Enzo’s demeanor underwent a drastic change with that comment. He looked nonplussed over what she’d said. Lanza decided she could confide in him a little more.
“Stefano and I had to give up our dreams when we were forced to marry, but we’ve worked out a solution that gives us as much freedom as possible to do our own thing without question.
“Under circumstances that could have spelled the end of happiness for both of us, we’ve found the perfect way to have freedom and I couldn’t be happier,” she asserted, keeping a smile pasted on her face while she was in agony. “I believe he’s happy, too. Of course I could be wrong. You’ve been his friend forever and would be the best judge of that.”
He went quiet just as her flight was announced for boarding. She jumped up from the seat and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you for being such a good friend to him. Stefano loves you like a brother and I’ll never forget your kindness.”
* * *
It was after 8:00 p.m. when the driver from the Casale mine picked up Stefano at the Ruiz airport outside Zacatecas. He drove him to the mining office, which was on a high plateau that rose to eight thousand feet. The temperature was in the thirties. He felt right at home in the cold air as he walked inside to meet with his other mining officials.
Dozens of workers and family members milled around while Jose Ortega, the chief engineer, apprised him of everything that was happening. Teams of workers would be working through the night taking turns trying to reach the three trapped victims using the latest equipment. Safety inspectors were still trying to piece together why there’d been a collapse in the structure in the first place.
Stefano was determined to find out why all their precautions to avoid such an accident had failed. So far this had never happened before at any of his mines. He’d been proud of the safety records and would be devastated if there was a loss of life.
He stayed in the office where he could sleep on a cot in the back room. To his relief Alicia hadn’t shown up tonight. He planned to avoid her if it was at all possible and got to work at his desk.
First, he needed to look over the plans of the mine where the cave-in had happened. Many factors had to have been in play, including the strength and weight of the soil combined with the porosity and amount of moisture.
When he checked with the environmental factors like weather conditions, he discovered there’d been some ground uplifting and tilting two months ago along the Acapulco Trench that included the Tehuantepec Ridge. His mine couldn’t be found in fault, but right now he was more concerned that the miners would be rescued.
As the men came in and out giving him updates, he made a call to Enzo, wanting to know how everything went before he phoned Lanza. It was 11:00 p.m. here.
“Sorry, Enzo. I know it’s the middle of the night for you. I haven’t called Lanza yet because I wanted to talk to you first.”
“She’s fine. What I want to know is, how are you? Have the trapped miners been rescued?”
“We’re just getting started, but I want to know about my wife.”
“I only have one thing to say. She’s not the person I thought she was.”
Stefano sucked in his breath. “Is that good or bad?”
“What in the hell do you think? I steered you wrong when you asked me for advice in my office that day. Before I put her on the plane, I called her Your Highness. She forbid me from ever saying that to her again.” Stefano chuckled. “She’s nothing like what I’d conjured in my imagination.”
He closed his eyes tightly. Amen to that. “I owe you, amico.”
“Good luck and come home safe. Ciao.”
“Ciao.”
Relieved with that report, he phoned Lanza while no one needed to talk to him.
To his satisfaction she answered after the first ring in an anxious voice. “Stefano? Are you all right? What about the trapped miners?”
“Yes and yes. As for the miners, I’ll find out soon. There are three of them, but it’s going to be difficult reaching them and could take longer than I’d hoped.”
She moaned. “Now that you’re there to investigate, how do you think it happened?”
“I know exactly what caused it. The graphs showed there was a noticeable ground settling of the earth after tremors along the Acapulco trench a couple of months ago. The collapse couldn’t have been prevented.”
“Thank heaven you can’t be blamed.”
“But I will be anyway, and won’t be happy until the miners are found and able to be home with their families. I bet your parents were surprised to see you arrive early without me. When I know more, I’ll email your father to explain.”
“Please don’t,” she begged.
He frowned. “Why not?”
“I didn’t go home, Stefano. I flew to Rome and am staying in my Zia Ottavia’s villa. I adore her and she’s being wonderful to me. I plan to stay here until you’re able to return. If you don’t mind, I’d rather meet you at the Domodossola Airport when you fly in from Mexico. We’ll arrive back at the palace together.”
That explained his conversation with Enzo. She’d mentioned going to her aunt’s before. Enzo couldn’t have talked her out of it and she’d sworn him to secrecy.
Stefano grinned. His wife was her own person in every way and heavenly shape. “I’m glad you’re safe and happy. I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.”
“Thank you for calling and letting me know you got there without incident. I’ll pray those men get out alive.”
He swallowed hard. “That means a lot, Lanza. I’m hoping to see you soon. Buona notte, sposa mia.”
After hanging up, he left the office to join the other rescue workers. The next few desperate days and nights would keep him from reliving those moments on the couch before Lanza had pulled out of his arms. She’d been life to him, but he had to correct that remark and admit, she was life to him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THOUGH LANZA LOVED spending time with her aunt, her mind wasn’t off Stefano for a second. Other than two text messages that said they were still searching for the men, she’d had no other news.
