When in Rome: A Novel

On the way home, Noah knows he has to tell Amelia the whole story about his relationship with Merritt. He thinks about how Merritt came to Rome to sell the property of a deceased family member and Noah, thinking she must be lonely, offered her help. He spontaneously proposed to her on her last day in town, and she agreed that he moved back to New York with her. After a few months, their initial chemistry faded away and Merritt cheated on him with a coworker, so he returned to Rome. Yet when he asks Amelia if she wants to know the whole story, she can see that he is hurt by it and doesn’t force him to tell her. As they explore the town, Amelia wants to go into a hair salon but is afraid of what Susan will say if she changes anything about her appearance. Noah finally convinces Amelia to do what she wants instead of what Susan wants and leaves her at the salon.

Amelia has fun listening to the women at the hair salon gossip back and forth as her stylist Heather gives her the bangs she has always wanted. When she ends up blurting out the truth about her relationship with her parents, Heather hugs Amelia and invites her to her upcoming wedding. Just as Noah returns to the salon, Amelia sees a man dressed in dark clothing with a camera outside the window, and she knows the paparazzi have found her. She thinks that her mother must have sent them since she’s the only one Amelia told her location. Noah and the hairdressers help her get out of the salon unnoticed, even when the paparazzo comes inside and starts asking questions about her.

Noah believes he needs to stay away from Amelia and tries to hide from her in his bedroom. He hears Amelia stop outside his door and consider knocking, but she leaves instead.

Amelia knows that Noah is hiding in his room to get space from her, yet she still wants to knock on his door. She calls Susan to distract herself, but Susan automatically assumes that Amelia has fallen for Noah and is ready to give up her life to be with him. Susan belittles her and tells Amelia to call back when she’s ready to be a professional again, before handing the phone to her assistant Claire while she heads into a meeting. Claire begins to talk about Amelia’s upcoming tour until they hear a door close behind Susan, and Claire’s whole demeanor transforms. She tells Amelia that some terrible things are going on behind her back that she wants to tell her about, but it will have to wait until she is back in town. Claire admits that she will be leaving Susan shortly but that she’s happy Amelia is finally getting a break. She’s going to pretend that the call between them dropped so Amelia doesn’t have to think about work and she will have an excuse to tell Susan. Amelia feels shocked, but grateful to Claire. As she heads back to her room, contemplating what Claire could have meant, she trips on her pajama pants and literally falls into Noah’s room, startling them both. When Amelia looks around, she sees Noah’s personality in the decor and shelves of books he has in his room. Noah invites her to stay and read with him, and Amelia agrees, though she only pretends to be reading for the next hour as she soaks in every detail about Noah.

The next day, Amelia and Noah avoid one another, knowing they are on a path that neither of them can afford to follow. She has decided to have a girls’ night with the Walker sisters but feels nervous because she hasn’t spent time alone with girlfriends since high school and doesn’t know what to do. Noah assures her that she will be okay and hugs her before he leaves, but the sisters catch the two in their embrace. When Noah leaves, the four women watch Roman Holiday, and the Walker sisters all fall in love with Audrey Hepburn. Emily, however, is confused as to why Hepburn’s character has to leave the man she loves at the end of the movie. The sisters notice that Amelia has cut her hair like Hepburn did in the movie, and Amelia admits that although she initially wanted to imitate the movie by coming to Rome, she’s not trying to follow in Hepburn’s exact footsteps. The Walker sisters continue to that Amelia’s stay in Rome will end and she’ll return to her other life, just as Hepburn’s character does.

Noah sleeps on James’s couch to avoid coming home to Amelia, but James peppers him with questions about their relationship. Amelia arrives at James’s neighboring house to tell him she will be spending the day working with Annie, wanting the experience of working a job that isn’t on the stage. James invites her to work at his farm the following day. Before she leaves, Amelia reveals that she set a small fire while trying to make pancakes again, and she looks out the window to make sure that the fire truck that came is gone before Noah can return home.

Noah comes to Annie’s flower shop to find Amelia and take her fishing, one of the things on her list. They have a peaceful drive to a nearby lake and Amelia feels content and relaxed around Noah. When she turns the radio on to break the silence, she’s shocked back to reality by the sound of her own voice and the reminder that she is about to go on a nine-month tour. Noticing her discomfort, Noah turns on a CD his grandmother gave him, and Amelia asks about her at the lake. Noah tells her about his fiery grandmother Silvie and how she and Mabel practically raised him. Noah asks her about her stage name and Amelia says she hates it because she thought the name Rae Rose would help keep her life as Amelia Rose separate, but instead Rae Rose just absorbed her. The two continue to talk about their lives and tease each other, and when Amelia jokes about Noah being no fun, he pushes her into the water.

Amelia is in disbelief, especially after Noah jumps in the lake as well and begins flirting with her. Though they’ve both agreed that they cannot be in a relationship, they start kissing. Amelia stops it before anything can go further, wanting nothing more than to hide in her room and forget this happened, but Noah mentions he has someone he needs to see and he was hoping Amelia would come with him.

Noah takes them back to his house so they can change into dry clothes, where Amelia has a song lyric pop into her head for the first time in months. Afterward, he drives her to an assisted living facility where his grandmother now lives. Noah admits that he let Amelia believe his grandmother was dead because it’s easier than telling the whole story about his grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the reason he left New York. As they go to meet Silvie, Amelia realizes just how natural it is for Noah to care for others, especially the woman who raised him. As they leave Silvie pulls both of them in for a hug, and Amelia realizes just how much harder it will be to leave Noah now that he’s let her in to this part of his life.

When they get back to the house, Amelia corners Noah and admits her feelings for him, confessing that it’s not just physical attraction for her. Though Noah feels the same way, they establish rules to keep them from becoming too involved and agree not to hang out alone anymore. Amelia spends the next day at the farm with James and they arrange to have a dinner party with Noah and his sisters. Despite the rules they’ve established, Noah feels jealous of all the time James gets to spend with Amelia and thinks back to their kiss from the previous day. When Noah arrives for dinner, he doesn’t know how to interact with Amelia. James shows him all the pancakes she’s been making for dinner.