Honeymoon For One

by Lily Zante

  Ignoring her direct question, Nico replied, “My boss is a good man, for sure.” But he didn’t elaborate further. “Shall we go?” he asked, taking her gently by the arm and almost leading her onwards.

  She followed him reluctantly, knowing that he was not being honest with her. Yet he seemed too excited and so eager to make this a good day for her that she was torn. Torn between wondering what secrets he was hiding and why, yet at the same time unable to contain the delicious feeling of anticipation welling up inside her at the thought of being with him.

  Nico seemed to be in a rush and Ava knew he had an 11 o’clock meeting and yet it was still only ten o’clock. He walked along narrow, cobbled streets. The town was busy, buzzing with people. It was a manufacturing epicenter. Nico pointed out lots of different factories and large stores along the way as they walked.

  Ava stared at a large warehouse across the street that caught her eye. It was the lime, purple and yellow shop front that attracted her attention at first. The simple sign said, Andrea’s Home Supplies and Furnishings.

  “You like that?” asked Nico, coming to stop by her side and following her gaze. “I know the owners there and I’m sure if you find something you need, we might be able to get you a better deal.”

  She could feel his presence so strongly beside her. They were standing on the pavement, staring at the shop front ahead of them. Yet Ava’s mind was a turmoil of emotions. Everything had turned confusing all of a sudden. She was starting to find that Nico had this effect on her more at time went by. She had preferred it better when she had been an arrogant hotel guest who had believed him to be nothing more than a sullen hotel driver. Now, she was starting to feel giddy and self conscious around him. Knowing her feelings intuitively, Ava knew this could only mean one thing: that she was attracted to him but her circumstances, and his behavior, for she was sure he was lying to her, made her at once dubious and untrusting of him.

  “Hey,” he said turning to her when she had been quiet for more than a few minutes. His fingers lightly brushed hers. “What’s the matter Ava?” His touch startled her out of her reverie and she moved her hand away, holding onto her bag tightly for fear he might find it again. She shifted her gaze from the shop front to his handsome face and searched his expression for clues as to what was hidden beneath.

  “Nothing’s the matter,” she lied, resting her free hand into her front jean pocket.

  “I think you will find a lot of things here for your business. I want you to make the most of it Ava. You did say this was a working holiday for you. No?” He tried to cheer her up but Ava felt more alone and forlorn than ever. She couldn’t explain the feelings that were stirring inside her. And she wasn’t sure if she was meant to feel guilty for feeling them or not.

  “Why do you care so much about my business?” she asked, turning away from him and stepping down onto the cobbled street. She didn’t look behind to see if he was coming. She started walking slowly towards the warehouse she had been staring at. Yet two large strides was all it took for Nico to overtake her and to stand before her, blocking her right of way.

  This time his face was sad and he was quieter than his earlier exuberant self. “I don’t mean to upset you but I can see that I have. I’m sorry, even though I don’t know what I’ve done.”

  Ava groaned. Now he was being too damn nice. It wasn’t fair. He was always too damn nice. He took her everywhere and she knew he could have any woman he wanted and yet he seemed hell-bent on making sure he was at her beck and call. And she was nobody to him. So why did he care so much?

  “Stop apologizing Nico. You’re always so apologetic and kind and gentle around me. Why?”

  He stared back at her and she felt that there was something he wanted to say, as if it was almost on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself from saying it. “You are a good woman. You are a guest at our hotel. I want you to enjoy your visit. Does it have to mean any more than that?”

  Ava cocked her head. No, there was more to his behavior than this. She’d been to Italy before and nowhere on any of her travels did any hostel or hotel owners ever go out of their way as much as this man had. She looked at him guardedly.

  “There is something you are hiding from me Nico. I don’t know what, but I know there is something.” She challenged him but he shrugged his shoulders, placing his arms by his sides. He was heart stoppingly good looking and as much as she wanted to right now, she couldn’t look away. Even as they stood face to face in the middle of the street, she could see that he drew looks from other women as they walked past.

  One woman in particular was heading towards him; she was a petite, thin woman with a lush mane of almost black hair carelessly pulled back into a ponytail. She walked quickly towards them and since Nico had his back turned, he didn’t see her coming.

  “Nico!” she cried happily, when she was almost upon him. No sooner had she spoken his name than Nico turned around and gave her a big hug. “Andrea. We were just talking about you,” he said affectionately.

  The woman turned towards Ava with a smile and her hand outstretched. “Only good things I hope,” she said, shaking Ava’s hand.

  “Naturally,” replied Nico good naturedly, “Are there ever any bad things to say about you?” Then turning to Ava, “Ava, this is the owner of the warehouse. This is Andrea.”

  “Aaaaah,” said Ava, returning the woman’s warm smile.

  “Some shopping for you? For the baby?” Andrea asked, innocently enough.

  Nico scowled and barely managed a “No,” and Ava noted that he seemed almost apologetic in his reply.

  Ava took rein of the conversation. “I’m looking for some new products to sell. I run an online store for babies and children and I’m looking for new and exciting things from Italy – my American customers always want new things. Nico tells me that you have some beautiful things.”

