“Sorry again about earlier. Good to see you, too, Antonio.”
He paused. He didn’t like leaving things this way.
But you have to. He’d built his identity on his principles, on doing the right thing. Seducing his virginal childhood best friend whose heart he’d already broken once was most definitely the wrong thing. He would withdraw, take an ice-cold shower, and regroup in the morning. He’d fulfilled his promise to Diego, made sure Anna was all right. Now he needed to leave and let Anna live her life.
With that thought resonating in his mind, he walked away, leaving Anna and all the temptation she presented behind him.
CHAPTER FOUR
PINKRAYSOFearly morning sun nudged the remaining shadows of night aside and bathed the ancient buildings of Rome in a rosy glow.
Beautiful. Anna wrapped her arms around her middle and breathed in. All her life she’d dreamed of traveling to places like this. Especially in the last five years as her friends from university had left Granada for bigger and better things while she’d returned night after night to the same yellow bedroom with its white chintz curtains and twin bed. Still stuck in the past. Stuck in the confines of her uncle’s fears. Stuck in her own.
But no more.
She passed by a bakery, the doors thrown open, golden light falling on the stones outside the shop and freshly baked rosemary bread scenting the air. One of the few businesses open before sunrise. A bird flitted past. Violet flowers spilled from an urn. The only signs of life on the otherwise empty cobblestone streets.
Amazing, she thought with a little thrill, that she was in one of the most visited places in the world and yet felt like she had the entire city to herself.
She turned a corner and stopped in her tracks. Some of her joy dissipated as she read the black lettering emblazoned over the glass doors of a tall building sprawled across the entire front of the plaza she’d just walked into.
Hotel de Cabrera.
“Of course,” she muttered.
Italian flags framed the doors on either side. Perfectly arranged sconce lights created intricate diamond patterns on the cream-colored stones. Most of the arched windows were covered by burgundy curtains. Although, as she looked up to the top floor, one curtain twitched then was drawn aside. A woman in black lingerie stood in the window, framed like a seductive painting as she gazed confidently out over the plaza. A man appeared behind her, pressed a lingering kiss to her neck as she smiled and then the curtain fell back over the window.
What would it be like to have that kind of confidence? To look out over the world with such assurance?
Granted, she’d surprised herself with her own strength the last few months. Although, she acknowledged irritably, yesterday’s bravado when faced with her first love had not come effortlessly. She’d had to make multiple mental trips into the past, summoning up the hot flush of shame that had swept over her when Antonio had stared at her like she’d grown an extra head and not just confessed her love at the tender age of seventeen. Or the freezing sting of rejection that had rooted her in place when he’d walked away.
Amazing how fresh the hurt felt after all these years. But it had done its job yesterday; helped her keep her distance even though her heart had been pounding so hard the beat had echoed in her ears.
He is attractive, she reminded herself as she resumed her trek across the plaza.Perfectly reasonable reaction.
Well, not just attractive. More like sexy as hell. She’d been in such a rush to hide at Adrian and Everleigh’s engagement party that she’d only caught a glimpse of his dark handsomeness. And when she’d fallen yesterday, her flustered mind had latched onto two details: the deep, dark brown of his eyes and his rich, woodsy scent that had momentarily stolen her voice.
But when they’d talked by the Trevi Fountain, she’d had the opportunity to see him, truly see him, for the first time since their parting at the vineyards in Granada. His strong jaw, fierce lines still evident beneath his dark beard. The boyish smile she’d remembered so fondly replaced by a brooding smirk that had chased away her girlhood dreams and replaced them with dark, sensual fantasies. Fantasies that included Antonio’s masculine arms wrapped around her as he lowered his mouth to hers...
As if her naughty musings had summoned him, there he was, striding out of the doors of the hotel. Dressed in tan slacks and a forest-green polo that fit his muscular chest to perfection, he looked far too awake and professional for such an early hour as he scrolled through his phone.
The confidence that had empowered her last night took one look at Antonio in all his handsome glory, turned and fled, leaving her in the middle of the plaza with nothing but her old insecurities and self-doubt. His attention was fixed on his phone. If she quickened her pace and kept her head down, she could reach the other side before he—
“Anna?”
Too late.
She forced herself to stop and smile casually at him, even though the closer he drew, the faster the butterfly wings in her stomach beat until she felt like her entire body fluttered.
“Buongiorno, Antonio.”
He arched a brow as he stopped a few feet away. She remembered his older brother, Adrian, doing that when he’d found them in the vineyards stuffing themselves with grapes. On him, it had looked arrogant and stuffy. On Antonio, it looked masculine and sensual.
“You’re up early.”
“You said the best viewing of the Steps was at dawn.” She nodded toward the burgeoning glow above the rooftops. “It’s almost here.”
He glanced over his shoulder then back at her, chocolate eyes dark and unreadable.