico’s face darkened. “Watch your mouth.”
“What?” Connor looked from Nico to Ava, then back to Nico again. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
At that point Nico laughed. “You expected Ava to come running back to you, did you?”
“Call me delusional.” Connor wasn’t being so light-hearted any more.
“A fool might be more appropriate,” suggested Nico.
“Connor, please, leave things be. You can’t change anything now. Things between us wouldn’t have worked out.”
“No? And you think this will?” Connor shot back, his eyes darting to Nico. The movement was not lost on Nico.
Unable to comprehend that Connor was not only here in Italy, but had now followed her to Verona, Ava dropped back onto the sofa, her shoulders sagging as the day turned into a nightmare in front of her eyes.
How had he known she would be back in Verona?
“Why the hell can’t you just leave me alone?” Her voice rose an octave, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she wanted to break down and cry, or because she was confused. After a long day, and so many different scenes playing out, not least of all her decision to stay here, she was no longer sure she was doing the right thing at all.
The two men stopped talking, alarmed by her outburst.
Seeing Connor and Nico side by side right there in front of her was surreal. It was like staring at her past and…her future? She dare not say future because Nico was just a holiday romance. She knew that. Nothing more than a rebound flirtation to help her deal with the quagmire she had been sinking into. So why was she staying?
She could see Nico watching her with a worried frown on his face. “If you’ll excuse us.” In an instant, he had dismissed Connor and, gently taking hold of Ava’s hand, he led her away.
“Where are we going?” she asked, following him down a narrow carpeted corridor on the second floor. Off to one side, in an alcove almost hidden from view, was a door.
“For tonight, you will have this.” Nico opened the door, and Ava gasped in amazement. It was a huge room, decorated in warm yellows, with a large bed, a dresser and a cupboard. Opposite the bed was a desk, directly in front of a huge window.
Ava looked around and immediately felt at ease. She peeked out of the window at the beautiful gardens below. She had intended to go outside and take a walk but had never found the time, yet. Maybe now that she was staying a little longer, she would make time.
She needed to rest, here and right now, and she was too tired to argue with Nico about taking her to the pensione. Seeing Connor had knocked the wind right out of her.
“I’ll arrange for your luggage to be brought here. Shall I leave you alone for a while, to get your thoughts together? I know it has come as a shock to see him here. Unfortunately, I can’t throw him out.”
Ava shook her head. The realization sunk in. Connor was staying here, too.
“How did he know I’d be coming back?”
“I don’t know. He took a guess and got lucky. He knew about the Casa Adriana, didn’t he? He saw us together, and assumed the rest. Who knows?” Nico walked toward her and she fell into his arms when he placed them protectively around her shoulders. He lifted her face up. “I don’t want you to waste any more time worrying about him. I’ll take you to the pensione tomorrow morning. Just tell me what time.” He started to lean in for a kiss, but she stopped him.
“Stay the night with me.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to be alone?”
She shook her head. “And promise me you won’t do anything to Connor.” She could only imagine his quick temper.
Nico’s face softened; he held her closer and ran his hand gently across her cheek.
“Don’t worry. I’m not the mafia and I’m not about to do anything stupid. He’s not worth it.” He brought up her chin and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips, smashing all thoughts of Connor to pieces.
Falling onto the large, comfortable bed, they kicked their shoes off and sunk into one another. Ava felt at home here with Nico. Happy. She lay with her head against his shoulder.
“He followed us all the way from Venice.” Her heart sank just thinking about it. But the proximity of Nico swamped her mind with naughty thoughts, a guarantee of how their night would turn out.
She moved her head back a little and stared up at him. “Why were you acting like his best friend all of a sudden?”
Nico chuckled. “I was as surprised as you to see him. Like you, I want to know why this man can’t take no for an answer.”
“I still can’t understand why you were so nice to him.”
Nico rolled to his side and she felt his warm finger trace a line along her breastbone. “If the man is in my hotel, I have to be nice to him. As a guest, he hasn’t done anything that would require me to call the police and have him thrown out, unfortunately. Believe me, there is nothing I would like more than to have him out of here. Away from you, from us.”
Us. She flinched at his words. Nico was talking as though they had a long-term thing starting up, with a future at the end of it. She had to take things easy, be more careful. Otherwise she could end up in another situation like before.
“Will you take me to the pensione early tomorrow? I’ll be ready by nine.”
Nico bent his head down and left a smoldering kiss on her neck. “Whatever you say,” he murmured. She knew now that his mind was not on Connor any longer.
