A Family Made in Rome
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Annie O'Neil
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19.7K
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15
CHAPTER ONE
‘HERE WE ARE.’
Leon’s lips brushed against Lizzy’s neck, his familiar touch and lightly accented voice sweeping through her nervous system like the New Year’s Eve fireworks display they’d just slipped away from. Dangerous. Dazzling. Powerful enough to unearth a thousand memories she’d barely managed to stuff into a box over the years since they’d seen each other last.
She tried to sweep them away again, desperate to believe that the past didn’t matter. That this chance meeting wasn’t fate forcing her hand, demanding that Lizzy confess to Leon he was the only man she’d ever loved. An admission that would definitely send him running back to the seven hills of Rome.
It had been five years since their paths had last crossed. Hardly a surprise, considering she worked in Sydney and he worked in Rome, and their lives—professional and personal—had never intertwined as they had once before here in New York during their surgical internships.
Not one email. Not one phone call. No texts. Nothing.
But she still knew him well enough to know that telling him she loved him would put an immediate halt to whatever was about to happen behind this hotel room door. And, God help her, she wanted to go into that room. She wanted him.
He ran his fingertips along her bare collarbone. It was all she could do to contain a low groan.
Of all the medical conferences, in all the world...he’d had to walk into hers.
He stroked her arm and a skittering of goosebumps added wattage to the flames already burning bright for him. When she realised the touch had been accidental—that his hand had been on the way to his pocket to check for his key—her body’s automatic heated response offered a new perspective.
Perhaps the sentiment she’d been clinging to these last five years hadn’t been love at all. Their shared passion for antenatal surgery, their mutual desire to be the best, the head-to-head competition their mentors had encouraged, pitting them one against the other to be the very best, and their obvious physical attraction... Perhaps all those things added up to nothing more than good old-fashioned lust.
It wasn’t as if she wanted to sit and talk to him about feelings all night long. Or their pasts. Those types of moments had never defined what she—perhaps wrongly—had called their relationship.
What she’d felt for him then was remarkably similar to her response to him now. It was primal. Instinctive. An animal attraction. A shared hunger for the same goals in life colliding at the perfect time and place. The only difference being that last time they’d had two years together, while this time they had one solitary night...
Her body was responding to him as strongly as it had the first time they’d met. Crackling and sparking as if the seven years since that moment had never existed.
But they had. And ever since they’d both left New York there had been a part of Lizzy that believed their relationship might have been something more if only they’d given it the oxygen to breathe.
In fairness, she’d been as marriage-shy as he had. Not that she’d ever told him why. Who wanted to unload a mountain of childhood misery into a relationship that was fuelled by a shared belief that the world of antenatal surgery was theirs to conquer?
But now their individually built, hard-earned professional futures had led them here, to the most elite medical conference in their field. Where, once again, they were being drawn to one another like a moth to a flame.
But who was who in this scenario?
She definitely didn’t want to be the moth. No way was she going to let a night with Leon consume the self-respect she’d built for herself after her move to Sydney. She’d beaten herself up for years for letting herself fall in love with him back then, despite a silent vow to keep things simple. No more moth behaviour for her.
No. Tonight she wanted to be the flame. Wanted this to be the night she finally understood that the energy they shared was purely physical. Was being with Leon tonight the best way to make those years of self-doubt disappear? Who knew? But she was tired of living on an emotional rollercoaster—being yanked this way and that, wondering if she had lost her one chance at happiness.
Maybe they were more similar than she thought. Two moths. Two flames. Neither of them willing to admit to feelings that were too frightening. Too raw. Or maybe they just fancied the pants off one another. And—wouldn’t you know it?—there was a fancy hotel room waiting to help them out...
Her eyes drifted to the hotel room door, willing it to give her a nudge in the right direction.
Honeymoon Suite
Leon had seen her taking in the gold script on the door. Their eyes met and meshed with an intensity that blazed through her like wildfire. It had been a long time since she’d felt like this. Out of control. So she did the only thing she could think of to regain that control.
She snorted.
There were many things she believed were going to happen behind that closed door tonight, but consummating a marriage neither of them wanted wasn’t one of them.
‘Upgrade.’
Leon’s shoulders hitched into one of those shrugs of his that spoke of countless similar upgrades. It wasn’t vanity, or a limitless bank account, or his natural charisma that swept people under his spell. It was what Lizzy had used to playfully call ‘The Cassanetti Effect’. She’d certainly not been immune. For two near-perfect years. Perfect right up until the end...when it wasn’t.
