The Hidden Heart of Rico Rossi. Kate Hardy

be so calm? ‘There’s a road train over there and we’re going the wrong way round the roundabout!’

      ‘We drive on the right in Italy, so we go round the roundabout the opposite way to how you drive in England,’ he reminded her. ‘It’s fine. We’ll give way to the road train. There’s nothing to worry about. Just sit back and enjoy it.’

      ‘Enjoy …?’ she asked wryly, beginning to wish they’d just walked.

      ‘Ella, trust me.’

      Ha. He’d unconsciously zeroed in on the one thing she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to do again. Trust someone.

      ‘I won’t let you get hurt,’ he said, gently touching her cheek with the backs of his fingers. ‘I promise. And I never break my promises.’

      She didn’t know him well enough to know whether he was spinning her a line. But she’d go with it, for now.

      Once they were round the roundabout and she got used to the way the cart moved, she found that she actually was enjoying it. Just as Rico had promised, they could see more of the park this way; and they could stop wherever they liked to take a closer look at a fountain or a sculpture.

      By the time their hour was up, Ella was relaxed and had even agreed to swap places with Rico and steer the riscio herself.

      ‘Not so bad, was it?’ he asked, sliding his arm round her shoulders.

      ‘No, it was fun, once I’d got used to it,’ she admitted, putting her arm round his waist.

      They walked back past a bunch of teenagers on rollerblades negotiating a line of tiny, tiny cones. Ella was amazed at how they skated in and out without knocking any of them over, their feet crossing each other, and yet they didn’t trip or fall.

      The fascination must have shown on her face, because Rico said, ‘Dare you.’

      ‘Me? But I …’ She hadn’t been on roller skates for years, let alone rollerblades.

      ‘Dare you,’ he repeated.

      Well, these few days were all meant to be about having fun. ‘You’re on.’ It was hard enough to skate in a straight line at first, and she knew there was no way she’d be able to negotiate that double slalom of cones. But then the man in charge of the cones took pity on her and gave her a wider-spaced course.

      ‘Wow, I actually did it!’ she said at the other end.

      ‘You were magnificent,’ Rico said, kissing her.

      ‘And now it’s your turn.’

      ‘Mine?’ He looked surprised.

      ‘You challenged me. Now prove that you can do it.’

      The expression in his eyes grew heated. ‘What are the stakes?’

      She shrugged. ‘You tell me.’

      He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, ‘If I do it without knocking over a cone, you let me do whatever I want to you tonight. If I fail, I’m completely in your hands.’

      She shivered with pleasure. ‘That sounds good to me.’

      He licked his lower lip. ‘Right now, I’m not really sure whether it would be more fun to win or to lose.’

      ‘Do it properly,’ she told him. ‘I don’t like lying and game-playing.’

      ‘OK, Ella bellezza.’ He kissed her swiftly, then put on the rollerblades.

      She wasn’t surprised that he managed to skate the same course that she did with relative ease. The man in charge of the cones winked at her and set up a more demanding course with a double slalom.

      Rico spread his hands, grinned—and then showed off thoroughly. He was as graceful as a ballet dancer as he moved through the slalom course, his body all clean, flowing lines; Ella was aware of how many other women in the gathering crowd were giving him admiring looks.

      He almost knocked over the very last cone, which teetered but stayed where it was. He skated round to Ella, then swept into a deep bow before taking her hand, turning it over and kissing the throbbing pulse in her wrist. Desire skittered through her.

      ‘You’ve done that before, haven’t you?’ she asked, not wanting him to see how much of an effect he had on her.

      ‘Now and then. Though I’m a bit out of practice.’ He took off his skates and handed them back. ‘Come on. Let’s go and chill out.’

      They ended up by the lake, watching the fountain in the middle.

      ‘I can’t believe how blue the water is. It’s so pretty here,’ Ella said. ‘What are the trees?’

      ‘Lilacs.’

      ‘They’re not like English lilacs. They don’t smell the same, either. But they’re lovely. This is really special.’

      This was where Rico always came to chill out, because it was one of the few places in Rome where you could enjoy nothing but the sound of birdsong; but the park had become almost background scenery to him over the years. The delight in Ella’s face as she looked around made him see the place anew. She was right. It was special.

      They lay in the dappled shade under the lilacs, holding hands and looking up at the sky. He leaned over and stole a kiss. ‘So how come you’re in Rome on your own?’