Once again an image flashed before her eyes of the fierce bodyguard who’d stepped from the wall into her life one dark night.
Who would have guessed the gorgeous, enigmatic stranger wearing a security guard’s uniform would turn out to be her husband dressed in impeccable groom’s attire?
Ally grew weak at the sight of so much male beauty.
As she reached the bottom step, he drew close. She heard him murmur something under his breath in Italian. She would have given anything to know what he said.
“A certain young, upcoming violinist told me these would match your suit.”
From behind his back he produced a corsage of pink roses he pinned to her jacket.
Her heart thumped so hard, it caused the petals to rustle with each beat.
“If you hadn’t been there for me last night, I swear I don’t know what I would have done.”
“I didn’t do anything, Gino,” she whispered shakily.
He kissed her forehead. “You believed in me from the beginning. Knowing that, I can get through this.”
His trust in her was absolute. He didn’t need anything else. Unfortunately she wanted and needed much more from him. But to behave like Donata and Merlina, neither of whom could take Gino’s rejection, would be the kiss of death.
After tonight she was more convinced than ever she’d done the right thing by having a certain inscription engraved on the gold wedding band she’d bought him.
He’d wanted a best friend for a wife. That’s what he was getting. She would have to find a way to live with the pain.
CHAPTER NINE
FATHER ANGELINI smiled at both of them. “And now I pronounce you Rudolfo Giannino Fioretto Di Montefalco, and you Allyson Cummings Parker, husband and wife. May you live long and be fruitful. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen.”
Gino didn’t hesitate to give her another thorough kiss in front of the small assembly of friends. They were now officially married in the eyes of the church.
In the periphery, Ally caught sight of Sofia’s shining face. She and the girls looked adorable in white lace dresses with garlands of pink roses in their hair.
Marcello might have been in a wheelchair, but he looked every inch the aristocrat in his formal attire. He wore the crest of the Montefalco family on the scarlet band stretching from his right shoulder to his left hip.
Before Ally had started down the aisle of the church on Dizo Rossini’s arm, his wife Maria had handed her a sheaf of long stemmed pink roses to carry.
“Do you know how many of my country women could claw your eyes out for getting Gino to marry you not once, but twice?” she teased.
Ally chuckled, but little did Maria know her bittersweet remark made Ally want to laugh and cry at the same time.
When the wedding party congregated on the steps of the church, one of Gino’s friends took pictures for them.
Everything seemed so normal and happy, but Ally knew they were living on borrowed time. Like a bomb ticking away, their lives could be shattered by an explosion if Gino didn’t win his case.
“Stop worrying,” he whispered against her neck after they’d climbed in the back seat of the car.
“I’m not.”
“Yes you are,” came the no nonsense rejoinder. “I can tell by your eyes. They’re a dark green. When you’re happy, they turn a lighter shade and shimmer. Today is ours to enjoy.”
She bowed her head. “I want to enjoy it, but I keep remembering those men waiting for you outside Mr. Toscano’s office. If that were to happen in front of Sofia and all your friends—”
“No one’s going to snatch me away again. That part is over.”
Unless he was found guilty at the trial and taken away in handcuffs.
At the mere thought of it, Ally shuddered in horror.
“Where’s my Joan of Arc who stood calmly before her enemies at the jail without as much as the quiver of an eyelash.”
His question gave her a needed jolt. She’d better start acting the part she’d committed to play for life.
She raised her blond head. “I’m right here.”
He grasped her hand. “I haven’t told you how exquisite you look yet.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m the envy of all my friends.”
“I have a few friends who would think the same about you.”
When he kissed her fingers, she wanted to pull her hand away. How could she possibly remain friends with him if he kept doing things to remind her he was irresistible yet untouchable flesh and blood husband?
“I’m sorry your friends and family couldn’t be here, Ally. One day our home will be open to everyone, and we’ll be able to travel to Oregon.”
“Sofia keeps asking me how soon you’ll take us to see Mount Hood, Gino. She’s fascinated by volcanoes.”
“Aren’t we all.”
He slid his arm behind her shoulders. “I’m anxious to meet your mother and tell her what an exceptional daughter she has.”
“You’re going to come as a tremendous surprise to her.”
“Is that good or bad,” he mocked in a playful tone.
“I’m not going to bother answering that question. Suffice it to say that with my father’s defection, my mother has lost her trust in men. But when she gets to really know you, her whole attitude will change.”
“Trust is everything,” he said in an emotion filled voice.
Ally already knew that. She stirred in place. “I agree.”
Though she wanted to rest her head against his shoulder, she didn’t dare for fear she’d give herself away.
“Before we left the church, Sofia told me to examine my ring carefully. I think I’ll do it now.”
He removed his arm in order to pull off his own ring.
Ally held her breath while she waited for his reaction.
“My kingdom for a friend,” he read the words aloud.
After a breathless moment of quiet, he touched the ring to his lips, then slid it back on his finger.
