Harlequin Presents: Once Upon A Temptation June 2020--Box Set 2 of 2

by Lynne Graham

  Rosa grimaced. ‘You don’t think I’m too old to be galivanting off with a man?’

  Artie smiled. ‘Not if you love him and he loves you.’

  If only I should be so lucky.

  * * *

  Luca put off telling his grandfather about Artie leaving him for as long as he could because he didn’t want to say the words out loud. She left me. But when Nonno was released from hospital and transferred into a cancer therapy unit, Luca had to explain why Artie wasn’t with him. She left me. Those three words were like bullet wounds in his chest, raw, seeping, deep.

  Nonno’s distress at hearing Luca’s news about his marriage was almost as bad as his own. ‘But why? She’s perfect for you, Luca. Why haven’t you gone after her and brought her back?’

  ‘Nonno, gone are the days when a man can carry a woman back to his cave,’ Luca said. ‘I can’t force her to stay with me. She made the choice to leave.’

  Nonno scowled. ‘If you loved Artie like I loved your grandmother, nothing would stop you from doing everything in your power to get her back. A man in love is a force to be reckoned with.’

  The silence was telling.

  Luca loosened the collar of his shirt and leaned forward to rest his forearms on his thighs. ‘Enough about my dramas. Is there anything I can get you?’

  Nonno shook his head and closed his eyes. ‘No. I just need to sleep.’

  Luca stood from the bedside and laid a gentle hand on his grandfather’s weathered arm. ‘I’ll be in again tomorrow.’

  He was on his way out of the hospital when his phone rang with his mother’s ring tone and his chest seized with the all too familiar dread. But instead of letting his phone go to message service as he often did, this time he answered it. ‘Mama.’

  ‘Luca, how is Nonno? I tried calling him but he must have his phone off. His carer rang to tell me he had a fall a week or two ago. She also told me you’re married. Is that true? Why didn’t you invite me to your wedding?’

  Guilt gnawed at his conscience. ‘Nonno’s doing okay. As to my marriage—it’s a long story and I hate to tell you it hasn’t got a happy ending.’

  ‘Oh, Luca.’ His mother’s sigh only intensified the pain riddling his chest. ‘What’s happened to us that you didn’t want me to be there on your special day?’

  Luca cleared his suddenly blocked throat and stepped out of the way of visitors coming through the hospital entrance. He pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes closed briefly. ‘It’s not you. It’s me. It’s always been me that’s the problem.’

  ‘You’re too hard on yourself,’ his mother said. ‘You’re so like your father it’s uncanny.’ She sighed again and went on, ‘It’s why I found it increasingly difficult to be around you as you grew into a man. I couldn’t look at you without seeing him. It reminded me of my role in what happened.’

  Luca frowned, his hand going back to his side. ‘Your role? What are you talking about? I was the one who entered the surf that day. You weren’t even at the beach.’

  ‘No.’ Her voice was ragged. ‘I wasn’t there. I went shopping instead of spending the day with my family as your father wanted. Do you know how much I regret that now? It’s tortured me for years. What if I had gone along? I could’ve called for help instead of you trying to do it on your own. I can’t bear to think of you running along that deserted beach, half drowned yourself, trying to find someone to help.’ She began to sob. ‘Whenever I’ve looked at you since, I’ve seen that traumatised, terrified young boy and felt how I let you and your papa and Angelo down.’

  Luca blinked away stinging moisture from his eyes. He swallowed deeply against the boulder-sized lump in his throat. ‘Mama, please don’t cry. Please don’t blame yourself. I’m sorry I haven’t called you. I’m sorry I’ve let you suffer like this without being there for you. It was selfish of me.’

  ‘You haven’t got a selfish bone in your body,’ his mother said. ‘Your father was the same. Too generous for words, always hard-working, trying to make the world a better place. But tell me, what’s going on with your marriage? It breaks my heart to think of you missing out on finding the love of your life. I’m so grateful I had those precious years with your father. They have sustained me through the long years since. I live off the memories.’

  Luca gave a serrated sigh and pushed his hair back off his forehead. ‘I’d rather not talk about it now, but next time I’m in New York do you want to catch up over dinner?’

  ‘I would love that.’ His mother’s voice was thick with emotion. ‘Give Nonno my best wishes.’

  ‘Sì,’ Luca said. ‘I will.’