Leon cupped her chin for a kiss she’d not yet let him take.
‘Uh-uh.’ She smiled and pushed him away from her.
Not too hard and definitely not too far. Arm’s length. A safe enough distance for her to regain control. She was determined not to let him steal her heart for another five years. The next five hours, though... Could she allow herself one perfect night of passion and then walk away from whatever it was they shared once and for all?
She made an impatient noise, edging herself away from a tumultuous trip down memory lane.
C’mon, Lizzy. Get a grip. This is lust, pure and simple.
Sure, she’d been blindsided when she’d seen Leon surrounded by a crowd of admirers at the conference’s celebration dinner. Her body had felt as though it had disappeared, leaving only untamed energy humming in the centre of the room where she’d stood. And a thousand emotions had collided into one vital sensation: desire.
Seeing the one man she’d thought she’d never see again had felt heady and frightening and thrilling all at once. An energy too powerful to dismiss.
But she’d tried to pull herself back into her body. Remind herself that tonight was about her career. That the only reason she was here was because she was the keynote speaker. Her focus and dedication to her career had paid dividends and, as such, feeling tingly because her ex-boyfriend was here was ridiculous.
He’d extricated himself from the group of people he’d been speaking to and crossed the room with the determination of a man who’d found the Holy Grail. He’d taken her hand in his and wordlessly lifted it to his lips.
His name, when she’d said it, had tasted like warm caramel on her tongue, without a trace of the bitterness she’d thought she might experience if she ever saw him again. And then, as if the years they’d spent apart had been swept away by an invisible hand, Lizzy and Leon had become inseparable, as if leaving one another’s side wasn’t a physical possibility.
They hadn’t spent the time catching up, exactly. There hadn’t been any need beyond her glimpse at his ring finger—which was still, unsurprisingly, bare. Just as her own was. She’d read about his work in medical journals and presumed he’d done the same about hers. Only a few people in the world dealt with the types of cases they did—which, she supposed, made it completely insane that she hadn’t expected to see him here.
After half listening to their peers for a spell, their hands occasionally brushing, eyes catching, the energy between them had inched ever upwards towards the moment when, without speaking, they’d eased away from the crowd, his fingers weaving through hers as naturally as they had that first time they’d sneaked into an on-call room and confirmed what they’d both known for several months.
They wanted one another.
Tonight was no different. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. It was the perfect opportunity to tie a nice shiny bow on the end of five years of wondering what if...?
The answers lay just out of reach.
After one, possibly two orgasms, and a bit of a cuddle, she would have fulfilled her animal desire and then she could set herself free of Leon Cassanetti once and for all.
Another shiver of goosebumps swept across her midriff as his hand slipped along her hip, his fingers grazing the cut-out in the fabric that laid her skin bare just at that magic spot where waist began to swoop into hip. She couldn’t stop a small sigh of satisfaction.
Again their eyes met, and a slightly more fevered quest for that missing room key got underway.
She took advantage of the moment to really look at him.
Leon Cassanetti.
The man who broke the mould.
She allowed her heart one careless flip and then realigned her focus. This wasn’t about spiralling back into an out-of-control, unrequited love dungeon. This was about closure.
Well...
Pleasure and closure.
The two could co-exist, right?
Maybe they cancelled one another out.
Of course they could co-exist, Lizzy assured herself slightly desperately. She wanted to feel that unbridled joy she’d felt when they were together just one more time. One night of hot hotel sex didn’t have to mean reopening the scars of heartache. No matter what her father said, she was a modern woman. A modern woman, with modern needs, who’d felt like a modern-day Cinderella from the moment her eyes had met and cinched with Leon’s a few hours ago.
But unlike Cinderella she wouldn’t spend her days in the scullery, wondering if Prince Charming was going to show up at her door with that damned glass slipper. Just like last time, he’d get on a plane to Rome and she’d get on a plane to Sydney. Only this time she’d walk away first. Eyes wide open.
It was just after midnight now.
A symbolic moment to mark the beginning of a new era.
She glanced at the closed door again. Once they went in, there would be no turning back.
She caught him looking at her inquisitively. As if he’d seen the flicker of hesitation in her eyes and was leaving the final decision as to whether or not they went in up to her.
Was there still enough magic in the air to let this be the final chapter of their story? Give her the closure she so desperately needed? When she looked into his eyes she saw nothing but longing—a hunger that gripped him with the same intensity with which her love for him had held her to ransom all these years.
