Reclaiming the Prince's Heart

She flashed him another smile. “You’re back in your world, Rini, even if you don’t recognize it.”

“You have no idea how good it feels to be free. But I need to be able to communicate. Can we work on my Italian today?”

“We’re doing that right now. For as long as you like.”

She’d taken a turn that led them up the lush hillside of the city. On the summit of one hill sat what he considered a small, peach-colored palace. Luna kept driving toward it and turned in to the driveway. They wound around the back next to two other cars. Beyond them he saw a garden of fruit trees. He blinked.

“This is our palazzo?”

She turned off the engine and grinned. “You look like I must have looked when you brought me here for the first time. It was built in the eighteenth century.”

The fact that this had been his home was surreal to him. “What does it have? Fifty rooms?”

“More like twenty in all. Viola and Mateo have their own apartment on the first floor.”

“Where’s our bedroom?”

“We have a suite on the second.”

“I’d like to see it.” He got out of the car and walked around to the rear to wait for her. She joined him and pressed on the remote. The lid opened. He pulled out the suitcase with his unbandaged arm and shut the lid. Suddenly, he heard voices and turned to see a middle-aged man and woman approach. Realizing who they were, he tried out his Italian on them. They teared up and bowed to him.

“Luna? Tell them I like doing things myself and will take my own suitcase upstairs.”

She talked to them for a minute, then turned to him. “Let’s go in and get settled. Viola will have lunch for us in the dining room whenever we’re ready.”

He followed her to the rear entrance that opened into an entrance hall. She explained that the kitchen area and laundry were down one hall to the left. He’d find the staff’s apartment on the right.

She continued down a hall to the front of the palazzo with an ornate salon and sitting room. Paintings adorned the walls, mirrors, frescoed ceilings, chandeliers and parquet floors. But as they ascended the curving staircase, he much preferred looking at the feminine way his wife moved.

At the top of the stairs she turned right and opened the floor-to-ceiling paneled doors to their suite. It was another world, totally modern in decor with white walls, a living room with comfortable couches and a television set, a state-of-the-art business office with a large painting, and a bathroom.

He gravitated to the blue-and-yellow bedroom with a striped spread covering the king-size bed. Sunflowers had been arranged in a vase on the double dresser with some small framed photos. He noticed yellow lamps on the bedside tables. The windows had white shutters that let in the sunshine. How could he not have remembered any of this?

Her green eyes studied him. “What’s the verdict?”

Rini liked it. “I can live in this suite.” He lowered the suitcase to the tile and looked around, still incredulous that nothing produced a memory.

She broke into a glorious smile. “I’m glad to hear it since we had this part of the upstairs renovated and chose everything together. Whether you know it or not, you picked the blue-and-yellow scheme. I happen to love the combination, too.”

Before he knew it, she put the suitcase on a nearby chair and opened it to take his things to the bathroom. Rini took advantage of the moment to remove his sandals and stretch out on the bed. When she emerged, she laughed. “You didn’t need to worry. We made certain that oversize bed fit those powerful legs and big feet of yours.”

“Join me and let’s see how well it accommodates both of us.”

Luna walked toward him. “I wanted to join you on the hospital bed in Rezana.” After kicking off her sandals, she lay down next to him, turning to rest her head on his extended right arm.

She caressed the side of his jaw and pressed her lips to his. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment,” she whispered in a breathless voice. “I have my husband back and I’m never going to let you out of my sight again.”

As her arms went around him, he brushed his lips over her cheeks and eyelids. He relished every part of her, exploring further until he’d covered every centimeter of her beautiful face.

“Rini—” she murmured, chasing his mouth with her own until she caught up to him. The second their mouths met, hers opened to him. He felt himself going under with a hunger that had been building.

Though he knew she was his legal wife, she was a stranger. Anxiety built up inside him. He felt like things were moving too fast with this woman he didn’t remember who welcomed him so completely.

Somehow, he couldn’t trust that she could be this loving with him when she knew he had no memory of her. Again, he feared that she pitied him and was trying to pretend all was well. Dr. Tullia had told him to discuss it with her. After a slight hesitation, he relinquished her mouth and rolled off the bed.

She sat up looking hurt. “I’m sorry, Rini. Did I do something wrong when I put my arms around you?”

He stood there rubbing the back of his neck in confusion. “You did nothing wrong. I’ve been wanting to kiss you, but...”