  “He’s most certainly right. I do, come I’ll show you.” She gestured for Ava to follow her.

  “Will you be alright Ava?” Nico asked, running his hands through his rich black hair. Ava glanced over at Andrea and then at Nico. “I’ll be fine Nico. Good luck with your meeting.” It struck her that he had been so concerned for her and her business, that he wasn’t at all worried about his own meeting.

  “I hope you will like the things I have,” said Andrea excitedly as they walked the few yards down the street and headed into her shop.

  “I really like your shop front, especially the bright colors,” said Ava, looking around her at the vast open showroom in front of her. “I think I’m going to love your products!” she said walking quickly to a corner that had already caught her attention.

  It was a display of baby cribs. Her customers loved these and had asked for so many bespoke types of cribs. She never found ones she thought were good enough. Until now.

  Chapter 15

  An hour later, Nico walked out of the furnishings factory with the smug look of satisfaction of a man who had successfully negotiated a better deal for himself.

  He had ordered thicker and more luxuriant towels and 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets as well as high quality napkins and tableware for the Casa Adriana. This meeting had been long overdue because he wanted to change all the hotel bed linen, towels and robes to a more expensive brand. Ordinarily Alphonso, the hotel manager, could have overseen this meeting but Nico didn’t feel he could trust the man to do anything well lately. And Alphonso was still off sick.

  No doubt his father would see this as yet another one of Nico’s new fangled ideas but Nico believed that although these things were costly, they mattered. There were the types of finer details that customers noticed. Those who paid good money expected the very best.

  He had recently read a few online reviews of the Casa Adriana and all the comments had been positive. People only made their views known when they were extremely unhappy or extremely pleased with a service and luckily for him the Casa Adriana was getting five star reviews for all the right reasons. He
knew he was onto something and knew he was doing the right thing with moving the hotel forward. Yet at the same time he knew this was going against his fathers business ideals. His father believed in squeezing out more profits by spending as less as possible. Nico believed in getting the very best and going all out on service, catering to the smallest of details. He believed this would draw visitors back again and again. He knew this would work. He just hoped he had enough time to prove it to his father.

  He turned his wrist and looked at his watch. It was just after noon. Time to head back. As he walked out of the factory and along the street leading to Andrea’s warehouse, Nico felt good. He saw Ava coming out of the warehouse then saw her head back into it again; she was talking to Andrea in that animated way of hers. He could only guess she had found something she liked for she was gesticulating wildly, unable to keep her arms and hands from moving wildly.

  He leant against the brick wall of the pet warehouse, watching her from a distance. Deep within him, he felt the mild stirrings of eager anticipation, knowing he was waiting for her and that she would be over in a little while. He liked the idea of that. Then with a jolt he remembered the morning and how tense she had been. Something had made her tetchy and short-tempered. It was almost as if she had been angry about something. Surely it wasn’t because of him? He racked his mind, tracing back their conversation earlier and wondered if he had said anything accidentally that might have caused her any distress. But he couldn’t think of anything. Or maybe he had been too nice to her? Too over the top? Or perhaps it was just her having another bad day and still learning to come to terms with her grief.

  As much as he found himself looking forward to seeing her, for now he acknowledged that this was the case indeed, Nico knew that Ava’s time in Verona was fast coming to an end.

  Although it had been hard to hold back, he had never overstepped his boundary. She was a widow and he respected the fact that he needed to remain distant, no matter how attractive he found her. But it pained him to see such a young and beautiful woman struck down by tragedy. Not that Ava looked to him as someone who was displaying the classic symptoms of grief.

  He hoped she would find someone who would show her love again.

  And for himself, he hoped he would meet someone like Ava; someone unassuming and interested in him as a person and not his money or background.

  He had found that in Ava but it could never be anything more.

  And now, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that she had seen through his mask. She had started to suspect that he was not just a hotel driver. She had known enough about him. He looked up to see Ava walking towards him. The sunlight shimmered on her dark brown hair, coating it with a veil of deep gold. He waited, poised, searching her face for signs of unease, trying to second guess her mood. But she was smiling at him as she walked towards him. He lent away from the brick wall and started walking towards her, his eyes never once leaving her face.

  It was at this moment that Nico decided he would take her to Montagnano, the village where he had lived with his mother and grandmother. For all of a sudden he felt the need to show her this place that was so very dear to him; he had a feeling she would appreciate it.

  “Did you see anything you liked?” he asked trying to put on a more business like face. He noticed that the color of her eyes was ever changing and now they were the lightest blue.

  “I could have bought it all,” gushed Ava enthusiastically, brushing her hair out of her face.

  Nico nodded his head, pleased to hear that coming with him to Montova had been worth her time. He could see the effervescence about her, she was in good spirits once more and her somber mood of earlier had vanished.

  “Andrea will be pleased.”

  “I like her. She has some beautiful things that I know my customers would love.”

  “I could help you secure better prices,” he offered. They were standing in the middle of the street, facing each other again.

