by Leslie North
Adeline shifted her own gaze to look around the room without moving her head so as not to alert Nicolo that she was awake, and she saw what it was that he was seeing. Even though the morning light was soft and forgiving, the cracks in the plaster and the damage sustained by abandonment and neglect stood out as if a spotlight were being shone upon them.
He’s thinking of backing out… Adeline’s heart sank. She’d been so close to saving the Romano del Mare. She wouldn’t give up; she couldn’t give up! Nicolo was still with her and she still had his attention. That meant that there was still a chance—albeit, a small one—that she could save the place that she loved most in the world.
“Good morning,” Nicolo said, his warm tenor pulling her out of her thoughts.
She shot him a sheepish grin. “Good morning.” He turned on his side and covered her with his head and shoulders before giving her a slow kiss that left her wanting so much more. Moving down her body, he nuzzled her neck with his soft lips as his whiskers gently scratched her skin. Her mind flashed to lazy mornings with them eating breakfast, reading the paper, and simply enjoying each other’s company—but she squashed the image fast and hard. Nicolo wasn’t hers to keep. He was on loan from the world, and that was all.
“How did you sleep, t’amu?”
Adeline’s heart swelled at Nicolo’s use of my love in reference to her. She knew that he didn’t mean it literally, that it was only a term of endearment, but it made her happy to hear it spoken by his sweet lips all the same.
“Like an angel,” she answered with a shy smile.
“Mmmm… my angel.” He stroked her hair from her forehead, and his brilliantly blue eyes seemed to make love to her as his gaze caressed her face.
Bashful heat filled Adeline’s cheeks, then she shifted her attention away from him as a sense of gloom filled her. This might be her last truly wonderful time spent at the Romano del Mare. That knowledge was made all the more bitter sweet because of the fleeting nature of her relationship with the person who had made that time so wonderful. When the resort was gone, she wouldn’t even have him to share her memories with.
“Tell me,” Nicolo bid her.
Steeling her heart for what she must say, Adeline looked at Nicolo and shrugged one shoulder. It was a simple movement, but it felt like such a lie. It was as if she wanted him to believe that what she was about to say meant nothing even though it made her chest hurt. “Last night… we were in a moment.” She shrugged her shoulder again. “I just want you to know that I don’t expect anything of you. I mean, I know that, well… last night doesn’t make us a couple.” Her gaze drifted away from his once more, and her smile faltered.
“T’amu, what must you think of me?” Nicolo said, his voice gently chiding. “I’m not going to call you my angel one minute and my acquaintance the next. You’re the joy in my heart, and I would be a broken man if all you wanted from me was friendship.”
Italian men were the most romantic men in the world, she knew. So, while Nicolo’s words warmed her heart, she still held back from believing that he could truly want something more from her besides casual.
Nicolo’s eyes went wide and he pushed himself up and away from her to the full distance that his muscle-sculpted arms would allow. “Or, is it you who’s trying to let me down easy? Adeline, is it only friendship that you want from me?”
“No, no! I do want you,” Adeline quickly reassured. “I just didn’t want you to feel trapped. Last night, everything happened so fast.”
He lowered his body down on top of hers once more, his expression shifting into that of a wanting lover. “I was hoping that some fast—or not so fast—things could happen this morning.” He smiled devilishly as he dragged the tips of his fingers down the slope and curve of her side, tickling her with his light touch.
Adeline wiggled and giggled beneath him until it seemed that Nicolo could take it no more. Sliding his hand under her hips and positioning himself more fully on top of her, he coaxed her lips into an impassioned kiss that rivaled their affections of the night before. Suddenly, though, he broke their kiss and lifted himself on his long arms again.
“I’m taking a bath,” he declared, “and you’re taking one with me.” His piercing gaze was wicked.
“A what?” Adeline exclaimed, not sure she could trust her ears.
