Oceans Between Us (A Cinderella Romance)

by Taylor, Helen Scott

  "Great," Maria said. "This is why all the tourists head to southern Europe. The wretched British weather." She shivered. The temperature had fallen and she wished she'd worn her thick sweater as well as a coat.

  "I will keep you warm, cara." Dino wrapped his arms around her and eased her closer to his body. A tendril of heat slid through her, and she looked up to find him watching her. The lyrics to the song "Hungry Eyes" flitted through her mind as the emotion in his brown gaze scorched her. He raised a hand and stroked a finger across her cheek. "You are so beautiful, Maria."

  It might not be wise, she might be risking her heart, but she longed for him to kiss her.

  ***

  Dino stared into Maria's blue-gray eyes. Her expression was so guileless, so honest and open, her affection and longing for him written across her delicate features. She did not play games or pretend to be something she wasn't like many of the women he encountered. She was the type of woman he would be comfortable taking home to his mamma.

  He trailed his fingers across the silk of Maria's skin, brushing the edge of her lips. He wanted to kiss her more than he had ever wanted to kiss a woman before. He wanted this time with her to last forever. But it was unreal, a fantasy that would slip through his fingers when he returned to his normal life. He had commitments, huge commitments, to the fans who had paid good money for tickets to his upcoming shows. He could not let them down. However much he wished to remain in this fantasy world he shared with Maria—where he had no worries, no responsibilities, no one making demands on him—he could not simply walk away from his life, from everything he had worked so hard to achieve.

  He longed to take Maria with him, but his career meant he must travel from city to city, always on the move, living out of a suitcase, no home or family life. Maria would hate such an existence. It was the antithesis of her dreams. She had broken up with her boyfriend of three years because he wanted to travel. Was it fair to take this thing between them to the next level when he must leave her? Good sense said no, but his heart and his body yearned for her. In his dreams he had made love to her many times. One kiss couldn't hurt, surely?'

  He cupped her cheek in his palm, touched his nose to her hair. She smelled of freshly baked bread mingled with something sweet and floral. "Oh, Maria," he whispered beside her ear. "How you tempt me to do what I should not."

  "Why shouldn't you?" Her fingertips grazed his jaw, slid behind his neck. She pulled his head down. "It's not wrong if I want it too."

  "Not wrong, but not wise." His eyelids fell as his lips rubbed across her sleek hair and found the skin of her cheek. He was not usually this restrained, but Maria was different, special. He could not treat her like other women. But Lord help him, he wanted to kiss her.

  "Dino, please." The husky need in her voice wiped out his last resistance.

  He kissed his way down her cheek to the corner of her mouth and she met him eagerly. Her soft lips parted to welcome his and he brushed his mouth over hers, teasing, tasting, firing his blood as he deepened the kiss and lost himself in the sensation.

  He had no idea how long the kiss lasted, but when he lifted his head the rain had stopped and sun glinted off the wet cars. He stared down at the dreamy look in her eyes and realized one kiss was not going to be enough.

  ***

  Now the decorating was finished, Maria and Dino relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. In the mornings, Dino would drive out to get a newspaper then sit at the kitchen table and read while Maria cooked.

  Each time she walked past him, he grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles, making her laugh. Once she finished preparing food, he switched on the music and they danced around the kitchen like teenagers, living for the moment, no regrets about the past or worries about the future. After lunch they played Scrabble, which Maria always won as she didn't let Dino use Italian words, or if the weather was nice, they walked along the coast to the next village and had a Cornish cream tea.

  In the evening they ate dinner together, then sat in the conservatory and stared up at the stars while they talked, or curled up together on the sofa to watch television.

  On the Thursday evening of Dino's fourth week, Maria was cuddled up against him, his arm around her as they watched a romantic comedy. When the movie finished, Dino pulled her onto his lap and she giggled as he tickled her. When his tickling turned to caresses, she melted against him, breathed in the spicy fragrance of his skin, and found his lips. They kissed often, but Dino never let it go further. Although part of Maria was pleased he cared enough to look after her, she still found it frustrating.

