His jaw hardened. “But she didn’t ask for this.” He had a gut feeling there was trouble ahead.
“So use that genius brain of yours and look at your wedding as new territory. Think of it the way you do with every challenge you face at work. Think it and rethink it until it comes out right.”
“Thanks for the advice, Zach.”
His friend meant well, but Antonio couldn’t treat it as he would a business problem. Christina wasn’t a problem. She was a flesh-and-blood human being who’d sacrificed everything for her friend Elena. That kind of loyalty was so rare, Antonio was humbled by it. His concern was to be worthy of the woman whose selflessness had catapulted her to the highest rank in the kingdom.
Zach gazed at him with compassion. “Are you all right?”
He sucked in his breath. “I’m going to have to be. Because of you, I was able to give Christina that brooch. I can’t thank you enough for getting it from Sofia.”
“You know I’d do anything for you.”
A knock on the outer door caused both of them to look around. “Tonio—” his sister called out, using her nickname for him. “It’s time. You should be out at the chapel.”
“I know. I’ll be right there.”
“I hope you know how much I love you, brother dear.”
“I love you too, Elena.”
“Please be happy. You’re marrying the sweetest girl in the whole world.”
“You don’t have to remind me of that.” He’d put Christina on a pedestal since she agreed to their engagement. But he’d heard another side come out of her in the bridal suite.
“Lindsay says you two have to hurry!”
Zach’s wife had planned this wedding down to the smallest detail. The schedule called for a four-thirty ceremony to avoid the heat of the day. He checked his watch. In the next fifteen minutes Christina would walk down the aisle and become his unhappy bride.
“We’re coming,” Zach answered for them.
Antonio glanced at Zach. “This is it.”
“You look magnificent, Your Highness.”
“I wish I felt magnificent. Let’s go.”
* * *
Christina heard Elena’s tap on the door of the suite. “Come in.”
Her friend hurried in, wearing a stunning blush-colored chiffon gown. On her stylishly cut dark blond hair she wore a tiara. “You look like the princess of every little girl’s dreams,” Christina cried softly.
“So do you. The tiara Mother gave you looks like it was made for you.” Elena walked all the way around her, looking her up and down. “Guess what? This afternoon all eyes are going to be on you, chère soeur.” They would be sisters in a few minutes. Tears smarted Christina’s eyes. “Oh, la-la, la-la,” she said. “My brother will be speechless when he sees you at the altar. Your hair, it’s like red gold.”
“I just had some highlights put in.”
“And you got your teeth straightened. How come you didn’t do it a lot earlier in your life?”
“Probably reverse snobbery. Everyone thought I looked pathetic, so why not maintain the image? I knew it irked my parents. It upset me that they couldn’t accept me for myself. But when the wedding date was announced, I realized I would have to be an ambassador of sorts.
“Antonio deserves the best, so I knew I had to do something about myself and dress the right way. Until a month ago, I never spent money on clothes. It seemed such an extravagance when there are so many people in the world who don’t have enough to eat. Elegant high fashion wouldn’t have changed the way I looked.”
“Oh, Christina.” Elena shook her head sadly. “I always thought you were pretty, but now you’re an absolute knockout! If all the girls at our boarding school could see you, they’d eat their hearts out.”
Christina’s cheeks went hot with embarrassment. “Don’t be silly.”
“I’m being truthful. You’ve lost weight since the last time I saw you. Your figure is gorgeous. With your height, the kind I wish I had, that tiara gives you the elegance of a young queen. I’m not kidding. Lindsay found you the perfect gown and I love the interlocking hearts of your brooch. Is there anything more beautiful than diamonds?”
“It’s been in the Rose family for years and supposed to bring luck. Antonio brought it to the room earlier. Do you think I pinned it in the right place?”
“It’s right above your heart where it should be. You look as pure and perfect as I know you are.”
She averted her eyes. “You know I’m not either of those things.”
“I know how much your parents have hurt you, but you can’t let that ruin your opinion of yourself. One day they’ll realize you’re the jewel in their crown. Today my brother is going to see you as his prize jewel. I’ve never told you this before, but all the time we were in Switzerland together, I had the secret hope he would end up marrying you one day.”
I had the same hope, Christina admitted to herself, but she’d never confess it to anyone, not even Elena.
“The day I met you at school, you became the sister I never had and you never judged me. That has never changed. After we left school, our friendship has meant more to me than you will ever know.”
“I feel the same,” Christina said with a tremor in her voice.
“That awful night I phoned you when Rolfe was arrested for drugs, I knew I could count on you to help me. I believe it’s destiny you contacted Tonio. Now you’re about to become his bride to save my reputation.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “You have to promise me you’ll be happy, Christina. Tonio’s the best if you’ll give him a chance.”
Christina reached for Elena’s hands. “I know he’s the best because he was always kind to me when we were in Montreux. And because of his sacrifice for you, that takes brotherly love and goodness to a whole new level. He honors his family and his heritage. Who couldn’t admire him?”
“But I want you to learn to love him!” Her eyes begged.
“You’re talking a different kind of love.” After he’d phoned to tell her the date they were going to be married, she was forced to accept her fate. “I haven’t dated much, Elena. I did spend time with one doctor in Africa. But when I got engaged to Antonio, that ended any possibility of a relationship with him or any man, let alone potential love.”
In a way, her engagement had helped her to hide from love for fear that she would never be good enough for anyone. If she wasn’t good enough for her parents, why would she be good enough for any man?
Still, her parents had been overjoyed with the engagement, which made her happy. And Christina had adored Antonio in secret for years, not only for the way he loved Elena, but for his hard-work ethic. In Christina’s new position as his wife, the number of people she’d be able to help with her charities would be vastly increased. Was it worth giving up on the possibility of true love?
Christina had never felt worthy of love and so had never been hopeful of meeting “the one.” At the end of the day she’d reconciled herself to this marriage.
“Can you honestly tell me you’re not excited about your wedding night?”
“Oh, Elena—you’re such a romantic and I know you feel guilty about what’s happening, but don’t let that worry you. Yes, I’m excited, but mostly I’m nervous. Antonio and I have never spent time alone together. You know what I mean. But Antonio has been with other women both before and probably after our engagement. My eyes are wide-open where he is concerned. After the women he has been with, I’m afraid I’m not going to compare.”
A stricken look entered Elena’s eyes. “Don’t you dare say that! And don’t think about any of his past relationships. He knew they would never amount to anything, and today he’s marrying you.”
“I know, but it’s still hard to believe.” Christina stared at her friend. “I wasn’t convinced Antonio planne
d to go through with our nuptials. You can’t imagine my surprise when he finally called me and said I needed to start making the wedding plans with Lindsay.”
“He meant it, Christina. I know he got engaged to you to save my skin, but he could have chosen any number of eligible royal hopefuls. Why do you think he chose you?”
“I was...convenient.”
“That’s not the answer and you know it. There was something deeper inside that drove him to choose you. I think you need to think about that as you walk down the aisle toward him today looking like any man’s dream. If you don’t believe me, take one more look in the mirror.”
“You’re very sweet.”
“It’s true. Tonio came to Switzerland a lot during our days at boarding school. He liked you right off and enjoyed your company. He trusts you.”
“But he’s not in love with me.”