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“Then we’ll be waiting most impatiently.” Yuri gave her a grandfatherly kiss on the forehead before Lucca whisked her through the door.
Paolo and Carlo, the bodyguards he’d introduced to her earlier were waiting to escort them out a rear exit. In the back alley three bullet-proofed limousines with smoked glass were parked. She had no idea who was inside the first one. Carlo followed them into the middle one. Paolo rode in the limo behind. Lucca sat next to her. Whether on purpose or not, his body rested against hers.
“You should never have said anything to my uncle. I haven’t agreed to marry you. I don’t even have a passport.”
“I can let anyone I want into the country.”
She gripped the armrest. With Lucca this close to her, she couldn’t think clearly. “Uncle Yuri thought you were serious about your marital intentions.”
“I am. I wish I could convince you this is a good way out for both of us.” An almost mournful quality had crept into his voice. “You gave me the impression you would do whatever it takes to pay the debt, even if it requires eight years at medical school to accomplish, but it appears I was wrong.”
Alex edged against the door. “Everyone will say I’m just like my mother, running after a prince for his money.”
“You’re a princess in your own right and don’t need anyone’s money, but it doesn’t matter what other people think,” he came back suavely. “We’re the only two people who know the truth or need to know.”
She kneaded her hands. “We’d never be able to fool your parents,” her voice throbbed.
“We don’t have to. They’re painfully aware I’ll be struggling to do my duty, but it’s expected.”
Her thoughts reeled. “So there is a woman.”
After a slight pause she heard him murmur yes.
Alex shouldn’t have been surprised by his last-minute confession. He loved a woman with whom he could never share his life openly or marry. He couldn’t have children with her, couldn’t grow old with her. From the moment he was born, he’d been robbed of his free agency. How dreadful.
“No one else has knowledge of our situation, Alexandra, not even my sister, and she’s my closest confidante. You’re the only person who knows the truth.”
She lowered her head. “I can’t imagine your pain. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry your mother’s debts have placed such an unbearable burden on you. We could help each other out, but if you can’t bring yourself to do it, then I won’t pressure you further.”
Alex clasped her hands together, not having expected this kind of honesty from him. He was in love with someone. What could be more natural, except that he couldn’t marry a commoner. When it got right down to it, how many men were honorable enough to sacrifice their personal happiness to this degree?
Earlier he’d indicated that his interest in women lay with nonroyals, but not until this second did she realize what exactly he was being forced to give up for the sake of his father’s health and the kingdom.
No matter how hard Alex fought it, she felt a wrench in her heart for him. For the first time all day it didn’t seem quite so ridiculous that he’d chosen Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter of all people to carry off this charade. Through the backhand of fate she had enough Grigory royal blood in her veins to satisfy his parents. Lucca knew her darkest secrets. There would be no pretense between them in private, no surprises. She’d already told him she never planned to marry. There’d be no expectations of love on either side.
From her point of view she’d be getting the best of the bargain by being able to pursue her education toward a career. If she became a doctor, she would eventually pay him back. If she couldn’t get into medical school, she’d find another career and pay him back. When that became a reality, she’d start paying off the twelve million dollars.
What would he get besides a titular wife?
Not much … unless she helped him find a way to be with the woman he loved. Now that would be worth something no one else could give him.
Alex could do that! She wanted to. It would even things up and they’d both get what they wanted.
“We’re approaching the lane for the airport,” he said, breaking in on her chaotic thoughts. “Tell me the terminal where your flight will be taking off so I can alert the driver.”
Her pulse throbbed against her temples. By the timbre of his voice you’d never guess the turmoil going on inside of him, but she knew.
“What princess will you choose?”
“I have no idea. If we had more time I’d let you pick her for me. Somewhere over the Atlantic I’ll have to make my choice. We’re almost there. Where shall we drop you?”
She closed her eyes tightly. “You really want to go through with this?” It was a stupid question of course.
In the quiet that followed, his hand slid over her wrist. “Let’s put it this way. I would never have come into Defore’s office otherwise.” While she digested that revelation he added, “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, be very sure, Alexandra. There’s no going back.”
Her breath caught. “I know.”
In the next instant he lifted her hand and kissed the palm. It set off a charge that ignited every atom of her body.
Lucca felt her quiver. She was frightened, but not too frightened to have agreed to his proposal. He’d counted on her desire to pay back her mother’s debts being greater than any other consideration and she hadn’t disappointed him. Later he would deal with his guilt over allowing her to think he was in love with Sofia. Right now his overriding emotion was one of exquisite relief bordering on triumph.
They drove the rest of the way in an electrifying silence he felt no compunction to break. She could change her mind at any moment. He wouldn’t be able to relax until she was safely on board the jet and they’d attained cruising speed.
