by Jan Moran
“Oh,” Ruby said, unsure if it was proper that she should be alone with Niccolò.
Niccolò kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, amore mio. You’re safe with me. Come, I’ll show you around.”
He led her through the villa graced with hand-painted tiles, antique furniture, and fresco ceilings. Pausing, he swung open the door to a bedroom. “And this is where you can sleep.”
Ruby peered in. A snow-white cotton duvet and fluffy pillows covered the bed, and antique furniture lined the walls. “It’s perfect,” she said.
“And I’ll be in the room next door,” he said with a silly grin. “Hey, are you hungry?”
“Famished.” They’d had some coffee and bread on the train, but it wasn’t the kind of breakfast she was used to in Texas with over-easy eggs, venison sausage, and a short stack of flapjacks. In Hollywood, her aunt served freshly squeezed orange juice with homemade yogurt and buttered toast, but Ruby was always hungry before lunch. At least they fed the cast and crew well on the movie set.
“Let’s make paninis,” Niccolò said, guiding her outside. “We’ll pick tomatoes and basil and peppers.”
Niccolò led her to the garden, where she almost cried when she saw the abundance. Ruby told him about the crops on her family’s ranch that had been lost this year in the drought. Corn, okra, squash, green beans, tomatoes.
“In comparison, this area is like paradise,” Ruby said, filling a corner of her skirt with plump tomatoes and peppers. She raised her hand to the sun, which was warm, but not as brutal as the Texas sun that scorched the soil until it cracked. “Last year, the rains didn’t come, and our shallow well might still run dry this summer.” Ruby had wired money from her last paycheck, and she’d keep sending as much as she could.
“How are they doing now?” Niccolò asked. He’d been with her when she’d received the telegram from Patricia.
“The crops are a total loss. My parents bought food, and they’re rationing the water they have left.” Without rain, the cattle were close to starvation, too. Her parents needed to drill a deeper well, but they didn’t have the money. Still, even a well couldn’t water all the pasture land the livestock required.
When Ruby thought about how desperate the situation was on the ranch, she felt guilty about being in this lush environment. Acting in movies was even more critical for her now to support her family.
“I feel bad that there isn’t more I can do for my family,” Ruby said, her throat constricting at the thought of what they were going through.
“You’re doing what you can.” Compassion shone in Niccolò’s eyes. “The recovery after the war has been hard for people in Italy, too, especially in the south. Films made in Rome create a lot of jobs for people. This is our future. We have our whole lives ahead of us; imagine what we can do together, Ruby. And with your talent, you can give your family a palace someday.”
Ruby laughed at that thought, but some actors in Hollywood did live in splendor. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford lived in a lavish Beverly Hills estate called Pickfair. Anything was possible if she was willing to work for it.
And she was. Ruby folded her skirt around the vegetables.
They made their way back into the kitchen, where Ruby helped Niccolò wash and slice the vegetables. Niccolò roasted the peppers and piled them onto rustic slices of bread, adding provolone cheese and thin prosciutto. He pressed the sandwiches onto a hot grill. While he watched the paninis, Ruby sliced soft mozzarella cheese, stacked it on top of thick slices of tomatoes, and sprinkled sprigs of basil over it all.
“Mangiamo,” Niccolò said with a flourish. “Time to eat this masterpiece.”
He poured a splash of wine into glass tumblers, and they carried their meal outdoors to eat under the shade of the rose-covered pergola. They enjoyed a leisurely lunch, watching yachts and ferries cross the lake and clouds drift across the sky.
After they finished eating their paninis, Niccolò brought out a plate of purple grapes. Ruby plucked a handful. “Open wide,” she said, aiming for his mouth. He did, and she tossed a plump grape toward him that bounced off his nose.
“Try again,” he said, laughing. The next one, he caught.
They took turns with their silly antics, dissolving into a fit of laughter. Between the delicious food, the mild sun on her shoulders, and the beauty surrounding them, Ruby thought she’d never had such a beautiful afternoon. The wine was making her a little giddy, but she liked the feeling. She pushed her glass toward him. “More, please.”
