Draining her glass, she pulled a wad of notes from her purse and left them on the table before collecting her belongings to stagger away and out through the door. She had probably left far too much, but the end of the evening had been humiliating enough without trying to get the bill as well, and she would rather sneak away before somebody noticed.
The evening air was balmy and the skies still light as Kate stepped into the grey-cobbled alleyway, pastel-coloured terraced frontages rising high on either side dotted with lamps, moths flitting around them. As she emerged onto the wider street, people bustled to and fro, snatches of conversation on the air as she began to walk revealing more languages than she could count alongside the Italian she had been expecting to hear. She was trying desperately to dredge the location of her hotel out of the drunken recesses of her brain, but her brain was having none of it until she’d injected some coffee into it. But by degrees as she continued to walk, she became more caught up in the atmosphere of being out in the evening of the eternal city, the freedom to roam where she wanted and do what she fancied beguiling. A group of Italian women bid her good evening (at least she thought so) and she couldn’t help noticing the admiring glances towards her dress. With a soppy grin on her face, she then passed an English couple arguing about where they were going to eat.
‘Trattoria da Luigi. . . That way, good seafood!’ she hiccupped at them as she flung an arm back the way she had come, and they stared as she smiled benignly and went on her way, certain that she had done a very good deed that, one day, they would look back on as the thing that saved their marriage.
Before she had gone two blocks, she realised that she was very lost. But lost was just another word for exploring, wasn’t it? She was exploring – yes, that was what she was doing. You couldn’t be lost if you were exploring because you weren’t particularly trying to find anything in the first place, and you could only be lost if you couldn’t find the thing you were looking for, and she wasn’t looking for anything any more. That decided, the only thing to do was to stagger on, completely not lost at all.
Chapter Five
Kate stirred, batting at something tickling her face. A hair? She had no idea but she wished it would stop so she could go back to sleep. Though now that she thought about it, this bed was very uncomfortable too. . .
‘Cosa fai qui?’
She wrinkled her nose. Was that someone speaking? What were they doing here? They weren’t even speaking English – at least, she couldn’t make out what they were saying if they were. If they couldn’t be bothered to wake her in English then they could go away.
‘Signorina!’
There it was again. If only she could get her eyes to open she might be able to work out what was going on. But then a prod from something cold and smooth on her arm forced her to focus.
Bloody hell, those lights are bright.
Kate slowly pushed herself up and looked around. She was outside, sitting on some huge steps, but she had no idea how she had got there or where, exactly, the steps were. What she did know was that she had the headache to end all headaches, she was shivering and her neck ached. Night had fallen now too.
‘Ti sei persa?’ There was that voice again. Kate squinted up to see a man standing before her. He had his back to the street lights and his face was in shadow, but there was no mistaking the tone of his voice. For some reason he wasn’t very happy with her. All day people had been speaking English to her without being prompted, and it was typical that now when she needed someone to speak English they weren’t.
‘No understand,’ she said, pointing to herself and shrugging as she struggled to look awake.
‘You are English, madam?’ the man asked.
‘Yes!’ Kate said, relieved to hear he had now switched to a perfect version of her native tongue.
‘You are not allowed to sleep there.’
She rubbed her neck as she blinked at him.
‘I wasn’t asleep. . . I was just resting. I wouldn’t sleep here – that would be silly.’
He grimaced. ‘Perhaps you were so drunk you did not notice you were asleep.’
Kate paused, trying to take that in and recall what had led her to be there in the first place. Oh, that was it – Jamie had got her drunk and then abandoned her.
‘I was asleep,’ she agreed. ‘But it wasn’t my fault. How long have I been asleep for?’
‘Five minutes, five days – it makes no difference. You are not allowed to sleep here and you must move.’
‘Alright. . .’ Kate muttered, glancing at her watch. It had just gone eleven. How long had it been since she’d parted from Jamie in the restaurant? ‘I didn’t know you were the step police. . .’
‘Step police?’ the man returned sharply. ‘I am an officer of Polizia di Stato and you cannot sleep there.’
Kate groaned and, filled with a sense of alarm at his tone, she suddenly felt rather more awake. She had no idea what Polizia di Stato was but she could guess from the rest of the sentence that he probably was the police. ‘Oh God, I am SO sorry! I didn’t realise!’ She took a closer look and now that her vision was clearing from the alcoholic fog, she could see that he wore a blue and grey uniform, and the smooth cold thing that had prodded her awake was a baton now tucked back into his utility belt.
‘I do not want to arrest you, madam, but if you do not get up I will be forced to.’ He shook his head as he appeared to regard her carefully. ‘How much wine have you drunk tonight, madam?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘More than you should have done.’
Kate frowned.
‘Kindly return to your hotel. It is dangerous out here for you alone at night.’
‘Sorry,’ Kate said sheepishly.
