Roberto’s heart lurched at her humility. ‘No Sofia, you should be so proud. This chocolate, it’s amazing. You made it.’
She nodded. ‘I’d forgotten the buzz of being in control in the kitchen. It’s like rediscovering such an important part of myself. I wasn’t sure if it was even still there. But it is. You helped me see that. It’s like you were a medium for my taste buds, you know? When I watched you taste my chocolate, I could tell it moved you.’
‘Si,’ Roberto whispered, unable to articulate the full effect it’d had on him.
Sofia’s eyes glistened with the promise of tears. ‘For now that’s enough. I’m on such a high right now not even my anosmia can get me down and you have no idea what that means to me.’ She smiled, her expression filled with tender hope. ‘Thank you, Roberto.’
‘The pleasure’s mine.’ He stepped forward and ran his fingertips down the gentle curve of her cheek. She shivered slightly at his touch but her sparkling eyes shined like someone had flicked on a switch. Roberto’s heart skipped a beat knowing she thought he was responsible for that.
He leant down and kissed her cheek, his lips lingering at the side of her mouth. Sofia didn’t flinch at his touch and her sweet breath triggered ripples of arousal across his skin. Without thinking he cradled her head and drew her mouth fully to his.
Sofia sank into his embrace, winding her arms around his waist as they kissed. Heat engulfed Roberto’s senses as her tongue encircled his, unleashing the passion he’d been struggling to contain since they’d met. He lifted her off her feet, pulling her closer against his torso and groaned as the teasing softness of her breasts crushed against his chest.
Sofia squeezed her arms around him, deepening their kiss; she wanted this as much as he did. No cameras, no grappa. She didn’t have to pretend.
But just as reckless desire began to escape his hold, a sudden stab in Roberto’s chest from the journal in his coat pocket snapped him back to reality. And with the trace of Sofia’s magical chocolate lingering in his mouth, he knew what he had to do.
He reluctantly lowered her to the floor, pressing his forehead against hers as he clasped her hands against his beating chest. He had her in his grasp, her welcoming touch emblazoned on his skin, but he couldn’t follow through. Roberto’s lust for Sofia had morphed into something entirely foreign to him.
One time would never be enough; with Sofia he’d always want more. More of her touch, more of her heart. More than he deserved.
She tilted her head back to look up at him, confusion clouding her face.
‘You’ve got a lot of work to do.’ He raised his head and nodded over her shoulder towards the kitchen. ‘Best not get distracted, no?’
‘You’re right,’ she sighed, dropping his hands and taking a step back. ‘A moment of madness, hey?’ The corners of her mouth flicked up briefly in an attempted smile but her eyes seemed to search his for reassurance. Sofia wasn’t as tough as she wanted the world to think.
‘Have you been at the grappa again?’ Roberto grinned, keen to regain their easy banter where emotions stayed safely above the surface.
‘Very funny.’ She shook her head at him, seemingly happy to avoid any deeper discussion. ‘Like I said, madness.’
He laughed. ‘Then I better go before you lose your sanity again.’
‘You wish,’ she scoffed. She glanced at her equipment lined up on the bench then back at him. ‘Seriously though, thanks to you... I’m back baby.’ Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she rubbed her hands together playfully. ‘Be gone and let me get to it.’
Roberto caught himself beaming at her with open affection as she spun away from him back to the kitchen counter. An overwhelming sense of contentment washed through him as he absorbed the joyful scene, fantasising for a moment that Sofia was his real partner and this was their home. That such a world could exist.
But his smile dissolved as he gently closed the apartment door behind him, knowing he had to banish the fanciful image from his mind.
Instead he tried to conjure up the elusive memory of his brother’s laughing face. But as always, another vision leapt to the forefront of his mind. Matteo’s face, not smiling, but anguished in a technicolour blur, whirling through glaring sunshine. And his shirt, not splattered with paint, but blood. And his mother’s face contorted in life-shattering grief. Images forever branded in Roberto’s consciousness, colouring the background of his every decision.
