Diamonds Are Forever: The Royal Marriage ArrangementThe Diamond BrideThe Diamond Dad

by Rebecca Winters

Lucca kissed her moist eyelids for his answer.

  She couldn’t handle his tenderness and moved out of his arms. “I’ll be right back.”

  Once Alex reached the bathroom, she washed her face and freshened up. When she returned to the bedroom, she found him out on the balcony with his back toward her. After the brief rapture they’d shared where she’d all but given herself away, she approached him with trepidation.

  “What if I told you there was a way for me to pay back the twelve million dollars within the year?”

  He turned around, resting his hip against the railing in a totally masculine stance. Those dark, intelligent eyes looked their fill. “I take it Manny wants to turn you into an even greater film star than your mother.” His gravelly voice sounded like it had escaped from a hidden grotto.

  “One movie. The revenue would solve all my financial problems.”

  Lucca shifted his weight. “I still don’t understand your dilemma.”

  She took a second breath. “Don’t you?”

  His face lost expression. “You want out of our arrangement?”

  “I would never do that to you.”

  “You want my permission to make the movie?”

  “I’m not asking for that either,” she cried in anguish, “but when you compare three or four months of work to maybe ten to twelve years if not much longer for the same kind of money … Manny says the revenue will surpass anything in recent history. Just think—I could pay him and the creditors right away.”

  Lines marred his features. “What’s the movie about?”

  Alex rubbed her arms nervously. “The life of Greta Garbo.”

  He pursed his lips. “I can’t imagine anyone more perfect than you to impersonate her, but the answer is no, Alexandra. I need a wife, not an actress!”

  “You don’t have to sound so angry about it,” she fired back, wounded. “I’ve tried to do everything you’ve asked of me. Why are you being so unfair?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Whatever happened to your dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon?”

  “That hasn’t changed. I wish—”

  “You wish we hadn’t met?” he finished for her. “It’s too late for that.” The bleakness of his tone devastated her.

  “Those are your thoughts, Lucca, not mine.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that whatever I do, it’s not right for you.”

  “Suppose you let me be the judge of my needs.”

  “When you say that, it makes me feel like you’re carrying the whole burden.”

  “You see our relationship as a burden?” came the frosty query.

  “No,” she cried. “Now you’re twisting my words, but let’s face it. I bring a lot of excess baggage to the wedding,” she mumbled, fighting her chaotic emotions. “You heard that journalist ask about my father.”

  “You handled him beautifully.”

  “Only because you gave me confidence. You see, Lucca?” She eyed him directly. “You don’t have any baggage.” Except for the woman he loved. She would always have to remain unexposed.

  Alex heard his sharp intake of breath. “Everyone has baggage, but I don’t put your parents in that category any more than I do my own. Forget Manny’s proposition and come with me.”

  She sniffed. “You mean, you’re still in the mood?”

  His sudden smile transformed him into a man five years younger. She could hardly keep up with his mercurial behavior. “When we’re talking about my motorcycle, always.”

  Since he was making an effort, she would to. “I’d love it. Let’s go.”

  Once they’d gone downstairs, he put her into the limo, then took off on a black-and-silver sport bike without any sign of the Vittorio royal crest. In his leathers and black helmet, no one would guess he was the prince.

  Good luck to his bodyguards trying to keep up with him.

  The chauffeur drove Alex to a motorcycle dealership where they outfitted her with her own helmet and boots. While she was trying on a leather jacket, Lucca walked in, bigger than life. He checked to be sure it was the right size. After tossing her a pair of gloves, they left through the rear door.

  Lucca got on the cycle first. “This is the best part, Alexandra. All day I’ve been waiting to feel those fabulous legs of yours tucked around mine.” Heat filled her cheeks. “Climb on and hold me tight around the waist. We’re going for a ride to Eze.”

  “Eze?”

  “When we get there, you won’t need an explanation.”

  He told her how to get on and made certain she was comfortable.

  “Ready?”

  She gave the thumb’s-up signal.

  Down went his face mask. He revved the motor and wound his way through a couple of back streets to the main road. Progress was slow. She feared he was driving this way on purpose not to frighten her. But that’s what she got for thinking, because the second they reached the coast highway he opened her up and let it rip.

  There ought to be a better word than ecstasy, but she couldn’t think of one. All she could do was cling to his leather-clad torso and let him do all the work. He drove like a pro racer, weaving in and out of traffic with precision. She had a legitimate excuse to press against his strong back and relished the sensation.

  They whizzed by a sign for Ventimiglia. Soon the signs were written in French. They passed through Menton and came to Monaco. Then they began the climb up the Moyenne Corniche road. Alex had seen films portraying this area between Monte Carlo and Nice, but nothing took the place of being here in person, clutching Lucca as if her life depended on it. The realization came to Alex he was her whole life.

  She saw the sign for Eze before they reached it. The medieval village sat perched like an eagle’s nest on a rocky peak overlooking the Mediterranean. But unlike the tiny hamlet of “crag,” this spot was offset by a multitude of souvenir shops and streets full of tourists.

