The Ultimate Romance Box (6 Bestselling Romance Novels)

by Eckhart, Lorhainne

  Maria was squeezed in beside Dino. After he introduced her to most of the people around the table, including his eight nieces and nephews, the beautiful young woman on Maria's other side introduced herself. "I'm Giuliana," she said. "Dino's younger sister."

  "Your English is good," Maria replied. Giuliana had less of an accent than Dino.

  "I study English and politics at Rome University."

  "Giuliana wants to be an anarchist," Rob said from across the table.

  She snapped something at him in rapid Italian, earning a stern look from her father. "They do not understand that I have ambitions. Mamma and Papa think I should want nothing more than to marry, pop out babies, and cook." She made a rude sound and tossed back a glass of wine in a couple of swallows.

  "Maria is a culinary angel. She cooks the best food I have ever tasted, except for Mamma's, of course." Dino repeated his words in Italian, covered her hand with his and smiled. The babble of conversation lulled and all heads turned her way. Heat flooded Maria's cheeks as she realized she would have to say something.

  "I know it's not for everyone, but I like cooking," she said. "Actually, my dream is to have lots of children, then I will cook for them."

  Mrs. Rossellini and Giuliana exchanged a few words in Italian, then Giuliana smiled at Maria. "Mamma was worried Dino would marry Rachel Tanner, but now he has you to care for him, she is happy."

  Me to care for him? Maria laughed nervously. What did that mean? She cast a questioning glance at Dino to find him grinning.

  "Ignore them, cara. Mamma has been trying to marry me off ever since I left home. She thinks I need looking after."

  The clock on the wall said it was nearly one thirty in the morning, but the Rossellini family was bright and chatty. Even the children were still going strong. Maria was glad she hadn't eaten much earlier as she was served a selection of pasta and fish dishes followed by delicious fruit-filled bread.

  Once the meal finished, instead of going to bed, they all moved into a large living room to chat. "Does your family always stay up this late?" she whispered to Dino.

  "They are only late because they waited for us." As his family left the kitchen, Dino held Maria back and put an arm around her. "They can be a little overwhelming, and you are tired, I think. Would you like to go to bed?"

  "Won't that be terribly rude?"

  Dino shook his head. "They will not mind, cara. They understand we have travelled and are weary." He caressed her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mrs. Rossellini watching them with a smile on her face. Her own mother might disapprove of their relationship, but at least Mrs. Rossellini seemed happy.

  "I think I would prefer to go to bed."

  "That is fine." Dino spoke to his mother. "Mamma says you are to stay with Rob and his wife, Carlotta. He only lives next door. I will take you there now."

  Dino led Maria through an adjoining door in the downstairs hall and into Rob's house. He took her upstairs to a small bedroom on the third floor overlooking the harbor. Her case was already set on a chair beneath the window. Dino pushed open the shutters for her to see the view. The houses opposite were stacked up the hill in attractive disarray, the streetlights painting ribbons of gold across the gently rippling sea.

  "It's beautiful, Dino." She imagined him living here as a boy, playing in the street below, messing about on the boats.

  Dino stepped behind her and folded his arms around her. "I have dreamed of showing you my home. During the lonely nights away, I pictured you here with me. I told myself that if I imagined it clearly enough it would come true. And here you are. Tomorrow we have a big family dinner in Roberto's restaurant to celebrate Mamma's birthday, but the next day my family will take Mamma out for the day to La Spezia. You and I can stay here. I will show you around."

  ***

  Maria woke late and found Dino downstairs chatting with his sister-in-law, Carlotta. They went straight up to Roberto's restaurant, the place where Rob had parked his van the night before.

  The tall, multicolored houses lined the narrow street, balconies overflowing with flowering plants in the warmth of early spring. In the daylight, many of the buildings looked shabby with peeling paint, but the village was quaint and picturesque.

  Dino placed a hand on Maria's back and guided her through the old wooden door of Ristorante Rossellini into a veritable treasure trove. Model boats, sea shells, and other ornaments decorated walls and shelves, nets and glass buoys dangled from the ceiling.

