by Lise Gold
“I never expected to have a white Christmas here.” Rome sighed in delight as they passed a small stall selling nativity figurines.
“It’s not common, but I’ve experienced snow over Christmas once before, since I moved here.”
“Well, I feel blessed to see the city covered in snow, it’s magical.” Rome paused. “I never cared much for Christmas—in fact, I tended to avoid it—but now I’m looking forward to Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, a big, Roman lunch on Christmas day, classic Christmas carols at the Auditorium, and visiting all the beautiful churches at night… I can’t think of a better place to spend Christmas than here.”
“No Santa Claus though,” Nadine joked. “Can you live with that?”
“I don’t need anything. All I need is you.” Rome smiled. “But I’m sure La Befana will bring you something if you’ve been a good girl.”
“Really? Did you get me a present?” Nadine smirked.
“Of course I got you a present. In fact, I got you a whole set of presents to try out in bed later.”
Nadine arched a brow as she bit her lip, her mind already consumed with fantasies. “You know me so well.” The fire in Rome’s eyes made her want to take her home right away, but she had plans for tonight, and they were big plans.
St. Peter’s Basilica came into sight as they turned onto the long, wide road leading up to the square, and they both stopped for a moment, staring up at the huge white basilica and Bernini’s columns, beautifully lit up. At the front of the square, next to the four thousand-year-old Egyptian obelisk, was an enormous Christmas tree, its hundreds of lights casting a magical glow over the snow-covered square. The closer they got, the more aware she became of how awe-inspiring it was. Nadine had walked here many times at night, but she never failed to be amazed by the vastness of it all. The huge arcs on either side were like two benevolent arms embracing her, making her a part of something larger than herself.
Rome let go of her to look at the nativity scene next to the tree, and as Nadine buried her cold hands deep in her pockets, she felt the box she had placed there earlier—the enormity of what she was about to do making her heart jump.
“This is so beautiful.” Rome let out a deep sigh and joined her under the tree, where more people were gathered, admiring the sight. She turned to Nadine, her eyes narrowing as she studied her. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Nadine locked her eyes with Rome’s and noticed her hand was trembling as she handed her the present. “This is for you.” Keeping it a secret for so long had been incredibly hard but she’d wanted it to be perfect before Rome saw it for the first time.
“For me?” Rome smiled sweetly, tears shimmering in her eyes as she studied the rectangular box wrapped in simple, silver paper. “I haven’t had a Christmas present in years. My father always sends me a gift card,” she added with a chuckle in an attempt to hide her sudden emotional state.
Nadine waited nervously for her to unwrap it, and a wave of relief washed over her when she saw Rome’s expression. First surprise, then utter delight as she read the name of the perfume, printed in a Roman font on the white box.
“Rome…”
“Yes, named after you, of course. Not the city.” Nadine managed a smile, but her stomach was doing summersaults. She’d never been so afraid in her life. “It will be in stores next year, and just to put your mind at ease, it’s all made out of recycled material. Go on, open it. You were the inspiration behind it.”
“Wow, this is so awesome. I can’t believe you named your perfume after me,” Rome said through tears as she opened the box and pulled out a beautiful teardrop-shaped frosted glass bottle with a slim neck and glass stopper. She took the top off, put some on her wrists and inhaled the heady aroma. “I love it. It smells like that perfume you made me when we first met. Only better.” Her bottom lip was trembling as she looked up to meet Nadine’s eyes. “Thank you. I can’t believe you did that for me.”
“That’s not all…” Nadine drew her attention to the bottle. “There’s something hanging around the neck.”
“Oh, it’s a little dark here, I thought that was part of the design.” Rome chuckled through her sniffles as she studied the sparking embellishment hanging from a silk ribbon wrapped around the bottle. Her eyes then widened as she realized it was a diamond ring. “No…”
Nadine held her breath, cursing the long silence that followed as Rome slipped it off the ribbon and held it up against the light of the tree. “Is this…?”
“Only if you want it to be.” Nadine took the ring while Rome removed her glove, then put it on her finger. “I’ll totally understand if it’s too soon, or even if you don’t want it at all. I just want you to have it.”
“No… I do.” Rome’s lips pulled into a wide smile as she stared at her hand, then at Nadine, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Really? You want to marry me?” Nadine let out an elated shriek, lifted Rome up and spun her around. “Are you serious?” She asked as she put her back down and took Rome’s face in her hands.
“Yes. I’m very, very serious. Nadine Costa, I can’t think of anything better than to be married to you.”
Nadine basked in happiness as Rome gave her a long and lingering kiss that swept her off her feet. Despite the cold, she felt warm and clammy; the culmination of nerves and excitement getting the better of her.
Rome pulled out of the kiss and looked around as applause broke out and she noticed tourists were filming them. They both laughed and Rome waved her hand, flashing her ring at their cameras. “We’re getting married!” she yelled, then flung her arms around Nadine’s neck.
“I love you so much,” Nadine mumbled against Rome’s mouth as she kissed her again. The vast expanse of the night sky twinkled above their romantic backdrop, the universe seemingly celebrating with them. Their stars had aligned and there was nothing more perfect in the world than loving Rome.
I hope you’ve loved reading The Scent of Rome as much as I’ve loved writing it. If you’ve enjoyed this book, would you consider rating it and reviewing it on www.amazon.com? Reviews are very important to authors and I’d be really grateful!
Acknowledgments
Writing a novel takes a lot of work, and I couldn’t have done this without Claire Jarrett, my editor. Claire, thank you for your invaluable feedback throughout the process. I love our smooth working relationship that will hopefully last for many, many more years to come. I’ll just keep on writing :)
Laure Dherbecourt, thank you for always being so flexible last-minute. It’s a pleasure working with you, and I’m sure we’ll get to meet in person one day!
Also, thank you Bella (what a great name!), for advising me on the workings of the Italian legal system. I’ve kept it as simple as possible so I wouldn’t mess up ;)
Fatima M, thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences with me. It was super exciting to learn about the life of a high-end escort.
About the Author
Lise Gold is an author of lesbian romance. Her romantic attitude, enthusiasm for travel and love for feel good stories form the heartland of her writing. Born in London to a Norwegian mother and English father, and growing up between the UK, Norway, Zambia and the Netherlands, she feels at home pretty much everywhere and has an unending curiosity for new destinations. She goes by 'write what you know' and is often found in exotic locations doing research or getting inspired for her next novel.
Working as a designer for fifteen years and singing semi- professionally, Lise has always been a creative at heart. Her novels are the result of a quest for a new passion after resigning from her design job in 2018. Since the launch of Lily's Fire in 2017, she has written several romantic novels and is currently working on 'The Compass Series'.
When not writing from her kitchen table, Lise can be found cooking, at the gym or singing her heart out somewhere, preferably country or blues. After living in Amsterdam and Hong Kong together and getting married in Spain, s
he and her wife have finally settled in the UK with their dogs El Comandante and Bubba, and their cats Kanye, Lil’ Tittie and Extra Sweet.
Also by Lise Gold
Lily’s Fire
Beyond the Skyline
The Cruise
French Summer
Fireflies
Northern Lights
Southern Roots
Eastern Nights
Western Shores
Living