“It’s fabulous. How soon can it be opened?”
His warm brown eyes played over her. “One week, Your Highness.”
“You’ve accomplished everything in such a short time. I’m awestruck.”
“I’m glad you’re delighted. Our office is pleased, too.”
“Did you have a chance to look over my ideas for a series of soup kitchens? I’m still working on getting the funds, but what do you think?”
“I went over them with my architect, Marco. They’re brilliant and desperately needed. If you give me the go-ahead, they can all be built within six months.”
“Wonderful. It will make a big difference to the problems in this area of the city. I’m running another couple of fund-raisers in the next two weeks. Hopefully, we’ll go over the top with donations and I can phone you with the good news.”
To her surprise he suddenly got to his feet, staring beyond her. “Your Highness!”
Who on earth was Matteo addressing? She turned in the chair and almost fainted to see Stefano standing behind her. With his dark hair and eyes, he was so incredibly striking, and looked so handsome in a navy business suit, she could hardly believe that it was her husband standing there.
Stefano had only been gone ten days and wasn’t expected back from Argentina for at least three more weeks! She got to her feet. “Stefano—”
Her husband’s dark, penetrating gaze took in Matteo before focusing on her. “I got through early with my project and hurried home. Marcello told me I could find you here.”
She was in shock. Not only had he come home ahead of time, he’d also gone out of his way to find her. If she wasn’t clutching the edge of the table, her legs wouldn’t support her.
“L-let me introduce you to Matteo Fontana,” she stammered. “He’s the dynamic businessman in charge of the fabulous housing project I told you about. We’ve been talking about the date for the opening.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.” She could tell Matteo was flat-out intimidated because Stefano wasn’t only the crown prince, he also had a sophisticated aura that made him stand out from other men.
“My wife has talked a lot about this project. I’m pleased to meet the man responsible.”
“The privilege has been mine to work with her. She’s one of the most enlightened people I’ve ever met.”
He was very kind. “Thanks, Matteo.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Stefano murmured before he flicked his gaze to hers. “Have you finished your business dinner, or shall I come back for you later?”
“We’re through, Your Highness,” Matteo rushed to assure him. Then he smiled at Lanza. “Let me know about those fund-raisers and I’ll give Marco the okay to start drawing up the blueprints.”
“You’re talking about the soup kitchens?” her husband wanted to know.
Matteo nodded.
Stefano eyed her intently. “You’ve accomplished a great deal in the time I’ve been gone.”
“Your wife is a dynamo and so easy to work with.” Matteo looked at her one more time. “Thank you for meeting me for dinner.”
“It was my pleasure. Buona notte, Matteo.”
He nodded to Stefano. “Your Highness. If you’ll excuse me.”
As he left the restaurant, Stefano put a hand on the back of her chair. “Are you through eating?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go back to the palace. I have the limo waiting.”
She walked through the restaurant with him. When he helped her into the back, she could smell the scent of the soap he used in the shower. Her desire for him was off the charts. He sat next to her. With a sideward glance she could see he’d either shaved on the jet, or he’d gone to the palace first to freshen up before coming to get her.
The sun had set as they drove through the city, a magical time with the lights turned on. They hadn’t had snow for at least a week, which made it easier to walk around the building site with Matteo.
“How did the process go in Argentina?”
“Good. I felt confident to leave earlier than planned. Tell me how long you’ve known Signor Fontana.”
She blinked. “We met about a year ago at a state dinner at the palace when the plans for the project were only in the embryo stage.”
“Do you meet with him often?”
“I’ve seen him dozens of times in the past year and almost every day for the past week.”
“Are you aware he’s crazy about you? I didn’t see a wedding ring.”
Was it possible Stefano had developed husbandly feelings for her, and that was why he’d come home early? Lanza’s heart almost jumped out of her chest.
“He’s not married.”
“It seemed to me he forgot you were married, too, until he noticed me walk over to the table.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He was eating you alive with his eyes. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to meet alone with him.”
She felt a fluttering in her chest, but chose not to respond to that comment because deep down she knew Matteo did have a tiny crush on her. But more important, she’d never seen this domineering side of Stefano before.
Lanza had thought often about her short conversation with the woman at the mine. Stefano had played dumb about it, never letting on who it was. Perhaps she’d been one of the women he’d once had an affair with.
That relationship might be in the past, but he’d come home to Lanza, who was still unfinished business. Was that it? Could that be the problem challenging him? Was she his only failure when it came to seducing a woman? Her thoughts darted hither and yon.
Before long they reached the palace and the driver took them around to the east entrance. Stefano helped her out of the limo. A staff member opened the large palace doors so they could walk up the steps. Once on the second floor, they entered their apartment, the size of the average person’s house.
Ten nights ago he’d gone to one of the bedrooms to get some sleep early because he’d had to leave for the airport at five o’clock the next morning. Lanza had stayed up to talk to her sisters about her trip and hadn’t gone to bed until one in the morning in another of the bedrooms.
