Expecting The Fellani Heir

His car was waiting below, with a smartly dressed chauffeur in attendance. He opened a rear door, bowing to Ellie.

‘Take us to the Venere,’ Leonizio told him.

Ellie gave him a quick startled glance.

‘Is that the Venere Hotel, near the Colosseum?’ she asked.

‘Yes. It’s got a fine restaurant. You know it?’

‘I’ve heard of it,’ she said.

Lelia, her Italian grandmother, had worked in the Venere and had described it as one of the most luxurious places in Rome. It would be fascinating to see it now, Ellie thought.

She understood its reputation as soon as they arrived. The building looked as though it had once been a palace. Inside, a waiter greeted them and led them to a table by the window, from which she could see the Colosseum, the huge amphitheatre built nearly two thousand years ago.

‘It’s eerie,’ she mused. ‘Once people crowded there for the pleasure of seeing victims fed to the lions. Now the tourists go because it’s beautiful and fascinating. And maybe we’ve all got somebody we’d like to see fed to the lions.’

‘You wouldn’t be aiming that at me, would you?’ he queried.

‘I’m not sure,’ she said. ‘I’ll let you know when I’ve decided.’

‘Well, I can’t say I haven’t been warned.’

‘Right. I can be a real pain in the neck. You’ll probably be glad to be rid of me.’

‘Forget it. There’s no way you’ll escape.’

She gave him a teasing smile. ‘Surely you don’t want a woman who’s a pestiferous nuisance?’

He returned the smile. ‘I might. They can often be the most fun.’

He held out his hand and she shook it. ‘As long as we understand each other,’ she said.

‘Perhaps we always did.’

‘No, I don’t think we ever did.’

While he was considering this a waiter approached with a menu, which he gave to Ellie.

‘Need any help?’ Leonizio asked.

‘I can manage the Italian but I’ll need you to explain the food to me. What’s Coda all Vaccinara?’

‘Stewed oxtail in tomato sauce,’ Leonizio told her.

‘It sounds nice. I’d like to have some.’

‘May I suggest the Frascati wine to go with it, signorina?’ the waiter said.

‘No,’ Leonizio said at once. ‘Sparkling water for the lady. No alcohol.’

‘And for you, signore?’

‘I’ll have the Frascati.’

When the waiter had retired, Leonizio said, ‘I know you can’t drink wine while you’re pregnant.’

She didn’t reply and after a moment he demanded, ‘Why are you glaring at me?’

‘I’m not.’

‘Yes, you are. You’d like to thump me.’

‘That’s very perceptive of you. All right, the way you made that decision without consulting me makes me think a good thump might be satisfying.’

‘You do me an injustice. I paid you the compliment of assuming that you would already have made the sensible decision. You’re such an efficient, businesslike person that—’

‘All right, all right. You can stop there. You always know what to say, don’t you?’

He gave her a cheerful grin. ‘Luckily for me, yes. With some combatants it’s a useful skill.’

‘Is that what we are? Combatants?’

‘Not all the time. But it’s something that’s going to crop up now and then.’

‘Now and then. I suppose that’s true.’

‘And while we can have an evening out like this, we can relax together and find a way to solve the problem.’

His tone was friendly, but a man working at a business arrangement might have spoken in just this way, she thought.

‘How are you feeling now?’ he asked.

‘Fine. That rest did me good. Now I’m in the mood to enjoy myself.’

‘You’re all right after what I put you through?’

‘You mean when you got so upset because I wasn’t there? I’m sorry for the whole thing. It must have been terrible for you, feeling like you were reliving the past.’

He nodded. ‘It was exactly the same. I came home one day and she’d gone. She didn’t leave a note. I was left to wonder until an email arrived the next day.

‘Yes. Coming back to an empty house is something I don’t cope with very well.’ He gave a brief self-mocking laugh. ‘I remember telling you that we should discover things about each other. Well, that’s something you’ve discovered. Perhaps you should take warning.’

‘I’ve already had plenty to warn me, and there’s nothing I can’t cope with. Beware. This lioness has claws.’

‘Well, I know that. They left a few scratches on me when we were together.’

She drew a sharp breath. His words brought back the memory of the time she had spent in his arms, overcome by a physical excitement she’d never known before. Bereft of all self-control, she had clutched him in a fever of desire that it shocked her to remember now.