When Lucca was on business for the monarchy, he traveled with a staff of twelve, not including the pilot, copilot, steward or his bodyguards. By the time they reached the plane, everyone in his entourage had assembled ahead of him. At seven in the evening there was still plenty of light.
As Alexandra climbed out of the limousine, the sun gilded the white-gold strands of her hair swirled among the darker blond shades. She reminded him of an aviatrix who’d just jumped down from her biplane and pulled off her cap to reveal a riot of jaw-length curls. There was nothing artificial about her. She wore no lipstick, but with her wide, seductive mouth it wasn’t necessary.
His first impression of her hadn’t changed. She was totally unaware of herself. He found himself studying her naturally arched brows. They framed large, sad, luminous gray eyes set in a classically shaped face. Sometimes they were inscrutable. Other times when she talked about the debt she couldn’t pay, he was shaken to the gut by their emotional intensity.
The woman he’d chosen for his bride had an innate glamour that couldn’t be manufactured or purchased. He saw shocked wonder in the eyes of his pilot and staff as he introduced her. Not only was he flying back to Castelmare with his intended, but they’d just learned that Princess Alexandra Grigory was Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter.
He could hear their minds making comparisons between the screen idol and her flesh-and-blood offspring. Alexandra’s impenetrable gaze added a certain mystery to her demeanor that set her apart from her mother.
After a word to his pilot, Lucca joined her. Once up the steps he ushered her through the body of the plane to his study. “As soon as we’re in the air, the steward will show you to your cabin where you can freshen up.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, not looking at him as she found a place to sit. In case she was getting cold feet, it was too late to renege on their arrangement now.
Per his instructions the pilot started the engines. Lucca noted with satisfaction that the Fasten Seat Belts sign had flashed on. The sound of her strapping herself in was music to his ears. For the first time all day he was able to let go of the tension gripping him. He fastened his.
Soon they were taxiing out to the runway. He glanced at her striking profile. She had a proud nose. He liked that. He liked everything about her. “Once we’ve reached altitude, I’ll ask dinner to be served.”
“I’m afraid I’m still full from lunch.”
“Even so, you might change your mind later.”
In a few minutes the engines screamed and they were moving faster. Soon the wheels left the tarmac and the jet was airborne.
Lucca felt a sense of excitement he hadn’t experienced since he was a young boy taking his first ride in his father’s plane, but this time it had nothing to do with power and everything to do with his passenger.
All his life he’d known the day would come when he would have to marry someone royal like himself. But to reach his midthirties and still not feel as much as a spark for one of them had thrust him into a living nightmare from which he hadn’t awakened until this morning.
Who could have imagined a scenario as unlikely as the one he’d commandeered in Defore’s office? Meeting Alexandra had constituted nothing short of a miracle. Their marriage would solve Sofia’s problem, as well.
“Veni, vidi, vici,” Lucca found himself muttering aloud. He felt like the great Roman emperor Julius Caesar who after one of his victories said, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
She glanced over at him with those hypnotic eyes. “Were you talking to me?”
It was better she didn’t know what was going on in his mind. “I was telling you the seat-belt light has gone off. We’ve reached cruising speed. I’ll ring for the steward.”
By the time she’d unfastened hers, the other man appeared and requested she follow him. The second she was out the door Lucca rang one of his bodyguards and gave him a flurry of instructions he wanted followed immediately. While he waited for his bodyguard to appear, he phoned the galley and advised them to prepare some sandwiches and fruit.
In a few minutes Paolo the bodyguard entered the study, carrying a square eight-by-eight inch metallic box by the handle. Lucca took it from him and placed it on the conference table where he ate his meals.
They walked to the door and he thanked him before getting on the phone to his secretary working in the rear compartment of the jet. Bringing home a bride-to-be at the midnight hour meant dictating a ton of new instructions. When Alexandra reentered the cabin, his breath caught to realize he hadn’t been hallucinating after all. She really was on the plane with him. He rang off to give her his full attention.
“Come and sit at the table. There’s something I want to show you.”
Her gaze fastened on the box, then swerved to his with an expression that held traces of pain. “If that’s what I think it is, I don’t need to see it. If I never lay eyes on another diamond again, it will be too soon.”
He grimaced. “Nevertheless, you need to look at this. Every wife should know how her husband makes a living. Sit down and close your eyes.”
She complied, wondering exactly what he meant. He opened the box and removed the smaller black jewel case, then lifted the lid. “You can look now.”
Alex couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her throat. Nestled against silver velvet lay the teardrop-shaped diamond almost the size of an American half dollar. It was a shade of green, darker than peridot but lighter than emerald.
“The true color of nature,” he spoke her thoughts.
“I didn’t know a diamond could be green. The hue of the stone is utterly incredible.”
