“No.” Fausta twisted her fingers together. “She was a young nurse in Mesecino, La Valazzura, who took care of a man in the hospital with a virus. They fell in love and had an affair. It turns out Nico’s real name is Massimo Carlo Umberto Fernando, the only son of King Carlo di Savoia.”
Lanza’s eyes widened. “King Carlo who died recently?”
“The very one.”
“Dr. Barsotti is his son?”
“The illegitimate son. King Carlo and his wife, Queen Liliane, couldn’t have children. Nedda Corelli was Nico’s mother and the king’s mistress, but she died during the war over there when Nico was only two.”
Too late Lanza tried to cover a gasp with her hand.
For the next few minutes Fausta told her his history, the reason he’d been put in an orphanage, everything. She included the fact that the prime minister and the head of the secret service wanted him to go before the parliament as the heir apparent.
“They’re convinced he’ll be voted in and crowned king in his father’s stead. But he’ll only agree with the queen’s approval because he recognizes her deep pain.”
“Good heavens, Fausta!” Her sister got to her feet. “This is all unbelievable! So, if she can get past her pain, Dr. Barsotti will be the next king of La Valazzura.”
Fausta looked up at her through the tears. “Yes. Here I thought I’d found the man I’d been wishing for all my life. Instead he has turned out to be the one thing I never wanted.”
Her sister eyed her intently. “Has he asked you to marry him?”
“Yes, but only after he found out he was the son of King Carlo.”
“Come on, Fausta. You know why. That’s because he didn’t dare ask you to marry him believing you’re destined to marry some prince. The media has talked nonstop about your royal future.”
Her jaw hardened. “Do you have any idea how angry that makes me feel? I told him I couldn’t marry him and refused the diamond ring he tried to give me. He said he bought it after our first trip to Biella, but he didn’t propose then.”
“What? You mean he bought you a ring before he knew about his heritage? Are you crazy to turn down such a courageous act when you’re madly in love with him?”
“I don’t want to marry royalty. You more than anyone in this world besides Donetta know how I feel about that.”
Her sister frowned. “I’m afraid I do. But this particular king happens to be the man you adore.”
Fausta swallowed hard. “I know. I was an idiot.”
“I think it’s destiny. The parents will be overjoyed when they find out. I know for a fact they’ll give you their blessing. Papa holds Nico’s father in high esteem. He talked about him at breakfast.”
“I remember, but that doesn’t help my situation. I’ll be sitting in a palace for the rest of my born days while Nico runs the country and manages to eke out a little time for me.” Fausta got to her feet. “No, thank you. I’d rather remain single.”
“Don’t forget there’ll be children.”
“Don’t forget that Stefano lets you travel with him when he has to go to the gold mines. I envy you that.”
Lanza reached for her hand. “Come and sit down with me again.” Fausta did her bidding. “Tell me something. When you found out that Nico was an orphan, did that make you love him less or more?”
“I—I don’t know how to answer that.” Her voice faltered. “I admit that I admired him for making such a success of his life, but I fell in love with him at the very beginning and didn’t care about anything else.”
“Since you loved him not knowing anything about his birth parents and background, then it meant you accepted him just as he was, an orphan who became a busy doctor. So now that you’ve found out he’s the son of a king, why does that make a difference?
“He loves you and wants you to marry him. Isn’t your love more important than what he’s going to do in the future as long you’re with him?” Lanza used her brilliant logic to get to the heart of the matter in a hurry.
“I don’t know.”
“As I recall, you’ve always maintained that marrying a commoner would make a marriage between the two of you more interesting. Remember that he was a commoner until just a week or two ago. Learning that he’s a future king really spices up your whole relationship. Think about that for a while before you push the greatest love you’ll ever know out of your life. That kind of love only comes once in a lifetime.”
A shiver passed through Fausta’s body. Nico had texted those exact words to her.
Lanza kissed her cheek. “I love you and know you’ll work it all out. Now I have to get back to Rufy.”
“Bless you for listening to me.”
When her sister disappeared, Fausta walked around, trying to come to grips with what Lanza had just said. But her sister had been kind about it.
What she’d really implied was that Fausta was being selfish, always dreaming about what she wanted. She expected Nico to stay in Domodossola for her sake when the life he was born to happened to mean he was the uncrowned Prince of La Valazzura. The orphan boy was the son of a wonderful king. Nico could also do great good for his country and honor his legacy.
Yet he had dared to love her! He’d let her into his life and had told her all his secrets. He’d fought for her. He’d declared his love and had even bought her a ring he probably believed wouldn’t be good enough for her. And what had she’d done? Thrown it all back in his unforgettably striking face.
When she put herself in Nico’s place, she realized that in rejecting him, she’d done the worst thing anyone could do. To expect so much of him would mean holding him back from his destiny if he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon Fausta did a lot of soul-searching. By evening she was done with tears and realized that life without him was no life at all.
