The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession Book 4) by Lucy Leroux Page A

special privilege granted to them because—of course—he knew someone who worked there.
    On one of those solo mornings, she rolled out of bed late and had a leisurely breakfast before heading to the lobby to wait for Gio. She sat in a wingback chair, taking advantage of the hotel’s wifi to catch up on her emails. Her phone’s reception had been terribly spotty so she hadn’t filled Kelly in on recent events, including what was going on with her travel companion.
    Kelly was going to have a fit when she read her message. Especially if Sophia didn’t chicken out and actually slept with Gio. She could practically hear her best friend egging her on to have the affair—although honestly that had been going on before she’d broken up with Richard. Kelly wasn’t a fan of her ex.
    Sophia had just pressed send when her phone buzzed. Glancing at it she frowned at the ID “Dickhead” and declined the call, texting a terse reply instead.
    A deep smooth voice startled her. “Who keeps calling you?”
    “Oh, hi,” she said, dropping her phone inadvertently as Gio sat on the adjoining chair.
    She picked it up with a quick grin and gave him a discreet once-over. He was wearing tan chinos and a long-sleeved button shirt with his trademark mirrored aviator sunglasses. Every time she saw him, he was dressed more and more conservatively. It was a good look for him. Of course, he could make a potato sack sexy.
    “It’s nothing,” she said, tossing the phone in her purse. “What do you have planned for today?” she asked brightly.
    Though he asked for her input, Sophia had stopped planning itineraries for what she wanted to see. Gio’s ideas were better. He always seemed to know someone who had special access at all the attractions. They got exclusive tours at all hours of the day and night—sometimes even after the site had officially closed. And he always knew the best places to eat.
    Sometimes they ate at homey restaurants that served the best regional dishes. Other times they walked blocks out of their way to find some hole in the wall that served awesome street food, like the fried cod they’d had the other day in the Trastevere neighborhood.
    Gio leaned in with a gleam in his eye. “I found the pensione your mother stayed at when she was here—the Veleria. I thought we could start there and then wander to the Piazza Navona for lunch. Afterward, we can hit the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain before we stop for some sfogliatella at my favorite bakery.”
    Tears stung at her eyes, and she turned away to compose herself. The other day she had randomly mentioned the name of the pensione her mother wrote about in her journal. That he remembered and found it was incredibly touching.
    “That sounds perfect,” she said, her voice husky.
    The expression on his face warmed before clouding over. “Before we get going, there is something I wanted to speak to you about. Something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while.”
    The phone started to ring again, and she closed her eyes. Fishing it out, she glanced at the caller ID. Sure enough, it was Richard again. She let out a harsh breath and rolled her eyes.
    “I’m sorry, I have to take this,” she said.
    Her ex wasn’t going to stop calling. It would ruin what was left of her vacation if she didn’t bite the bullet and talk to the jerk.
    Nodding, Gio stood and walked away to let her speak in privacy.
    She swiped her screen and put the phone to her ear. “We agreed to deal exclusively through the realtor.”
    Across the line Richard sighed. “Sophia, darling. It’s about time you answered.”
    Counting to five, she waited to answer. “I told you I was on vacation. In Italy .”
    “There’s a few details on the contract we need to discuss.”
    “Then talk to the realtor,” she said from behind clenched teeth.
    “I already did, darling. The man can’t address these questions.”
    “I’m not your darling anymore,” she said in a flat voice. “If the realtor