Becoming the Prince's Wife (Princes of Europe) (5 page)

But if she said she wasn’t feeling well now and begged off going with him tomorrow, he’d never believe her. Though she knew she was walking into emotional danger by getting more involved, she didn’t have the strength to say no to him.
Help.

CHAPTER THREE

L
ETTING
C
AROLENA
GO
when it was the last thing he wanted, Valentino walked through the palace to his mother’s suite. The second he entered her sitting room he was met with the news he’d been dreading all his adult life.

While he’d been riding horses with Carolena, his mother had worked out the details of his coming marriage to Princess Alexandra of Cyprus. Both royal families had wanted a June wedding, but he’d asked for more time, hoping for another year of freedom. Unfortunately they’d forced him to settle on August tenth and now there was no possibility of him changing his mind.

Tonight his mother had pinned him down, gaining his promise there’d be no more women. By giving his word, it was as good as writing it in cement.

Ages ago he and Michelina had talked about their arranged marriages. Valentino had intended to be true to Alexandra once their marriage date was set, but he’d told Michelina he planned to live a full life with other women until his time came.

She, on the other hand, never did have the same problem because she’d fallen in love with Vincenzo long before they were married and would never have been unfaithful to him. Vincenzo was a good man who’d kept his marriage vows despite the fact that he didn’t feel the same way about her. Valentino admired him more than any man he knew for being the best husband he could under the circumstances.

But after seeing Abby and Vincenzo together while they’d been here, he longed for that kind of love. A huge change had come over Vincenzo once he and Abby had fallen for each other. He was no longer the same man. Valentino could see the passion that leaped between them. Last night he’d witnessed it and knew such a deep envy, he could hardly bear it.

After eight months of marriage their love had grown stronger and deeper. Everyone could see it, his mother most of all. Both she and Valentino had suffered for Michelina. She’d had the misfortune of loving Vincenzo who couldn’t love her back in the same way. It would have been better if she hadn’t fallen for him, but he couldn’t handle thinking about that right now.

The only thing to do where Alexandra was concerned was try to get pregnant soon and build a family the way his own parents had done. Even if the most important element was missing, children would fill a big hole. That’s what Michelina had tried to do by going ahead with the surrogacy procedure.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t counted on the existence of Carolena Baretti. Her unexpected arrival in Gemelli had knocked him sideways for reasons he hadn’t been able to identify yet. Instead of imagining his future life, his thoughts kept running to the gorgeous brunette who was a guest in the other wing of the palace.

Something had happened to him since he’d come upon Abby’s friend in the swimming pool that first evening. He’d promised his mother no more women and he’d meant it. But like a lodestone he’d once found on an ancient volcano crater attracting his tools, her unique personality and stunning physical traits had drawn him in.

He’d met many beautiful women in his life, but never one like her. For one thing, she hadn’t thrown herself at him. Quite the opposite. That in itself was so rare he found himself attracted on several levels.

Because she was Abby’s best friend, she was already in the untouchable category, even if he hadn’t promised his mother. Yet this evening, the last thing he’d wanted to do was say good-night to her.

They’d shared a lot today. Intimate things. Her concern for him, the tears she’d shed for his uncle, touched him on a profound level. He’d never met a woman so completely genuine. To his chagrin she made him feel close to her. To his further disgust, he couldn’t think beyond having breakfast with her in the morning.

With his blood effectively chilled now that the conversation with his mother was over, he excused himself and called for his car to come around to his private entrance. He told his driver to head for Tancredi’s Restaurant on the east end of the island, a twenty-minute drive.

Once on his way, he phoned his best friend from his university days to alert him he was coming. Matteo owned the place since his father had died. He would be partying in the bar with a few of their mutual friends now that there were no more customers.

After the limo turned down the alley behind the restaurant, Matteo emerged from the backdoor and climbed inside.

“Ehi, Valentino—”

“Sorry I’m late, but tonight certain things were unavoidable.”

“
Non c’è problema!
It’s still early for us. Come on. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.”

“Ooh. Adriana’s not going to like hearing that.”