“Oh, no, no, no. I think you’ve had enough.” Niccolò moved the bottle away.
Ruby stifled a yawn. “Maybe I need a nap instead.” She hadn’t slept much on the train. Now, after a good meal and maybe a little too much wine, she was growing drowsy.
“That’s a great idea,” Niccolò said. He took her hand and led her inside, up the stairs, and to her room. Niccolò flung open the windows, and a gentle breeze lifted the white cotton curtains.
As Ruby collapsed onto the bed, she reached out for Niccolò and pulled him down with her.
“Hey,” he said as he turned to face her. Brushing her hair from her face, he peppered her forehead and cheeks with soft kisses.
Ruby raised her lips to his. A moment later, she was lost in the warmth of his mouth. Swept away on waves of pleasure, Ruby succumbed to his embrace. She slid her fingers beneath his shirt, feeling the strength of his heartbeat, which matched hers.
Niccolò caught her hand in his. “I should go,” he whispered. “You stay here and sleep. Alone.”
“Please stay.” Ruby often felt alone, and she hated it. Away from her family and those she loved, she now bore a huge responsibility of providing for her family—and doing it alone. Here with Niccolò, she could be herself, and she knew she had his support.
“Are you sure?” Niccolò smoothed her hair from her cheek.
Ruby sighed and turned into his palm. His simple touch caused an avalanche of feelings in her that she’d never felt before.
She flicked the top button of his shirt. Niccolò gripped her hand, but she fumbled open another button. Moments later, his shirt slid to the wooden floor beneath them.
“Quanto ti amo,” Niccolò murmured, and she answered him in kind.
His kisses filled her with the sweetest desire, and she brought herself to him, calling his name, unwilling to resist. Whatever separate paths they might have been on before, they joined together as one now. One heart, one destiny, one life.
This was the man she would love for the rest of her life.
* * *
Ruby opened her eyes and lifted her head from Niccolò’s chest. Outside, the sun was setting, and the breeze had grown stronger. Niccolò snored softly, but as she rustled, he tightened his arms around her.
This togetherness felt so right to her. Yet instantly, a thought gripped her. What have we done?
Her hot tears trickled onto Niccolò’s chest, and she turned away from him.
“Hey,” he said, lifting himself onto one elbow and wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t cry, mio tesoro. You are so beautiful. You’re my heart, my soul.”
He murmured the loveliest words in her ear, and although Ruby didn’t understand all of what he said, she felt her fears melting away.
“I love you,” he said. “I have loved you from the moment I first saw you on the set. I knew we would be together for the rest of our lives.”
Ruby turned back to him. “Do you mean that?”
Niccolò’s eyes warmed her with love. “With every drop of my blood,” he said, kissing her neck.
“But what we’ve done…”
“Non sono dispiaciuto.” He kissed the tears from her eyes. “Quanto ti amo. Why should we apologize for love?”
A thousand questions raced through her mind.
Niccolò wrapped his arms around her. “I want to marry you.”
“What?”
“We are meant to be together,” he said. “Can you deny this?”
&
nbsp; Ruby gazed into his eyes, which were clear and bright with certainty. “This is a serious step.”
“Not if we truly love each other.”
“How can you be so sure?” Ruby drew her teeth over her swollen lips. Hearing words of love on Niccolò’s lips filled her with feelings of warmth and security.
“Because it’s time we lived our lives together.” Niccolò folded his hand over hers and pressed it to his chest. “I know this for certain. Trust me, and we’ll have the most wonderful life you can imagine. Here, Rome, Hollywood, Texas. Where you go, I’ll go.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “From now on, we’ll never be apart.”
On hearing those words, joy bloomed in Ruby’s heart, and she smothered him with kisses before pulling back from him. “How will we do this?”
“There’s a priest I know here. He’s a friend of my uncle. For a few lire, he’ll do it.”