He slowly undid the top button of her shirt and her heart sped up with excitement. Her back arched and the feel of his fingers along her naked skin started to drive her into a state of frenzy. Each time he opened a button he covered her skin with long, wet kisses, the kind of kisses that soon had her moaning
.
“I could go back to my place tonight, if you need time to yourself,” he teased, his breath short and quick, his voice raspy.
She wriggled down the mattress until her face was level with his and met his lips for a slow, lingering kiss. His eyes were half closed and she knew, because she could feel his excitement along her hip, that he had no intention of leaving her tonight.
She licked his lips and probed his tongue with hers. Now that he had completely spread open her shirt, she lay there in her maroon lace underwear, completely his for the taking.
Chapter 7
Tori fought with her mother for control of the spoon.
“Let her have it, Rona. That’s the only way she’ll learn.”
Elsa watched dubiously out of the corner of her eye. Rona was adamant on feeding the little one herself, but the baby, now nearly seven months old was having none of it. She grabbed the spoon as Rona moved it closer to her. The pureed orange butternut and sweet potato paste soon clung to her little fingers like cellotape. Tori stuck her hand into her mouth and smiled at her mom.
Elsa sat down at the table and smiled at her granddaughter sitting so cheerfully in her high chair. Her own daughter looked worn out. Streaks of orange goo painted her face like an excess of blush wrongly applied.
“I’m worried about Ava,” said Elsa slowly.
Rona slapped down her spoon and wiped the baby’s mouth.
“Shouldn’t she have come back by now?” she asked absentmindedly. Tori smacked her mom’s hand playfully when Rona put a tumbler to her mouth. Then she tried to wrench it from Rona’s hand with the intention of drinking from it herself.
“Let her take it,” Elsa coaxed.
“She’ll spill it.”
“It’s a spill-free tumbler.”
Rona gave in and sat back in her chair, admitting defeat. Tori slurped happily from the cup and dipped her fingers in her food.
Elsa sighed. “She says she’s staying out there for a few more weeks.”
“She said what?” Rona sat upright sharply. “What do you mean she’s staying out there? What for?”
Worry wrinkled Elsa’s brow. “I think she has met someone.”
Rona scrubbed her face, spreading the glob of orange puree all over her cheek. Tori giggled loudly.
“No, stop it!” said Rona, her voice on edge. She wiped Tori’s fingers clean. “She’s just been dumped. Why the hell would she go and find another loser?” She shook her head and groaned in disbelief. “That girl is a walking magnet for attracting the wrong man every time.”
Elsa could not fault Rona there. She’d always wondered if Connor was the right man for Ava, but she didn’t like to hear of Ava talked about in that way. “I’m worried about her. Maybe I’m just overreacting. Ava’s not stupid. She might have met someone nice. It can happen.”
But Rona wasn’t listening to her mother. “I told her.” She scrubbed the high-table clean. “I told her to be wary of Italian men.”
Elsa flinched at the way Rona spoke about her younger sister.
“And did she tell you when she’d be coming back?” Rona stopped scrubbing furiously and waited for her mother’s answer. Elsa shook her head.
“Then we have no option.”
“No option?”
“Mom, someone will have to go and bring her back,” said Rona. “Who knows what she’ll end up doing, in that frame of mind?”
Beyond being worried at Ava’s decision to stay in Verona for the foreseeable future, Elsa had not really thought of such a plan. In fact, she wasn’t one to interfere in her daughters’ lives. But Rona’s suggestion had struck a chord. She got up and placed a soft kiss on her granddaughter’s head.
“Now that you mention it, it’s not a bad idea,” she said, moving over to look out of the kitchen window. Completely changing the subject, she asked, “What time will Carlos be over for dinner tonight?”
“Seven.” Rona rose and gathered the plastic Peppa Pig bowl of food from the high chair. “Of course, we’ll have to go out with you, Mom.”
“We?” Elsa turned to her daughter in surprise. But she quickly understood. Rona was worn out. Motherhood with a hyperactive baby had started to take its toll. Tori wasn’t always going down for her afternoon nap either, and even though Rona had been similar as a child and Elsa had managed to cope, she knew that the motherhood Rona had read about in books was not the actual experience she was having of it.
Acknowledging her daughter’s need for a break, she agreed. “That’s a good idea. It’ll be good for you to get away, and it’ll be a lovely trip for Tori. We’ll turn it into a family vacation, of sorts.”
Rona’s face brightened. She had taken maternity leave for the entire year. Carlos continued to work in his father’s restaurant and would easily be able to get a couple of weeks off at such short notice.
