by Lily Zante
Nico lifted his head, a cold, flinty gaze hardening his expression. “By the looks of things, she’s busy.”
He turned around and disappeared into his office.
The moment for talking had passed. Nico retreated into his office and sank back into his chair.
With his elbows on the table and hands joined together as if in prayer, Nico rested his chin against his index fingers. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the darkness shut out the world outside.
No matter what he did or how hard he tried, he could not convince people to change their opinions of him. His reputation preceded him and was capable of ruining his life even now, many years later.
He had failed again with Ava. But after their recent time together and all they had talked about, could she not see the real him? Why would she think there was anything going on with the woman? Didn’t she know him better by now? She would understand. She had been so understanding lately, especially when she had found that magazine of him at the Grand Prix party. She was finally coming to see that he was not the playboy any more and that he was in love with her. He hadn’t told her that, of course; he didn’t want to scare her off. It had been hard enough as it was to hold back from saying just how much he did love her.
He wanted to explain everything about this morning, but she was with Connor. His jaw tightened at the idea of Ava with her ex-fiancé. Why was she laughing and talking with him as though they were best friends all of a sudden?
He would make it up to her. But he couldn’t think about that now. He had a lot to deal with today. He would catch up with her later, once he’d made a few calls regarding the hotel in Ravenna.
Hopefully by then that idiot ex of hers would have long gone.
Chapter 31
Ava watched Nico walk back inside. She felt the urge to run after him and demand an explanation; she needed to know that what she had seen had been a huge mistake.
But her eyes had not deceived her.
Splintered memories of the days in Riccione and Ravenna pricked her consciousness. Andrea’s warning replayed over and over in her ears while images of Nico’s hands around the woman’s arms burned in her mind.
Now she understood why Nico had told her to take it easy and rest up, why he had not wanted her to come to the hotel today. But it didn’t make any sense. Why would Nico take such a huge risk with that woman? Why not be discreet?
Her logical side tried to reason it out, but her emotional side knew. She knew what she had seen and no matter how she tried to explain it all away, she had seen him and that woman up against a wall. She wished his father had walked in on him. But she might never have known the extent of Nico’s deceit if she hadn’t experienced it herself.
No, it was better it had happened the way it did.
She understood now why Nico had been interested in her in the first place. It had been only because she had been unattainable. Now that he’d had her, and taken the best of her, he was already bored.
The only problem was she had fallen for him.
He had built her up to believe in love again, only to break her back down.
She had been delusional to even consider a future with this man. A future she would always regret because being by Nico’s side meant having to fight off all the other women who would flock to him. That would never stop. It wasn’t his fault that he was so good-looking and attracted these types of women with his family name and money. But if he loved her, as he said he did, then he would know how to resist.
Or maybe Nico was insatiable? Maybe one woman would never be enough?
She would never be enough.
Despite making a promise to herself that she could not, would not take on another man who could break her heart again, how was it that she had ended up in another relationship that had disaster written all over it?
Her DNA was wired to attract men who would only hurt her. That’s why.
Lost deep in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Connor until he waved his hand at her. “A penny for your thoughts?” He made no move to come closer and for that she was grateful.
“You’re going back home tomorrow.” She said flatly, reminding herself that it was about time she booked her flight back home, too.
“My quest failed. I didn’t win you back. Nothing to do but admit defeat and go home.” Connor looked pensive.
“Would you like to spend the day with me, in Montova?” It would mean she wouldn’t be alone to mope over Nico, nor would he approach her with any more lies and explanations. She needed to speak to Andrea about the shipments anyway, and then she would book her flight home. She’d go home tomorrow if she could, without even waiting for her mom and Rona. They could stay here as long as they wanted.
She was still reeling from the pain in her heart, but moping around all day crying would not fix a thing. As sick and as tired as she felt, for this had totally drained her energy, she had to keep busy.
Connor looked confused. “Are you asking me to spend the day with you?”
“Unless you have something else planned.”
“I’m free. I can’t think of a nicer way to spend my last day here.” Surprise was glued to his face.
Ava pulled out her cell phone and switched it off. She wanted no contact from Nico at all. “Let’s go then.” She turned and went down the steps.
“Now?” He followed her anyway.
“Yes.” Before she changed her mind.
She could tell by the way he spoke, without even turning around, that he had a huge smile on his face. “What’s in Montova?”
“Products, for my online business.”
“You’re still doing your clothing site?” he asked.
“It’s a baby site,” she corrected him. He had never had much interest in it before.
“Yeah, sure. I remember now. You’re still doing that, huh? Interesting.”
Interesting?
“You were always so passionate about it.” You noticed?
“I still am. I’ve found some new products to sell and I’m going to have them shipped back. You don’t have to come, I mean, if it sounds boring.” Give him a get out clause. No need to ruin his last day in Verona just because her day had been obliterated to bits.