She checked her watch. By now he was probably on his way home from the hospital. Though she could phone him, that wouldn’t be enough. She needed to see him face-to-face and tell him how much she loved him, beg his forgiveness for the way she’d been reacting. He needed to know all the secrets of her heart she’d kept from him.
After she took a shower and dressed in a sleeveless white sundress, she left the palace and drove to his apartment in the other part of town. On the way she picked up some food at her favorite deli for them to enjoy.
Since she knew his car, she parked along the street and would wait until she spotted him, then follow him inside. Fausta was sick with excitement and running a fever at the thought of being with him. Once she got her arms around him, she’d never let him go.
* * *
Nico’s last patient didn’t leave until 6:10 p.m. He had half a dozen calls to return, but he’d make them after he drove home. He’d texted Fausta during the drive to Domodossola and didn’t expect to hear from her. But he was following Pippa’s advice and wouldn’t leave her alone.
Tomorrow night he planned to drive over to the palace and call her from outside her private entrance. He’d keep after her until she responded. These thoughts and more filled his mind as he reached the parking area of his apartment and hurried inside.
It was a hot night. No sooner had he gone into the kitchen for a cold glass of water than he heard a knock on the door. That was a surprise. Maybe it was Felipe.
He hurried to the door and came close to going into cardiac arrest to see Fausta standing there in all her golden glory. She held a sack in one hand, her purse in the other. In that filmy white dress with the spaghetti straps, he thought he’d never seen anyone so breathtaking.
“Nico—” Her anxious blue eyes searched his. “Will you forgive me for bursting in on you like this? I was sitting out in my car waiting for you to come home. I brought dinner if you want some, but if you’d rather be alone—”
“Come here to me.” He pulled
her inside. In an instant he relieved her of the purse and sack, then picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the couch. She half lay against him as he hungrily covered her mouth with his own.
Nico no longer had cognizance of time or surroundings. The fire that had been kindling over the weeks burst into flame. Her kisses intoxicated him. She held nothing back.
“I love you more than you’ll ever know, Nico. I want to be your wife,” she cried breathlessly. “Forgive me for being so cruel to you.”
He lifted his head. “Cruel?”
“Yes, my darling. I’m ashamed of the way I’ve treated you. I’ve had issues and hang-ups about my life as a royal and I’ve let them come close to ruining my relationship with you.”
“What’s made you change since last night?”
“Lanza.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Today she asked me a few salient questions that made me realize what a selfish creature I’ve been.”
Nico burst into laughter. “I’ve never known anyone less selfish than you.”
She shifted in his arms so she could look into his eyes. “That’s because you don’t know the real me. Since I met you, I’ve wanted everything my way. When I found out you were the son of a king, I hated it. I wasn’t thinking about you and how ecstatic you were to have found your parents and your roots.
“Oh, no. I was only thinking of myself and how that knowledge affected me. I desired the fictional man I’d dreamed about all my life. A commoner. He’d take me to his cottage with a picket fence. We’d have perfect children and live a blissful life. The first time I saw you, I knew you were the man of my dreams, and I set out to capture you no matter what I had to do.”
“You accomplished your objective.” Nico kissed her long and hard. This was the warm, giving woman he adored.
Tears smarted her eyelids. “I can’t believe I didn’t accept the ring when you asked me to marry you. I was so entrenched with my own pitiful vision of royal life, I ruined what should have been the most magical, thrilling moment of our lives. I don’t know why you didn’t slam the door in my face a little while ago.”
He kissed her throat. “I have a confession of my own. On my way home, I stopped to talk to Enzo and Pippa. They told me I had to give you time. I’ve been hanging on to their advice for dear life.”
“They’re wise and wonderful. So is Lanza. I wish it hadn’t taken the questions she asked me for me to wake up and realize what a fool I’ve been. Oh, Nico. Please tell me it’s not too late.” She put her arms around his neck. “I love you with every breath of my body. I don’t care what you do for a living as long as I’m there with you. We’ll make it work.”
“You’re reading my mind.” Nico reached in the front pocket of his trousers and pulled out the ring. He found her left hand and slid it home on her ring finger. “You’re mine now, bellissima. There’s no going back.”
“I don’t want to go back.”
Their hunger knew no bounds as they began devouring each other all over again. Later when his cell phone rang, he groaned. It was probably the service. He hadn’t called his patients yet.
“You need to get that,” she whispered against his lips.
“I’m afraid I do.” Nico eased himself away from her and stood up before answering it. He was still trembling with desire for her.
She got to her feet on those elegant legs of hers. While he was on the phone, she took the sack of food into the kitchen and warmed everything up in the microwave.
He stood in the doorway watching her every movement as he returned calls to patients. Talk about a vision in white and gold.
By the time he’d finished, she’d put their food on the table. The aroma of the coffee she’d made reminded him he was starving. Nico kissed her succulent lips before sitting down with her to eat. “How come I’m so lucky?”
“I’ve been asking myself that question since the evening you asked if you could drive me home from the hospital. My feet don’t touch the ground anymore.”