“Are you sure Carlos would want to go to Italy? With me and with Ava there? Wouldn’t it be better to take a nice family vacation somewhere else, just the three of you?” her mother offered.
The idea of taking off by herself appealed to Elsa. Obviously, the main reason was that she could see firsthand how Ava was doing, without causing too much of a stir. She knew her daughter well, and Rona might go in guns blazing. But with Elsa going and seeing for herself, it would put her mind at ease. The other reason was that now she had retired, she liked the idea of taking off and heading somewhere different. Verona was somewhere different.
“Of course Carlos will come. Why wouldn’t he?” Elsa knew that Rona had her own ideas about Ava’s latest romantic encounter and would think nothing of dragging Ava back.
“Maybe we’re rushing things a little,” said Elsa hesitantly, “Maybe Ava will be back in the next couple of weeks. Maybe I should just tell her what we were thinking of doing—”
“No, Mom. Don’t. We’ll surprise her. How else are you going to see what she’s up to?”
“I don’t like the idea of spying on your sister; that’s not the reason why we’re going.”
“If you’re worried about her, and if you tell her we’re coming, she’ll be prepared. Or she might come back.”
“That’s fine then; if she comes back there’s no need to go.”
“She might go out again another time, especially if she’s been silly enough to think she’s fallen in love with some strange Italian man. Goodness knows how forward they can be. I won’t be surprised if she gave him her sob story the moment she arrived and he fell for her, sympathy and all. And now she thinks she’s in love. Mamma mia!”
Elsa’s heart was pounding. This little trip to Italy would have been perfect if only she were making it. With Rona, Tori and Carlos in tow, she knew Ava would be mortified.
But Rona had already thought ahead. “Mom, we can fly out within the week. I can book tickets online; we have all the travel documents. Tori even has her own passport. We’re set to go.”
Elsa’s shoulders dipped a little. She was suddenly uneasy about the whole idea. But Rona seemed to have her mind set.
And just like that, the Ramirez family had planned their trip to Verona.
Chapter 8
Nico threw himself into work with a vengeance. He was busier than ever with the hotel. And he had a year left to prove himself.
His father was testing him and Nico more than rose to the challenge. Each milestone he reached was met with a small acknowledgement. Nico understood this. It couldn’t have been any easier for the old man to have built up such an empire himself. His father had worked hard all his life and not for nothing did he own a group of eight Cazale hotels from Verona to Rome. But, Nico often wondered, at what price? His father had lost out on family life; he hadn’t been around much for Nico and his mother and the hotel business had demanded and gotten all of his time. His mother had missed having a husband around to help and the absence of a father figure had its own set of problems. But Nico had found plenty of love and attention from his mother and grandmother, the two women with whom he’d spent his formativ
e years,
He was always closest to his mother and when she died Nico realized the extent of his father’s regrets. Regrets for the missed time he could not get back. When his mother fell ill, Nico sought solace in women and vices, which peaked to an all-time high around the time of her death. He had dealt with it by locking himself away, alone in his grief, spending days and nights sitting in his room, in the dark.
His mother’s passing had given him cause to stop and think. He felt a need to prove himself and looked back on his partying life with irritation. Village life had insulated him from the vices of wealth, so that when he came to live in Verona just before his teenage years, he was ill prepared for the parasites who would leech onto him because he had money.
It didn’t help that he was also devastatingly good-looking and the girls had flocked to him in droves.
He’d had his fill of that kind of life.
His father had thought about selling the business but Nico had managed to partially convince him not to. He still had more convincing to do, and he needed to produce more results. He knew his father wanted to take things easy in his later years. His father had created a legacy and Nico intended to keep that legacy going. Otherwise, the years he and his mother had spent alone would mean nothing.
He scratched his face in irritation. He’d been sitting at his desk surrounded by financial data from all the Cazale hotels. The Casa Adriana was doing very well, but the other hotels were not performing as well as he knew they could. He could get them to be great performers, just like the Casa Adriana. They needed refurbishing and had to be brought up to the same standards as he had put in place here. There was still a lot to do.
But Nico also had other plans. Why stop at eight hotels?
There was a hotel along the eastern coast, near Riccione, that had been on the market for more than a few months. The location was good. One of his trusted contacts had seen it and had recommended it to Nico. Inside was another matter though. The wiring was old, the décor was ramshackle and the place had not been inhabited for more than a year. The current owner was struggling to find a buyer for the place. In a time when travel was so easy for many people and more and more destinations were opening up all over Europe, another hotel on the seafront did not present an exciting, or viable business opportunity for many in the hotel business.