By now they’d reached the courtyard of the farmhouse. Most of the guests had already arrived. More pictures were being taken.
Gino got out of the car and came around to help her. His black eyes resembled smoldering embers.
“In case you didn’t know it, you’ve made me the happiest man alive.”
Before she could take another breath, his mouth descended on hers. Like the effect of slow moving magma, it caught every particle of her body on fire.
Not until one of his friends shouted for Gino to keep on kissing her for the camera did Ally realize how carried away she’d gotten. Her husband couldn’t have helped but be aware of her hungry response. She could only hope that since he was playing to the crowd, he assumed she was doing the same thing.
He pretended to be the amorous lover to such perfection, no one could have guessed the real reason for their marriage.
Everyone clapped. There were a few wolf whistles that brought a grin to Gino’s handsome face. He ushered her inside the farmhouse where Bianca and some local helpers had arranged food and champagne in the dining room.
The guests filled their plates and wandered out to the back terrace where a group played music.
Without hesitation Gino pulled her into his arms and started dancing with her.
Soon others joined in. Eventually his friends broke in to dance with her, depriving her of the joy of being that close to him.
But she needn’t have worried who Gino’s next partners would be.
He gave each flower girl a turn around the patio before spending the rest of his time with Sofia.
Ally finally excused herself to spell off Luigi and Roberto, both of whom were there to help with Gino’s brother and celebrate.
“I’ll watch Marcello while you get something to eat,” she told them.
When they got up, she grasped Marcello’s hand in case he decided to start walking around the terrace.
Maybe it was the music, or the prese
nce of so many people, but his thumb kept pressing the top of her hand.
She hoped it meant that in some obscure way he was enjoying himself.
The cruelty of his affliction made it hard on everyone who loved him. He and Gino had been exceptionally close.
Today should have been a time for the two brothers to rejoice.
But of course it would have been a happy time because Gino would have married someone else. A pain seared her heart to imagine missing out on marrying him.
“Ally?” Her husband appeared out of nowhere and put his hand on her arm. “What’s made you go pale?”
“Did I? Maybe it’s because I was wishing I’d known Marcello before he became ill.”
His dark eyes flickered. “He would have been crazy about you even before he heard you play the Tchaikovsky.”
“Do you know he’s been pressing his thumb against my hand?”
He slanted her a mysterious glance that caused her pulse to race.
“He senses your kindness. Would you be as kind to me if I asked you to play something for our guests? I want to show you off, and I can’t think of a present I’d like more on my wedding day.”
“Gino—”
“Is that a yes, a no, or a maybe.”
His charm made it impossible for her to refuse him anything.
When she thought of all he’d given her, it was so little to ask in return. But he had no idea how full her emotions were. They threatened to overpower her.
“Well, perhaps one piece.”
“I’ll ask my niece to bring out your violin.”
He disappeared just as Luigi and Roberto came back on the terrace.
Soon a smiling Sofia walked over to her with her case.
The background music ended and Gino asked for everyone’s attention.
“Ally and I want to thank you for sharing the most important day of our lives with us.
“Few of you know she’s a gifted musician. I’ve asked her to play something for you as a special favor to me and my brother.
“Our parents instilled the love of music in us. Now we have Ally to fill the house with it again.”
His touching words made Ally want to burst into tears.
To fight them off, she opened her case and tuned her violin until she felt she was in control once more.
“I’ll play something from the Brahm’s First Symphony.”
Brahms was her favorite composer, whether it be piano or orchestral music.
This was the piece she’d been practicing when the migraine had hit her so hard during rehearsal in Portland. Little had she known what awaited her when she’d gone out in the hall to call the doctor and discovered there was another message waiting.
In a matter of weeks that voice mail from Troy had literally transformed her life.
Here she was in the heart of the Italian countryside, playing at her own wedding for her brand-new husband. The man she loved beyond comprehension.
For a little while she simply immersed herself in the beauty of the piece, wanting it to please Gino.
When she finished playing, there was an unnatural quiet.
Perhaps the greatest tribute to any artist was the hushed silence that followed a performance.
She looked across the patio and met Gino’s gaze. Even from the distance separating them, his eyes seemed to be aflame.
Suddenly he began to applaud. Soon the others followed his lead.
“Grazie,” he mouthed the words to her before she was besieged by their guests.
Sofia clung to her hand and announced she was taking lessons. That brought on requests from several parents for Ally to teach their children.
Everyone asked for an encore but to her relief Gino came to the rescue.
“I don’t want my bride worn-out before the wedding day is over.”
His remarks incited the men to make their little jokes. Ally didn’t need a translator to know they were talking about the pleasures of the wedding night to come.
She laughed along with them because they were among friends here and Gino needed a moment like this to get him through the dark days of the trial coming up.
While she was putting her violin back in the case, she felt a pair of strong arms slide around her waist.
“Leave the violin on the chair and dance with me again.”
