Free Honeymoon For One by Lily Zante Page A
Authors: Lily Zante
what he had
given up his day at Montova with Ava for. His nostrils flared at the thought of
it. Soon, it wouldn’t matter. He was sure of the outcome.
His thoughts turned to tomorrow and the trip to
Montova with Ava. His face brightened and the tightness that had made his
eyes heavy and fixed that grouchy look on his face, soon melted away.
Despite his earlier resolve, he was finding it
difficult to stop thinking about her.
She
wasn’t the least bit charmed by him, he could see that. But for him it was such
a breath of fresh air to meet a woman who knew nothing about him at all. Yet he
couldn’t escape the fact that her visit to Verona was mired by the most tragic
of circumstances. He was trying to do his best to make everything good for her.
But the fact that he was looking forward to tomorrow and spending a whole day
with her, made him feel guilty for having these feelings at all.
He reasoned that it would be better to spend a day
being her friend, than wishing things could be any different.
By the time his car pulled into the driveway at
the Casa Adriana, his mood had changed completely and he was eager to get on
with the meetings he had lined up for the day. Getting out of the car and
walking towards the hotel entrance, he quickly checked his daily schedule on
the Blackberry to make sure he wouldn’t miss anything important today.
As he bounded up the two stone steps leading to
the double glass doors, Ava was making her way out. She slipped her cell phone
into her bag without looking where she was going and went crashing straight into
Nico, sending his Blackberry flying out of his hands. It went scuttling across
the ground. He heard a small groan escape her lips and in an instant she was on
the ground, reaching out for it. He bent down at the same time, so close to her
that he could almost taste the scented body lotion she had used. For the
briefest of seconds, the image of a bare backed Ava, slathering body lotion
over herself burst into his mind.
“Did I break it?” she asked apologetically, her
face contorted with horror as she picked up his Blackberry and examined it in
her hand.
“Uhhh,” was all Nico could manage as he struggled
to shake the image away. “Here let me see,” he said, reaching over to take it
from her. His fingers grazed the warm skin of her palms and sent a tingling feeling
in his chest. He pretended to look the Blackberry over.
“It’s fine I’m sure, don’t worry about it,” he
said, managing to display a degree of calmness which he didn’t really feel.
He stared at her, his heart beating wildly now
that he was so close to her. Her eyes had changed color again and were now a
lighter shade of blue in the morning sun.
“I’m so sorry Nico,” Ava said worriedly, slowly standing
up. “I seem to have a knack for bumping into you all the time.”
“You do, don’t you,” he managed to say, with a
slight smile, though he didn’t care at all whether his Blackberry was broken
or not. He couldn’t get the scent of her out of his senses. All he could see
was the clear gray-blue of her eyes and his insides melted. He felt like a hot
blooded clumsy teenager once more. Which was a crazy thought, because it had
been well over a decade since he had left his teen years.
Ava was having an odd effect on him and he
couldn’t find the right words to say to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what
to say. It was that he knew what he couldn’t say. He knew what path he could
not venture down.
He straightened up, but the calm smile on his face
belied the tumultuous feelings stirring inside him. He wanted this woman. But
she was not his to have.
“It’s fine, please don’t worry about it,” he said,
resisting the urge to touch her face and tell her that it was alright. Instead,
he gripped the Blackberry tightly, fighting to keep these feelings that she had
stirred up, under control.
“Are you sure?” asked Ava again, staring up at his
face searchingly. He wished she
given up his day at Montova with Ava for. His nostrils flared at the thought of
it. Soon, it wouldn’t matter. He was sure of the outcome.
His thoughts turned to tomorrow and the trip to
Montova with Ava. His face brightened and the tightness that had made his
eyes heavy and fixed that grouchy look on his face, soon melted away.
Despite his earlier resolve, he was finding it
difficult to stop thinking about her.
She
wasn’t the least bit charmed by him, he could see that. But for him it was such
a breath of fresh air to meet a woman who knew nothing about him at all. Yet he
couldn’t escape the fact that her visit to Verona was mired by the most tragic
of circumstances. He was trying to do his best to make everything good for her.
But the fact that he was looking forward to tomorrow and spending a whole day
with her, made him feel guilty for having these feelings at all.
He reasoned that it would be better to spend a day
being her friend, than wishing things could be any different.
By the time his car pulled into the driveway at
the Casa Adriana, his mood had changed completely and he was eager to get on
with the meetings he had lined up for the day. Getting out of the car and
walking towards the hotel entrance, he quickly checked his daily schedule on
the Blackberry to make sure he wouldn’t miss anything important today.
As he bounded up the two stone steps leading to
the double glass doors, Ava was making her way out. She slipped her cell phone
into her bag without looking where she was going and went crashing straight into
Nico, sending his Blackberry flying out of his hands. It went scuttling across
the ground. He heard a small groan escape her lips and in an instant she was on
the ground, reaching out for it. He bent down at the same time, so close to her
that he could almost taste the scented body lotion she had used. For the
briefest of seconds, the image of a bare backed Ava, slathering body lotion
over herself burst into his mind.
“Did I break it?” she asked apologetically, her
face contorted with horror as she picked up his Blackberry and examined it in
her hand.
“Uhhh,” was all Nico could manage as he struggled
to shake the image away. “Here let me see,” he said, reaching over to take it
from her. His fingers grazed the warm skin of her palms and sent a tingling feeling
in his chest. He pretended to look the Blackberry over.
“It’s fine I’m sure, don’t worry about it,” he
said, managing to display a degree of calmness which he didn’t really feel.
He stared at her, his heart beating wildly now
that he was so close to her. Her eyes had changed color again and were now a
lighter shade of blue in the morning sun.
“I’m so sorry Nico,” Ava said worriedly, slowly standing
up. “I seem to have a knack for bumping into you all the time.”
“You do, don’t you,” he managed to say, with a
slight smile, though he didn’t care at all whether his Blackberry was broken
or not. He couldn’t get the scent of her out of his senses. All he could see
was the clear gray-blue of her eyes and his insides melted. He felt like a hot
blooded clumsy teenager once more. Which was a crazy thought, because it had
been well over a decade since he had left his teen years.
Ava was having an odd effect on him and he
couldn’t find the right words to say to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what
to say. It was that he knew what he couldn’t say. He knew what path he could
not venture down.
He straightened up, but the calm smile on his face
belied the tumultuous feelings stirring inside him. He wanted this woman. But
she was not his to have.
“It’s fine, please don’t worry about it,” he said,
resisting the urge to touch her face and tell her that it was alright. Instead,
he gripped the Blackberry tightly, fighting to keep these feelings that she had
stirred up, under control.
“Are you sure?” asked Ava again, staring up at his
face searchingly. He wished she