jewels.”
At the moment, her hands were covered in a rash from washing and scrubbing them so much before surgery. She’d tried every cream in existence, but they still itched and had blotchy spots he rubbed several times. Callie pulled her hand away, shaken by his touch which had arced through her body like a current of electricity.
Pulling off the ring, she put it back in the box and shoved it at him. “I have something else you can give the prince.” Once more she reached in her bag and handed him the envelope with the check inside.
He opened it. “Ten thousand dollars. To my knowledge, the prince had no expectations of a wedding present from you. However I’m aware of something he would like, and this is the exact amount to cover it.” His eyes flashed black fire. “You’re going to make him the happiest man alive.”
Putting both items in his pockets, he cupped her elbow. “It’s a beautiful fall afternoon. Since you don’t require any clothes, I thought you might like a ride around the city to relax you. It’s only fitting that you survey your kingdom before the wedding tomorrow. Shall we get started?”
Callie jerked her arm away. “I’m not going anywhere with you and that money isn’t a wedding gift.”
He stared at her through veiled eyes. “You’re trembling. But surely there is no reason to be afraid of me. This close to the ceremony, I have sworn a sacred oath to protect you with my life. In fact I am the only person in the world who has Prince Enzo’s complete trust.”
“Then you need to let him know there isn’t going to be a wedding.”
His white smile was condescending. “I thought only the groom had what you Americans call pre-wedding jitters. You are turning out to be a surprise in so many ways, I find myself utterly captivated.”
“Look, Nicco whoever-you-are—I’m going to be honest with you.”
“You mean you haven’t been up to now?”
Callie forced herself to count to ten. “I’ve been trying to tell you something. Before you jump to any more wrong conclusions, you need to hear me out. I’m not the woman his highness picked to marry.”
The amusement in his eyes maddened her. He pulled a photograph out of his back pocket. “Then who is this?”
The picture he held up was obviously the photograph Ann had sent in with the application.
Smothering a groan she said, “I know it looks like me. That’s because I’m Ann’s twin sister, Callie.”
“Callie.” He mouthed her name. In the next breath he’d relieved her of her shoulder bag and pulled out her passport. He opened it and placed the picture next to the passport photo. “According to this, your name is Callie Ann Lassiter.”
“Yes, I know. My sister is named Annabelle, but she goes by Ann. Our father wanted both of us to have our mother’s name.”
His lips twitched. “That’s quite a lie you’ve dreamed up. Obviously you’re frightened of this step you’re about to take. For an aspiring Hollywood actress, who would have guessed it?”
She’d had enough of his barely veiled mockery. Taking a deep breath she said, “You mistake my fright for frustration. It’s because you won’t listen to me. I’m going to try this one more time. I’m not the prince’s intended!”
As if it were his divine right, he unsnapped the strap of her wallet and looked at her driver’s license.
“Callie Ann Lassiter,” he read her name aloud again.
She gritted her teeth. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. I flew over to explain to the prince that she can’t marry him because she’s starring in a new movie. The ten thousand dollars is to pay for the airline tickets and other expenses the prince incurred by choosing to be the celebrity for the benefit.”
When he didn’t say anything, she went on with her explanation.
“She’s very sorry about breaking the contract. I assure you she would have followed through with the marriage. But on the night of the benefit, her agent called with the opportunity of a lifetime. She couldn’t pass it up.”
His continued silence infuriated her.
“They started filming in Hollywood yesterday and she had to be on the set at six in the morning. So she came to see me the day before yesterday and asked me if I would return the ring to the prince in person and give him the money.”
Callie wondered if he was even listening to her.
“If it’s not enough, tell him to contact her agent who will confer with her attorney. She wrote his name and number on a piece of paper in the envelope. I think that’s everything, and now I have to go. They’re calling for my flight to Milan.”
Crowds had gathered once more, filling the terminal with noisy chatter.
“If I could have my wallet and passport please.”
To her great relief, he put everything in her bag and handed it to her with an enigmatic expression on his face. “I will convey your message to the prince.”
Finally a reaction!
“Thank you. Please tell him I’m very sorry my sister didn’t know about the movie offer in time to pull out of the benefit. But if he’s as wonderful as my sister says he is, then I’m sure he’ll have no problem finding another fiancée.
“Ann told me the first runner-up in the competition was dying to be picked. Remind the prince that she was the ravishing brunette who’s also an expert equestrian. Oh, yes, and a graduate student in architecture. She’ll make the right bride for his highness.
“If he acts right away, a private jet could be sent for her in time to arrive for tomorrow’s ceremony. Now I really have to go. Goodbye.”
CHAPTER TWO
RELIEVED to get away from him, Callie handed her boarding pass to the airline person at the gate and hurried through the door to the plane. Once she’d found her seat and strapped herself in, she could finally relax.
The whole thing had gone much better than she’d hoped. In a way she was glad she hadn’t been forced to deal with the prince. No matter how repulsed she was by his evil method to get himself a bride, it still would have been hard to look him in the eye and tell him her sister didn’t want to marry him after all.
As for Niccolo Machiavelli, she needed to put him out of her mind and forget such a man existed. He’d excited her in a frightening kind of way, probably because he was foreign and an unknown quantity. Her body still tingled from the caress of his fingers on her cheek and hands.
She’d never reacted to a man’s touch like that before. Worse, she felt a sense of loss she couldn’t account for to realize she wouldn’t be seeing him again.
It was very strange considering that lately Callie had decided maybe she and Ann had been born without a woman’s normal feelings. All of their friends had found a husband by now. Many of them already had children.
Growing up, Callie and Ann had never
