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Perhaps it was time to start trusting her?
And, if he did, then why couldn’t they be together one more time? Discreetly, of course.
Yes, Dante wanted Mia to come to the ball.
They were a fire that needed to be put out for, by ignoring the sparks, a real burn had started to take hold.
CHAPTER SEVEN
OFCOURSEMIAhad no idea that she was about to get the full Dante Romano treatment.
Even as the plane landed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, Mia did not know if she was right to be here. She had been so unsure, right up to the last minute, whether she would attend the ball that she’d decided against calling Sarah to arrange tickets and had taken the precaution of booking her own. She arrived in Rome somewhat frazzled after her budget flight, and nervous about facing Dante and, despite her brave words, facing the rest of his family too.
Certainly, she was not sure if she was ready tell Dante about the baby. And though she had been spared morning sickness, on arrival in Rome Mia felt drained and nauseous, both from flying and from nerves. She wore a lavender shift dress that she hadn’t worn in ages, but it was both loose and smart enough, teamed with her stilettos, for her arrival at the hotel. She added a slick of lipstick before heading out to the waiting taxis, her decision made.
If Dante was back to treating her with that slight disdain and certain contempt then, no, she would not be sharinghernews. That was the best way she could both describe and justify it to herself—right now, while she wasn’t visibly pregnant, it washersecret to keep and to reveal when she so chose.
Despite her nerves as she took a taxi to La Fiordelise, the hotel where the function was being held, she could not help but smile. Mia hadn’t been in Rome for a very long time. With Rafael’s deteriorating health, they had mainly been tucked away in Luctano. Rome in spring was amazing indeed, and less crowded than when she’d been there a couple of summers ago. The sight of wisteria cascading like a lilac waterfall down the walls of ancient ruins was beautiful indeed and had her craning her neck in the back of the taxi that took her to her hotel.
Mia would have loved to explore, but there simply wasn’t time. She had left it too late to get a hair appointment—it would seem that all were booked out on this day—and her make-up she would do herself. There was also an appointment to be had with a razor!
The taxi pulled up outside a most gorgeous white marble building, which was to be her home for the night.
‘Signora Romano!’ The doorman greeted her as he opened the taxi door and Mia was startled that he knew her name, but then surmised that the staff would have been heavily briefed on the guests for the ball, and she was, after all, Rafael’s widow.
Once inside the hotel she saw the opulent surroundings, with deep red carpets and vast marble columns. She swallowed nervously as a worrying thought occurred.
Her gown was red.
Oh, God!
She was attending as Rafael’s widow and her gown was red!
But there wasn’t time to dwell on it.
Instead of checking in, as Mia had expected to do, she was personally greeted by the exceptionally good-looking Gian De Luca, the owner of La Fiordelise.
Mia was starting to understand that this night wasn’t just big, it was huge, and she had forgotten what it was like to be in the Romanos’ world!
‘We are delighted to welcome you to La Fiordelise,’ Gian said, and introduced her to the guest services manager, who, he said, would escort her to her suite.
As she rode the ancient elevator, Mia was having a silent panic about her gown. It was in deep blood-red silk, a halter neck, with a slit at the back that revealed a glimpse of brilliant scarlet silk lining. It had been made with a great deal of skill and care and was sensual and gorgeous, though it showed a little too much of her shoulders and back for Mia’s usual taste. It had been absolutely suitable for her entrance, and first real social appearance as Rafael Romano’s wife.
She just wasn’t so sure it was a suitable gown for Rafael Romano’s recent widow!
‘I trust you will be comfortable,’ the guest services manager said.
Comfortable!
The suite was utterly sumptuous, with stencilled walls dotted with gorgeous oil paintings, and tastefully decorated with antique furnishings. It was like stepping into another world and as she glanced through to the bedroom she saw the bed dressed in rich linens and silk drapes.
And it was all for her!
Rafael had told her the ball was an oppulent affair. In fact, Mia knew that in the divorce negotiations Angela had fought to continue to attend the ball, but Rafael had put his foot down and said, no, it would be too messy; Angela could keep the Romano surname but not her place at the ball.
Mia had never fully grasped the lavishness of the occasion.
She grimaced slightly at her paltry case as it was delivered, and knew it was filled with one silk gown, stilettos, nightwear, underwear, a denim skirt and top and a make-up bag. Never had the usually meticulous Mia felt so vastly underprepared.
