Once a Ferrara Wife... (15 page)

There was a long silence and he discovered the true meaning of the word suspense.

He wondered what he was going to do if she backed off because he knew he was never going to accept no.

Those sea-green eyes held his. ‘Hurt me again and there will be no second chances.’

‘If I hurt you again, Terminator will eat me,’ he drawled, opening a hand that wasn’t quite steady to produce her wedding ring. ‘This lives on your finger, not in your purse. Put it back on. And don’t ever take it off again.’

‘T
HIS
is part of your plan to make me trust you? You’re going to dangle me over the mouth of a volcano?’ Laurel clutched the seat of the helicopter as she stared down at the lava fields and the mouth of the volcano with a mixture of fear and fascination. From here it was possible to see the main crater and she gave a shiver as she contemplated the raw, elemental power of nature and the potential for disaster.

Cristiano’s pilot had flown the company helicopter from Palermo and picked them up for an aerial tour of this part of the island.

‘Are we landing?’

‘Not today. Today we are sightseeing in comfort.’ His smile was so sinfully sexy that she couldn’t look away from his mouth and that single glance was the catalyst for a blast of attraction so powerful that her head spun.

The days since they’d arrived had merged into one long, indulgent expression of their feeling for each other.

‘Maybe that’s enough sightseeing for one day,’ she murmured, hating herself for being so weak. ‘Shall we just go home?’ Her heart increased its rhythm in the anticipation of what going home would mean. They were both insatiable, she thought. No matter how long they spent in bed they just couldn’t get enough of each other. He was as hungry for her
body as she was for his, which made his sudden tension all the more perplexing.

‘We can’t go home yet.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because I’m planning a surprise back at the house. I’m making a few changes.’ More than that he wouldn’t say and Laurel was intrigued. Over the days since he’d slid her wedding ring back onto her finger, they’d rarely spent any time in the house. He’d absented himself from her a few times to make some phone calls that she’d assumed had been business-related. Now she wasn’t sure. What could he possibly be doing to an already perfect house that required her to be out of the way?

He already had a gym and a cinema room. What else was there in a house where life was mostly lived outdoors?

As the pilot took another sweep across the crater of the volcano she forgot about what was at home and instead just enjoyed being with Cristiano. He was a knowledgeable guide, his extensive knowledge of Etna derived from the geologists who worked with him as part of his company’s expansion programme.

‘We didn’t do enough of this,’ he said roughly when the helicopter finally landed back in the grounds of the house. ‘We didn’t spend enough time doing things together. Even when we were talking over dinner we were often discussing work.’

They strolled slowly back to the sun-baked terrace and Laurel accepted a glass of chilled Sicilian lemonade from one of the staff with a grateful smile.

‘You don’t have to apologise for being committed to your business. I’m as much of a workaholic as you are but yes, I agree that we failed to find a balance.’ As a loud noise disturbed the peace, she turned her head towards the house. ‘What’s that banging?’

‘It’s part of your surprise.’ He frowned impatiently and finished his drink. ‘The noise is driving me mad. Let’s go for a stroll.’

Laurel would have been quite happy to flop by the pool but caught the expression on his face and realised that he genuinely wanted to surprise her with whatever it was he was planning.

Intrigued as to what could possibly be happening in the house that required major refurbishment and secrecy, Laurel allowed him to propel her up the path that led through the citrus grove and together they walked towards the ruins of the Greco-Roman amphitheatre.

‘Is your breathing all right?’ He reached out and adjusted her hat to give her more protection from the fierce sun.

‘Yes. Exercise isn’t a trigger for me.’ She paused to admire a tiny lizard, basking in the heat of the sun. ‘Which is a relief or I’d have to give up my job.’

‘Why did you choose fitness as a profession? Particularly with asthma.’

‘The asthma was the reason.’ The hot sun burned the back of her neck. ‘I was determined to be as fit as possible. After that couple decided not to adopt me I tried ignoring the fact that I had asthma. I stopped using my inhaler, a decision that landed me in hospital a few times. After that I decided that it was more sensible to take a different approach so, instead of pretending I didn’t have it, I tried to find out as much information as I could. One of the nurses in the hospital helped me. Everyone’s asthma is different, of course, but for me exercise made a difference. The fitter I was, the healthier I was. For me the biggest trigger has always been stress.’

