Although the ride normally took only 10 minutes, it seemed like an hour long. Gary carried Cameron's bag and put it into his spare room. Cameron walked in, took off his jacket, mumbled something about going to lie down and closed the door.

Gary called his office, took some messages, rifled through his papers and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator. This lack of conversation with Cameron was bothering him. After an hour passed, Gary knocked on the door. No answer. He opened it.

"Cam, you up?"

No answer.

"I want to talk to you."

"I'm sleeping."

"Come on. Please."

Cameron sat up in bed. He motioned to Gary.

"What??!"

"What's with the silent treatment?"

No answer.

"Cam….."

"Amanda came to see me today."

"I should have known."

"What does THAT mean?"

You know EXACTLY what that means."

"She's in Italy."

"What?"

"Italy. You know the place. The country that looks like a boot."

"Yeah, I know the place. She's there on Brava business?"

"I guess……why didn't you tell me she came to visit me in the hospital the morning after they brought me in?"

"I forgot."

"RIGHT!" Cameron didn't believe him.

"Ok, ok……I didn't forget. I decided not to tell you. You happy now? What good would it have done?" Gary didn't know what else to say. He knew Cameron was angry with him.

"It would have done me a lot of good. If I had known, maybe I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself today."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not important…….. I'm not staying here, Gary. It will never work out."

"Come on Cameron..let me help."

"Like you did by not telling me Amanda stopped by?"

"What do you want me to do? Get down on my knees and beg your forgiveness? I don't think so. I knew from the start that she would be trouble for you, but you just wouldn't listen to me."

"Big brother knows all…" Cameron said snidely.

"Yeah, I suppose I do," Gary answered, shaking his head yes; " where Amanda Cory is concerned anyway."

"I am not in the mood for this…not now…..Didn't you hear the nurse? I need my rest. And if you're not willing to help me out here, I'll go home and tend to my own wounds!"

"All right….…I get the picture. ….I'm going to the office for a while anyway. Mrs. Murphy won't be coming by until tomorrow. Will you be OK?"

"I can take care of myself. I am a big boy!"

"So I've been told. Go to bed. Rest. We'll catch some dinner later, if you're up to it."

Once Gary left, Cameron tried to fall back asleep but it was next to impossible. Each time he closed his eyes, he saw Amanda standing in front of him. Beside him. Then Gary, pushing her away. She's running.

He would get to the bottom of all of this. If not tomorrow, then later. On his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As her plane maneuvered closer to the gate at the Ciampino airport, Amanda gathered her belongings and her thoughts, and tried to prepare for the week ahead. She couldn't understand why Mr. Luna wanted to meet her in Rome, rather than Venice. In all the materials she had Paige pull together for her on Italy, Rome was approximately 330 miles/531 kilometers away. Certainly more than a cab ride!

He explained that his father's company headquarters were in Rome and that most of the work to be done would be at the main office. At some point during the week, Mr. Luna promised Amanda they would visit Venice, to set up hotel accommodations for the models from the US and nearby towns. She was also secretly hoping for that ride in the gondola.

Amanda left the plane, luggage in tow. A well-dressed young man holding a sign that said, "Cory" greeted her immediately at the gate.

"Signorina Cory?"

"Yes?"

"Buona sera."

"Buona sera."

"How was your flight?" the young man asked as he carried her bags to the waiting limousine.

"Oh, you speak English? My flight was very nice, thank you. May I ask your name please?"

"It is Marcello." He smiled.

"Well, Marcello. If everyone here is as pleasant as you and Mr. Luna, my visit should be most enjoyable."

"Grazie, senorina." Marcello opened the back door and motioned to Amanda to step in. She did, and immediately came across a note from Mr. Luna, alongside a bouquet of roses:

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His brother? Giovanni did not tell Amanda he had a brother working for him. Then again, Amanda never thought to ask.

The ride to the hotel was breathtaking. Amanda listened as Marcello told her about his family. He had four brothers and sisters, Giovanni being the oldest male. While they were born and raised in the United States, after their father passed away, their mother wanted to return to her homeland. Their grandparents had died years ago, but Mrs. Luna had not forgotten where she came from. She wanted her children to experience growing up in their culture and learning their heritage.

Not all the Luna children relocated to Italy, however. Giovanni and Marcello's older sister, Antoinette, remained in the US with her family. It was only recently that Giovanni made Italy his home. His businesses in the states were flourishing and he, too, discovered his need to put down roots, as he said.

