by Lily Zante
She would think of an appropriate story for her mom and Rona. But that could all wait.
“Would you do something for me?” It was a spur of the moment decision, but the moment she made it, she knew it was the right thing to do.
“Anything.”
She felt she could trust him, now. There was nobody else she could get to do this for her. She fumbled around in her bag for the Flamentagostini bracelet, still in its box. She had worn it in Riccione and Ravenna, the whole time, and it had meant something completely different then. A token of love, of honest, pure love.
Now it was tainted.
She gave the box to Connor. “I need you to do this one thing for me, Connor. I’m trusting you, and I don’t want you to ask me or anyone else any questions. Promise me?”
He was taken aback by the seriousness of her words.
“I’m worried about you,” he said, taking the box from her.
“Don’t be. I’m fine. I’ll feel even better if you hand this back. To Nico. Only him, or Gina if he’s not around. Can you do that for me, please?”
“Of course.”
“No questions asked.”
“No questions asked, I promise.” True to his word, even though he must have had a million things he wanted to say, Connor took the box from her gallantly and didn’t ask a single question the rest of the way home.
Ava knew two things for certain.
Nico had taken her heart, but it no longer belonged to him. And Connor, the man who had broken her heart before, now became a man she could trust again.
Chapter 35
Tori lay asleep in the travel cot.
“Don’t fuss over her, Mom,” ordered Rona, waving a big curly hairbrush through her thick head of hair. Elsa stepped away quietly from the cot, unease grumbling in her belly as she watched her daughter get ready. Big hair, big earrings, and high heels.
But where was she going and with whom?
Elsa had been drafted in to look after Tori, something that Elsa looked forward to. In fact, she had turned down Edmondo’s invitation to dinner so that she could be here for her daughter instead. It hadn’t been a tough decision; her daughters always came first, but Elsa had felt a pang of regret that her days here were soon coming to an end.
Edmondo’s face had reddened when he asked her and she had hated turning him down, but she had no other choice. Ava hadn’t been around, nor had she answered her cell when Elsa had tried to get hold of her.
Elsa had been half-tempted to ask Edmondo to come over and help her babysit. She would have happily cooked for him at the pensione. After all, he had spoken of his love for grandchildren and she knew that helping her pass the time babysitting might have been something he would have enjoyed. Maybe not yet. Maybe it was early days.
Early days? What was she thinking?
“Aren’t you tired?” Elsa knew her daughter had taken Tori around Verona in the morning and the meal at Gioberti’s had ended up taking most of the afternoon.
“No, Mom.” Rona pulled the brush through her hair, which only made it bounce bigger. “Tori should sleep through. You’ll have an easy few hours.”
“We have to pack.” As if that would convince Rona to stay.
“We have more than a week left, Mom. Why the rush?”
“Where did you say you were going again?” Elsa did not like the fact that Carlos had gone back to Denver so quickly and that her daughter now had a new lust for life acting out her single days again.
“I didn’t.”
“You want me to stay and babysit Tori?” threatened Elsa. She didn’t like the way her daughter was behaving.
“Sorry, Mom. Why so many questions? How come you don’t bug Ava as much? I thought we were here to keep an eye on her.”
“I didn’t think we needed to keep an eye on you, too,” Elsa replied curtly. But mention of Ava had her troubled again. She would go over and see her later on.
She faced Rona. “In the whole time we’ve been here, I’ve only seen you and Ava spend a couple of days together. What’s going on with the two of you?” Elsa sat down at the dining table and picked up a local guide to Verona. She flicked through it dejectedly. She had been to many of these places, thanks to Edmondo, but there were still many places she wanted to visit. They still had time, but it would end soon enough. Would she ever return?
“Ava’s been too wrapped up in her playboy, or hadn’t you noticed?” Rona flung the hairbrush back into her handbag and pulled out a lipstick. “Speaking of which, we hardly see you around much either. You’ve been quite busy yourself, huh, Mom?”
Without giving Elsa a chance to reply, Rona added, “Do you think it’s right for you to be gallivanting around Verona with…that…that man?”
Elsa threw the brochure down. Looking after her granddaughter was one thing, but sitting here having her daughter throw such accusations at her was something else. How dare she?
“His name, in case it slipped your mind, is Edmondo. He was kind enough to show me around Verona. It really is none of your business, Rona.”
“What next, Mom? Are you going to start seeing this man? Don’t you think you’re slightly past that now?” She twisted her lipstick and the magenta stick shot back down into its case. She slammed the top down and threw it back into her handbag.
Elsa stared at her feisty daughter, who stood with hands on hips and nostrils flared. This new friendship of hers had definitely ruffled her daughters. She would have understood it had they been children or even teenagers going through a troubling phase. But grown women? Their response both saddened and surprised her.
“I’m not married, Rona. If anyone needs to be careful around here, it’s you.” That slapped the pout off her daughter’s face.
