Rome is Where the Heart is: An uplifting romantic read, perfect to escape with (From Italy with Love Book 1)

by Tilly Tennant

  He shrugged. ‘I hear her shouting at Mamma, but I do not know.’

  Kate had never taken on anything as complicated as a wedding dress, but she wondered whether offering her services might be something she could do to repay Alessandro for his kindness over the past couple of days. But then the thought of possibly making it worse and upsetting Lucetta even more wasn’t an appealing one and her gesture might just backfire in the most spectacular fashion.

  ‘How long does she have until the wedding?’ she asked.

  ‘Five months.’

  ‘That’s not long to get a new dress.’

  ‘She does not want a new dress.’

  ‘What is she going to do? Can she take it to another shop?’

  ‘Another shop will want more euros to fix it.’

  ‘I suppose so. But if she wants it to be right then it looks as if she’ll have to pay a little more.’

  ‘My mother is proud and she will not take money from her other children to help pay for the wedding, but I know she has no more left for Lucetta now. Lucetta knows it too. If my mother pays any more. . .’ He shrugged. ‘She will be in trouble. No rent. But she wants to make Lucetta happy. She doesn’t know what to do.’

  ‘Is your mother trying to manage on her own? I mean, is your father. . . you haven’t ever mentioned him.’

  ‘He has been dead a long time. Since I was a boy. . . thirteen.’

  ‘I’m sorry. My dad is dead too. I was twenty – not so young but I still miss him every day.’

  ‘Another thing the same between us,’ he said and smiled.

  Another thing. It should have made her happy but Kate’s heart sank. Alessandro seemed more perfect for her every minute she spent with him. It was just her luck that he lived hundreds of miles away from the place she called home.

  ‘I could look at your sister’s dress,’ she said. She had made the offer almost by way of an apology, half in the hope he would politely decline it. So she was horrified when a huge grin spread across his face.

  ‘Tonight!’ he said. ‘I will take you to my house tonight! Lucetta will be so happy!’

  ‘I’m not saying I can definitely make it right,’ Kate replied, trying to inject some measure of caution into the promise, ‘but I’ll see if I can tell what’s wrong with it and if I can fix it I will. I’ll probably need a sewing machine, though. Does your mother have one?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘Oh. Do you know where I can get access to one?’

  ‘I will phone my mother and she can ask the neighbours.’

  Before Kate could stop him, he had dialled the number and was speaking rapidly to someone. It was at times like these when she wished she could speak a little Italian so she could tell what he was saying. What she did hear was a squeal on the other end of the line, even above the noise of the traffic and tourists on the street around them, so she guessed that whichever female member of his family he was talking to was unfeasibly excited about the prospect of her sorting Lucetta’s dress out. That was assuming she could fix it at all. Ball gowns for her sisters and little summer dresses for herself were one thing, but a full-blown wedding dress – that was a different skill set entirely and Kate just hoped she was up to the challenge. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Alessandro and his family now.

  They’d had a wonderful time at the Colosseum, but all Kate could think about was the prospect of meeting Alessandro’s family later that day. Why couldn’t she have kept her big mouth shut? And why couldn’t he have had the sense to turn her offer down? She was certain he wasn’t being pushy assuming that she would do it that very night, but in the same way that he had assumed she would want to go to the Vatican with him, and to dinner, and the Colosseum the next day, it seemed it was just his way of looking at the world – someone could do something, so why wouldn’t they want to? And he appeared to be excited about the prospect of introducing his family to her. Kate could only wish she shared some of that enthusiasm.