Nicolo pushed himself up to a standing position that straddled Adeline, and the bed covers cascaded off his back, leaving him gloriously available for her viewing. His body was perfection with his thickly muscled thighs and broad, powerful chest. In the next moment, Nicolo bent over and Adeline found herself being lifted into the air and thrown over his shoulder as easily as if she weighed nothing.
Squealing and laughing, Adeline kicked her feet and slapped her hand on Nicolo’s bare bottom but he just gave hers a slap in return before hopping off the bed and heading toward the tub. A second later his voice rang from the bathroom, “Oh my God! It’s so cold!”
Adeline’s joyous laughter filled the air. “The heater’s out, silly!”
It was a long morning of kisses and making love before Adeline and Nicolo made their way out into the world. When they drove his rented BMW into the nearby town, it was still early enough that ordering a cappuccino was permissible, and Nicolo treated them both to the morning coffee plus pastries.
With Nicolo’s arm draped low across Adeline’s back and his hand resting on her hip, she really did feel like they were a couple as they lazily walked the cobbled streets, enjoying the sights and each other’s company. A group of old men sat near a doorway, talking about family, fishing and the weather, while not far away a group of old women collected on a stone bench, bent forward and focused on an open laptop sitting on the knees of one of the women.
Adeline smiled at the sight of them. “The world is moving forward.”
“It is,” Nicolo said. “Even here, life changes.”
Adeline recognized the shift in conversation. They were no longer talking about the little town that they were walking through or the morning that they’d spent together. They were talking about the future of the Romano del Mare. “It does change, but traditions endure,” she countered Nicolo’s observation. “There is the tradition of family and the skilled crafts that are passed down from one generation to the next.” She pointed to a church that was at least five hundred years old. “And there’s the tradition of the island’s architecture.”
“Yes, yes, and it is good,” Nicolo said, “but then there are the little shops—the bakeries and restaurants—the places that serve the people with the tools that are available today. They did not have steamed milk for coffee 200 years ago, but now they do… and they have the tools and the buildings that allow for those innovations.”
Adeline walked on in silence next to him, aware of how little sway she had over the man who held the future of her childhood dreams in his hands. It made her feel helpless, and she didn’t like feeling helpless. She knew that she shouldn’t have deceived him with a fake buyer to press his hand into making a decision he wasn’t ready to make, but she hadn’t been able to face standing by and doing nothing. It wasn’t her way. When she saw a problem, she did whatever was necessary to solve that problem. The Romano brothers’ callous decision to allow the Romano del Mare to be destroyed was a problem she could not turn away from. She would fight to save it any way she could.
Next to her, Nicolo sighed. “I will do what I can and as much as I can,” he whispered, “but I don’t see another way than to allow the Romano del Mare’s time to end. I am sorry, t’amu.”
NICOLO
Nicolo’s morning with Adeline ended on a somber note when he drove her back to the Romano del Mare and watched her drive away in her car. A piece of himself went with her.
Standing outside the Romano del Mare, he studied it. From outside and at a distance, the resort still looked strong and sturdy. She had stood against sea storms and had weathered the tread of thousands upon thousands of feet. Yet, she looked tired now. Her
windows were cracked. Those that were broken out had ugly plastic taped up in their place. The light pink of the plaster had faded over time and now looked an uninviting beige. Weeds had taken over planted flowers, and the dock was crumbling.
Inside the old building, he knew that things were not any better. The wiring was frayed in places and was now a fire hazard. Sections of floor had rot and needed to be replaced, not to mention the multitude of broken tiles. The soddering of the original pipes had used lead and the entire plumbing system needed to be updated. The boiler no longer worked and had to be replaced. The list of updates went on and on, and even the basic repairs would tally into the hundreds of thousands, if not more.
