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The engine revved again and then Rafaelo was leaving, waving at Tilly as he passed, and Rio was returning to Tilly, cutting easily through the water with his strong legs.
Her heart flipped.
She didn’t want to leave him.
Ever.
Yet that was an inevitability.
Unless...
Unconsciously, she frowned as possibilities and thoughts ran through her mind. Unless she could find a way to tell him the truth. She would need to speak to Cressida first—to promise Cressida it wouldn’t go any further. And then she’d need to be sure Rio would understand why she’d gone along with the charade. She’d need him to know she hadn’t ever intended to deceive him.
‘Rafaelo wanted to see how the island had fared in the storm.’ Rio wrapped his arms around Tilly under the water and she curled her legs around his midsection, enjoying the feeling of being close to him underwater. ‘He’s going to pick up some supplies from Capri and drop back later today.’
She made a sound of agreement, but it rankled.
His laugh showed that he understood. ‘You are pouting.’
Tilly made an effort to straighten her expression. ‘I am not.’
‘He won’t stay long,’ Rio promised, kissing the side of her mouth.
Was she that transparent?
‘Does he live on Capri?’ she asked, purely to move conversation away from how selfishly she was guarding her time with Rio.
‘Yes. He’s looked after the island for a long time.’
‘Did he know your dad?’
He dipped his head forw
ard. ‘And my mother, it turns out,’ Rio murmured.
‘Really?’
‘He is the same age as her. When my mother came to stay on the island he came and laid down a lot of the tracks, helped her find the volcano. He comes and tinkers every month or so—it’s been a long time since my father came to the island and the cabin needs attention. The generator... The bike...’
‘How does he feel about you selling it?’
His laugh was unexpected.
She angled her face towards his. ‘What? Why is that funny?’
‘It just hadn’t occurred to me to ask him for his emotional assessment of my real estate choices.’
She felt heat darken her cheeks. ‘You don’t think it’s reasonable?’
‘You think if he is upset I should keep it?’
She turned to face the island. The white sand, the green trees, the blue sky behind it and the cabin that had been the place of her Prim’amore.
‘I think your father would feel pretty aggrieved if I backed out now,’ he said. ‘Making his daughter my lover and then reneging on a deal that is almost locked in.’
A shiver danced along her spine. There was something in the way he spoke that said so much more than the words alone. It created the impression of a future. A future with Art, Tilly and Rio. A future that was impossible to envisage. No, that wasn’t true. She could see it—she just couldn’t imagine reaching out and grasping it. It was like trying to catch rain in your hands.
This wouldn’t work. It could never be more than this week. Unless she could somehow work something out with Cressida. And even then...? What if Rio didn’t forgive her?