  She needed his touch, needed to feel his naked skin pressed against hers. Her fingers explored his chest through his shirt, fingertips snatching tantalizing touches of bare skin between the buttons. When her exploration reached his belt, he stayed her hand with his. "No, Maria."

  "You don't want to make love to me?"

  "More than you can imagine."

  "So what's wrong?"

  Dino picked up the TV remote, flipped through the channels, and found a music station playing ballads.

  "Dance with me." He stood, bringing her with him. He drew her closer, and gathered her gently against his chest. Maria leaned her cheek on his shoulder and closed her eyes as they moved as one, the music flowing over her like a soothing balm. But there was nothing soothing about being in Dino's arms. Her skin tingled and her heart raced at the feel of his body against hers.

  His hand stroked her hair, and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "After the hop tomorrow night, I must leave."

  Maria's heart lurched painfully and her fingers clutched at his sweater as if she could hang on to him, make him stay. She had known they were living on borrowed time, but had chosen to put it out of her mind. She had carefully avoided talking about when he would leave or what he did. And he had not volunteered any more details. But she couldn't let him go without knowing what type of life he was returning to.

  She raised her head and met his anxious gaze. "What are you going back to, Dino? What do you do?"

  A shadow passed through his eyes, and tiny creases formed between his eyebrows. "I'm a singer, an operatic tenor."

  "Operatic...you mean you sing opera?" She couldn't imagine him doing that. He was too young and vital. Weren't opera singers old and fat? And why was it such a big deal that he hadn't told her before now?

  He nodded and gave a tight smile. "You do not approve?"

  "I don't know much about it, that's all. Where do you have to go to sing?"

  He threaded his fingers through the hair at her temple, smoothed the strands back behind her ear. "When I leave here I must go to New York. I am performing La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera House in two weeks' time. I need to rehearse."

  "America!" Maria bit her lip. She had feared that whatever he did would take him far away, but she hadn't expected it to be that far. "Will you come back to England afterwards?"

  Dino's gaze slid into the distance and he sighed. "After New York, I have concert dates throughout North America before I return to Europe. Then I will spend a week with my family for my mamma's fiftieth birthday. I have not seen them for many months. I miss them."

  A cold fist of disappointment gripped Maria's heart. She'd hoped he might visit her the next time he had a vacation, but she understood him wanting to be with his family. Maybe he would never come back to Cornwall. "After that?" she prompted.

  "Ah, Maria, Maria. I have a busy schedule. I have to go to Roma, Paris, Madrid, London, and many more cities." He gestured in frustration. "I do not remember all the places or the order in which I visit them."

  Maria leaned her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart and blinked away the tears threatening to fall. Dino didn't have time for her in his life. If he ever settled in one place, it was unlikely to be in the rural depths of Cornwall. Dino leaned down and whispered in her ear: "Would you like to visit America, Maria?"

  Memories of her time in Austria cascaded through her mind and
ended with the awful final night she'd spent there. One of the drunken men who'd forced his way into her bedroom had been American. "No. I couldn't." Just the thought of leaving the safety of home again made her heart race in panic. "I'm going to run the Crow's Nest when Mum and Dad retire. It's all arranged." She hoped to have a husband at her side to help. But that husband obviously wouldn't be Dino. She'd known all along he was not the right sort of man for her, yet in her heart of hearts, she'd still hoped.

  Unbearable pressure filled her chest. She had to distract herself, shake off this awful feeling of loss. He hadn't gone yet. She pulled away from him, grabbed the remote control, and changed the TV to a dance-music channel. "Let's practice the salsa for tomorrow night."

  Dino blinked at her, looking bewildered, then seemed to compose himself and smiled. "Of course, tesoro, of course. We will make sure tomorrow night at the hop is a night to remember."

  Chapter Five

  Maria carried trays of finger food she had prepared for the hop out to her car and laid them on the back seat. Dino brought a bag with four cans of lager and a bottle of wine. He held it up questioningly.

  "We have to take our own booze as the village hall doesn't have a license to sell alcohol," Maria explained.

