It Takes Two (Italian Summer Book 1) (18 page)

Ava’s eyes met Nico’s.

“Come on,” said Nico, and put his arm on Carlos’s shoulder. “Leave Tori here, she’s sleeping. Let’s go into the gardens.” The two of them disappeared into the gardens.

Ava placed her hand over her swollen belly. “Gina, would you mind keeping an eye on Tori for a while?”

Gina nodded and pushed the stroller to her side of the desk.

“Let’s go into the office,” said Ava. “I need to hear this.” She already knew that whatever had happened, it was Rona’s fault.

“Lizzi’s in there,” said Rona, following after her and when Ava entered, sure enough, Lizzi was at her desk doing something on the laptop.

“Hi,” said Ava, surprised.

“Hi, Ava. Rona asked me to help out.” She explained.

“Sure,” said Ava, as though the events of this morning were commonplace and regular.

“Let’s go into Edmondo’s…into Nico’s office,” suggested Ava. She’d been vibrant and full of energy after her small break but ten minutes back at the hotel had her craving to be back there again, to lie in bed with Nico for hours and to talk about their future, their baby, their plans and their life together.

It had taken merely minutes for the effects of her mini-vacation to disintegrate.

She sat in Nico’s chair and put both over her hands over her belly. “You might as well start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

Rona stood with her arms folded. She looked deathly, with her hair scraped back into a ponytail; she looked naked without her signature big hair.

“The business didn’t suffer—I’m up to date with everything. I’ve even started a new spreadsheet for—”

Ava held up her hand. “Just tell me what happened. We can talk about the business later.”

Rona nibbled her lower lip. “Nothing happened,”

“Evidently the facts say otherwise.”

“Carlos punched a man.”

“So you both keep saying.” Ava’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “I want to know why and I want to know who he is.”

Rona appeared to consider the request, and let out a long, angry sigh. “His name is…Ruben Dametto.”

Ava shook her head, not recognizing the name or understanding what he had to do with Carlos. “Why would Carlos punch this man—this man that even I don’t know? I can’t imagine why Carlos would know him, let alone punch him.” But even as she said it, she had an inkling of the confession that was coming.

“Because he caught me and this man—Ruben, talking, more like arguing, in the parking lot.” Rona rolled her eyes upwards.

“You can’t be serious?” Asked Ava slowly. This was what she had feared it might be. “You were arguing because?”

“Because…because…this is going to sound worse than it is…”

“It already sounds bad enough to me.”

“I didn’t sleep with him,” protested Rona.

Ava’s face blanched. “I wasn’t even going to go there,” said Ava, shocked. “Were you going to sleep with him?”

“No!” Rona reacted violently. “What do you take me for?”

“I don’t think you’d want to know.” Sarcasm dripped from her tongue. Why, oh why did her sister not see and appreciate the saint of a husband she already had?

“I didn’t go looking for this. I didn’t want this.”

“And yet it happened to you anyway,” said Ava in a subdued voice. “Is he the reason you would leave Tori with Mom when you snuck out in the evenings the last time?”

Rona threw her hands into the air. “I didn’t sneak out.”

“Is he the reason?”

“Yes.” The admission struggled to come out of Rona’s mouth. Ava looked horrified.

“You told me nothing happened!”

Rona kept quiet.

Ava put her hands to her face, as though she’d seen an ugly truth for the first time. “This is all my fault,” she gasped.

“Your fault? What are you talking about?”

“I should never have called you over. I thought I was doing Mom a favor.”

“Mom? You thought you were doing Mom a favor?” shrieked Rona, her face ugly. “How?”

Realizing she’d said too much, Ava retracted her words. “Mom was worried about you. She said you seemed happier here. And…” she stopped herself before she made matters worse.

“I thought you called me over because you needed my help?”

“I did need your help. You can see I still need your help.” She could never tell Rona that another reason for calling her over had been to separate her and Kim. It didn’t matter now because Rona had been a great help anyway and things had worked out. Except for this huge mess that now threatened to break her and Carlos up.

“Carlos will think I encouraged this. You told me there was nothing going on during those times when you went to Gioberti’s.” Rona had lied to her, or evaded telling the truth. It was all the same in the end.