  Three times as many people as the night before were squeezed in at the small tables dotted around the room. "All my extended family is here today," Dino said as he took Maria's hand and led her towards an empty table. Those already seated greeted Dino as he passed. Giuliana sat beside Maria again and while everyone else rattled away in Italian, Dino and Giuliana translated for her.

  After the meal, Dino's family persuaded him to sing and his middle brother Marco joined him on the guitar. Everyone fell silent as Dino performed a medley of traditional Italian songs. Maria sipped the sweet dessert wine, sciacchetrà, a specialty of the area, while the melodious notes of Dino's voice flowed over her, leaving her dreamy and relaxed. To finish, he changed tempo, making the women giggle and the men guffaw as he sang a saucy local song, which Giuliana translated.

  When Dino finished singing, a group of his male relatives called him over. Dino stopped behind Maria and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay for a little while, amore?"

  "I'm fine. You go." She smiled up at him and he kissed the top of her head. Dino's mother came over to Maria's table with a group of women. They dragged up more chairs and settled with cups of coffee. Giuliana introduced Dino's grandmothers, aunts, and cousins. They all started talking at once, firing questions at Maria. She looked to Giuliana for a translation. "They want to know if you and Dino have set a wedding date yet," she said with a grin.

  "Why does everyone think Dino and I are getting married?" Maria asked, embarrassed.

  Giuliana shrugged. "They are old-fashioned. If a woman is to live with a man, they believe she must be his wife. And they all love weddings, of course."

  Maria frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable. "I'm not living with Dino."

  "You will be traveling to America with him, so it comes to the same thing for them." Giuliana gave a careless throwaway gesture. "I told you, they are old-fashioned."

  Why did Dino's family believe she would go to America with him? Is that what he'd told them? Is that what he expected?

  Dino's family talked for hours. Although Maria didn't understand much, she frequently heard them mention Pavarotti and guessed they were discussing the movie. Maria had so many questions stacking up in her mind to ask Dino. She wanted some quiet time with him so they could talk, but that didn't seem likely anytime soon. His family certainly knew how to celebrate birthdays!

  As darkness fell, Rob put on some recorded music. Maria sat with Giuliana, laughing while Dino tried to teach his eight-year-old niece to salsa. After they'd had still more to eat and drink, and Maria was feeling warm and tipsy, Dino pulled her up to dance with him. She'd expected to salsa, but even though the music had a lively beat, Dino drew her into his embrace and held her close, whispering to her in Italian as they moved together.

  Much later when most people had left, Dino and Maria helped Rob and Carlotta tidy up. Then they wandered back to the harbor hand in hand. Dino ambled, letting his brother and sister-in-law go on ahead. "Did you enjoy the day, Maria?"

  "It was lovely. Your family is very friendly. I just wish I could understand them." She laughed.

  "I will teach you to speak Italian. It is not so difficult."

  "Not for you!"

  "I learned English."

  "I know. Your English is fantastic. But you get to practice it often. I won't get much chance to practice Italian in England."

  "Hmm." Dino looked thoughtful as he led them past his childhood home to the edge of the harbor wall. He stared out over the gently rolling sea and
sighed. "I have to complete the rest of my concert tour. Then I should have time to spend a week with you before I travel to Hollywood to start filming."

  "I know," she breathed, her voice little more than a whisper. Maria did not want to be parted from him for so long, but the only alternative was to go with him as his family expected. She knew he would look after her better than Tom had, but if he was working he couldn't be with her all the time, and anyway, he hadn't asked her to go.

  This week in Italy was another oasis in the desert for them—a time when normal life stopped and they could be together for a short while. Soon Dino would be off to finish his concert tour, traveling all over Europe with Rachel Tanner. That was his real life, not the time Maria spent with him.

  "Is Rachel going with you to Hollywood?"