  Jamie had phoned as she perused a rack of gladiator-themed souvenirs, and he had sounded a little more disappointed this time that she couldn’t meet him for dinner again. This made her feel even worse about the situation, because she was starting to feel like the girl who ditched her friends the moment a boyfriend appeared on the scene, and Alessandro wasn’t even that. Despite all this, they had been easy and familiar with each other, just like they had been at the Vatican, and at one point she had even found herself unconsciously reaching for his hand as they weaved in and out of the ancient stones that marked the gladiatorial arena. He had held it just the same, and it was a whole minute before she realised what she’d done and pulled away. He simply marked the action with a faint smile. If only she could know what he was thinking. Was he finding it all as fraught as she was? Judging by the way he had been happy to leave her hand in his, maybe not. Or had he resigned himself to keeping her friendship and put other complications to the back of his mind? Whatever the reason, he didn’t seem to be fazed at all by the uncertainty of their relationship status. If she had been the type of person to flag it up on Facebook, it most definitely would have been categorised as ‘complicated’. But did he see it as complicated? He kept requesting her company, so what did he want from it?

  So she’d promised Jamie that she would definitely meet him for dinner the following evening, and decided that it would probably be a relief to spend time with a man that didn’t lead to some sort of emotional turmoil. But first she had the dreaded family visit to get through.

  It was as they were leaving the Colosseum that Kate saw him in the crowds. He was wiry, needing a wash, and at first glance looked chillingly familiar. He was also acting suspiciously, eyeing up visitors and paying no attention to the landmark looming behind him at all.

  ‘Alessandro. . .’ she said quietly. ‘I think that’s the man who stole my purse.’

  There was no reply. Perhaps he hadn’t heard over the bustle of the lines of people pouring out from the ancient ruins. She looked around to speak again and saw that he was scanning the crowds. Then his gaze settled, focusing intently on a figure. ‘The man in the hat?’ he asked finally.

  ‘I think it’s him,’ Kate said, now uncertain and slightly worried by the stony expression on Alessandro’s face. She had pointed the man out on an impulse, the sentence uttered before she’d really had time to think it through. But she wasn’t with any old man – he was a policeman, and one who had already expressed the greatest disgust at people who gave his beloved city a bad name. Right now he looked as if he wanted more than a stern word with the suspect. ‘I can’t be sure because it was such a fleeting glance but—’

  ‘I know him,’ Alessandro cut in. ‘He is known to the police. He is in jail many times for stealing but this is not his usual area. . .’

  Before Kate could stop him, he was striding towards the man, the crowds almost seeming to part for him as if instinctively understanding his authority.

  ‘But you’re not on duty!’ Kate squeaked as she jogged to catch up. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Talk to him,’ Alessandro said.

  She wasn’t sure she liked the way he said Talk to him. She’d never heard talking described so ominously before. It looked as if an angry, righteous Alessandro might be a formidable force. She wasn’t sure if it made him sexier than ever, or terrifying, or a thrilling combination of both.

  Kate’s gaze flicked to the man. She watched as he bumped into an elderly woman. Anyone else might have missed the intent, but to her it looked as if he had launched himself at the lady almost deliberately. ‘Mi scusi!’ she heard him say, and then he changed direction and began to walk back towards the shadow of the Colosseum. Had he just struck again? Kate glanced back at Alessandro as she struggled to keep up with his increasingly long strides, and she watched as his jaw tightened. He muttered something under his breath, and then he broke into a run, as fast as the heaving mass of tourists would allow him. Kate gave chase, her heels hampering her efforts to keep up.r />
  The man in the cap looked up, and it was immediately clear he’d spotted Alessandro, and that he recognised him too. Kate had never actually seen someone turn ashen in an instant, but she saw it now, and the man turned tail and began to barge people out of the way in a bid to escape. Alessandro shouted across the space, but the man took no heed, and although a few people in the crowds turned in some surprise to look at Alessandro, there was very little reaction to his warnings. He had to move people aside too as he tried to gain on the man who was quite obviously guilty of something, even if he wasn’t the man who had stolen from Kate, and it hampered Alessandro’s pursuit that he was far politer about it than his quarry.

  ‘Wait!’ Kate squeaked, but Alessandro was now intent and didn’t even turn to acknowledge her plea. It was likely he hadn’t heard it anyway. She tried to quicken her pace, but he got further and further away.

