The Year of Luminous Love (25 page)

Arie cheered. “We’re the Three Musketeers.” And yet even as she said the words, Arie felt the weight of her secret—actually, her
two
secrets. The health disclosure would keep for a while longer; her other admission would have to come in a matter of days. She hoped they’d be as happy for her as she was for herself.

Ciana and her friends were getting ready to go into Cortona for their meet-up with Garret and his fellow travelers when Ciana heard the front door chime.
Now what?

Eden called up to her, “Enzo to see you.”

He hadn’t said he’d come the day before they left for Rome. She hurried downstairs to find him leaning against the front doorjamb, holding a bottle of wine and wearing a beguiling smile. “I apologize for not calling before coming. Is my popping up—how do you say—acceptable?”

She felt flattered and a little off balance. “A nice surprise.”

“I will not take much of your time. Can we sit on the patio to speak?”

She walked with him to the patio where a cool breeze was sending fallen leaves dancing across the tiles. They pulled out chairs at the table, and he set down the wine bottle. “A gift,” he said. “One of our best reserve wines. For Arie’s birthday.”

The way his voice flowed over the words in his sexy accent charmed her. “We’ll drink it on her birthday in Rome.”

He removed a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. “This is a list of all the best places to dine in Roma. Many are near
your hotel. There’s no reason for you and your friends to eat with tourists. There is much fine food in Roma the tourists do not taste.”

His thoughtfulness touched her. Of course, he had no way of knowing they wouldn’t be dining elegantly most evenings—too expensive. “You’re so sweet.”

“Sweet?” His brow puckered. “Like candy?”

She realized she’d used an idiom he probably didn’t grasp. “Kind and nice,” she clarified.

He laughed. “You say funny things, Ciana.”

She tucked the list he’d prepared into the pocket of her slacks. “
Grazie
for the recommendations.”

He reached over, pulled her to her feet, and gazed at her, grinning. “I leave now. But one thing more. Yes?” His face grew serious. “An idea for you to think upon.”

“All right.” Looking up into his dark eyes quickened her pulse.

“When you return, I wish to take you to Portofino. This is a town on the sea where I own a villa and a boat. I would be pleased to have you spend a few days there with me.”

His request struck her like an electric shock.
A few days
. This was no offer for a boat ride and dinner. No day picnic after which each of them went home to their own beds. And what would she tell her friends?
Oh, by the way, Enzo and I will be going off for a little bump and tickle. Go do some sightseeing on your own
. Ciana couldn’t imagine—but then, she could. Enzo was a gorgeous man. He had been considerate and kind to her. Except for Jon Mercer, she’d never felt the desire to give herself to someone. And that, she knew, was the problem. This decision to go off with Enzo was one of her head, not her heart. She cleared her throat. “I … I’m not sure—”

“Say nothing now.” Enzo stopped her words with a knowing
smile. “Think upon it. Give me an answer once you return from Roma. I am patient.” He squeezed her hands, pivoted. “
Tipenso sempre, bella
Ciana,” he said. “This means ‘I think of you always, pretty Ciana.’ ”

He left and she stood rooted to the patio, his invitation swirling in her head like a tempest.

The evenings had become a routine—dinner with a mix of local kids and Garret’s friends, of Ciana and Arie returning to the villa early, and Garret giving Eden a ride there much later. The good times made Eden begin to relax her guard. She felt affection for Garret, who was talkative, full of fun and jokes, devilishly adorable, and easy to be around. And he liked her. Tony had wanted to own her. Garret seemed to just be happy when they were together. No demands. No strings.

Unknowingly, he also had awakened a wanderlust in her. The idea of travel, of seeing foreign lands, wondrous sights—at least the sights seemed wondrous when Garret described them—left her hungry to experience the world for herself. She never wanted to return to Windemere and had said as much.

The night before Eden was to leave for Rome, Garret asked, “Before I take you to your villa, I’d like to take you someplace else. You game?” He cocked his head. “Instead of winging back to your villa, would you like to see a special place I’ve found?”

“Where?”

“A surprise.”

Intrigued, she snapped on her helmet, a new one he’d bought especially for her, and straddled his scooter. “Let’s go.”

“Button up,” he said. “It’ll be a bit cool on the ride.”

Eden zipped up her leather jacket, a fashion find from a
three-day visit to Florence in late September. She hooked her arms around Garret and snuggled against his back.

They took a road that went north, and after about forty-five minutes, Garret drove off-road, across a pitted rocky field where Eden thought her internal organs would dislodge. When they finally stopped, the silence was sudden, unearthly. “Check my kidneys,” Eden groaned. “I think I lost one.”