Amanda found Marcello's company very pleasurable. The ride to the hotel was over before she could find out anything personal about Giovanni. But, she knew that would come with time.

Marcello carried her bags into the hotel, helped her communicate with the concierge, and got her settled into her room.

"Do you have any idea how long your brother will be held up? I would love to freshen up before we meet later."

"Senorina, you look lovely. There is no need to 'freshen up' as you Americans put it."

Amanda felt somewhat embarrassed, as if she had been hinting for a compliment from this young man. "Mille grazie, Marcello. I hope we have the opportunity to meet again, before I have to leave Italy!"

Taking her hand, and kissing it, he answered, "We shall, senorina. Ciao!"

"Ciao, Marcello."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang at Gary's. It woke Cameron from a deep sleep. It was Carson.

Barely audible, Cameron mumbled a 'hello'.

"Hello to you too, sleepyhead. How are you today?"

"Considering you just woke me up from the best rest I've had in weeks, I'm doing OK. How are you?"

"Fantastic. That article on you in GQ? Outstanding. It's been this year's top seller!" You couldn't help but hear the excitement in Carson's voice.

"Great…really great….but I'm sure that is not the only reason you called me today, is it?" Cameron wondered, trying to rub the tiredness out of his eyes. He rested the receiver on his shoulder and poured himself a cup of coffee. Sipping it, then realizing it was ice cold, he popped it in the microwave for 60 seconds.

"I guess you caught me. I was curious on when you'd be able to return to work. Has the doctor given you any sort of time table yet?"

"Carson, my god! I just got out of the hospital! Can't you give me a week or two to get my strength back before you start sending me on shoots again? Or is that all I am to you, a meal ticket?"

Carson was very surprised at Cameron's tone. "Whoa, Cameron. Reel that pony in for a minute! I KNOW you just came home today. I'm just concerned that's all. ………Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Shaking his head, Cameron said,"I'm sorry Carson, really! I never have been the type to sit too long."

"Don't worry about it. Maybe you'll get started on some type of therapy soon, and you'll find out then from the doctor how long your recovery period will be."

Pouring out the rest of that bitter tasting coffee, Cameron assured her," I better find out soon, or I'll be setting up my own 'recovery' schedule. Dr. Sinclair prescribes for himself some good coffee, that's for sure, none of this 'stuff' Gary makes…….. and an enjoyable dinner companion. Would you like to join Gary and me later?"

"That would be nice, thank you…..Cameron, I'm sorry….But I have to cut our conversation short. I am expecting a call from Italy soon."

"From Amanda."

"She's in meetings this week with members from the Luna Company."

"Yeah, I know…..she told me." Carson knew from experience, that 'tone' in Cameron's voice.

"Give me a call later and let me know where you and Gary are going, and I'll join you there. Thank you again for the offer to spend the evening with two very charming men!"

"It's the least I could do….after all you've done for me."

"No need to thank me Cameron. See you later."

"Goodbye….and thanks for checking up on me."

Hanging up….Carson thought to herself, "That man has it bad!"

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda began unpacking just the bare necessities. Even though she did not have time for a hot shower, she did have the time to 'freshen up' and at least, change. This would be her first meeting of many with a Luna Company executive and a Cory never went unprepared.

She picked out a smart black dress and matching jacket. Before doing anything, Amanda remembered the promise she made to her mother.

"Hello." Rachel said.

"Hi mom."

"Amanda…it's wonderful to hear your voice. How was your flight?"

"Quite relaxing, actually. I did manage to get some paperwork done. I don't know what to expect out of these meetings. I never could pin Mr. Luna down on why exactly he wanted me here. Possibly just for moral support, before their shoot. Regardless, I believe I'm as ready as I'm going to be."

"I have ever confidence in you, darling."

"Thanks mom…. I appreciate that. I'll be having a dinner meeting with him in awhile. "

"Remember to have some fun while you're there, sweetheart. If you need anything, please call."

"I will mom. I love you."

Amanda always felt better after speaking with her mother. Rachel knew just the right words mixed with the right tone.

Grabbing her makeup case from the bed, she knocked over her carry-on bag. The GQ magazine with Cameron on the cover fell out. Picking it up, Amanda was going to lay it on the nightstand, but something made her open it to page 30. His picture. That face.

The entire article described a Cameron she didn't know. Or didn't take the time to know. He seemed so real…so personal. Had she made a mistake in Bay City, not giving him a chance? Leaving the way she did? She felt terrible, but right now, there was no way to do anything about it.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A ringing phone brought Amanda back to reality. It was the front desk. A Mr. Luna had arrived and was on his way up. Amanda panicked. She hadn't even changed yet.

