The Ultimate Romance Box (6 Bestselling Romance Novels)

by Eckhart, Lorhainne

  "A family dinner is good. I would like to meet your sister and her husband." Dino only relinquished her hand when they arrived at the guesthouse and he headed upstairs while she went to the kitchen.

  Eating dinner with Dino in the dining room had become a habit. As she laid the table, he came in. "We will have a bottle of wine tonight." He chose from the wine list and she added wineglasses to the place settings. Later, when they had finished their meal, they moved to the conservatory and sat side by side in wicker chairs, sipping their wine and staring up through the glass ceiling at the stars.

  They talked for hours, comparing their childhood experiences, discussing their families and friends, their likes and dislikes, neither of them wanting to end the evening. It was long past midnight when they said goodnight at the bottom of the stairs to her top floor room. Dino kissed her hand and headed along the corridor to his bedroom. Maria stared after him, her heart pounding with longing, her skin tight and achy, desperate for his touch. When he reached his bedroom door he turned. Their eyes met and held, his gaze burning with intensity. For long minutes he stared at her. She willed him to retrace his steps, take her in his arms, and kiss her.

  The air hummed with tension. "Goodnight, Maria," he said, then turned away and unlocked his door.

  ***

  Eric's pickup drew up in the guesthouse car park beside Dino's BMW. Chris, Eric, and the girls piled out of the vehicle laden with the usual bags of baby paraphernalia.

  Maria held the front door open and they came inside. Dino leaned against the wall by the dining room, strangely reticent. But when Eric offered a hand, the two men shook and Dino seemed to regain his normal easy manner. "So, Eric, we lift the furniture and the women they will talk," Dino said with a mischievous glance at Maria.

  "Too right, mate." Eric slapped Dino on the shoulder, and they headed for the stairs.

  "Hang on." Maria hurried after them. "I need to tell you where things go."

  "You have already told me twice, cara," Dino said, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

  "I just want to make sure I covered everything." Maria explained it all again to Eric and watched as the two men hefted a chest of drawers through to room one.

  Chris finally made her way to the top of the stairs with a small girl hanging on each hand. She leaned around the door to admire Dino's rear view and waggled her eyebrows as he bent over. "Ooh la la," she whispered.

  "Christine, your husband is right here," Maria retorted under her breath. "You're terrible. Come on. The men know what to do. I have profiteroles in the oven that I need to check."

  Maria took Charlotte's hand while Chris held Poppy's and they made their way slowly down the stairs.

  Chris sat the girls in front of the television in the sitting room and joined Maria in the kitchen as she removed her dessert from the oven. "So, how are things going between you and your Italian stallion?" Chris asked.

  Indignation flashed through Maria. "Don't call him that. It's disrespectful."

  "Listen to you with your claws out, protecting your man."

  "He's not my man."

  "Isn't he? I see the way you look at him. It's obvious you've fallen for him. Are you sure he isn't taking advantage of you?"

  "Dino's nice. He's trustworthy. He wouldn't do anything like that."

  "I don't mean physically taking advantage, Mari." The amusement had dropped away from Chris's face, and she now looked deadly serious. She placed her hand over her heart. "I mean he'll hurt you here."

  Maria bit her lip. She had a nasty feeling Chris was trying to close the stable door after the horse had bolted. "I can look after myself, "she offered, but she didn't sound convincing.

  "How does he feel about you?" Chris asked.

  Maria shrugged.

  "When is he leaving?"

  "I don't know."

  "Well, has he said anything about continuing to see you after he goes?"

  Maria shook her head. She'd been in a good mood, but with every question Chris asked, her spirits sank.

  "What does he do for a living?" Chris continued relentlessly.

  "I don't know. Can you just leave it, please?"

  "Oh, come on, Mari. You must agree I have a point. You two have been cozying up here together for two weeks, and you don't even know what he does for a living."

  "We're not cozying up. And I know lots about him, where he comes from, all about his family and stuff. It's just his job has never come up, all right?" But that was a lie. She had asked Dino what he did a couple of times, and he'd avoided answering. She hadn't pursued the matter in case it upset him again.

  "I still think he's an actor. I'm sure I've seen him in something," Chris mused.

  "Well, I haven't," Maria retorted. "Don't ask him, please." She didn't want to bring back any memories that might make him unhappy.

  Dino and Eric came downstairs a while later, chatting together. Chris helped Maria set the table and serve the roast beef. Charlotte and Poppy were strapped into high chairs, and they all sat down. The conversation flowed easily, Dino and Eric having a friendly argument about football teams and cars, while Chris and Maria discussed the children and the playgroup fundraiser.

  Charlotte dropped her toy monkey and Dino picked it up for her. "Say thank-you-Dino," Chris said to her daughter.

  "Tank 'ou, Dino," Charlotte copied, then babbled the words again and again until everyone laughed.

  "Trouble with kids is there's no off switch," Eric said.

  "It does not get easier," Dino added with a wry smile. "The problems just change."

  "You have children?" Chris chipped in, and Maria stilled, her heart faltering. She had tried so hard to avoid subjects that would remind Dino of his lost baby son.