His desire was intoxicating. A stark reminder of why impressing other men hadn’t mattered to her over the past few years. Because of this man there was a string of failed first dates and briskly wrapped up mini-relationships trailing behind her as long as a kite tail.
She’d never admit it to anyone, but that moment five years ago when he’d turned and gone had made her feel as if he’d ripped her heart out of her chest and taken it with him. It was her own fault, really. For letting herself believe emotions could be flicked on and off like a light switch. She’d had her reasons for wanting to keep her feelings for him under control, but the one thing she’d failed to do was tamp down that flicker of hope that he might ask her to join him in Rome. The hope that had flickered right up until he hadn’t.
Now, here they were—five years later, a little older, a little wiser. As she’d planned, she had climbed the ranks and now had a great job as an antenatal surgeon in Sydney. She was a leader in her field, actually. That was what happened when all your unspent love and energy got poured into your work. And Leon had just taken the helm at the antenatal unit in Rome’s most prestigious children’s hospital, which suggested he’d possibly done the same. Worked to fill the void left by the relationship that had nourished them both.
She forced her gaze to turn clinical. Tricky, when she had the urge to tuck her finger into his belt buckle and tug him towards her as decisively as she’d pushed him away. He was more handsome than she remembered. Extraordinary, given the fact that merely thinking of him had the power to turn her insides molten.
His dark hair still fell in soft, gorgeous waves, lightly grazing his eyebrows and, more sexily, his shirt collar. It wasn’t pitch-black, like many Romans’ hair—a rare mention of his father had unearthed the fact that he was half-Scandinavian. His eyes, though, were pure Italian. As dark brown as the shots of espresso he’d always favoured when the alarm went off at an ungodly hour and they’d headed to the showers, pulled on fresh scrubs and begun another day at the hospital. His smile, often hard-won, might have been its own solar system.
At thirty-seven he was still young and vital, but there was a new, decisive aura of ‘proper man’ about him—as her father had used to call the men he’d admired. Those who took charge. Held the reins. Told women what they did and didn’t want from them and stuck to it.
Leon brandished the key with a smile.
She masked her darker memories with her own smile, but she wasn’t entirely sure it reached her eyes. Tonight wasn’t about fulfilling her father’s outdated beliefs that anything a woman did was fuelled by emotion, and that men were required to fulfil their duty and, as a result, could treat the women in their lives however they felt. Tonight was about closure. Full. Stop.
She felt her lips quirk as she gave the mental image of herself and Leon at a flower-laden altar a casual flick into an imaginary bin. She replaced it with a steamier image, her breath catching in her throat as it gained traction.
Leon took a half-step closer, his hands resting softly on her hips. He looked at her expectantly, his dark eyes scanning her features for any sort of tell.
‘Lizzy? Are you sure? We don’t have to do this.’
There were countless answers to the seemingly simple question. Yes. No. Rip my clothes off, already. But Lizzy didn’t bother answering, choosing to let her gut do the deciding. Actions spoke louder than words, so she took the newly unearthed key card out of his hand and held it against the electronic lock before she could change her mind.
It flashed green and the door clicked open.
His full lips curved into a smile. He’d never disguised his pleasure when she took the lead, and this was a blatant show of her desire.
Yes. She wanted him. Had done for the five years they’d been apart. Well, the four years, eleven months and eighteen days. No need to get hysterical.
The small of her back grew warm and tingly at his touch as he held open the door and guided her into the suite. The bright lights of Manhattan twinkled like stardust out beyond the twentieth-floor bedroom, giving the space an even more magical hue. As if they needed any external razzle-dazzle to increase the sparks that were flaring more and more with each passing moment.
Leon stood behind her as she feigned an interest in the view. She was actually staring at his reflection in the window. This was hello and goodbye to the ghost that had stayed with her for far too long.
She shivered as his fingers teased her shoulder-blade-length hair away from her neck, so that he could drop a few sensual butterfly kisses upon her skin. She felt his lips hover above her shoulder, where the thin strap of her dress held the lightest of purchase.
As if he’d rehearsed the move a thousand times, he slipped both straps off her shoulders so that the dress skimmed down over her goosebumps until it puddled onto the floor around her feet. Soon enough there was skin upon skin, heated breath matching heated breath, and kisses so deep and powerful the rest of the world faded away.
Yes. She’d made the right decision. For now the world was Leon. When morning came she’d get up, give his cheek a farewell kiss, and bid addio to this man who had held her heart captive for much longer than he deserved.