Tonight was different.
Stefano was in a strange mood she didn’t understand unless she was right and he hadn’t liked seeing her with another man. Had it brought out his egotistical side, and now he was feeling possessive? If so, it wasn’t enough for her.
He removed his suit jacket and undid the top buttons of his shirt where she saw a dusting of black hair on his chest.
After he pushed his sleeves up to the elbows, he hunkered in front of the fireplace to put more logs on the fire. While it crackled and the flames lit up the semidark room, she couldn’t take her eyes off his well-honed physique. Right now she was having to fight overpowering feelings of desire for him.
She stood near the long, rounded green velvet couch facing the fireplace. Its color was reflected in the background of the huge tapestries hanging on the walls depicting medieval forest scenes with animals.
“Why didn’t you phone that you were coming tonight, Stefano? I would have planned to have dinner waiting for you.”
He stood up and turned to her, putting his hands on his hips in a totally male stance. “I wanted to surprise you and take you out for a meal.”
“That would have been very nice. I couldn’t believe it when Matteo called out and said, ‘Your Highness.’”
“I know for a fact he wasn’t happy to see me.”
“You’re wrong, you know. It’s just that you’re bigger than life to everyone and it intimidates them, even Enzo, who worships you.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“No, Stefano. I witnessed it with my own eyes.”
* * *
Maybe that was true, but Lanza
had been deeply engrossed in conversation with Matteo when he’d walked into the restaurant. Even from a distance, Stefano could tell the man was totally entranced with her.
At that moment Stefano had experienced a flare of jealousy, which was so foreign to him, he’d felt violent inside. What made it worse was that Lanza seemed to enjoy Matteo’s attention. Seeing them together like that had disturbed him so much he couldn’t seem to calm down.
She was always gracious and charming with a style all her own, but Stefano had felt deflated that she hadn’t shown more excitement at seeing him tonight. Ten days away from her had felt like death.
“My father will be thrilled to know you’re home.”
“He already knows. We talked for a moment and I’ve been asked to have breakfast with him and your mother.”
Lanza smiled. “She’s anxious to give you a tour of the stables and the kennel. She is an animal lover like me and my sisters.”
“I’m sure that will be enjoyable, but aren’t you going to come with us?”
“I can’t. While you’ve been gone, I’ve had a full schedule of duties. Tomorrow I have to leave early enough to visit a school of students at risk by eight in the morning. I’m making an assessment of their needs in order to gather donations of books and other supplies they lack.”
He admired her work ethic more than she would ever know, but he missed the intimacy of the chalet. It seemed that nothing was the same here at the palace.
“I understand, but now that I’m back, I’d like to spend more time with you. We need to coordinate our activities.”
To his disappointment, Lanza simply smiled and said, “I agree, but could we leave it for now? I’m dead tired after a full day and need to get to bed.”
“Don’t go yet—We have to talk.”
“Can’t we do that tomorrow after I return?”
She seemed so distant. He longed for the closeness they’d had in the chalet.
“No. This can’t wait.”
Her brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
He rubbed the back of his neck absently. “I don’t like what’s happening to us.”
“Because I wasn’t here when you flew home from Argentina?”
“That and other things.”
“Oh.” Lanza looked perplexed. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you care? We both agreed to do our own thing, no questions asked. I can’t help it that you came home from your trip early. Now you’re breaking your own rules. Which is it, Stefano? You can’t have it both ways.”
Frustrated beyond reason, he reached for her, pulling her against him. “I cut my trip short by three weeks because I missed you and couldn’t get home fast enough. I want us to have a real marriage.”
Lanza pulled away and looked at him, confused.
“No, you don’t,” she argued back. “You made it clear to me from the start that this was going to be a business arrangement.”
“I know,” said Stefano, sighing. “But I do now, and I think you want it, too. When you kissed me back at the chalet, I knew you wanted me even though you wouldn’t admit it. It’s not something you can hide.”
Lanza moved out of his arms, cutting him to the quick. Her eyes stared at him as if she didn’t know him.
“What’s happened to you? I can’t believe you could change this fast without a reason. Does this have anything to do with my father? Don’t tell me he demanded that we produce an heir before the year is out? Is that what this is all about?”
“Lanza—”
How could she think that? But then again, he had never spelled out to her that his feelings for her had changed. No wonder she wouldn’t listen to him. She carried on in full flow.
“Is that why you came home early? Did you feel guilty? Or did my father insist you hurry home to get me pregnant ASAP?”
As it happened it was Stefano’s father who had brought it up during a phone conversation he’d had with him while he’d been in Argentina. He’d been upset that Stefano had barely come home from Mexico before flying off to South America so soon. “How can you and Lanza have a family under these circumstances?” he’d complained, and Stefano had had to admit he was right.