“No, no!” He seemed animated, like a little puppy dog, eager to please. “I would love to see your new products. That’s pretty exciting stuff. I had no idea you had been working so hard.” This was way more than he had ever said to her about her side hobby, which was what the website had been initially.
He had never had much time for her or her projects before.
She blushed, loving the adoration, since it did not come from Connor often. “I was wrong for thinking you’d only come out here for your own selfish reasons. When really you did it to get your life back after the shitty thing I did to you.” His interpretation of things made her look up.
Ava shrugged her shoulders. She skipped the soul-searching; it was time to be pragmatic now. She didn’t want to get entangled in any more dramas. She was only asking Connor along to keep her company, not so that he could win her back.
“We’ll get a taxi,” she said, looking back at the hotel. She decided not to use the hotel driver even though Nico always insisted on it. It didn’t seem the right thing to do now.
Being a lovelorn emotional wreck had only resulted in more heartache.
She was done with love.
She was done with Verona, and all of Italy, too.
Chapter 32
“Tori want to go out?” Rona knelt on the floor and buttoned up her daughter’s white fleece.
The little girl nodded excitedly.
“All right then, we’ll go for a walk.” Rona rummaged through her rucksack, making sure she had everything she needed for a day out. She opened up the lightweight stroller, the one necessity without which she could not leave. The stroller would cramp her style, but it would have to do. Better than carrying Tori around, something that she definitely would not be able to do in her high-heeled wedges
.
Tori gurgled excitedly; she already knew what this meant. The promise of outside.
“Come on then, little lady. Seems like Grandma’s deserted us for another day.” Tori pulled a mischievous smile. Too true, thought Rona. She had never seen this coming, her mother cavorting around Verona with a complete stranger. Okay, not a complete stranger, and the man and his family had been good to them, but if she had known her mother would be enjoying herself this much, she would not have let Carlos return home so quickly. Whether his father needed him or not.
A few minutes later, Rona set out, pushing the stroller in front of her with as much aplomb as she could. She tucked her butt in and her chest out. For a new mother, she looked good, and she knew it.
Wandering around Verona pushing a stroller did not hold much appeal for Rona, but she couldn’t stay cooped up inside any longer. It also grated on her that her own mother had done more sightseeing than she had. Mingling with tourists and visiting places was not Rona’s thing, but wandering around the town center, looking in all the shops was manageable.
Naturally, they would have to stop for lunch at Gioberti’s again. She liked the food there. Tori did, too.
Elsa stifled the growing ball of excitement that rose in her throat. Shaking her head, she laughed out loud at another one of Edmondo’s anecdotes. She hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. She felt so light and cheery and surprised at herself for having such a wonderful time with him.
If anyone had told her a few weeks ago that she would be spending time with a strange man in a foreign country, she would never have believed them. But it had happened.
She wondered what her friends back home would make of it all.
Her world had become one full of surprises and she was loving every minute of it.
“What do you think of this? Beautiful, no?” asked Edmondo, pointing to the ceiling of another church they were visiting, the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore. Inside were beautiful, elaborately carved panels depicting biblical scenes.
Elsa found herself breathless on more than a few occasions. Often, the craftsmanship and sheer beauty of these places she visited took her breath away.
She wandered over to the side, to a table lit up with candles. Edmondo must have sensed her need to be alone, because he nodded his head gently and walked farther away.
The quiet inside the church seduced visitors into peaceful contemplation. She took a candle and lit it, closing her eyes and saying a prayer of thanks and remembering her husband. She felt happy being here, with Edmondo, going around Verona, but her husband was never far from her heart or mind.
She found her way to a pew and took a seat, contemplating her sudden and unexpected friendship with this handsome elderly gentleman. Until a few weeks ago their worlds would have never collided. Now, without trying, she felt a bond, a friendship or maybe more, that she had not been looking for but had attracted into her life all the same.
She didn’t feel guilty for enjoying the company of this good, kind and gentle man, a man and a friendship that she sensed her daughters did not fully approve of. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the void, the absence of noise, reveling in the peace and solitude that gave her thoughts clarity. What she and Edmondo had was purely platonic and there was no way that either of them were hankering for anything more. Was there? They were simply two single people who enjoyed one another’s company.
Keeping her head bowed and her eyes closed, an image of her beloved appeared in her thoughts and just as suddenly it vanished. It had been hard in the beginning, to deal with the grief. There had been many years when all she could do just to get through the day was to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Because her girls had needed her, she had had no option but to do just that. In a way, they had been her salvation. Then one day, she had woken up and accepted that she was truly alone. By then, a good many years had passed and her daughters no longer needed her as much.
Reaching the acceptance of her husband’s death had been a turning point for Elsa.
It had allowed her to cope with the thought that she would never see him again. She could at last sit at her table and eat her dinner, alone, without imagining the conversation they might have had. Accepting his passing had given her the freedom to move forward in her life.