Filling his lungs with the cool mountain air, desperate to clear his head of the last few hours, Roberto checked his watch as he headed in the direction of Villa Castello. He was on schedule for his meeting with Signor Mastriano.
The beauty of a small town with limited cell phone reception was the power of word of mouth. The local bar was the news portal of Baraldo; from a counter stool you could learn the daily happenings of the whole village.
When Roberto heard last night that Sofia had visited the old Castello perfumery, he’d made an appointment to meet with the caretaker. Mastriano wouldn’t have forgotten serving a beautiful Australian woman or what she’d purchased.
* * *
Sofia carefully placed a wrapped tray of her cioccolatino fiori into an esky as she hummed to a dulcet aria playing in the courtyard outside the flat. She looked out the little kitchen window at a jovial group of artists preparing to make the most of the afternoon sunshine before the evening fog set in and covered the grand vista of the Baraldo mountainscape.
She imagined her mother observing a similar scene as she’d created the original recipe for the cioccolatino. Watching Sofia’s father outside painting en plein air in the brisk winter sunshine, her heart full of love. Unbroken. Testing her magical ingredients, dreaming of creating her own signature collection and sharing those sublime flavours with the world. Sofia’s heart soared having perfected her mother’s cioccolatino fiori in time for the Valentine’s gala next week.
Watching Roberto blindfolded, tasting her evolving recipe with such relish had thrilled Sofia beyond her wildest imagination. With his palate in place of her own, she’d felt worthy to call herself a master chocolatier again. And then that kiss...
‘All set?’ Roberto popped his head around the open door.
‘Almost.’ She avoided his gaze as she fumbled with the clips on the esky lid. She hadn’t been able to look at him directly since he’d returned that afternoon to pack their things.
‘Let me help you with that.’ Roberto strode purposefully across the room.
Sofia swallowed self-consciously as she watched him secure the lid, achingly aware of her rising heart rate at his sudden proximity.
She couldn’t shake the scorching memory of their passionate embrace earlier that day. Her body had silenced the angelic voice of reason, indulging in the delicious sensation that had rocketed through her with each sensual roll of Roberto’s tongue.
She’d fought to resist their intense physical attraction but in his arms her body sang with pleasure. Like a flirtation with her past when she’d dared to break the rules and live in the moment. But such foolish moments only lead to a path of regret. And though Sofia’s body burned with unfulfilled longing, she was glad Roberto had walked away before they went too far.
There was too much history between their families. Would her mother have been so forgiving? Or Roberto’s mother? Surely Lucia would be relieved when her son’s public ‘romance’ came to an end and she could finally have peace from the past.
‘That’s everything?’ Roberto picked up the esky and glanced at Sofia briefly before turning to leave.
‘That’s it,’ she said quietly, trying to ignore the obvious awkwardness between them.
As though sensing her insecurity, Roberto paused at the door and turned back to face her, his eyes softening.
‘It’s been a pleasure.’ His mouth lifted wistfully at the corners.
‘It has.’
‘Whatever happens, I’ll never forget our time here.’
‘Me either.’ She held his gaz
e unsure if she wanted this to be the end, or the beginning of something else.
‘Andiamo,’ Roberto said softly, drawing them back to the present. ‘Time to go.’
Sofia glanced around the apartment one last time and followed Roberto into the courtyard. She raised her face to the comforting warmth of the faint afternoon sun and as she exhaled a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders and dissolved into the expansive sky.
Sofia was certain of one thing. Roberto had rejuvenated her. When she returned to the Bonaparte’s kitchen she’d no longer be content hiding in the shadows. She wanted to shine in the spotlight again and for the first time in three years that dream felt like it was within her reach.
Her cioccolatino fiori had the power to tell the world she was back in the game. And her heart expanded with a strange mix of hope and caution knowing it was Roberto who had shown her she was ready to play again.
Chapter 5
‘Have you seen the photos?’ Sofia anxiously studied her sister’s face on her phone. ‘I can’t bring myself to look.’
‘Of course, they’re all over social media. They’re seriously hot, Sof.’
‘I can’t believe this is actually happening.’