  * * *

  Luca tried not to think about Artie in the next couple of weeks and he mostly succeeded. Mostly. He blocked his memories of her smile, her touch and her kiss with a punishing regime of work that left him feeling ragged at the end of each day. One would think he would stumble into bed and fall instantly asleep out of sheer exhaustion, but no, that was when the real torture got going. The sense of emptiness could be staved off during the day but at night it taunted him with a vengeance. He tossed, he turned, he paced, he swore, he thumped the pillows and doggedly ignored the vacant side of the bed where Artie had once lain. He did his best to ignore the fragrance of her perfume that stubbornly lingered in the air at his villa as if to taunt him. He did his best to ignore the pain that sat low and heavy in his chest, dragging on his organs like a tow rope.

  She left you.

  But then more words joined in the mocking chorus.

  You let her go.

  He allowed them some traction occasionally, using them as a rationalisation exercise. Of course he’d let her go. It was the right thing to do. She wanted more than he could give, so it was only fair that he set her free.

  But you’re not free.

  What was it with his conscience lately? Reminding him of things he didn’t want reminding about. No, he didn’t feel free and—even more worrying—he didn’t want to feel free. He wanted to feel connected, bonded to Artie, because when he was with her, he felt like a fully functioning human being. He felt things he hadn’t felt before. Things he didn’t think he was capable of feeling. Things that were terrifying because they made him vulnerable in a way he had avoided feeling for most of his adult life.

  He had shut down his emotional centre.

  Bludgeoned it into a coma.

  But since his conversation with his mother there were tiny flickers of life deep in his chest like the faint trace of a heartbeat on an electrocardiograph. A pulse of something he had thought long dead. A need he had denied for so long he had fooled himself he wasn’t capable of feeling it.

  The need to love and be loved.

  Three more words popped into his head like a blinding flash of light.

  You love her.

  Luca let them sit for a moment, for once not rushing to block them or erase them or deny them.

  You love her.

  And then he tweaked them, substituting the ‘you’ for ‘I’.

  I love her.

  Bringing himself inexorably closer to the truth, step by step.

  I. Love. Her.

  He embraced the truth of those words like someone sucking in oxygen after near strangulation.

  I love her.

  His chest ballooned with hope, positive energy zapping round his body.

  I love her.

  Luca snatched up his car keys and the wedding and engagement rings from the bedside table. He’d placed them there as a form of self-torture but now he couldn’t wait to see them back on Artie’s finger where they belonged. Nonno was right. Luca’s love for Artie was a force to be reckoned with—nothing would stop him from bringing her home.

  * * *

  Artie heard a car roaring through the castello gates and her heart turned over. She peered through the window in the sitting room a
nd saw Luca unfold his tall, athletic figure from his car. Her pulse picked up its pace, her heart slamming into her breastbone, her skin tingling all over.

  He’s here.

  She walked as calmly as she could to open the front door, schooling her features into a mask of cool politeness. After all, there was no point setting her hopes too high—he hadn’t made a single effort to contact her over the past month. ‘Luca. What brings you here?’ She was proud of her impersonal tone. It belied the tumult of emotions in her chest.

  He stepped through the open doorway with brisk efficiency, closing it with a click behind him. ‘You bring me here, cara. You and only you.’ He stood there with his hands by his sides and his expression set in grave lines. He looked tired around the eyes and his face hadn’t seen a razor in a couple of days. ‘I need to talk to you.’

  Artie took a step back, her arms folding across her chest, her chin lifting. ‘To say what?’

  He unpeeled her arms from around her body, taking her hands in his. ‘I’ve been such a fool. It’s taken me the best part of a month to realise what’s been there all the time.’ He squeezed her hands. ‘I love you, mia piccola. I love you so damn much it hurts. I can’t believe I let you go. Can you ever forgive me?’ He blinked a couple of times and she was surprised to see moisture in his eyes. ‘I made a terrible mistake in not telling you sooner. But I wasn’t able to recognise it until it was too late.’ He drew her closer, holding her hands against his chest. ‘Tell me it’s not too late. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please say yes. Please say you’ll come back to me. Please give me another chance to prove how much I adore you.’

  Artie brought one of her hands up to his prickly jaw, stroking it lovingly. ‘I never thought I’d hear you say those words to me. I had given up hope, especially over the last few weeks.’

  He grimaced and hugged her tightly to his chest. ‘Don’t remind me what a stubborn fool I’ve been. I can never forgive myself for that. I was in such denial that I couldn’t even bring up your name on my phone. I knew it would hurt too much, so I didn’t do it. Classic avoidance behaviour.’