She wobbled as she pushed herself up. The policeman made a small movement towards her but then stepped back as she righted herself. ‘I’m OK,’ she said before beginning her slow and stiff descent down the sweeping steps. She turned to him. ‘Are these the Spanish Steps?’
‘Of course. You do not know where you are?’
‘I think I must have done when I got here but something stole my brain when I was asleep.’
‘I do not understand.’
Kate gave a wan smile. ‘I must have been very drunk. Not very sensible I suppose.’
He began to follow her down the steps. ‘Where is your hotel?’
‘Via di Santa. . . something or other. . . Sorry, I seem to have forgotten that too. . .’ She fished her trusty note with the address from her bag. Now that she really thought about it, it was a minor miracle that her bag hadn’t been stolen while she slept. But she looked around to see that a good few tourists still milled around and perhaps that was why. Although the same tourists must have thought she looked quite a sight flat out on a famous landmark, snoring like a wildebeest. Maybe one of them even fetched the policeman to move her on. He took the note from her.
‘How will you get back?’ he asked as he scanned the address and then gave her a look up and down that she couldn’t fail to infer the meaning of, even though she couldn’t see his face clearly. ‘This is a long walk.’
For a stupid drunken cow, she thought, and silently she had to agree with him that she was probably far from capable in her current state. She simply shrugged.
‘This way,’ he said as he began to walk again. Kate stared after him. ‘You must come with me now,’ he insisted.
Deciding that she’d better do as she was told, she followed as he strode down the steps and made for the road.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘I will find you a taxi, madam.’
‘OK. . . am I in a lot of trouble?’
‘No, madam.’
‘So you won’t come to the hotel and arrest me? Like, tomorrow or something?’
He stopped and turned to her. It was at this point that she saw his face clearly for the first time. There was an involuntary snatch of breath. Black wavy hair topped by a cap, film-star jawline and cheekbones to
die for. And in his dark eyes, despite his brusque manner, was a hint of amusement. ‘Do you want me to arrest you, madam?’
Kate stared for a moment, unable to reply. Yes please was the answer that pinged around her brain, but at least her mouth had the good sense not to let it out. Her gaze wandered to the handcuffs hanging from the belt at his trim waist, and all she could think about at that moment was how she might like him to use them on her, though not necessarily in a legal capacity.
Oh God! She’d turned into one of those women who threw themselves at Chippendales and poked ten-pound notes into the thongs of male strippers! Her face burned as she mumbled, ‘No. Thank you.’
‘Why are you out alone with all that wine in your belly?’ he asked as he started to walk again and Kate tottered after him. ‘Do you have a companion?’
‘I’m on holiday alone. . . well, sort of. . . unless you count Jamie who isn’t really with me at all. In fact, I only just met him today. . . at the taxi rank at the airport. . . And then he took me for dinner. . . but he’s gay, you know. . . And then he disappeared with the waiter so I was on my own and I thought I would do some sightseeing. . .’
She could see his profile as he marched along, and she struggled to keep pace and rambled on in a way that completely matched her unsteady steps. He raised an eyebrow and turned to her, that spark of amusement in his eyes again.
‘Do you make a habit of getting into trouble?’
‘Oh, Jamie isn’t trouble. . . unless you count running off with the waiter and leaving me alone steaming drunk, of course. . . so I suppose that is trouble. . .’
‘You should choose your companions with more care in future, madam.’
‘Kate,’ she said. And then blushed.
‘Scusi?’
‘My name is Kate. I just thought I would tell you so you didn’t have to keep calling me madam. Unless it’s something you have to do when you’re on duty, of course. Which is fine. . . obviously.’
‘Does it offend you to be called madam?’
‘No. . . but I like Kate.’
He gave a slight nod.
‘It’s beautiful here,’ Kate said.
‘Yes. Is it your first time in Roma?’
‘Yes. I’ve always wanted to come but things seemed to get in the way.’
‘So you drank too much of our good Italian wine to celebrate?’
Kate looked at him. He kept his gaze straight ahead but she saw the ghost of a smile about his lips. She was about to reply when he stuck his arm out and a white cab came screeching to a halt, almost as if in panicked obedience to his command. He stuck his head in the open car window and spoke in rapid Italian to the driver, who nodded. The policeman stepped back.
‘Your chariot, Kate. . .’
‘Oh. . . right. . . and he knows where the hotel is?’
‘Of course. Please take more care in future when you go to sleep. The Spanish Steps are beautiful, but I would rather you enjoy them with your eyes open. I am sure your hotel has a nice bed for when night comes.’
Kate found herself blushing again. Now that sobriety was beginning to bite, she was feeling more than a little foolish for what she had done. What sort of idiot took herself to a foreign city alone and then proceeded to drink herself into a stupor and fall asleep in full view of muggers and rapists – or worse? And she was also feeling stupid that this policeman (this very hot and charming policeman) had been the one to pick her up and sort her on her way. She was probably lucky it was someone as nice as him, but she was also pretty lucky she wasn’t in a cell right now, sleeping off her hangover with nobody to bail her out.
