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‘How are you going to do that?’
He slid his hands around her waist. ‘This weekend. I’ll pick you up at seven o’ clock on Friday night. Bring a toothbrush.’
‘Sounds interesting.’ Greg was trying to charm her out of all her reservations. He wasn’t doing a bad job of it either. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Do you need to know?’
‘Yeah, I do.’ However much Jess was tempted to plunge into the exciting unknown with Greg, it still frightened her. It should frighten her. She had responsibilities now, and the tried and tested was always going to be preferable to the heady gamble that Greg offered. ‘I need to know where I’m going.’
He nodded. ‘Okay. We’re going to Rome.’ He quieted her protests with a finger across her lips. ‘You don’t have to do anything, it’s all arranged. I’ve got to go over there to see the new headquarters building on Saturday. I’m hoping we’ll have Sunday to ourselves.’
‘I don’t know, Greg.’ It sounded fabulous, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that Jess did. ‘Italy for the weekend?’
‘Is just the thing. We’ll stay at the house in Rome. You’ll love—’
‘Yes, I know. I’ll love the house in Rome.’ She should at least try to see his point of view, for everyone’s sake. And seeing Rome with Greg didn’t sound like too much of a hardship. ‘I’ll be able to make my own mind up about that at the weekend, won’t I?’
Something ignited, deep in those dark brown eyes. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. ‘Good. Thanks, Jess. I know things haven’t been great recently. I’ve been under a lot of pressure, and things have been complicated. Thanks for sticking by me.’
‘Isn’t that my line?’ She snuggled into him. She never got tired of his scent.
He chuckled. ‘Not really. You have all you need, Jess.’
It didn’t actually feel as if she was anywhere different. Since the car had picked her up at her flat, Jess had been shepherded through two airports at top speed and with the minimum of fuss, having had a good meal and a nap on the plane. She wasn’t sorry that she hadn’t had to struggle with airport officials and taxi drivers, or get lost in a foreign city, or study each coin as she counted it out of her purse. Somehow, though, in the absence of these inconveniences the house in Rome might just as well have been in any city in Europe.
They arrived in darkness. No chance to stop and see where she was as Greg caught her arm and hurried her inside. As he opened the front door, the car they’d come in slid away into the darkness. Jess imagined it would be back tomorrow to take them wherever they wanted to go. Greg opened the front door and picked up their weekend bags, ushering her inside.
She’d been half expecting an Italian version of the Victorian monstrosity he’d taken her to on their last weekend away. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Warm, clean lines that drew you in, past the graceful curved staircase, towards a kitchen that was stylish but also comfortable and unmistakeably designed for home cooking. A sitting room that didn’t just invite you to sit but demanded that you take your shoes off, make yourself at home and join in the conversation.
‘Rosa chose this house, didn’t she?’ The house bore none of the hallmarks of Greg’s father’s taste and all of the characteristics of his mother’s.
‘Yes. Is it that obvious?’
‘Yup.’
He looked around. ‘Yes, I suppose it is. Mum came over and chose the house and decorated it for him about ten years ago.’
‘So she never lived here?’
‘No. When she comes home she goes to Milan to be with her family.’ He caught Jess’s look and laughed. ‘I told you their relationship was complicated. They were always friends, even though they were divorced. In fact, I think their relationship worked better when they weren’t married.’
‘Fewer expectations?’
‘Yeah, I guess so. He wasn’t much good at being a father or a husband. Once you accepted that and stopped expecting him to be home for things like Christmas and birthdays, things got a great deal easier.’
Jess swallowed hard. All her fears encapsulated in one damning sentence. But Greg was different. Wasn’t he?
‘So do you like it?’ When Jess didn’t reply, he nudged her. ‘The house. Do you like it?’
‘It’s beautiful. Stunning, actually.’
He nodded, clearly pleased. ‘Thought you would. Want to see upstairs?’ The curve of his mouth was enough to chase everything else away for the moment.
‘Yes. Are you going to give me the in-depth tour?’
He flashed her an I-don’t-know-what-you-mean look. ‘Bathroom probably. Hallway… inevitably. Bedroom.’
‘Just one?’
