My Italian Heart

Chapter Thirty

Christmas had gone without a hitch for the rest of the day, thanks to Luca for covering for us. He had pulled me to one side in the kitchen in the afternoon and asked me what the verdict was. For the first time in my life I told him an outright lie and I was so ashamed of myself. I just hoped in a few weeks when we broke the news to everyone he would understand why I had done it. As much as anything else, I didn't want to force him to keep it from Rylie. I knew he would, but it would kill him.

After Emily and David had gone back to the cabin and we had sat down to lunch, I casually announced that I was heading away for business the day after Boxing Day. No one seemed to question my news, but I made sure to tell them it was related to kitting out the cabins anyway.

The days following ticked by. Before I knew it, I was loading my suitcase filled with very nonpractical clothes into the boot of my car. As Rylie hobbled out, I slammed the boot down. It was stupid, it wasn't like she had X-ray vision or would have gone through my suitcase. "You OK?"

"Yep, you?"

"Healing nicely, but can't wait to get this stupid cast off. Are you actually going away for work or is this cover for going away with Adam?"

"I broke it off with Adam, it was nothing serious anyway. Sorry to be boring, but it is literally all work." It wasn't all lies. I had broken it off with Adam. I couldn't resist messaging him to tell him I knew what he had done, but frankly, I didn't care enough to get upset about it. He had tried to tell me David was lying, until I pointed out that it wasn't possible for David to be lying, given that he had given me details that matched what happened. I asked David to tell me exactly what Adam said but he refused. Once Adam realized the game was up, he got rather nasty. Called me a slag and all sorts. All it did was prove that David's intuition about him had been spot on.

David had already left the vineyard, telling everyone he was heading to deal with some paperwork at his business that couldn't wait or be done via email. He was parking his car at Verona airport and I would meet him there and pick him up. We probably didn't need to go to such extreme lengths to hide the truth, but he needed somewhere to park the car anyway.

"I'm sorry Aurora, you haven't had much luck with men recently."

"I don't know about that. At least I met some men for once in my life."

"Well, that's a very healthy way to look at it. Enjoy your trip."

"I'm sure I will." She headed back inside and I tried not to look like I was in too much of a rush to jump into the car and head off into Verona. I had told everyone that I was heading to a designer's in Milan to look at some unique finishing touches for the cabins. At which point Emily had reminded me that George was there for the funeral of his ex-wife or was it his dead wife? I didn't really know how it worked in his situation. I had completely forgotten, but thankfully, Milan was a big place and we were unlikely to bump into George and Amiee. Especially given that I barely planned to leave the hotel room. The only reason we were actually going instead of going somewhere nearby was so I could actually pick up some finishing touches for the cabins.

The journey down to the airport seemed to take forever and I wasn't paying nearly enough attention to the road. I completely missed seeing an oncoming car at least three times. Not to mention the round about I shot out of without looking at what I was doing. I didn't know how close it had been, but the other driver beeped at me to signal his annoyance. The one thing on the journey I did pay attention to was David stood waiting for me at the side of the road near the airport. I pulled up quickly enough, but without signalling. I seriously considered asking him to drive, given how bad my driving had been, but thought better of it.

As he sank into the passenger seat, we both just looked at each other and visibly relaxed. I hadn't realized how much the situation had taken a toll on me and it was clear it had been difficult for David too. Except, we were looking forward to a weekend without secrets, without concerns about the future and without interference. I pulled off feeling like it was finally going to be just the two of us. I had left the hotel booking to David and had no idea what to expect. The route to Milan was busy and between the heavy traffic and my ditsy mood, we didn't get much opportunity to chat.

It felt a little odd in the car, like we were together, but not together. We might have discussed being back together, but it still felt rather surreal. As though I had dreamt the whole thing. I wasn't sure when it was going to start feeling real, but I hoped the weekend would go a long way to fixing that.

By the time we pulled up at the car park for the hotel, I felt like my legs were stuck in one position and my eyes were so dry. I was getting too old for such long drives. I felt like it was best to refrain from commenting on that fact to David though. It was annoying, actually, because he was probably healthier than I was and definitely more active, yet he thought he was the old one. He could probably run circles around me. I had seen him running around after Amiee and there was no way I would be able to keep up the way he did. I just wished he would see himself through my eyes.

I looked up at the hotel and it was beautiful. It wasn't like I was surprised, I knew what David was like. It would be stunning inside and out. The funny thing was that neither of us were big on luxury. He was as comfortable in a five-star hotel as he was in a tent. I, on the other hand, couldn't quite handle a tent, but I could quite happily cope with much rougher digs than the hotel I was looking at.

The wooden cladding on the front almost made it look like it was coated in bamboo. At either end of the building they had created plant walls that climbed up the length of the building. It looked like it had a roof garden too, but it was hard to see from the angle I had. The ground floor was all glass, opening the reception area up completely. The only obstructions were the two humongous planters either side of the main doors. They appeared to have some sort of palm planted in them, but I was no expert when it came to plants.

I looked at David and smiled, heaving another sigh of relief. It was almost like the longer we were away from the vineyard, the more relaxed I got. David had already removed both our suitcases from the boot. The four wheeled cases stood back to back with him gripping both handles in one hand and easily maneuvering them towards me. I clasped his hand, taking a second to bask in the feeling of being able to just hold hands in the street before we started heading inside.

As we stepped inside, there was a large oval black glass table, filled with vases of different flowers. All different yet somehow connected. The security guard stood by the door. Though he seemed a little out of place with his bald head, stern look and broad shoulders. He was the only thing in the room that seemed out of place. I was still standing getting my barrings when I realized that David had let go of me and headed to the reception desk. I strolled a little away from him, not wanting to go too far. Finding a lounge area filled with contrasting arm chairs and big sprawling coffee tables, littered with leaflets and newspapers. There were even bookcases breaking up the long thin space. I wondered what sort of books they contained. I doubted they would be novels, but maybe travel guides about the city. At the far end of the room I could spot a couple of large L-shaped sofas and a fireplace. It looked a little too intimate for a hotel lounge.

David's hand settled into the hollow of my back and I looked up at him, being rewarded with a simple soft kiss. "Are you ready to head upstairs?"

"Absolutely." His hand remained and he used it to guide me around an eggshell-colored circular support and the room divider that was attached to it. The effort they had made just to conceal the lifts seemed a little too much. I plucked the little card for the room from David's fingers as the lift doors closed. Seeing it there in black and white printed on the card for everyone to see Mr and Mrs Hughes.

I looked up at him. "They assumed. I chose not to correct them." I might have liked the idea if there wasn't already a Mrs Hughes existing in the world already. All it did was put a dampener on my mood and remind me that David wasn't truly mine, not in the eyes of God anyway, and possibly never would be.