Pulling her cream cashmere wrap around her shoulders, Sofia stepped out onto the large rooftop terrace of the Lugarno Royale Hotel. Now her ‘relationship’ with Roberto was officially public knowledge, they’d checked into his palatial penthouse suite as a couple when they’d arrived in Florence late last night.
Sofia peered over the terrace balustrade at the bustling promenade along the Arno River in front of the hotel. The street swarmed with festival revellers and opportunistic merchants selling their wares.
‘There are even paparazzi waiting for us outside the hotel.’
‘I’m not surprised. You’re big news just like we hoped, right?’ Annabella said.
Sofia rubbed her stomach, trying to suppress a growing tide of writhing nerves.
‘Sof, what’s wrong? You look like you’re about to vomit.’
Sofia tried for a reassuring smile. The point of this phone call was to comfort her sister not raise any alarm bells.
‘I’m just nervous, we’re about to make our very public debut as a couple. Look at this.’ Sofia carefully lent over the wide stone barrier and pointed her phone at a horse-drawn carriage waiting opposite the hotel, complete with a heart-shaped canopy festooned with hundreds of red roses. ‘Can you see it? That’s our ride.’
‘Oh Sof,’ Annabella snorted. ‘You’re just like Cinderella.’
‘I know, it looks ridiculous, doesn’t it?’ Sofia turned the phone to face her sister again, her anxiety easing at the sight of Annabella’s teasing smile.
‘But you look gorgeous Sof. I love your hair blow-waved like that. Very The Bold and the Beautiful.’
‘Thanks, I’ve come to love a bit of volume.’ She primped her bouncy tresses dramatically. ‘The stylists were here at the crack of dawn whipping me into shape.’
‘Where’s Prince Charming?’
‘He’s inside. We have to leave in a minute.’
‘Can he hear us?’
‘No, this place is massive, it’s like a luxury apartment. Roberto lives here when he’s in Florence.’
‘So how is he really?’ Annabella’s forehead suddenly creased with concern. ‘You said yourself he can’t be trusted.’
‘Please Ann, relax,’ Sofia said calmly. ‘I thought when you saw the promo photos you might freak out so I just wanted to assure you I’m fine and Roberto actually isn’t as bad as we’d thought.’
‘Seriously?’
‘I know it’s hard to believe. But he really helped me in Baraldo. I couldn’t have finished Mum’s cioccolatino without him.’
Sofia knew instinctively Roberto hadn’t lied to her when he’d tasted her chocolate. She’d watched him intensely as he’d savoured her flavour combinations, identifying each element, endearingly proud of his refined palate.
‘And it’s been forever since I’ve created something new. It was such a thrill.’
‘I’ve been trying to get you to do that for ages,’ Annabella said.
‘I know, I just didn’t think I was ready. In Baraldo I didn’t have a choice. I had to get the job done and Roberto was my only option. But it’s okay, he wore a blindfold—’
‘Oh my god, did you sleep with him?’
‘Annabella!’
‘I can see in it in your eyes. You’ve had a major man drought. And those photos... You guys look hot together and stranded alone in Baraldo, blindfolded? I’m just joining the dots.’
‘I didn’t sleep with him Annabella,’ Sofia said sternly. ‘We just kissed.’
‘I knew it! And the blindfold? That’s kind of forward even for Roberto Conti.’ Annabella’s eyes almost bulged out of her stunned face.
‘Calm down, it wasn’t like that.’ Sofia laughed. ‘He knew I didn’t trust him completely.’
‘Or at all in fact.’
‘Right. So he suggested he wear a blindfold while I made the chocolate. It was like he was my palate, and I was in complete control... I know I’ve got a long way to go but I’m ecstatic to be creating again.’
‘Sof, hearing you say that is better for me than any medicine.’ Annabella rested her head back on a pillow, keeping her phone positioned in front of her face. Sofia glimpsed a hospital monitor in the background.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
‘Hearing you treat Roberto as a submissive has made me feel much better.’
‘Seriously Ann.’
‘I’ve made a deal with my incompetent cervix,’ Annabella said solemnly. ‘As long as I rest and don’t get stressed, the baby and I will be fine. And hearing how well you’re doing, I have nothing to worry about, right?’
