together.”
She cupped his striking face in her hands. “That’s what you say now.”
He kissed the tips of her fingers. “What kind of a comment is that? You think I’m going to change? Wouldn’t I have already done that over the years we’ve been apart? I’ve already asked you to marry me. What more proof do you need? That’s a commitment to last forever.” He plundered her mouth with another heart-stopping kiss.
Gemma moaned. “All lovers say that. If you were a normal man, I could believe it.”
He raised up on one elbow, tracing the outline of her lips. “You don’t think I’m normal? We’ve been apart too long. Spend the night with me and you’ll find out the truth.”
“I don’t mean that kind of normal, and you know it.”
“With you lying here in my arms, your lambent green eyes as alive with desire as your body, I’m in the mood to humor you. I hunger for you, Gemma.”
“You’re not thinking clearly, Vincenzo.” She fought tears. “I can’t marry you.”
Lines marred his arresting features. “Of course you can. A duca can do whatever he likes, choose whatever woman he wants, just like any other man.”
“I know,” she whispered, turning her head away. Oh, how well she knew after learning the dark secrets inside the walls of the castello. His father’s and uncle’s proclivities for other women had been one of the great scandals in all Lombardi.
He caught her chin so she had to look at him. “Let’s get something straight once and for all. I have despised the class system all my life and fought against it growing up. The idea of finding the right princess to marry in order to gain more power and money is revolting to me. Your love sustained me growing up. It means more to me than any riches or possessions.”
She eased away from him and sat up, smoothing the hair off her forehead. “You say that now.”
“I’ll say it now and until the end of our days together.”
“Vincenzo—” A sob escaped. “You just don’t understand.”
“Then help me.” He tugged on her hand so she couldn’t get off the bed. She’d never heard him sound so dark.
“You’re the most wonderful, remarkable man I’ve ever known. But you were born with a special destiny.”
“No. I happened to be born the son of a duca. That’s not destiny. It’s an accident of birth.”
“Please listen. I’m going to tell you something you never knew. One time when your grandfather was out in the back courtyard in his wheelchair, I was sent out to take him a sweet. He loved Mamma’s zeppole. I gave them to him.
“After he thanked me, I started to hurry away, but he called to me. ‘Come back here, piccola,’ he said and reached for my hand. ‘I’ve seen you with my grandson. You’ve been a good friend to him and I can tell you like him. And I know why. Can you keep a secret?’ I nodded.
“‘There’s a reason everyone likes him. One day he’ll grow up to be the finest duca of us all. With his princess he’ll raise future duchi, who will have a wonderful father to look up to. But I’m afraid I won’t live to see it.’ He kept hold of my hand and wept.
“Even though I was young, I realized that he was letting me know how lucky I was to be in your company. When I ran back to Mamma and told her, she said it was a sign from heaven that I should always respect my friendship with you. To think of wanting anything more would be sacrilege.”
* * *
“Santa Madre di Dio!” Vincenzo got off the bed, putting his hands on his hips in a totally male stance. “So that’s the reason for all this talk! Gemma—if it will ease your mind, I’ve heard your opinion on the subject before. Your mother shared her beliefs because she loves you and wants to protect you.”
“Still, my temper sometimes gets the best of me.”
“I remember,” he murmured. “That time you and Bianca went swimming in the lake without your clothes. You thought Dimi and I had been spying on you and had taken them. I confess we did spy with my binoculars from a tree at the edge of the forest.”
“Vincenzo—”
“But it turned out we weren’t the culprits. The dog of one of the guards ran off with your clothes. We chased it down and brought your things back to you, but I don’t recall you thanking us.”
She shook her head. “We were too embarrassed to talk. That was so humiliating, you can’t imagine.”
“You were our wood nymphs come to life. Dimi and I thought it was the most wonderful day we’d ever spent.”
“You would!” But even across the expanse separating them he detected a half smile.
“I’ll tell you another secret. My mother was very fond of you. But because she was a princess, she believed any feelings I had for you would come to grief. Like your mother, Mamma had also been raised in a different world of rigidity within the titled class.”
Gemma sat on the edge of the bed. “Her words were prophetic.”
“Not completely. Dimi and I broke rules all over the place. It’s a new world now. Because of a reaction to the misuse of noble titles in our country, you’ll notice a trend among legitimate aristocracy in this last decade to refrain from making use of their titles.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“What’s important is that you and I have found each other again and I’m no longer in danger from my father or uncle. The powers that be are gone.”
“Thank heaven for that, Vincenzo. But what did you mean when you said you wouldn’t be a duca much longer?”
He hadn’t meant to tell her this soon, but right now he was desperate to get closer to her. “Since my return to Italy, there are men in the government who know of my business interests in the US and here. I’m not blind. Because of my title they want me to get on board with them to play an economic role in the region’s future. It’s all political, Gemma. The title corrupted my father and uncle. It turned their souls dark. I refuse to let that happen to me.”
“You don’t know if the title did that to them, Vincenzo. I watched you grow up titled, remember? I never once saw you do an unkind thing in your whole life.” She stared hard at him. “You can’t change who you are.”
“Oh, but I can.”
“How?”
“By renouncing my title. Once that’s done, it’s permanent. If I have a son or sons, they won’t inherit it, and any daughters I might have can’t inherit it anyway. The beauty of it is that an Italian title of nobility cannot be sold or transferred. In other words, the abuse stops with me. My male children and their children and the children after them won’t be burdened.”
Her eyes widened. “If you do that, won’t the title fall on Dimi through his father?”
“Yes,