  "No, we will not be singing together as much now I have fired Freddy." Dino lifted Maria's hand and kissed her palm. He looked at her from beneath his thick, dark lashes and her heart fluttered. He was so handsome. When he could have his pick of women, she couldn't understand why he was interested in someone ordinary like her.

  "I have something for you, my beautiful Maria." He pulled a small jewelry box from his pocket.

  "Dino, thank you." Maria took the leather box, eager to open it but also uncertain. She took her time, grabbing a few deep breaths to gain control of her racing pulse.

  "You are too slow. I am impatient to see your reaction." He laughed, low and sexy.

  Maria eased the lid up and tipped the box so she could see the contents under a street light. The gift wasn't a ring as she had suspected but a bracelet. Her emotions leaped and fell, then leaped again, unable to decide if she was relieved or disappointed. Not that she had any right to expect a ring when they had known each other for such a short time. But stupidly, his relatives' talk of weddings had raised her expectations.

  She took out the gold bracelet and spread it on her palm. Dino relieved her of the box so she could use both hands. It was a charm bracelet already full of gold charms. She examined them one by one.

  "That is the Calgary coat of arms, this one is a trillium flower from Toronto, this you must recognize." He touched a tiny gold maple leaf. "In every city I visited on my North American tour, I bought a charm of the city's mascot or coat of arms. You could not be with me, but I wanted you to share my journey."

  For a moment, Maria couldn't speak, her chest tight with emotion. Far from forgetting her, Dino had thought about her in every place he'd performed. "It's wonderful, Dino. Thank you." She rose up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

  His arms enfolded her, capturing her against him. "I have waited so long to give you this, amore, and there were times I feared I would never get the chance." He stroked her hair, kissed her temple, her cheekbone, the corner of her mouth. He brushed his lips across hers, and her eyelids fell at the blissful rush of sensation.

  Maria clutched the bracelet to her heart and looped an arm around his neck, kissing him back, desperate to show him how she felt. With every fiber of her being, she wished Dino would come and live in England so they could be together all the time.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dino went to Rob's house and stood at the foot of the stairs, listening for Maria. The silence suggested she was still asleep. All his family had left for La Spezia, but he had decided to stay home so he and Maria had some time alone together.

  He trod quietly upstairs. Her door stood ajar and he could see the bed. She lay on her side, her hair fanned across the pillow in a shiny arc. How he longed to run his fingers through that hair, to cradle her in his arms, to kiss her, to show her how much he loved her. He should not have walked out on her without a word the first time they made love. He had been foolish, thoughtless.

  He knocked softly. "Maria, tesoro, wake up. It is nearly ten o'clock."

  She opened her eyes and yawned.

  He pushed the door wider and smiled. "Downstairs I have coffee and pastries warm from Mamma's oven."

  "Mmm, I can smell them." She stretched out a hand to him. He slipped inside and shut the door. She shuffled back so he could sit on the edge of her bed. He gave in to his need to touch her hair, stroking it back from her face, sliding his fingers through the silky strands.

  "I can't believe the time," she said. "Why did I sleep so late?"

  "All the sciacchetrà you drank yesterday?"

  She giggled. "That might have something to do with it."

  She lay warm and beautifully sleepy beside him. Dino had longed for an opportunity to get her alone. She filled his dreams, starred in his fantasies. His need for her had crept up on him and taken him over. And she probably had no idea what effect she had on him.

  He stroked a finger along her cheekbone, brushed the corner of her mouth. She stilled, her eyes on him, her pupils large and dark in the blue-gray of her irises.

  "My family has gone to La Spezia. We are alone, amore."

  His words hung in the air between them. Her hand settled on his thigh, stroked up to where his shirt was tucked in his jeans. She tugged out the fabric and sensation shot through him as her fingers touched the skin of his belly.

  Dino pulled his shirt off over his head and leaned down, capturing her mouth, inhaling her sweet floral fragrance. His hand pushed down beneath the covers and cupped her breast through her silky pink camisole. He groaned. It felt like a lifetime since he'd last touched her this way.

  "Get in bed," she whispered, kissing his face.

