by Lily Zante
Table of Contents
Title Page
Book Description: A summer in Verona…
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Excerpt from ‘All That Glitters’
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Copyright
It Takes Two
(Italian Summer Series, Book 1)
Lily Zante
Text copyright © 2015
Lily Zante
All Rights Reserved
Book Description: A summer in Verona…
Rona Fernández left Verona with a clutch of happy memories. Her late night and frequent visits to the charming Gioberti’s restaurant had raised some eyebrows but nobody was overly suspicious of why she would go alone each evening.
Not even her husband.
Married and still looking hot despite a baby and almost seven years of marriage, Rona prides herself on looking good and getting noticed. Her five-two diet, love of tight and bright clothes, flashy jewelry and signature big hair make sure she is never a wall flower.
It’s just a shame that her hard-working husband is too busy working to pay her much attention.
When she returns to Verona to help her pregnant sister with her business and impending wedding, Rona sees another opportunity to make the most of life.
A harmless flirtation every now and then isn’t such a bad thing. As long it stays that way.
Author’s Note
‘It Takes Two’ is the first book in the ‘Italian Summer Series’, which is a spin-off from the ‘Honeymoon Series’ and the first book in that series, ‘Honeymoon For One,’ is currently free at all retailers.
‘Italian Summer’ consists of a series three standalone books which tell the stories about the lives of characters who first appeared in the ‘Honeymoon Series’. In addition you also get to discover what is going on in the lives of the main couple, Ava and Nico, from the first series.
If you haven’t read the first three books in the Honeymoon series, please be aware that there will be spoilers in this book.
The timelines of both series are connected and you can find a recommended reading order here.
‘It Takes Two’ is Rona’s story. Gina’s and Andrea’s stories are expected in Summer 2016.
Italian Summer Series:
(A spin-off from the Honeymoon Series)
It Takes Two
All That Glitters
Honeymoon Series:
Honeymoon For One
Honeymoon For Three
Honeymoon Blues
Honeymoon Bliss
Honeymoon Series Boxed Set (Books 2, 3 & 4)
Perfect Match Series:
The Proposal
Lost In Solo
Heart Sync
Perfect Match Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
A Leap of Faith
Tainted Love Series:
(A spin-off from the Perfect Match Series)
Misplaced Love
Reclaiming Love
Embracing Love
Tainted Love Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
The Billionaire’s Love Story:
The Gift, Book 1
The Gift, Book 2
The Gift, Book 3
The Gift, Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
Standalone books:
Love, Inc
An Unexpected Gift
Unexpected Love (Bundle: An Unexpected Gift & Love, Inc)
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Chapter 1
“Can I buy you a drink?”
Rona glanced at the tall stranger with his unkempt hair and eyes so intense that a lesser diva would have melted. She assessed him casually, appeared to consider his offer but shook her head even though she enjoyed the way he looked at her. “I’m good, thanks.”
“I bet you’re not that good. Not really. Not dressed like that.” His gaze dropped to the deep V of her turquoise top and he licked his lips in appreciation.
“I’m old enough to buy my own drinks.”
“I’m sure you’re old enough to do a lot of things.”
This guy wasn’t shy. She held up her left hand so he could see her wedding ring.
“My husband thinks I am.” She picked up the pitcher of Margarita in one hand and a pitcher of mint Mojito in the other and walked away.
“If you ever get lonely…” He shouted after her. She sashayed back to the table where her friends were waiting; three pairs of wide open eyes stared back at her.
“You’ve still got it, girlfriend,” Mercedes commented as she refilled her empty glass. “What’s your secret?”
“The five-two diet,” said Rona. “It works, I’m telling you.” She held up her cocktail glass. “May our girls’ nights out never end—even when we’re old and past it.”
They all tapped their glasses lightly with hers.
“Amen,” said Mercedes, solemnly. As a mother of two children under the age of five, these nights out were her life buoy.
“I’ll get the drinks next time,” said Celine, turning to give the man a good once over. At twenty-seven, she was the youngest of them all. She was still desperately trying to find ‘the one’ and had been single for nearly three months.
“I tried that diet, but it didn’t work for me. Besides, I hate being told what I can and can’t eat,” lamented Jodi.
“Why would you bother trying? You’ll be pregnant soon enough,” said Celine, carelessly.
A silence hushed their carefree chatter.
“I’m not pregnant yet and we’ve been trying for months,” complained Jodi, refilling her glass.
“I bet you’re having fun trying,” sniggered Celine. “I know I would if I had a man.” Her smile vanished just as quickly. Rona rolled her eyes at Jodi. Celine and her endless quest for A Man.