“I know the feeling.”
When they’d finished eating, he reached for her hand and pulled her up against him. “Nothing’s changed since last night.” He smothered her with kisses. “I want you in my bed, so I’m thinking we should get married now. When the time comes to decide the course of my life, I want us to be man and wife already so we can make the decision together. I’ve found I don’t want to do anything without you.”
She moaned against his mouth. “I feel the same way. But that would mean going through a ceremony right away.”
“That’s the whole idea. How does tomorrow sound? I don’t need anyone’s permission. Naturally I’d like your parents’ blessing. Shall we call them now and tell them our plans?”
He heard her sharp intake of breath. “Nico—be serious!”
“You think I’m not?”
“But getting married that fast would be impossible!”
“Not so. Enzo will arrange it.”
“How?”
“As duca of Piedmont, he has magistrate power to waive the rules and ask the priest to marry us in the castello chapel. He’s done it for several others on a moment’s notice. Once our marriage is a fait accompli, we won’t have to worry if word gets out that we’re expecting our first child. What do you say?”
She clung to him, staring into his eyes with a hint of anxiety.
He kissed the end of her nose. “Now who’s afraid.”
“If I’m afraid, it has to do with your future. Everything’s up in the air where the queen is concerned. If we’re going to do this, don’t you think you need to let her know?”
Nico rubbed his hands up and down her silky arms. “Where the love of my life is concerned, it’s no one else’s business. Protocol be damned! Are you ready to take the plunge with me, tesora? Yes or no.”
By the way her eyes lit up, he could tell she was excited at the thought. “You honestly believe Enzo can arrange everything by tomorrow?”
“All I have to do is get him on the phone. The decision is yours. What about your parents?”
Fausta looked dazed. “I think it would be better if we call them after we say our vows.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to do something that could sever your relationship with them forever.”
“It won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“My parents will be overjoyed when they learn that I married the son of King Carlo.”
“But you’ll be denying them the pleasure of watching the ceremony.”
She chuckled. “I’d rather avoid the pomp. Think of the money that could be used for a good cause, like the other wing of the veterans’ hospital. Honestly I know my parents will be so happy I married a prince, they’ll get over it.”
“Even if I’m illegitimate?”
“That won’t worry my parents. If they had known you’d been available all these years, I can promise that you would have been the first name on their short list.”
A burst of laughter poured out of Nico. Happy didn’t begin to describe what he was feeling. It killed him to let her go, but he had to. “In that case I’ll walk you out to your car in plain sight of our bodyguards.”
They left the apartment. When they reached the car she’d parked on the street, she turned to him. “Aren’t you going to give me one last kiss?” He’d already opened the door for her.
“I don’t dare. Looking the way you do right now, it’s a miracle I’m letting you go. Starting tomorrow, life will be a different story morning, noon and night.”
Heat suffused her face. “How can you be away from the hospital again?”
“Let me worry about that. Be ready at six in the morning when I come by for you, bellissima. Wear casual clothes. By afternoon I’ll deliver you back to the palace and the bodyguards will think I was paying a hou
se call on Enzo and Pippa. I’ll take my doctor bag with me. No one will know anything happened. It’ll be our secret, at least for a while.”
Her eyes swam with tears. “I love you so terribly, Nico, I don’t want to leave you.”
He felt her love to the marrow. “We badly need to be married, Fausta.” He blew her a kiss and shut the door. After she drove off, he returned to his apartment and phoned his receptionist at home.
Nico told her he wouldn’t be coming in until one tomorrow. He asked her to move the morning appointments to the afternoon schedule and he’d fit everyone in somehow. Then he got on the phone with Enzo.
“Nicolo—what’s going on?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Never been better.”
“That’s good because I’m getting married tomorrow morning and need the help only you can provide if you grasp my meaning.”
The older man laughed. “I’m glad to hear you took Pippa’s advice. As for mine...”
“I’m in love and can’t wait, Enzo.”
“Obviously Fausta can’t either. I’d better get on the phone to the priest. How soon can we expect you?”
“We’ll arrive at the castello at eight a.m. Can you arrange for the priest to meet us in the chapel for a quick ceremony? You and Pippa will be our witnesses. When we’ve said our vows, we’ll have to get right back to Domodossola so no one suspects anything, not even Fausta’s parents. That was her decision, not mine.”
“Sounds like her. That girl knows what she wants. What I want to know is, how long do you expect your marriage to remain a secret?”
“Only until she tells her parents. But the point is, I decided to take your sage advice about weighing my decision. That’s why I want Fausta to be my wife first. Together we’ll choose whether to stay in Domodossola or leave for La Valazzura when the time comes.”
“Bravo, figlio mio.”
“Once again you’re saving my life, Enzo.”
“You saved mine the day I interviewed you at the farm. Pippa and I decided you’d been sent to us in our grandson’s place.”
How to Propose to a Princess Page 12