Her cheeks were flushed, and he could see she was agitated and upset. “When I agreed to marry you, I was planning on normalcy until you warned me of your rules of engagement and told me ours would be a marriage of convenience. It killed something inside me.”
He groaned. Why had he sent her that note? “I know that now. I was so wrong and I’m sorry I’ve hurt you. I would love to start again. Please, can you forgive my foolish mistake?”
“It’s not a case of forgiveness, Stefano. I guess I’m not like other women. My sisters tease me for being naive and gullible. They reminded me that this is a business arrangement, even if I let myself believe for a time in the chalet it could be more than that. But you managed to take off my blinders. If you want to try for a baby tonight, let’s do it!” Stefano looked at her in shock. Had he really made her feel like this? He felt ashamed that he had hurt her so badly.
“You deceived me with this marriage and were my second choice. Not that I actually had one.”
Stefano tried to protest, but she had started for her bedroom. When she reached the door, she turned around. “Well? Are you coming to fulfill your next duty to produce an heir? Let’s get it over with.”
* * *
Minutes passed before Lanza realized Stefano wasn’t going to follow her. She went into the bedroom, but before the door closed, she saw that the color in his face had turned ashen. She felt so sick and heartbroken, she wanted to die.
Heaven help her. What had she done? While he’d stood there begging her forgiveness, she’d cut him off.
In reality he had come home from Argentina much earlier than planned. Stefano had told her he’d missed her. He’d displayed a jealousy she couldn’t have imagined when he’d found her with Matteo. But she’d dismissed all that. She’d been angry with him and lashed out, but now she felt terrible for the way she must have hurt him. She’d seen the stricken look on his face as she’d left the room.
Lanza stood with her back against the door, burying her face in her hands while the tears gushed. How could she have let her pain turn her into someone she despised? What she needed to do was beg his forgiveness.
Without hesitation, she left the bedroom and hurried across the apartment to his bedroom, praying he hadn’t left the palace already. He would have had every right.
“Stefano?” When he didn’t answer, she knocked. There was no response so she opened the door. In the semidarkness she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed with his head bent and his arms clasped between his powerful legs.
She was so thankful he hadn’t gone, she hurried toward him. Standing in front of him she said, “Stefano? Can you ever forgive me for what I said to you? I didn’t mean any of it.” Her voice throbbed.
He lifted his dark head and looked up at her. “There isn’t a cruel bone in your beautiful body. You spoke the truth when you said I’m the one who deceived you. What frightens me is that you’ll never believe I’ve fallen in love with you. I love you, Lanza. So terribly in fact that I don’t know myself anymore.”
She knew those words had come straight from his heart and she launched herself at him.
“Darling—” She threw her arms around his shoulders. “Can you ever forget the awful things I said to you? I can’t believe I said them. I love you so much I can hardly breathe. By the time we took the carriage ride on our wedding day, I knew I loved you because I’d already had help from Alberto.”
“What do you mean?” he whispered against her throat.
“Your brother idolized you. When you asked what he and I talked about when we were together, most of the conversation was about you. He told me story after story and wished he could be half the man you were.”
“He said those things?” Stefano sounded incredulous.
“Yes, and much more. He made me fall for you long before I met you at the altar. But I fought my feelings with all my might because I never dreamed his brilliant, dashing elder brother could ever fall in love with me.”
“Lanza—”
Stefano didn’t give her a chance to say another word. He followed her down on the bed and began to devour her, kissing away her tears. She lost all sense of time and surroundings as they attempted to assuage their longing for each other. Being loved by her husband was absolute heaven.
Lanza had been convinced she’d never find love, or never know how it felt to be adored and ravished by a man like Stefano, who was worshipping her with his body.
The rapture he brought her was beyond anything she could have comprehended. They gave each other continual pleasure throughout the night and morning. In their euphoria, they forgot the world and only sought to bring each other joy.
“Have you really forgiven me, bellissima?” It was midmorning and he’d tangled his hands in her hair. “I was out of my mind to say and do what I did to you.”
She kissed his mouth hungrily, never able to get enough of him. “To be honest, I was shocked you would actually marry me after you’d given up the royal life for so many years. I still can’t believe you went through with the wedding. I’m the luckiest woman on earth.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “There’s something you need to know that will explain why I agreed to our marriage.” In the next breath he told her about Alberto’s sacrifice. As the story unfolded, tears welled in her eyes once more.
“Oh, Stefano—that explains the picture he sent me of you.”
His gorgeous dark eyes filmed over. “You were right, amore mio. There was no man more honorable and I was a coward for running away as long as I did. When I found out he never intended for me to know what he’d done for me, I knew I had to follow through in his place. But what I don’t understand is why you were willing to marry me.”
The Princess's New Year Wedding (The Princess Brides Book 1) Page 14