“This weekend?” She frowned up at him. “But, my parents…”
“We can have another wedding in Texas next month. The film will be finished soon. But we are as one now. We should be married as soon as possible.”
Ruby nodded and smiled up at him. He understood her worry. If her father knew what they had done, he would demand that Niccolò make an honest woman of her. At the thought, a twinge pinched her neck. She’d always hated that phrase. What was so dishonest about love like this?
“I think my parents will be happy when they meet you.”
“Do you want to call them and tell them?”
She did, but as thrilled as she was at the thought of getting married, she knew her father would be far less so. Not because he was against marriage for her, but because for years he’d been planning for her to marry a neighboring rancher’s son—just as her sister Patricia had at seventeen. Her mother had made a deal with her father to let Ruby go to Hollywood. In two years, Ruby would return to settle down. Ruby knew what that meant, and she didn’t want to be trapped on a ranch for the rest of her life, scratching out a living on dry land. What she wanted was to experience life.
This life. And she wanted Niccolò. Why destroy the bliss we have right now?
Ruby slid her arms around Niccolò’s neck and kissed him lightly. “Let’s surprise them later.”
Chapter 13
Lago di Como, 2010
* * *
High on a bedroom balcony of Villa Fiori overlooking the lake, Ariana watched as Alessandro arrived and moored his bobbing craft beside their dock. He’d brought Paolina and the children, and another man that Ariana assumed was his sister’s husband.
Laughter floated upstairs from the gathering below. Ariana had been helping Livia in the kitchen, but as soon as Ariana had seen Alessandro’s yacht pulling alongside, she’d raced upstairs like a teenager to avoid him.
Yesterday, she’d made a fool of herself. Not only a fool but a rude, inconsiderate, obnoxious fool. Those were Ruby’s scathing words, and Ariana knew she deserved every one of them. Had her relationship with Phillip ruined how she looked at men?
Not that she was in the market to replace Phillip so quickly. A little more than a week ago, she was getting married. And now she was going to be a mother in about seven-ish months.
She gazed out at Alessandro. With the sun glinting off his aviator sunglasses and a sweater tossed over his shoulders, he looked like he’d just stepped from a glossy tourist ad for Lake Como. If she were interested in a rebound fling before she blossomed with child, he could be a perfect candidate—except that he had two small children to occupy his time.
Ariana pressed her fingers against her throbbing temples. Life was getting complicated in her thirties. All she had to think about before was school and work. Why had she been so stressed over things that now seemed mundane and unimportant in comparison?
In retrospect, Ariana thought her best years were probably behind her. Though she hated to admit it, she was beginning to understand her mother, who’d thrown herself into a new career after Ariana’s father walked out. Mari Ricci had been too proud to take her daughter home to Nana Pat’s and admit defeat. Too proud to accept assistance, except for Ariana’s education.
At some point, Ariana would have to tell her mother about the baby. The thought filled her with dread. She couldn’t expect any help from her mother, who had been against her relationship with Phillip from the beginning.
As Ariana thought of what she was going to need for her child, she panicked. She didn’t know the first thing about babies. How would she manage? A gust of wind blew in from the lake, and Ariana sneezed.
Suddenly, Alessandro looked up. Ariana gasped and jumped back. Stumbling on the rug, she cried out, furtively waving her arms like a slow-motion clown trying to keep her balance. In the end, she didn’t.
Fortunately, she fell into the plush duvet on the bed. Staring at the high ceiling, she moaned at her predicament. Alessandro was sure to have seen her spying on him. How could she have made yet another faux pas?
She was still on the bed when footsteps sounded outside her open door.
“Ariana, are you up here?” Ruby’s voice echoed through the hall until she stopped in the doorway. “Goodness sakes, are you not feeling well?”
Ariana pushed herself up. “I’m okay.”
“No tummy issues?”
Ariana shook her head. Too late, she realized that would have been a good excuse.
“Well, then, come downstairs. Livia said you ran upstairs when you saw Alessandro’s yacht.” Ruby put a hand on her hip. “Hiding is not going to help.”