He shook his head. “The first good thing I’ve had in my life in a long time, and I’m going to lose her over a building.” His thumb rubbed the smooth face of his cell phone where it was tucked away in his pants pocket. The temptation to call his brothers to tell them that the plan had changed—that they would be restoring the Romano del Mare instead of selling her—balanced on the tip of his awareness, yet in the end he turned his back and walked to his car. He hadn’t built his fortune by letting his heart rule his head. He wished things could work out—that he could keep Adeline and the resort and his successful jet-setting lifestyle—but it just wasn’t possible.
He took his time driving the winding road back to the Verdura Resort and allowed his dour thoughts to chase themselves round and round within his head. Then, when he was finally back in his room, he sat down at the small table on his veranda and once more opened the little memory box that held the knick knacks of his past. He stared at a picture of a boy that he believed to be himself, splashing water on a little girl. He smiled, wondering if there was any chance that that little girl had been Adeline. Maybe they were destined to meet, and it was the Romano del Mare’s job to bring them together.
“And maybe I’m losing my mind,” he whispered.
Nicolo’s phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket to see Adeline’s name flashing on its screen. His smile was instantaneous.
“Ciao, bedda!” he said as the video call brought her lovely face into view.
“Ciao,” Adeline said, but she did not mirror his smile or joy.
I can’t have lost her already! I’ve only just found her.
“Bedda, I was thinking about you and those adventures you’re wanting. What if I take you to some of my favorite places this weekend?” To his immense relief, Adeline’s features softened to allow a delicate smile, but it faded as fast as it had come.
“I’ve gotten a call from Giro.” It was the unenthusiastic buyer who Adeline had arranged.
Surprise shot through Nicolo with a flash of adrenaline.
“He is offering 15 million euro,” Adeline continued.
Just as quickly, the adrenaline vanished, leaving him feeling drained and empty in its absence. “Oh.” It was far from the most eloquent of responses, but it was all that his conflicted mind would allow. Three million euro short of being able to cover the fines…
“I actually believe that it is a fair offer for the Romano del Mare in her current state.” Yet, even Adeline's beautiful features looked strained as if the news did not sit well with her either.
In the resort's current state… The words bounced off the insides of Nicolo’s head to crash into other words such as hopeless, legacy, and family. “And they will restore the Romano del Mare instead of tear her down?”
“I’m not sure that we would be able to get them to agree to make that a stipulation of the sale, but I do believe that is their intent.”
“So, someone else would fix the Romano del Mare,” Nicolo said more to himself than to Adeline. He sat back in his chair and sank into his own thoughts. “Would they want to keep the name?” he asked.
Adeline’s brows lifted. “I’m not sure, but I think that they might.”
My family name on a business being run by somebody else. His family had been down that road before, and it had literally ended in disaster. It was one thing for the Romano del Mare to be empty and in ruins, but what if the resort that the new owner put together became a joke to everyone who came to it… or worse yet, a joke to the locals? The island had many, many ruins. There was nothing shameful in being a ruin, but it was shameful to be less than great.
Then there was the issue of his family name. His family’s reputation would be damaged for generations. The Romanos would forever be associated with a resort that had once been the essence of Sicily but had been allowed to fall into disgrace. The story of the Romano del Mare would become a morality tale, a warning to other families to be careful when selecting who would carry on the legacy of their name.
“I can’t do it,” Nicolo said, surprising himself. He shook his head. “I can’t let the Romano del Mare go yet. I will fix it… some,” he quickly added. “I will fix it enough.” Enough for what, he didn’t know. He only knew that he wasn’t ready to let go.
It was not lost on him that his need to hold on to the Romano del Mar was so strong while he was looking at Adeline. The two were now intrinsically meshed together for him. If he wanted to care for and nurture his relationship with Adeline, he had to care for and nurture the Romano del Mare. He saw that now.
I will do it for you, t’amu… I’ll make the Romano homestead great once more.
9
Nicolo
“Are you sure?” Adeline asked, her face alight with excitement.
“I have never been more unsure of anything in my life,” Nicolo answered with a laugh, “but it feels right.”
