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“I’m waiting on Kess.”
“Actually, you’re not.” He had the good grace to look slightly abashed. “I roped her into my plan. She’s working tonight.”
Anna looked skyward. Her friend meant well. But right now she’d love nothing more than to strangle Kess and her romantic tendencies.
“Ten minutes, Anna. Ten minutes and, if at the end, you never want to see me again, I promise to never contact you.”
She’d found herself at so many crossroads lately. Making decisions and taking risks had proved to be mostly beneficial, but sometimes it was utterly exhausting. Part of her wanted to turn around, go back up to her hotel room, crawl beneath the covers and cry.
But if she didn’t take this risk, she knew a part of her would always wonder.
Her fingers settled in his. Her breath hissed out between her teeth at the electricity that arced between them. He brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles that made warmth pool between her thighs.
Perhaps this is a bad idea.
Before she could ruminate on that, he tugged her forward. She swung a leg over and sat on the little seat behind him. He handed her a helmet. As soon as she had it buckled on, he reached back for her hand once more.
“Put your arms around me.”
Did he have to sound so seductive? She leaned forward, her arms slowly wrapping around his waist, doing her best to ignore how good his body felt, how familiar and comforting his scent was.
And then they were off, cruising along the streets of Rome, cafés and shops flashing past as light spilled forth from their windows.
“The first time you told me you loved me,” he said over his shoulder, his voice slightly raised so he could be heard, “it was three days after I got into a car accident.”
Her arms tightened around him. She’d suspected as much, but to hear it spoken out loud made her heart ache for him. More questions arose, but she bit them back.
“William Tomàs was in the car. He was hurt very badly.” Guilt and grief made his voice heavy and tightened the muscles in his back. She wanted to rub her hands over him, soothe the pain away as her heart broke for the young man who had nearly lost a friend. “We were up on the mountain, going to a party. I was driving too fast, lost control of the wheel and wrapped the car around the tree. I wasn’t hurt, but William was. By some terrible twist of fate, the ambulances were all engaged for a big wreck in Granada and wouldn’t have made it in time. I called Adrian, who by some miracle was at home. He and Alejandro drove up, took William and me to the hospital.” His voice dropped so low, she could barely hear his next words as he turned onto a little side street. “You saw the cane. That’s because of me.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He kept one hand on the handlebars of the scooter, but another came down to rest on her hands clasped around his waist. A gentle squeeze and then he resumed.
“I was torn up about you. After the picnic, I wanted you. Physically. It’s why I went to the party, to distract myself because I didn’t know what to do. I was nineteen. I didn’t think I wanted to get married or have kids. But I knew you did and, to enter into a relationship with my friend who did want those things when all I could think about was sex, seemed so cruel. And after William’s accident, I felt...toxic. I’d always been the good one, doing the right thing. The one time I deviated from being the good son, and I nearly got my best friend killed.”
She started to say something, to reassure him. He must have sensed it, because he glanced over his shoulder and held up a hand. “It’s hard for me to talk about this. I need to get it all out, and then I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”
She nodded. She had no idea where this conversation was going, how it would end. So she gave in to temptation and let her head drop against his back, her cheek rubbing against the cozy warmth of his blazer.
“After the accident, the physical desire I felt for you seemed even more wrong. Crude. You were so beautiful and pure and innocent, and I felt like a murderer.”
The tears spilled forth and dampened the back of his coat. Her heart ached. Why hadn’t he just told her? Even if he hadn’t returned her romantic feelings, she would have been there for him. As a friend. Had he truly not trusted her?
As if he could read her mind, he said, “I withdrew from everyone after that. My mother, my brothers. I felt so guilty for what happened to William, humiliated that I had prided myself on being the good son only to go and do something so stupid that rivaled anything Adrian or Alejandro had done. And I started to live my life very rigidly after that. I never drove. No play. No fun. No exceptions.”
The scooter slowed. She lifted her head just as the Trevi Fountain came into view. Antonio parked the scooter next to a building, helped her off and set their helmets on the back of the scooter. Even with the barrier of her gloves, the warmth from his hand seeped through. She followed as he tugged her toward the fountain, the surrounding plaza mostly deserted. The ramifications of what he’d done, operating a vehicle for the first time in ten years, hit her and fanned the flames of her hope.
“And then you landed in my lap, Anna.” His hand came up, faltered, then slowly settled on her cheek, cupping her face with an exquisite tenderness. “Still joyful, innocent. And yet so strong. The desire was still there. The friendship was still there. But something new was, too.”
Her breath hitched at the emotion brimming in his mahogany eyes. She wanted to believe it, wanted so badly to think it was possible, but did she dare?
“Love, Anna.” He leaned down, pausing to see if she would turn away. When she didn’t, he pressed his forehead to hers, his breath coming out in a rush. “I fell in love with you. I fell in love and I was so consumed with the past, with seeing myself as unworthy of love and too selfish to deserve someone like you.”
Her eyes drifted shut, tears clinging to her lashes. “I thought you didn’t love me.”
“Open your eyes.”
She did, her lips trembling at what she saw on his face.
