LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Banking, investments, tourism, space-age technologies.”

      She wanted to hear more, but the steward came in with a tray of food and drinks, interrupting them. The two men conversed in such rapid Italian that Alex despaired of ever being able to catch on, let alone speak it with any degree of fluency.

      Once the steward had left them alone again, nervousness drove her to bite into one of the ham-and-cheese sandwiches. Lucca sat down opposite her. What intangible force had possessed her to agree to his insane marriage proposal?

      Because you felt sorry for him, a little voice inside nagged.

      For once in her life she’d met someone who had an even worse problem than she did and she was in a position to help him.

      Keep telling yourself that, Alex.

      But what if I make a mistake? she cried inwardly, her emotions containing a hint of hysteria.

      “I think you’re exhausted,” he commiserated, without her having said anything. It was frightening how easily he read her thoughts and moods.

      She drank part of her soda. “I think I am, too. What about you?”

      He’d already consumed two sandwiches and some grapes. “I still have work to do and I’ve never been more energized. Feel free to use my phone to call whomever you like—your boss maybe? If you’ll give me the numbers, I’ll make the necessary arrangements for your apartment and belongings.”

      “That’s all right. I’ll take care of everything tomorrow afternoon when I know I can reach people at the best time for them.”

      “Then why don’t you go to bed. Tomorrow morning we’ll be landing at seven-thirty and have breakfast on board first. Once we’re ready to leave, it’s a fifteen-mile hop by helicopter to the palace in Capriccio. In case you’re wondering, our part of the Mediterranean is too hilly for an airport so we use our French neighbor’s to the west.”

      “I see.” Alex bit her lower lip. “Are your parents expecting you tomorrow?”

      Over the rim of his coffee, he gave her an intense regard. “Si.”

      “Do they know about me?”

      “Not yet.”

      She stirred restlessly. “I can’t meet them looking like this.”

      He put the cup down. This time his brown eyes were shuttered as if his thoughts were far away. “I don’t see anything wrong with the way you look.”

      “When I left Los Angeles I only brought one change of clothes with me. I’m afraid a casual top and trousers is hardly the kind of attire they’d expect of a future daughter-in-law.”

      His brows unexpectedly furrowed, giving him an almost formidable appearance. She didn’t know he could look like that, and her heart skipped a beat.

      “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. Ours is an unorthodox relationship.”

      “Oh, I’m well aware of that!” she said in a torrent of words.

      “Bene,” he drawled, “because nothing’s going to change between you and me. What we both see is what we get. Your wardrobe from California will arrive soon enough. If you feel you need to add to it before time, then go shopping. Understood?”

      Nothing could be clearer than that! Maybe one dress and some shoes to match. Beyond those items she had no more money and wouldn’t ask for any.

      “For the honor of the House of Savoy going back many generations, I’m doing my duty by marrying a royal,” he informed her. “However, beyond the business of running the kingdom, no one, not even my parents will have the right to question either of us or dictate how we conduct our personal lives.”

      His final words had been delivered in code, but she’d already deciphered it without problem: “No one, not even you, Alexandra, will have the right to question me on the way I spend my free time or how much of it will be given to the woman I love.”

      That was Alex’s part of the pact. Naturally she intended to keep it. One of these days soon she would tell him what she was prepared to do for him and the woman he loved.

      Lucca’s part was to help her achieve a career that only this morning had seemed beyond the realm of possibility.

      She knew he wouldn’t let her down, so it defied logic why she would suddenly have this hollow feeling, almost as if she’d lost something precious even though it had never been hers in the first place.

      “Thank you for the meal. I’m going to take your advice and say good-night.”

      He got up and followed her out the door to her cabin located midway down the lighted corridor.

      She walked inside while he lingered in the doorway. Lucca was a powerful-looking male and totally gorgeous standing there in his elegant summer suit and tie. A vital, living presence even though he must have been up with the birds. Alex knew she wasn’t in a dream, but it felt like it.

      “Are you comfortable in here?”

      His deep voice permeated to her insides. Why on earth was she feeling shy? “The steward has seen to everything. Thank you.”

      “Is there anything else you need I can do for you?”

      She rubbed her upper arms with her hands for want of something to do with them. “After uniting me with my great-uncle and making it possible for me to go to medical school—that is, if I make it in—I’d be an ungrateful wretch to ask you for anything else.”

      “Ungrateful wretch?” He did an exaggerated imitation, making her laugh once more. “Your language has its colorful moments. Life with you is going to be … fascinating.” Maybe it was a trick of light, but she thought he looked pleased. “Now I’ll teach you your second word in Italian. Buonanotte, Alexandra.”

       “Buonanotte.”

      “Lucca,” came the reminder.

      “Lucca.”

      He gave a nod of approbation. “You have an excellent ear. The best kind of omen for the future.” So saying, he quietly closed the door.

      Alex’s feet stayed rooted in place.

      The Prince of Castelmare was happy——possibly happier than he’d ever been in his life because he’d solved his problem.

      Of course he was still wide-awake! Now that Alex had gone to bed he could phone his lover and tell her a miracle had happened. He’d found his way out of the abyss that had been burying him alive all these years.

      Yet just imagining the other woman’s joy sent a surprising stab of pain through Alex’s heart, causing her to stagger for a moment.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      “LUCCA?” His sister’s anxious cry almost broke his eardrum.

      It was the middle of the night, yet she sounded as if she hadn’t been to bed yet. Not so the members of the palace staff he could trust. They’d already received a rude awakening from his nocturnal phone calls. At the moment they were busy carrying out his orders.

      “Ciao, Regina.”

      “Please don’t tell me you’re not coming home. It’s been close to two months. I’ve run all the interference with the parents I can.”

      “No man ever had a better friend. Only one more favor.”

      “Lucca—”

      “Scusimi, cara. Don’t talk, just listen. This is important.”

      He heard a groan.

      “It’s four-thirty palace time. In three hours the helicopter will be waiting to fly you to the airport in Nice. We need privacy, so we’ll meet for

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