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‘Buongiorno!’ Aurora greeted them warmly as she disarmed the security system and let them in. And as she led them up the grand stairs she learned a little more about Nico’s home.
It was a heritage building, they said, and the balcony inspection was just routine.
There was nothing routine about Nico, Aurora thought.
His bedroom was exactly as it had been the last time she had seen it, with not a thing out of place.
Except for Aurora!
She was a little unsure of her place.
In Silibri, she would have put on coffee for the men, and then gone to chat with them as they worked.
But of course she was not at home, so she hovered in the main bedroom as the men inspected the balcony.
It took mere minutes.
‘Completato,’ the older man said.
‘You’re finished?’
‘Sì.’
It really had been a routine check.
Aurora saw them out and then went back upstairs and locked the French doors. She took out her phone to call the driver to come and take her back to the hotel.
Except she didn’t make the call.
Instead she stood in his bedroom for what was undoubtedly the last time. The coffered ceiling was a work of art, and she looked at the intricate engravings and wondered if Nico lay on the vast bed pondering how such art had been crafted and by whom.
Or did he lie with the drapes open at night and look out to Rome and Villa Borghese Park? Aurora wondered.
Or was he too busy when he was in bed?
Of all the regrets she had—and there were many where Nico was concerned—her biggest regret was Monday night.
Despite her promise to be aloof and professional, despite her promise to herself to get over him, it was the closest they had ever been.
Two people sharing a drink and conversation.
He had told her he loved his father, and that had been a revelation in itself. And he had been about to kiss her, Aurora was sure.
And take her to bed too.
Her body and her heart had wanted him to, yet foolish pride and her determination to put him behind her had told her no.
She wasn’t snooping, Aurora told herself as she wandered around the stunning room. Of course she wasn’t.
She was merely checking that everything was in order for Nico’s return, just as his PA surely would.
She walked to his bedside and saw the small shelf of books that was beside it. Leafing her way through them, she frowned when she saw they were all books on productivity and increasing focus.
‘Nico, how do you relax with this?’ she asked out loud.
And then Aurora smiled and reached into her bag—not for her phone, but for the sexy romance she was currently reading. She would slip it into his reading pile, and even if he didn’t want her she would spice up one of his nights, somehow!
But she hadn’t finished reading it herself yet.
