All I Want Series Boxset, Books 1-3: All I Want for Christmas, All I Want for Valentine's, All I Want for Spring (36 page)

Holly sucked on her top lip before replying. “But why does it
keep
happening?” She shook her head. “Even now, I’ve got a bad feeling, when all I want is to come away on a romantic weekend with you, to celebrate our three-month anniversary.” She shrugged. “This shit never happens in London, but it
always
happens abroad.” She wanted her and Tori to only have good experiences, for their relationship to be smooth sailing. Somehow, in Holly’s mind, this trip was the gateway for the rest of their relationship. If they were going to make it in the long run, they had to be able to do a weekend abroad. It was the litmus test, the one Holly had always previously failed. And after today, she was nervous.

But Tori wasn’t. “It probably always happens abroad because you’re so hyper-aware of it and you
cause
it,” she said. “You never behave like this at home, so just act normal now. Then perhaps weird things will stop happening.”

Did Tori have a point? Would that make a difference if the world was against you? Holly wasn’t so sure.

“You’ve got some serious making up to do, and then you’ve got to promise me to stop over-analysing everything.” Tori frowned. “You’ve turned into me: can I remind you that
you’re
the sensible one? We had one bad experience in the Vatican, and boom! We’re doomed. But we’ve got an amazing apartment, great weather, and the rest of the trip is going to be perfect. And if it’s not perfect, it’ll still be the two of us, which is perfect for me.” Tori moved her shades onto the top of her head before continuing. “Just don’t get all down about it, okay? Because there’s still a lot of holiday to go. And stop saying you’re cursed. It’s not a good look.”

“I’ll try,” Holly said. And she would. But it didn’t stop her having a feeling of foreboding throbbing at her temples. She should take a pill before it overtook her.

“Try for me,” Tori said, leaning over and planting a light kiss on Holly’s lips. “And whatever happens, even if something else does go wrong, we won’t. Okay?”

Holly nodded, swallowing down emotions that were threatening to leak out. “Got it.”

She wasn’t religious, but right at that moment, she offered up a prayer of thanks. She might be cursed, but her girlfriend was overlooking it. Her mouth was still warm from Tori’s kiss when their plate of antipasti arrived, along with a basket of warm bread. The waiter placed it in the middle of the table, along with some small plates that had probably once been brilliant white.

“Is there anything else on the agenda today?”

Tori got the guidebook out, along with her schedule. She licked her finger to turn the pages to where she needed to be.

“Well, I was thinking we could walk around this area here,” she said, pointing at a map that meant nothing to Holly. “See a few ruins, pick up some presents, try to put a smile back on your face.”

That at least made Holly smile.

“You see, that wasn’t so hard,” Tori said, returning her smile. “And I need to get something for mum, and if we don’t bring something back for Elsie, she might cry.” Tori paused. “Then we’re going to that restaurant your dad recommended later, and meeting Cara at the gay bar.” Tori put away the guidebook and picked up her cutlery, waving her knife as she spoke. “And we’ve taken no photos yet, so remind me to get my phone out this afternoon. I’m shit at photos — we need proof we’ve been here. If it’s not on Instagram, it never happened.”

But Holly had already stopped listening when Tori had said the word ‘Cara’, the smile disappearing from her face as quickly as it had landed. The bad feeling she had slammed into her brain again. She didn’t want to share Tori with anyone this weekend. She wanted her all to herself. Only, she couldn’t tell Tori that, because Tori wanted to go and she’d already ruined the day so far.

So despite everything, Holly would just have to suck it up.

CHAPTER 5

Tori was already a little tipsy when she tottered out of the restaurant later that evening. The food had been fabulous as Holly’s dad had promised, and the proprietor, Antonio, had finished off by plying them with free shots of Limoncello. Tori had never tasted it before, and she decided it was a cross between an alcoholic sherbet lemon and toilet cleaner: an acquired taste. Still, it was free, so she wasn’t complaining.

The good food and alcohol had shaved the edges off her earlier stress. That, and the fact she loved Holly, and she didn’t want to see her upset anymore. Tori was going to put today behind her and not look back. Especially not when tonight promised such a stellar backdrop.

