The Italians: Rico, Antonio and Giovanni: The Hidden Heart of Rico Rossi / The Moretti Seduction / The Boselli Bride

‘No, it’s charming,’ he said.

They wandered along to see the bronze Landseer lions guarding Nelson’s Column. ‘I like these, too. Very stately,’ he said with a smile.

‘We could go to the National, as we’re here,’ she said. ‘Or, as it’s a nice day, maybe we can walk by the river. There are usually street performers on the South Bank at weekends.’

‘It’s too nice to go indoors,’ he agreed.

Over on the South Bank, there were indeed the street performers she’d promised: living statues, jugglers, a contortionist, a man making balloon animals for children, and a string quartet in full evening dress playing Mozart.

There were also a crowd of artists, sketching caricatures and portraits of willing punters. He smiled. ‘They’re like the ones at the top of the Spanish Steps. Rome isn’t so very different from London.’ He gazed up at the London Eye. ‘That’s on our list, yes?’

‘Yes. I’m not sure whether to take you there by day or by night.’

‘We’ll do both.’ He gave her a wicked grin. ‘Seeing as I’m such a spoiled rich kid.’

She sighed. ‘I did apologise for that.’

‘I know. I’m angling for a kiss better.’

‘Oh, you fraud.’

‘Please?’ He batted his eyelashes at her. ‘Pretty please with sugar on it?’

How could she resist? This was a different side of Rico. A playboy, but not a selfish one. And she really, really liked this side of him. Though at the same time it made her nervous. Was this the real Rico? She couldn’t tell; and it worried her how easy it would be to let herself fall for him. How could she fall for him when she wasn’t sure she could trust him?

When he saw the children playing in the fountain installation, jumping the boundaries between each ‘room’ made from the fountain jets when they died down, he tugged at her hand. ‘Come on. That looks like fun.’

‘I’m not sure if there’s a set rotation of the walls or if it’s random,’ she said.

He watched the walls of water for a while. ‘Random. Which is more fun. Your choice which way we jump—now!’

She picked the wrong one, and they both got soaked as the water rose up between the grids. Rico simply laughed and kissed her.

‘Typical Roman boy—can’t resist the fountains,’ she teased.

They lay on the grass in Jubilee Gardens to dry out, enjoying the early summer sunshine. ‘Do you like Chinese food?’ she asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Good—we’ll eat in Chinatown tonight.’

He smiled. ‘I love it when you go all bossy on me.’

She coughed. ‘Isn’t that a bit pots and kettles?’

‘A bit what?’

‘Pots and kettles.’ She flapped an apologetic hand at him. ‘Sorry, your English is so good that I forget you might not know all the idioms. It’s a saying, “the pot calling the kettle black”—because they were both covered in soot. Or were, in the days when people cooked over an open fire,’ she explained.

‘Hypocritical, you mean. As in me calling you bossy when I’m just as bad.’

‘Yes.’

He leaned over and kissed her until she was dizzy. ‘If we weren’t in a public place, I’d show you just how bossy I can be,’ he whispered.

He’d actually made her forget where they were. And that people were all round them—people who could see him kissing her so passionately, and the way she responded to him. Colour rushed into her face, and he laughed. ‘I love the way you blush. You’re so cute, Ella bellezza. And you’re like nobody else I’ve ever met.’

‘I hope that’s meant in a nice way.’

‘Yes.’ And Rico was surprised by how much he was enjoying Ella’s company. He could relax with her, be himself, act on crazy impulses and play in a fountain with her—and she didn’t complain that her hair was ruined or sulk about getting splashed. He was enjoying himself more than he had in years.

Yet, at the same time, it made him panic. It would be, oh, so easy to fall for Ella Chandler. To be hers for the taking.

But what if, once he let her that close, he wasn’t enough for her? Just as he hadn’t been enough for his parents. Just as he wasn’t enough for his grandparents.

He’d never really loved anyone. And maybe he never would be able to love someone the way that Ella would want to be loved. Maybe it just wasn’t in him.

‘Come on, bellezza. You’re supposed to be showing me round London.’ And he needed serious distraction from his thoughts. The best way to distract himself would be to carry Ella to his bed—sex always worked—but he’d promised not to rush her. And he had a nasty feeling that sex was different with Ella because she was something special.

Exactly the opposite of what he’d been trying to prove to himself.

They continued their tour of London; in the evening, she took him to a restaurant in Chinatown. The incredibly abrupt waiter waved them downstairs, where another waiter sat them on a large table with several complete strangers, then banged down a pot of jasmine tea and two handleless cups in front of them.

‘The service here won’t have the finesse you’re used to,’ she said, ‘but I promise the food makes up for it. They do the best crispy duck in London.’

‘It’s an experience, I’ll give you that,’ Rico said with a grin.

‘And we’re going halves on the bill. Equals, remember.’

‘Sì, signorina.’ He dipped his head and gave her a deferential look. She rolled her eyes and punched his arm, and he just laughed.

After their meal, they wandered back through Leicester Square.

‘I don’t know if I dare suggest stopping here for an ice cream. Not when Italian ice cream is the best in the world,’ Ella said, looking longingly in the window of one of the ice-cream shops.

‘If you want an ice cream, bellezza, that’s fine. Though I’ll pass, because I happen to know there’s a cupcake with my name on it in your fridge and I want to make sure I can do it justice.’

They caught the DLR back to Greenwich, and she produced the cupcake from the fridge. ‘Enjoy.’

He savoured every mouthful. ‘I’m seriously thinking about kidnapping you and making you my personal pastry chef.’

‘So I’d cook at your whim?’

‘No. You can cook whatever and whenever you like. Your pleasure will be mine.’

It was suddenly hard to breathe, because she knew he wasn’t just talking about food. And he had a point. She got a real kick out of pleasing him; and it was entirely mutual.

As if he guessed at her thoughts, he drew her towards him. He kissed her until she forgot what day it was, then brought her to an incredibly intense climax before taking it much more slowly and doing it all over again.