Honeymoon For One (4 page)

Ava was so annoyed now that she could only shake
her head in anger as she clambered into the car. She felt lousy, tired and
sleep deprived and now the thought of having no clothes to change into had just
about tipped the balance of her sanity. Yet here she was with an arrogant pig
of a man who, despite being just a driver for the hotel, had the haughty air
and manners of a man well above his station.

Along the way, Ava was too wrapped up in her
thoughts to pay much attention to the driver. He was on the loudspeaker and
babbling very quickly in Italian to a woman at the other end. What he said, she
had no idea, though she heard her name being mentioned on more than a few
occasions. She thought she heard the name Beachcroft mentioned too, but then
determined that she was so tired, she was starting to hear things.

They travelled in silence for the thirty minute
journey to the Casa Adriana, a small, discreet yet elegant five star luxury
hotel set on the outskirts of Verona.

Ava checked her cell phone and texted her mom and
sister to let them know she had arrived safe and well. She didn’t feel like
speaking to anyone at this moment. The mere act of landing in Verona and making
her way to the hotel on what would have been a trip with Connor, felt strange.
 

For the first time since she had left home, the
image of Connor flashed into her mind. She wasn’t sure if what she felt right
now was a touch of sadness or relief. But she knew she felt strange.

She looked up into the rearview mirror and saw
that the driver was watching her. Embarrassed that he had been caught watching
her, he quickly asked “Are you alright madam? It’s just that you seem a little
sad to me.”

He was extremely upfront for a hotel driver.

“I’ve been delayed, I’ve lost my luggage, I’ve met
you and-” but he cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

“Of course, sorry Madam, I forgot, it’s all my
fault.”

“I never said it was your fault,” retorted Ava,
closing her eyes and trying to shut out everything. This man was an absolute
boor. She had never come across a hotel assistant who was as rude as this man.
Even the cab drivers in downtown Denver were never this rude.

“I’m sorry madam.” There it was again, an apology
straight after a rude comment. He really was a Jekyll and Hyde character. She
would make sure to steer clear of him at the hotel.

“What brings you to our beautiful part of the
country Ms. Ramirez?”

With her eyes still closed and her head thrown
back into the headrest, “Business,” she replied shortly.

There was silence and she felt that he was waiting
for her to elaborate.

Could the man not see that she was tired and that
he should leave her alone?

She lifted her head and opened her eyes. “More
like a working holiday,” she said before looking away, out of the window.

The driver remained silent and made no further
attempts at small talk, much to Ava’s relief.

By the time they arrived at the hotel it was dark
outside and the evening had a touch of chill about it. Ava walked past the huge
terracotta pot plants, through the two quaint glass doors and into the checked
black and white marbled floor of the small reception.

It was a small yet decadent hotel with a very
classic look about it. Ava looked up at the glimmering glass chandelier in the
center of the huge lobby area. To one side was the reception desk. And behind
the desk, the warm and inviting smile of a petite sized female receptionist
welcomed her.

Ava walked up to the main desk.

“Ms Ramirez – welcome to Casa Adriana,” said the
woman.

“Thank you. I’m relieved to have made it here at
all. It’s been a terrible and long journey.”

The
woman smiled at her sympathetically. Ava noted the name on her badge. Gina.

“I’m sorry madam. I hope we can make it up to
you.”  She handed Ava the keycard, the warm smile never once leaving her
lips. “Your key madam.  You have room number eighteen on the first floor.
We took the liberty of ordering you some clothes since your luggage won’t be
here until tomorrow evening.”

Surprised by this, Ava looked over at the driver
only to find him talking to another hotel assistant in the far corner.

He
must have arranged all of this when he had made that call enroute.

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you.” Already, she
was amazed and surprised by the speed and efficiency with which everything had
been taken care of. Perhaps she wouldn’t complain to the hotel owner just yet.

“Will you be dining here tonight, Madam?” asked
Gina.

Dinner had been the last thing on Ava’s mind and the
receptionist noted her hesitancy.

“Or perhaps madam, you would prefer room service?”
The driver had suddenly reappeared by her side. His presence rattled her and
took her by surprise. As grateful as she was for his sudden thoughtfulness, she
wished he would go away. Ava felt overcome with tiredness and longed to get to
her room.

“I don’t know. I’m rather tired now. Can I decide
later?”

“As you wish Madam.”

“We will let you know as soon as your luggage
arrives madam. Have a good evening,” said Gina.

Ava
nodded at both of them and walked up the stairs to her room.

The first thing she noticed as she entered was a
stack of plain black boxes piled up high on the table at the centre of the
room. She slipped off her pumps and padded across the richly carpeted floor,
her toes sinking into the rich pile with each footstep. Puzzled and with a
racing heart, she walked across and eagerly opened the first box. Inside were a
pair of pajamas; silk, cream colored and very reminiscent of the 50s.  The
second box contained toiletries, toothpaste, toothbrush and a line of organic
body wash, face cream and eye cream. The third box had a pair of jeans and a
few shirts in white, navy blue and black. They were so casual and so……
her
. 

She presumed this was all done by the driver,
which amazed her even more. The man had only seen her for less than twenty
minutes before he had, she guessed, made that call, probably to Gina.  Connor
would barely be able to gauge her body size let alone work out her style, even
after three years together.

She put down the shirt and picked up the plain
white card that lay by the side. It was bordered by a thin embossed gold line
and inside it, scribbled handwriting that simply said:

 
With
compliments of the Casa Adriana. We hope you enjoy your stay.

