The Forbidden Ferrara

It felt so good to be held. To be loved. ‘If you hadn’t, we might not have started talking again.’

‘We would have done. There was no way I was ever letting you go again. From the moment you stepped onto the tarmac I was ready to lock you in my villa and never let you go. You felt it too.’

‘Yes.’ And the need to be with him had almost burned her alive. Even now she couldn’t believe she was standing here with him. That, somehow, they’d reached this point.

She eased away from him and they walked among the ancient ruins hand in hand. ‘I never grow tired of this place.’ Oblivious to the other tourists, she sat down, admiring the amazing view of the sea with Mount Etna in the background. ‘I wish we could live here.’

‘You don’t miss the city?’

‘No. But living here isn’t practical, is it?’ Her tone regretful, she rubbed her fingers over the ancient stone and wondered about the generations of people who had sat in the same place before her. ‘You can’t run your business from here and neither can I. Maybe it isn’t just the place. It’s the fact that when we’re here, we’re not working.’

‘So we both need to learn to compromise. We come here more often. Base ourselves here for, let’s say, a week a month minimum?’

‘That’s a wonderful plan but in practice you’d be in your plane all the time, flying all over the world as usual.’

‘Santo is taking over more of that side of the business.’ Cristiano stretched out his long legs. ‘He’s the one scouting out potential sites for development and doing all the local negotiations with our lawyers. I’ve been spending more of my time here, overseeing things.’

Laurel laughed. ‘The Emperor Cristiano, sitting on his throne?’

‘That would be King Cristiano, surely, if I’m on a throne?’

Smiling back at her, he curved his hand behind her neck and drew her face towards him for a kiss. ‘Any time you want to prostrate yourself at my feet, just go right ahead.’

‘In your dreams.’ But even the mounting sizzle of sexual tension couldn’t distract her from the conversation. Hope was a small tender bud, slowly unfurling inside her because finally this felt real. ‘Do you think that could work, really? You could spend more time here in Taormina?’

‘We could spend more time here. Although if we were commuting, I wouldn’t drive. The helicopter is more practical.’

Laurel raised her eyebrows in disbelief. ‘Have I ever pointed out how completely removed you are from real life? You say that as if it’s a normal mode of transport.’

‘It’s a great option. With the helicopter, it doesn’t really matter where I am. I can use that to fly around the island and also as a connection to the airport if I need the plane. And talking of planes—I have some good news. I didn’t say anything before because I didn’t want to raise your hopes.’ He sounded supremely pleased with himself. ‘I’ve tracked down a doctor who has agreed to talk to us about what happened before. He’ll advise on whether there is anything that can be done. All we have to do is call him and tell him when it’s convenient for us to see him.’

The warmth drained out of her. Suddenly she felt sick. ‘I’ve already seen an expert. He told me I couldn’t have children.’

‘You saw a local doctor and let’s face it, angelo mia, the local health care wasn’t exactly impressive. You deserve better and I’m going to make sure you get it.’

Her heart was pounding. ‘The team at the hospital saved my life.’

‘True, but this is a specialist area. Huge advances have been made in recent years. I won’t believe that there is no hope until I hear it from someone who knows what he’s talking about. Don’t argue. I want to do this for you. It’s the least I can do.’ His phone rang and she half expected him to ignore it as he had been doing but he took the call and immediately rose to his feet, otherwise he probably would have s

een the change in her.

She sat, frozen.

The least he could do?

He had no idea.

And that was her fault, for not telling him how she felt.

Her hands started to shake and when he came off the phone, it was a struggle to behave normally. ‘Who was that?’

‘We need to get back to the house.’

Laurel was shaking so badly she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her. ‘I thought I was banned from seeing the house.’

‘Not any more. I have a surprise for you. A gift.’ As they negotiated the steps in the amphitheatre, he took her hand firmly in his and frowned. ‘Your hands are cold. Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine.’