“I’m sorry. But nothing did happen. Nothing. We only talked.” Rona insisted.

Ava looked at her sister with uncertainty. Knowing the question was wrong she asked it anyway. “Did you and Gioberti…?”

“No! And I never did whatever it is you think I’ve done with anyone. It was just this one guy…”

“Ruben?” Ava checked, needing to make sure they were still talking about the same man. Her sister had a penchant for disguising the truth.

“I—” Rona closed her eyes. “I needed to get away. Things with me and Carlos haven’t been so great lately.”

Ava made a low noise before resting her head against the headrest. She couldn’t be responsible for things turning sour in her sister’s relationship. Rona never really appreciated what she had in Carlos but seeing Carlos’s face earlier Ava knew how much the man was hurting. The way he looked, she wasn’t so sure he was about to forgive his wife anytime soon, if at all.

“Shouldn’t you have tried to mend things with Carlos?”

“I did try.”

“Shouldn’t you have tried harder?” Ava asked. When Rona refused to say anything or look her way, Ava prompted. “Why did you think fooling around with Rupert might help?”

“His name is Ruben,” said Rona, looking at her sheepishly. “It’s not at all how you think it is.”

Ava pursed her lips. “Then tell me how it is. Tell me what makes you throw away a beautiful marriage and break up a family just because of this
Ruben
?”

“We’re not splitting up. What happened meant nothing. It was a stupid flirtation that got out of hand. It’s not what you’re thinking.” Rona’s face flushed scarlet with denial.

“Then tell me what it
is
. I can’t understand why you would feel the need to go out with another man while you have a husband. You’re married or had you forgotten that the moment you got on the plane?”

“I was lonely,”

“Lonely? That’s hardly an excuse. You could have watched TV, or read a book, or come and seen me and Nico, or played with Tori. You could have done anything but go out in the evenings craving the company of men who might get the wrong idea and think you’re nothing but a slut. Are you wearing your ring?” she snapped.

Rona held it up, almost like a middle finger.

“He knew I was married. I told him I was married. I didn’t hide it from him. He had split up with his girlfriend. In the beginning, the last time, I’d go to Gioberti’s just to be amongst people; to sit there and have an uninterrupted meal. And I got talking to Gioberti.”

“Gioberti is a flirt.”

“I know that. I steered clear of him.”

“Thank heaven you had some sense,” Ava mumbled.

Rona ignored her. “I saw Ruben there a few times. His brother works there—”

“He’s a waiter?”

“No,” replied Rona, testily. “His brother is.”

“One saving grace then.”

“It wasn’t a romance, it wasn’t love, it was…”

Ava watched and waited patiently.

“It was,” Rona placed her hands on the desk then hung her head. “It was the attention. And that he listened. It was friendly talk. We talked about Carlos, a little. He wanted to know why I was alone. You remember last time Carlos returned to Denver because they needed him at the restaurant?”

Of course she remembered.

“Ruben had just broken up with his girlfriend. We had a common thread and we would meet, eat and talk.”

“Did you keep in touch with him when you returned to Denver?”

“No, never, I swear.”

“And you ran into him the moment you arrived here?”

“I didn’t go anywhere in the beginning. I just needed to get away from Carlos, we were bickering all the time.”

“What about?”

Rona paused. “He worked harder than ever and he was always putting work first. He thought…he thought he needed to give me things…because he thought I looked at you and wasn’t content with what I had.”

“Me?” Ava moved her hands from her belly to the armrest. “Did you think that?”

“I’m happy for you. I really am,” Rona explained, wringing her hands together. “Nico’s a great guy and you couldn’t have found a more perfect guy. And everything else, the baby and the wedding, its all fallen into place for you.”

Was her sister jealous?

“All I had was the work you gave me—”

“And Tori, you have Tori, and you have Carlos too.”

“You don’t know what it’s like being married to someone who puts their work first. We see him in the morning for a while and then not until the rest of the day.”

“But he has a few days off—like most people.”

“And you have weekends!”

Not really
, thought Ava. Owning your own business meant never switching off that was why Nico had forced her to come away with him. There hadn’t been much to look at regarding the infinity pools and the other treatment rooms he’d claimed he wanted her input on. He’d been smarter than that—knowing she would have made excuses not to go. But it had been the best thing for her. And of course, it had helped knowing that Rona was looking after things while she was away.