They arrived at the Colosseum, which was a jaw-dropping site to see. The ancient amphitheatre was lit for maximum impact, and Tori had to remember to close her mouth as she took it in. It was breathtaking, the lighting making it seem like some kind of alien craft just landed from outer space.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

Holly, beside her, simply nodded. “And I can’t believe the gay bar is
just there
.”

They strolled down a side road, the Colosseum still in view. The bar, called Coming Out, was easy to spot, a rainbow sign fixed above its narrow entrance. Outside, there were white metal chairs and tables in neat rows on the cobbled street, and a dense mix of 20- and 30-somethings cluttering the pavement, all clutching bottles of beer and lit cigarettes. The evening air held a slight chill, and Tori scanned the faces in the crowd, but didn’t see any she recognised.

“Can’t see Cara yet — shall we get a drink?” Tori didn’t wait for an answer, taking Holly’s hand as they entered the long, slim bar, white faux leather seating on their left, the bar running down the right. They ordered gin and tonics and watched as the barman poured an eye-watering amount of gin into a glass filled with ice, then topped it up with a splash of tonic.

“No UK measures here,” Tori muttered as Holly handed over her drink.

She handed it straight back. “You want to take it outside? I need the loo.”

Tori squeezed through the crowd, then past two women kissing. She grinned when she saw them: women kissing always had that effect on her, it was the way she was wired.

There was a queue for the loo, of course, so she took her place in the line. Tori clenched and unclenched, wishing she’d gone in the restaurant — why did she always leave it till the last minute? She was still waiting minutes later when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Tori turned, expecting Holly, but was instead was faced with Cara, who was wearing a massive grin and a Trilby hat. She was having some trouble focusing on Tori, blinking as she did.

“Hi! I thought it was you!” she said, her voice way too loud for the small space they were in.

Tori stepped back from its volume, straight into the guy beside her. She muttered an apology in Italian, but was then pulled forward into Cara’s eager embrace.

“I’m so glad you made it! Isn’t this place incredible?” Cara paused, no reply necessary from Tori. “Are you having a fun time so far?” She held her at arm’s length, but didn’t let go of Tori’s shoulders, clearly glad for the chance to lean on something.

Tori waited to see if Cara was going to carry on, but she’d run out of words. It was her turn to speak.

“We are,” she replied. “And this bar is unreal. It’s like having a gay bar in the shadow of Buckingham Palace.”

“I know, right?” Cara screeched, her excitement levels ratcheted up again. “And the people are
so fun
,” she added.

The girl in the toilet left, and the next woman went in. Why couldn’t it have been a man? Yes, they leave more of a mess, but men wee
way
quicker than women.

Tori glanced up the queue. Two people ahead of her now, she could do this. She could hang on. She was imagining how Holly felt earlier when she needed the loo in the Vatican, and a wave of sympathy washed over her.

“You been anywhere else tonight?” Cara asked, swaying into the wall with a thud.

“We went to a great restaurant, had a lovely meal.”

Cara smiled a wonky smile. “I love Italian food,” she said. “Italian food and British women — my ideal combination.”

Tori smiled. “Not Italian women?”

Cara shook her head and ran a finger up Tori’s arm. “Italian women are
way
too complex. My last two girlfriends have been Italian.” She leaned into Tori’s ear. “High maintenance.” She flicked her gaze up to Tori. “Now I’m after something a little more fun. Something casual. British women understand — they’re not as highly strung.” Cara gave her a wink. “You know what I mean?”

Tori shook her head, pretty sure she didn’t. What on earth was the person in the toilet doing? Cara was drunk as a skunk and getting a little too close for comfort.

Tori just wanted to pee and get back out to Holly. Gorgeous, dependable, uncomplicated Holly. At least, she had been till they landed in Rome and she’d gone slightly mental. She was still far more preferable to Cara though, who was now fishing in her blue leather handbag.

“You fancy some coke?” Cara whispered in Tori’s ear. “I can give you some to take into the loo.”

