I wasn’t Dea?”
His hands slid to her face. “After I left your father’s office and went back to my hotel in Metaponto that first night, I couldn’t get you off my mind. Make no mistake. It was you I was thinking about. From a distance you had Dea’s superficial features, the same features that had drawn me on the yacht. But the second you said you weren’t Dea, I realized my mistake.
“You looked so adorable standing there in your shorter hair and man’s shirt that didn’t cover up your bikini. Tanned, no makeup, bare-legged, full of energy, duffel bag in hand. I thought, I’ve got to get to know this exciting woman! I told your aunt I felt a connection so powerful with you, I couldn’t wait to get back to the castle the next morning to see you again.”
He felt Alessandra’s anxiety before she eased out of his arms. “Thank you for being so honest with me.” She was shivering.
“Now that I have, do you want to tell me what’s going on in your mind?”
“After I entered the castle, I heard a voice call out signorina. You’ll think I’m out of my mind, but when I saw you walk toward me, it was like seeing the prince who’d haunted my dreams come to life before my very eyes. I felt your imprint on me before you said a word.
“But the second you started talking, I realized you thought I was Dea and my dream was crushed to grist. She’d had a history with you. She’d been there first. I’d never experienced such envy in my life. I’ve heard of love at first sight, but I never imagined it would happen to me. My pain that she’d met you first was too excruciating to bear.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Until I learned the truth of your relationship with Dea during our drive, I’d been forced to keep my feelings bottled up and pretend nothing was wrong in front of my father.”
Her words shook Rini. “Adorata.” He reached for her, but she took another step back. “I haven’t finished. There’s something else you need to hear.”
Rini couldn’t take much more and attempted to get his emotions under control. “What is it?”
“When Dea and I were little girls, we had many of the same likes and dislikes that in some cases baffled everyone. One of the things we had in common was to talk about the princes we would marry one day. We played our own form of house with a miniature castle and all the characters Papà had made for us.
“Our mother and aunt gave us beautiful clothes to dress our dolls. Dea always had the most glamorous and stupendous outfits because they knew how much she loved fashion. I was given a fabulous boat that would sail me and my prince around the castle and the world.”
The lump was growing in Rini’s throat.
“We played for hours about living in the castle all our lives and being happy forever with our princely husbands and children. In our case it wasn’t pure fiction considering the lives of our titled parents and heritage.”
“Alessandra—”
“Let me finish,” she interrupted. “You were there when she first laid eyes on you. You saw what I can’t see. Rini, I’m convinced that when Dea met you on the yacht, she had the same experience I did. She saw you sitting there and knew you were the prince of her dreams. It was one of those times we were both the same person. By the expression on your face, I can tell I’m right.”
He closed his eyes tightly for a minute. Incredibile! This talk with Alessandra answered the questions that had lingered in his mind about Dea. In view of what he’d just learned, the way she’d linked her arms behind his head and the ardent kiss she’d given him when they’d stopped dancing as if she’d been claiming him for her own made a strange kind of sense. Her actions had borne out Alessandra’s theory.
Guido had acted nonchalant about it, but Rini had seen the glint of envy in his friend’s eyes. That was the only time he’d ever known him to show a side of emotion that surprised him. But Rini couldn’t be that cruel to Dea or Alessandra by telling her what Dea had done that night to show her attraction to him. It had to be a secret he would take to the grave.
His head reared. “What you’re saying is, Dea is now the one devastated.”
“Maybe.”
“Then we’re back to where we were before. If your guilt is going to keep you from enjoying this vacation with me, then I’ll fly you back home in the morning.”
“No, Rini—that isn’t what I want. I just needed to have this conversation with you.”
“But it doesn’t solve anything, does it?”
“I guess I want you to tell me what we should do.”
“If you mean that, then I suggest we table our concerns and enjoy our vacation. We’ll just have to hope that time and work will help Dea get over whatever disappointment she’s feeling.” But that wasn’t going to be easy since he still hadn’t forgotten the conversation with her aunt. He’d been burdened by it. “As for you and me, I’d hoped to take us on an overnight hike tomorrow.”
“You know I’d love that.”
“Then we’ll pick you up a lightweight backpack and sleeping bag in the morning.” She nodded with a smile. “How are you feeling now?”
“Much better. I’m getting hungry and know you are. Why don’t we go out to dinner someplace in Positano.”
“I’ve been anxious to show it to you. If you’re ready, we can go now.”
AS RINI HELPED Alessandra into the black BMW parked in front, he squeezed her waist and kissed the side of her neck. When he reached for her hand and held on, her heart pounded with anticipation of the night to come. He started the car and they wound through the lush greenery toward the town center. She could see the twinkle of lights from the fabulous villas half hidden behind cypress trees and palms.
The interior of the car smelled of the soap he used in the shower. She was so in love with him it was impossible to hide it from him. If she didn’t put Dea out of her mind, she could ruin this incredible time for them.
“Whoa. We’re right on the edge of the cliff.”
Rini flashed her a smile and parked the car along the side of the narrow road. “We’ve arrived at my favorite place. You’ll love the view from here.” She could hear soft rock music as he helped her out. They walked up the rock steps lined with flowers growing out of the vegetation to the little restaurant perched high up. The view from the terrace, where a band was playing, opened to the sea below between two mountain sides.
She gasped and clung to him. “That’s a steep drop.”
“Kind of like dropping eighty feet with you in our own private world.” Trust him to remind her. “Come on, bellissima.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her to an empty, candlelit table. The romantic ambience made her feel feverish. Rini seated her and asked for wine from the waiter who recognized him. “Will you trust me to order for you?”
“If you’ll trust my cooking when we eat along the trail tomorrow evening.”
“I can hardly wait.” After the waiter walked away, Rini reached for her hand and pulled her onto the small dance floor, where another couple was dancing.
“There’s no room for anyone else.”
“That’s the whole idea,” he whispered before biting her earlobe gently. They danced in place, sending her body temperature skyrocketing. “If you knew the dreams I’ve had about holding you like this. Tonight there’s no wet suit to separate us.”
She chuckled. “I noticed.”
“I never want to be separated from you,” he admitted in