Chapter 3: Goodbye Rome!

For the next couple of days the gang mostly hung out together just enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. They went shopping, sight seeing and dinned at all the finest restaurants. Peter and Kelly managed to find little moments together and made sure they were extremely stealth when in company. They spent every night together and woke up every morning in each other's arms. However the dream had to end sometime and it was almost time to go home.

A few hours before they were scheduled to leave for the airport everybody was in their own rooms packing their bags. Melinda and her husband had been discussing how much they liked Rome when her phone had began ringing. It was the airline and they were bearing some bad news.

Back in Kelly's room Peter was watching Kelly try and pack her back. She made it so neat and tidy, everything was folded perfectly. He walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist resting his head on her shoulder.

"I don't want this to ever end" he said after kissing the side of her neck.

" I know me neither" Kelly replied whilst turning around to face him and clasping her hands together behind his neck and leaning up to kiss him. And then was when they heard Melinda summon them for an important meeting in her room. Worried they followed her down the hall.

"Okay everyone, here's the deal" Melinda spoke as soon as everyone was in the same room. "There has been a mistake at the airport and two of us are not gonna be able to go home today."

"What?" Almost everyone asked alarmed.

"Well" she continued recalling her phone call conversation, "It seems that two seats in first class have been double booked so two of us cannot fly."

"What about economy?" Rachel asked.

"Fully booked. They have booked those two seats on the next flight out to L.A. which is in two days. Now all we have to decide who stays."

Melinda's husband spoke up first "Melinda and i would offer to stay but we have to collect our daughter almost as soon as we get back!"

Rachel and Adam had visitors coming and needed to get home and Mischa was going on holiday with her family when she got home. As it turned out only Ben, Kelly and Peter had to decide between themselves.

"Well, i can definitely stay" Kelly announced to everyone's relief. "I mean it's not like i have family back home waiting for me and besides i love it here."

It was now a toss up between Peter and Ben. Kelly wondered if Peter would want to stay with her but knew the decision didn't just come down to that. Peter's head was doing cartwheels, He had an opportunity to spend two days alone, with Kelly, in Rome. It would be perfect. However his wife was prying on his mind, she would not be pleased. "who cares?" Peter thought to himself. "I want to stay and that's what I'm gonna do".

"I'll stay" He announced breaking an awkward silence.

Everybody seemed relieved. Peter saw Ben about to speak and simply told him it was fine and they all knew how desperate Ben had been recently to spend as much time as possible with his family.

"Thanks Peter" Ben smiled.

A short while later Kelly approached Peter's room where she could hear him talking through the walls.

"It's not my fault!" He was explaining.

She decided just to open the door and go in. He was all defensive while he spoke down his cell phone, Kelly had to admit she found that side of him, quite attractive.

"Well just go to your mum's without me" he was saying. "You know the kids are desperate to go and you don't need me there. I'll come up to San Francisco and meet you i a couple of days when i get back"

Kelly sat there on his bed trying not too eavesdrop too much. She noticed his silence. Infact it said more than his words and then he spoke again,

"Okay, I'll see you in a couple of days then. Yeah i love you too sweetheart. Bye" and then he hung up.

At those last words Kelly got up and tried to escape out the door to hide her expression from him. Things had been so heavenly for them over the last couple of days that she had almost forgot he had a wife. She just couldn't bear to him say those three words to her as well. However before she could get past him he reached out grabbing her arm and making her turn around to face him.

"What's wrong? Where are you going?" he asked softly now stroking her cheek.

"I can't do this Peter. You can't expect me to believe you when you say you love me and then let me listen to you tell your wife that as well. It's not fair. You can't love us both. We shouldn't be staying here together because I'll get used to being alone with you ant then we just have to go home and go back to reality and how it used to be and..."

Noticing a tear fall down her cheek a she spoke he cut her off with a soft kiss on her lips. When he pulled away from her she was still crying. He guided her over to his bed and sat down beside her wiping away her falling tears.

"Okay," he said finally "first of all that was me telling my daughter that i love her not my wife, second I'm glad we are here alone for two days and lastly nothing, and i mean nothing is going to change between us when we go home. Nothing is keeping me from you. I love you and that's how it's going to stay, there is no way we are going back to how it was i just couldn't do that..."

