Chapter 216

• ALLY spent the next two weeks in a haze of late-summer heat. Although it made her skin slick with perspiration, it was nothing to the scorching heat of Vittorio’s gaze every time it connected with hers. He showed her the sights of Rome, patiently explaining its chequered and at times brutal history, organising special VIP tours so she didn’t have to wait in long queues with other tourists to see the many galleries and basilicas. The magnificence of the Sistine Chapel took her breath away, and in contrast the ruins of the Colosseum brought tears to her eyes as she listened to the audio guide Vittorio had bought for her.
• He came up beside her as she looked over the arena and noticed the passage of tears rolling down her face. He frowned. ‘What is wrong, Ally? Is the heat too much for you?’
• He removed his cleanly laundered handkerchief and, instead of handing it to her, gently mopped the tears off her face, his eyes as dark as the espresso coffee they had drunk an hour ago, in a crowded and ridiculously over-priced café near the Spanish Steps.