share of the exquisite little vegetables served with their main course. But she kept firmly to water instead of the wine he offered.
‘You drank champagne the first time we met,’ Dante reminded her. ‘You were such a delight in that charming dress.’
‘It was a long time ago,’ she said coolly.
‘You do not remember the occasion with pleasure?’
Her eyes clashed with his. ‘Of course I do. It was Charlotte’s wedding day. She was on cloud nine and I had just left university with a respectable degree. Euphoria all round.’
He held the look in silence for a moment then got up to escort her to the bar. ‘Will you take a little cognac with your coffee?’
‘Since I abstained over dinner, I will, please.’ Rose needed some kind of stimulant for once. A sip of the fiery spirit helped her to relax a little as she looked across at her companion. Now she could study him objectively without wanting to hit him, he looked a lot older and harder-edged than the effervescent charmer who’d made Charlotte’s wedding so memorable for the bridesmaid. There had been other young Italian men among Fabio’s relatives and friends at the wedding, but Dante had monopolised Rose so completely she’d had no eyes for anyone else.
‘You are very quiet,’ he observed.
‘It’s been a very eventful day.’
‘So tell me all about your life, Rose.’
‘I run a bookkeeping business from home.’
His eyebrows rose. ‘You did not take up your career in accountancy?’
‘No, though the qualifications come in very handy in my line of business.’ She changed the subject. ‘Dante, I know it’s a bit late to say this, but I was very sorry about your grandmother.’
‘Grazie. I miss her very much.’
‘Do you miss your wife, too?’
‘No. Not at all.’ His eyes hardened. ‘The marriage was a bad mistake. When Elsa soon left me for another man my brother said I should thank God for such good fortune. Leo was right.’
Rose looked him in the eye. ‘Odd you forgot to mention Elsa when we first met.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I did not forget. I refused to let thoughts of her spoil my time with you. I was very angry because she refused to cancel a fashion shoot to accompany me to Fabio’s wedding.’
‘So you made do with me.’
‘No! This is not true, Rose. I took great delight in your company.’ His eyes held hers. ‘Am I too late to apologise for leaving you so suddenly?’
‘I completely understood when I heard that your grandmother had died.’ She held the brilliant blue gaze steadily. ‘Not so much when I was told about Elsa.’
His jaw clenched as he beckoned to a waiter. ‘I need more cognac. Will you join me?’
‘No, thanks.’ She got up. ‘I’m a bit tired, Dante, so—’
‘No!’ He sprang up. ‘It is early yet. Stay a little longer with me, Rose, per favore.’
Since only sheer pride had forced her to make the first move, she nodded graciously and sat down again, eyeing Dante’s glass. ‘Should you be drinking that before a long drive?’
‘I am not driving. I have reserved a room here at the hotel tonight so that I can be your guide to the city tomorrow.’
Rose stiffened. ‘Charlotte asked you to do this?’
‘No, she did not. It was my idea.’ He lifted a shoulder, his eyes cold again. ‘Non importa, if you do not desire my company I will leave in the morning.’
That would be the best move all round, as Rose knew only too well. But she was a stranger in a city foreign to her and didn’t speak a word of Italian, so it was only practical to take advantage of someone native to the place. After all the trouble he’d caused her, he might as well make himself useful.
‘I’d appreciate your services as guide, Dante. Thank you.’
‘It is my great pleasure, Rose!’ He reached across the table to touch her hand, eyes warm again. ‘I will try to make your stay memorable.’
He wouldn’t have to try hard. In spite of her initial rage at the sight of him, it had taken only a minute in Dante’s company again to remember how easy it had been to fall in love with him all those years ago. He’d been a charming, attentive companion who’d shown unmistakable signs of returning her feelings on Charlotte’s wedding day, which had made it all the more devastating when she’d learned about his missing fiancée after he’d gone. In sick, outraged reaction to the blow, she had immediately blanked him out of her mind and pretended she’d never met him. And because she’d flatly refused to listen whenever his name came up, Charlotte had eventually given up mentioning him. Yet Charlotte had sent Dante to the hotel with her letter. Rose made a note to have words with Signora Vilari on the subject next time they spoke.
She took her hand away. ‘Won’t it be boring for you, Dante, showing me round a city you know so well?’
He shook his head. ‘Firenze will seem new to me, seen through your eyes. But why have you not been here before, Rose? I had hoped so much to see you again when you visited Charlotte, but you never came.’
‘Too much work to get away. And I see her regularly when she comes to visit her father.’
‘She told me Signor Morley shares his life with your mother. You are happy with this?’
Rose nodded. ‘It’s a happy arrangement all round.’
‘It was plain that you were all close at the wedding. I am fortunate to possess both my parents, but no longer, alas, my grandmother. I adored her and miss her still.’ Dante’s eyes lit with sudden heat. ‘Only the message telling me she was dying could have torn me away from you so suddenly that night, you understand? But, grazie a Dio, because I left immediately I arrived at the Villa Castiglione in good time to say goodbye to Nonna and hold her hand in mine before she...she left us.’
‘I’m glad of that,’ said Rose quietly. Though at the time she hadn’t believed a word of it, convinced the call had been from some girlfriend—a theory which had seemed proved beyond all doubt next morning when she found out about Elsa.
‘Nonna left her house to me.’ Dante’s eyes darkened. ‘At first I did not want the Villa Castiglione, afraid I would miss her there too much. But because it was Nonna’s greatest wish my parents persuaded me to live there.’
‘Alone? You’ve found no replacement for Elsa yet?’
‘No.’ He arched a wry black eyebrow. ‘You think such a thing is easy for me?’
‘I don’t think about you at all.’ She shrugged. ‘After all, I only met you once.’
His eyes narrowed to an unsettling gleam. ‘And you did not look back with pleasure on that meeting!’
‘Oh,
