To Win His Heart

“Laugh now, but one day I’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.”

“You’re hoping to make a fortune on these?” he taunted.

“I know I will.”

“Why bother when the Prince of Monaco will be able to shower you with everything you could ever want.”

Good. Luc hadn’t forgotten. He possessed a mind that worked like a steel trap.

“I’d rather marry for love, and earn my own money. There’s tons to be made on the Internet. My sisters and I found that out when we advertised our calendars online.”

His hands went to his hips in a totally masculine gesture. “Just how are you going to get people to buy your rocks?”

“If you had any romance in your soul, you wouldn’t have to ask that question.”

“Romance…” He made it sound like an evil word.

“Yes. There’s probably no more famous adventure novel in the whole world than the Count of Monte Cristo. Even if people haven’t read the book, they’ve heard of it.

“My hook will read, ‘Enjoy a piece of living history. Treasure straight from the Island of Monte Cristo. Every paperweight is different in size, shape and color. Beneath its polished surface lives the story of two men: Abbe Faria who loved God, Edmond Dantes who loved revenge more.”

Luc was so quiet at this point she said, “I’m thinking of charging fifty dollars a piece. It’s not too steep for the person looking for that perfect gift for the discerning shopper.

“In a way I hope we’re not rescued for another day because I need to gather as many rocks as I can. After we leave here, I’d like to head to Elba and collect rocks from there. In case my business takes off, I could sell them as mementos of Napoleon’s exile. History buffs would love them!”

“I thought you were anxious to get to Ischia.”

“I am, but a few more days delay shouldn’t matter.”

“What if the Prince is gone when we arrive?”

“Then I’ll use you and your connections to find out where he went.” She smiled and stretched. “This trip is turning out a lot better than I’d hoped. In a way I’m glad Fabio’s boat wasn’t available. If we’d gone with him, we wouldn’t have come here, and I wouldn’t have stumbled onto my future.”

He frowned. “Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? These rocks might turn out to be a weight around your neck.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I can feel success in my bones. It has made me hungry. What do you want for dinner?”

“Surprise me.”

“Would you like it served on deck, or below?”

“Below.”

“I don’t blame you. To think the Mediterranean is known for its unmatched beauty, and here we are marooned on the only ugly, flat rock pile out in the middle of nowhere.”

His lips twitched. He was gorgeous when he even halfway smiled.

Relieved that the dark mood he’d been in earlier seemed to have passed, she headed for the galley determined that one day soon she would break him down enough to learn his secrets.

Half an hour later she told him dinner was ready. They ate a meal of ham and cheese melts at the little drop-down table. She found a bottle of wine, and threw in some plums for dessert.

“Tell me about these robots of yours,” she said after biting into the fruit. “If we brought one out here, could it pick up rocks for me?”

He drank some more wine. “The one I’m working on is an automobile that can drive itself and enter a war zone to deliver supplies in hostile territory. If you want a worker robot, the Japanese have developed ones that pick fruit, scour sewers, clean the windows of skyscrapers. The list is endless.”

Totally fascinated, she leaned closer to him. “I want to hear more about your invention. How long have you been working on it?”

“While I was at the University of Parma a few years ago, I designed a prototype of an intelligent vehicle. The hardware and software platform enabled it to drive automatically in real traffic conditions.”