Read Online The Vendetta by Kecia Adams - Free Book Online Page B

her grandmother was up to something.
    Lisa had go back to Rome in order to find out what. And why now.
    She looked over at the box containing the statue of The Lovers , and the thought she had been avoiding popped into her head.
    Nick was in Rome.
    My apartment is in the Aventine; you are always welcome there.
    Please, Lisa…I will not rest until you come.
    On one hand, the caution of a lifetime told her to stay put, that nothing good could come of reconciliation with her domineering grandmother. On the other hand, those three voices—her mother’s, her grandmother’s, and Nick’s—urged her to broaden her outlook and find out exactly what the possibilities were. She got up from the couch and went to fetch her suitcase from her closet.
    She’d always loved Rome, and she knew the Eternal City had not changed one bit since she’d left. A bubble of excitement began to build. She was on her way home.
     
    * * *
     
     
    Lisa’s plane touched down at Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci airport as she rubbed the grit of the overnight flight from her eyes. She leaned forward in her seat, looking out the window as the plane taxied to the terminal. Rome was green and welcoming. Its famous umbrella pines outlined the ridges of the rolling hills. Compared to the late winter weather she had left behind in Telluride, springtime had washed the Roman countryside with life and promise.
    Lisa made her way off the plane to the baggage carrousel. The thought of her upcoming meeting with Gran had her stomach in a knot. She’d talked with Gran’s housekeeper, to let the household know she was coming, but her grandmother had not been available. Katya had called back later to say that the principessa had arranged for transportation from the airport to the palazzo, and that Lisa’s grandmother was overjoyed. The thought made Lisa’s stomach jump.
    Lisa had also called Nick from the airport in Telluride right before her departure and had gotten his voice mail. Fully aware of what her arrival in Rome would imply with reference to their relationship, she’d quickly given her flight information, but hadn’t known what else to say. It was exactly ten days since she’d seen him in the hotel at Telluride.
    Lisa pointed to her big suitcase as it appeared on the belt. The baggage porter pulled the bag off and loaded it on his cart along with the other, smaller one she’d brought along.
    “Someone is supposed to meet me outside,” she said to the porter.
    He nodded and smiled, but there was no spark of understanding.
    She repeated the same words in Italian. They came out a bit garbled and rusty, but the porter understood and cracked a huge smile.
    “ Si, si. Signorina Schumacher, yes?”
    She smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
    “ Signore Carnavale Lei sta aspettando . Signore Carnavale he wait, yes?”
    “Signore Carnavale?” Her heart stuttered a beat. “He’s waiting for me?”
    The man managed to grin even bigger. “Si, si. He is waiting. For you. Come.” The porter pressed through customs and pushed the cart with her bags through the double doors of the international arrivals terminal.
    And sure enough, there he was. The look of him punched her low and hard. He had a long coat on over his shirt and trousers, and he stood with it pushed back, one hand in his pants pocket, the other holding the phone to his ear. When he turned those quicksilver eyes on her and smiled, her heart started to pound in her chest.
    He disconnected his call and, with that athletic grace, moved toward her.
    “Lisa.” Taking both of her hands, he kissed her cheeks. The greeting was traditional, European, but the slide of his smooth skin and the scent of his spicy cologne made her head swim.
    Nick retained his hold on one of her hands while he gave the baggage handler instructions. With a smile, the porter took her luggage out to the sleek black Mercedes she could see through the door to the terminal. She took a steadying breath while heat and electricity traveled from