Olivia looked at her sister through eyes drowning in tears. Since the answer was obvious, there was no point in responding.
“Luc was trying to make up to you for the bad time he and his cousins put us through. It was simply a ghastly coincidence that he found out your greatest wish in coming to Europe was to watch Cesar race in the Grand Prix.”
“But not all women racing fans are groupies,” she exclaimed before burying her face in her hands.
“Of course not. You just happened to fall in love with the wrong man. Max was worried for you, so he told Greer about Luc. When Nic could see you were starting to care too much, he confided similar fears to me. Unfortunately their warnings came too late.”
“How humiliating.” Olivia’s whole body shuddered.
“Don’t dwell on it anymore.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Mother and Daddy were right about me. I always have to learn everything the hard way.”
“I learned a painful lesson myself this last trip.”
Olivia’s head lifted. “What do you mean?”
“When I saw you drive off with Cesar after the wedding, I thought I’d try to get a proposal out of Nic. You know, so I could laugh and tell him sorry, wrong duchess. He’s such a know-it-all, I wanted to give him a hard time.”
“And?”
“It was a big mistake.”
They left the apartment and hurried out to their dad’s old Pontiac. Olivia got in the driver’s seat and started the car. Once they’d joined the mainstream of traffic she asked, “How big?”
“I guess you could say I made the worst faux pas of my life by getting him to try to come on to me a little bit. We’d been walking on the grounds. I asked him to show me where he used to play when he and Luc visited Max.
“He took me to a stream with an old waterwheel that had stopped working long ago. You remember how hot it was that day. I suggested we take a little nap together under the trees. No one was around.”
Olivia would have been scandalized if she hadn’t tried to do virtually the same thing to Luc on the Gabbiano. “Go on.”
“Well, I lifted my arms to help him take off his tux jacket. But he grabbed my hands and pushed me away.”
“He didn’t physically hurt you did he?” Olivia couldn’t believe they were talking about the same Nic.
Piper bit her lip. “No. He did something a lot worse. He explained he was wearing a black armband for a reason. But because I was one of the notorious Duchesses of Kingston, he would excuse me this once for not knowing how to behave in polite society.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No. I thought it was a joke, too, until he made it clear that his family and the family of his deceased fiancée Nina were in official mourning until next April. If you recall, his dad was wearing an armband at the wedding, and at the party in Monaco.”
By now Olivia was so hurt for her sister, she was ready to throw rocks. “How dare he speak to you like that after the way he flirted with you on the Piccione! He wasn’t wearing an armband then!”
“Ah—that was different. The Varano cousins were working undercover to expose us as jewel thieves.”
“So it’s okay to take it off while in the line of duty. What a hypocrite!”
“I smiled and told him he’d just passed up an experience he would live to regret. Then I walked back to the villa and had a limo take me to the train. After buying a one-way ticket, I headed for Genoa. What an irony when you consider Tom would have given anything if I’d thrown myself at him like that.”
By now Olivia’s tears had dried up. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I was too busy trying to make Luc jealous to think about anyone but myself.”
“We were both idiots. It was probably a reaction to losing Greer.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
Olivia spied the Arrowhead Rock Shop on the corner and pulled into the parking area around the back. Within twenty minutes she returned to the car carrying a tumbler that vibrated. Piper followed with some packages of polish and three barrels to hold the rocks for each stage of the process.
Once back at the apartment, Olivia set up her paraphernalia in the kitchen and got started. Every so often Piper came in from the living room to see how things were going.
“I won’t know what I’ve got here until we go to bed.”
At eleven she checked her first batch. The rocks had disappeared. They’d been pulverized.
When she thought things couldn’t get any worse, the phone rang.
Piper checked the caller ID. Her mouth tightened. “It’s out of area.”
“It could be Greer.”
“No. We already spoke to her earlier today. This late I bet it’s Nic. He put you on the plane yesterday. He knows what Luc did to you was unconscionable. No doubt he wants to know if you got home safely.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “That’ll be his excuse, but what he really wants is to hear your voice.”
“He’s in mourning, remember?” Piper snapped.
Angry for her sister’s sake, Olivia reached for the receiver. “I’ll take this call with the greatest of pleasure.”
After waiting five rings, she picked up. Using a heavy Bronx accent she said, “You want the Duchesses of Kingston? Leave yohur name and phone numbah. If yoh’re lucky you might hear back from us, but it’ll prwabably be next yeahr.”
As soon as she hung up the receiver they both laughed hysterically. They were still giggling out of control when they climbed into their own beds. Then the tears started, drenching Olivia’s pillow.
“She’s home.”
His expression grim, Luc folded his cell phone and put it back in his pocket.
On the heels of his relief that Olivia had arrived safely in New York loomed the growing fear that he’d done too much damage and she’d never be able to forgive him. Knowing she wasn’t aboard the Gabbiano filled him with a gnawing emptiness.
A steady breeze had kept the sail filled during the night. Now he and Nic were in the waters of the Costa del Sol. The sun had been up several hours. Marbella lay off the starboard bow.
