She reciprocated the gaze, her heart drumming at how incredibly handsome he was, with his well-fitting dark gray trousers and maroon shirt emphasizing his strong, muscled body. He was holding a single rose in his hands, and as she reached the bottom step, he held it out to her with a smile that sent her heart leaping.
Davide held out his other hand and led her outside toward his Lamborghini. Moments later, as he began the curving descent down the mountainside, Neve held her breath. She gasped at a few hairpin turns, and on one them, her hand impulsively shot out to grasp hold of Davide. He just smiled and when he reached the base of the mountain, he veered off in the direction of the interior, and not the coast, as he had originally mentioned.
“I’m heading to the other coast,” he said, flashing Neve a grin. “And before too long, we’ll be passing through the Aspromonte mountain range.” He raised an eyebrow. “Brigand territory in the eighteen-sixties...”
The countryside took on a muted aspect as twilight set in. They passed through vast stretches of olive groves and craggy limestone hills, their shapes and shadows lending a haunting quality to the landscape. With the sensual thrum of the engine and the luxurious comfort of the vehicle, Neve couldn’t help but relax, and she settled back in her seat and allowed her eyelids to close...
* * *
A soft pressure on her lips woke her up and her eyes blinked open. Davide’s face was inches away from hers. She felt her pulse accelerate.
“We’re here, Neve. And you must not have been under a deep spell, since it took only one kiss to wake you up...”
Neve quickly straightened in her seat. “Where are we?”
“In the Marina di Scilla, about twenty-two kilometers north of Reggio di Calabria on the Strait of Messina. Andiamo, the place where I want to take you is in walking distance.”
Davide had parked on the side of the street flanking the beach. He climbed out of the car and opened the door for Neve. She stepped out and stood mesmerized by the yellow lights illuminating the clustered three-story houses across the beach and up the promontory to the castle that rose out of the hill, with its stark sides and square windows overlooking the hamlet and the strait. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.
“That’s the Castello Ruffo,” Davide said. “It was built by the priests in a time when they needed to protect themselves against Saracen invasions. Nowadays it’s used for exhibitions and conferences.”
Lampposts illuminated the stretch of beach where people were strolling, children were playing and others were dining. The aromas from the beachside restaurants were making Neve’s mouth water.
As they walked along the road, with Davide’s arm around her, Neve felt a contentedness she had never felt before. And despite the earlier confrontation with her mother, Neve resolved to make things right between them. Lois’s thoughtfulness toward Bianca had touched her, and she hoped that they could work out their problems and come to a new understanding. And maybe in time, Davide could forgive her mother, as well.
Davide turned into a narrow alley that meandered past terraced steps and balconies festooned with geraniums and bougainvillea. These houses were steps from the strait, and the faint scent of salt and fish hung in the air.
A few moments later he was ushering Neve into an exclusive waterfront trattoria with a terrace that jutted out over the water. The waiter, who greeted Davide by name, led them to a table in a far corner of the terrace. The lights illuminating the terrace were reflected in the water around them, and with the movement of the waves, it gave Neve the impression that they were suspended above twinkling stars.
Davide pointed to the breakers in the distance. “That’s the site of the sea witch, Scylla, the whirlpool personified in Greek mythology as a female monster devouring sailors and impeding the way of the hero Odysseus...” He turned to her, his gaze piercing. “You know, Neve, when I first saw you on my computer screen, I thought you might very well be a sea witch, with those mesmerizing eyes...”
Neve pretended to pout. “That wasn’t the first time you thought me a witch.”
At Davide’s puzzled look, she added, “After you got that note and thought that I had written it...you must have thought me cruel and heartless.”
Davide couldn’t lie. “I was confused,” he murmured. “What I had seen—or thought I had seen—in your eyes was so different from what I had seen written on that note.”
“Did you hate me?” she whispered.
“I was crushed,” he rasped, “but I never hated you. I admit, it was hard on my ego. But I think I despised myself, for not being your equal, for not being good enough for you.”
“That was my mother’s opinion, not mine. I wish I had seen the note...” Neve said wistfully.
“It wasn’t meant to be...at least not then. If you had come, we might have stolen a kiss. But our destiny was not to meet that night, but eight years later. Our time is now.”
The waiter approached and Davide ordered an aperitif for both of them and fried calamari as an appetizer followed by eggplant parmigiana and grilled swordfish.
After the waiter left, Davide rose and took Neve’s hand. The way she looked in her blue dress and filmy shawl sent his pulse racing. He led her to the railing and for a few moments they looked up at the stars and the lights twinkling in the water. And then, with a muffled groan, he pulled her closer and inhaled the sweet floral scent at her temples.
