for a moment.
CHAPTER FOUR
“LUCCA?” His sister’s anxious cry almost broke his eardrum.
It was the middle of the night, yet she sounded as if she hadn’t been to bed yet. Not so the members of the palace staff he could trust. They’d already received a rude awakening from his nocturnal phone calls. At the moment they were busy carrying out his orders.
“Ciao, Regina.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re not coming home. It’s been close to two months. I’ve run all the interference with the parents I can.”
“No man ever had a better friend. Only one more favor.”
“Lucca—”
“Scusimi, cara. Don’t talk, just listen. This is important.”
He heard a groan.
“It’s four-thirty palace time. In three hours the helicopter will be waiting to fly you to the airport in Nice. We need privacy, so we’ll meet for breakfast on board the jet.”
“But—”
“No questions now. I’ve been working half the night and need a few hours’ sleep before the plane lands. All will be answered when we see each other. Ciao.”
Lucca clicked off. Now that everything had been set in motion, he could pass out. After putting his phone on the bedside table, he turned on his stomach and buried his face in the pillow for what was left of the night.
“Your Highness?”
Through waves of torpor he heard the steward’s voice and let out a moan.
“Si. What is it?”
“You asked me to waken you at seven.”
Lucca frowned before glancing at his watch. He’d been asleep three hours already? How was that possible?
“Is Princess Alexandra up yet?”
“If she is, she hasn’t left her cabin.”
The thought of seeing her this morning produced an adrenaline rush, bringing him fully awake. “Before we’re ready to land, ask her to join me in the study.”
He nodded and left the cabin.
Once Lucca had showered and shaved, he opened his closet doors. After a quick perusal, “The tan suit I think with the brown silk shirt. No tie,” he muttered to himself.
Five minutes later he entered the study to discover she was seated near the window drinking coffee. Filled with relief that yesterday’s earthshaking events hadn’t been a figment of his imagination, his muscles relaxed.
“Buongiorno, Alexandra.”
“Buongiorno, Lucca. Come va?”
She must have asked the steward for help. It pleased him she was already trying to communicate in his native tongue. One day she would be fluent.
“Va bene. Grazie.” His gaze took in her plum-colored silk mandarin-collar shirt and gray denims. She had superb dress sense. Most Italian women of his personal acquaintance weren’t as tall. None had her artless sophistication. When he realized he was staring, he poured himself coffee from the tray placed on the table. Then he sat down opposite her. “How did you sleep?”
She smoothed some hair away from her temple in an unconsciously feminine gesture. “Probably as well as you did.”
He chuckled before swallowing the hot liquid. “If we’re always this honest with each other, we’ll have no problems.”
“Lucca—” She put her mug in the drink holder. “This is all new territory for both of us and we’ll have to make it up as we go along, but there are a few things we need to discuss before I meet your parents.” Her breathlessness was more pronounced this morning, a sign her composure was only surface deep.
“You took the words out of my mouth. As soon as we land, I’ll do my best to prepare you so you’ll feel at ease.”
In reaction to his comment she rolled those fabulous eyes of hers. The unexpected gesture made him smile. Along with everything else about her, Alexandra had a healthy sense of humor. Living with her was going to be fun.
With perfect timing the seat-belt light flashed on. “Have you been to Europe before?”
“No.”
They both buckled up.
“I envy you seeing everything for the first time.”
Her knuckles looked white where she gripped the armrests. “If there is a first time.”
Lucca’s laughter resounded in the cabin. He’d done this hundreds of times before, but had forgotten the steep descent wasn’t to everyone’s taste. While she took in the view of one of the world’s most famous coastlines, he preferred to concentrate on the view seated across from him. She was all soft shoulders and long legs.
Mio dio, her mouth …
No sooner had they taxied to a stop than Lucca was at his desk, talking to someone on the phone. Alex sensed a hum of activity both in and outside the plane.
Cocooned as she was in the body of the jet, she felt a certain comfort in being relatively isolated from the world, but her heart did a double clutch to realize that before long she’d be stepping into his world. The gravity of what she’d done was starting to seep in.
Footsteps in the corridor drew her attention away from the window where she could see men and maintenance vehicles clustering around to service the plane. Her ear picked up a woman’s voice.
Alex felt her stomach muscles bunch in apprehension. Lucca had virtually promised her they’d talk before she met his parents. Surprised she might not be able to trust him after all, she turned to him. However, no words escaped because the steward had just wheeled in a cart of food. Behind him came a woman who couldn’t possibly be his mother.
“Lucca—” cried the adorable-looking female who launched herself at him. She was maybe five-four with a cap of glossy black curls and a figure to rival that of Gina Lollobrigida.
Alex’s boss, Michelle, had worked around movie stars for years and thought the curvaceous Italian film idol of the fifties was the essence of feminine beauty. Apparently, Lucca thought the same thing. Was this the woman he loved? His dark eyes flashed with emotion as he rushed around to crush her in his arms.
“Regina,” he murmured.
The sight of him rocking her curvy body dressed in a trendy-looking, ribbed top in navy with white cargo pants drew a groan from Alex. Though she’d made a promise to herself to help the two of them all she could, she hadn’t expected to be thrown in at the deep end this fast.
Obviously, something very private was going on. The other woman was crying gut-wrenching tears.