With a groan of remorse he pulled her against him. ‘I feel like a brute for triggering that attack the night before Dani’s wedding.’

It felt so good to be held.
To be loved.
‘If you hadn’t, we might not have started talking again.’

‘We would have done. There was no way I was ever letting you go again. From the moment you stepped onto the tarmac I was ready to lock you in my villa and never let you go. You felt it too.’

‘Yes.’ And the need to be with him had almost burned her alive. Even now she couldn’t believe she was standing here with him. That, somehow, they’d reached this point.

She eased away from him and they walked among the ancient ruins hand in hand. ‘I never grow tired of this place.’ Oblivious to the other tourists, she sat down, admiring the amazing view of the sea with Mount Etna in the background. ‘I wish we could live here.’

‘You don’t miss the city?’

‘No. But living here isn’t practical, is it?’ Her tone regretful, she rubbed her fingers over the ancient stone and wondered about the generations of people who had sat in the same place before her. ‘You can’t run your business from here and neither can I. Maybe it isn’t just the place. It’s the fact that when we’re here, we’re not working.’

‘So we both need to learn to compromise. We come here more often. Base ourselves here for, let’s say, a week a month minimum?’

‘That’s a wonderful plan but in practice you’d be in your plane all the time, flying all over the world as usual.’

‘Santo is taking over more of that side of the business.’ Cristiano stretched out his long legs. ‘He’s the one scouting out potential sites for development and doing all the local negotiations with our lawyers. I’ve been spending more of my time here, overseeing things.’

Laurel laughed. ‘The Emperor Cristiano, sitting on his throne?’

‘That would be
King
Cristiano, surely, if I’m on a throne?’

Smiling back at her, he curved his hand behind her neck and drew her face towards him for a kiss. ‘Any time you want to prostrate yourself at my feet, just go right ahead.’

‘In your dreams.’ But even the mounting sizzle of sexual tension couldn’t distract her from the conversation. Hope was a small tender bud, slowly unfurling inside her because finally this felt real. ‘Do you think that could work, really? You could spend more time here in Taormina?’

‘We could spend more time here. Although if we were commuting, I wouldn’t drive. The helicopter is more practical.’

Laurel raised her eyebrows in disbelief. ‘Have I ever pointed out how completely removed you are from real life? You say that as if it’s a normal mode of transport.’

‘It’s a great option. With the helicopter, it doesn’t really matter where I am. I can use that to fly around the island and also as a connection to the airport if I need the plane. And talking of planes—I have some good news. I didn’t say anything before because I didn’t want to raise your hopes.’ He sounded supremely pleased with himself. ‘I’ve tracked down a doctor who has agreed to talk to us about what happened before. He’ll advise on whether there is anything that can be done. All we have to do is call him and tell him when it’s convenient for us to see him.’

The warmth drained out of her. Suddenly she felt sick. ‘I’ve already seen an expert. He told me I couldn’t have children.’

‘You saw a local doctor and let’s face it,
angelo mia,
the local health care wasn’t exactly impressive. You deserve better and I’m going to make sure you get it.’

Her heart was pounding. ‘The team at the hospital saved my life.’

‘True, but this is a specialist area. Huge advances have been made in recent years. I won’t believe that there is no hope until I hear it from someone who knows what he’s talking about. Don’t argue. I want to do this for you. It’s the least
I can do.’ His phone rang and she half expected him to ignore it as he had been doing but he took the call and immediately rose to his feet, otherwise he probably would have seen the change in her.

She sat, frozen.

The least he could do?

He had no idea.

And that was her fault, for not telling him how she felt.

Her hands started to shake and when he came off the phone, it was a struggle to behave normally. ‘Who was that?’

‘We need to get back to the house.’

Laurel was shaking so badly she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her. ‘I thought I was banned from seeing the house.’

‘Not any more. I have a surprise for you. A gift.’ As they negotiated the steps in the amphitheatre, he took her hand firmly in his and frowned. ‘Your hands are cold. Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine.’