  “Why would you do that Nico?”

  “Because I know Andrea, as I told you.”

  But he knew this was not what she was asking.

  It was lunch time and the bicycle bells rang as the school children rode past. The sun shone stronger than before and the pace of life here seemed slower.

  Nico led the way back towards the street where they had parked the car.

  “Shouldn’t we get something to eat here?” asked Ava, suddenly conscious of the warm and welcoming smells of olive bread and cheese floating high above the air. It was warmer now, so she took off her jacket as she walked.

  Nico looked at Ava, not failing to take in her lithe body with its slender shape so noticeable in the fitted dark blue shirt she wore with her beige Capri pants. He ran his fingers over his tie and loosened it slightly, struggling to regain his composure. Clearing his throat, “I wanted to show you a little village, not too far from here, if you’d like too, of course.” He watched her face carefully for her response. She smiled back at him and he knew that she was all for this small excursion.

  “I’ve loved all the places you’ve taken me to so far,” she said in a husky voice, taking out her sunglasses and looking at him straight in the eye before slipping them on.

  “You will love this then. It’s a small village, run-down by five-star tourist standards but most definitely a beautiful piece of Italy, hidden away in its own little corner.”

  Intrigued and even more excited, this time Ava got into the car, choosing to sit in the front seat instead of the passenger seat. Nico raised an eyebrow and placed the jacket that he had taken off, in the back instead.

  For some reason, it felt just right to have her sitting next to him instead of in the passenger seat behind.

  Chapter 16

  Montagnano was far from the centre of Verona and easily another twenty miles away from Montova. It was off the beaten track and not visited by tourists from abroad as much yet Italians from Rome, Venice and Florence sought out this little town for its jeweler crafts and artisan pieces. The town had a history of jewelers and clock makers and Italians came here for these pieces.

  They arrived at Montagnano about half an hour later. Nico was right, thought Ava,

  as she got out of the car and looked around her. From what she could see it looked like a beautiful little village and had a charming, yet rustic feel about it.

  She followed Nico’s lead as he slowly started walking. In front of her was a long row of shops mostly made up of little shops and restaurants. A couple of jewelers, arts and crafts and fabric shops lay dotted around, interspersed with a bakery and various other food shops. This parade of shops that greeted visitors who came to Montagnano was impressive.

  As they walked down the small cobbled main street, a small, dark and dingy looking shop caught Ava’s attention. She walked up to it, looking all over at the displays in the shop window. It was a jeweler’s shop and the sign on the shop front said: Flamentagostini.

  Behind the large window front lay trays of black and maroon colored velvet boxes showing off beautiful pieces of jewellery. A pair of emerald earrings dazzled in a box next to another that boasted a gold and ruby encrusted cuff. Rows of such boxes, arranged with pieces of jewelry set with different stones, glistened in the window. But one box, almost hidden behind one of the black velvet trays had Ava fixated. It was a small deep blood red velvet tray, inside which lay an intricately adorned silver and burnished gold bracelet. It was decorated with a cornucopia of gemstones, pearls, diamonds and stones of different color and material, all complimenting each other beautifully and each highlighting the beauty of the other. Ava held her face against the glass window, straining to see further inside but held back by the boundary of the glass.

  “You like that?” asked Nico, following Ava’s gaze.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Ava dreamily.

  Nico moved closer to the window and peered in. “I’m not a jewellery man but that is a beautiful piece,” he agreed.

  “Are they
real stones?” asked Ava, seeing that the shop was closed.

  Nico chuckled, “Knowing Flamentagostini, most likely yes. The pieces can be quite expensive. A lot of Italians come to this place to buy what they consider to be one off pieces.”

  “Why’s the shop closed? It’s still early afternoon,” said Ava, not ready to peel her eyes away from the bracelet.

  “Because its only February. Many of the Italians who come here, visit during the summer months and that’s when most of these shops will open up. The locals don’t buy from here much.”

  “What a shame,” said Ava quietly. She stepped back and saw the reflection of her and Nico in the window. The dark velvet backdrop for the jewellery boxes clearly reflected back both their images. Even Nico smiled at her in the window.

  They looked almost like a couple out shopping.

  “Hungry?” asked Nico. Ava nodded her head quickly, eager to break the spell so that she would not dwell on what could not be.

  Nico beckoned her to follow him along the thin narrow streets, until they went further behind the façade of shops. Here were side streets full of shops used by everyday people. There was a bakery, a butcher’s shop and a green grocers. There were no tourist signs here. No adverts for Coca Cola or Pizza hut. No subway or McDonalds.

  Ava looked around her at a group of young children playing in the streets and saw older women walking at a leisurely pace along the pavement, their arms full of bags of food. She looked up to see Nico disappearing into a shop just up ahead. She followed him inside and found him talking full throttle to the middle-aged man behind the counter. From their lively faces, it was clear that they knew each other. They were talking in Italian and oblivious to what they were saying, Ava smiled back at the man who turned to smile at her. Nico seemed to be introducing her because she vaguely managed to make out her name in their conversation.