said with an embarrassed chuckle.
“One bite told them everything they needed to know. They stuffed themselves and took the few uneaten mounds with them when they left my room.”
“Now you’re just trying to make me feel good because...because that’s the kind of man you are,” she said, her voice faltering.
“You don’t have to compliment me back.” Yes, she did. She owed him her life right now. “Let me prove it to you.”
Tuccia watched him pull out his cell phone and make a call to Vincenzo, the present Duc di Lombardi. They talked for a few moments before he hung up.
“Vincenzo’s wife, Gemma, will be arriving within the hour. Shall we eat the breakfast I brought now? Then I’ll clean up the kitchen while you get ready for our guest.”
A slight gasp escaped her lips. “Why would she be coming here?”
He reached for the bag of food and set it on the table. “You’ve passed your first test by baking a dessert the castello ristorante would be proud to serve. But this is only the beginning if you decide to accept the daunting challenge facing you.”
She averted her eyes. “You’re right. It’s so daunting, I’m terrified.”
“Be frank with Gemma and see what happens.”
“What’s she like?”
“Only a few years older than you and one of the nicest, kindest women I’ve ever known.”
“Besides being a master pastry chef.”
He nodded. “A chef who’s about to become a mother. She can’t wait for their baby to arrive and is anxious to let someone else take on her former mantle.”
“Which no doubt you will be doing before the day is out, Cesare. Please forgive me if I skip breakfast. That was very kind of you to bring it, but I’m afraid I can’t eat anything right now.”
She rushed to the bedroom to take a shower and change into jeans and a knit top. Tuccia had only packed a few understated clothes at Bertina’s because she knew she would have to travel light on her trip to Catania and didn’t dare stand out.
After being sheltered at Lina Donati’s villa for one night, she could never have known she would end up here in Milan to face a situation undreamed of.
Be frank with Gemma.
Tuccia interpreted that to mean she must put the princess part of herself aside. For once she had to dig down to her core and decide if she thought she could pull this off.
This could all end in a second if she asked Cesare to call Vincenzo back and tell him not to bring his wife to the pensione. Within a few minutes Tuccia could be driven to the train.
That would leave Cesare to take on the exclusive role of executive pastry chef until he found someone else exceptional, or until Signor Fragala recovered.
But for Tuccia, it would mean never seeing him again. Her heart told her she couldn’t handle that. He’d become too important to her.
Sucking in her breath, she reached for the brush to style her curls. Once she’d applied some light makeup and lipstick, she left the bedroom to face what was coming.
* * *
Cesare walked outside when he saw Vincenzo’s Mercedes pull up in front. While his friend came around from the other side, Cesare helped a blonde, very pregnant Gemma out of the front seat and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for coming.”
“It’s my privilege. How à propos that the princess is staying here in the same apartment I did.”
“I thought it the safest place to conceal her.”
“You’ve found the perfect spot tucked out of the way. It takes me back to those first days when I left the pensione to meet you for the first time. I was shaking in my boots to be interviewed by the internationally famous restaurateur owner of the Castello Supremo Hotel and Ristorante di Lombardi.”
“I would never have known it, Gemma. When you told me your mother’s pastry would always be the best, I felt an immediate affinity to you since I felt the same way about my mother’s Sicilian cooking. Your desserts were divine.”
She kissed his cheek. “Little did I know I would come face to face with Vincenzo when I thought he’d disappeared from my life forever.”
Her husband put his arm around her nonexistent waist. “None of us will forget that day. I too thought I’d lost the love of my life. Grazie a Dio we found each other.”
While his friend chose that moment to kiss Gemma thoroughly, Cesare went back inside the apartment. Tuccia had come in the small living room looking so appealing he’d have liked to do the same thing to her. He was in serious trouble because he knew he couldn’t hold back much longer in showing her how he felt.
“They’re coming,” he said, after answering the question in her misty gray eyes, which were more noticeable because of her black fringed lashes and black hair. She had the most remarkable coloring and light olive complexion. With her oval face and alluring mouth, she looked so irresistible he had to force himself to look away or he’d make her uncomfortable.
He heard the others file inside. “Princess Tuccianna, allow me to present two of my dearest and closest friends, Vincenzo Gagliardi, the Duc di Lombardi, and his wife Gemma.”
“It’s a real honor for me.” Tuccia shook their hands.
“We’re the ones honored, Princess,” Vincenzo declared. Cesare could tell his friend was bowled over by her beauty, a feat that didn’t happen often.
“Please, just call me Tuccia. Won’t you sit down? I feel a fraud inviting you into this pensione Cesare not only found for me, but is paying for until I can reimburse him.”
Cesare noted she was always grace itself. The spoiled princess as reported in the news wasn’t the same person he’d pulled against his body a few nights ago for fear she would fall.
“Your desperate situation has called for drastic measures. I had a similar experience in my late teens and was anxious for any help I could get.” Leave it to Vincenzo to make her feel comfortable.
“Nevertheless I’ve put all of you in a dangerous position simply by being here and want you to know I’m ready to leave after we’ve talked.”
Gemma got up from the couch. Cesare noticed that she was a little slower these days. “Tuccia? Before there’s any talk like that, why don’t you and I go in the kitchen where we can be private and let the guys talk business in here.”
Cesare nodded. “That’s a good idea.” He watched Tuccia follow Gemma into the kitchen. She might be nervous now, but before long she’d realize she couldn’t be in better hands than Gemma’s. His gaze swerved to his friend.
“How does your wife really feel about this?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“She ate one of the tarts I took back to our room. When she’d finished, she said, ‘I know this was Cesare’s recipe, but if Tuccia can
