‘My son crafted this piece. It is a fenice.’
Olivia turned to Luca, frowning. His eyes, when they met hers, were appraising. ‘A phoenix.’
‘Do you know the symbolism of the fenice?’the older woman asked as she carefully surrounded the bird in bubble wrap.
‘Something about rising from the ashes?’ Olivia suggested.
‘Yes. In many cultures, the world over, it is seen as a symbolism of rebirth, of hope, of newness.’ She taped the bird, then placed it into a brown paper bag. ‘He will be safe with you.’
A shiver ran through Olivia at the perfection of having gravitated towards such an ornament. Here she was, taking steps to begin her own new life, and she had unconsciously chosen a symbol of regeneration.
Luca handed over his credit card, a matte black with a silver centurion in the centre, before the shopkeeper could announce the price. Olivia decided she would do better not to ask.
‘Thank you,’ she said as they emerged back onto the sunlit street. They’d been in the glass factory for over an hour, and in that time the summer sun had warmed so it felt delightful against her bare arms.
They wandered the streets of Murano. The island was not big, and it did not take long, but as the temperature increased it was absolutely essential to stop and enjoy gelati from one of the street vendors. Olivia chose strawberry, and the sweetness filled her with a sense of completion.
‘Thank you for this morning,’ she said as she scraped the last of the gelato from the paper cup. ‘I’ve actually really enjoyed our honeymoon.’
His short laugh sent tremors through her body. ‘You are surprised?’
‘Well, yes, frankly. Don’t forget, when we married, I knew very little about you.’
For a moment, his smile dropped, and thunderclouds seemed to pass behind his eyes. ‘Except what you read on the Internet.’
She frowned. That bothered him? ‘That’s right.’
‘And still you chose to marry me?’ he said as a joke, but she heard the caustic tension in his voice.
‘I mean, I sort of had my arm up my back there,’ she pointed out, then wished she hadn’t when the mood changed completely. Oh, he still smiled at her, but she felt the change come over him, and couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
‘I thought we’d fly directly to Rome. Unless you have any objections?’ he prompted as an afterthought.
The suggestion made her head spin. She was just starting to settle into her honeymoon and now he was suggesting a change? Except, this wasn’t really unexpected. He’d said their honeymoon would last for two nights, and it had been that. It was time to go home now. Not to a real home—at least, not for Olivia—but to the place she’d live in for the rest of her very short, very necessary marriage.
‘Luca, may I ask you something?’
He regarded her from the back of the limousine with a look that might have scared anyone else off, but Olivia had lived with fear and intimidation all her life, and Luca simply wasn’t capable of causing her to feel either. He was nothing like her father. Nothing like she feared all men might be.
‘You don’t have to answer,’ she offered.
‘Believe me, if I do not wish to, I won’t.’
She did believe it. Luca wasn’t capable of doing anything but calling the shots. She nodded her acceptance of that, flicking her gaze to the window for a moment. Rome whizzed past, the early afternoon light shimmering with that Mediterranean clarity. Ancient buildings stood sentinel to their journey, grey and magnificent, so Olivia wanted to stop the car and go and explore them now, to trail her hands over each, one by one, until she felt their secrets bury deep into her soul.
‘Earlier today, you seemed annoyed to think I’d read up on you.’
He was quiet for a long time. She turned to face him, arching a brow.
‘I’m sorry, was that a question?’
She could feel his impatience, and something else. A hesitation born of an emotion she didn’t understand. ‘Yes. Why does that annoy you?’
‘On the contrary, I think it’s a wise precaution. You asked a virtual stranger to marry you. I’d think you stupid not to do a bit of research.’
‘Sure, fine, but it still annoys you.’
He drummed his fingers into his knee, his eyes not leaving her face.