“How come we had to keep rearranging tonight?” asked Jodi. Rona let out a low groan. “Ava,” she reminded them.
“She kept you busy, huh?” asked Celine. “Maybe I need to get myself to Italy and get me a fine specimen of a man just like the one she has.” Her friends knew Ava and they were all fully up to date with her exploits in Italy which had now resulted in a baby on the way as well as an impending wedding to one of the most eligible and handsome men in Verona. She was their icon. All, except Rona’s.
“She’s a slave driver,” complained Rona. Her sister had returned to Denver briefly in order to resolve some of the issues with her online store. It was expanding too fast for her to keep up and now that she was going to live in Italy, she had to come up with a solution for handling her US operations.
Rona picked up her cocktail glass. It wasn’t her problem now. The only problem she had was one called Kim.
The problem being that she wasn’t a virtua
l assistant anymore.
Mercedes wanted to know. “How’s it working out—this other woman and you? You said she was a pain in the butt.”
“She still is a pain in the butt,” Rona confirmed. She’d suffered while her mother had been in Verona. Carlos could only look after Tori one weekday, and the order numbers had exploded. Some days she’d take Tori with her and put her in the playpen in the kitchen, just so she could get some work done. Other times she’d do the unthinkable: start work at six in the morning and work until around eleven, leaving Tori with Carlos. Since he worked in this family’s restaurant business, he often started work late and finished late. But during Ava’s recent visit, she had employed Kim, who was once her virtual assistant, to help out with order processing, as well as dealing with customer queries.
“Now you’re sharing the work?” Celine asked.
“She does a few days and I do a few days. Different days,” Rona quickly added.
“It’s working?”
“I don’t have to see the woman,” Rona smiled.
“How old is she?” asked Jodi, curious.
“Twenty-seven.”
“And her son?”
“Is eight.”
“No way!”
“She married?”
“Single mom.”
“Wow,” said Mercedes, her eyes wide with admiration. “That must be so hard. I bet she’s really ambitious.”
“Getting knocked up at nineteen doesn’t sound too ambitious to me,” retorted Rona, flicking her nails. “Anyhow, I only have to work two days a week now. It was killing me having to work everyday.”
“I bet,” said Mercedes. She’d given up work the moment she’d had her firstborn and had no intention of returning. “By the way, your haircut suits you. It makes you look younger.”
“I didn’t realize I looked older before,” Rona replied, running her fingers through her light brown hair. Previously long and layered it had now been stylishly cut to just below her shoulders. She couldn’t resist swishing it around—just like the models did in those hair ads.
But Carlos hadn’t even noticed until she’d forcefully stood in his way. “What?” he’d asked, frowning at her.
“Notice anything?”
“You look happier?” he’d commented, clueless.
“Anything else?” she’d asked, giving her head a jiggle.
“It’s colored? And…it’s…shorter,” he cried in dismay. “Aww, baby, why did you go and do that for?” It hadn’t been the response she’d been looking for.
“I loved your hair the way it was before.” He’d told her.
She pushed thoughts of Carlos out of her mind and glanced over at the bar again. The tall stranger had been watching her and he raised his glass to her. She raised hers in return.
“Are you going to encourage him?” said Celine, irritated.
“I’m not encouraging him. He knows I’m married.” replied Rona.
“Some men don’t care,” remarked Mercedes.
“Why don’t you go over and start talking to him if you’re so desperate to meet a guy?” Rona shifted her gaze from the stranger to her friend. Celine couldn’t stomach it when any of the others, all married, got attention she thought she deserved on account of her single status.
“Nice to be noticed,” sighed Jodi.
“What diet was that again?” Mercedes asked. “I can’t diet to save my life. The only time I lose weight is when I stop breast feeding.”
“Yeah,” agreed Rona. “Apparently it’s meant to fall off then. So I heard.” Not that she’d breastfed Tori. Breasts, in her opinion, were for adult use and she was relieved she’d never let a baby near hers. Tori had done just fine with infant formula.
“Don says he wants another one,” said Mercedes, her face contorting.
“Really?” asked Jodi, wincing.
“He wants four,” said Mercedes, matter-of-factly.
“Ouch,” said Rona, pulling a face. “How many do you want?”
“I don’t mind. If he wants more, why not?”
“But do you want more?” asked Rona. It wasn’t as though they were talking about a bag of sweets here. She couldn’t imagine agreeing to another child or three just because Carlos thought it would be nice to have. She couldn’t put her body through nine months of hell to be followed by hours of blood loss, damage to her sensitive parts and months of inconvenience afterwards. Not getting nine hours of uninterrupted sleep for months was bad enough.
