arranged for her to sleep in the blue suite next to yours, Regina.”
“I hoped you’d suggest it. I’d love it if Alexandra were close to me. It’s lonely down that hall.”
“I thought you might like the idea.” Lucca grinned. “She’s eager to learn Italian, and I can’t think of a better way for her to pick it up than to spend time with you after her lessons.”
“I’ll ring Professor Emilio. He’ll be the best teacher for her, Lucca. Between sightseeing and shopping, it won’t be long before she’s rattling off Italian with me.”
“Bene. I knew I could count on you.” He sounded inordinately pleased with his sister’s ideas.
Alex smiled at her, reassured by her warmth and generous nature. “You and Lucca speak impeccable English. I’m very impressed.”
“Thank you. We had excellent teachers and spent time in England.”
“It shows. How many languages do you speak?”
“Five.”
“Now that’s incredible.”
“Not really. Papa speaks a dozen.” Regina’s expression suddenly grew sober. “Has Lucca told you how sick he’s been?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry.”
“When he hears the news about you two, he’ll be overjoyed. Mama and I are convinced it will add years to his life.”
“Knowing Lucca is going to take over will come as a major release for him, I’m certain of it,” Alex assured her.
On that note her husband-to-be got up from the table and came around to place his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently. “What do you say we fly on to the palace. I’m anxious to get you installed and comfortable. This evening will be soon enough to present you to our parents.”
Her relief was so great that he was going to give her the rest of the day to get her bearings that she wasn’t prepared when he leaned over without warning and kissed the side of her neck. Regina was getting the totally wrong impression of the way things really were, but that was the whole idea.
The feel of his mouth against her hot skin was positively erotic. Liquid fire ran its course through her body. She wasn’t sure she could leave the cabin on her own power. Her weakness increased when Lucca put his hand behind her neck and guided her out of the jet into a lovely warm June midmorning.
They walked a short distance to the waiting helicopter. Regina and her own bodyguards had gone ahead of them. Lucca’s bodyguards stayed close. Paolo was the last one inside the ten-passenger interior before they lifted off.
Alex didn’t know why, but all of a sudden the upward movement seemed to break the trance she’d been in for the past twenty-four hours. The people surrounding her were strangers, all speaking a language she didn’t understand.
The sight of the gleaming white jet with its royal coat of arms receding from view was as unfamiliar as the curved coastline bordering the plain of Nice. She was being whisked away to the home of the future king of Castelmare. In four weeks, she would be his wife.
Like a leaf tossed in the wind, she was rootless, being swept along over high-perched villages and blue-green water by some unseen force so much greater than she could comprehend, she started to shiver and couldn’t stop.
A hard-muscled arm slid around her shoulders. Lucca pulled her into his side as close as the straps would allow. “It’ll be all right,” he whispered into her hair. “You should have told me you don’t like helicopters. We could have driven the short distance instead. Just cling to me. We’ll be landing on the north grounds of the palace in two minutes. I swear it.”
“I’m fine,” she croaked, too shaken by events to correct his erroneous assumption. He smelled divinely male and felt so solid she rested against him, needing his strength. She was probably creasing the expensive-looking tan suit adorning his striking male physique, but he didn’t seem to mind.
By the time they landed on the helipad, her tremors had subsided. To her chagrin other sensations had taken over she didn’t want to feel or acknowledge. Fearing he could sense her emotional turmoil, she undid her seat belt and stood up, forcing him to relinquish his hold on her. At the same time she noticed the speculative glance Regina had given her and Lucca.
One day Regina would observe too closely and learn the truth, that she and Lucca were only playacting. Though her brother was in love with another woman, he had to walk a fine line in order to convince everyone his marriage to Alex was built on solid ground. For the moment she had to respond like a woman in love, yet already she was worn-out with the strain of it and longed to be alone to think.
When it came her turn to climb out of the helicopter with Lucca’s assistance, she noticed a swarm of staff from the palace descending on them. The crown prince and favorite son had come home at last.
No sooner did that thought fill her mind than Regina put a hand on Alex’s arm. “Now that we’ve arrived, my brother’s life won’t be his own. Come on. I’ll show you to your suite. After a transatlantic flight I’m always exhausted, even if I’ve slept.” Regina understood a great deal.
Lucca stood behind her and gave her waist a surreptitious squeeze, melting her insides. “Go with my sister,” he whispered before kissing her temple. “I’ll ring you later in the day when you’ve had a chance to rest.” It was clear there’d be no introductions to anyone until she’d been presented to his parents.
Alex nodded without looking at him and followed Regina’s lead, but with each stride that took her away from him, she felt the keen loss of his presence.
Better get used to it, Alex. Lucca is only a figurehead in your life. Concentrate on obtaining your goals, then you won’t be a pathetic creature who listens for his every footstep and hangs like a heavy millstone around his neck. Focus on your surroundings.
Her surroundings …
She paused midway to the north portico at the rear of the sprawling Renaissance palace. It was perched on the lower part of a steep hillside. In the late-morning sun the ornate, three-story structure gleamed like a dazzling white jewel against a backdrop of an impossibly blue sea and sky.
Her gaze lifted to the stunning flag with a white cross on a red field designating the House of Savoy. Below it was a flag with a crown and shield of the reigning Vittorio family coat-of-arms. She’d seen the same insignia emblazoned on the jet’s exterior.
Everywhere her eyes traveled she discovered fruit and palm trees. Flower gardens with too many varieties to name dotted the fluid carpet of velvety green. The marvelous scent of roses mixed with lemon and orange filled her lungs.
Southern California had its share of fabulous estates, but nothing she’d ever seen came close to this. Regina walked back to her. “It’s breathtaking to me, too, and I’ve lived here all my life.”
“No ordinary gardener created this paradise. It’s been done by a master planner. I’m staggered by so much beauty.”
Regina’s heart-shaped mouth curved into a smile that lit her warm brown eyes. “I’ll tell Dizo what you said.”
“Who’s