She did what she could with what she was wearing. A scarf here. A pearl pin from her mother there. Running a quick comb through her hair, Amanda looked at herself in the mirror. "This will have to do!"

Just then there was a knock on her door. Opening it, she wasn't sure what to expect.

There stood Mr. Luna. A textbook case of 'tall, dark and handsome."

Brown hair and eyes that had a sparkle to them, as if he was up to something. Smiling, he asked somewhat shyly, "Amanda?"

"Mr. Luna….it's very nice to meet you."

"Amanda, please…….it's Giovanni….." The moment was a little awkward. The two of them stood there for sometime before Amanda realized it and asked him inside.

"I hope the accommodations are to your liking." Glancing around the room, he was pleased that he had chosen such a place for Amanda.

"Oh, it is very nice. Do you use this hotel often for your clients?"

"Sometimes…and only for the special ones. Now….are we ready to go? I have made reservations at IL Cardinale'. Do you like bucatini alla matriciana?"

"I don't know. What is it?" Amanda wondered, grabbing her wrap and heading for the door. Giovanni stopped her and helped her put it on.

"It's a delicious pasta dish, with bacon, tomato and onions."

"Sounds heavenly." One of Amanda's favorites was Italian food.

"Then we should get going, so the owner doesn't let our table go to another fortunate couple."

Giovanni opened the door, letting Amanda go through first. By the time he shut off the lights, Amanda had already called for the elevator.

They both thought…."This may be a profitable evening after all". Glancing over at each other, Amanda and Giovanni remained silent for the ride down.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dinner was delicious and the conversation pleasant. In between bites of the antipasto salad, Giovanni explained to Amanda how he became interested in magazine publishing. While he was growing up in the states, he loved to write. In fact, whenever he could take a class in the journalism field, he did. Giovanni also excelled in sports and with a few friends won some prestigious athletic awards.

It was the death of his father, which changed the direction his life was to take. While his friends wanted him to go on to school with them and stay in the area, his mother longed for Italy and the family she hadn't seen since moving to the U.S. with her young husband. Giovanni knew his place was with his family and after bidding goodbye, left for Venice.

"Have you kept in contact with any of your friends?" Amanda wondered.

"Unfortunately, no. There was one friend I was particularly close too. I can't even remember how many nights we spent at each other's homes studying algebra, physics and the languages."

"Why haven't you kept in contact with him at least?"

"I honestly don't know. I tried some years back to locate him but it was impossible."

Amanda told Giovanni that it had been hard for her to make friends back then, because she was considered a 'person of privilege', even though she attended a private school like the others. She, too, had one or two close friends but life often took her out of Bay City and away from them.

"Bay City? Is it a large village?"

Amanda laughed. "Bay City is a town in Illinois."

"Oh forgive me if I sound foolish sometimes. There are days when I don't even remember where my family lived; then, there are other times I could paint you a picture of our home, the trees in the back where my father built my brothers and sisters a tree house."

Amanda placed her fork on her plate, wiped her mouth carefully with a napkin, and then took a sip of wine. "Your childhood sounds like it was filled with many wonderful memories."

"It was. Your family, Amanda….are you close?"

"Yes, we are. My mom and brother still live in Bay City. My father passed away some time ago. He was the CEO of Cory Publishing. When I decided that I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps, my mother entrusted Brava to me….and I guess the rest is history!"

"Then we are both lucky to have had such strong, loving fathers in our lives." He picked up his glass and encouraged Amanda to do the same. "To our fathers!"

"To our fathers." Amanda agreed.

Before she had a chance to put down her glass, Giovanni wanted to know about Amanda's 'personal' life.

She was caught off-guard by his question and her answer was just what Giovanni expected."That certainly can't be the reason you brought me all this way to Rome. I would very much appreciate it if you could leave that part of my life alone."

"I am sorry if I have offended you. But I couldn't help but wonder why a woman would travel to a foreign land alone, unless her business was her life or she had no love life to speak of."

"You certainly believe in being blunt, don't you? Perhaps it would be better if we just finished our dinner. I'm sure we will need our strength for the meetings this week." Amanda finished her salad and began tasting the pasta dish the waiter put in front of her. She barely looked over at Giovanni, who had a sly grin on his face.

"You may be able to put me off now, Senorina Cory…..For now. There's always tomorrow…"