So much for steering clear of emotional intimacy, she thought, her pulse pounding and her head spinning as she distractedly packed. She’d been creating it and encouraging it since the moment she’d met him.
And had that been such a bad thing?
No.
Quite the opposite in fact.
He’d shown her that ceding emotional ground didn’t have to lead to vulnerability and weakness. It could actually lead to empowerment and healing instead. He’d shown her what a proper relationship could look like, free from manipulation and fear. How it could be a give and take of ideas and opinions, an exchange of thoughts and experiences, hopes and dreams, and not a loss of identity. He’d given her space. He’d given her choice. If this was love, then she adored him, and when she focused on the happiness beginning to spread through her like sunshine, it was glorious.
When she thought of what Georgie had it didn’t fill her with horror, it filled her with envy. When she thought of combining a family with a career she realised it was a challenge she’d be thrilled to embrace.
Could she dare to hope that Rico had reached a similar conclusion and now felt the same way? she wondered, her throat dry and heart thudding wildly as he took her cases downstairs and loaded up the boat.
Like her he’d said little since her dip in the lagoon, but somehow she sensed that, like her, he’d changed. He’d dropped his facade and shown her the whole of the man beneath. He’d opened up to her. He’d told her things she didn’t think he’d told anyone ever before. He’d trusted her with his past and his soul. Despite his reluctance, he’d let her into his sanctuary, into his life. That had to have meant something.
And then, the tenderness with which he’d made love to her last night... That had definitely been new, as was the glittering warmth with which she’d caught him looking at her on several occasions over the last couple of days.
There was so much to this amazing, complex, beautiful man, she thought dizzily as they sped across the lagoon towards the airport, the exhilarating rush of wind blowing through her body and whipping up a storm inside her. So much more that she longed to know. She wanted to talk with him, make love with him and fight his corner, today, tomorrow, for ever.
So what happened now? Time was running out. All too soon the airport hove into view and then he was slowing the engine of the boat and tossing a loop of rope over a mooring post.
Did she dare hope he might, like her, want more? Might he ask her to stay the rest of the weekend? What would she do if he did? What would she do if he didn’t? Was she brave enough to take the initiative herself? Was she ready to take the greatest risk of her life?
Oh, this was awful.
Having deposited her bags on the jetty, Rico helped her off the boat and pushed his sunglasses up onto his head. ‘Well, here we are,’ he said, his voice giving away absolutely nothing.
‘Do you mind if I send your phone back in a day or two?’ she said, her stomach churning with nerves while her heart hammered frantically. ‘It has my boarding pass on it.’
‘Keep it as long as you need.’
‘I’ll put it in the post as soon as I get home and I’ll transfer the money I owe you.’
‘Fine.’
He looked as if he was going to take a step back and her throat went tight.
‘I bought you something,’ she said in a rush, swallowing hard as she dug around in her new handbag for the gift she’d seen and impulsively bought for him the day before yesterday. ‘A gift. A kitsch gift, admittedly, and one that was technically bought with your money, but still, here.’
She handed it to him, her fingers brushing against his, which made her heart leap for a moment and then plunge when he frowned.
‘What is it?’
‘A fridge magnet. I picked it up in Murano.’ She’d seen it and been amused by it and had a vivid vision of it actually on the door of his fridge, the only personal possession on show in his house.
He stared at the scene of his city, complete with canal, bridge and gondola, depicted in appallingly rendered relief above a bright red ‘Venezia’, as if he’d never seen such a horrendous thing in his life and had no idea what to do with it, which instantly made her regret her decision to give it to him.
‘Grazie,’ he muttered, eventually slipping it into his pocket, since clearly there was nowhere else for it to go.
‘It’s I who should be thanking you,’ she said, wishing fervently she’d never bought it in the first place and covering her embarrassment with a shaky smile. ‘It’s been quite a week.’
‘It has indeed.’
For a moment he just looked at her while she willed him to ask her to stay, but he remained resolutely silent, so she took a deep breath and before her courage could desert her said, ‘I wondered if maybe you’d like to meet for dinner in London, next time you’re there.’
He froze. For the briefest of seconds she thought she caught a glimpse of pleasure light the depths of his eyes, but it was gone in a flash and there instead was the cool indifference she’d thought long gone. ‘I’m not planning on a trip any time soon,’ he said, with a return to the drawl she hated.
‘Maybe I’ll find myself back in Venice some time,’ she said doggedly. ‘Maybe I’ll look you up instead.’