  Lucca pulled to the side of the road across the road from a shop and shut off the motor. She jumped down first and removed her helmet. He followed suit, his eyes never straying from her face. “What do you think?”

  Alex studied him briefly. With his hair disheveled from the helmet, she thought him the most exciting man in existence. “I think riding with you is going to become my addiction.”

  Something flickered in the darkest recesses of his eyes. “I’m pleased to hear it. What about the view?”

  What view? Being with Lucca blotted out everything else from her consciousness.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  LUCCA was still trying to recover from that moment of ecstasy in her arms and the period of agony that followed.

  “Well, what do you think?” he queried again just to say something to break the silence.

  “It’s stupendous, but then, so is the one from Dirupo where civilization hasn’t encroached. Did I pronounce Dirupo right?” Alex answered breathlessly.

  “Perfettamente.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. There was no trace of an American accent just then.”

  “Thank you. With only one word to pronounce, there shouldn’t be.” She rolled her eyes, an unconscious trait he never tired of watching. “Wait until I try to string a sentence together. But I’ll keep working on it, Lucca, for you.”

  “You sound charming.”

  “Americans don’t sound charming. Ours isn’t a charming language.”

  A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “Who told you that?”

  “No one. You can simply tell. The way you speak Italian, Lucca, it sounds beautiful, like melted butter dripping all over the place. Americans speak English like they’re spewing meat through a grinder, plopping big globs everywhere.”

  Lucca thought he’d heard everything, but that wasn’t the case because he never knew what was going to come out of that succulent mouth. Earlier it had given him a heart attack. Right now he couldn’t stop laughing.

  “You see?” She grinned. “I was right.”

 
He held up his hands. “As they say in your country, I plead the Fifth.”

  “Always the diplomat, and brilliant besides,” she muttered.

  Once his shoulders stopped shaking he said, “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes! You didn’t know your grocery bill was going to go up when you took me on.”

  He chuckled once more. “It’s worth the price for the pleasure of your entertaining company. Let’s go inside the epicerie across the road. You choose the items for our picnic.”

  “And what will you do?”

  “Hold the basket for you.”

  After he took both their helmets and locked them on his bike, he slid his hand up her back to her tender neck and guided her toward the store. In the open doorway was an inviting display of fruits and vegetables.

  All the little signs were in French, but she’d learned her first Italian lesson on foods well enough to impress him. “We’ll have pane, mela, formaggio and suco d’uva.” She dropped the items in the basket. Darting him an impish glance she said, “Can we afford dessert?”

  “What do you have your eye on?”

  “Anything. You choose.”

  “Done.” He took two napoleons from the plate and put them in the basket. They moved to the counter so he could pay. It had been too long since Lucca had enjoyed this kind of fun with a woman.

  As he was putting his wallet back in his jeans his cell phone rang. It was Carlo. “Si?”

  “Someone broke through the blockade and rammed into your cycle!”

  “Accidenti!”

  Alexandra knew that word well enough and shot him an anxious glance. He turned away from her.

  “We don’t know if it was intentional. Leave through the back door where the limo’s waiting to drive you to the helicopter.”

  “Capisco.” He hung up.

  “Lucca?”

  “No time for explanations now. Come with me.”

  Paolo was there to help hustle her through the back of the shop to the alley. A dozen of Lucca’s people hovered around three limos. Now that he had Alexandra to worry about, he was thankful for the added security.

  “What’s wrong?” she begged after they drove away.

  “Some crazy ran into the motorcycle.”

  “Oh, no—”

  “It might have been accidental. Whatever the explanation, I’m not taking any chances with you.”

  Another minute and they arrived at the helipad where he helped her into the helicopter. Within seconds it lifted off and he could relax.

  “Sorry about our picnic, bellissima. Another time.”

  “Do you think I care?” she cried softly. “What if someone was intentionally trying to hurt you?”

  “It’s happened before.”

  She shuddered. “I’ll never complain about Carlo and Paolo again.” Her eyes searched his. “This will be all over the news. What will you father say when he finds out? It could set him back.”

  “By now he’s already been told you and I escaped any injury,” Lucca muttered morosely. “Until the coronation, we’ll maintain a low profile. That’ll keep both him and my mother happy.”

  “Lucca?” He could hear her mind working. “Do you always plan exactly where you’re going to be at any given moment?”

  He clasped the hand closest to him. “Pretty much.”

  “That kind of kills any spontaneity on your part.”

  “Si.”

  “It must be hard on your security people, too.”

  “I’m afraid there’ll be times when it’ll be much harder on you.”

  “Forget me.”

  Then he might as well quit breathing. “We’re almost home. I’m afraid I’m going to be tied up for a while with the debriefing. Do me a favor and relax. I’ll have dinner sent up to your room. Feel free to explore any part of the palace you like. If it’s possible, I’ll join you later.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’m going to work on my next lesson and impress you.”

  If she did any more to impress him, he was seriously thinking of a honeymoon before the ceremony.

