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Anna swallowed hard and turned to face the audience. Thunderous applause rose up, echoing through the plaza as people cheered. She forced a smile onto her face to acknowledge the support of the crowd, inclined her head and then started forward, holding up the skirt so she didn’t have a repeat performance.
Despite the warm reception to her tumble, her eyes grew hot. For one blissful moment she’d been distracted by Antonio. But now, standing alone on stage with all eyes fixed on her, it was a struggle to finish her walk without giving in to the embarrassment that tightened her throat or the worry in the back of her mind that she’d sunk Kess’s show.
And then there was the knowledge that as she reached the end of the runway and posed, Antonio was watching her.
You can do this.
Kess’s words added fuel to the fire that started to burn low in her belly. She could do this. She raised her chin, aimed one last watery smile right at the cameras, then turned and walked back down the runway.
She saw him out of the corner of her eye, could feel his gaze pinned on her. But she stayed focused, looking neither right nor left, as she neared the end.
Antonio had helped her tonight; that much was true. She would have to send him a thank-you card or something to the Cabrera family home in Spain. But his one moment of kindness didn’t change that he had taken her offered heart and cruelly shattered it. That he’d never once reached out in all the time they’d been apart. At one time, he had been her friend, her strength, her first love.
But that time had come and gone.
She passed by him, proud of herself for not giving in to the temptation to look at him. This time, she was the one who would get to walk away.
CHAPTER TWO
ANHOURLATER, Anna sat facing the Trevi Fountain, arms crossed over her stomach as she stared up at the illuminated statues guarding the bubbling waters of the most famous fountain in the world. At nearly eleven o’clock at night, most of the crowds that had congregated to watch water flow from the historic landmark had disappeared, leaving her with a pleasant sensation of having the small plaza almost completely to herself.
After the show, Kess’s firm had hosted a cocktail party. Anna had somehow made it through the hour-long event, her feet encased in flat sandals beneath the folds of her skirt. Judging by the praise she’d overheard Kess’s boss bestowing on her, the fall hadn’t negatively affected the show. If anything, it sounded like it was going to bring more attention to Kess, the featured designer, and Hampton Events.
After changing and wiping the layers of makeup off her face, Kess, who had turned the after-party over to her assistant, had invited her to walk to the Trevi Fountain. Kess’s mom had called from Nigeria, so now she stood off to the side chatting about how her first show had gone, giving Anna time to just sit and breathe.
At first it had been blissful; the music of the water, the heat of the day giving way to the gentle warmth of an Italian summer evening. But the initial magic had dissipated, a fresh wave of embarrassment suffusing her limbs. Embarrassment and irritation that Antonio of all people had been the one to rescue her. What were the odds that she would not only fall at a fashion show, but fall into the arms of the man who’d rejected her so many years ago?
Her stomach rolled and she focused on the statue of Oceanus’s nearly naked figure standing guard over the fountain. She was inRome. Why ruminate on the past when she was in one of the most incredible cities on the planet? When just eight months ago she’d barely ventured out of Granada, let alone Spain? And now she was in front of one of the most iconic fountains known to man, letting her mind wander yet again to the city that had once seemed like her saving grace, only to turn into a prison.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she gazed out over the centuries-old architecture. The bearded, muscular statue of Oceanus presided over the masterpiece. Horses leapt out of stone on either side. Two nude male figures led the beasts, one trying to tame the wilder of the horses, the other raising a conch shell to his lips. Water splashed from beneath Oceanus’s feet and tumbled down over three ledges before cascading into the massive pool filled with coins.
One coin tossed with your back to the fountain and you’ll return to Rome.
She smiled. Kess had told her the legend on their walk to the fountain.
Two coins and you’ll fall in love.
Antonio’s face as she’d last seen it, youthful and yet so mature and serious at the tender age of nineteen, appeared in her mind.
Three coins and you’ll be married soon.
Not a chance. She’d once dreamed of love, marriage, children. One day she’d circle back to that. But ever since she’d been let go from her job as a fashion buyer for a clothing retailer, she’d decided to finally stop existing and start living. The firing should have felt like a failure. But it had felt like a new beginning. Moving away from Granada, financing her own apartment in Paris for a year through a combination of her savings and a small inheritance, and finally picking back up the fashion design career she’d dreamed of in college. Granted, the portfolios she’d sent out the first half of the year had garnered almost no interest.
As angry as she was at Leo White, the fashion columnist, and how he’d used her, she did owe him one favor. He’d forced her to confront why her work wasn’t getting any attention. The anger at how he’d used her had also uncovered confidence she hadn’t even realized she possessed. Without his interference, the gold gown wouldn’t exist and she would have never set foot on that catwalk.
Another glance at Kess confirmed she was still conversing with her mom.
The exhaustion spread, dragging Anna’s shoulders down as she yawned. She’d flown into Rome last night, caught a few hours of sleep and dragged herself out of bed just after dawn. The thought of crawling into her cozy bed with its crisp sheets made her head droop.
But she wouldn’t leave Kess. Not after everything she’d done for her. She’d been the first person since Antonio to push her, tell her she could achieve something on her own like switching her degree from generic business to the passion her mother had instilled in her with trips to thrift stores and dressing up at home. She hadn’t recognized it at the time, but changing her degree against her aunt and uncle’s strongly worded advice had been her first step toward moving away from their heavy influence.
Not that her uncle Diego or any of the others back at Casa de Cabrera had meant to be so controlling or to hurt her. Her uncle, especially. He’d gained a child while losing his beloved baby sister in that car accident. She knew that, as she’d grown, it had pained him to look at her sometimes.
When she glanced in the mirror, she saw her mother, just as he did.
A light breeze whispered across her skin. She looked up again, taking in the exquisitely carved detail of the statues, lit up by the warm glow of spotlights. The lullaby of dancing water soothed the tension brought on by her hectic day.
Her eyes dropped once more to the coins winking at her from the fountain floor.