She wanted to tell him that she didn’t need big presents from him, that gifts weren’t the reason she was with him but all she could think about was the fact that he was going to arrange for her to see a doctor and that was the last thing she wanted.

Cristiano lengthened his stride. ‘I can’t wait for you to see it.’

‘The doctor?’

His glance was indulgent. ‘I was talking about my gift to you.’

‘Oh. I’m sure I’ll love it,’ she croaked, knowing that she had to tell him the truth.

They arrived back at the house and Cristiano immediately walked towards his study, one of her favourite rooms.

He paused with his hand on the door and she wondered
what on earth this gift was that merited so much drama in the presentation.

‘You said I didn’t think about what you really wanted. That the gifts I gave you weren’t personal.’ His voice was husky and he looked at her with expectant eyes. ‘This gift is very personal and I hope it goes some way towards proving how much I love you.’

She wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter how much he loved her, their relationship had no future if he was still hoping that there would be children, but there was no opportunity to speak because he was already pushing open the door and standing back, waiting for her reaction.

Laurel stared past him into the room and swallowed in disbelief.

What had once been a high-tech office—
his office
—had been transformed into a library. Tall bookshelves hand-carved in a beautiful pale wood lined the walls. Cristiano’s desk had been removed and replaced with two large squashy sofas that just invited the visitor to sit down and relax and read. But what really drew her attention was the fact that the bookshelves were already stacked with books.

Laurel walked towards them on shaky legs, feeling a lump spring to the back of her throat. Running her eyes along the shelves, she saw old favourites as well as plenty she’d never read.

It should have been the perfect gift. It would have been the perfect gift had it not been for the knowledge that their love had no future.

She remembered an occasion as a child when someone had given her a big shiny balloon, only for it to burst moments later.

Tilting her head back, she looked at the books. Her big shiny balloon. Reaching for one, she removed it from the shelf and glanced at the flyleaf. ‘It’s a first edition.’

‘Yes. And before you say anything, I did have help tracking them down because I don’t claim to be an expert on old books. But the idea was mine. And I gave them a list of the books. I made contact with that old English teacher you talked about, the estimable Miss Hayes, and she gave me some idea of what would be in a well stocked British library.’

The lump in her throat was big and solid and refused to budge. ‘Miss Hayes? How did you find Miss Hayes?’

‘I’m a man of influence, remember?’ But his lazy drawl was tinged with something else. An uncertainty that she’d never heard in his tone before. ‘Do you like it?’

‘Oh, yes.’ And the fact that he’d done this for her made everything else seem so much worse.

‘I have something else for you.’ He picked up a wrapped parcel from the table and handed it to her. ‘I want you to read this book first.’

Laurel wondered why he’d chosen to wrap this particular book. Removing the paper, she found herself holding a beautifully bound book of fairy tales.

‘Oh—’ Her voice cracked and she held it tightly, unable to speak as her emotions surged over her.

‘You said you never had one as a child. I thought we should remedy that, but be warned—plenty of bad things happen in fairy tales.’ Removing the book from her hands, he pulled her against him and lowered his mouth to hers. ‘But just because bad things happen doesn’t mean that you can’t have a happy ending. Remember that. The Princess always gets the rich, handsome guy even if there are a few poisoned apples and spinning wheels along the way.’

Watching her happy ending retreating into the distance, Laurel swallowed.

He’d remembered her story about the bedroom full of books. About the fairy tales she’d never read.

‘I don’t know what to say.’ Her voice cracked and he looked at her in consternation.

‘I thought you’d be pleased. Happy.’

This was the moment she had to tell him she didn’t want to see the doctor he’d found.

She
had
to explain.

‘I am happy. And incredibly pleased. And so touched that you remembered—’ The tears escaped and spilled over her cheeks and he gave a rough imprecation and crushed her against him.

‘I realised that you were right when you said that none of the presents I’d given you were personal. I made assumptions that a large diamond would be well received, never thinking that it wouldn’t be special to you.’

‘I feel really ungrateful now,’ she muttered, clutching the book against her and pressing her damp face into his chest. ‘It’s not that I don’t like diamonds. It’s just that I know you’ve given away plenty and that they didn’t signify love. But this—’ she lifted her head and looked at the rows of books ‘—this is
so
special.’