Elsa picked the brochure back up again but her mind was on Edmondo. She hadn’t considered where her friendship might end up. It was true enough that the two of them had spent wonderful days together. Edmondo seemed just as surprised as she was by how easily they got on. It was effortless; they both had similar stories, although she had lost her husband much earlier than he had lost his wife. Neither of them had talked about “their friendship” but both of them had enjoyed their time together.
Which was why it part amused her and part annoyed her that her daughters seemed to have taken their companionship so seriously.
“What I do with Edmondo is up to me and not for you to worry about.”
Rona stopped preening her hair in front of the mirror and glared at her mother.
Elsa slipped past her daughter to grab the one thing that would give her a little comfort. A cup of tea.
Asking Edmondo to come over for dinner was no longer an option. She decided to check in on Ava later on. According to Edmondo, Nico would be away in Rome for a few days. She guessed her daughter would be home alone. She looked forward to spending some time with her for a change. It had been a while.
As she filled up the electric kettle, Elsa’s blood slowly simmered away. She called over her shoulder, “Maybe you should ask yourself why you’re going out again today, dressed up like that when your husband is slaving away at work back at home?”
Tori stirred in her cot. Elsa quickly moved to her and bent over, laying a soothing hand over the little girl’s forehead. “Don’t worry about her,” she whispered, glancing at Rona who had started angling towards the cot.
In a lighter voice Elsa added, “We’ll be fine. You go, enjoy yourself, wherever you’re going.” Elsa’s temper never stayed too long, not when it came to her children.
“Thanks, Mom.” Her daughter kissed her on the cheek and left, leaving a very perplexed Elsa standing over the travel cot.
As soon as the door closed, Tori stirred a little more, then started crying. It was as though she had a built-in tracking device straight to her mother and knew when her mother was more than a few meters away. Elsa bent over and lifted the little girl out. She rocked her in her arms, but the crying persisted. Then Elsa sang to her, hummed at her and hugged her. But
she could not do the one thing that Tori wanted—give her a mother’s hug.
Over the noise of the commotion, Elsa knew her quiet evening with a nice book and cup of tea had evaporated.
She caught sight of the stroller in the corner and knew what she would do. Even though Ava was only next-door, a small ride in the stroller would soon have her granddaughter sound asleep.
Chapter 36
Ava lay in bed, in shock. At some point she would get up and pack. And make it over to see her mom and Rona and break the news to them.
The news about her return. Not the other news.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle that news. She was having problems coming to terms with it herself.
It was almost evening and after leaving Connor at the hotel she had returned to her pensione and done nothing but lie in bed for hours.
She had done nothing, apart from that one thing. That one thing three times. She sat up and stared at the test stick for what seemed like the fiftieth time that evening. She had tried all three of them but they all said the same thing: Pregnant 3+.
Their baby had been conceived in Venice.
Ava slid back down on the bed and curled up. She had not seen this coming at all. Running away from Denver to get space and clarity on her life had landed her in a bigger mess than ever. In the blink of an eye, her life had become even more complicated and it was all her fault.
She slowly ran her hand over her flat stomach and tried to imagine another life inside. But beyond her tiredness, the missed period and her recent queasiness, there was nothing to make her believe she was carrying anything other than a lot of heartache.
Nico had no idea, nor would he ever, that he was the father.
She had become slack taking her birth control pills, after all, when she came out here she had never intended to fall in love, let alone end up in anyone’s bed. Even though Nico had been careful most of the time, there were a few occasions where he had forgotten protection. Despite their haphazard prevention plans, the idea that she could still end up pregnant was something that had taken her completely by shock.
Rona would never let her forget this when she found out. Ava dared not even think what her mother might have to say about it all.
A quick knock at the door ruptured her thoughts. She panicked. Nico? If she stayed quiet, he might think no one was in.
She scampered off the bed, taking all evidence of the pregnancy tests with her into the bathroom. Quickly, she discarded them in the bin and stopped as another thought grabbed her. What if he looked through her bin?
Her heart rate shot up further.
Another knock on the door sent her into full-blown panic mode and she grabbed the small, plastic bin and hid it in the cupboard under the sink. Then she washed her hands.
A quick succession of knocks triggered anger and set her pulse racing. There was nothing to do now but face him. Open the door, not let him through. Tell him to leave.
She walked toward the door, pressing her hand against her chest, thinking it might silence the thumping of her heartbeat. She wished she had gone to see her mother. Surrounding herself with other people, as she had today with Connor, meant safety from Nico.
When she opened the door, her heart sank with relief. Or was it disappointment? “Mom?”
“What took you so long?” Her mother shuffled inside with the stroller, putting her fingers to her lips to keep the noise down. Tori had fallen asleep on the way.
“Put her here.” Ava whispered. She moved the stroller to a corner of the room and wrapped the blanket snugly around the peacefully sleeping child. This way Tori was close enough to keep an eye on and yet out of direct conversation.
With the baby taken care of, Ava flung her arms around her mom holding on for dear life. “Oh, Mom! I am so happy to see you.” Her words were barely audible as she muffled them into her mother’s shoulder.