By the fifth day she couldn’t stand it. She had to talk to him! But first she called Enzo, who told her he hadn’t heard from Stefano, either.
Lanza was fretting that Stefano might feel he had to go down the mine. She had no doubt his life could be in danger if he did and there was another tremor that caused more cave-in. The thought of losing him was too horrendous to contemplate. If she could just hear his voice...
After dinner she went to her room and phoned him on his cell, something she’d promised herself not to do. It was night there. All she got was his voice mail. Lanza hung up, but she couldn’t stand not knowing anything.
On impulse she called the mining office number he’d programmed. Someone would be able to tell her what was going on if they were there. She pressed the digit and waited for the call to go through. After a moment, “Bueno?” said a female voice.
“Buenas noches, señora. Is there someone in your office who speaks English? I need information.”
“Sí.”
Frustrated, she said, “I need to speak to Señor Casale, please.”
“No disponible,” she rapped out.
Thanks to the Spanish she’d learned from one of her tutors, Lanza realized that meant Stefano wasn’t there and squeezed her phone tighter. “This is Señora Casale. Will you ask him to call me when he can?”
She could have sworn a half minute passed before she heard the woman say, “Sí.”
After that one word there was a click that cut them off.
It had to be the shortest phone call in history. Beside herself because she still had no information, Lanza clicked off. The woman hadn’t been of any help and probably didn’t know English or Italian, but maybe the situation there was as desperate as Lanza had feared.
/> She hardly slept that night. If she didn’t hear from him tomorrow, she would see if her father could get answers she couldn’t.
* * *
Lanza’s prayers had eventually produced results.
Six days after the cave-in, all three men had been rescued to cheers and tears. They would soon be released from the hospital.
Stefano got the cleanup underway and wound up his affairs. At last, he was able to fly straight to Rome to pick up his wife. Six days away from her was too long. He’d gotten used to being with her. Nothing or no one would ever take her place.
En route to the jet he phoned her. “Lanza?”
“Stefano!” she cried. “I’ve been out of my mind with worry. Thank goodness that woman in the office got my message to you.”
“What do you mean? What woman?”
“I phoned last night and a woman answered, but she said you were unavailable. I asked her to tell you to call your wife.”
Alicia...
He knew she’d been around, but he’d avoided her. She’d paid him back by not giving him the message from Lanza.
“I would have been difficult to find, but none of it matters. I have the best news! The men are all out and safe. I’m on my way to Rome.”
He heard a break in her voice. Hopefully, she was glad he was coming for her. After a minute she said, “How soon do you expect to land?”
“At six-fifteen p.m. your time. Can you meet my plane at the airport?”
“Of course.”
“Our families will never know we weren’t in the tropics all this time.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have a tan like yours,” she murmured.
“Your ski tan is enough for everyone to be fooled.”
She was being too quiet. He imagined she was nervous about them returning to the palace to begin their life together. The best thing that could have happened had been for them to be alone at the chalet. He wished they had another two weeks of freedom ahead of them.
“How’s your aunt?”
“Amazing. We’ve always been close.”
“One day you’ll have to invite her to the palace to spend some time with us.”
“I’d love that.”
This chitchat was driving him crazy. “Do you have any news to share?”
“Yes!” All of a sudden she came alive. “I called the refuge. The man who helped us said Fausto adapted well and yesterday they took him out in the woods. This morning he didn’t come back.”
“That means he’s found a way to survive.”
“I know. I’m really glad. We know he’ll be happy now.”
Stefano gripped his phone tighter. “How do you feel about that?”
“Fausto is back home. What more could we ask?”
“We couldn’t.”
He heard her sigh. “You’ve got a long flight ahead of you.”
“Not too bad. I’ll sleep most of the way. We’ll have dinner on the plane for the short flight to Domodossola. Now I have to go. We’re getting ready to take off. See you tonight.”
“Be safe.”
“You, too.”
He hung up and climbed the steps, anxious to get back to Lanza. After chatting with his pilot and steward, he walked to his bedroom. Once they’d attained cruising speed and the seat belt light had gone off, he prepared to pass out until it was time for the descent.
The whole nightmare of the cave-in was over and his wife would be meeting him at the airport in Rome. Maybe now he could actually get some sleep.
Stefano couldn’t believe it when the steward knocked on his door and told him it was almost time to fasten his seat belt. He really had needed the sleep. They were about to make their approach.
He shaved and freshened up, then slipped on the same gray suit he’d worn the night they’d left on their honeymoon. His pulse picked up speed as he moved to the club car to check on the dinner menu and get ready for the landing.
The jet taxied along the tarmac. The second it came to a stop, he leaped from his chair. His steward opened the door so he could rush down the stairs.
