LITMIR.BIZ

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telephone. He could only assume she wouldn’t have the funds available for a mobile either. He reached for his own mobile. ‘I’ll give them a quick call myself. What’s his first name?’ he asked.

      ‘Aldo,’ she answered, twisting her hands together.

      He made the call and after a brief conversation replaced the phone in his pocket. ‘No, he hasn’t been admitted.’

      She blew out a tiny breath. ‘I can’t help worrying about him.’

      ‘That’s understandable, but at least he’s with your brother so you can take the rest of tonight off and kick your heels up with me.’

      She gave him an apologetic glance. ‘I don’t think I should go out tonight. I’m sorry.’

      ‘I’m not taking no for an answer,’ he said. ‘You deserve some time off. A quick dinner by the seaside will be good for both of us. Besides, I gave you a lift home so you owe me.’

      Amelia could tell by the determined look in his eyes that she was going to have a hard time convincing him to leave without her. The thought of spending the evening alone in the cottage wasn’t too appealing, but she felt she should at least put up a token resistance. ‘I don’t know…I have an early start tomorrow.’

      ‘No earlier than mine. Come on, get a wriggle on. We’re wasting valuable time here when we could be sitting watching the sun go down with a glass of wine in our hands.’

      She could feel herself weakening. ‘I need to freshen up first. Do you mind waiting?’

      ‘I don’t mind at all,’ he said, and pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘I’ve got a couple of calls to make anyway. I’m expected at the castle tomorrow evening. I guess there’s some sort of protocol I’m meant to follow. I don’t suppose I can turn up there and slap the old guy on the back and say, “G’day, mate, I’m Alex Hunter.” I’d better check with the castle staff on how I’m supposed to address him.’

      Amelia fought back a wry smile as she left him busily punching in numbers. She was certain he knew exactly how to address anyone from royalty to the lowliest commoner without turning a single hair. He hadn’t given any sign of being put off by the run-down nature of her family home, which made it all the harder for her to keep him at a relatively safe distance. Most men would have turned up their noses and backed out without even bothering to say goodbye. Her ex-lover, Benito, had been appalled by the distance he’d had to travel to pick her up, let alone the condition of the cottage when he’d got there. He had made her feel so ashamed, and in her youth and innocence she had failed to see the warning signs that their relationship was not as it should have been. But perhaps she hadn’t wanted to, she thought with a little pang of sadness as she moved towards the cramped bathroom.

      After a quick, cold bath because there wasn’t time to heat water on the fuel stove, she spent ten minutes agonising over what to wear. Her choices were limited to start with, but she finally narrowed it down to the dress Alex had bought her or a skirt and blouse that had belonged to her mother. However, her mother’s outfit was ruled out as soon as she put it on. It had faded over time and did nothing for her, hanging off her slight frame like a sack.

      With almost reverent fingers she picked up the dress Alex had bought and slipped it over her head, gently doing up the zipper at the side. She twirled in front of her mottled mirror, amazed at how the beautiful fabric brought out the creamy tone of her skin and the green flecks in her hazel eyes.

      She rummaged in her small supply of cosmetics and found a lip-gloss and applied it to her mouth, wondering what the nuns at Saint Gregorio’s would say if they could see her now.

      Then, giving herself one last twirl, she picked up her only evening purse and went back to where Alex Hunter was waiting for her, a tiny, moth-like fluttery sensation in the middle of her stomach at the thought of being alone with him for the rest of the evening.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      ‘I’VE changed my mind,’ Alex said, getting up from the chair as she came back to the kitchen. ‘You’re not an elf or a pixie—you’re a princess.’

      Amelia knew her cheeks were glowing but there was nothing she could do to disguise it. ‘It’s a beautiful dress,’ she said softly. ‘Anyone would look like a princess in it.’

      ‘Do you think you should leave your father a note in case he gets back before you do?’ he asked.

      She nodded and, quickly scribbling a message on the back of the note her father had left, she propped it up against his mug again.

      Alex escorted her out to the car, shooing the hens away from her as they went. ‘Make way for Her Royal Highness Princess Amelia,’ he said. ‘Come on, ladies, be off with you.’

      Amelia giggled as the hens scuttled off with ruffled feathers. ‘They’re not all ladies,’ she said, pointing to the proudly strutting rooster amongst them.

      ‘Sorry, mate,’ he addressed the rooster. ‘I didn’t see you there.’ He turned back to Amelia and grinned cheekily. ‘What a life he must have, all those ladies to himself with no competition.’

      Amelia felt her cheeks grow warm as she thought about how many women had flown in and out of his life. His playboy lifestyle afforded him numerous opportunities to flit from one relationship to the other, and with his easy charm and unmistakable sexual potency she began to realise she was in very real danger of joining their number.

      Alex tipped up her chin with one hand while he used the other to graze his knuckles over the bright pool of colour on her cheek. ‘Do you know you’re the first woman I’ve been able to make blush in years?’

      She looked into his dark eyes, her pulse beginning to race as his knuckles caressed her again. Her heart felt as if it were growing in size, her legs as if they had been disconnected from the bones that were supposed to hold them upright.

      ‘I—I’m not used to this sort of thing,’ she said, her tongue sneaking out to unconsciously moisten her mouth.

      ‘What sort of thing?’

      ‘Flirting, joking, dating…that sort of thing.’

      He looked puzzled for a moment. ‘How old are you?’

      Her cheeks fired up again. ‘Thirty.’

      ‘Then you really have to make up for lost time,’ he said, and, stepping away from her, opened the car door. ‘I’ve got a whole six years on you.’

      Amelia waited until they were on their way before speaking again. ‘I suppose you are very experienced in the ways of the world and find me something of a novelty.’ She hadn’t really intended to sound quite so priggish but it was too late to take the words back now.

      ‘To tell you the truth I find you delightfully refreshing,’ he said, sending her a quick glance, the white slash of his smile devastatingly attractive against the olive tone of his skin.

      ‘But you’re laughing at me all the same. I can tell.’

      ‘That chip on your shoulder will ruin that dress by stretching it all out of shape,’ he warned her playfully.

      ‘I haven’t got a chip on my shoulder.’

      Alex flicked another glance her way and skilfully redirected the conversation. ‘You have two brothers, right? What do they do for a living?’

      She let out a little sigh. ‘Rico, my older brother, recently lost his job at one of the vineyards. He hasn’t had a lot of luck with steady employment. Silvio, my younger brother, has been even worse. He’s been restless most of his life, flitting from one thing to another. He’s employed down at the main port but he doesn’t really talk about what it is he actually does.’

      ‘I guess that puts an extra strain on you,’ he said.

      ‘It does.’ She looked down at her hands in her lap. ‘I’ve had to take up some extra work…at the palace.’

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