  Besides today’s incident, which brought home as nothing else could the fact that Alexandra’s life had been in danger, he needed to get his security people to do a thorough background check on Manny Horowitz. Lucca wanted to know chapter and verse about the man preying on Alex. The phone call from her mother’s agent was the one contingency he hadn’t conceived of when contemplating the many obstacles to their marriage.

  He didn’t really believe she had a romantic interest in Manny, but he didn’t want her going near the man no matter the reason. The desire to pay off her mother’s debts had driven her to fall in with Lucca’s plans, but even he could see how Manny’s offer held great appeal. A love of acting could be in her blood and she just didn’t know it yet. Alexandra was a Carlisle after all, still young and damnably vulnerable.

  The woman journalist had been right. Alexandra could have any man she wanted. Some idiot actor could get to her. There’d be physical intimacy on the set with the men playing opposite her. She could be enticed to do another picture and another. It would be an escape from the prison she’d walked into by agreeing to marry him. One day she’d want her freedom and reach for it without looking back.

  That wasn’t the way Lucca intended for things to happen. That wasn’t acceptable. “Maledizzione!”

  He felt a light touch on his arm. “Lucca? Does that mean damn or hell?”

  Alexandra, Alexandra.

  Regina rushed down the steps to embrace them. She cried something in Italian to Lucca before remembering to speak English.

  “Are you all right?” she asked Alex, her eyes full of concern.

  Before Alex could answer, Lucca pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered. After tweaking Regina’s cheek he took the steps two at a time to the second floor.

  His physical demonstrations of love for the benefit of the family were getting more difficult for Alex to handle when she knew the real reason behind them. Trying to ward off the latest assault on her senses, she linked her arm through Regina’s and they finished climbing the stairs to the second floor. Both of them watched his swift progress down the hall toward their parents’ suite.

  “Thank God nothing happened to you.” Regina sounded shaken. Slowly they moved in the direction of their own bedrooms.

  “I had no idea anything was going on. We were in a small grocery store and suddenly Lucca told me we had to leave.”

  “Then you don’t know?” his sister cried.

  “About the motorcycle, yes.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “The police uncovered a plot to assassinate Lucca. It won’t have been the first time. He had a close call in Rio a year ago while he was there doing business.”

  “How close?”

  “He was shot.”

  Alex gasped.

  “Carlo was able to deflect the bullet. It lodged in Lucca’s shoulder instead of his heart.”

  She squeezed her eyes together. For a moment Alex felt sick to her stomach. Lucca had been so clever in playing down the trouble today, she had no clue of the magnitude of the situation.

  “He’s all right, Alexandra. So far four men have been arrested, one of them a plant at the motorcycle dealership Lucca patronizes.”

  “We were just there,” her voice trailed shakily.

  Regina nodded. “Intelligence says two more men are involved but have left the country. It’s because they don’t want Lucca on the throne. Since Papa’s illness last year, Lucca has virtually run the government. His rigid policy for closed immigration borders and strict banking laws has frustrated certain elements as you can imagine.”

  “Do you agree with him?”

  “Absolutely. Papa has stopped short of allowing electronic eavesdropping for surveillance to go on, but once Lucca is king, all that is going to change and the enemy knows it.”

  Alex shuddered. “He’ll never be safe, will he?”

  “No, but his fi
rst duty is to keep the rest of us safe.”

  Regina sounded like a queen herself.

  “That explains why there was so much extra security at the House of Savoy in New York.”

  Her dark head whipped around. “So that was the shop you referred to at the press conference? I’ve been dying to know where your great love affair began.”

  Alex moaned inwardly. “He was in the security room with his bodyguards and saw me on one of the monitors getting upset with the head jeweler.”

  “My brother can’t make a move without a small army protecting him.”

  The reason Lucca hadn’t been to see his lover was no longer a mystery. It looked like it was time for Regina to know everything. Until his sister was armed with the whole truth about the reason for their engagement, Alex wouldn’t be able to help him.

  “Regina? Will you have dinner with me in my room?”

  “I was going to suggest we eat together. Mama and Papa want to be alone with Lucca.”

  “I’m sure he wants that, too, if only to reassure them he won’t be planning any more crazy outings with me.”

  “They’re not crazy.” His sister sounded mournful. “He just wants to live a normal life like other men.”

  Alex opened the door to her suite. “There’s something else he wants, Regina.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The way she asked that question in all naiveté led Alex to believe Lucca’s sister really didn’t know about his secret love.

  He was a private man who gave so little away, you had to have radar to catch the slips. Alex had a private nature, too. Maybe that was why she’d been able to pick up on them.

  “Come inside and let’s talk.”

  Once they’d ordered a sandwich, Alex took off her new leather jacket and boots and curled up on one end of the couch. Regina slipped out of her sandals and tucked her legs beneath her on the chair facing Alex.

  “Regina … what I’m going to tell you has to stay between us.”

  She crossed herself. “I swear it.”

  Alex sat forward. “You’re going to fight me on it.”

  Lucca’s sister looked utterly bewildered. After a long pause she said, “I promise I won’t.”

  “Grazie.” Both women smiled at each other with a perfect understanding.