“I suffered, Neve, losing you before I could even tell you how I felt... But maybe I would have suffered even more if I had spent treasured moments with you and then had had to let you go. Who would have ever believed that destiny would lead us to one another again?”
“I never really believed in destiny before...until now,” Neve sighed, resting her head against his chest.
Out of the corner of his eye, Davide saw the waiter set down the drinks and appetizer on their table, but he didn’t want to let Neve out of his arms. Or out of his life.
“I’m hungry,” he whispered huskily against her ear. “For you.” He drew back so she could see the love and passion in his eyes. “Ti amo, tesoro mio. You are my treasure, Neve, and I will love and honor you for the rest of my life, if you will have me. And Bianca.”
Neve’s eyes glistened. “Yes. I wouldn’t have it any other way!” She gave him a lingering kiss. “Ti amo, Davide,” she told him breathlessly. “And I’m just as hungry.” She let out a tinkling laugh. “Let’s eat, and we can have dessert back at the castle.”
* * *
By the time they arrived at the castle, Neve was feeling drowsy from the effects of their fabulous dinner and wine. Before she knew it, Davide had scooped her up in his arms and was carrying her into the castle and up the stairs...
He deposited her gently on his bed and removed her shoes. “Don’t move,” he ordered gruffly and disappeared into his walk-in closet. When he returned, he was carrying a decorative box. He held it out to her somewhat sheepishly.
Neve glanced through the transparent cover and recognized the filmy coral nightgown she had liked at the market. She blinked in disbelief, and then gave Davide a teasing smile. “Either you were psychic or just confident.”
“Impulsive and hopeful would be more accurate.” He gave her a scorching kiss. “Would you like to wear it tonight, Bianca Neve, or on our honeymoon?”
EPILOGUE
Two weeks later
DAVIDE GOT DOWN on one knee in the same spot where Neve had collided into him when they had first played hide-and-seek. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a silver box. When he opened it, Neve gasped. The platinum ring was stunning, with an exquisite two-carat diamond and four small diamonds on either side of the band.
“The eight diamonds represent the years I waited,” he said huskily, taking her left hand and slipping the ring on her third finger. “And the round diamond represents my infinite love for you—”
&nbs
p; “Can I come in now, Zio Davide?” Bianca called out impatiently, a few steps away.
Davide let his head drop in feigned despair and Neve laughed.
Bianca rushed into the space, her orca in hand. “Can I be your flower girl?” she cried excitedly, clasping Neve’s arm.
Neve bent down and gathered Bianca in a hug. “I wouldn’t dream of having anyone else, tesoro.”
“Oh, Bianca!” Lois Wilder joined them, throwing her hands up. “I told you I’d give you the signal when to go in, sweetheart,” she said. “Oh, well!” She looked at Neve and Davide, who was still down on one knee, and smiled. “It’s time for all of us to celebrate. Come on. I’m treating at the Pasticceria Michelina!” She gave Neve a hug. “I think I owe you two that, at the very least. Congratulations, darling!”
After Lois and Bianca had left, Davide held out his hand. Neve slipped her hand into his, and perched herself on his knee, her eyes glittering along with her ring. “Sposami, Neve,” he said huskily.
Neve looked deep into Davide’s eyes. “Sì, of course I will marry you, amore.”
She leaned forward, but suddenly his knee shifted and she lost her balance, sending them both tumbling onto the grass, and the scent of the pink magnolia flowers was as sweet as their kiss.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story,
check out this other great read
from Rosanna Battigelli
Swept Away by the Enigmatic Tycoon
Available now!
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Carrying the Billionaire’s Baby
by Susan Meier
CHAPTER ONE
JACOB MCCALLAN STRODE down the quiet hall of Waters, Waters and Montgomery—the law firm employed by his family—with tall, lanky Pete Waters, senior partner.
“So, how’s your mother holding up?”
Jake glanced at Pete, not surprised he’d asked. His father had died five months before and everyone was worried about his mom. “She’s working to pull herself together. Some days are better than others.”
“Rumor has it she headed the last board of directors meeting.”
Jake grimaced. Nobody was supposed to know about that, but Pete had sources everywhere. Jake chose his words carefully. “She tried.”
“Tried?”
“It was no big deal. She walked into the meeting saying she wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture and would assume Dad’s role as chairman of the board. I took her out of the conference room and privately told her that the corporate bylaws name the CEO as acting chairman.”
“You.”
He nodded. “Me. I told her that if we went against the bylaws, we risked being sued by shareholders.”
“How’d she take it?”
“She was a bit confused. A bit hurt. I think she believed taking over as chairman would give her something to do now that Dad’s gone.”
Pete took a long, slow breath and blew it out in a gust. “That’s rough.”