The plan he’d discussed with Nic during the night had to work, or his life really wouldn’t have any meaning.
When they reached Nic’s private dock, some workmen he’d alerted on the estate ahead of time were on hand to greet them.
Nic made the introductions. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“You said you were in a hurry, Senor de Pastrana. What is it you wish to have done?”
“Luc has just purchased this boat and wants it painted flame-blue and white so it looks brand-new. Another sail has been ordered and will be delivered day after tomorrow to match the new name he’d like painted on it.
“He’s in charge. While he gives you details, I’m going up to the villa to attend to some business and will talk to you later.”
The men nodded.
Within a half hour Luc had instructed them on everything he wanted done. They promised to get a full crew assembled to finish the job as quickly as possible.
Since time was of the essence, Luc couldn’t have asked for more than that. When he joined Nic in his study, his cousin was seated at the computer.
“Any luck tracking down Signore Tozetti?”
“His secretary said he just came in his office and would join us at any moment. I’ve set it up for a conference call. Go ahead and use my cell phone.”
Luc sat down on one of the love seats and put the phone to his ear while he waited. Another minute passed, then they heard a voice.
“Signore Tozetti here. Good morning, gentlemen.”
“Good morning.”
“It’s a great honor to be speaking to members of the House of Parma-Bourbon. What can I do for you?”
“The owners of Duchesse Designs, the American women whose calendars you are planning to distribute throughout the Parma region, happen to be distant cousins of ours.”
“I had no idea. They never inti
mated—”
“That doesn’t surprise us, signore. They believe in themselves and their product. My cousin and I believe in their product, too, and that’s the reason we’re calling. We want to back them. Therefore we have a proposition to make to you.”
“Wonderful! What exactly did you have in mind?”
“We’d like to see their calendars distributed in other countries besides Italy. If you are interested in being in charge of the total distribution, it would work to everyone’s advantage.”
A laugh of surprised delight sounded over the wires. “I would be very interested, signore. What countries besides Italy are you thinking of?”
“Monaco, France, Spain to begin with.”
“Have their calendars already been printed in French and Spanish?”
“These are points we need to talk about. Could you meet with us for a late lunch today at the restaurant of the Splendido in Portofino, say two o’clock?”
“Of course.”
“We’ll talk serious business then. It’s vital you present the offer you’re going to make to them in such a way, they feel it’s a hundred percent genuine.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“You’ll have to,” Luc said emotionally. “Money doesn’t drive them, so promising them the moon will be a turnoff. Naturally they’re in the business to make a living, but the pigeon drawings of Violetta and Luigio happen to be very near and dear to their hearts.
“When you make your pitch, you’ll have to convince them the words and depictions representing those lovebirds speak to your soul.”
“I don’t understand. You make it sound like they might turn me down!”
“That’s because they’re artistes. No matter how much they want to be a success, they have to know you believe in their work. If you can do that, then they’ll agree to meet you for the signing of the contract wherever you say.”
“You mean they won’t be coming to Genoa?”
“No. We’ll tell you more this afternoon. But there is one stipulation we must make before things go any further.”
“What is that?”
“Our cousins must never know we approached you. Our names must never be mentioned or come up in future conversations. The entire project will fail and you will lose the business you already have with them if they even get a hint anyone else is involved. Capisce?”
After a long silence, “Capisce.”
Piper turned to a fresh page on her drawing pad and began sketching. “How much time before we have to meet with Signore Tozetti at the hotel?”
Olivia had been looking up at the incredible wood-carved ceiling of the world famous Alhambra. Now they’d come out to the reflecting pool in the garden. “We’ve got about a half hour until dinner. It’s already seven.”
“Three days in Spain haven’t given me very long to work up a decent presentation. My hand has a cramp.”
“He said he didn’t expect a finished product. All he wants are samples he can show the man who’s willing to print our calendars here in Spain. If they prove to be as outstanding as the drawings you did of Monaco and Parma, then we’ll have another outlet.”
“I wish I could flesh them out more, but there isn’t time.”
Moving closer, Olivia looked over Piper’s shoulder. “In my opinion, this grouping is the best you’ve ever done.”
“You say that every time I start a new sketch.”
“That’s because you’re a genius.”
“No. It’s because I’m seeing everything live rather than having to depend on photographs.”
“Even so, Luigio and Violetta have always been products of your imagination and you’ve captured a new look for both of them.”
“I have?”
“Yes. The one of him as a toreador, trailing his cape around Seville’s corrida in front of Violetta is priceless. He has a proud, autocratic bearing about him that makes my heart race.”
“You think?”
“Absolutely. Violetta’s different, too. She has a crueler smile while they’re dancing the flamenco in those fabulous outfits. And I love the seductive angle of his hat.
“Honestly Piper, you’ve caught the atmosphere of that cave we visited last night so perfectly, I can almost hear their heels clicking on the wooden floor. There’s a sensual appeal that leaps out from the page.”
“Thanks.”