“She’s the reason I asked you to come out to the limo. Can I depend on you to put it to her gently that I won’t be seeing her again?”

He frowned. “Why not?”

They stared at each other before Matteo let out an epithet. “Does this mean you’re finally getting married?” He knew the union had been arranged years ago.

Valentino grimaced. “Afraid so.” Once he’d gone to his mother’s apartment, she’d forced him to come to a final decision after talking with his betrothed’s parents. “They’re insisting on an August wedding and coronation. The president of the parliament will announce our formal engagement next week.”

He realized it was long past time to end his brief, shallow relationship with Adriana. For her best interest he should have done it a month ago. Instinct told him she would be a willing mistress after his marriage, but Valentino didn’t feel that way about her or any woman. In any case, he would never go down that path.

Matteo’s features hardened. “I can’t believe this day has finally come. It’s like a bad dream.”

A groan escaped Valentino’s throat. “But one I’m committed to. I’ve told you before, but I’ll say it again. You’ve been a great friend, Matteo. I’ll never forget.”

“Are you saying goodbye to me, too?” he asked quietly.

His friend’s question hurt him. “How can you even ask me that?”

“I don’t know.” Matteo drove his fist into his other palm. “I knew one day there was going to be a wedding and coronation and I know of your loyalty. Now everything’s going to change.”

“Not my friendship with you.”

“I hope not. It’s meant everything to me.”

“My father told me a king has no friends, but I’m not the king yet. Even when I am, you’ll always be my friend. I’ll call you soon.” He clapped him on the shoulder before Matteo got out of the limo. Once he’d disappeared inside the restaurant, Valentino told his driver to head back to the palace. But his mood was black.

After a sleepless night he learned that Max wasn’t any better, so he followed through on his plans to pick up Carolena at her apartment. He found her outside her door waiting for him. The sight of her in jeans and a T-shirt caused another adrenaline rush.

Her eyes lifted to his. “Is there anything else you can think of I might need before we leave?”

He’d already taken inventory of her gorgeous figure and still hadn’t recovered. “We’ll be flying to the center in my helicopter. Whatever is missing we will find there.”

“Then I’m ready.” Carolena shut the suite and followed him down the hallway and out the doors. They crossed the grounds to the pad where his helicopter was waiting. “I hope this isn’t a dream and I’m going to wake up in a few minutes. To see where you spend your time kept me awake all night.”

Nothing could have pleased Valentino more than to know she was an adventurous woman who’d taken an interest in his research. But he knew in his gut her interest in him went deeper than that. “Perhaps now you’ll understand that after a day’s work on the volcano, I have trouble getting to sleep, too.”

Besides his family and bodyguards, plus close friends like Matteo, he rarely shared his love for his work with anyone outside of his colleagues at the center. For his own protection, the women he’d had relationships with knew nothing about his life.

He’d called ahead to one of the center’s pilots who would be taking them up. The helicopter was waiting for them when they touched down.

“Dante Serrano, meet Signorina Carolena
Baretti from Arancia. She’s the best friend of my brother-in-law’s wife. They’re staying at the palace with me for a few days. I thought she might like to see Etna at closer range.”

The pilot’s eyes flared in male admiration and surprise before he shook Carolena’s hand and welcomed her aboard. This was a first for Valentino, let alone for Dante, who’d never known Valentino to fly a female with him unless she happened to be a geologist doing work.

He helped her into the seat behind the pilot, then took the copilot’s seat. While the rotors whined, he turned to her. “Your first volcano experience should be from the air.”

“I’m so excited to be seeing this up close, I can hardly stand it.” Her enthusiasm was contagious. “Why does it constantly smoke?”

“That’s because it’s continually being reshaped by seismic activity. There are four distinct craters at the summit and more than three hundred vents on the flanks. Some are small holes, others are large craters. You’ll see things that are invisible or look completely different from the surface.”

“You’re so right!” she cried after they took off. Once they left Catania, they passed over the fertile hillsides and lush pines. “The vistas are breathtaking, Val. With the Mediterranean for a background, these snow-topped mountains are fabulous. I didn’t expect to see so much green and blue.”

