He heaved an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. “You certainly know how to kill a man’s flow.” Then he cocked his head to one side. “Seriously, we’ve got three more hours to go before we get there. Are you telling me that I’m going to have to sit over here and keep my hands to myself? Where’s the fun in that?”
Arie shrugged. “We passed the first part of the flight watching movies. Now we can talk.”
“Boring,” he teased but he shut up when she reached over and punched him on the arm. “All right, all right. I’ll talk. God, the abuse I have to put up with.”
“I want to know more about you,” she said. “Fill me in on everything before we get to Italy. I don’t want your family giving me the third degree and not be able to handle it.”
Rome looked at her like she was making a mountain out of a molehill. “What else is there to know? The real question is, what’s there about me that you don’t know.”
“A lot,” she said without hesitation. “I mean, I know a lot about you as an adult. Who you are now, your business and all that stuff. But what about when you were a kid? You haven’t told me much about that.”
“You want to know about my childhood?” Rome shook his head then put a hand over his mouth and gave an exaggerated yawn. “Double boring.”
“I doubt it,” Arie said drily. “You, the son of a mega-wealthy Italian family? Boring, your childhood was not. I’ll bet money on that.”
“Don’t be so quick to bet on it, kid. I’ve got witnesses.”
“Oh, come on, Rome. Talk to me. Give me all the juicy tidbits about what made you tick.”
“All right,” he conceded with a hint of frustration, “but when you start snoring I’m going to kiss you awake, flight attendant or no flight attendant.”
Arie laughed. “Deal. Now start talking.”
And that was how she found out what a troublemaker the man she loved used to be. Thank goodness she’d met him after he’d passed through that phase. As a boy he’d been the devil incarnate, teasing his sisters nearly to death and bossing his brothers till they had to gang up on him. His father tried to curb him but he’d rebelled and that was when they’d shipped him off to finish high school in the United States. While the other children had remained behind in Italy with their mother he’d gone with his father to their new offices in America.
“But didn’t you miss your family?” Arie couldn’t help asking.
“Sure I did and I went home to Italy every chance I got. But I was a rambunctious teenager and I needed curbing. Having my father focus all his attention on me straightened me out real fast, I can tell you that.” He was shaking his head as he spoke then he gave a soft chuckle. “At first I did everything I could to frustrate the old man, make him send me home, but it was no use. He was determined to bring me in line and he’s a tough old goat.” He gave a snort. “You don’t want to get on the wrong side of that one.”
The words made Rome laugh but instead of amusement what Arie felt was a frisson of fear. Was this premonition? A warning of what was to come? If she’d been scared of Rome’s family before, now she was one step closer to terrified.
“Uhm, is he still like that?” she dared to ask. It made sense for her to be prepared.
“Worse.” Rome leaned over to give her a soft peck on the cheek. “But don’t worry. He’s going to fall in love with you just like I did.”
“I wish,” was Arie’s answer, and it was laced with all the doubt she was feeling just then. But it was only a whisper and she knew he didn't hear her..
Which was a good thing because she had no idea how she would explain the nagging dread that his family would not like her, not one bit.
CHAPTER SIX
“Do we have to go now?” Arie took another sip of her orange juice then began to toy with her spoon.
She and Rome had arrived way past bedtime Italian time so instead of heading straight to his family home he’d booked a suite at Regina Hotel Baglioni so Arie could get some rest. She’d been more than relieved at that plan but now it was time to face the music.
Rome had already finished breakfast. He reached over and took the fork from her. “Yes, we have to go now. We didn’t fly all the way to Italy to spend our days in a hotel.”
“Well, it’s a pretty nice hotel,” she said as she reluctantly took his hand and got up to go.
“Agreed,” he said with a chuckle, “and we’ll come back and enjoy it some other time. Right now, though, we have places to go and people to see.”
Arie knew if she dragged her feet any more it would begin to look bad so she straightened her back and put on her game face. No way was she going to let anyone be able to call her a wimp, even if she felt like she was being led to the gallows.
The Alfa Romeo ate up the road too fast for her liking and long before she felt ready they were pulling onto the grounds of an elegant estate in the middle of which sat a majestic home that had her mouth falling open. She’d expected a home worthy of the Milano name but what she saw far exceeded her expectations. It wasn’t a home. It was a freakin' castle.
“Wow,” she breathed. “You grew up here?” Arie couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like, growing up in the midst of all that wealth. The house – if you could call it a house – looked big enough to accommodate ten families. You could easily live in one wing and not run into the rest of your family for a week.
“Yeah,” Rome said with a shrug. “Boring.” Then he hopped out of the car and went to open her door. “Come on, let’s go in.”
“What about our bags?” Arie asked, fishing around for an excuse to delay their entry.
“Don’t worry about it. One of the staff will bring those in. Now, come on.”
At that point there was nothing to be done but leave the refuge of the car and head on in. “All right,” she said on a sigh. “I’m right behind you.”
When Rome gave her his hand she clung to it like it was a lifeline. As they walked toward the main entrance she was holding on so tight that he looked down at her. “You okay?”
Arie nodded and gave him a pseudo-brave smile, wondering why he had to look so darned eager. But then she dismissed the thought. This was his family he was going to see. Of course he’d be looking forward to it.