“This is when sex gets scary,” remarked Celine. Kids weren’t in her game plan yet.
“He says he comes from a family of three, and that three is an odd number. So he wants two or four. But now that we’ve got two, he kinda likes the idea of having two more. It’ll be even then.”
“But what do you think?” asked Rona, intrigued.
“It’s okay with me. The other two are going to be at school soon enough and it’ll be nice having another one around the house.”
“It would be nice to do nothing while the other two are at school,” remarked Rona. She loved Tori more than she ever thought was possible, but she hadn’t considered baby number two yet. She wasn’t sure she ever would.
“Do you really need to have more poop to clean up?” asked Celine. “It seems that’s all babies do all day long. Be little poop machines.”
The bartender came up to them just then with a round of drinks identical to the ones that Rona had ordered. “Compliments of the gentleman at the bar.” He looked over to Rona’s admirer at the bar and then put down four cocktail glasses: two Margaritas and two Mojitos.
“The evening just got better,” exclaimed Jodi, and grabbed hers.
“Thank you,” said Celine and held her glass up to the guy who was watching them from the bar. She nodded her head appreciatively.
“I really shouldn’t,” said Mercedes. “But, heck, we might end up making more babies soon, so I might as well drink up now.” She gave the man her best smile.
Only Rona could see that he’d kept his gaze on her the whole time. She picked up her glass and walked over to him.
Bam. She slammed it down. “I told you, I’m good. I can get my own drinks. Thank you, anyway.”
He appeared amused by her response and grabbed her wrist as she turned to go. She raised her chin and stared at his eyes that now sparkled like diamonds. She enjoyed this thrill—the chase, the knowledge that she still had it—the ability to turn heads. It excited her, especially knowing that it would go nowhere, but also to know that she was still desirable.
This easy flirtation warmed her insides.
“Do you mind?” she asked, breaking her arm from his firm grip.
He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re a feisty little one, aren’t you? I’ve seen you here before.”
“You must get out a lot,” she said sarcastically, leaning back against the stool next to him, not quite making herself at home, but not ready to go back to the girls just yet. She wanted to bask in a little sparring banter first. “Because I don’t come here often.”
“I know. Like I said, I’ve noticed you here before. I don’t know if it’s those hooped earrings, or,” his gaze trailed down the length of her body again. “The way your clothes seem to hug that mighty fine body of yours,” his lips parted as he licked them. He was handsome, in a rough cowboy sort of way. Nothing fine boned about him. Rough, and rugged. Kind of what she’d thought about Carlos when they’d first met. He’d rescued her from a fracas that her group of friends had gotten mixed up in. Carlos had dived right in and pulled her away from the fray.
“Do you often pick up married women?”
“We’re just talking,” he smiled. “And drinking. That’s all.”
“You come here alone?”
“I’m meeting some buddies of mine.”
“Well, it’s been nice talking to you and thank you for the drink but—”
“It’s on me,” he said and refused to take it back. “I promise you it hasn’t been spiked. Ask this gu
y here,” he nodded at the bartender who grinned at her as he wiped a glass.
“Nothing wrong with it I swear.”
She smiled and wrapped her fingers around the ice cold rim. It made her feel good, always being the one to get noticed, especially when she was out with her friends.
Ruben had noticed her too, but she’d been alone then, in Verona. Alone and bored and often forcing a smile at Gioberti’s lame jokes.
“Take it, no strings attached,” the stranger insisted, and dragged her into the present, back in Denver.
“Just so we’re clear: I’m not that kind of girl.”
“If you say so.”
She took the drink and sauntered back to the girls.
“Well?” asked Mercedes.
Rona shrugged. There was nothing to say.
“What’d he say?” asked Jodi, chewing on a cuticle.
“Not much.” Rona twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
“How come you get hit on all the time and I don’t?” wailed Celine. “Maybe I need to try the five-two diet.”
Rona placed the cocktail glass next to her half empty one and smiled. She still had it, she thought, feeling smug with herself.
Chapter 2
“What the hell is this?” moaned Rona as she looked at the neatly packaged boxes ready to take to the post office.
What had Kim been doing last week?
Rona worked Mondays and Tuesdays and much preferred this new working arrangement. Two days at work was manageable. But her Mondays were busy. She looked at the boxes and knew it would take two car journeys to drop off at the post office.
Things were supposed to be getting easier with two of them doing the job she had done by herself until recently. So why did the apartment look so full? It further raised her suspicions about Kim. Her sister seemed to think she was a good worker but Rona wasn’t convinced that Kim was pulling her weight; she’d have to speak to Ava about it.