Tori shook her head, her heartbeat racing in her chest. She wasn’t a drug-taker, never had been. Even being around drugs made her paranoid she was going to get arrested. She really didn’t want to end up in a Roman jail tonight.

She turned and gave the toilet door a hard stare.

She wished the person inside would hurry the fuck up.

***

Holly was standing on the pavement opposite the bar, her senses struggling to take everything in. Directly behind her were some more ruins of ancient Roman life, and beyond that, traffic buzzed down the main road, horns blaring in the magical twilight. Holly was studiously avoiding looking over at the table of women sitting nearby — but they had no qualms staring at her. She got interest wherever she went because of her height, but these women were making her more than a little uncomfortable. Where the hell was Tori? She was taking forever. If she was trying to make Holly squirm in retaliation for earlier, she was succeeding.

Holly swallowed down some hazy night air and told herself to buck up.

Things could be worse.

She was in Rome, it was warmer than London and she had a drink.

“Holly!”

Holly whipped her head round, trying to locate the voice that definitely didn’t belong to Tori: it was too high-pitched.

And then she saw Cara, swaying towards her, slightly worse for wear. What had she just been thinking about things getting worse? Cara had been a little too pushy on the plane for Holly’s liking, a little too polished. Holly had come across people like her many times working in recruitment, and she never trusted them. She considered herself a good judge of character, she trusted her instincts. And she hadn’t trusted Cara from the off.

Which made her wonder all the more why Tori had been so quick to invite her into their weekend. Still, she wasn’t going to fixate on that. They were going to have a drink, say hi, then go. It was just like the Sistine Chapel all over again. Except this time, she was going to be polite to Cara, make small talk. And try her hardest not to get thrown out of the bar for any reason whatsoever.

Holly gave Cara a strained smile, but then had no choice but to be pulled into her tight embrace.

Holly caught her breath as Cara released her, grinning up at her.

Cara was wearing a blue blazer and jeans, and even in loafers, she was only a few inches shorter than Holly. It made a nice change for Holly not to have to look so far down when she spoke.

“It’s great you guys made it — I just saw Tori inside. Isn’t this place amazing?” Cara spread her arms wide as she spoke, eyeing up the illuminated Colosseum.

Holly had to agree. “It is — great spot.
And
not raining.”

“I know,” Cara said, leaning forward and putting a hand on Holly’s arm. “Makes you wonder why we all don’t move here, doesn’t it?”

Cara looked Holly up and down, her eyes scouring her body as if seeing it for the first time. “And you,” she said, grabbing Holly’s arm again. “You’re really tall. Like,
super
tall.”

Cara said it like it was news to Holly. It wasn’t. She’d been this tall for quite a while now, and people pointing it out didn’t alter the length of her legs one inch. She didn’t go around telling people how short they were, now did she?

“I didn’t
get that
on the plane, what with all the sitting down. But you’re
really
tall.” Cara got up on her tiptoes and put her mouth next to Holly’s ear, slurring into it. “I like tall women. A lot. There’s so much more to work with.”

“So I’m told,” Holly replied, her stomach lurching. Words like those dropping from a woman’s mouth were never good if you already had a girlfriend. When she’d been single for all that time before Tori, it’d never happened. Now, women were throwing themselves at her. Sod’s law.

She took a step backwards then: she was hemmed in by the railings surrounding the old ruins. Instead, she put a hand on either of Cara’s shoulders and manoeuvred her backwards, willing Tori to come back and rescue her. What the hell was taking her so long?

Thank goodness, Cara didn’t put up a fight: Holly was grateful for small mercies. She was on high alert now, her defences up. If Cara tried another sustained attack, Holly might have to bring out the big guns.

Cara winked at Holly, then turned as she heard her name being called. She waved the shouting woman her way, and within moments, Cara’s friend was shaking hands with Holly and giving her the once-over without a hint of shame. The woman might as well have got out her tape measure and asked Holly to do a twirl for all the subtlety she was showing. Once she’d finished her assessment, she gave a firm nod.

“Alessa,” she said, her Italian accent wrapping itself around perfect English. “Very nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Holly replied, even though she wasn’t sure she meant it. 

Just then, Tori arrived back.