Her Roman Holiday Read Online Free PDF

about?”
    “It is not something you throw into everyday conversation.   I will find the opportunity to tell him.”
    “I would think you should be making the opportunity.”
    “Now is not the time.   We are in the midst of important negotiations and I need Paolo at his best, not working at half-mast.”
    Calia’s mouth dropped open.   “You would put business ahead of your best friend’s welfare?”
    “This is not something Paolo will take well.   He will go to Antonia and ask her about the situation.   I’ve no doubt she will lie to him — and she may turn him against me.   Things will get messy.   I will need to be prepared.”
    Calia rolled her eyes.   “Prepared how?   I mean, don’t you owe him the truth, regardless of how he chooses to deal with it?”
    “Now is not the time.”   He spoke between clenched teeth.
    She snorted.   “It never will be, as long as there’s another deal to negotiate.   With Paolo’s much-needed help, no doubt.”
    “You would not understand.”
    “No.   I guess I wouldn’t.   As far as I’m concerned, playing with money and numbers is fun and all — but not at the cost of human sacrifice.”   Calia threw him a dark look.
    He gave her a cold smile.   “Ah yes, your penchant for hyperbole.”   He stood.   “Come, I will show you to your room.”
    But though she followed him, Calia was too riled up to let the subject slide.   “I’m not exaggerating.   I mean, how much more hurt is he going to be if he finds out the truth down the line — and then learns that everyone but him knew what was going on?”
    He spun to face her so abruptly that she took a step back, her own anger quelled by the silver fury of his glare.   “I do not intend to let it reach that stage.   I am having Antonia’s infidelities investigated.   When I tell Paolo the truth, he might hate me, but I will have evidence, so at least he will not disbelieve me.   If I told him now and he went home to her lies, then I would lose a friend, a valued colleague and it would all have been in vain, if his infatuation blinds him to the truth.”
    “Oh,” Calia said in a small voice.   “Right.   Well I guess that makes sense.   Sorry I got a little carried away.   I guess it really isn’t any of my business.”
    “Correct.”   He turned and continued walking.   Calia followed in chastened silence — until he flung open a pair of wooden double doors into a dream of a room.   Calia’s initial impression of high ceilings, antique, dark wood furniture and fluttering draperies drew an excited gasp from her.
    “How lovely, Gio!   And this is your spare room?   I really am lucky I ran into you.”   She threw him a cheeky grin, glad of the opportunity to introduce a new subject.   She walked over to the curtains and pulled them back to reveal glass-paned doors that opened onto the sunlit courtyard.   From where she stood, she could see the little fountain she had heard earlier.   “It sure beats an overpriced hostel, complete with sagging beds and thirty-odd roomies.”
    She turned back to find him watching her with a dark intensity.  
    Suddenly, the room felt several degrees warmer.   Her smile faded as her breathing tightened.   She wanted to cross the room, run her hands over that wide chest of his, twine her fingers into his thick hair.   She wanted him to pull her into the kind of hard embrace that demanded she meet it with equal passion.   Did he feel the same compulsion?   She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat.   “Gio?”
    When he spoke, his voice had grown thick.   “You are so bright, so elusive.   I never know which way you will go next.”
    The heat rose inside her — a wave of exhilaration.   That this darkly sexy man thought her mysterious and intriguing triggered a surge of heady excitement.   She watched him, suddenly hungry to get closer.   She took a step forward.
    Something flared in his eyes.   His expression darkened,