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CHAPTER ELEVEN
THATHE’DSETup a state-of-the-art office for her shouldn’t have surprised Lucinda. He had told her, right from their first meeting, that he was detail-orientated. But it was beyond her expectations to have these facilities at her disposal.
It was the perfect space to work, and yet there was one problem.
She was distracted. For every ten minutes she spent emailing contractors and tying down details of the wedding, her mind wandered to Thirio, and the way they’d come together the night before, as though driven by forces much greater than they could understand. Passion had hummed and zipped around them like a cord, tying them together. There had been no escaping their lovemaking. It was inevitable. And perfect.
A smile touched her lips and she leaned back in her chair, running her eyes over the computer screen without really focusing. She’d been at it for hours, and, though she hadn’t achieved as much as she’d wanted, she was confident the wedding was on track. The biggest items had been ticked off—the caterers were world class, the menu she’d selected carefully put together to appeal to all palates and tastes. The musicians had been booked and the photographer she’d spoken to had set aside a photoshoot forVoguemagazine to come and capture the wedding. Everything was going to be perfect.
A smile pulled at her lips, a true smile, born of absolute, untouched happiness. And hope. Because this wedding was the gateway to her dreams—she was so close to being able to buy the business. But it was more than that. She felt hope because of what she’d shared with Thirio. She wasn’t stupid enough to think that sleeping together was the start of a meaningful relationship, and yet ithadmeant something to her. It was the breaking down of a wall she’d built around her heart. She didn’t trust Thirio in the sense that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but she had put her faith in him for this short while, and that was a big step for Lucinda. Maybe she wasn’t as closed off to relationships as she’d come to believe.
His intrusion was not unwelcome. Nor was it really a surprise. It was as though she’d manifested his arrival.
‘I brought you coffee.’ He placed the cup on the edge of the desk, remaining where he was, arms crossed, eyes skimming her face in that intense way he had. Her heart trembled.
‘Thank you. Coffee is always welcome.’ She reached for it, inhaling the fragrance before taking a deep sip. After they’d made love the night before, they’d eaten dinner—toasted sandwiches—then gone back to bed. Lucinda hadn’t slept much and she was tired now. She stifled a yawn then sent him an apologetic smile.
‘How’s it going?’ He nodded towards the computer screen.
‘Everything’s on track.’ She ticked off the list of professionals she’d hired. ‘Our firm’s worked with all of them previously. They’re the best in the business.’
‘I trust you.’
She startled—the words expressing so perfectly the thoughts she’d had moments earlier—then blinked away. He only meant that he trusted her to manage the wedding.
‘I’ve prepared a brief note, to update you as to my progress.’ She reached for the printout she’d made only half an hour earlier. ‘Ordinarily, it would go to your sister, but as you’re handling all the logistics...’
‘I’ll email it to her,’ he said, taking a photo of the document, clicking a couple of buttons then returning his focus to her face. ‘She’s been a bit better the last couple of days. She’d love to see it.’
‘Has she been able to organise a dress?’ Lucinda enquired sympathetically.
‘There is a designer attached to the Nalvanian palace,’ he said with a nod. ‘That’s taken care of.’
‘Of course.’ Lucinda’s eyes drifted to the view beyond the window. It was such a beautiful castle. What a shame that it should be a prison rather than a home. She frowned, the thought coming to her unprompted, and yet she realised that it was accurate. That was how Thirio used this place: the walls kept him locked away from the world, and the world locked away from him.
The idea of that propelled her to stand and move to him, to press her hands to his chest and stare up at his face. The air around them grew thick, their awareness impossible to fight now that they’d been together. Their bodies were in sync, hearts beating in unison.
‘Have you worked enough for now?’ he growled, arms behind her back, drawing her closer to him, so she felt the stirring of his attraction through the fabric of her dress.
Her eyes widened, lifting to his in time to see a mocking smile on his lips. ‘The coffee might have been a ruse,’ he said with a non-apologetic shrug.
‘Ahh...’ She grinned right back at him. ‘But an excellent one.’ She moved one hand to reach for the cup, taking two big sips before returning it to the edge of the desk. ‘I’m quite tired after last night.’
‘Are you?’ He scanned her face. ‘Do you need to go back to bed for a bit?’
Heat spread through her like lava. ‘Yes.’ She nodded slowly. ‘But not to sleep.’
Thirio had travelled in helicopters since he was a young boy. He was intimately familiar with thethwop-thwop-thwopnoise of the blades, and particularly when they drew close to Castile di Neve.But in his drowsy state, it took him a moment to place the noise, and then to realise what it meant. He shifted, dislodging Lucinda so she woke, blinking at him as if from a very deep dream, then smiled, happiness and contentment so obvious on her beautiful face.
‘Someone’s here,’ he explained, nodding towards the window of his room, which now showed a dark speck growing closer.
‘Maybe it’s just flying overhead.’
‘The trajectory is wrong for that.’ He squinted a little, recognising the golden emblem on the side of the aircraft. ‘It’s my sister.’
‘Your sister?’ Lucinda gawked, her perfectly relaxed aura disappearing. ‘Cominghere?’
He stayed where he was, bemused by her reaction. ‘It does happen, from time to time. As you so wisely reminded me the day we met, this is her home too.’
