‘Gian,’ she said as they pulled up at La Fiordelise, ‘please, call her back. I can go home. I really didn’t want to make trouble for you...’
‘Forget it.’ He gave a dismissive shrug. ‘We were always going to end.’
In fact, he hadn’t seen Svetlana all week.
Somehow they had bumped through the concert at Teatro dell’Opera but instead of returning to the sumptuous suite behind his office, Gian had taken her home.
‘Why did you break up with her?’ Ariana asked as they stood outside the car beneath the bright entrance lights.
‘Because she wanted more.’
‘More?’
‘She had started to drop into the hotel unannounced,’ he said. Ariana just frowned. ‘And she wanted to come up to my residence...’
Her frown deepened.
‘As well as that, she wanted to come with me to your father’s funeral.’
‘Oh?’ Ariana said, but it was more a question, because she didn’t really understand.
‘As if we were a couple.’ Gian attempted to explain his closed-off life, but clearly still bewildered, Ariana gave the tiniest shake of her head and so he elaborated. ‘She wanted things to progress and that was not what we had agreed.’
‘What did you agree to?’
‘Only the best parts.’ Gian did not soften his words. ‘Dinner in a nice restaurant, a trip to the theatre...’
‘I assume sex?’
‘Correct.’
‘So if not in your residence...’
‘Ariana, I am not discussing this with you. Suffice it to say I never want a relationship.’ He ended the matter. ‘You’re cold, let’s go in.’
‘To the restaurant?’ Ariana asked.
‘I thought the Pianoforte Bar...’
Her eyes narrowed, recalling Svetlana being denied a seat at his restaurant. Despite his kind invitation to keep her company, she knew she was also being kept at arm’s length.
‘No, thank you.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t need the noise of a bar tonight, even one as elegant as yours...’ Ariana fished and she fished, but Gian did not take the bait, nor upgrade her to restaurant status, even as she stood there and sulked. ‘I think I might go for a walk.’
‘In heels?’ Gian frowned.
‘I have my flats in my bag. I’ll be fine on my own,’ she said, waving him away as she took off her heels and went to put her flats on, but where was a marble pillar when you needed one?
Gian would not be waved off, though, and neither was he Prince Charming, for he did not go down on his knees to help, instead offering his arm. ‘Lean on me.’ He took one black stiletto that she handed to him and passed her a flat, and then it was all repeated with the other foot.
‘Let’s walk,’ Gian said.
For Ariana, it felt like the right choice. Piazza Navona, the grand, elegant square overlooked by La Fiordelise, was beautifully lit. Its fountains were hypnotic and a little of the tension of the day left as they strolled.
It felt different at night.
Or rather it felt different being here with Gian.
His presence was a comforting warmth in the chilly night air and his voice felt like a welcome caress, as he enquired how things were with her brothers.