  He wore stylish black trousers, a blue shirt, and his leather jacket as he didn't have sixties clothes. Maria had donned the yellow cotton dress with a full skirt and tight bodice she had picked up for the occasion. Her hair was in a high ponytail secured with the spotty ponytail holder she had bought in Mevagissey.

  As she locked the front door, Dino pulled a corsage from behind his back. "Oh, Dino, thank you." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her heart racing, ticking off the dwindling seconds they had left together. She wanted to ask him if he would come back to see her, but she couldn't summon the courage. If he said no, she might just fall apart. And she couldn't do that right before the fundraiser. She pulled herself together and stepped back, holding out her arm for him to attach the flowers around her wrist. "This is lovely, but a bit fancy for the village hall."

  "You look beautiful, Maria." Dino's dark gaze glided over her appreciatively.

  "Thank you." Did he really mean that? Effusive compliments fell from Dino's lips all the time. Traveling as much as he did, he must meet lots of beautiful women. In a few months, he might barely remember their time together. The thought cut through her like a knife. She turned away and tripped over her own feet.

  Dino caught her arm. "Are you all right, tesoro?"

  "Yes, fine." She tried to smile and thought she managed convincingly. "I'm just clumsy." They climbed in her car. Dino sat beside her, his long legs crammed in the tight space. It was lucky they only had a few hundred yards to drive to the village hall. Together they unloaded the food and drink, and Dino followed her inside.

  Philip was busy organizing people to set up tables and chairs around the walls. Maria left the food in the small kitchen and introduced Dino as a friend. Philip shook his hand and slapped him on the back. "You've arrived just in time, Dino, mate. Help me set up the tables, will you?"

  Maria and Philip's wife, Millie, spread tablecloths on the trestle tables as they were erected, and laid out the buffet along one wall while other helpers fetched chairs from the store. Richard, the errant committee member who had been responsible for the music, turned up armed with a sixties compilation CD after all and checked that the hall's sound system worked.

  Maria fished out the Dirty Dancing CD from her bag and clasped it to her chest, reluctant to hand it over. This was the music she and Dino had danced to, a little piece of her private time with him that would live on in her memory and her heart forever. She wasn't sure she wanted to share the songs with anyone else. With a sharp breath of irritation at herself, she passed the disc over. "Something else to add to the playlist."

  Richard turned it over and scanned the list of tracks. "Okay, Maria. Looks good. I'll put this on first. There are some lively ones on here to get everyone warmed up."

  Maria watched Dino chatting with people, his hands dancing elegantly through the air as he communicated with his body as much as with his words. The terrible feeling of loss crowded in on her, the darkness waiting to engulf her little pool of happiness. She had only hours left with him...hours. Her throat tightened and she swallowed. There was no point being miserable. She must enjoy this final evening.

  Chris bustled in, late as usual, and dumped a plate of sandwiches and four mammoth bags of potato chips on a table. "Sorry I didn't get around to cooking." She indicated Maria's plates of finger food. "I knew you'd do us proud, though."

  Chris's friend, Tina, who had loaned Maria the Dirty Dancing CD, came in behind her with a bottle of wine in each hand. "Where's this boyfriend of yours I've been hearing so much about, Mari?"

  "Over there." Chris pointed across the room. Maria's cheeks flamed as the people nearby all turned to look.

  "Golly! He's a bit of all right." Tina eyed Maria with new respect. "If he turned up on my doorstep, I'd probably let him in, as well."

  Maria took Chris's arm and pulled her aside. "Who have you told about Dino? I'm introducing him as a friend. I'd rather people didn't know he's staying at the Nest."

  "Only Eric and Tina."

  "Well don't tell anyone else, especially not Mum and Dad. I'm going to pretend I had an old college friend to stay so I don't have to charge Dino for his room."

  Chris's eyebrows shot up. "What about the grocery bill you must have run up?"

  "He's more than paid his way by helping me with the decorating," Maria retorted. And she couldn't imagine asking Dino for money now they were friends.

  "Hmm." Chris looked skeptical. "I hope he appreciates you, Mari. That's all I can say."