At a loss for words, Ava sunk into the large
leather seat behind her. Her impressions of the hotel had quickly shot up a
thousand fold. They had, it seemed, thought of everything. And the driver. This
man called Nico. What was he? Jekyll and Hyde indeed but his actions seemed to
speak louder than his words. She couldn’t dispute it, the man had clearly
outdone himself.

She immediately dialed down to reception.

“Hi this is room eighteen.”

“Good evening Ms. Ramirez. How can I help you?”
Ava immediately recognized Gina’s voice.

“Everything is perfect, thank you. In fact, it’s
amazing. Really. I just wanted to thank you for the boxes of clothes which were
in my room.”

“You’re welcome Ms Ramirez.”

Ava smiled. “Please can you pass on my sincere
thanks to Nico?”

“Nico?”

“Nico, the man who drove me here.”

“Ah. Yes, Nico. Certainly madam.”

Ava
hung up. The obstacles she had faced getting here were all forgotten.

She held the silk top of the pajamas against her
skin. They were cool, yet soft and she couldn’t wait to slip into them. First
she would have a nice long bath, then perhaps she would order room service and
sit in the huge super king sized bed.

Her holiday in Italy had definitely begun and she
intended to make the most of it. She laughed out loud and sank her back further
into the chair. She was here now, in Verona, for a glorious seven days before
heading off to Venice for four more.

Getting here might have been frustrating but she
suddenly felt optimistic again about her trip. She was looking forward to a few
weeks of fun.

Nico’s eyes fixed on Ava as she went up the
stairs, oblivious to the fact that he was watching her. He shook his head.
There it was again. His heart was beating faster than usual and it bothered
him. It bothered his sensibility that a woman, any woman, could captivate his
attention the way that Ava just had. He snorted to himself, a half-grunt that
quickly changed to a cough when he turned around to see Gina looking at him
curiously.

He walked towards her, just as the Fonterelli’s
were approaching from the opposite direction. The tall  and elegant Maria
Fonterelli, her slender arms linked in her husband’s walked past, making sure
to catch Nico’s eye.  She gave him a lingering gaze and Mr. Fonterelli
nodded to him as their paths crossed under the glass chandelier.

“Good evening Sir, Madam.” Nico said graciously,
waiting for them to pass.

He strode over to Gina. “Thank you for organizing
Ms Ramirez’s shopping so quickly Gina. Good choice.”

“You were very exact and correct with your sizing
and style, Mr. Cazale.” Gina replied slowly.

“Of course.”  Nico didn’t know what else to
say. He knew women. He knew their tastes, their styles and their choices. He
was an expert at guessing a woman’s size as well as her age and he prided
himself on the matter.

Though he had to admit, this Ava Ramirez was
unlike the other women. For one, she hadn’t automatically fallen for his charm
or his looks. In fact, he had been so caught off guard at her response to him,
at her rudeness and arrogance that he had found himself more on the defensive
than being the normal charmer that he was.

Women automatically gushed at him. Just as Mrs.
Fonterelli had done so, even though she had been walking with her husband. Nico
had been used to such attention from women all his life. It had started way
back in his teens. But in recent years, he found the attention he attracted
becoming increasingly intrusive, as well as predictable. There was something
else that bothered him now but it never had before. He never knew if women were
interested in him as a person or whether it was his money they were after. It
didn’t help that women thought he was good looking. His mother had always told
him he was handsome. But didn’t all mothers say that to their sons?

How he missed his mother. Even now, though it had
been five years. He still thought of her. His mother had been the only woman
who had loved him for being
him
. Now he trusted no other women in his
life because he was convinced they saw his family name first and that was what
they wanted above all else.

But Ava Ramirez had been different; even though
their encounter had been brief, it was something he had never encountered.  She
had treated him like a hotel driver and he liked that. It wasn’t just her
looks. She was tall and beautiful, no doubting that, with her eyes, so light
and gray yet sometimes blue. She had him mesmerized. No woman had ever spoken
to him in that way, or dared to.

Yet Ava Ramirez not only had no idea who he was,
she hadn’t been the slightest bit attracted to him either. His initial meeting
with her had left him speechless. At first he thought she was someone that he
knew, her tone had been so familiar, so condescending.  It was only later that
he realised she had mistaken him to be a driver from the hotel. He had decided
to play along. For now he was content to let her think that he was just what
she thought him to be. A hotel driver and nothing more.

“Remember Gina. I’m just Nico for now.” He had
been at the airport to drop his father off. His father would be away on business
for a few days which meant it would be even easier to pull this off. For the
first time ever, Nico was going to see how it felt to be in the presence of a
woman who he found to be very attractive and yet she knew nothing about his
background.

The fact that the admiration wasn’t two way didn’t
seem to bother him right now.

“Mr. Cazale. There’s something you need to know,”
said Gina in a hushed voice, moving closer towards him.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Ava Ramirez is meant to be on her honeymoon.”

Nico flinched and turned his head sharply,
“Honeymoon?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. Didn’t you see her wedding ring?”
asked Gina, sifting through sheets of paper in her hands.

“On honeymoon.” said Nico to himself, cupping his
chin and resting his other arm across his chest. “Where is her husband?”

“I think he died, Mr. Cazale. She’s been widowed,”
Gina said in a somber voice, “I even called the travel agency to confirm and
they said there had been a terrible incident and that Ava Ramirez had cancelled
her husband’s seat but would definitely be travelling alone.”