Bruno glanced momentarily at Theo. Trish wasn’t sure what the look meant until Theo said, “The hotel has some beautiful gardens. I’d like to show you my favorite.”
Now Trish understood. Bruno’s message was clear: “Do something, I want to be alone with Sally.”
Trish slanted a sideways glance at her friend. The gleam in Sally’s eyes told her Sally was as eager to get rid of her as Bruno was to get rid of Theo.
“A walk would be nice,” Trish agreed.
Theo rested his hand on her back, guiding her across the outdoor dining area to a stone pathway. They’d only walked about ten feet when they came to a set of steps made out of rock. When she stepped forward, Theo’s hand closed around her arm.
“These are steep,” he warned.
“Not for the faint of heart,” Trish said, taking each step carefully. The sun warmed her and the sweet scent of flowers filled the air. A hint of a breeze caressed her cheek.
“This is a perfect day,” Trish said finally, when they both stood at the bottom of the steps.
He gazed at her for a long moment. “Your hair looks very red in the light.”
Trish gave a little laugh. “Gee, thanks.”
“I meant it as a compliment,” Theo said. “I like the coppery color…especially on you.”
There was something different about Theo today, Trish decided. He seemed less stressed, more like a person on vacation. This was the opportunity she’d been hoping for, a chance to explain and ask for forgiveness.
“There’s something I need to say.” Trish turned and faced Theo.
His shoulders tensed. “If it’s about the contract”
“It is”
“I’m not changing”
“I want to apologize.”
“my mind.” Theo paused. “What did you say?”
Trish clasped her hands together to still their trembling. Who knew two little words could be so difficult?
“I’m sorry,” Trish said. “I didn’t know that Elias Stamos was your father the other last night. Or that this whole contract thing was part of some family disagreement. Believe me, if I
had
known I’d have refused to ask, no matter what it cost me. I”
Theo was frowning.
“Okay, maybe I still would have asked,” Trish said, a tiny smile quirking her lips. “But I would have approached it from a different angle.”
“He threatened you?”
Trish was startled. “Threatened?”
Theo studied her closely. “You said it would have cost you.”
Trish hesitated, but she knew she was only delaying the inevitable. Theo wasn’t going to accept her apology without an explanation. “Stamos made noises like he might cancel my company contracts if you didn’t sign,” she said quickly, the words tumbling out. “But I’m sure he’d have reconsidered. Holding me accountable for a decision that wasn’t mine to make would hardly be fair.”
Even to her ears Trish didn’t sound very convincing, but she knew she’d only make it worse if she said more.
“It wouldn’t be fair,” Theo murmured, almost to himself. He shook his head before his clear-eyed gaze met hers. “Apology accepted.”
“Okay, then.” Trish expelled the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Impulsively she stuck out her hand. “Friends?”
For a second he looked taken aback, but his hand closed over hers. “Friends.”
He didn’t immediately pull away as she’d expected, and instant heat pulsed through her, followed quickly by goose bumps over her skin. But before she could do something incredibly foolish and risk the tentative friendship they’d just forged, Trish slid her hand from his. “How far is it to the garden?”
She could feel Theo’s eyes on her but she refused to look his way. “Around the next bend.”
He resumed walking and she fell into step beside him. When he slowed to a stop in front of the garden, Trish’s breath caught in her throat.
An explosion of color assaulted her senses. Flowers of every shape and size were in full bloom and she realized that the seductively sweet scent that had teased her nostrils earlier had come from this beautiful area.
Impulsively she leaned over and fingered the silky petals of a purple flower. “It’s like the Garden of Eden.”
“Bruno’s wife designed it,” Theo said.
Trish stilled then slowly straightened. “Bruno is married?”
Hot anger twisted her stomach into a knot. She’d heard Italian men were notorious womanizers. But she couldn’t believe the man had the audacity to flirt so shamelessly with Sally…with his staff watching…under the same roof as his wife. And Theo had known…
“How could you not tell me? Your friend has a
wife
.” Her voice trembled with barely restrained fury. “Yet he’s in the dining room right now flirting with Sally. You call that acceptable behavior?”
Her voice had risen and turned shrill but Trish didn’t care. If she had a hot button, it was infidelity.
“Bruno’s wife is dead,” Theo said quietly. “Sophia died in a car accident two years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Trish said, feeling like a fool…again. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“I understand wanting to protect a friend.”
“It’s not just that,” Trish said. “In my mind someone who cheats is the lowest of the low.”
Theo stared at her for a long moment. “He cheated on you.”
“What?”
“Your ex-husband,” Theo said, his eyes dark and watchful. “He was unfaithful.”
Trish raised a hand. “I don’t really want to” she began then stopped herself. Why was she covering for Steven? “Yes, he cheated on me.”
Theo stepped forward and tipped her chin up with his finger. “He was a fool.”
For a long moment her eyes locked with his. The air grew thick and the chirping birds and buzz of bees faded into nothingness. A strange electricity filled the air and Trish began to wonder if you really could drown in someone’s eyes.
When his head began to lower, Trish held her breath. She didn’t know if what she was about to do was a smart thing or not. She only knew she couldn’t move, didn’t want to move.
His lips were mere inches away when his cell phone rang. It wasn’t a song like the ring tone she used, but a shrill, irritating sound that demanded attention.
Theo jerked back and Trish swallowed a cry of disappointment.