But this—this huge mess—they hadn’t foreseen this. She would have to revisit her plans about having Rona stay on and keep an eye on things while she and Nico were on honeymoon.

There was no way that Rona could stay until September. She would have to leave with Carlos, assuming Carlos calmed down.

“Did you say Lizzi’s helping out?” Now there was an idea.

“What?” Rona looked up. “Yes, Carlos wanted to spend the day with Tori and I didn’t know what to do with Lizzi. I told her she could help me for today but that I would need to run it by you.”

“It’s an excellent idea.”

Rona raised an eyebrow. “It is?”

“You can train her up. She can help out. She’s studying at university, but it doesn’t open until late September. She can help me.”

“I can train her.” Rona seemed to warm to the idea and Ava decided now was not the time to tell her that she wouldn’t need her after the wedding.

“And then?”

“And then?” Rona seemed to struggle to keep up with Ava’s train of thought. “And then I ran into him one evening, a few weeks after I got here.” She told Ava how they met a few times and then she confessed to the kiss.

Ava’s eyes widened as she stared at her sister in disbelief. “You kissed him?” Rona’s face turned red as she wrapped her arms around her body.

“
He
kissed
me
.”

“It doesn’t mean who did what to whom,” quipped Ava. “You both kissed each other and you should have known better.”

Rona looked away, as though she wanted to run out of the door. “I knew it was wrong. I knew the moment it happened that it was wrong. You could say I should have known all along. Hindsight is a good thing but when you’re in it it’s not so clear-cut. I felt he was there for me when Carlos wasn’t.”

“Carlos was in another country, working his butt off,” Ava retorted.

Rona swallowed. “I know,” she said in a small voice. “I know. You don’t understand, it sounds…” She stared at her sister. “You won’t understand.”

“I won’t understand. Ever.” Ava shook her head and let out a deep sigh. “What a mess. Two weeks before my wedding.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ava placed her palms over her face, as though the energy had drained right out of her body.

“I’m going to make it up to Carlos,” Rona insisted.

“He looks as though he doesn’t want to know you.”

“Don’t worry about me and Carlos. You have lots going on right now. And you need to have another dress fitting.”

“That’s the least of my problems,” said Ava wearily. She sank her head back into the headrest and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t even know where to start. Even if I forgot all of this,” she nodded at Rona. “There is so much to do and I need to meet with Andrea at some point.”

“At some point you’re going to have to stop working, and make it to the church for your wedding.”

“At some point, you and Carlos need to sit down and sort out your issues. Especially before Mom gets here. I don’t want this bad atmosphere between you both when she’s here. She’s not feeling the best as it is and returning to Verona is always going to be hard for her.”

“The way Carlos has been, I’m not sure we’ll be able to put on a good face in time for your wedding.”

“Try,” Ava told her.

Chapter 28

“It makes me happy to see you here before the wedding,” Nico said as they walked out. “We were under the impression that you would only be here for a few days.”

They hovered around the pergola with their hands in their pockets letting the awkwardness of the recent showdown between him and Rona seep away.

“I’ve been working too hard to take any time off.”

“Ava said.”

“I missed them being away. I missed Tori.”

“It’s been a big help having Rona around. Ava takes too much on and it has become too much for her, though she’ll never admit to it.”

“It’s been great to see how things have turned around for her this year,” offered Carlos. “You’re the best thing to happen to her.”

“No,” said Nico, “She’s the best thing to happen to me.”

Carlos grimaced. How fresh the first pangs of love were. He still felt the same way about Rona now as he had the moment he’d fallen in love with her. It had taken just a moment…no longer…but to look at them now…

Nico nodded. “It’s good to have you here, having family surround you especially with the big day approaching, it means a lot to have you here.” Carlos scratched his head then kept his hand on the back of his neck, thinking things through. He hadn’t known Nico for too long and hadn’t really spent much time with him but maybe it was easier talking to someone he didn’t know about all of this. Yet it felt uncomfortable—this, spilling his guts about his relationship. Carlos was a private man and he didn’t feel too comfortable talking about his personal problems.