It was her turn to silence him. Finding his tongue with hers she kissed him as if she would never let go.

"I'm sorry" she whispered to him.

She then turned around swinging her leg over his knees so she was straddling him before leaning down to kiss him again. Her hands were working down the front of his shirt undoing his buttons as she went until she had finished and pushed his shirt off leaving him bear-chested. Moving her mouth from his she grabbed his earlobe in her teeth and tugged at it, satisfied when she heard him moan slightly. Peter slid his hands down her back and over her ass before squeezing her closer to him and kissing her on the bare skin that showed above her low-cut top. Before it could get any further they were interrupted by the others who were standing outside Peter's door wondering why Kelly had taken so long to go and get him. It had been decided that Peter and Kelly should go and see them off at the airport.

After everyone who was flying went through security Kelly and Peter headed straight back to the Hotel where he had planned dinner. He was gonna prove to her that she was the one he wants and the one he truly loves. On their arrival Peter instructed Kelly to go and put on something elegant and then come to his room. She felt a little offended that he obviously didn't think she looked elegant already but decided she wouldn't ruin the mood.

An hour later she was standing outside hid bedroom door in knee length red dress. It was silky and made her feel sexy and comfortable at the same time. Before she could knock the door swung open. Peter looked amazed and he was clearly impressed as he took in the sight of her. He bent forward and kissed her before handing her the most perfect red rose.

"You mean the world to me Kelly Rowan and i love you so much, please don't ever doubt that" he said as he stared straight into her eyes.

"I love you too" she replied as her heart melted at the sound of his words.

Taking her hand in his he led her outside to the balcony where he had a table prepared for dinner. A single candle sat in the middle of the table and rose petals were scattered everywhere. Champagne was sitting in a bucket of ice. This was the most romantic setting she had ever seen. They sat opposite each other and ate their meal. They spoke about many things and made each other laugh. Peter reached across the table and took her hand realising that nobody could see them. They could be open. Peter pulled out a box and handed it to her.

"I bought you a present" he said.

As she opened the box she saw the most beautiful piece of jewellery staring back at her. It was a gold necklace that had something engraved on the back. "Rome is just the beginning" she translated it into English. She looked at it in awe.

"If you don't like it i can take it back"

"NO it's perfect i love it!"

On hearing those words he rose up off his chair taking then necklace from her grasp. Gently brushing her hair aside he clipped it around her neck and planted a kiss on her bare shoulder sending a shiver down her spine.

"Don't move" he whispered before disappearing into his room. He frantically searched through his cds. He had not known what song to play until he saw her and now was the perfect time to put it on. Finding the cd he was after he placed it in the machine and returned to where she sat.

"Dance with me?"

She immediately obliged as she heard the music begin. She laughed at his choice of song figuring out why he had chosen it. The song was Chris De Burgh's "Lady in Red". Swaying back and forth in the moonlight they danced happily. Every now and then Peter would whisper specific lines of the song hoping she would here him. "you are amazing" and "there's nobody here it's just you and me" were the first two he sang. However there was one line in particular he wanted to sing to her. Clearing his throat and staring straight into her eyes he sang perfectly in tune with the music the words "i have never had such a feeling, such a feeling of complete and utter love, as i do tonight"

"tell me you really mean that she whispered with her eyes now closed.

"I mean that with all my heart" was his reply. As the song finished he swooped her up and carried her to bed for what happened to be the most romantic night either had ever experienced.

The end of the trip to Rome had been perfect with just the two of them. They had been able to go out and feel like a real couple. They had walked down streets hand-in-hand, kissed at the dinner table in public venues they even at one point got slightly carried away in a shop changing room before being escorted off the premises. It had been so wonderful that they just lay together in bed on their last night tangled in each other's arms wishing they didn't have to go home. They both knew that once they were back in America they would have to be especially careful and they wouldn't get much time together especially with Peter joining his family inn San Francisco. On the morning of their flight they had made love in Rome for the very last time before getting ready to head back to reality and embarking on a mission of keeping their love a secret.