AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Finally they were escorted to the waiting limousine, and Holly slid inside. ‘I really envy the fact that when you speak all the words come out in the right order.’
Casper’s glance was amused. ‘And that’s surprising?’
‘Well, I’m all right with words generally, but in a tricky situation they never come out the way I want them too. I always think of the right thing to say about four days after the opportunity to say it has passed. And I’m hopeless at standing up for myself because I hate conflict. The moment anyone glares at me I just want them to stop being angry, and the words tie themselves in knots in my mouth.’
‘You stood up to me that day in your friend’s flat.’
‘That was an exception,’ she muttered. ‘You were saying awful things to me, none of them true. Generally if someone yells at me I turn into a mute.’ The car sped through the centre of Rome, negotiating the clog of traffic and tourists.
‘No matter how hard I try, I can’t imagine you as a mute,’ Casper said dryly, and Holly shrugged.
‘I envy your confidence. I’ve never had much of that.’ She studied his profile. ‘You must miss the days when you could just go to rugby matches and spend time with your friends. Was it hard for you—becoming the ruling prince? I mean, it wasn’t what you expected, was it?’
For a moment he didn’t answer, then his mouth tightened slightly. ‘The circumstances were hard.’
Had he just shut it away? she wondered. For eight years? If so, no wonder he seemed so cold and detached with her. He’d never given himself a chance to heal.
‘Have you ever talked about it?’ Concern for him made her bold. ‘Sorry, but bottling it up for ever can’t be a good thing.’
‘Holly—’
‘Sorry, sorry; OK, I won’t ask again,’ she said hastily. ‘But do you think you could at least give me some detail about how your work evolved? It’s just a bit embarrassing when people who have lived here all their lives say things to me and I have to look as though I know what they’re talking about, while I really don’t have a clue. Someone was praising you for your vision and courage—something to do with the way you transformed the way Santallia did things. I tried to look as though I knew what he was talking about, but obviously I didn’t. I just thought it might help if you told me a bit about—things. I don’t want to look thick.’ Retreating slightly in her seat as she saw Casper lift long bronzed fingers to his forehead, she braced herself for the explosion of Mediterranean volatility that was inevitably going to follow a gesture of frank exasperation.
Surprisingly, when he looked at her there was laughter in his eyes. ‘Has anyone ever told you you’d make an excellent torture weapon? You go on and on until a guy is ready to surrender.’
‘It’s just jolly hard to talk to people if you don’t have all the information, and I don’t happen to think silence is healthy,’ Holly mumbled, and Casper gave a shake of his head.
‘Fine. Tonight over dinner, I will outline the highlights of my life so far. And it’s only fair to warn you that you’ll be bored out of your mind.’
‘We’re having dinner? Don’t tell me, there will be seven hundred other people there.’
‘Just the two of us.’
‘Just us?’ A dark, dangerous thrill cramped her stomach. Perhaps finally, they’d have the opportunity to deepen their relationship. And she knew she wouldn’t be bored hearing about his past. She was fast discovering that nothing about him bored her.
‘Just us, Holly.’ His voice was soft and his eyes lingered on her mouth. ‘Late dinner. After our trip to the opera.’
‘You’re taking me to the opera? Seriously?’
‘Given that you sing all the time, I thought you might enjoy it.’
In the darkened auditorium, Casper found himself focusing on Holly’s face rather than the opera.
He could see the glisten of tears in her eyes as she responded to the emotional story being played out on the stage in front of them, and marvelled at how open she was with her feelings.
Since the curtain had risen, she’d appeared to have forgotten his existence, so lost was she in Mozart’s score and the beauty of the singing.
Casper’s eyes rested on the seductive curve of her shoulders, bared by the exquisite sequinned dress that appeared to be superglued to her exotic curves. Around the slender column of her neck were the pink diamonds, glittering against her smooth, pale skin.
From the tip of her simple satin shoes to the elegant coil of her newly straightened hair, she’d slipped into the role of princess with astonishing ease.
Their trip had somehow become public knowledge and, when their limousine had pulled up outside the opera house, a crowd had gathered hoping to see them.
But far from being daunted, or even disappointed that their ‘private’ evening had become public, she’d spent several minutes chatting, smiling and charming both the crowd and the photographers, until Casper had pointed out that they were going to miss the opera.
And when they’d walked into their box there had been no privacy because every head in the opera house had turned to gaze. Even now he was sure that half the audience were straining to catch a glimpse of his wife, rather than the soprano currently giving her all on the stage.
But Holly wasn’t bothered.
