‘That’s true,’ Ben murmured, thinking about his plans at work, how a building always needed the right roots. ‘Bricks shouldn’t move once you cement them in; unfortunately, people change and grow.’ Or they hid things from you and moved the goalposts so you didn’t know where you stood.
‘If the foundations are right, they can change together.’ Rose sighed again and the sound merged with the fan, joining with another shout from Aurora, creating a chorus of anguish that Ben didn’t know how to feel about.
Then his mobile beeped, alerting him that the battery was going flat.
He’d meant to charge it earlier, but he’d got distracted by the wine, Coco and then Rose’s visit. ‘Sorry that’s my phone,’ hesaid, patting the ground in the dark, searching for his charger which was already attached to the plug adapter and ready to use.
‘What are you going to do? You’ll need your mobile tomorrow,’ Rose asked, sounding worried as he found what he needed and plugged it into a socket that he’d spotted by the bed earlier.
‘It’s fine, all sorted.’ He lay back and heard Rose let out a sudden splutter of air.
‘I don’t believe it!’ She clicked on the lamp and Ben shielded his eyes from the light as he sat up and turned to face her. Rose was sitting up in bed staring at him, her eyes wide and burning with anger.
‘What is it?’ he asked as Coco woke too and began to growl.
Rose threw back her covers offering him a tantalising glimpse of bare leg before tramping around the bed and pointing to his charger. ‘You had one here all along.’ She folded her arms. ‘Why would you…’ She trailed off as her face transformed from confused to annoyed. ‘You didn’t want me to talk to Luna. That whole story you spun about Italy being romantic.’ Her jaw dropped and she shook her head, looking upset.
‘I—’ Ben blew out a breath, scratching a hand over his forehead. ‘It was just a white lie – all for a good cause.’ He winced, suddenly embarrassed – why did allocating an untruth a colour make it less of a betrayal? ‘I just thought it would be better if we waited until we were all together. I didn’t want you persuading Luna to postpone the wedding without Marco being there,’ he explained, trying to sound reasonable.
She glared at him, her eyes sparking pure fury. ‘Yet it’s okay for you to speak to Marco?’ she asked, her voice icy.
‘It’s not me who’s trying to cancel the wedding,’ he blurted, caught off guard and regretting the counter as soon as he said it.
Ben knew he’d said the wrong thing when Rose reared back and gave him a look of disgust.
‘And yet you seem so determined that it goes ahead,’ she shot back. ‘Why does it matter to you so much? Is there something about Marco you’re not telling me?’ The pitch of her voice had changed, grown fretful.
Aurora punctuated her words with another loud shout and Rose let out an angry hiss, before marching to the bathroom door and pulling it wide.
‘I think I’ll take my chances with the ghosts. It beats sharing a bedroom with a snake.’ she said before turning back to him and narrowing her eyes. ‘Looks can be deceiving. I’m not sure why I forgot that.’ Then she walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Ben stared at it for a moment wondering how trying to do the right thing for his friend had put him so firmly in the wrong – and more importantly, how he was ever going to get Rose to trust him again.
7
ROSE
Rose was furious. She’d let her guard down. Had begun to believe that perhaps Ben was a decent man, one that she could trust – but now it was clear he was her nemesis, right to the very marrow of his deceiving bones.
She’d kept her eyes shut for most of the journey to Bellemilia, refusing to communicate with him but responding to Aurora whenever she commented on the view or shared funny anecdotes from Aldo. It might have been childish – more like the way her parents sometimes behaved – but she couldn’t seem to help it around him. Forget the power of pheromones, Ben Pearson was more like her own personal kryptonite.
She was so disappointed.She’d begun to like him and that was something she rarely allowed herself to feel. Then again, it was probably for the best. They’d get there soon, and she couldn’t allow herself to lose focus even for one second. Luna’s future was on the line.
‘We’re here,’ Ben said, sounding relieved as he stopped the Citroën in front of a cream stone restaurant with a sign indicating they’d arrived at La Marina.
Pots of fragrant olive trees and barrels of pink hydrangea lined the large patio and steps leading up to the entrance. People were sitting at the wooden tables in the sunshine eating pizza, fresh salads and large plates of pasta, and Rose’s stomach grumbled as she got out of the car and caught a whiff of the delicious food.
There’d been no time for breakfast this morning, and the receptionist at the hotel had begged the chef to at least provide a picnic for Ben. But even a flash of Ben’s gorgeous smile hadn’t persuaded the chef, and Rose had briefly pondered what was wrong with him. She might not trust Ben, but that didn’t dim the power of his extraordinary good looks.
Through the entrance of the restaurant – which was framed by a rustic archway decorated with apricot pansies, magenta dahlias, and purple snapdragons – Rose could just make out a room filled with yet more chunky tables, chairs, shimmering glasses and sparkling cutlery. Soft music was playing, giving the buzzy restaurant an authentic and relaxing feel. Almost every seat was taken by a customer; most chatted or laughed while they tucked into the wine and food. She could feel the warm ambiance from where she was standing by the car and suddenly wished she was sitting inside.
She moved to the other side of the car and saw an open doorway leading to a terrace at the far end of the restaurant. A single empty table had been laid with glasses, plates and fresh cutlery. Knobbly, leafy trees hung over the table that would shade the patrons from the midday sun. Rose wondered if the table might have been set for them.
Luna suddenly bounced from the right of the entrance, followed by a dark-haired man wearing a navy suit.
‘We’ve been tracking you for hours!’ her friend exclaimed, tossing a strand of white-blonde hair from her oval face as she grabbed Rose and gave her an enthusiastic hug, beaming. ‘Onlyyou could take this long to get to my wedding,’ she teased, pulling away so she could look Rose up and down, her heart-shaped mouth pinching. ‘What are you wearing?’ she asked, her face a picture of confusion as she took in the azure dress Aurora had insisted Rose put on this morning. Since her cream linen trousers would need an act of God to get clean after Coco had trampled them, she hadn’t had much choice.
The dress was sparkly, with a long flowing skirt that she’d tripped over more than a couple of times. It had a low bodice that, because it was a little too big for her, exposed her collarbone and far more of her chest than she’d have liked. ‘You look stunning!’ Luna declared, hopping up and down, her delicate lace dress fluttering around her knees, as she took Rose in.
