The Princess Bride

by Rebecca Winters

  “It’s a long story…” her voice trailed.

  “I’d like to hear it. We’ve got all night.”

  Since he knew her most painful secret anyway, what did it matter if she satisfied his curiosity.

  “On my way out the door of my condo to drive to the airport, I listened to one of my phone messages. It was a man asking to talk to Jim.” After she explained everything to Gino she said, “Since I needed to get to the airport, and Troy had just been cleaning out lockers, I couldn’t very well ask him to keep the laptop until I returned. So I put it in my suitcase.

  “I would have taken a look after I reached St. Moritz, but realized I didn’t have an adaptor.”

  Gino made a strange sound in his throat. “When we get back home, feel free to use my study.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered shakily.

  “You might not thank me later if you find anything that could be hurtful.”

  “I’m past being shocked, Gino.”

  “Until I saw those photos, I thought I was, too.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  BEFORE long they pulled into the courtyard of the farmhouse and went inside. Without preamble he guided her into his study off the foyer. It was a cozy room with print curtains, leather chairs and couches, books and paintings.

  “Sit down at my desk.”

  While she did his bidding, he opened the closet and pulled the laptop from the shelf.

  After placing it in front of her, he opened a drawer and reached for an adaptor, then plugged the cord into the wall.

  “I’ll leave you to it while I say good night to my family.”

  His handsome features were marred by lines that made him look older. He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Haunted by the change in his demeanor, since she’d mentioned the laptop, Ally was almost afraid to open it. Though she’d insisted that nothing could bother her now, it was obvious Gino wasn’t convinced. Neither was she…

  After a minute she found the courage to turn the computer on. Evidently Jim hadn’t bothered with a password or Gino wouldn’t have been able to see those photographs.

  She booted up the system. Soon the home page Jim had created flashed on the screen.

  Ally’s eyes darted to the favorite pictures icon. Gino had said he’d deleted them. There was one way to find out, but something held her back and she clicked on the e-mail account.

  Ally wasn’t at all surprised to discover it full of messages from the same person.

  She opened the top one he’d received in January before leaving for Switzerland.

  I feel the same way, amore mia. Everything is now done. I’ll be waiting for you in our usual place with a car my husband can’t trace. Once we reach the port, the family yacht will be waiting for us. We’ll sail directly to Sicily where we’ll be home free. Did I say that right?

  Hurry!

  Ally felt as if she’d just been slugged in the stomach.

  She scrolled below to an earlier message he’d sent Donata.

  That’s how I felt the first day we met. Luckily for me Ally isn’t the suspicious type. She’s too into her music and has no idea I’m leaving her for good. I don’t know what she’d do if she ever found out. Probably turn into a bitter woman like her mother.

  It’ll be much better if I disappear. She’ll never know you and I are together. I live to be with you, Donata. You know that don’t you? You’re the fulfillment of my every fantasy.

  The depth of Jim’s deception left Ally speechless. Her eyes held a faraway look because she knew it was the real Jim talking.

  No doubt Donata had been a true beauty, but more importantly, she’d had the right credentials Ally’s husband required.

  To think Ally had spent four months sobbing for her loss when Jim had been making plans to run away forever.

  Compelled to read on, she opened the e-mail further down.

  I’ve told you my husband changed into a very suspicious and calculating man. He would never allow a divorce. If he knew what I was planning, he would have me committed for insanity because he has that kind of power. That’s why I’ve asked you to be patient until I’ve made all the financial arrangements so nothing goes wrong. Now that you’ve come into my life, I want only you.

  Sickened by what she was reading, Ally buried her face in her hands. Though Jim and Donata might have been full grown adults, they talked like two naughty children who didn’t have the emotional capacity to feel anyone else’s pain.

  Jim’s poor parents who lived in Eugene—the knowledge of what their son had done would be so damaging, she didn’t know if she could ever bring herself to tell them the truth.

  Or her mother—especially not her mother who’d never trusted men since Ally’s father had walked out on them when she was two.

  Ally mulled over the revelations Jim never thought she’d see.

  He’d met his match in Donata. If anyone was calculating, it was Sofia’s mother. No wonder Gino was desperate to protect his niece from any more pain.

  If Troy hadn’t been super conscientious about his job, Ally would be clueless about the extent of their betrayal.

  But since these e-mails did exist, and Ally was in possession of them, then Gino had every right to read them, too. She was heartsick to think he and Sofia had been forced to wait four months to hear any news about Donata.

  When he read these and found out what exactly Donata and Jim had been planning, he’d be beyond angry.

  So was Ally. Enraged was more like it! Enraged over the injury they’d done to their families on both sides of the Atlantic without counting the cost.

  She was appalled at their utter selfishness and cruelty.

  It was one thing to have an affair. But to run away together and let their loved ones wonder what had happened? Ally couldn’t comprehend it. As far as she was concerned, she and Gino’s family were the victims here.

  If Jim had told Ally he’d met someone else, she would have suffered, but in the end she would have agreed to a divorce. Could anything be worse than trying to hold on to a man who didn’t know the meaning of love?