  Artie eased back to smile up at him. ‘You’re here now, so that’s the main thing. I’ve missed you so much. I felt only half alive without you.’

  He framed her face with his hands. ‘You’re everything I could ever want in a life partner. You complete me, complement me and challenge me to be the best man I can be. I can barely find the words to describe how much you mean to me.’

  ‘I love you too, more than I can say.’

  Luca lowered his mouth to hers and happiness exploded through her being. He was here. He loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. His kiss communicated it all, passionately, fervently, devotedly. Even the steady thud of his heartbeat under her hand seemed to say the same. I love you. I love you. I love you.

  After a moment, Luca lifted his mouth off hers and took something out of his trouser pocket. He held the wedding and engagement rings between his fingers. ‘I think it’s time these were put back where they belong, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, please.’ Artie held out her hand for him to slip them back on her ring finger. ‘I’m never taking those rings off again.’

  Luca smiled. ‘I want you to meet my mother. Will you come to New York with me as soon as possible?’

  Artie raised her eyebrows in delight. ‘You’ve spoken to her?’

  His face lit up with happiness. ‘We had a chat about things and I realised how blinkered I’d been all these years, reading things into her behaviour that weren’t accurate at all. You’ve taught me so much about myself, cara. I can never thank you enough for that. I hope you won’t mind sharing my mother with me? I should warn you that she’ll very likely shower you with love.’

  ‘I won’t mind sharing her at all. I can’t wait to meet her.’ Artie lifted her face for his kiss, her heart swelling with love. Her sad, closed-off life had somehow turned into a fairy tale. She was free from her self-imposed prison, and Luca, the man of her dreams, her Prince Charming, had claimed her as the love of his life.

  Luca finally lifted his head and looked down at her with heart-stopping tenderness. ‘Will you come away for a honeymoon with me after we visit my mother?’

  ‘Just try and stop me.’

  He stroked the curve of her cheek with his finger. ‘I wasn’t going to sell Castello Mireille.’

  Artie smiled and gave him a fierce hug. ‘I think on some level I knew that.’ She eased back to look at him again. ‘But I don’t need it any more. What I need is you. It doesn’t matter where I live as long as you’re there with me.’

  His eyes shimmered with emotion and her heart swelled with love to see how in touch with his feelings he was now. ‘I’ve spent most of my life avoiding feeling like this—loving someone so much it hurts to think of ever losing them. I was in denial of my feelings from the moment I met you. You woke me to the needs I’d shut down inside myself. The need to love and be loved by an intimate partner. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found you.’

  Artie pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. ‘I’m lucky to have been found by you. If it hadn’t been for you, I might still be locked away from all that life has to offer.’

  Luca smiled, his eyes twinkling. ‘I know it’s early days, but maybe we can think about having those bambinos Nonno was talking about?’

  She beamed with unfettered joy. ‘Really? You want to have children?’

  ‘Why not?’ He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘Building a family with you will be a wonderful experience. You’ll be the best mother in the world.’

  ‘I think you’ll be an amazing father,’ Artie said. ‘I can’t wait to hold our baby in my arms. I never thought I wanted to have a family until I met you. I didn’t allow myself to think about it. But now it’s like a dream come true.’

  Luca gazed down at her with love shining in his eyes. ‘Thank you for being you. Adorable, sweet, amazing you.’

  Artie gave him a teasing smile. ‘So, you don’t think I’m too naïve and innocent for you now?’

  ‘You’re perfect for me.’ He planted a smacking kiss on her lips. ‘And as to remaining innocent, well, I’ll soon take care of that.’

  Artie laughed and flung her arms around his neck. ‘Bring it on.’

  * * * * *

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  ISBN: 9781488059612

  His Innocent’s Passionate Awakening

  Copyright © 2020 by Melanie Milburne

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses,
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  WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM

  Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.

  Welcome to the glamorous lives of royals and billionaires, where passion knows no bounds. Be swept into a world of luxury, wealth and exotic locations.

  8 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!

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  ISBN-13: 9781488059629

  Copyright © 2020 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

  Cinderella’s Royal Secret

  Copyright © 2020 by Lynne Graham

  Expecting His Billion-Dollar Scandal

  Copyright © 2020 by Cathy Williams

  The Flaw in His Marriage Plan

  Copyright © 2020 by Tara Pammi

  His Innocent’s Passionate Awakening