  Maria was saved from having to answer when the speakers crackled and burst into life with the strains of "Be My Baby," the first track on the Dirty Dancing CD. Maria glanced at the clock amazed to find it was eight already. The doors had opened.

  People started coming in, and the place quickly filled. Dino eased through the crowd to her side and clasped her hand. "Are you ready to show off your skill on the dance floor, tesoro?"

  Nobody else was dancing yet. Maria didn't want to be first, especially as it would attract attention to the fact she had Dino with her. "Let's eat now."

  They loaded their plastic plates and chatted with Chris and Eric while they ate. Chris pulled a bottle of vodka out of her purse and sloshed a generous amount into Maria's lemonade. "To oil the wheels," she said under her breath.

  Maria eyed her cup. She rarely drank spirits, but it might give her enough courage to get up on the dance floor and make a fool of herself.

  After she finished the cupful, she felt hot, flushed, and a little giggly. "Will you hide in the corner and waste all our dancing practice?" Dino teased her.

  "Course not! I'm ready now." She dumped her plate on a table. Dino set down his can of lager before helping her to her feet. His warm hands engulfed hers, and his laughing brown gaze caught and held hers as he backed onto the dance floor, drawing her with him. He moved so gracefully compared to the other men, as if he had muscles in places they didn't.

  He leaned closer and cupped her cheek in his palm, pressing his mouth to her ear. "Now, my beautiful partner, we will show them how it is done." She laughed, all tingly from his breath on her skin, and fell into the now familiar steps of the salsa. As she twirled for the first time, Chris and Tina clapped and hooted. "You are a success, I think," Dino shouted over the music.

  After a few songs, Chris shimmied across to them and tried to copy the dance steps. By now, she had obviously had a few too many spiked lemonades. She grabbed one of Dino's hands away from Maria. "Teach me, delicious Dino," she shouted over the music in a bad Italian accent.

  Dino cast a questioning glance at Maria. She smiled her assent and released his hand. "Good luck," she mouthed. He led Chris and she stumbled through the steps, giggling.

  Eric came up behind Maria and put h
is hands on her shoulders. "Sorry about this," he said. Maria just smiled and danced with Eric for a while beside Chris and Dino, hoping her sister wasn't going to do anything too embarrassing.

  A slow song started. Dino passed Chris back to her husband, turned to Maria, and drew her into his arms. She flattened her palms on his chest, feeling his muscles move beneath his shirt, and pressed her face into the hollow of his neck. The spicy fragrance of his shower gel reminded her of the first few times she had cleaned his room, before she had gotten to know him, before she had fallen for him. She would never be able to enter room twelve again without remembering Dino. Her chest tightened, and she squeezed her eyes closed.

  "Maria, tesoro," he whispered in her ear. Then he continued whispering in Italian, his voice low, soft, seductive. She melted inside. Being with him was equal parts bliss and torture when she knew he was about to leave.

  The slow song ended and the tempo increased again. She eased away from him. "I need a break, Dino. Let's sit this one out." The combination of the alcohol and the other bodies on the dance floor had made her hot. She needed to get outside, get some fresh air. She headed for the door, Dino behind her. The cool sea breeze hit her like a wakeup slap on the cheeks. Her senses sharpened, her ears ringing from the loud music.

  "Are you all right?"

  She fanned her face. "I'm too hot. Let's stay outside for a few minutes." The noise and the crush of people were suddenly too much. She wanted Dino to herself for a while.

  Hand in hand, they wandered across the car park and down the lane to a wooden bench on the edge of the road. She sat and Dino followed suit. From this high up the hill, the view stretched over the cottage roofs. The full moon hung above the sea, painting a golden streak across the rippling water like a living watercolor. "So beautiful," Dino said softly.

  "Yes, it is." Maria turned to smile at him, but he wasn't looking at the view. He was staring at her.

  His hand lifted to stroke her cheek. "Maria," he whispered her name in his sexy accent, the sound rolling through her like a caress. "I will miss you so much, tesoro. I cannot bear to think of it."