  It had taken Jim with his blond tennis star looks, and his hunger for a woman of Donata’s class and money, to charm her into disappearing with him. As long as she brought her inheritance with her, of course.

  The whole thing was absurd. Outrageous!

  Ally flung herself out of the chair and raced over to the door to find Gino.

  She was in such a hurry, she didn’t see him until they practically collided in the hallway. He put out his hands to steady her.

  She tried not to be affected by his nearness, but it was impossible. The feel of his hands on her arms sent tingles of sensation through her body.

  His jet-black eyes assessed her relentlessly. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

  “It’s horrible in a way I would never have anticipated, Gino.” She tiptoed so she could whisper in his ear. “Sofia must never find out.”

  He relinquished his hold and rushed into the study ahead of her.

  She closed the door behind her. “I made the mistake of reading the top e-mail first. If you start at the bottom, it will read in chronological order,” she explained unnecessarily.

  Since she already knew what was in the e-mails, there was no point in reliving something she wanted wiped from her memory, so she stood in front of the desk and waited.

  An electric silence filled the room before Gino exploded with a string of expletives. Suddenly he shot to his feet. One glimpse of the wild fury in his eyes caused her to tremble.

  “I knew she was capable of a lot of things,” he muttered in a lethal tone, “but to forget she’d ever given birth—”

  Ally rubbed her arms to try to stop the shivering. “I know,” she whispered. “There’s no mention of Sofia, no mention of your brother’s illness. Yet she had Jim believing her husband was a cruel, calculating man.”

  Gino stared at her through eyes that had become black slits. “She was des
cribing me, not Marcello. I wasn’t the one blind to her faults from the beginning. She hated me for that.”

  His fingers made furrows through his vibrant black hair. “Ever since I repelled Donata’s advances, and refused to give her money, she’s been telling stories out of school about me to the tabloids.”

  Stunned by his words Ally said, “What kind of stories?”

  His features looked like chiseled stone. “The one where I was in love with her first, but she preferred my brother. In my jealousy, I would do anything to have her for myself…”

  Ally groaned.

  “It’s true I met her before he did. A mutual friend of our family gave a party. Marcello had the flu and couldn’t go, but I did. The host introduced me to Donata who’d come from Rome. She was exceptionally beautiful,” Gino admitted, “but let’s just say she didn’t appeal to me. I left the party never expecting to see her again.

  “A few months later I found out Marcello had met her at another party. He fell hard for her.

  “The last thing I expected was that she would end up my sister-in-law. It was the only time I remember my brother having made a bad choice about something, or someone. Of course I wouldn’t have let him know it. I loved him and wished for his happiness above all else.”

  She folded her arms tightly against her waist. Gino carried an even heavier burden than she’d realized.

  “For what it’s worth, Gino, if Donata had told my husband the truth about her family situation, Jim wouldn’t have cared. He wanted Donata because she was the personification of everything he desired. After we were married I learned that he felt entitled to live a life he hadn’t been born to. I’m convinced that’s why he worked in Europe, so he could prey on women like your sister-in-law. As you said, she was beautiful,” her voice trailed.

  “She couldn’t hold a candle to you.”

  “Spare me the platitudes, Gino.”

  He flashed her a rapier glance. “If you don’t think I meant it, take the advice you gave Sofia and look in the mirror. It will remove any doubts.”

  She shook her head in denial. “This isn’t about me.”

  He moved closer to her. “Did you know your marriage was in trouble before he was found with Donata?”

  She rubbed her temples where she could feel another headache coming on.

  Finally she turned to him.

  “When my husband didn’t get off the plane in Portland four months ago, I hired a detective to look for him.

  “It took two months before I was told Jim and another woman were found dead together. It validated my suspicions that he’d been unfaithful for some time.”

  “How long were you married?”

  “Two and a half years, but it was during the latter half that he spent longer times in Switzerland, always phoning with an excuse of some kind for not coming home sooner. Somewhere, deep down, I knew he was lying, but I wouldn’t admit it to myself.”

  She heard a savage sound come out of her host. It made her shiver all over again.

  “Donata did the same thing. She’d be gone for long periods, then call and say she’d been detained. It killed Sofia every damn time that happened.”

  Ally’s eyes filled with liquid. “The poor darling. I’m just thankful it’s over so she’s not still waiting for the phone to ring, or for her mother to walk in the house.”

  Gino nodded, but he looked so drawn it alarmed Ally.

  “Six days ago, the detective who’d worked on my husband’s disappearance called me into his office. He told me about Donata. At that point I felt driven to fly to Europe to see if I could get a few more answers. How ironic to think they were hiding in Jim’s computer all this time. Now that I’ve read the e-mails, everything is crystal clear.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’ll leave it up to you to destroy the laptop and everything in it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m tired and want to go to bed.”

  She left the room and hurried upstairs, more wounded for Sofia than anything else. Donata had planned to abandon her own daughter! Ally was so deeply hurt for that precious girl, Jim’s rejection of Ally hardly made a dent.

