going back up on deck.
In a moment they’d put on their weight belts and buoyancy-control devices. He reminded her of the film phenomenon James Bond. She finished dressing and put her goggles in place. “We’ll be going down eighty feet. Ready?”
“Si, bellissima.”
He shouldn’t have said that to her. The deep tone of his compliment curled to her insides, disturbing her concentration. She ended up jumping in the water after he did, almost forgetting to keep her goggles and regulator in place.
The air temperature registered eighty degrees, but the water was cooler. Once below the surface she pressed the button to let out some air. The weights carried her down, down. Rini stayed right with her, watching her as their ears adjusted to the pressure. She could tell by the way he moved that he was a pro. It made her feel perfectly safe.
Eight minutes later they reached the sea floor with its clumps of vegetation and only a smattering of tiny fish. He stayed with her as she moved toward the area where she could see the group working. They all waved to her. She motioned for Rini to swim with her beyond the circle and examine a nearby area. The ridge in the distance looked promising, but as she brushed some of the debris away, it turned out to be more debris instead of a column lying on its side.
Rini found some interesting spots and waved her over to him, but every investigation came up short. She got the feeling they were searching in the wrong area. After a half hour he tapped his watch. She’d been about to do the same thing because it was time to go up and it would take a while.
They started the ascent, listening to the rhythm of their breathing through their regulators. She felt like they were the only people alive and loved this dive that had been magical for her. The sheer pleasure of enjoying this experience with him, of depending on him, could never be equaled.
Once they broke the surface, he helped her onto the transom before levering himself on board. Before she could sit down on a banquette, another boat approached them.
“Alessandra—”
“Ciao, Bruno.” She waved to him and the three others from the institute who rode with him.
“I was hoping you’d make it. Who’s your friend?”
“Bruno Tozzi, meet Signor Montanari.” The two men nodded. She refused to tell him anything about Rini. “It’s too bad we haven’t turned up anything interesting yet.”
“We’ll have to keep searching tomorrow.”
Another of the divers said, “Why don’t you join us in Crotone for dinner?”
“Thank you, but I’m afraid we have other plans. We’ll do another dive with you in the morning.”
“Bene.”
In a minute their boat drove off. Alessandra was glad he’d gone and hurried below deck to get out of her wet suit. When she came up on deck a few minutes, she found Rini already changed into his clothes. He’d organized their gear near the back of the boat and had taken down the flag.
His eyes played over her. “It’s growing dark. Do you have a place in mind where we can camp?”
“Yes. A small, secluded cove five minutes from here. I’ll raise the anchor.” She turned on the boat lights and they headed for the coast. Her heart fluttered in her chest when she thought of spending the night out here with him. Because she knew this area so well, they arrived quickly. She cut the engine and the momentum swept them onto the sandy portion of the isolated beach.
Alessandra turned to him. “Do you want to eat on deck, or in the galley?”
“Since the food is already up here, let’s stay put, shall we? I’ll do the honors and serve you for a change.”
“Well, thank you.”
In a minute he had everything laid out on the opposite banquette and they could pick what they wanted—fruit, meat pastries, cheese rolls, drinks, chocolate and almonds.
He sat back in the chair opposite her and feasted. “After that dive, this is heaven,” he admitted with satisfaction.
“I can tell you’re a seasoned diver, Rini. It was a privilege to be with you today.”
“Now you know how I feel to have joined you. I’m excited about tomorrow’s dive. Maybe we’ll find something, but even if we don’t, it doesn’t take away from the thrill of being with an expert like you.”
His compliments sounded so sincere, she was in danger of believing them. “I loved it.”
After a brief silence, he said, “Dr. Tozzi was upset to see you out here with me, so don’t deny it.”
“I wasn’t going to.” She reached for some more grapes. “I’m glad you were with me. I’ve told him I’m not interested in him. Now he’s seen it for himself.”
Rini’s dark brows furrowed. “Is that the reason I was invited along?”
He couldn’t really think that, could he? It would mean he felt vulnerable. She couldn’t imagine him having a vulnerable bone in his body. She leaned forward. “Of course not!”
He bit into another plum. “Is there an important man in your life?”
Yes. I’m looking at him. “Not in years.”
“Why not?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she blurted without thinking. “Why does Rinieri Montanari sail alone?”
“I asked you first,” he returned. “A beautiful, fascinating woman like you has to have a history.”
Alessandra wasn’t used to hearing those adjectives attributed to herself. If he only knew it, she was totally enamored with him. “You don’t really want to know.”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” At this point he’d put the leftover food back in the sacks she would take down to the galley later.
“I fell in love with Francesco at twenty-two. He was a chef from Catania when I was in my last year of undergraduate school. He swore undying love for me and said he’d found his soul mate. I believed him. We talked about getting married.
“One weekend Dea came to visit. I was excited for her to meet him. She stayed in my apartment with me and the three of us spent time together. After she left for Rome, where she was pursuing a modeling career, everything seemed to change. He suddenly told me he had to go on vacation and would call me as soon as he got back. During those two weeks he didn’t phone me once.
“I thought I’d lose my mind until I heard from him. I imagined every reason under the sun for his absence except the one he gave me. He didn’t have the decency to tell me in person. Instead, he sent me a letter telling me he’d fallen in love with Dea and knew I couldn’t forgive him.”
Lines darkened Rini’s features in the semidarkness.
“At the time it was terrible. Dea didn’t come home for two months. When she did, she told me he’d followed her to Rome, but it was over between the two of them almost
