envy to be loved like that.
The steward continued to lay out breakfast, seemingly oblivious to their uninhibited reunion. Alex wished she could remain as unaffected. Shocked by another strange jolt of pain and embarrassed for anyone to notice, she turned her head away and ended up looking blindly out the window again.
“Regina? I want you to meet someone.” Lucca had switched to English. That was Alex’s cue to give them her attention. With pounding heart, she pivoted around, then came to an abrupt stop because the lovely face and moist eyes staring at her was the feminine version of Lucca’s.
She was his sister!
A wave of intense relief washed over Alex, catching her by surprise. She clung to the back of the seat.
“May I present Princess Alexandra Carlisle Grigory of Beverly Hills, California. Alexandra? I would like you to meet my one and only sibling, Princess Regina Schiaparelli Vittorio.”
“How do you do?” both women said at once and shook hands. The puzzled, curious look in his sister’s expression couldn’t hope to match Alex’s dazed condition. In trying to recover, she made the mistake of glancing at Lucca.
His eyes were so alive Alex knew he had to be thinking about the freedom he now had. It wouldn’t be long now before he could go to his lover and tell her there was a way they could be together. “Regina, I wanted you to be the first to know that Alexandra has consented to be my wife.”
Following that revelation a gasp broke from his sister. Her eyes, a burgundy brown, stared at Alex in shock before darting to Lucca. “I-is this the truth?” she stammered, as if she were afraid to believe it.
“As God is my witness,” came his solemn response.
Alex wasn’t prepared for the way Regina’s eyes lit up or her strong hug that came close to knocking Alex down. It was a good thing she was taller and could take the impact.
Once again Lucca’s sister was sobbing, but these seemed to be happy sobs for her brother who appeared to have picked the bride he wanted. All these years Regina had to have been aware of Lucca’s pain. Now she was misinterpreting the situation, but it didn’t matter. In witnessing the degree of love Regina felt for her brother, Alex was more determined than ever to facilitate matters for the two lovers.
Already Alex loved Regina for being so devoted to him. This was the way family should be, all for one and one for all. Lucca’s happiness was the goal that would bind her friendship with his sister.
Over Regina’s heaving shoulder, Alex met Lucca’s gaze. His dark orbs were thanking her. She smiled slowly at him, letting him know he could trust her to be his friend. He smiled back. The moment was so piercingly sweet she closed her eyes to savor it.
In the next instant Regina moved out of his arms. “Forgive me,” she said, wiping her eyes. “What a beginning!”
“Being an only child I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a sister,” Alex confided. “I’m no longer nervous.”
Regina laughed gently, but was still shaking her head, bewildered. “How did it happen? Where did you two meet? When? Mama and Papa know nothing! This has to be the best-kept secret of the century.”
Better stick to the truth as much as possible. “In a roundabout way through my mother.”
“That’s right. On business,” Lucca added. “Let’s eat while we talk, shall we?” By tacit agreement the three of them sat down at the table.
Breakfast for a king, that’s what had been ordered. Alex was starving. She filled her plate with a little bit of everything and ate her fill. Lucca’s healthy appetite told its own story this morning, but Regina was too excited to eat more than a peach.
“Men are never good with the details, so I want to hear the whole thing from you, Alexandra.”
Alex flashed Lucca a signal of distress but he was no help and bit into another roll with those beautiful white teeth of his. Apparently he and his sister had few secrets … except the biggest one.
“My mother died a little more than five months ago leaving a large debt. Her attorney advised me to sell her diamonds and suggested the House of Savoy in New York. I flew out and—”
“And that’s how we met,” Lucca took over. “The attraction between us caught us both by surprise. It will interest you to know that Alexandra’s mother was Kathryn Carlisle, the film star. Her first husband was Alexandra’s father, Prince Oleg Grigory.”
Regina cocked her head and studied Alex for a full minute. “With those Russian roots, I think you’re even more beautiful than your mother and that’s saying a lot considering I’ve seen several of her pictures. Trust my brother to find the cream over in America.”
She breathed deeply. “Thank you, Regina. I feel the same way about him. We complement each other in the ways that are most important.” What else could she say? Theirs wasn’t a love match or anything close to it, but Lucca expected her to reciprocate his affection in front of the public and his family. That’s what he’d said.
“With many discoveries still to be made,” Lucca imparted unexpectedly. His hand closed over hers across the table. “Isn’t that right, bellissima?”
A glorious word to hear from a man if he truly loved you.
Alex crinkled her nose. “That’s what has me worried, Regina. I sing off-key, I’m messy and I don’t know if I snore. There, Lucca.” She squeezed his hand before letting it go. Hers was on fire. “That’s my confession for today. Tomorrow, three more.”
Lucca threw his head back and laughed. Regina joined him. When it subsided she said, “I could tell you a lot of things about my brother.”
“But you won’t,” he clipped out. “Let Alexandra discover them one at a time so I don’t scare her off.”
“Is there a reason why she’s not wearing the betrothal ring yet?”
“Si, piccina. All the reason in the world. I didn’t happen to be carrying it around with me when I left on business weeks ago.”
“Besides, Lucca knows I don’t like rings,” Alex inserted before he could say anything else. “In between working toward my degree, I’ve been a makeup artist at a movie studio for the past eight years. Rings and bracelets just get in the way.”
“Even so,” he supplied, “we’ve decided on a simple gold wedding band at the ceremony. That’s all two people need to symbolize their true feelings.”
“I agree,” Regina murmured as if she had something else on her mind. “What did you major in?”
“Biology.”
“You’ve led an amazing life.”
Alex’s gaze collided with Lucca’s before she looked away. “I was rather thinking the same thing about you, Regina. My father died before I was a year old, and I was raised by nannies. I didn’t grow up in a palace like Castelmare with two doting parents and grandparents and a loving brother like Lucca.”
“Which brings us to the subject at hand,”
