Page 57 of A Very Italian Wedding
‘I think someone picked their message up,’ Ben said, urgently helping her fasten her bra before searching the ground. ‘I can’t find your underwear.’ He sounded annoyed.
‘Don’t worry about it – you need to get dressed,’ she said hastily.
He was still mostly naked and looked glorious – but he managed to pull up his trousers and fasten them just as Marco opened the door.
‘You’re here!’ he said, coming inside, leaving the door wide open. ‘We’ve been looking for you – Aurora’s searching upstairs, she went looking for red-and-white bubble bath. We thought you might have got locked in the bathroom or something. Then I saw your message. Thank goodness you found the dog.’ He didn’t sound very happy about it and sneezed suddenly, then wiped his eyes as he looked around.
‘What happened to the lights?’ he asked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
‘They went off,’ Ben said as Marco studied him.
‘What on earth happened to your shirt?’ Ben moved so he was standing in front of Rose, hiding her from view. ‘Oh…’ Marco coughed looking embarrassed.
Rose had just managed to pull up the straps of her dress when she heard another set of footsteps on the stairs – and then Luna came charging into the cellar and immediately sank to her knees so she could hug Coco.
‘You found her!’ she cooed. ‘I don’t know how I’m ever going to thank you, Rose. I can’t believe you got stuck down here – Elena mentioned there’s been a problem with the lock.’
She grabbed something from Coco’s mouth and frowned. ‘What’s this?’ she asked, waving a pair of red lacy pants just as the overhead lights decided to switch themselves back on, illuminating a half-naked Ben as he suddenly zeroed in on his shirt which was tucked under the table.
‘Oh…’ Luna murmured, widening her clear blue eyes which ping-ponged between Ben and Rose. ‘Did you both get too hot?’ she asked, shooting a shocked look at Rose who felt her cheeks flame. Ben picked up the shirt, quickly pulled it on and did it up.
‘Can I have those please?’ Ben asked patiently, holding out his hand for Rose’s underwear.
Luna handed them to him and watched Ben put them in his pocket. Marco let out an irritated huff and muttered something under his breath about Luna ogling the best man.
She gave her fiancé a disappointed look. ‘At least he helped find Coco and he wasn’t responsible for terrifying her either.’
‘I didn’t realise the fireworks would upset her; I know nothing about dogs,’ Marco muttered through gritted teeth, making it clear the argument they’d started in the garden had festered. ‘We need to get back to making the wedding favours,’ he added, pointing towards the stairs.
‘Why bother, since after tonight, I’m not sure there’s going to be a wedding,’ Luna shot back before scooping up Coco and disappearing through the open doorway, offering a quick glance at Rose that told her she’d have to explain herself at some point.
‘Tesoro!’ Marco shot Ben a crestfallen look, before he sneezed again and followed Luna.
‘Are they going to be okay?’ Ben asked, jerking his head towards the door without taking his eyes off Rose.
She nodded. ‘Luna’s tired and that’s probably just a reaction to what happened tonight. I’ll speak to her,’ she promised, realising Ben was still staring at her, his eyes dark and filled with meaning.
‘That was…’ He fell silent, his gaze a little unsure.
‘I know…’ She gulped, suddenly hesitant about what to say. Then Ben reached into his pocket and handed her the red thong. She scrunched it in her hand like a talisman, a physical reminder of what they’d just done.
It had been more than she’d been expecting. But the sudden abrupt appearance of their friends seemed to have changed everything. Especially since it appeared the wedding was still in trouble.
‘It was.’ Ben gazed at her, his mouth tightening as he scoured her face.
‘Yep.’ Rose studied him, wondering what he was thinking.
‘We should probably see if we can talk to Luna and Marco now…’ He turned and signalled that they should leave, letting Rose walk ahead. She climbed the steps, her mind spinning, all the while aware that Ben was behind her.
What had meant to be a toe in the water, suddenly felt like so much more. She began to run, faster now, wondering if she’d just made a huge mistake – or if that had just been the beginning…
20
ROSE
‘Are you there?’ Rose knocked on Marco and Luna’s bedroom door for the third time and waited before pressing her ear to the wood, only to be greeted by dull silence. She’d called and texted Luna multiple times after seeing her in the wine cellar the evening before but hadn’t heard back. Where was she and was her best friend okay? She’d never seen Luna like this, had never known her to disappear and ignore her messages.
Guessing she must be outside, Rose spun around and headed downstairs. She knew Luna often went for long walks with Coco when she was mulling over problems. After everything that had happened last night, she was probably still confused.