‘Right.’
‘Just don’t alarm me with further details about kinky Roberto.’
‘I won’t.’
‘You know I’m kidding, right? I’ll always want details.’ Annabella raised her eyebrows with a cheeky grin.
Sofia laughed. ‘I’m actually surprised you’re so cool with the idea of me being with Roberto, not that I am.’
‘Sof, I’d be cool with anything that makes you look as happy as you do right now. And if Roberto had something to do with that, then yeah, I’m okay with it.’
‘But there’s nothing going on. It was just a celebratory kiss in the heat of the moment.’ Sofia meandered along the terrace border, trailing her fingertips across the cold stones as she gazed out at the Ponte Vecchio spanning the river in the distance. ‘He’s probably not even interested.’
‘He didn’t kiss you back?’
Sofia looked at her sister again. ‘Sure, he’d probably be happy to add me to his list of conquests but nothing more than that.’
‘Would you want more than that? You’re not exactly Miss Commitment.’
‘You’re right.’ Sofia slumped against the balustrade by a large terracotta pot.
‘Sofia?’ Annabella’s face lit up with building excitement. ‘Do have feelings for Roberto?’
‘Of course not. You know his reputation. He doesn’t do relationships.’
‘I didn’t think you did either.’
‘Why would I? It hasn’t exactly worked for me in the past.’
‘Sof.’ Annabella sat forward, her tender face filling the phone’s screen. ‘You can’t let what happened with Marco seal your fate. Look at me? I didn’t think I could love anyone after my ex but now I couldn’t be happier thanks to your encouragement.’
‘How is Alessandro?’ Sofia straightened, smoothing one hand down the back of her silk gown.
‘Don’t change the subject.’
‘You got the fairytale Ann. That doesn’t happen to everyone.’
‘But if it was on offer, with Roberto, you’d be interested?’ Annabella stared at her expectantly, clearly hoping for an affirmative answer.
Sofia had told herself that there was no way she could consider gett
ing involved with Roberto after the way he’d treated Annabella. But now her sister was giving her the green light. And he’d explained his reasons for his past actions and while Sofia couldn’t condone his behaviour, she understood his motivation. And she couldn’t keep blaming him for the faults of his father.
Adrenaline shot through her at the idea of succumbing to their mutual attraction. Roberto wasn’t interested in a relationship but neither was she. He’d be the perfect re-introduction to the world of sex. The ideal no-strings attached partner. That’s what she wanted, right?
‘Maybe I’ll just do him, get it out of my system.’
‘Sofia, don’t be so crass.’
‘I’m kidding, Ann.’ Sort of. ‘To be honest I’m just relieved to be feeling like myself again. I’m letting that cloud my judgement when it comes to Roberto.’
‘And it doesn’t help you think he’s smoking hot.’
‘Well there is that.’ Sofia said earnestly and they both burst out laughing.
‘What’s so funny?’ Her eyes snapped to Roberto as he strolled out onto the terrace. As though illustrating her conversation with her sister, he radiated sexy European chic in a classic black dinner suit, as suave as a member of the Rat Pack.
‘I better go,’ Sofia said to her sister. ‘Take care, Ann.’
‘You too.’ Annabella winked suggestively before her face vanished from the screen.
‘Sorry for interrupting.’ Roberto walked towards her. ‘How’s your sister?’
‘In good spirits.’ She tucked her phone into her small wrist purse.
‘So I gather from your laughter.’ He cocked one eyebrow.
‘How much did you hear?’
‘I think maybe not enough.’
‘Good.’ Sofia grinned at him hoping the heat inflaming her cheeks wasn’t blazing red. ‘Is it time?’
‘Si.’ Roberto paused in front of her, his eyes sweeping over her from head to toe. ‘Bella, bella, you are a vision.’
‘It’s not too much? Isn’t 10am a bit early for evening wear?’
She ran her hands down the soft fuchsia fabric that clung to every curve. Fabrizio had gushed she looked as delectable as her cioccolato when he’d styled her that morning.
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