Painter’s scaffolding crowded the end of the private corridor to Pete’s office. He pointed to the right. “We’ll go the long way.”
The “long way” took them past cubicles filled with workers on the phone or frantically typing on computer keyboards, then a file room. A wall of windows exposed rows of files—thinner than they had been before most things were stored on computers—and five copy machines.
Jake frowned and slowed his steps. Was that Avery Novak standing in front of one of those copy machines?
He couldn’t really tell because the tall redhead’s back was to him. But a man didn’t forget silky hair long enough to tickle his chest when she straddled him.
He told himself to keep walking. He and Avery had had a short fling, which she’d mercifully broken off after three weeks. They’d been dynamite in bed. But out of bed? They would have done nothing but argue about politics and principles if Jake had ever risen to any of her bait. The woman was ridiculously headstrong, and she didn’t like rich people.
No matter how hot they were together, he had looked down the board and seen a future filled with her being critical of his privileged lifestyle, and in general acting as if he were Marie Antoinette and she was a beleaguered peasant. His only regret was that he hadn’t been the one to break it off.
Jake and Pete were just about at the end of the long glass wall, when she turned. Her huge green eyes widened. Her mouth fell open and she quickly lowered the file she held to her stomach. But it was too late. He’d seen the baby bump.
Baby bump!
She had to be at least five months pregnant. Maybe six.
Oh, God... Six?
That took them back to February—when they were dating.
That could be his baby. His child.
He glanced at Avery again. Her figure hadn’t changed much except for the baby bump, yet she’d looked more womanly, more attractive. He remembered her soapy and sexy in the shower, added the baby bump to the naked body he knew so well, and something raw and emotional ripped through him. Stronger than lust, more profound than awe that they’d created a child, the feeling rendered him speechless. The reality that that “bump” could be his child slammed into him like an eighteen-wheeler, mostly because his father had been a terrible parent. He had no idea how a good dad behaved. What a good dad did—
But, no. It couldn’t be his child. Avery would have told him. Wouldn’t she?
He and Pete finally walked past the file room. Pete still chatted on about Jake’s mother. “I understand that she’s on shaky emotional ground. But you really have to hold the line with her coming into the business and trying to do things.”
“Actually, I’m thinking of giving her a job.”
“What?” Pete stopped walking.
Jake stopped too. “She lost her husband.” A movement from the file room caught his eye and he glanced up in time to see Avery racing away. His throat constricted. His gut clenched. Why run away from him if that wasn’t his child?
Embarrassment?
Maybe.
Had to be.
She was probably embarrassed she’d found another man and gotten pregnant so soon after him. Because it couldn’t be his baby...
Otherwise she would have told him.
He faced Pete. “Mom’s grieving. She’s searching for meaning in her life. Trying to be chairman of the board proves she wants som
ething to do. Why not give her something?”
“Because she’s been a socialite for forty years and doesn’t have any skills?” Pete sighed. “Jake, giving her a job is only going to make your life difficult. There are better ways to handle her grief than having her underfoot.”
“I’m not sure I agree. Maybe she has skills we don’t know about? Or maybe she won’t even want a job? At least if I ask, she’ll feel wanted.”
“I think you’ll be sorry.”
“Perhaps. But I think I should ask. She’s leaving today for a week in Paris. I thought if I offered her something, it would perk her up enough that her friends could snap her out of her depression.”
“You’re sure she’s going?”
“She and her girlfriends have been spending the first week of September in Paris for decades.” He took a brief glance up the hall, but Avery was gone. “She’ll recognize she needs to be with her friends and go. Besides, there’s a charity ball over the weekend that I’m attending this year. She won’t miss my first time there and a chance to introduce me to her friends.”
“What if she jumps on your job offer and doesn’t care about going to the event?”
“A condition of her coming to work for us will be that she takes the week in Paris first.”
Pete shrugged as if grudgingly agreeing with Jake’s decision.
They reached Pete’s office and Jake took one final glance up the hall. He didn’t see Avery, but his chest tightened anyway.
As Pete droned on about fulfilling the bequests in his dad’s will, Jake realized three things. First, Avery was independent enough that she could consider it her right not to tell him about his own child. Second, if that baby really was his, he was in trouble. He had no idea how to be a parent and he would need all the time he could get to figure it out before the baby was born. Which meant, number three, he was going to have to confront her.
Today.
* * *
Avery didn’t get home until after nine that night. Law firm associates did all the paperwork and the bulk of the legwork on most cases. Before she’d gotten pregnant, she’d fought for the extra work. She sat in on every meeting they’d permit her to attend, and campaigned to be a part of every important case. She had a plan, with big goals, and had only allowed herself five years to get the experience she would need to start her own law firm back home in Pennsylvania. She’d had to cram in everything she could.
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