“I mean it. I also love that other drawing of him standing on the turreted rampart of the Alcazar in Segovia, staring up at Violetta who’s leaning out one of the windows. They’re the most romantic-looking pair I’ve ever seen. You can feel that tragic quality about him that melts my heart. As if he’d been pierced to the quick by love, but she’s still holding out.”
Piper kept her face averted. Though Luigio was the male pigeon, Olivia knew her sister identified with his feelings.
So did Olivia…
“Mother and Daddy would be so proud to know your drawings are going to be famous all over Europe.”
“We don’t know that yet,” Piper muttered, “so let’s not count our chickens.”
“Signore Tozetti wouldn’t have paid us an advance to come here if he didn’t believe he was going to make a bundle off you pretty soon. When he sees what you’ve done in just three days, he’ll be sending you everywhere…France—Switzerland—”
Piper lifted her head. “What do you mean me? This was Greer’s brainchild, and if you hadn’t done all the East Coast marketing in the first place, we wouldn’t have a calendar business period. We’re in this together!
“Let’s just be thankful Greer had the foresight to suggest we try to market our idea when we first arrived in Genoa. You and I may not have succeeded in getting a proposal out of a Riviera playboy, but we could end up making a very nice living for ourselves by the time we’re thirty.”
“That would be an irony, wouldn’t it?” Olivia laughed sadly. “Greer was the one who didn’t want us to marry for fear it would get in the way of our making money.”
“Yup. Now’s she’s got a fantastic husband and doesn’t have to earn her own living.”
“Yup. And my paperweight idea went down the tubes to the tune of one hundred eighty dollars.”
“Hey—you didn’t know those rocks were volcanic ash.”
“Luc did.”
“Forget him. If we make it to France, we’ll go to that quarry Victor Hugo wrote about in Les Miserables. You know, the place where Jean Valjean was a prisoner. We’ll take a bunch of rocks home from there and polish them into beads. You can sell those over the Internet. All isn’t lost yet!”
“You’re being very sweet, Piper, but I’m pretty sure that place doesn’t exist, either. I think we’d better head for the hotel.”
Piper drew a long-stemmed rose peeking out from Luigio’s wing. He was hiding it from Violetta, and would give it to her later. Olivia thought it the perfect touch. Then her sister closed her sketchpad and stood up. “Let’s go.”
The hotel was only a five-minute walk from the entrance. “Don’t be nervous,” Olivia reminded her.
“I’m not nervous.”
“Yes, you are. You’re practically mowing all the tourists down.”
Before long they entered the luxury hotel and looked around the Moorish-styled foyer for Signore Tozetti.
“I don’t see him.”
“Neither do I.”
“Maybe he’s in the bar.”
“In that case he would have told someone at the front desk. Let’s find out.”
“Oh, yes,” the man said. “We’ve been calling your names. Signore Tozetti has met with a minor accident and won’t be able to join you until tomorrow morning at our sister hotel in Malaga.”
Her eyes swerved to Piper’s. Malaga wasn’t that far from the Pastrana villa in Marbella, a fact both of them were agonizingly aware of. The very mention of it brought back bittersweet memories of Olivia’s disastrous trips with Luc.
There’d been so many stops and starts without ever once making it all the
way to the Spanish Riviera. In her dreams he was supposed to have ended up proposing to her. The pain was almost more than she could bear.
“He’s very sorry for the inconvenience and has arranged to have you driven there this evening by limousine. He hopes that will meet with your approval. Shall I send someone for your bags?”
The silence lengthened. Piper, who was as disappointed as Olivia that their meeting had been postponed, finally had the presence of mind to say yes.
Within ten minutes they walked through the arcaded entry to the portico. A uniformed chauffeur helped them into the most luxurious black limousine Olivia had ever seen. Smoked glass windows. All shiny mahogany and leather on the inside.
The closed partition between the occupants and driver guaranteed total privacy. You could lie down on the seats and still have wiggle room for your feet.
“Have you ever seen such an elegant limousine?” Piper commented after it pulled into traffic.
“No. It must be a Spanish design.”
“The world’s best kept secret. We could use limos like this in New York. I wonder why we haven’t seen any?”
Olivia leaned her head back against the plush seat. “I’ll give you one guess.”
“You’re right. This thing probably costs close to a half a million dollars.”
“Probably more.”
“Signore Tozetti has gone all out for us. He must really want our business. Kind of makes you wonder why.”
Olivia felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck. “I agree. Don’t get me wrong. Your artwork is fabulous, but—”
“But not that fabulous,” Piper finished the sentence for her.
“Do you remember when we first boarded the Piccione?”
“You’re reading my mind. Greer sensed something was wrong, but we didn’t believe her. Not at first.”
“By the time she’d convinced us we were in trouble, it was too late to get off.”
“Don’t look now, but there aren’t any door handles or window buttons.”
Olivia felt madly for them, but nothing was there. She jerked around and tried to slide the partition so she could see to talk to the driver. It wouldn’t budge.
To Win His Heart Page 14