was a bad joke. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘As serious as it gets.’
‘Diego—’
‘I want to share the rest of your life,’ he said gently. ‘I want to be the father of your children and grow old with you.’
There could be no doubt he meant every word. It was there in the depth of his dark eyes, the heartfelt warmth of his voice, his touch.
Joy began a radiating spiral as it sang through her veins, piercingly sweet and gloriously sensual.
A faint smile lifted the edges of his mouth as he gave the concrete cavern a sweeping glance. ‘I’d planned on different surroundings from these.’
Cassandra’s lips parted in a tremulously soft smile. ‘I don’t need soft music, dimmed lights, fine food or wine.’
Diego brushed his fingers along the edge of her jaw, tilting her chin a little as he caressed the curve of her lower lip with his thumb. ‘Just the words, querida?’
She felt as if she was teetering on the edge of something wonderful. ‘Only if you mean them.’
‘You’re the love I thought I’d never find,’ he said gently. ‘I want, need you. You,’ he emphasised gently. ‘For the rest of my life.’
For a moment she didn’t seem capable of finding her voice. It overwhelmed her. He overwhelmed her. In an instinctive gesture she pressed her mouth against his palm.
‘I didn’t want to like you,’ Cassandra said shakily. ‘I especially didn’t want to fall in love with you.’ She’d fought him every inch of the way, hating him for forcing recognition their souls were twin halves of a whole.
‘Because of my so-called dangerous past?’ he queried with teasing amusement.
‘It shaped and made you the man you’ve become.’ Providing the tenacity, strength of will and integrity lacking in many men his equal.
He fastened his mouth on hers in a kiss that was so evocatively tender it melted her bones.
Minutes later Diego caught hold of her hand and began leading her towards the lift. ‘We need to get out of here.’ His smile held the heat of passion over-layed with a tinge of humour. ‘Your place or mine?’
‘You’re letting me make the decision?’
He paused to take a brief, hard kiss, tangled his tongue with hers, and felt the breath catch in her throat. ‘You have a sassy mouth.’
‘That’s a compliment?’
Seconds later the lift doors opened and they entered the cubicle. ‘Foyer?’ Diego queried as he indicated the panel. ‘Or your apartment?’
‘There’s the cat—’
‘Not the foyer.’
The lift began its ascent towards her floor. ‘I need clothes,’ Cassandra continued.
‘The cat will adjust.’
‘To what?’
‘Her new home.’
She looked at him, and melted. ‘I love you.’
‘Love me, love my cat?’ he quizzed with amusement.
‘Uh-huh. She’s with me.’ The lift slid to a stop, and she preceded him into the lobby.
He took the keys from her hand and unlocked and entered the apartment, then he closed the door behind them.
‘I take it that’s a yes?’
Her expression sobered as she looked at him. The love was there, for her, only her. She doubted anyone had ever seen him so vulnerable, and it moved her more than anything he could have said.
‘Yes,’ she said simply.
He needed to show her just how much she meant to him…and he did, with such thoroughness the end of the day faded into night, and it was after midnight when they raided the fridge, made an omelette, toast, and washed them both down with coffee.
‘Groceries!’ Cassandra exclaimed in despair. ‘I left them in my car.’ She thought of spoiled milk and other comestibles, and shook her head.
‘Do you have any specific plans over the next few weeks?’ Diego queried idly. She looked adorable, sparkling eyes, warm skin, and gloriously tumbled hair. He reached out a hand and pushed an errant swathe back behind her ear.
‘Any particular reason?’
His smile assumed musing indulgence. ‘A wedding. Ours.’
There would come a day when nothing he did or said would surprise her…but she had a way to go before that happened.
‘Something low-key, in deference to your father. Just family, a few close friends. If you have your heart set on a traditional ceremony, we can reaffirm our vows in a few months.’
‘Weeks?’ Cassandra reiterated with a sense of stunned amusement. ‘I’m due in Rome this weekend for Siobhan’s wedding—’
‘Perfect. We’ll fly in together, spend some time there—’
She put up a hand. ‘Whoa! You’re going too fast.’
‘And arrive back in time to meet our marriage-application requirements,’ he concluded.
‘The honeymoon before the wedding?’ She tried for humour, and didn’t quite make it.
‘You object?’
How could she, when all she wanted to do was be with him? ‘You take my breath away,’ she admitted shakily in an attempt to get her head around organising a wedding, travel plans for Rome. Then there was work…
He witnessed her emotional struggle, and sought to ease it. ‘All it involves is a series of phone calls. Let me take care of it.’
ROME was magical, with Siobhan’s wedding to her Italian count a glamorous event with much love and rejoicing.
The week that followed became a special time as Diego indulged Cassandra in a tour of the city’s galleries, the exclusive jewellery boutiques, with leisurely lunches in one trendy trattoria or another. At night they visited a theatre, or lingered over dinner.
And made love with a passion that was both evocatively sensual and intensely primitive.
They flew in to Sydney three days before their own wedding was scheduled to take place. Days which merged one into the other as Cassandra ran a final check with the dressmaker, the florist, caught up with Cameron, and organised the last remaining items