  She tried to imagine Gino going off with some woman never to be seen again, but she couldn’t because he was a different breed of human being. Decent, honorable. Willing to give his all for everyone’s happiness without having anyone to support him.

  Marcello had been Gino’s best friend. To be denied it now because of his illness while trying to be both mother and father to Sofia would place an enormous strain on Gino. Ally was glad that for a little while she could be here to ease his burden in some small way.

  Before washing her face, she happened to glance in the mirror. There was a speck of chocolate on her cheek, but it appeared Gino had kissed away her lipstick. Despite the new revelations in the e-mails, just remembering the sensation of his male mouth devouring hers left her breathless and pushed everything else to the back of her mind, even after she’d turned out the light and had climbed under the covers.

  Her heart did a little kick when she realized he was taking all of them to the river again tomorrow. She found herself counting the hours.

  After a few minutes she turned on her side and reached for the vase of lavender, needing to breathe in its fragrance one more time. She’d never been given flowers for no reason before.

  When Gino had handed them to her with that glint in his black eyes, she felt like she’d just been handed the world.

  It was after two in the morning when Gino shut off the computer and went up to bed. He’d read through dozens of back pages of e-mails. There were dozens more but he didn’t have the stomach for it.

  He couldn’t get his mind off Ally who didn’t seem to know how truly wonderful she was. It explained her vulnerability, put there by a man who hadn’t known how to love anyone but himself.

  Unfortunately even if the fire had gone out of her marriage, Gino knew love wasn’t always that cut and dried. Marcello had said as much when he’d admitted that he and Donata weren’t going to make it. “I wish I were a faucet, Gino, so I could turn off certain feelings.”

  In Marcello’s case the illness had done it for him.

  Where Ally was concerned, Gino feared that deep down in her psyche, she still had some feelings for her husband in spite of what he’d done to her.

  Gino couldn’t fathom the other man not cherishing her, not wanting to come home to their bed every night.

  He paused on the second floor, fighting the overwhelming impulse to knock on her door and ask if he could come in. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was—show her.

  Before Marcello’s illness, when Gino had been playing the field with no intention of settling down, Marcello had warned him that one day there’d be a woman who would bring him to his knees. Gino had laughed at his brother, but he wasn’t laughing now.

  His limbs felt heavy as he climbed to the third floor. Tonight he would pray for sleep to come quickly.

  When his phone roused him from oblivion at six in the morning, he realized he’d gotten his wish and cursed the person who dared to call him this early. On a groan, he reached for his cell.

  It was Carlo. That brought him awake in a hurry.

  “What’s going on, Carlo?”

  “I’m afraid you could be in trouble, Gino. I’ve arranged for us to meet in Rome with Alberto Toscano at nine this morning. That gives you three hours to arrange your affairs.”

  Gino levered himself off the bed. Toscano was one of Italy’s top criminal defense attorneys.

  “Don’t tell me that insane story about the tampered brakes has grown legs—”

  “I’ve just seen the forensics report on the car. There was definitely foul play involved.”

  Gino’s eyes closed tightly as his mind grappled with the stunning news.

  “It gets worse, Gino. The prosecutor has discovered that Signora Parker was in St. Moritz. He’s trying to link the dots that prove she collaborated with you to carry out this crime.”

 
A groan came out of Gino.

  “I’ll fill you in later. Ciao.”

  The line went dead.

  In the middle of the violin lesson, Bianca came in the living room. “Forgive me for interrupting but Leonora’s papa just dropped her off and Gino’s not here to make the introductions.”

  “No problem, Bianca. Bring her in here.”

  Ally sensed Sofia’s disappointment, but it really was better for her to start making new friends.

  “Hello,” Ally said as the housekeeper ushered Leonora in the room. “I’m Ally, and this is Sofia. We’re so glad you’ve come over.”

  “Thank you. I wanted to come before, but Mama said my fever had to go away first.”

  “Do you feel better now?” Sofia asked.

  “Yes.” The girl was shorter than Sofia with dark blond hair. “You’re so lucky to be learning the violin.”

  “I think so, too. Do you want to hear Ally play?”

  “I’d love it!”

  The girl was so warm and natural, Ally was charmed by her.

  “All right. One small piece. How about something from Peter and the Wolf?”

  “What’s that?” both girls asked at the same time.

  “You haven’t heard of it before?”

  They shook their heads.

  “Well, it tells a story, and each instrument represents one of the characters. The music you’re going to hear is Peter’s theme song.”

  Ally had always loved it. When she finished playing, Leonora acted as enraptured as Sofia.

  “I wish I could play.”

  Ally looked at Sofia. “Why don’t I give my violin to Leonora, and you can show her what you’ve learned.”

  Leonora’s dark eyes sparkled. “You would let me?”

  “Of course. Have fun you two.”

  Ally ducked out of the living room, delighted to realize the violins were a perfect ice breaker.

  With time on her hands waiting for Gino, she walked to the kitchen to get a piece of fruit from the bowl on the table.

  Bianca met her at the doorway. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Sofia, but Gino had to go to Rome on unexpected business for his brother this morning. He’s not sure when he’ll be back.”