Pressing his lips together, Theo flipped open the phone. When he spoke it was in Italian, and Trish could only understand every third or fourth word.
Theo snapped the phone shut. “It was Bruno. They want us back at the hotel to discuss some important plans.”
“We’d better go then,” Trish said with a bright smile. She didn’t give Theo a chance to say anything, she just turned and headed for the stairs, telling herself she should be grateful the call had come when it did. The trouble was she didn’t feel grateful.
Theo cupped her elbow with his hand when she paused at the bottom of the steps.
Trish climbed the steep incline, knowing her unsteadiness had far more to do with Theo’s touch than wobbly shoes on narrow steps. Only with Herculean effort did she manage to cover the last few feet to the back patio without collapsing into a mass of quivering jelly.
Sally was waiting when she got to the outdoor dining area. “Bruno has the motorbikes all ready. Where have you two been?”
“Motorcycles?” Trish took a step back, bumping into Theo. Her father had been seriously injured on a motorcycle when she was a small girl. Trish still remembered going up to the hospital to see him. “I’m not getting on one.”
“These are not motorcycles,” Bruno said. “They’re Vespa motorbikes, scooters.”
“I don’t care,” Trish insisted. “Count me out.”
“C’mon, Trish,” Sally said. “It’ll be fun.”
Trish crossed her arms over her chest. “You remember how long it took my father to recover from that accident. I’m not doing it, Sally. End of story.”
Trish saw Theo and Bruno exchange glances.
“Trish, I really want to do this,” Sally said, not giving up. “Bruno says there are some great places we can explore on the bikes.”
“I didn’t say that
you
can’t go. I’m just not going to do it myself.”
“I have an idea,” Theo said. “How about if Trish and I take the rental car and check out the street market while you and Sally take the motorbikes for a spin. We can meet up back at the dock.”
“No,” Trish objected. “You go with your friend. He’s the one you came to see. Please, don’t spoil your fun because of me.”
Theo took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I spent the morning with Bruno. I want to spend the rest of the day with you.”
“If you’re sure…” Trish said.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
CHAPTER TEN
“G
REEKS FOUNDED
the city of Naples in the seventh century,
B
.
C
.” Theo whipped the tiny Smart car into a miniscule parking place on the city street, relieved it fit into the small space with room to spare. “In fact the ancient design of the city still exists and can be seen today.”
Back in the garden, he’d almost let the moment override his good sense. Though he hadn’t appreciated the interruption at the time, he was now glad Bruno had called. He’d wanted to show Trish a good time today, and kissing her could have ruined the fragile truce between them.
“Three long parallel streets cross the center of Naples, with a series of small, narrow streets connecting them.” Theo pulled the key from the ignition, dropped it into his pocket and reached for the door handle. “Wait. I’ll open the door for you.”
“I can do”
But Theo was out of the car and around it before she had a chance to finish. His grandmother had taught him from a young age what it meant to be a gentleman.
“Thank you, Theo.” Trish took his hand and stepped out of the car. Once on the sidewalk she turned completely around, taking it all in. “So many people in such a small area.”
“Space is at a premium.” The narrow street was crowded with vendors selling everything from shoes to fresh fruit and flowers.
“I’m glad you suggested coming here,” Trish said, excitement in her voice.
He gestured toward the vendors lining the streets. “Shall we check them out?”
But Trish hesitated. “Are you sure Gladys is going to be okay?”
Theo couldn’t help but chuckle at the name she’d given the car on the short drive down the hill. “Gladys will be fine.”
“If Sally and Bruno hadn’t decided to meet us at the dock, we would have had to call a cab to take us back to the ship.” Trish glanced at the bright red vehicle. “The three of us would never have fit in her.”
“We would have figured out something,” Theo began.
“Look,” Trish exclaimed, pulling him forward. “Shopping carts full of shoes.”
Though metal carts filled with leather loafers had never held much appeal, Theo found her enthusiasm contagious. “Just remember,” he teased, “Gladys can’t hold more than a few dozen pairs.”
“Ha, ha,” she said, before turning her attention to the shoes. But then, as if realizing she’d forgotten something, she reached out and grabbed Theo’s hand, pulling him to her side. “Help me look. I wear size thirty-six.”
She looked so beautiful with the sun shining down on her coppery hair. An unexpected warmth rose up inside him and Theo decided shopping for shoes might not be quite so boring after all.
He’d just picked up a pair of sandals when his phone rang. It was a standard tone, very similar to the one that had announced Bruno’s call. He recognized it immediately and it was all he could do not to groan.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” Trish asked. “It could be Bruno.”
He could have explained that it was his mother, the last person he wanted to converse with on a beautiful summer day. But that would lead to questions. It seemed simpler to just answer the call. Theo flipped open the phone and switched to Greek. “Hello, Mother.”
“Theo, what’s that noise in the background? Where are you?”
“Naples,” he said. “At the street market.”
“In Naples?” Her voice rose. “What are you doing in Italy?”
His mother had been known to go months without talking to him. But once she’d learned Katherine Stamos had contacted him, Tasia had suddenly become interested in his every move.
“I’m visiting Bruno,” Theo said, picking a reason that wouldn’t prompt too many questions. “You remember Bruno Tucci, my friend from college.”
“Of course,” Tasia said smoothly. “Give him my regards.”
“I’ll do that.” Theo paused and waited for her to get to the real reason she’d called.
“You were supposed to phone me after your meeting with those women,” she said. “I haven’t heard from you.”