Modern Romance October 2019 Books 1-4. Кейт Хьюит

wings were unfurling in colours she had never envisaged, and no matter how hard she tried she could not stuff them back in.

      Aurora tossed in the coin.

       Let me return to you, Nico. Let me in. Make love to me in Rome.

      She was ashamed of her coin-toss in a way it would be too complicated to explain to someone else, or even to herself, but Aurora also felt better for it. And her mood lifted.

      Today she was to work in the Club Lounge, which the very best of the guests frequented, and she had been told to dress to impress.

      Back in the hotel, her curls fell into perfect shape as she ran her fingers through them, and she took out the make-up she had bought and applied it.

      A little blusher, but not too much.

      Eyeliner. Her new best friend.

      Mascara.

      And a slick of very subtle lipstick.

      Should she wear the red dress, even though Nico would never see her in it?

      Aurora couldn’t make up her mind.

      But first she put on a new bra and panties in the most stunning coral.

      They would clash, if she wore the red dress, but who cared? No one was going to see.

      Aurora wore the red dress.

      She found the Club Lounge rather fascinating.

      There was breakfast, and then pastries mid-morning, and even champagne cocktails just before midday for a couple who, Aurora found out, had just got engaged.

      ‘Complimente!’ Aurora smiled as she placed the drinks down.

      She was pleased for them—excited for them as she spied the way they held hands even as they sipped their drinks.

      But she was sad for herself.

      They knew love.

      She looked out at the panoramic view of Rome that the Club Lounge afforded and wondered why all she could think of was Silibri and the temple ruins, and the little house her nonna had lived in, and had anyone watered the jasmine? Was Nico there now, strolling around confidently because there was no chance of bumping into her?

      ‘Aurora!’

      Realising that she had been daydreaming, and had missed what Marianna had said, Aurora snapped to attention. ‘I’m sorry. I was miles away.’

      Many miles away, in fact—all the way to Silibri.

      ‘I asked if you’d mind going to Nico’s. There’s some maintenance being done on the balcony. You might be there for a couple of hours. I don’t like to ask just anyone, and you were there the other day.’

      ‘Of course,’ Aurora responded politely, for what else could she say?

      ‘You look nice,’ Marianna commented.

      ‘I was worried it was too much for work.’

      ‘Not here, it’s not,’ Marianna said. ‘Every day is like a wedding! Your hair is nice too.’

      All her early life Aurora’s mother had trimmed her hair, and later Aurora had done it herself. For her confirmation and on special occasions she had gone to an aunt who, until yesterday, Aurora had believed to be a hairdresser.

       Oh, no, she wasn’t.

      Luigi was a hairdresser!

      And a therapist.

      And an ego-boost.

      All rolled into one delicious package.

      Aurora had left the hotel salon feeling like a rock star.

      Her dark locks felt like silk, and looked as if every strand had been polished by hand. Her hair now fell in a glossy, snaky curtain, several inches shorter than it had been when she had walked through the heavy brass doors.

      The cost?

      Astronomical.

      Almost a week’s pay, gobbled up in two luxurious hours.

      Actually, two weeks’ pay had been spent, if she included the dress, but when in Rome…

      It was a short trip to Nico’s, and the driver gave her his number to call when the maintenance was done.

      Soon she would be alone in his stunning villa… But not quite, for there were two men in overalls who were waiting for her to arrive.

      ‘Buongiorno!’ Aurora greeted them warmly as she disarmed the security system and let them in. And as she led them up the grand stairs she learned a little more about Nico’s home.

      It was a heritage building, they said, and the balcony inspection was just routine.

      There was nothing routine about Nico, Aurora thought.

      His bedroom was exactly as it had been the last time she had seen it, with not a thing out of place.

      Except for Aurora!

      She was a little unsure of her place.

      In Silibri, she would have put on coffee for the men, and then gone to chat with them as they worked.

      But of course she was not at home, so she hovered in the main bedroom as the men inspected the balcony.

      It took mere minutes.

      ‘Completato,’ the older man said.

      ‘You’re finished?’

       ‘Sì.’

      It really had been a routine check.

      Aurora saw them out and then went back upstairs and locked the French doors. She took out her phone to call the driver to come and take her back to the hotel.

      Except she didn’t make the call.

      Instead she stood in his bedroom for what was undoubtedly the last time. The coffered ceiling was a work of art, and she looked at the intricate engravings and wondered if Nico lay on the vast bed pondering how such art had been crafted and by whom.

      Or did he lie with the drapes open at night and look out to Rome and Villa Borghese Park? Aurora wondered.

      Or was he too busy when he was in bed?

      Of all the regrets she had—and there were many where Nico was concerned—her biggest regret was Monday night.

      Despite her promise to be aloof and professional, despite her promise to herself to get over him, it was the closest they had ever been.

      Two people sharing a drink and conversation.

      He had told her he loved his father, and that had been a revelation in itself. And he had been about to kiss her, Aurora was sure.

      And take her to bed too.

      Her body and her heart had wanted him to, yet foolish pride and her determination to put him behind her had told her no.

      She wasn’t snooping, Aurora told herself as she wandered around the stunning room. Of course she wasn’t.

      She was merely checking that everything was in order for Nico’s return, just as his PA surely would.

      She walked to his bedside and saw the small shelf of books that was beside it. Leafing her way through them, she frowned when she saw they were all books on productivity and increasing focus.

      ‘Nico, how do you relax with this?’ she asked out loud.

      And then Aurora smiled and reached into her bag—not for her phone, but for the sexy romance she was currently reading. She would slip it into his reading pile, and even if he didn’t want her she would spice up one of his nights, somehow!

      But she hadn’t finished reading it herself yet.