But now she had suddenly been thrust into Edmondo’s world, a man who was almost like her counterpart, in that he, too, was a widower and alone. He, too, wanted only to enjoy the rest of his days. Was it really so bad that they had met? As if in answer, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. Still clasping her hands together, she lifted her head and opened her eyes.
Soft, warm eyes gazed down at her, and Edmondo smiled. There was nothing forward or inappropriate in his touch. He wanted to know if she was all right. In answer, she smiled back and shifted along the pew, making room for him. He gave her a grateful movement of his head and sat down.
They sat together for a long while, enjoying the quiet.
Rona rammed the stroller onto the pavement. Did these people not have any children? After hours of walking around everywhere and buying a few toys and clothes for Tori, Rona walked up to her favorite place in the whole of Verona. Gioberti’s.
The owner, Gioberti, leapt toward Rona as soon as he set eyes on her. She immediately straightened her body up as she pushed the stroller into the restaurant. Tori gurgled happily in the seat with her little soft doll still in her hands.
“Bella! So nice to see you again.” Gioberti flashed a blinding white smile at Rona who reciprocated eagerly. She liked the way he scanned her appearance from top to bottom.
Gioberti was always at his best when taking care of his patrons, especially if they were of the female persuasion.
“Is this good for you?” he waved his arm at a table just inside and to the corner. Rona nodded her agreement and Gioberti rattled off orders to his staff in blinding fast Italian.
Within seconds, a high chair appeared from thin air, closely followed by a menu, two wine glasses and a coloring book and crayons for Tori.
Rona sat down, relishing the attention that was being heaped upon her and which she readily lapped up.
Tori was content with her coloring project, even though she was much too young to know what to do with crayons. Rona kept a close watch on her each time she tried to put a crayon into her mouth.
In the distance Elsa and Edmondo walked along the street, not quite arm in arm but with a closeness about them.
“Isn’t that…your granddaughter?” asked Edmondo, pointing a few yards away, to the front of Gioberti’s. Elsa squinted and looked. It most certainly was. Rona with Tori.
“Shall we go there?” he asked.
“Is the food nice?”
“It’s average, though there are better places. I don’t think your daughter looks happy.”
Elsa looked over. Edmondo was right. Rona’s mouth was clamped together tightly. Nothing like a smile was due to come from those lips anytime soon. Surprised at herself for even considering going to a restaurant that served better food, despite the fact that her daughter sat miserably in front of her, Elsa moved in the direction of Gioberti’s.
“Let’s find out whether she wants us to join her.”
Tori shrieked with delight as Grandma’s familiar face moved closer and kissed her on the cheeks. She held her arms out in an expectant hug and sent her crayons rolling to the ground.
“My little Tori!” Elsa bent over to lift her granddaughter out of the high chair.
“Don’t get her out, Mom. I’m trying to settle her down to eat.” Rona looked grumpy.
Elsa let go of her granddaughter, leaving her to wail in the chair. “Do you mind if we join you?” she asked, examining Rona’s face for clues. She flicked her gaze briefly over Rona’s plate, which was still full of uneaten salad.
Rona replied, “If you want.”
Elsa watched her daughter’s face, trying to gauge the real cause of her mood. She knew Rona didn’t approve much of her wa
ndering around Verona with Edmondo.
“Hey, Mr. Cazale,” said Rona, acknowledging him.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked carefully, as he pulled out a chair for Elsa.
Elsa sat down, knowing that her daughter really seemed in need of company.
Rona shook her head. “No, Mr. Cazale. Please, join us. Mom has made herself more than comfortable here.”
Edmondo complied happily and the four of them sat together.
Over in the background, Gioberti was busy talking to two tall and lithe students who had walked in moments before. Rona could see them from the corner of her eyes.
“You eat,” said Elsa, taking Tori’s bowl from Rona. “I’ll finish feeding her.” Rona looked as miserable as hell.
Food might cheer her up a little. Elsa knew she had not been sleeping well.
Chapter 33
The taxi sped along the road and fields of lush green grass, as thick and silky as chenille, scooted past them. Ava stared out, lost in thought.
Going to Montova with Connor? Was she insane?
Her world of late had teetered from mixed emotions about her past, and sheer bliss about her future.
Until this morning.
What future?
“Amazing scenery,” Connor commented, looking out of the window.
That future?
What was she doing? She could have confronted Nico and demanded an explanation. Even if it was just for pure entertainment. She would have liked to see him talk himself out of that one.
With relish, she remembered the look of anguish in his eyes when he had come across her with Connor on the stairs. She had deliberately looked away when he tried to catch her eye. But that didn’t stop her feeling his eyes burning into her.
It was so obvious that he had wanted to talk. But she would never give him the satisfaction of explaining himself.