Read Online The Hidden Heart of Rico Rossi by Kate Hardy - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Hardy
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the airport and grab something to eat.’
‘That all sounds great.’
‘And I’d better let you get some sleep.
Buona notte, bellezza
. Sleep well.’
He lay awake that night, thinking about Ella. On paper, he knew it was completely crazy; they lived in different countries and she was just about to start a business venture that would take up all her time and then some. But she’d made him feel like nobody else had made him feel, and he wanted to get to know her more. To explore where all this was coming from. To find out why she was affecting him this way.
He just had to find the right words to tell her who he really was, and that he’d been a little economical with the truth. Hopefully she’d understand that he hadn’t been trying to hurt her or cheat her; he’d just wanted her to see him for himself, not as Rico the hard-headed businessman or Rico the boyfriend with deep pockets. Then maybe, just maybe, they could find the time to explore where this was taking them.
After breakfast, Ella finished packing and headed down to the hotel reception area to organise leaving her luggage in their secure storage area. Rico was already there, though he was busy talking to some of the other hotel staff. They were speaking rapid Italian, so she didn’t have a clue what they were saying; but something struck her as odd. The hotel receptionist seemed very deferential when she was talking to him. Given that Rico was a tour guide, surely his status would be the same as that of the receptionist? They were colleagues, not boss and employee.
And then she heard the receptionist say,
‘Sì
, Signor Rossi.’
That was definitely deferential. Why wasn’t the receptionist calling him by his first name?
‘May I help you,
signorina?
’ the other receptionist asked.
‘I—um, yes.
Grazie
. I’d like to check out.’
‘Of course.’ The receptionist sorted out the bill and gave Ella an extra receipt for the city tax.
‘May I ask … who’s that man over there?’ Ella gestured over to Rico, who was still earnestly in conversation with the other receptionist.
‘Signor Rossi. He’s very easy on the eye, no?’ The receptionist smiled.
Yes. Rico was very easy on the eye. But this was the second person to use his formal name rather than his first name. Rossi. Something rang a bell there, and she couldn’t remember why. ‘Who is he?’ she asked.
‘The CEO of Rossi Hotels. We have three sister hotels in Rome,’ the receptionist explained, ‘though Signor Rossi is based here.’
Rico owned the hotel
.
So he wasn’t a tour guide at all. He’d lied to her. Ella felt sick. How rubbish was her judgement? Even for a casualfling that wasn’t supposed to matter, she’d managed to find herself someone who lied. So much for the promise she’d made her mother at her deathbed.
Promise me you won’t make the same mistakes I did, Ella
. Ella had promised. And what had she done? She’d planned to marry a cheat and a liar. OK, so she’d found out the truth in time to stop her making it worse and actually marrying Michael, but here she was in Rome, making the same mistake all over again; having a fling with a handsome, charming and faithless man—someone who’d lied to her right from the start.
What an idiot she’d been. Stupid, naïve and oh, so gullible. She’d thought she’d connected with him—that she knew him. But she hadn’t known him at all.
Well, she’d had more than enough lies in her life. And lying was the one thing she couldn’t forgive or forget: her own, very personal, hot button. If Rico could lie over something as unimportant as his job, what else would he lie about? Had he lied about being single, too? Was that why he’d never suggested spending the night with her—because he’d gone home to his partner?
The idea made her feel sick. And she really, really wanted to go home. Right now.
‘Would you be able to order me a taxi, please?’ she asked the receptionist. ‘To the airport?’
‘Of
‘That all sounds great.’
‘And I’d better let you get some sleep.
Buona notte, bellezza
. Sleep well.’
He lay awake that night, thinking about Ella. On paper, he knew it was completely crazy; they lived in different countries and she was just about to start a business venture that would take up all her time and then some. But she’d made him feel like nobody else had made him feel, and he wanted to get to know her more. To explore where all this was coming from. To find out why she was affecting him this way.
He just had to find the right words to tell her who he really was, and that he’d been a little economical with the truth. Hopefully she’d understand that he hadn’t been trying to hurt her or cheat her; he’d just wanted her to see him for himself, not as Rico the hard-headed businessman or Rico the boyfriend with deep pockets. Then maybe, just maybe, they could find the time to explore where this was taking them.
After breakfast, Ella finished packing and headed down to the hotel reception area to organise leaving her luggage in their secure storage area. Rico was already there, though he was busy talking to some of the other hotel staff. They were speaking rapid Italian, so she didn’t have a clue what they were saying; but something struck her as odd. The hotel receptionist seemed very deferential when she was talking to him. Given that Rico was a tour guide, surely his status would be the same as that of the receptionist? They were colleagues, not boss and employee.
And then she heard the receptionist say,
‘Sì
, Signor Rossi.’
That was definitely deferential. Why wasn’t the receptionist calling him by his first name?
‘May I help you,
signorina?
’ the other receptionist asked.
‘I—um, yes.
Grazie
. I’d like to check out.’
‘Of course.’ The receptionist sorted out the bill and gave Ella an extra receipt for the city tax.
‘May I ask … who’s that man over there?’ Ella gestured over to Rico, who was still earnestly in conversation with the other receptionist.
‘Signor Rossi. He’s very easy on the eye, no?’ The receptionist smiled.
Yes. Rico was very easy on the eye. But this was the second person to use his formal name rather than his first name. Rossi. Something rang a bell there, and she couldn’t remember why. ‘Who is he?’ she asked.
‘The CEO of Rossi Hotels. We have three sister hotels in Rome,’ the receptionist explained, ‘though Signor Rossi is based here.’
Rico owned the hotel
.
So he wasn’t a tour guide at all. He’d lied to her. Ella felt sick. How rubbish was her judgement? Even for a casualfling that wasn’t supposed to matter, she’d managed to find herself someone who lied. So much for the promise she’d made her mother at her deathbed.
Promise me you won’t make the same mistakes I did, Ella
. Ella had promised. And what had she done? She’d planned to marry a cheat and a liar. OK, so she’d found out the truth in time to stop her making it worse and actually marrying Michael, but here she was in Rome, making the same mistake all over again; having a fling with a handsome, charming and faithless man—someone who’d lied to her right from the start.
What an idiot she’d been. Stupid, naïve and oh, so gullible. She’d thought she’d connected with him—that she knew him. But she hadn’t known him at all.
Well, she’d had more than enough lies in her life. And lying was the one thing she couldn’t forgive or forget: her own, very personal, hot button. If Rico could lie over something as unimportant as his job, what else would he lie about? Had he lied about being single, too? Was that why he’d never suggested spending the night with her—because he’d gone home to his partner?
The idea made her feel sick. And she really, really wanted to go home. Right now.
‘Would you be able to order me a taxi, please?’ she asked the receptionist. ‘To the airport?’
‘Of
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