She stowed her phone away and got to work. She’d hardly had a chance to sit down today, so there was a lot to do. She looked back through her notes and then began to type.

There is a reason why Rome is known as the City of Love. Rome and romance go hand in hand. Indeed, it is not a city one should explore without a hand to hold. Strolling through its streets and parks is inherently romantic. Violins played at the bottom of the ludicrously gorgeous Spanish Steps urge lovers to dance their way across them, and the Trevi Fountain even promises a lifetime of love for those who buy into the legend of the virgin girl (literally, it costs the lovelorn just three euros for the promise of future wedding bells). With the weather warm well into fall, and architectural marvels that chronicle two thousand years of history, Rome is a city to love and find love in.

She stopped typing and sighed heavily, recalling the giddy sense of romance she’d felt during the whistle-stop tour of Rome. She craved that feeling, wished for its return, to be transported back in time to the moment before she’d seen the reflection of herself in the American tourist’s goggling eyes, and seen Cristiano’s flirtatious response.

She fired off the new section of her article to Nina and Elliot. She wasn’t expecting a response, but Elliot replied quickly.

You’ve found your muse, Keira. I love it. Just one thing, though, you’re not giving us much in the way of a personal story. We want our Romance Guru to fall in love with more than just the country. Involve yourself more. Your feelings. Your romance, if there is one. I hope there is. Anyway, keep up like this and I may have to promote you.

She reread the email, surprised to receive such a positive response. Elliot was all over the place at the moment, a rollercoaster of emotion. Clearly some good news had come his way to make him reply so euphorically to her. What promotion he could be referring to, Keira had no idea. There wasn’t anywhere for her to go at the moment; Lance had taken over Joshua’s job and that was the only one above hers.

As she ruminated on Elliot’s use of the word muse, Keira realized that Cristiano himself had indeed provided her burst of inspiration, as much as, if not possibly more than, the country itself. But she had now sadly lost that.

As for the real-life romance Elliot was requesting, it seemed unlikely she’d be able to fulfill his desire. Injecting her and Cristiano’s failed romance into the piece would be a disaster.

If Elliot’s good mood hinged on her article, she thought sadly, he was about to be sorely disappointed.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Did you sleep well, Keira?” Cristiano asked when he collected her from her hotel the next day.

“Very well,” Keira replied, hearing her own clipped tone.

Cristiano must have heard it too, because a small crease of confusion appeared between his eyebrows.