Ally’s heart leaped in response. It was frightening how much she wanted to be in Gino’s arms. But this couldn’t go on much longer or he would know he’d married a woman who wanted to be much more than friends.
Avoiding his eyes, she followed his lead. He seemed determined to show his friends that he was in love with his wife. Ally had to withstand his wrapping both arms around her with his hands splayed across her back, his face pressed into her curls.
Unlike the other couples, he more or less moved them in place. You really couldn’t call it dancing. She could feel every hard line and sinew of his body.
Desire like she’d never known in her life engulfed her. She felt the telltale weakness in her limbs. Her palms ached with pain only he could assuage.
She couldn’t do this any longer.
Placing her hands against his chest, she pushed away a little, but not so anyone else would notice.
Still not looking at him she said, “I’m sorry, Gino, but I need to be excused for a minute.”
“Of course. Hurry back.” He gave her mouth a lingering kiss before letting her go.
The mere contact set off a conflagration inside her.
In a daze, she made her way through the crowded house to the hallway. As she started up the stairs she saw Bianca welcome another guest into the foyer. Ally didn’t recognize the middle-aged man. He hadn’t been at the church to witness the ceremony.
If the housekeeper hadn’t greeted him like an old friend, Ally would have been terrified it was someone from the prosecutor’s office.
She continued up the stairs to her room to freshen up in the bathroom. In truth she’d needed to get away from Gino.
Ally soaked a washcloth in cold water and pressed it to her hot face, surprised she didn’t hear it sizzle.
Her biggest mistake had been to dance with him. When she went downstairs again, she would make certain it didn’t happen again. That way she might just be able to make it through her wedding day without the whole world knowing how she felt about Gino.
A few minutes later she felt settled down enough to leave her room and rejoin their guests.
To her surprise she almost collided with a white-faced Sofia who’d been running from the direction of her own bedroom further down the hall.
“Sofia—what is it? Has something happened to your father?”
“No.” In the next breath the girl’s expression closed up. She started for the stairs, but Ally pulled her back and held on to her.
“Was someone mean to you?”
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong, darling? Don’t you know you can tell me or your uncle anything?”
“I don’t like Uncle Gino anymore,” came her muffled cry against Ally’s lace jacket.
Sick to the pit of her stomach, Ally drew Sofia into the bedroom and shut the door.
She walked her over to the bed and helped her to sit down next to her.
Though they had a house full of guests downstairs, this was a problem that needed to be taken care of right now.
“Why do you feel that way about Gino? He loves you so much.”
“I know.”
The girl was talking in riddles.
“What’s upset you? Please tell me. You can trust me.”
“I’m afraid to tell you.” She burst into tears. “It would hurt you too much.”
“Hurt me? How?”
“Because you love him. But he—” She couldn’t go on.
“He what?” Ally prodded.
“It’ll make you cry.”
“Then we’ll cry together. Tell me.”
“I found out he wishes—he wishes—” She couldn’t say it. Br
eaking into half sobs, she clung blindly to Ally who by this time feared this had something to do with Donata. Ally couldn’t let this go.
“Please, Sofia. You can’t keep this to yourself or it will make you ill.”
Sofia finally raised her head. “He said he wished he hadn’t married you, but it was the only thing he could do at the time.”
It was one thing for Ally to know the truth in her own heart, but to hear Gino’s niece say it was like undergoing a second death.
Fighting to remain calm Ally said, “Is that what he told you?”
“No.” She kept wiping her eyes. “I heard him talking to Signore Santi.”
“When?”
“Just now.”
“You mean they’re in your father’s room?” It had to have been the man who’d come late to the reception.
“Yes. When I saw them leave the party and you weren’t downstairs, I came up to see what was going on. That’s when I heard Signore Santi tell Uncle Gino it was too bad he married you when it wasn’t necessary.”
Not necessary— Did that mean there’d been a break in the case?
“Then U-Uncle Gino said—well you know what he said. I—I couldn’t believe he said that.”
Sofia’s shoulders shook with silent sobs. “I thought he loved you.”
Poor Sofia had been caught up in the romance, but cruel reality had intruded.
“Did you hear anything else?”
“No. I didn’t want Uncle Gino to know I was listening.”
Thank heaven for that!
Ally’s arms closed around her. “Your secret is safe with me.”
The girl lifted her tearstained face. “I shouldn’t have told you. Now you’ll go away and I’ll never see you again.” Her voice throbbed.
“That’s not true, Sofia. I’m going to live right here with you forever.
“The fact that he doesn’t love me doesn’t change my love for him or you.”
“How can you say that?”
“Listen to me, darling. When your uncle proposed, I knew he didn’t love me. We’re friends you see? So you mustn’t stop loving him. He can’t help how he feels. But I know he’ll always be kind to me. He wants us to be a happy family. So do I.”
Sofia studied her for a long time. “I love you, Ally. Do you think someday I could call you Mama?”
The Princess Bride Page 14