Elsa hugged her daughter back tightly. “What is it?” She held Ava at arm’s length and looked at her carefully.
Ava shrugged off her mom’s concern and walked over to the sofa where she sat down.
“Nothing, Mom. I’m…I’m…” She paused, just enough to steady her nerves. “I’m ready to go home now. I’ve booked my flight. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”
Her mother let out a gasp. “You’re what?”
Ava knew her mother could read her like a book. She had to be careful she didn’t give anything away.
“Kim needs me. I need to get back.”
“Kim?”
“My VA.”
“I know who she is. You’re going back because your virtual assistant needs you? I know you can run your business from here, you’ve been doing that for well over a month. Tell me, Ava. What are you really running away from?”
“Who says I’m running?”
“I do. I’m your mother.”
Ava looked down at her feet, wondering how long before she would not be able to see them. A bump, a big bump. Her feet were the least of her problems.
Her mother wasn’t giving up easily. “It must be serious. You’ve only just come back from your trip. What happened since you got back? I don’t understand. And why would you book your return flight without waiting for me or Rona? Are you going to tell me?”
How could she tell her mother? What would she tell her?
“Have you two had a fight?”
Worse, Mom. Much worse.
“Is this about Nico having to go to Rome?
“Rome?” she asked, puzzled, giving away the clue that she didn’t know anything about Rome. What was Nico doing in Rome? He hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but then why would he? They had barely talked today.
“See if you can book me a flight out, too.”
“There aren’t any more available seats, Mom. I was lucky to get mine.”
“Can’t you wait a few days? We can all leave together. ”
Putting on a cheery face, Ava replied, “No, Mom. You two come when you’re ready. I have to go. I know you don’t believe me, but my shipments are due over there and I need to prepare.”
Elsa cast a dubious glance at her daughter. “Prepare for what?”
Chapter 37
“He’s not here, and he won’t be back for a few days unfortunately.” Gina glanced at her screen, looking at Nico’s calendar. She looked up at Connor and smiled. “Can I help at all?”
“Please, could you make sure he gets this?” Connor handed over the box Ava had given him.
Gina’s eyes widened as she took the box gingerly in her hands. “This is for Nico?” she questioned. It didn’t make sense.
“Yes, please make sure he gets it. Please.”
“Of course. Any message?”
Connor shook his head. “No message.”
Gina’s brows pushed together. She had no idea why a man like Connor would be leaving anything behind for Nico. The two did not see eye to eye. Since he was checking out this morning, she put it down to some sort of unfinished business between them.
But then again, the only thing they had in common was Ava.
“Of course, sir. Did you have a pleasant stay?”
“I’m not sure.”
Gina gave him a curious smile, unsure if he was being serious or joking. “Have a pleasant journey back, sir.”
“Goodbye.” Connor Beachcroft dipped his head by way of acknowledgement and left the hotel where he should have spent his honeymoon.
It was midday and Nico had already done a full day’s work at his desk in the moderately well kitted out room of the Cazale Roma.
After his arrival in Rome late yesterday evening, he had been plunged headfirst into dealing with the staff issues at the hotel.
It wasn’t just the issues with the head chef and a few members of staff that were causing him concern. After a brief look around the hotel, he had examined the books as well as the rooms and processes in place, and he saw a lot of things that made him worry. This was more than a few days work. Easily.
&
nbsp; He had worked all through the night, until the early hours of the morning, documenting everything that needed to be done. Perhaps the first rollout should have been here and not at the Cazale Riccione. The Rome hotel always tended to be the last one to be looked at, being the farthest away. But clearly this had now brought up all sorts of problems.
And he should have started rolling out his processes a lot sooner, instead of just a few days ago. That had been the original plan. Until Ava Ramirez had shown up and thrown his life into disarray. A disarray that he had loved.
He scowled, checking his mobile for new texts or missed calls from Ava. It was pointless to do this really, because he would have heard them come in, but he checked anyway, in case he had been so busy working that he had missed them.
But there was nothing. He’d called her yesterday, after he had calmed down a little, but it only went to voicemail. He’d left a couple messages too. But she hadn’t bothered to get back to him. Why was she so mad? If anything, he was the one who was hurting. The episode with the journalist and then after, seeing Ava with Connor, had left him inflamed.
He stretched his back out in the chair and placed a large palm on the back of his neck, flexing his shoulders at the same time. He had been sitting in this position for hours and his body now ached. He had more meetings with the hotel manager this afternoon and had tasked him with finding a new replacement chef.
This wasn’t going to be easy and Nico wanted to have a hand in the recruitment process. He was going to be here in Rome for a few days yet.
He also had the Ravenna hotel details to work through. With so much on his plate, he promised himself to resolve the situation with Ava once he returned. Clearly, they needed to talk.
He understood now that she’d been more than upset by that incident with the journalist. But had she not realized how upset he had been to see her talking to Connor? And then she had deliberately avoided looking at him. Why had it become tit-for-tat suddenly? He hated games.