“I’m so embarrassed.”
“You should be. But I think Alessandro understands—and he’s concerned. He told me he heard a strange yelp from upstairs and asked me to check on you.”
Ariana groaned and sank her face into her hand. Just when she thought the situation couldn’t get any worse.
“I could send him up, and you two could talk.”
“Absolutely not.” Ariana clambered from the bed and smoothed the wrinkled sundress Ruby had bought for her on her trip with Alessandro yesterday. Her aunt had insisted she wear it today, saying that the pink and yellow print illuminated Ariana’s strawberry blond hair. Not that she had anything else to wear. She hadn’t been shopping yet to augment the few clothes she’d packed.
Glancing in the mirror, Ariana saw that her aunt was right. The cheerful print also masked the turmoil Ariana felt inside. “I’ll be down in a moment.”
“I’ll wait,” Ruby said. “We can walk down together.”
Ariana blew out a breath. Disagreeing with her aunt was useless. “Let’s go then.”
“Like that?” Ruby arched her eyebrow. “You look like you’ve been rolling around in bed. We have company downstairs. So brush your hair, put on a little lip gloss. Now is not the time to seclude yourself.”
Ariana groaned. “Isn’t that what women used to do? Hide their pregnancies? Sounds like a good idea to me.”
“Stop it.” Ruby’s vivid green eyes flashed with annoyance. “Having a baby is nothing to be ashamed of. That was an archaic attitude. Think of your child. Your growing baby needs good food, fresh air, and a positive attitude from you. Now let’s go.”
Ariana couldn’t argue with that. She ran a brush through her hair and touched gloss to her lips before following Ruby downstairs. Her aunt’s silk print caftan flowed behind her on the stairs as she tossed her fiery red hair over her shoulder. Pure elegance.
Pausing on the landing, Ariana surveyed the crowd in the salon below. Villa Fiori was full of laughter. Gia and Vera were there with their husbands and four children between them. Alessandro and Paolina and her husband were chatting with them, while little Sandro and Carmela were playing with the other children. Matteo and his wife were there, and a few other people that Ariana didn’t recognize.
“Ariana, I’d like you to meet a few people.” Ruby steered her to a new group and began the introductions to two couples. “Our neighbors, the Colombos and Vernates.”
F
eeling Alessandro’s eyes on her, Ariana greeted their guests, who were actually quite interesting. In a few days, Ruby had managed to meet the neighbors—an artist and a writer—as well as local officials and an opera singer. People were naturally drawn to her aunt, even if they didn’t recognize her or weren’t familiar with her films. Ruby’s charisma and exuberance for life were irresistible.
The children soon raced outside to play tag in the garden. Ariana strolled out to watch them as they skipped through the orchard and played under the pergola. As much as she had wanted children, it was nearly inconceivable that she was about to take such an important step by herself. She leaned against a stone balustrade and ran a hand over her abdomen. This certainly wasn’t how she’d once imagined her family would unfold.
Had she made a mistake by leaving Phillip at the altar? Yet, his harsh words still rang in her ears. No, she thought, setting her jaw. Marrying him was no longer an option. She wanted a husband who was all in, not someone who would grudgingly throw money at her little problem.
This was her child.
As the magnitude of this dawned on her, Ariana blinked into the breeze. The children’s laughter wound around her, sounding sweeter than the wind chimes that tinkled in the gusts off the water. Her world would have to change, but maybe that wasn’t the disaster she’d imagined.
“May I join you?” Alessandro stepped beside her, casting a shadow across the terrace in front of her.
Ariana felt a flush spread across her chest, and she shifted against the stone railing. “I owe you an apology.”
His lips quirked to one side. “You made your position known. I can’t fault a woman who has strong values.”
“But, I was wrong.” She slid a glance toward him.
“Sì, that you were.” Alessandro nodded toward his children. “Now you know my story.”
Ariana turned toward him. “Is this where I’m expected to share mine?”