Her reaction, on top of her beautiful face, made it impossible for Valentino to look anywhere else. “It’s a universe all its own.”

‘I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

The landscape changed as they flew higher and higher. “We’re coming up on some black lava deserts. Take a good look. Mount Etna is spitting lava more violently than it has in years, baffling us. Not only is it unpredictable, the volcano is raging, erupting in rapid succession.”

He loved her awestruck squeals of delight. “I suppose you’ve walked across those deserts.”

“I’ve climbed all over this volcano with Uncle Stefano.”

“No wonder you love your work so much! I would, too!”

“The range of ash fall is much wider than usual. That’s why I always come home dirty.”

“Now I understand. Come to think of it, you did look like you’d been putting out a fire.”

Dante shared a grin with Valentino. “Signorina Baretti,” He spoke over his shoulder. “Even in ancient times, the locals marveled at the forces capable of shooting fountains of lava into the sky. In Greek and Roman mythology, the volcano is represented by a limping blacksmith swinging his hammer as sparks fly.

“Legend has it that the natural philosopher Empedocles jumped into the crater two thousand five hundred years ago. What he found there remained his secret because he never returned. All that remained of him were his iron shoes, which the mountain later spat out.”

“That’s a wonderful story, if not frightening.”

All three of them laughed.

“The really fascinating part is coming up. We’re headed for the Bove Valley, Etna’s huge caldera. You’re going to get a bird’s-eye view of the eastern slope.” They flew on with Dante giving her the full treatment of the famous volcano that produced more stunned cries from Carolena.

“How big is it?”

“Seven kilometers from east to west, six kilometers from north to south.”

She was glued to the window, mesmerized. Valentino knew how she felt. He signaled Dante to fly them to Bocca Nuova.

“When we set down on the side of the pit, you’ll see a new fumarole in the saddle between the old and new southeast crater. I want you to stay by me. This is where I was working the other day. You won’t need a gas mask at this distance, but you can understand why I want every citizen of Gemelli to be equipped with one.”

“After seeing this and hearing about your uncle Stefano, I understand your concern, believe me.”

Before long, he helped her out and they walked fifty yards to a vantage point. “This is a place no one is allowed except our teams. The organized tours of the thousands of people who came to Etna are much farther below.”

Soon they saw the vent releasing the same bluish gas and ash he’d recorded the other day.

“This fumarole was formed by that long fissure you can see.”

While they stood there gazing, the noise of explosions coming from deep within the volcano shook the ground. When she cried out, he automatically put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against his side. He liked the feel of her womanly body this close.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he murmured into her fragrant hair. “We’re safe or I wouldn’t have brought you up here.”

She clung to him. “I know that, but I have to tell you a secret. I never felt insignificant until now.” Those were his very thoughts the first time he’d come up on Etna. After a long silence, she lifted her eyes to him. In them he saw a longing for him that she couldn’t hide when she said, “It’s awesome and mind blowing all at the same time.”

Those dazzling, dark-fringed green eyes blew him away, but not for the reasons she’d been alluding to. He was terrified over the feelings he’d developed for her. “You’ve taken the words right out of my mouth.”

The desire to kiss her was so powerful, it took all the self-control he possessed not to crush her against him. He was in serious trouble and knew it.

Fighting his desire, he said, “I think you’ve seen enough for today. We’ve been gone a long time and need to eat. Another day and I’ll take you on a hike through some lava fields and tunnels you’ll find captivating.”
Almost as captivating as I’m finding you.

“I doubt I’ll ever be in Gemelli again, but if I am, I’ll certainly take you up on your offer. Thank you for a day I’ll never
ever
forget.” He felt her tremulous voice shake his insides.

“Nor will I.” The fact that she was off-limits had no meaning to him right now.

On their way back to the center, he checked his phone messages. One from Vincenzo and two from his mother. He checked Vincenzo’s first.

I’m just giving you a heads-up. Max isn’t doing well, so we’re flying back to Arancia at nine in the morning. Sorry about this, but the doctor thinks he may have gastroenteritis and wants to check him out at the hospital. Give me a call when you’re available.