  He stood, toed off his boots and shucked his jeans. He slid beneath the covers into the blissful softness of her welcoming embrace. This was his idea of heaven, spending time with Maria in bed every morning. He would take her to America with him when he started filming. He would not be without her again.

  ***

  With a little sigh of bliss, Maria lost herself in the sensation of Dino's lips and hands, drawing tingling lines of pleasure across her skin. He had been so restrained with his family watching them, she'd wondered if they would have any intimate time alone.

  "Much as I like this, I want it off," he said, pulling her silky top over her head. His hands smoothed over her breasts and he dipped to kiss her skin, nipping, making her giggle. He grinned. They tussled and laughed, sharing teasing touches and kisses until they were both hot and bothered. Then Dino snagged his jeans from the floor and dug a condom packet from his pocket.

  "You planned this."

  He dropped a kiss on her belly. "I worked hard to persuade everyone to go out today."

  She let her fingers play over his thigh as he tore open the foil and protected himself. Then she pulled him down, welcomed the weight of his body over hers. All those years with Tom and it had never felt like this. Joining with Dino was almost a spiritual experience.

  They cuddled for a long time afterwards, talking, remembering things they had done together in Cornwall. Maria admitted she had been at the O2 Arena in London and seen Dino sing "Maria." He actually blushed, his olive skin turning a flattering shade of copper.

  They showered together, fooling around like teenagers splashing water and laughing, until the playful touches grew passionate as they smoothed their soapy hands over each other. Then they discovered they had half flooded Rob's bathroom and spent ages mopping it up. "How are we going to explain all the wet towels to your brother?" Maria asked.

  "I will tell him the truth."

  "Don't you dare!"

  "He will guess, cara. My brothers and sisters are not stupid, they know why we wanted to stay here alone."

  Maria pulled a face. "As long as your mother doesn't find out."

  "Mamma thinks you are a good girl."

  "I am!"

  He slipped his arms around her from behind, pulling her back against his naked body. "I know," he whispered against her ear.

  Eventually, they managed to dress, although Maria kept tickling Dino as he tried to pull on his jeans. It was difficult to keep her hands off him. She wanted to be touching him all the time.

  After a late breakfast,
Dino showed her around Riomaggiore. It might be a seaside fishing village like Porthale, but there the similarity ended. The village was crammed into a narrow valley, the tall houses perched almost one atop the other up the steep hills on either side. Because of the geography, there was only one main street and few vehicles. Most of the houses could only be reached by foot, following narrow walkways that twisted and turned. She had never climbed so many steps. Although she thought she was fit, her legs ached. She hung on Dino's arm and let him pull her up the hills.

  Every corner revealed a new delight. Potted plants adorned nooks and ledges, adding welcome splashes of color. She took off her coat and carried it, the sleeves of her blouse pushed up to the elbows. By midday, the temperature was as warm as a British summer's day.

  The place was a wonderland of curiosities. Tiny windows and crooked stairs, old metal gates up narrow side alleys, overgrown and mysterious. She snapped photos on her camera to show her family. They reached a viewpoint outside a church, and she stared over the higgledy-piggledy roofs at the sparkling water in the bay below.

  Dino stood behind her, enclosing her in his arms. "Now I show you where I played as a boy."

  He took her to a tiny house with peeling paint. Dino smiled wistfully. "My best friend Romeo lived here with his nonna, his grandmother. He and I would ride down the streets on a wooden cart we made from driftwood and crash into the walls. Mamma did not approve of Romeo." They walked down the gray paved main street, mingling with the locals and a few early tourists. Maria browsed the windows of gift shops.

  Dino led her past the houses, up a steep path, and out onto the rocks. They stood high on a cliff looking down at the sea, and Dino held her hand tightly. "Romeo and I stood here and shouted our dreams to the wind." He laughed. "We would spread our arms like wings and try to fly, but when we jumped off, we always fell into the sea."

  "Goodness!" Maria leaned out and peered over at the white-capped waves rolling against the cliffs. "You were either very brave or a little mad."