‘I really am sorry,’ she said. ‘I won’t do it again.’
‘I am glad to hear it.’
Kate clambered into the back of the cab. She craned her neck to look around as the car pulled away, and she could see that he watched it leave until the driver turned a corner and he was gone from sight.
The taxi proved to be a costly affair, but she supposed it was her own fault and there was nothing she could do but stump up and learn a valuable lesson from it all. But that didn’t change the fact that already she had gone over her planned daily budget and she had only just arrived in Rome. At least the drive had given her the chance to appreciate the city by night as the cab had swept her down wide boulevards and cobbled piazzas flanked by delicate baroque architecture or immense stone-columned frontages, elaborately carved fountains and lively eateries where she could hear snatches of string quartets on the night air. Tomorrow she would get out and explore on her own, maybe even eat on her own. At least on her own she’d know exactly how much to drink and how much she could afford to pay. And there would be no chance of her companion suddenly abandoning her. Maybe she’d even find somewhere close to the Spanish Steps, and maybe she’d see her handsome rescuer again, although she’d be sure to admire him from a distance. She might have found him attractive but she doubted he’d have fond memories of the bleary-eyed public nuisance he’d moved on the night before.
As she stepped wearily from the taxi outside her hotel, however, all thoughts of tomorrow were banished as Jamie came rushing towards her from the shadows of her hotel doorway.
‘Thank God!’ he cried. ‘What happened? I’ve been calling you for hours! I almost filed a missing-persons report!’
In all the drama, or perhaps because her brain had been too addled, Kate had forgotten to check her phone. She pulled it from her bag now and saw the missed calls. ‘Oh. . . Well, I’m sorry, but I’m here now.’
‘That’s it?’ Jamie stared at her. ‘That’s all you have to say? I thought something terrible had happened to you and I thought it was my fault! I didn’t know who to call! I was going out of my mind!’
Kate looked at him. He did seem genuinely concerned, and perhaps he had a good explanation for where he himself had disappeared to, but she was far too tired to hear it now. She didn’t even know if she wanted to hear it at all. She had wondered whether he had been a con man trying to get a free meal, but the way he spoke to her now, whether she was wrong or right to trust him again, it didn’t seem that way at all. To her mind it was simple – he had gone somewhere with Pietro. If he chose to have a fling while he was away from his boyfriend, that was his business, and she liked him too much to tell him what she really thought of that sort of behaviour. Perhaps it was better that she knew nothing at all. Besides, she was a grown-up and whether he had left her on her own or not didn’t really come into it. She had made the decision to leave the restaurant and she didn’t need his permission to do so.
‘Nothing happened to me,’ she said. ‘I thought you’d gone back to your hotel. I went out to see the sights and I lost track of the time, so you can relax – I’m here and I’m in one piece. I’m sorry I didn’t hear my phone.’
His mouth fell open. ‘I wouldn’t have gone back to my hotel without saying anything and I can’t believe you went off in the same way!’
She let out a sigh. ‘You went off and you were ages; I thought you weren’t coming back. I see now that it was a misunderstanding. I’m sorry, Jamie, but I’m tired and I don’t want to have this conversation now. I’m grateful that you were worried and that you came here to make sure I was OK, but there was really no need.’
He paused. Kate had the distinct impression he had something he needed to get off his chest but after a brief moment he seemed to think better of it. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’m at meetings most of tomorrow, but if you need me you’ll be able to get me after three. Maybe we can try dinner again and this time actually stick together until dessert? After all, I do owe you for tonight – I know you settled up in my absence.’
She was too weary to argue this, or to engage in the sort of faff that always followed meals out with friends or work colleagues while they drunkenly tried to split the bill without World War Three breaking out. It was easier to let it go this time. ‘You don’t owe me. . . it doesn’t matter.’
‘Well if you won’t let me take you out for dinner then you
’ll have to take the cash from me now. . .’
Kate waved his assertion away. ‘Please. . . I just want to get to bed and it’s really not necessary. You paid for the cab today and saved me from getting ripped off. I’d say we’re even.’
‘Oh. . . But it would be fun to do dinner again anyway. I do feel I owe you even if you say I don’t. And I would hate tonight to be the only impression of me you take away when you leave Rome.’
Kate gave him a tight smile. Was this something she wanted to get into again? She did like Jamie, and it was nice having company for dinner. It also seemed as if he was keen for company too.
‘I’m not sure what I’m doing tomorrow yet, but I’ll text you.’
He looked vaguely disappointed but he nodded. ‘OK. Sleep well, Kate.’
‘You too.’
She watched for a moment as he made his way towards his hotel, before turning for the entrance of her own. Her bed was calling, and she was eager to fall into it.
Rome is Where the Heart is: An uplifting romantic read, perfect to escape with (From Italy with Love Book 1) Page 5