‘No!’ she yelled as the trousers landed on the floor with the dog touching down on top. As if Coco knew how distressed Rose was, she began to trample on the material, driving it further into the dust.
‘She’s just playing,’ Aurora said indulgently as Rose bent to rescue her slacks.
‘She did it on purpose,’ she grumbled, grabbing Coco’s collar and moving her carefully so she could retrieve the trousers. ‘I’m going to have to wash them all over again.’ She examined the dirty material and whimpered.
Aurora swung Coco back into her arms. ‘Don’t worry,cara,’ she soothed. ‘I’ve got plenty more dresses in my suitcase that you can borrow.’
‘Well…okay…’ Rose swallowed.Dear God,she needed her suitcases to turn up now. She watched Ben wheel the spare around to the driver’s side, before checking her watch. They were going to be late and even when they did arrive, she’d be wearing an oversized, sparkly dress. It would take a miracle for her suit to be wearable for the party now. No one was going totake her seriously when her top started to fall off her shoulder or she tripped over her skirt.
Ben let out a sudden, loud curse. ‘The tyre’s flat!’
‘Which is why you’re changing it,’ Aurora said reasonably.
‘I mean the spare one is too.’ Ben sounded annoyed.
‘It can’t be,’ Rose stuttered, moving closer to Ben who was now prodding at a hole in the tyre with his finger. ‘We need to get help,’ she said.
Ben pulled his mobile from his pocket and frowned at the screen. ‘Do you have signal?’
‘I lost it when I was talking to my dad, but I’ll check.’ Rose went back to the car and collected her mobile from her bag, then her heart sank. ‘No.’
‘Do you have a phone?’ Ben checked with Aurora.
‘I don’t need one,cara,’ she said, hugging Coco.
‘Aldo doesn’t happen to have a direct line to whatever the Italian equivalent of the AA is, does he?’ Ben joked wearily.
‘No. But he suggested we walk. To the hotel.’ The older woman pointed to the narrow track leading away from them in the direction they’d been driving. ‘Hopefully, someone there will be able to help.’
Ben sighed before turning to Rose. ‘I don’t think we have much choice,’ he said, before going to pick up his bag.
‘Let me get some essentials from my suitcase!’ Aurora yelled, bolting to the car with Coco still under her arm. Then she retrieved her bag with the crystal ball and added a couple of clean dresses and some other bits.
Rose watched them as they began to walk and shook her head. This visit was turning into a disaster. They were going to miss the engagement party, and by the time they arrived, it would be harder than ever for her to convince Luna she was making a mistake…
5
BEN
‘I’m so sorry, there’s no one here to help with the car.’ The woman behind the counter of the hotel gazed at Ben adoringly before frowning at Rose and Aurora looking less than impressed. Then again, after an hour’s walk on a hot, dark and dusty road, he knew they all looked unkempt.
‘Well, when will someone be here to help?’ Rose grumbled.
‘He’ll be here,mattina– in the morning,’ the receptionist told her slowly, as if she were talking to an idiot, in a mixture of Italian and English.
‘Surely you have a number for somebody who can come now?’ Rose asked, dismissing the receptionist and turning as if she expected Ben to have a repairman on speed dial and glaring when he shrugged, making him choke down a chuckle.
She was so uptight; he’d never met anyone who needed to let go so much – and there was something about her that made him want to be the one who set her free.
Then again, he had a history of falling for the wrong women and he wasn’t going to do it again. He was all about casual these days, and Rose clearly wasn’t a woman who’d consider anythinglike that. She’d probably tie him up in rules before they were even allowed to kiss.
‘I’ve got the paperwork from the car,’ he told her. ‘I’ll start by calling someone from the hire company to see if they can help. Why don’t you both see if you can find us something to eat and drink while I try?’
Aurora nodded and Rose pursed her lips as he paced towards the front of the hotel with his mobile. When Ben returned ten minutes later, they were sitting in the reception area in round orange seats surrounding a coffee table, and there was a spare chair ready for him. On the floor, Coco was eating from the bowl Rose kept in her handbag.
‘The kitchen’s about to close, but they’re going to rustle us something up at astronomical expense,’ Rose told him, her mouth pinching into an unhappy line.
‘Rose isallarmante. Scary,’ Aunt A translated with a girlish grin. ‘The woman was unable to refuse her – which is good because Aldo tells me the chef here ismagnifico!’ She swished her glittery skirts as she crossed her legs, and chuckled when Rose pulled another face.
