The Italians: Luca, Marco and Alessandro. Natalie Anderson

she really have nothing to fear? A little doubt niggled in the back of Emily’s brain. No strings, no commitment—wouldn’t living together make it harder to keep that distance? But she couldn’t resist his offer—and it was generous. Even though she was a with-it woman living in the twenty-first century and totally capable of safely staying in the hostel all by herself, she couldn’t help her instinctive, pleased response to his display of macho protectiveness. And while it might not be that risky, it was certainly reckless. Reckless was something Emily hadn’t ever been until that day in Verona. That hedonism, the holiday mood enveloped her now—bringing back the warmth of the Italian sun, the taste of bliss in his arms… Why couldn’t she extend that holiday, just for a little while longer? Didn’t, as he’d once said, she deserve it?

      ‘Your room, ma’am.’

      He put her pack inside the door of the bedroom they’d lain in last night. The guest bedroom. So boundaries would be maintained—she wouldn’t actually be sleeping in his bed. She crossed the room and looked out of the window—last night she hadn’t been lucid enough to notice the view over the private gated gardens.

      ‘I’ll show you where the key is. You can go and read the morning paper in the sun. It’s very nice.’ He took her hand. ‘Let me show you the rest of the facilities. You’ve seen the kitchen and you have your own bathroom off your bedroom, so let’s move on to entertainment.’

      ‘I thought you were my entertainment.’

      ‘I’ll entertain you again and again. But this is for while I’m at work.’

      And, if last night was anything to go by, it would be her recovery time. She followed him into the big, light room. A large sofa stretched in front of her and opposite was a wall of bookcases.

      ‘Take your pick, but if you don’t fancy reading…’ He pushed a couple of buttons on a remote and with a click and a whir half the bookcases seemed to disappear and a giant flat-screen TV was revealed.

      ‘Oh, that’s clever.’

      ‘Very Batman, don’t you think?’ he joked. ‘The DVDs are in this cabinet. I have a reasonable collection, but if you want to watch something else just let me know and I can get it delivered.’

      A reasonable collection? There were masses of DVDs—enough to rival the entire stock of the DVD store where she’d worked. Although they were a little on the action/thriller side. Not too many romcom chick flicks—maybe his ex took them when they split up? She felt burningly curious about that part of his life—what had gone wrong? She’d ask some time, but was cautious about prying too much too soon. There had been real pain in his eyes when he’d admitted to being hurt and she didn’t want to spoil the lightness of the mood now. Not when she sensed this was a little out of the ordinary for him. It was way out of the ordinary for her too.

      ‘I take them out of the cases. It makes it easier to store more.’

      ‘And are they filed alphabetically, by genre, or director or something?’

      ‘No.’ He grinned. ‘In order of purchase. By all means sort them if you want, though. Watch any, watch all.’

      ‘You expect me to figure out all these remote controls? The stereo, the TV, the DVD player, the curtains…’

      He laughed and gestured towards the bi-folding doors along the back wall. ‘Through there is a formal lounge I don’t tend to use unless I have some sort of gathering. Now follow. I’ve saved the best ’til last.’

      His room? She was very curious about that. But while he led her to the stairs it wasn’t up but down that he went. At the very bottom they were confronted with a closed door. He pushed buttons on the keypad on the wall beside them. ‘I’ll give you the number.’

      ‘I’m going to need a two-hundred-page manual to remember how to work this place.’

      ‘It won’t take you that long.’

      ‘Why the security?’

      ‘My housekeeper has a young son. I don’t want him in here without supervision.’

      ‘Supervision?’ What on earth was in there? ‘And you said I had nothing to fear? Let me guess, it’s a soundproof room and filled with electric guitars and drum kit ’cos you’re really a metal head.’

      He shook his head.

      ‘Wine cellar?’

      He grinned. ‘I have a couple of cabinets upstairs but the bulk of my collection is stored offsite.’

      He was serious about that?

      ‘Believe it or not this is much more fun.’ He opened the door.

      She blinked as he switched on the lights. Oh, wow. She would never have expected this.

      The expanse of blue was lit underneath—the light was subtle and it was warm and cast pretty patterns on the gleaming white walls.

      ‘Oh.’ The water was about two lanes wide and went the length of the room.

      ‘There’s a small gym down there and a bathroom through there.’ He walked down the last step onto the small paved area at the head of the pool. ‘Nice, huh?’ He whipped off his tee shirt, and kicked away his shoes. His hands went to his belt.

      ‘Very nice.’ Her smile broadened as he pulled his jeans down and stepped out of them. His boxers followed. ‘Really, very nice.’

      He winked back, then turned, dived straight in, his arms moving in a perfect arc. He surfaced several feet out in the pool, droplets of water flew as he shook his head. ‘Aren’t you coming in?’

      She stood at the edge and thought of the lamest excuse she could. ‘I don’t have my swimsuit with me.’

      ‘Emily, this is hardly the public pools. You don’t need a swimsuit.’

      Time for honesty, then. ‘Actually, I’m not the most confident swimmer.’

      ‘You come from an island nation. I thought you were all born swimming.’

      ‘I can swim. I’m just not that confident. I don’t like it when my feet can’t touch the bottom. It looks really deep there.’

      ‘It is really deep. But I can make it shallower for you.’

      ‘How?’

      ‘It has an adjustable floor. I can’t do it right now, but will do later if you want.’

      Adjustable floor? ‘Why do you have it so deep?’

      ‘I like diving.’

      ‘As in somersaults and flips and stuff?’

      ‘No, as in scuba-and free diving. I practise down here. Have you ever gone scuba diving? Underwater gardens are as beautiful as the trees and flowers sort.’

      ‘I don’t think that’s for me.’ She shook her head. ‘I’d be afraid of being swallowed whole and never finding my way to the surface.’

      ‘It’s easy. Come on, come in. It’s really shallow this end. Think of it as a giant bath.’

      It was too beautiful to resist. Just like him.

      ‘I’m not going in that deep end.’ She tried not to feel self-conscious as she stripped, felt better as he swam closer, looking more wicked the more naked she became.

      She stepped down the ladder. It was a giant bath—but tepid, neither too cold nor too warm.

      ‘You’re not a risk-taker?’ He reached out for her.

      ‘I haven’t been in a position to be able to take risks.’ She let him pull her through the water.

      ‘But you’re in a position to now.’

      Yes. And she already was taking a huge risk.

      The