AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But as the chef covered the ‘just in case’ breakfast for two with heavy silver cloches, Alicia pondered what her reaction might be if she found Dante lying beside someone.
She should expect it!
After all, she had seen him with his models and his actresses a couple of times as he strolled through Reception.
As the service elevator slowly trundled its way up to the penthouse floor, Alicia took out her compact mirror from her apron pocket. It was her most treasured possession and had actually been an eighteenth birthday present from Dante’s mother. The picture on it of the lady was fading, the gold plate long since gone, and she couldn’t read the engraving. But she would never part with it.
Alicia stared at her brown eyes and saw the contempt she held for him there, as well as in the tight press of her lips, but then she reminded herself why she was doing this.
Beatrice.
Reminding herself also what a brilliant liar she was—it was her super-power, in fact—Alicia pushed out a smile. She had to be nice when she saw him. Act surprised...
If he was asleep, she would gently wake him. And if he didn’t recognise her she planned to blink and say,Oh, my God. Dante, is it really you?
She must appear friendly—though not too much, of course. Especially if he had company.
He was Sicilian, though, and from Trebordi, no less. There were certain ways that were simply adhered to. Alicia expected him to at least extend an invitation for her to join him for a drink at some point. Just to be polite, of course.
We should catch up, he would say.
Dante would expect her to nod and say,For sure. Which was the Trebordi way to politely decline.
But, oh, no. She would not be declining. Aliciawouldget her audience!
The elevator doors parted and she wheeled the large silver trolley quietly along the carpeted corridor, then left it outside the butler’s pantry. Thankfully Enzo, the butler, was doing what he did best and dozing in his seat, waiting for his guest to press the bell before he jumped to attention.
Finally her long-awaited moment was here, and to her own surprise Alicia found that she was calm. Resolute. Possibly because she had been rehearsing this for a very long time.
Be nice, Alicia, she reminded herself as she added ice but no lemon to two still iced waters and then picked up the tray set with coffee for two.Do not let Dante see that you hate him with a passion.
And, given she was Sicilian, she had passion aplenty. So much so that she allowed herself just one truculent gesture and deliberately removed the cream from the tray. His lady-friend, if present, would just have to go without!
She knocked on the main door gently. ‘Coffee, Signor Schininà.’
No response.
Quietly she let herself into the entrance hall of the Grand Presidential Suite and turned on the permitted dim lights. She walked through the lavish lounge, noting that there was the faint scent of cologne in the air—but of course she had never known the Dante who wore cologne.
She came to the master suite and listened for a moment.
Silence.
Only...not quite.
Well, there was silence emanating from his suite. It was the sounds in her own mind that had made something akin to panic arise unbidden within her. For, like a radio signal, it was as if she had tuned in to the noisestheyhad once made. And not just the sounds of their lovemaking, but of the illicit hours before. Her first kiss as they lay by the river, feeling the furnace of the first blasts of hotsciroccowind. Deeper kisses as they played in the water...
The cups were rattling in their saucers on the tray she held as, in her mind, Alicia heard again the ragged sound of his breathing in her ear. It was a noise she had long since attempted to block out, even though it crept into her dreams some nights...
She stood desperately trying not to tip the tray and block out the babble of sound that beckoned her to replay that time again. Her own gasps as his kiss brought her close to a place she had never been. The sound of his hollow shout followed by taste of their shared air in her mouth as they savoured what had just occurred. Despite her absolute inexperience, she had known Dante had just come, as she had.
Oh, God...
Now the moment was here Alicia wanted to turn and run, for there was one thing her scheming had not allowed for—the fact that she might enter his suite replaying the one memory she had never dared to.
No!
Whatever internal switch her memory had flipped, Alicia turned it to ‘off’ and took a deep cleansing breath. She saw that the cups and saucers had stopped rattling, and with calm restored she knocked for a second time. Then, as per his request, she quietly announced her arrival. ‘Coffee, Signor Schininà...’ When still there was no response, Alicia pushed down the silent door handle and let herself in.