  The question seemed to hang in the air unanswered for an eternity, and she imagined how Dino must be feeling. Then he smiled and shrugged. "No children of my own, but many nephews and nieces."

  "Oh, well, that's good," Chris said.

  "Very good," Eric added. "Nephews and nieces you can give back at the end of the day."

  They all laughed, but Dino's sounded forced. Chris and Eric chatted and without planning it, Maria's hand crept across the tablecloth to settle over Dino's in silent support. Their gazes met, and gratitude flickered in his brown eyes. She suddenly realized that the talking had ceased and looked up to find Eric and Chris watching them.

  Chris was right. Although Dino was a kind man and would not hurt her on purpose, her heart was already cracking at the thought of him leaving.

  ***

  For the next few days, Maria worked hard to finish the decorating and Dino helped. Much of the time they labored together in companionable silence, and being with him felt so comfortable, so right. Occasionally, the thought he would soon leave sneaked into her mind, and she shoved it away. She would worry about that when it happened. At the end of his third week, they decided to spend a day out together to celebrate finishing the painting.

  Maria sat beside Dino in the BMW. He switched the radio to a classical music channel as they cruised along the narrow Cornish lanes towards Mevagissey. "You like this type of music?" she asked and he nodded.

  "It is my favorite. Close your eyes and listen, Maria. Classical music is the sound of beauty and emotion." He fisted his hand over his heart. "Do you not feel the music inside you?"

  She concentrated and tried to sense what he meant, but the music just sounded too complex to her, the notes all over the place. She preferred a simple repeating melody she could sing along to.

  Maria directed Dino to park on the outskirts of Mevagissey to avoid the narrow main street. They walked arm in arm along the pavement, stopping occasionally to examine the tourist gifts and craft items on sale in the shop windows. The day was gray and overcast with spits of rain, but she didn't care. Just being with Dino, holding his hand, laughing and talking, filled her with pleasure.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked out to the end of the harbor wall and cuddled her close w
hen wind rushed in off the sea and buffeted them with fishy-smelling air. Dino examined the fishing boats, commenting on technical things about sailing that meant nothing to her, but he could talk gibberish and she would be happy to listen to the beautiful cadence of his voice. He snapped some photos of her on his cell phone and she wished she had thought to bring her phone or a camera.

  Seagulls hung in the wind overhead, calling loudly and periodically skimming low over their heads. "In the summer, the gulls swoop down and steal food from the holidaymakers," she told him. "It's quite a problem. Attracting tourists down here is hard enough these days when everything in this country is so expensive, especially when families can hop on a cheap flight and get guaranteed sun in Spain or Portugal."

  "Or Italy," Dino added.

  "Yes!" She punched him playfully on the arm. "You steal all the holidaymakers with your warm climate and lovely beaches."

  "If it were up to me, I would send them all back to you." He laughed. "But my brother Roberto needs the tourists to visit his restaurant and my papà also. Or he would not sell all his catch."

  "Speaking of fish, how do you fancy a fish restaurant for lunch?"

  They stopped outside the mullioned window of a quaint building overlooking the harbor and perused the menu. "They do delicious crab topped with melted cheese in here," Maria said.

  Seated at a table in the window, they watched the few tourists wander past, and the gulls soar on the wind over the masts of yachts in the harbor.

  "Mmm, this is so good," Maria closed her eyes as the delicious mix of melted cheddar cheese and freshly cooked crab mingled in her mouth. She promised herself to try this recipe soon.

  When she raised her eyelashes again, she found Dino watching her, his dark gaze intense, and her heart gave a little skip. His hand slid across the red-checked tablecloth. He brushed the ends of his fingers over hers, a fleeting contact, but one she felt right down to her toes. She might have fallen for him unwisely, but little moments like this gave her hope he returned her feelings. Hope that when he left the Crow's Nest, as he surely would soon, he wouldn't walk out of her life completely.

  After lunch, they wandered along the seafront, then cut down a narrow alley towards the main street and browsed the small jumble of shops crammed into every nook and cranny.

  Maria halted outside a jewelry store and scanned the displays. "Oh, I love that." She pointed to a small gold heart on a chain. A simple flower was engraved on the piece with a tiny diamond at its center, a pinpoint of sparkling light.

  "I will buy it for you," Dino said, stepping towards the door.

  "No! I didn't mean for you to do that. It's too expensive." She had commented without thinking. Now she wished she hadn't.

  "I can afford it, cara."

  "Please, no. It's okay. I don't want it." She tugged on his hand, pulling him away from the door. He resisted for a moment, then shrugged and let her lead him along the pavement.

  They entered one of the few tourist gift shops that was open out of season, and Maria bought an elastic ponytail holder decorated with spotted yellow balls. It would go perfectly with the dress she had found in a thrift shop to wear to the hop.

  As they ambled along, drips of rain plopped on their heads and quickly became a downpour. Dino pulled her into the doorway of an old-fashioned candy store that had a 'Closed' sign in the window. Fat raindrops pelted from the sky, hammering the sidewalk and rattling off the cars that passed. A few people dashed by with their collars up, or fighting the wind to hold umbrellas.

  "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 l
et 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?"