Garret dismounted and unsnapped his helmet. “Come along, then. You’ll be glad.”

She followed him up a rise and in the moonlight saw a body of water, steam curling off its surface. “A lake?”

“A hot spring.” He beamed a smile and began to strip off his clothes.

“What are you
doing
?”

“Going for a swim.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Probably.”

In no time, all his clothing lay in a heap on the ground. She watched his snowy white bum dart to the water where he dove under, then popped up, water streaming off his thick curly hair. “It’s warm. Really. Come in with me.”

Her teeth were chattering and she shivered from the chilly night air. She wanted to throw herself into the water too. “Turn around,” she ordered.

He obeyed and she quickly undressed. When she was nude and a mass of goose bumps, she rushed into the water and ducked beneath the surface. It was as warm as bathwater. She came up a good distance from Garret, keeping just her head above the surface.

“What did I tell you?” he asked cheerily.

She touched the bottom with her toes. “How deep is it?”

“Over your head in the middle.” He came closer and she thrust backward. “Aw, what’s this? I won’t bite, you know.”

“It isn’t your teeth I’m worried about.”

He laughed, and the sound bounced off the sky. He disappeared under the water, making Eden turn in every direction to see where he’d emerge. He was under so long she began to worry. Without warning, she felt his hand grip her ankle. She shrieked, and he bobbed up next to her, laughing breathlessly. She pushed his shoulders down and forced him underwater again. This time he came up sputtering. “Truce! I promise to be a good bloke.”

“You’d better.” He was so close that she could see the water droplets on his face. His eyes stared straight into hers.

“I’d like to kiss you,” he said. “Really, really kiss you.”

She stiffened. So far she’d only allowed him to put his arm around her or kiss her lightly, no more than a brush across the mouth. She’d revealed some of her past, her years of growing up with a bipolar mother, but she’d held on to other secrets, namely her past with Tony. “I’d rather wait until we both have clothes on.” She shoved off, but he caught her arm before she got very far.

“Why are you afraid of me?”

“I’m not.” That was true. She wanted very much to be in his arms. “I think you’re pretty amazing.”

“But not amazing enough to fall for?”

“Now you’re fishing for compliments.”

He shook his head. “No, still just fishing for a real kiss.”

The tone of his voice was light, but he looked frustrated. She knew she couldn’t put him off forever with quips and teasing. “I’m not trying to be mean, Garret. I know there’s lots you want to know, and when I come back from Rome, we’ll sit down and have a real long talk. How’s that sound?”

He considered her words. “I’ll miss you while you’re gone. Getting sort of used to seeing you every day.”

She was getting used to seeing him every day too. He was filling a hole inside her, one she’d known since childhood and had been unable to fill, not through cutting, not through sex with Tony.

She reached out and ran her palm down Garret’s cheek. “I’ll miss you too.” She dipped lower into the water. “Now, did you bring towels? Or are we going to freeze to death when we get out of this water?”

“In the saddlebag on the scooter. I’ll get them.” He started to the water’s edge.

“Allow me,” she said. Pulling his arm and then locking her eyes on his, Eden rose out of the water like a nymph. She turned, walked toward the shore unashamed while he watched her nude body shimmer in the pale moonlight.

From the moment the bellman opened the door of the hotel room and ushered them inside, Ciana realized there had been some kind of mistake. The room was actually a two-bedroom suite with a sitting room and a balcony overlooking Rome. The travel agent had told Ciana that although this hotel was one of the most beautiful in the city, it was also expensive, yet she’d been able to reserve a small room for them.

“Awesome,” Arie said, circling the spacious gilded room. “This is gorgeous.”

“I’ll say,” Eden added, stepping out onto the balcony.

Ciana turned to the bellman. “Are you sure we’re in the right room?”

He glanced at the passkey and smiled at her. “
Si
,
signorina
. This is correct.”

She knew she’d have to deal with this quickly. She told her friends, “I’m going down to the front desk. Don’t get comfortable.” She bolted from the room and rode the elevator down to the luxurious lobby with marble floors and crystal chandeliers.
The desk clerk who had checked them in looked up. “May I help you?”

“I … um … I think there’s been a mistake in our room assignment.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Is the suite not to your liking?”

“Oh no. The room’s beautiful. I just don’t think it’s what my travel agent said she reserved for us.”

He looked puzzled, went to his computer and typed. A minute later he smiled and said, “You were upgraded.”

“But why?”

“Ah. I did not give you the note.
Scusi
.” He opened a drawer and extracted a long envelope with her name written in a florid, graceful swirl of black ink. He handed it to her.

She sat in a crimson velvet chair, opened the envelope, extracted a single handwritten sheet of heavy linen paper, and read: