10
ROSE
The village of Bellemilia was small and quaint. Multiple shops, a bakery, two restaurants, a bar and church were all positioned on a long main road following the dip of a wide valley, which was surrounded by emerald wooded hillsides. The road was cobbled, but trees had been positioned at intervals along the pavements to shade visitors from the hot sunshine. Rose almost tripped on the uneven pathway as she spotted a shop named,Elegante,which had two mannequins in the window dressed in stylish, expensive-looking clothes. ‘Is that it?’ she asked, feeling hopeful.
‘That’s the one,’ Ben said.
‘Have you been here before?’ Rose asked.
‘Once, a long time ago.’ Ben’s expression shuttered and he turned and marched through the doorway before Rose could ask more. Looking mournful, he waited for her just inside. Had he had an embarrassing fling with one of the retail assistants that he didn’t want to talk about?
It was cool in the shop and Rose took a moment to enjoy the air conditioning, trying to discreetly flap the neckline of Aurora’s dress to let in cool air as she scoured her surroundings. There were racks of clothing set along both of the main walls, withsmaller stands and tables positioned at intervals in between. Rose saw handbags, shoes, dresses, T-shirts, costume jewellery, trousers, swimwear and jeans. Towards the back of the store, she spotted a selection of underwear and nightwear and wanted to cheer. She appreciated Aurora’s kindness but had missed being able to dress in plainer and more elegant clothes.
‘You don’t need to stay. I can take it from here.’ Rose waved at Ben, hoping he’d take the opportunity to leave.
An older woman dressed in a bright red trouser suit appeared from the back room, her face lighting when she spotted them. ‘Ben!’ she said in a thick Italian accent, managing to sound both sexy and businesslike. Was anyone immune to this man’s charms, aside from her?
‘It’s been a long time.’ The woman skipped across the floor in a pair of heels that would have made Rose dizzy, and wrapped him in her arms. She was tiny but somehow managed to envelope him. Was this another of Ben’s exes? Rose just stopped herself from shaking her head in irritation. Exactly how many lovers did one man need? According to her father, dozens and sometimes all at once…Was Ben cut from the same cloth?
‘How are you?’ The woman pulled away so she could look up into Ben’s face. ‘That bad?’ she asked, her voice filled with sympathy which made Rose pause.
Why would anyone feel sorry for him, was he having a bad eyebrow day or something?
‘It’s been a busy few days,’ he said gruffly. ‘More importantly how are you?’ He flashed her one of his trademark smiles and Rose stopped worrying. The flirt was back, the world was revolving back on its axis.
‘I’ve become anonnasince I last saw you,’ the woman gushed. ‘I’ll be at the party tonight, so I’ll bore you about ourbambinalater. I will show you pictures, and you will tell me how beautiful she is and how you can’t wait to have at least four ofyour own. I insist.’ She laughed aloud when Ben paled and shook his head.
‘You know that’s not part of my future,’ he muttered.
‘Isn’t it?’ The woman raised an eyebrow. ‘Who’s this?’She turned and cocked her head, her eyes lively with interest, as she noticed Rose. Now they were facing, Rose could see she was older than she’d first thought – perhaps in her late fifties – although her elegant clothes and perfect figure made her seem younger than her years. ‘La fidanzata?’
‘She’s not my girlfriend.’ Ben snorted. ‘More like my arch-nemesis. Think Captain Hook and Peter Pan.’
‘You’re Peter Pan in this scenario I suppose?’ Rose asked dryly. ‘Never grew up, adored by women everywhere. I could go on…’
‘Does that make you Wendy?’ Ben teased.
‘Ah! I see.’ The woman looked between them and grinned. ‘These are the most passionate types of relationship. I once—’ She stopped and pressed a fingertip to her lips, her smile enigmatic. ‘Perhaps you don’t need to know the details.’ She gave Rose a half smile as she looked her up and down critically, her eyes widening as she took in Aurora’s dress. ‘You work with Aurora Gallo and have recently shrunk and lost some weight?’ she guessed.
‘No!’ Rose stepped closer. ‘My luggage went missing on my flight to Italy, so I had to borrow her clothes. I’m going to need a new wardrobe.’ She scoured the shop. ‘Do you have any cream linen suits?’
The woman choked. ‘I’m Madame Francesca Rossi. I once dressed the stars. I think we can do better than that. You!’ She snapped a finger at Ben who was still standing beside the door. ‘Why don’t you take a seat,bello? You know where it is.’
‘I’d rather go to a bar,’ he pleaded. ‘I’m sure it would be better if I got out of your way.’
‘He doesn’t need to stay,’ Rose agreed firmly. ‘I can make my own decisions about my wardrobe.’
‘But where will we get our male perspective from?’ Madame Rossi asked, prodding a chic red fingernail towards Ben and then at the grey sofa outside the changing room. ‘Sit!’
Ben gave Rose a thoughtful look. ‘I’m more afraid of her,’ he whispered as he walked to where Francesca had pointed.
‘Then I’ll have to work harder on being scary,’ Rose shot back. ‘We don’t need him,’ she insisted as the older woman began to wander around the shop, scooping up various pieces in multiple colours.
‘From the look of that outfit, I’d say you need all the help you can get,’ Francesca joked.
‘I told you, it’s not my dress,’ Rose insisted. ‘Are you sure you don’t have anything in cream?’ she checked, feeling a little nervous now. She was used to being in control, but somehow this situation was getting the better of her.
Madame Rossi gave her a sympathetic look. ‘You fit a forty,si?’ she checked, her eyes scouring Aurora’s dress. ‘I think that is more of a forty-two.’