“I can help you. I’ve made all kinds of notes.” Adeline’s image was bouncing up and down on Nicolo’s little screen, and it made him happier than he ever imagined anything could.
“Meet me at the Romano del Mare tonight to talk things through and then I’ll take you to dinner?” With the choice to make some repairs to the Romano del Mare also came a landslide of decisions to be made, and Nicolo was hoping that Adeline’s obsession to see the resort restored rather than destroyed would provide him with an excellent body of research with which to tackle the job. They had a lot of work ahead of them, and he planned to make Adeline a full partner in the process.
Adeline’s features scrunched, and her pretty mouth frowned. “I can’t tonight. I’m finalizing another sale over dinner.” Nicolo must have looked as crestfallen as he felt, because she quickly added, “A very nice couple from the mainland is coming home to retire in Sicily.”
Nicolo smiled, surprised at how relieved he was that her dinner date was business related and not pleasure. “You frightened me. I thought for a moment that I might have to serenade you in order to win your affections from another man, a torture for all involved, I assure you.”
Adeline laughed. “If you can’t sing, how would that win me from another man?”
Nicolo’s voice grew in volume. “I would sing so loud that it would drown his voice out. All you would hear was me.” He did a closed-eye shrug. “And, I might call in my brothers to carry him off when you weren’t looking.”
Adeline giggled through her fingers as they covered her mouth, but her eyes sparkled.
“Until tomorrow, t’amu?”
“I’ll see you then.”
Nicolo sat back in his chair and enjoyed the afterglow of a beautiful conversation with his beautiful girl, then his brothers one by one invaded his thoughts.
They had trusted him. They’d tapped him with the sale of the Romano del Mare. Now he would have to tell them that they were going to be prioritizing investing more money into it rather than selling it.
How things could change in a day…
When Adeline arrived at the Romano del Mare the next day around mid-morning, Nicolo had a picnic laid out for them on the dock. He’d brought a batard of bread, an assortment of cheeses, Marsala wine and olives.
“What have you done?” Adeline said, a bright smile on her face. Then her smile fell. “This isn’t to soften the news that you’ve changed your mind
, is it? Did… did your brothers refuse to back your decision to restore the resort? I know that they’re co-owners—”
Nicolo laughed, interrupting Adeline’s sudden concerns. “Bedda, you worry too much. Come, let’s eat.”
Smiling again, she brushed her light brown hair behind her ear as Nicolo showed her what he had brought for them. Then, as he held her hand to steady her, she sat gracefully atop the blanket that he’d laid at the edge of the dock. She sat her binder notebook down beside her, and within seconds she had her shoes kicked off and was sitting dangling her bare legs over the side with her skirt pulled up to her thighs.
Nicolo, of course, followed suit. Sitting down next to her, he poured them both a glass of wine. Yet, Adeline’s words were still heavy on his mind. While he had dismissed her fears, in truth they mirrored his own. He had not yet told his brothers about his change in plans, and he hoped that Adeline’s enormous binder held some information that he could use to sway his brothers to support his decision.
“Mmmm, this is nice,” she said after taking a sip.
The birds played above the sea before them, diving before swooping upwards again. With the day still early, the sun was gentle and the breeze off the Ionian Sea was forgiving.
“I do love this place,” she said, sitting back to lean against her outstretched arms.
Nicolo took in the glittering blue of the sea and the crystal clear water. He had travelled the world over, and there was nowhere else that had ever compared with this view—except for when he turned to look at Adeline. She was lovelier than anything else the earth had to offer.
I’m so gone for her. He downed his wine in one gulp at the ramifications. Loving her meant losing her which meant a broken heart. He was setting himself up for a world of pain.
Nicolo’s phone buzzed in his pants pocket, and he pulled it out. It was an email from Neerij, the owner of the company that had offered him the 500 million euro development job in India. He scanned it quickly, frowned, and then put his phone away without a response.