Like magic, Lanza stepped out of the taxi parked nearby. She, too, had chosen to wear the same suit with the lace hem. She’d even done her hair up with the same pearl clip and the necklace he’d given her. Princess Lanza Rossiano was in evidence once more.
He drew closer to her, noticing a nerve throbbing at the base of her throat where the pearl lay. She was even more beautiful than he remembered when they’d said goodbye at the chalet. Those blue eyes met his for a breathless moment.
Stefano wanted to crush her in his arms, but this wasn’t the place in front of his staff or the taxi driver. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and cupped her elbow. “Come on. Our dinner is waiting for us.”
He helped her up the steps and inside to the club compartment of the jet. The steward brought her coat and luggage. After she sat down and fastened her seat belt, he did the same and before long they were in the air. The moment they could unbuckle, the steward served them a pasta dinner with shrimp.
“I told him to serve us soon because this flight won’t take us long.”
She started to eat. “You asked me earlier if I had any news. I decided to wait and tell you what my aunt told me. She said that while we were gone, my parents had the second floor of the east wing of the palace restored to a home for us.
“It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, sitting room, den, an office with the latest computer software for you, a terrace, two bathrooms, a living room, everything we could want. It’s their wedding gift to us.”
“That’s very generous of them. I’ll thank them as soon as possible. Now I’d like some advice from you.”
“What is it?”
“I have to fly to Argentina the day after tomorrow. The timing is terrible since I’ve just returned from Mexico.”
She didn’t react to the news, but he knew it came as a surprise that he was leaving again so soon. “This meeting with my engineers in Puerto San Julian in the northwestern part of the country was planned before Alberto died and can’t be changed.”
“Father wouldn’t expect you to.”
But what about you, Lanza?
“We’ve been putting in a new process, which increases the purity of gold by electrolysis. I won’t bore you with all the details, but by use of an electric current the gold can be restored to a highly pure metallic state, leaving the impurities separate.”
“It sounds complicated.”
“More than that, it takes time to make sure it’s all working satisfactorily and has involved some engineers from Chile, Bolivia and the States. I have to be there to oversee everything. Yet, I know your father is expecting to meet with me in the morning to discuss what responsibilities he expects me to start handling. I’m concerned he’ll be offended when I tell him I have a prior commitment before I can give him quality time.”
She finished her coffee. “He’ll understand. How long will you be gone? Four, five weeks?”
“It could be that long.”
“Then tell him the truth and say you’ll probably need five weeks before you’re back. That way he won’t have expectations you can’t meet.”
Stefano nodded. “That’s sound advice I’ll take to heart. I’m sorry I’m going to have to leave you the moment we’re back.”
She stared at him in a way he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “We knew this would be our life.”
Yes, he knew, but he hadn’t counted on being crazy about his wife. “What will you do while I’m gone?”
A small laugh escaped her lips. “What I’ve been doing for several years. I organize benefits to raise money. At present my efforts are for our various homeless shelters. As I told you earlier, there’s a new low-income housing project going up on the other side of the city. I’m anxious to get enough money donate
d to start a soup kitchen.
“And after that, I’m planning to find a billionaire who might be willing to donate land for the building of new housing for our naval vets. Again, it all takes money and sometimes I reach out to our allies who are willing to invest a little.”
He heard what she was saying, but she wasn’t the same woman he’d been with at the chalet. It was as if she’d lowered a shield between them he couldn’t get past.
In several prior conversations with her, she’d told him her sister Donetta, who wanted to be king, would make a great one. To Stefano’s mind Lanza was the sister who would make the best ruler.
The steward came in to remove their trays. After he left them alone Stefano said, “I phoned your father’s chief assistant, Marcello, earlier and told him we’d be arriving shortly.”
One delicate brow lifted. “I would love to have shown up unannounced, but you did the right thing and will be in his good graces. My father dislikes surprises.”
“So does mine. Any other advice to help me?”
“You don’t need it. Do you know what he said when he told me you’d asked for my hand? ‘Lanza? Prince Stefano was raised like his brother, Alberto, and will make a splendid husband for you. His brilliant business acumen is known around the world. He’s Basilio’s son, after all.’ There could be no greater praise.”
But Stefano knew Lanza hadn’t believed what her father had told her about him at the time. That was because he’d hurt her too deeply.
Our life will begin after we meet at the altar. Don’t worry about our wedding night. We’ll spend it away from everyone while we sort out the rules of engagement.
Looking back on what he’d said to her crushed him now.
The fasten seat belts sign flashed on.
She smiled at him. “We’re almost home. Happy New Year, Stefano.”
* * *
The waiter poured Lanza more coffee after a working dinner with Matteo Fontana at a restaurant in the western part of Domodossola City. Earlier in the day she’d walked through the new low-income, three-story housing facility with him. She enjoyed working with the young, good-looking, wealthy businessman in charge of overseeing this big project, one of her pet projects.
The Princess's New Year Wedding (The Princess Brides Book 1) Page 13
