‘And?’
‘And, I want to hire a plane. I want to take you back to Italy and introduce you to the Lake Como house first. But before that, we have something else to do.’
‘What’s that?’
He bent down and kissed her. ‘I’ve wasted enough time. When you know, you just know.’ He placed his hand over his heart. ‘And believe me, Portia, I know. There’s something that we need before we get to Lake Como. It’s just a formality. Do you have your passport and birth certificate?’
Her heart surged in her chest. She almost thought she knew what he was hinting at. ‘Yes, but why?’
He grinned. ‘Then let’s go to the Italian consulate before we get on the plane.’ He swept her up into his arms and she let out a squeal. ‘Hey, I’m doing things early.’
He leaned his forehead against hers. ‘How about I promise to carry you over the threshold in Lake Como too?’
She smiled as she wound her arms around his neck. ‘What about the Hollywood house and the Malibu beach house?’
‘Mrs Russo,’ he whispered, ‘are you always going to be this demanding?’
She kissed him on the lips. ‘Oh, believe me, Mr Russo, I’m only just getting started. Hold on for the ride!’
EPILOGUE
HE WASN’T NERVOUS at all. The paperwork was completed, the minister in place, the garden decorated and the families placated.
He’d surprised Portia with a huge engagement ring that she’d worn for five days. But Portia had assured him she was only interested in the thin rose-gold wedding band they’d picked together.
At the bottom of the garden, looking out over Lake Como, the florist had created their own Neptune’s arch made entirely of pink and white flowers.
Portia was an uncomplicated bride. She didn’t want fuss. She didn’t want a million arrangements and the hint of press anywhere near them. She’d picked a dress from a local wedding shop that fitted perfectly and could be bought immediately. Pink flowers were threaded through her hair and in her bouquet. Her traditional wedding dress was cinched with a pink satin sash similar to the dress she’d been wearing a few days ago. Her dark hair tumbled about her shoulders and her eyes shone.
It was a simple civil ceremony with a blessing from the minister of the local church and two witnesses pulled from the luxury villa next door.
Portia’s brown eyes brimmed with tears as they said their vows. He’d never seen a bride look more beautiful. ‘For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live,’ she repeated, sincerity emanating from every pore in her body. Then she smiled and added a few lines of her own. ‘I never found anyone that made me feel complete, made me feel whole, until I met you, Javier. I promise to love you, respect you and challenge you, every single day for the rest of your life.’
He couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. He repeated the vows looking into the face of the woman that he loved. When he finished he kept hold of her hands. ‘Portia Russo.’ He gave a little laugh. ‘I’m going to love saying those words.’ He shook his head. ‘When I went to Villa Rosa I didn’t expect to meet anyone. I wasn’t ready to meet anyone. But then there was you. All English accent, twinkling eyes and very, very long legs. You made me smile, you made me laugh. You asked all the right questions. And before I knew it, I was in love. Hook, line and sinker. Don’t ever let me go. Because I plan on us growing very old together.’
He bent to kiss her, her perfect lips on his, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, ‘I guess we should make this official.’
He swept her up into his arms, ready to carry her over the threshold of their home. ‘It will be my pleasure, Mrs Russo.’
* * * * *
If you’ve loved this book
then make sure you read
CHRISTMAS IN THE BOSS’S CASTLE
by Scarlet Wilson, part of
MAIDS UNDER THE MISTLETOE.
Available now!
If you loved this story, and want to indulge
in the next Mediterranean romance in the
SUMMER AT VILLA ROSA quartet,
the third book,
THE RUNAWAY BRIDE AND THE BILLIONAIRE
by Kate Hardy, is out next month!
Keep reading for an excerpt from
BOUND TO HER GREEK BILLIONAIRE
by Rebecca Winters.
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Bound to Her Greek Billionaire
by Rebecca Winters
CHAPTER ONE
LYS THERON ARRIVED ahead of time for her appointment with the detective at the prefecture in Heraklion, Crete. The officer at the desk looked her over in a way she found insulting and hurtful.
From her early teens she’d had to get used to men young and old staring at her. But his scrutiny was different because the unexpected and unexplained death a month ago of Nassos Rodino, the Greek multimillionaire hotelier on Crete, continued to be under police investigation and she was one of several people still being questioned.
The well-known, forty-nine-year-old owner of the Rodino Luxury Hotel and Resort in Heraklion had died too young. Nassos had always been an object of fascination in the news. But since the divorce from his wife, Danae, four months ago, there’d been rumors that he’d been having an affair with twenty-six-year-old Lys, his former ward who’d lived in their household since the age of seventeen.
While Lys struggled with her grief over his death, and many people lamented his demise, the media had done their best to sensationalize it, developing a story that had played every night in the television news cycle. Had Lys conducted a secret affair with the famous hotelier for several years? Questions had been raised as to what had actually caused the divorce and his ultimate death.
Without answers, speculation grew that foul play might have been involved. Rumor that Lys might have caused his death to gain access to part of his money had caught hold. Though the detective conducting the investigation hadn’t put the blame on anyone, the reason for Nassos’s death still hadn’t been declared and a cloud hung over her. Lys’s heart shuddered over the cruel gossip. Nassos was the man she’d loved like a father since childhood.