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‘No, but now I will share the experience with you.’ The smile on his lips almost melted her heart; it was far hotter than the sun. As the holiday-makers scurried off the ferry he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. The passion in that kiss must have been obvious to anyone who saw them, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to lose herself in his desire, to enjoy the short time they would have together before reality intervened.
‘Sandro,’ she murmured against his lips as her eyes fluttered open.
‘We need to go now.’ His voice was gravelly. He lifted his sunglasses onto his head and looked into her eyes, leaving her in no doubt as to why they had to go.
He took her hand and led her off the ferry. A knowing smile from a crew member was cast their way, making her blush again. Could everyone tell how much they wanted one another?
‘The castle is the place to see,’ he said as they walked alongside the walled moat of the impressive building. Swans moved gracefully over the rippling water and she wished she could be as free as them. Free to let go and love, to pair for life. But she couldn’t, and certainly not with Sandro. She’d set the boundaries and he’d set the time limit. They would be lovers—for the weekend only.
Swept along with the tourists, they walked over the long bridge towards the impressive arched entrance and into the courtyard of the castle, its thick and high walls offering respite from the sun. He pulled her close, his arm around her waist, and she shivered, but not from being in the shade.
She feigned an interest in the history which oozed from the walls, desperate not to look at him or show just how much she wanted him. With his arm around her, they walked slowly over the cobbled courtyard and towards the steps up to the wall. As they reached the top, applause and cheers caught her attention and she turned to look back down into the courtyard, where a radiant bride posed with her new husband for photographs.
‘Wouldn’t it be fantastic to be married here?’ She said the words aloud, without thinking how they would sound to him.
‘If you find the right partner, yes.’ His brittle words snagged her attention but she didn’t look at him; instead she kept her attention on the happy scene playing out below them—a scene she’d always secretly hankered after. That was until her mother had destroyed all faith in fairy tales and happy ever afters.
‘Sorry.’ She was. A moment ago they’d been happy—smiling, laughing and kissing like lovers without a care in the world—and now she’d said the wrong thing.
‘You have nothing to be sorry about, cara. Mine was a marriage that should never have happened. We were too young and wanted such different things.’ She glanced at him to see that he too was watching the happy couple, his face set in hard lines of repressed anger.
‘Love can deceive all of us,’ she said and leant against the railings, preferring to look at him instead of the bride and groom.
‘It wasn’t love.’ He snapped the words out and looked down at her. ‘It was deception.’
‘Deception?’
‘We had known each other since childhood,’ he began, keeping his attention focused on the events unfolding in the castle courtyard. ‘It stood the test of time when I moved to Milan. Marriage seemed the normal progression and very much expected by our families.’
‘So what went wrong?’ She asked the question quietly, sensing his simmering anger.
‘It wasn’t me she really wanted, but the lifestyle she thought I could give her. What she hadn’t accounted for in her scheming was that I would be putting every last cent back into my uncle’s business. She soon tired of my frugal ways and found a man who could give her what she wanted.’
Charlie touched his arm, compelled to reach out, and he turned quickly to look at her, his eyes hard and glacial. She understood his feelings of betrayal. They almost mirrored hers.
For a moment he was silent, looking at her with unguarded curiosity. She held his gaze, trapped by the intensity of it.
‘Seb told me you were once engaged.’ Her heart plummeted but she smiled up at him, keeping her expression emotionless.
‘Yes and, like you, we were too young. I was also far too naïve.’ The sudden need to talk about something she’d hidden away surprised her. Was it his honesty that had triggered it? Whatever was happening between them, she was conscious of the earlier buoyant mood deflating as vulnerabilities were exposed. ‘Let’s not talk about it now; let’s just enjoy our time together.’
