a strong tug when you think of San Francisco and the years you spent there?”
“I’d be a liar if I didn’t say yes.”
“I didn’t expect you to say anything else. As for me, I’ve decided I have two homes. One there, where I’ve always been comfortable, and now the new one with you. I see them both being compatible. When you long for San Francisco and want to do business there, I’ll understand.”
“You’d love it there. I want to take you with me and show you around.”
He couldn’t have said anything to thrill her more. “And maybe you can fly to Africa with me for a little break from royal business.”
“We’ll make it happen.”
She studied him for a long time. “Is there a woman you had to leave who’s missing you right now? Maybe I should rephrase that. Is there someone you’re missing horribly?”
Antonio should have seen these questions coming, particularly since he hadn’t slept with her last night. “I haven’t been a monk. What about you?”
A quick smile appeared. Her appeal was growing on him like mad. “I’m no nun.”
For some odd reason he didn’t like hearing that.
You hypocrite, Antonio. Did you want a bride as pure as the driven snow? Did you really expect her to give up men while she waited four years for you to decide when to claim her for your wife?
“Who was he?” His parents’ affairs had jaded him.
“A doctor who’d come to Kenya to perform plastic surgery on some of the native children. Once I came back to Africa with the engagement ring on my finger, he left for England three days later.”
“I kept you waiting four years,” Antonio muttered in self-disgust.
A frown marred her features. “Antonio, none of that matters. I’m your wife! But you still haven’t answered my question. Is there a woman who became of vital importance to you before you had to fly home to get married?”
He got off the bed. “The only woman of importance was one I got involved with before our engagement, Christina.”
“Then you’ve known her a long time. If there’d been no engagement, would you have married her?”
“That’s hard to say. I might have if I’d decided to turn my back on my family and wanted to stay in California for the rest of my life. But when your call came telling me about Elena’s problems and I talked to her, I realized how binding those family ties really are right from the cradle.”
“I know that all too well,” she whispered. Christina had obviously been talking about the relationship with her parents.
“The accident of my being born to a king and queen set me on a particular path. To marry a foreigner and deviate from it might bring me short-term pleasure. But I feared I’d end up living a lifetime of regret.”
She shook her head. “How hard for both of you.”
Her sincerity rang so true he felt it reach his bones. “Though I continued to see her after the engagement party, nothing was the same because we knew there would have to be an end. We soon said goodbye to each other.
“In a way it was a relief because to go on seeing her would not only have made a travesty of our engagement, but the situation was totally unfair to her and you. My sources at the palace confirmed that the country was suffering and there were plans afoot to abolish the monarchy. I knew it was only a matter of time before—”
“Before you had to come home and marry me to save the throne,” she broke in. “I get it.”
“Christina—” He approached her and grasped her hands. “Do you think it’s possible for us to forget the past? You know what I mean. When I said my vows in the chapel, I meant what I said. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. Can you still make that same commitment to me after knowing what I’ve told you?”
Her marvelous eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Antonio, I want you to know that when I made my vows at the altar, I was running on faith. Now that faith has been strengthened by what you’ve just admitted to me. If we have total honesty between us, then there’s nothing to prevent us from trying to make this marriage work. You’ve always been the most handsome man I’ve ever known, so my attraction to you isn’t a problem.”
He kissed her fingers. “Can you forgive me for staying away from you before the wedding?”
“We’ve already had this discussion.”
He slid his hands to her upper arms. “No woman but an angel like you would have sacrificed everything to enter into an engagement that didn’t consider your own personal feelings in any way, shape or form. Forgive me, Christina. I don’t like the man I was. I can only hope to become the man you’re happy to be married to.”
Her eyes roved over his features. “I liked the man you were. That man loved his sister enough to save her and their family from horrible embarrassment and scandal. She wasn’t just any sister. She was the princess of Halencia, my friend. I loved you for loving her enough to help her.
“You have no idea what she did for me. She was the only person in my world besides my great-aunt Sofia who was good to me. Elena was the person I cried to every time I was hurt by my parents, especially my father, who wished I’d been born a boy.” The tears trickled down her flushed cheeks.
Antonio sucked in his breath. “Grazie a Dio, you’re exactly who you are.” He started kissing the tears away. When he reached her mouth he couldn’t stop himself from covering it with his own. The taste of her excited him. Without her wedding dress on, he could draw her close and feel the contours of her beautiful body through the thin fabric of her shirt. Her fragrance worked like an aphrodisiac on his senses, which had come alive.
“Bellissima.”
THE FIRST TIME Christina had heard Antonio use the word bellissima, he’d said it in a teasing jest outside the door of the bridal suite. Just now he’d said it because she could sense his physical desire for her. After last night, there was no mistaking their attraction to each other. But she needed to use her head and not get swept away by passion until they’d spent more time together.
He’d wanted to put off making love to her last night. She was glad of it now. They did need more time to explore each other’s minds first. Antonio might have walked away from the love of his life in San Francisco, but that didn’t mean the memories didn’t linger.
Christina could make love with him and pretend all was well, but she knew that until she held a place in his heart, then making love wouldn’t have the same meaning for either of them. She wanted their first time to happen when it was right.
As soon as he lifted his mouth, she eased out of his arms. Avoiding his gaze she said, “I’m going to freshen up before dinner. Where do you want to eat?”
“How about the other bedroom? There’ll be other films to pick from. Your choice. I’ll tell the steward to bring it in ten minutes.”
“Good. After our fabulous lunch, I can’t believe I’m hungry again.”
When he didn’t respond, she left him to use the restroom. Some strands of her hair had come loose. It was smarter to just undo it and brush it out. Before he brought their dinner, she pulled out the pillows and propped them against the headboard. After taking off her sandals, she reached for the remote and got up on the bed. Before long Antonio walked in carrying a tray.
“Put it here between us.” She patted the center of the bed.
“The steward still won’t breathe a word of where we’re going.” He put the tray down.