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l’ho
trovata?”
    “Senz’altro!
Si!”
    Luca laughed
and pulled the odd man in for a quick bear hug.
    “What did he
say?” Riella whispered when Luca took a step back to stand by her
side.
    “He’s happy
that I found the right woman.”
    Riella frowned
as she thought it through. “Do Italians always say very little
using a lot of words?”
    Luca laughed.
“He said he never thought I’d find the right one. I asked him if he
thought I did.”
    “And he
said?”
    “He thinks
you’re perfect. Now let him have a hug, or we’ll never get a moment
to ourselves.”
    Riella smiled
uncertainly and allowed the little man to take her hand and peck
the back of it while introducing himself. “Orazio. Incantato.”
    “Orazio,” she
repeated the strange name weakly while he pulled her in for a hug,
his arms circling her tighter than iron bars.
    “Charmed, my
dear,” Orazio said in a strongly accented English, letting her go
and taking a step back. “Now,” he turned to Luca, “will you let me
treat you to the best I have to offer? Seeing you like this… it
makes me want to celebrate!”
    “Certainly, my
good man. Is there anywhere we can dine in private?”
    Orazio let out
a loud belly laugh. “As if you didn’t know that! Here.” He gestured
with his arm in a wide arc. “I’ll have my staff set up a table just
for two right here, in my quarters. No one will disturb you.”
    “Fantastic.
Thank you millions, Orazio.”
    “My pleasure.”
Orazio started rolling toward the door to get things in motion.
Right before leaving them alone, he turned and asked, “So, have you
told anyone yet? Cosimo? The rest? You know your father and
everyone else will want to make a huge fuss! This is excellent
news, you know, don’t you?”
    Cosimo? As in
the elusive man she’d been looking for? But then Riella shook her
head. Almost certainly a coincidence. There must be lots of men
with the same name in Italy. The strain of the last few days was
beginning to skew her thinking. Tomorrow she’d go and straighten
things out, back in the Roma camp, and then she’d be free to
dedicate her attention to her Romeo and their budding
relationship.
    But even as
she’d come to that decision, from the corner of her eye, Riella
thought she saw Luca’s face pale. She couldn’t be certain, but
there was no mistaking the tension in his jaw. Her eyes searched
his, probing, but he smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
    “Haven’t had
the chance yet, Orazio,” Luca said, his voice clear. “I only bumped
into Riella a few hours ago.”
    “Riella? Er…
But I thought…” Suddenly, Orazio stopped talking and backed out of
the room, looking embarrassed. Had Luca shaken his head?
    Riella turned
to stare at Luca full-on. He seemed relaxed, his eyes wide,
smiling. He inclined his head and slanted his lips over hers in a
quick, but incendiary kiss, and Riella’s unease dispersed faster
than thin mist on a scorching summer’s day.
    Orazio had
promised them a celebration, and he certainly lived up to it.
Riella lost track of the number of different dishes she’d sampled,
everything from avocado mousse with herby breadsticks and orange
and pistachio salad, to mignon of lamb with a red wine, cinnamon
and star anise jus, and all throughout dinner the wine kept
flowing. She was a light drinker and had begun to feel the buzz
after the second glass.
    Gazing into
Luca’s eyes over the top of the tall tapers surrounded by fragrant
lilies, and with the soft background music caressing her ears – a
romantic guitar instrumental which seemed to come from all around
them – Riella felt warm, pampered and extremely lucky. If she
didn’t know better, she would have thought herself living in a
dream, or perhaps in one of the stories she loved so much. A real
Juliet, caught in a golden moment with her charming Romeo.
    Through the fug
clogging her brain, fragments of thoughts nagged, thoughts about
something unpleasant, worries and responsibilities