  She stopped, panting and red-faced, no hope of keeping up. She watched in defeat as Alessandro disappeared from her sight.

  Chapter Ten

  She had spent twenty minutes waiting and wondering if Alessandro would be able to find her again. There were so many people around, even as the Colosseum got ready to close for the day, that there didn’t seem much hope he’d be able to spot a tiny English woman amongst all that confusion, particularly as he wouldn’t have noticed where she was when they finally lost sight of each other. Now she wished that she’d asked for his mobile number. It had been stupid, this shyness she had developed over it, particularly as she hadn’t been quite so shy over trying to instigate sex, which was a far more dramatic statement of commitment than a stupid old phone number. But she had felt as if asking him was implying an assumption on her part – that their few dates would turn into something more permanent – and she felt it would look like an arrogant assumption in his eyes, so the question had remained unasked. Perhaps he’d done the same, as he hadn’t asked for hers either, or perhaps he’d simply thought that if he wanted her at any time during her stay in Rome, knowing the location of her hotel, he’d know where she was. And she supposed he had her particulars on the police records of the robbery too.

  But now she worried that because she’d had to move from the spot where he’d left her to get out of people’s way, he wouldn’t be able to find her again. She would be able to get back to the hotel, of course, but it was what the complication would do to their day out that bothered her. Even more of a worry was what Alessandro might do if he did catch up with the thief. At best he’d arrest him and have to take him to the station or something equally time-consuming, which would eat into their day together and possibly put a premature end to it altogether. It was a selfish thought, but one that she couldn’t help having. At worst, judging from the look on his face, he might well give him a good thumping, which probably wasn’t what a police officer should be doing, particularly an off-duty one.

  There was one thing about her time in Rome – it had certainly been eventful.

  She wandered around for a while, keeping a sharp lookout for Alessandro. But it started to seem a bit hopeless, and perhaps it might be more sensible to stay in one place and watch for him. So she found a bench where she could sit with the sun on her face and pulled out her phone. It seemed a good idea to use the time sitting around wisely, and it wasn’t as if she was going anywhere soon, so she sent two text messages: one to Lily and one to Anna, both asking if everything was OK.

  Anna didn’t reply, so Kate guessed she was working. Lily did after a couple of minutes.

  All good here. Heartburn but not sick now, yay! How’s everything with you?

  Good. Seen the Colosseum again today, it’s amazing.

  Amazing in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine, Kate thought, but it was easier to keep the whole drama still unfolding here to herself for now.

  Jealous, Lily replied. Stuck at stupid work. Phone me after six so I can hear all about it.

  Can’t after six, going out. Will call you tomorrow.

  Rubbing it in now, eh? I have no social life, only heartburn and obsessive baby shopping. OK, talk to me tomorrow. Love you. X

  Love you too. X

  Kate smiled to herself as she locked the phone. Of all the sisters, Lily was probably the sweetest, most easy-going, and she would be the most natural and perfect mum. All she’d ever wanted was kids, and Kate recalled vividly her grabbing any opportunity to fuss over a doll at school – or a real baby whenever she could get hold of one. When she had first got together with Joel, she had told him right from the start she wanted kids galore and he seemed happy to say yes to any demand, clearly head over heels in love with her. They were almost a fairy tale couple, perfectly suited in every way and a world away from what she and Matt had had, although she never saw that for what it was until it was over.

  As she put her phone back in her handbag, a shadow fell across her and she looked up to see Alessandro.

  ‘I am sorry I was away for so long,’ he said.

  ‘It’s fine.’ Kate stood and scanned his face anxiously. No signs of a scuffle or any kind of violence, which was good, and she was relieved that he had managed to find his way back to her after all. ‘Did you get him?’

  He pushed damp hair back from his forehead and mopped a sleeve across his brow. ‘No. He escaped. He knows doors to go through where his friends live.’

  ‘There’s a ring?’ Kate asked.

  He frowned. ‘A ring?’

  ‘A lot of them. . .’ she elaborated, ‘many thieves working together.’

