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‘That is why you don’t do for ever? Your heart has been broken?’ He ignored her attempt to change the subject and lifted her chin with his fingers, brushing a kiss on her lips, sending her already distracted body into overdrive.
‘I’d much prefer a wildly passionate affair,’ she lied and moved closer to him, pressing her lips against his. A broken heart was only part of it and for the first time she realised what was really holding her back. What if she had the same capability to leave as her mother had?
‘My sentiments exactly.’ He deepened the kiss and she was vaguely aware of people passing them on the walkway and the wedding celebrations below moving away.
‘Come on, let’s explore.’ Finally she pulled away from him, a teasing note in her voice. A little bit of distance between them was needed. Her heart was pounding and imagining all sorts of happy-ever-after scenarios with him.
‘We shall go back a much faster way,’ he said as they emerged from the castle, his voice full of laughter but the intent in his words clear. ‘I’ve arranged for a private trip back; that way I can kiss you without feeling the world is watching.’
Excitement fizzed inside her at the thought of being alone with him but, as they stepped into the small speedboat waiting within the moat of the castle, the reality was very different. It was compact, forcing them close together, but it also meant they were very near to the driver.
Heat from Sandro seeped into her as she sat next to him. The boat made its way under the small castle bridges which reminded her of Venice, out of the medieval port and onto the lake. Soon they were speeding across the water and quickly she knotted her hair into a ponytail as they rushed back towards the small town of Desenzano. Alessandro pulled her tight against him and she closed her eyes, relishing the rush of air past her as the boat sped along and the feel of his strength. This was like a dream, so romantic and loving it would be easy to get carried away.
‘I have a table booked at the best lakeside restaurant,’ Alessandro said as the powerboat slowed and pulled alongside the quay. Flags flapped erratically in the wind and she grabbed her hair again with one hand to stop it from blowing all over her face as he took the other and helped her from the boat.
Time was passing too quickly. It hardly seemed possible they’d been together all day, but already the sun was slipping lower in the sky. Once dinner was over they would go back to his villa, a thought which sent shivers of anticipation zipping rapidly through her.
* * *
All through dinner Alessandro had fought the urge to take her back to his villa. The tension had mounted rapidly, almost to boiling point. She felt it too, of that he was sure, and, as she’d sipped her coffee, her eyes became as dark as moss, suggestion in their depths as to what the night would bring.
They were kindred spirits, both healing from failed relationships, both wanting only the here and now. But, as they made their way back to his car, he imagined what it would be like to be with Charlie every day, to spend weekend after weekend like this.
Such thoughts had to be stamped out. She didn’t do for ever, she’d made that perfectly clear, and the promise he’d made Seb to look after her as if she were his sister loomed over him, mocking him as his desire for the one woman he couldn’t have raged ever stronger.
Now he powered the car along the road, the setting sun casting an orange glow all around them. He’d enjoyed his day with her but he knew he would enjoy the night much more. Here in his villa he was free to let go and love her. No promises hung over him, taunting him with guilt at what he was doing. Hurt from the past couldn’t reach him any more and for just one more night she was his.
He sensed her watching him and glanced over at her. Did she guess at his eagerness to get her home?
‘We have all night, Sandro.’ She smiled lightly but the passion in her eyes told a very different story, as did the sexy purr when she said his name.
Would it be enough? he asked himself as he turned into the driveway of the villa, the last glimmer of the sun slipping beneath the horizon before them. Sunrise would mean their last day. They could only be lovers for the weekend. A weekend that was drawing rapidly to a close.
‘Ma per amare una donna...’ He tried hard to bring English to the fore as images of them together made his pulse race. Finally he managed to. ‘But to love a woman like you I need more than one night.’
She reached up and touched his face, her fingertips snagging over his light growth of stubble. ‘We only have tonight, Sandro. This can never be anything more. We don’t belong together.’