He nodded his dark head. “Its color was caused by the crystals in a volcanic pipe coming into contact with a radioactive source at some point during its lifetime. The phenomenon is so rare in a diamond this size, the Ligurian is rated among the top five diamonds in the world.”
“Why do you call it that?”
“Castelmare is situated on the Ligurian coast we share with Italy.”
“I’m ashamed I don’t know my geography better.”
“Don’t be. The majority of people haven’t heard of it, either. In 1906 my great-grandfather started buying diamonds from the owner of a mine in South Africa, and they established a business relationship.
“As a result, he created a diamond-cutting industry in Castelmare to augment the kingdom’s prosperity. Today it’s a thriving concern. People from all over the world flock there to buy diamonds, which brings us a good percentage of our wealth.”
“I had no idea,” her voice trailed. “Forgive my temper. That’s twice today.” Already she was aware her soon-to-be husband soon-to-be king was a hardworking man, as well as a monarch.
With jewelry stores in New York and around the globe, this little lesson about the Ligurian diamond was just the beginning of many others. One of the most daunting would be to learn Italian. Help!
“I’ve already forgotten.” He was a much kinder person than she was. Her Carlisle temperament had a nasty habit of coming out at precarious moments.
By agreeing to their unique marriage arrangement, she was entering a brand-new world. Only now did she realize how much she would have to learn, starting with this rare gemstone.
“It’s the most exquisite thing I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s flawless from the inside out. You have no idea how rare that it is.”
There was a reverence in his voice. She wondered if he was thinking about something else. Someone else …
“How many karats is it?”
A pause ensued before he said, “It is 44.16. Go ahead and hold it up so you can view the facets’ reflections.”
“You’re not afraid I’ll run off with it?”
His lips formed a half smile. “Where would you go?” he teased dryly.
The next thing she knew he reached for her right hand and placed the famous diamond in her palm much the same way he’d kissed it in the limousine. Her body had turned to jelly then, too. This had to stop! Every time he came near or touched her, she reacted the same way.
Alex couldn’t believe any of today had really happened, let alone that she was holding something this precious in her hand. When she raised it to the light, she let out another cry. “The sight’s so dazzling, it hurts your eyes.”
“My thoughts exactly when I saw it in its uncut state for the first time,” he whispered, but he was looking down at her as he said it. She got this fluttery feeling in her chest and put the diamond back in the case.
“When was that?”
“I was on a buying trip at nineteen when the mine owner showed me what they’d just discovered. After I purchased it, I kept it hidden. A few years later I got the best diamond cutters in the business together. Between us we decided a teardrop shape would show it off to the best advantage.”
“Do you keep it on display year round?”
“Except for the six weeks while I take it on a world tour doing business.” He placed it in the carrying case and shut the lid. “The rest of the time it stays in a museum on the palace grounds. Several hours each day it’s open to the public, where tourists can view the family jewels and various items dating from the Middle Ages.”
“I can’t imagine having a family history you can trace back that far.”
“Have you forgotten your uncle Yuri is going to bring you your family’s genealogy? He said it goes back much further.”
So he did. There’d been too much information to process today. “What other kinds of business do you do?” Her curiosity had gotten the better of her.
“Banking, investments, tourism, space-age technologies.”
She wanted to hear more, but the steward came in with a tray of food and drinks, interrupting them. The two men conversed in such rapid Italian that Alex despaired of ever being able to catch on, let alone speak it with any degree of fluency.
Once the steward had left them alone again, nervousness drove her to bite into one of the ham-and-cheese sandwiches. Lucca sat down opposite her. What intangible force had possessed her to agree to his insane marriage proposal?
Because you felt sorry for him, a little voice inside nagged.
For once in her life she’d met someone who had an even worse problem than she did and she was in a position to help him.
Keep telling yourself that, Alex.
But what if I make a mistake? she cried inwardly, her emotions containing a hint of hysteria.
“I think you’re exhausted,” he commiserated, without her having said anything. It was frightening how easily he read her thoughts and moods.
She drank part of her soda. “I think I am, too. What about you?”
He’d already consumed two sandwiches and some grapes. “I still have work to do and I’ve never been more energized. Feel free to use my phone to call whomever you like—your boss maybe? If you’ll give me the numbers, I’ll make the necessary arrangements for your apartment and belongings.”
“That’s all right. I’ll take care of everything tomorrow afternoon when I know I can reach people at the best time for them.”
“Then why don’t you go to bed. Tomorrow morning we’ll be landing at seven-thirty and have breakfast on board first. Once we’re ready to leave, it’s a fifteen-mile hop by helicopter to the palace in Capriccio. In case you’re wondering, our part of the Mediterranean is too hilly for an airport so we use our French neighbor’s to the west.”