  ‘In this area, not before. Maybe now if he is here.’

  ‘What will you do?’

  ‘I will make a phone call and tell someone about it.’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘If you are happy to let me.’

  ‘Of course. . . I don’t want to stand in the way of justice,’ she said, grimacing slightly as she realised how ludicrous her reply probably sounded.

  He gave a short nod and then walked a few paces on. She heard him begin a conversation, phone clamped to his ear and his brow furrowed, gesticulating in jerky movements. It was strange to see him in full-on police mode again, and even this was different because both times she had seen him on duty before he had been relaxed, the most pressing concern the fate of a ditsy English woman who kept getting herself into trouble. It was hardly the thin blue line. But this was real policing and it made him different, altogether more serious.

  After a couple of minutes he came back to her. ‘We will get more men to patrol here,’ he said. ‘Perhaps if we catch them we can get your purse back.’

  ‘I doubt whether there’s any money left in it now and I cancelled the card. But thank you,’ she added, not wanting to sound ungrateful for his efforts. ‘I’m still not sure it was my man that we saw today either.’

  ‘It may not have been, but he is a criminal so it is good you showed me his face. I am sorry I left you alone to run after him.’

  Kate shrugged. ‘You were doing your job. . . even though you weren’t at work today. I suppose once you’re a policeman you never really stop being a policeman.’

  ‘It is difficult. When you see bad things, it is in your blood to stop them, even if you do not wear your uniform.’

  Kate was thoughtful. It was a hell of a life for a partner to compete with and she imagined that it would be one of constant worry. And in the back of her mind was the thought that perhaps only another police officer would be able to understand it and live with the threats he faced daily. Someone like Orazia. But she tried to push the woman’s scornful face from her mind. He’d assured her that his relationship with Orazia was over, despite Orazia herself intimating otherwise, and that should have been enough, shouldn’t it?

  ‘But you’d never do a different job?’

  ‘I love my job. I could never do anything different. It is like showing my love for Roma when I watch her streets.’

  They walked slowly, and absently she reached for his hand. It was warm and strong and he didn’t pull away. Then Kate rea
lised with a jolt she’d done it again. But it felt good and he didn’t seem to mind. It didn’t mean anything, did it? It was just handholding and it didn’t mean sex or marriage or anything that complicated, right? Just this once, she’d allow herself to enjoy it.

  Lucetta was waiting in her car for them when they arrived back at Kate’s hotel. It had just gone six. Kate had no idea how long she’d been there, but she had her dark glasses on, leaning out of the open window with her face turned to the sun and the radio blasting. She looked unconcerned about the irritated glances of passers-by who commented on the volume of the music, and it seemed that, however long she’d been waiting, she’d managed to make herself pretty comfortable.

  ‘My sister will drive us,’ Alessandro said, gesturing towards the car as Lucetta gave them a casual wave.

  Kate blinked at him. There he was again, assuming the situation. She had hoped for an hour to freshen up and phone home before she went to his house, but it looked as though she wasn’t going to get it. But then it seemed he read it in her face, and for the first time he faltered.

  ‘You don’t want to come?’

  ‘No. . . of course I do. I was just going to call my family back home first. Maybe get changed into some fresh clothes.’

  ‘But you look beautiful; Mamma will love your dress.’

  The fact that she had been sweating in it and felt sticky as hell seemed to escape him. On the other hand, despite his Sweeney-style chase earlier, he looked as fresh as if he had only just got out of the shower. She gave her brightest smile. ‘I’d really like to call my sister.’

  He nodded. ‘Of course. What time would you like me to come back?’

  ‘Could you give me an hour?’

  ‘One hour. OK.’ He climbed into the car.

  Lucetta leaned across and called out of the window before pulling away from the kerb. ‘Arrivederci!’

  It was the first time she had spoken to Kate, and Kate hoped it wouldn’t be the last. But she’d count herself lucky if she didn’t get a punch in the face if she cocked this wedding dress up. How on earth did she get herself into these situations?