it out. If that’s what you want.’
‘Of course it’s what I want!’
‘Fine.’ He raised his hand dismissively, as if the matter was of no consequence, as if she was somehow being unreasonable. ‘There are more than enough rooms in this castello for us both to have our own personal space. Alfonso need never know about our sleeping arrangements.’
‘Well, see that it happens.’ She threw back her head, then had to steady herself, suddenly feeling dizzy with the madness of it all.
‘Are you okay?’ Vieri immediately noticed the pallor of her face. ‘It’s cold out here. Perhaps we should go back inside.’
‘No.’ She dug in her heels. ‘I’m going nowhere.’
‘Then let me at least warm you up.’ Suddenly he had gathered her in his arms, pulling her against the strong, muscled heat of his body.
For a second Harper let herself be held, her eyes closed in blissful surrender until the yearning for what could never be saw her struggle to release herself.
‘Actually I would like to be left on my own.’ She moved a step away and sat down heavily on the stone bench. ‘I need to think things through.’
‘As you wish.’ But he sat down beside her again. What part of alone did he not understand? Several highly charged seconds of silence rolled by.
‘Harper?’ He rested his hand on her thigh, the heat of his palm branding her skin through the fabric of her dress.
‘What?’ She deliberately moved to dislodge his hand.
‘I do understand that this is a big thing I am asking of you.’ He closed the gap between them until his thigh was pressed against hers. She could feel the warmth radiating off him, see his soft breath in the air. ‘But it doesn’t have to be such an ordeal. Alfonso knows that we are only getting married so quickly for his benefit, so he will understand if it’s a very private affair.’
‘But we will still be married in the eyes of the law.’
‘Yes, this is true. But when Alfonso...when the time comes, the marriage can be annulled.’
He had thought this all through, hadn’t he? And for some reason, that only made his calculated deceit, both to his godfather and to her, seem even worse.
‘However, if you decide that you can’t go through with it, then I will respect that decision. I will go in there and tell Alfonso the truth, this afternoon, as soon as he awakes from his nap. You will be free to go. You need never see him again.’
Harper felt her heart plummet. The thought of not even saying goodbye to Alfonso was unthinkable. But then so was the idea of confessing that they had lied to him, that the whole engagement was a sham. He would be so disappointed. No, more than that, he would be devastated. Harper knew she could never do that to him.
She dragged in a breath of cold air to steady herself.
‘Okay, I will do it.’ She forced herself to meet Vieri’s midnight stare. ‘For Alfonso’s sake, because I can’t bear to think of him upset, I will agree to marry you.’
‘Thank you.’ Taking hold of her hand, Vieri squeezed her cold fingers in his firm, warm grasp. ‘I do appreciate it.’ He rose to his feet, dropping her hand but still holding her eyes. ‘I will see to the arrangements right away.’
He turned, his job obviously done, and began to stride purposefully back towards the castello.
Harper watched his retreating figure, so tall and imposing. So unmistakeably Vieri. This impossible, arrogant, gloriously perfect specimen of manhood who had turned her life upside down. Who drove her completely crazy in every possible way. And from whom, no matter how short their so-called marriage might be, whatever might happen in the future, she feared she would never fully recover.
THE NEXT TWO weeks passed in a dizzying daze. Preparations for the wedding were rapidly organised, Vieri taking charge, the way he always did. And even though he did consult her, asking her opinion over some of the details, the flowers for the chapel, the food for the wedding breakfast, Harper didn’t have the heart to get involved. So in the end she left it all to him.
A small guest list was drawn up, mostly comprising a few of Alfonso’s trusted colleagues associated with his charities and a handful of old friends. ‘There are so few of us left,’ he had mournfully stated as he had turned the pages of his address book. ‘That’s what comes of being so ancient.’
Vieri had only invited one guest, a Sicilian friend called Jaco Valentino, someone he had known since childhood, apparently. Even that had been Alfonso’s doing, casually mentioning that it would be nice to see Jaco again and why didn’t Vieri see if he was free that day. Vieri had been left with no option but to agree.
Harper, herself, had no intention of inviting anybody, despite Alfonso’s obvious surprise and concern that her father wouldn’t be attending. She had explained, as best she could, that it would be too difficult for Angus to get away at such short notice. This, at least, was partly true. His job as gamekeeper on the Craigmore estate did make it very difficult for him to take any time off. The fact that he had absolutely no idea that his daughter was actually getting married, she kept to herself.
And now the day of their wedding had arrived. Gazing out of the window at the sparkling sunshine, Harper tried to swallow down the nerves inside her. These were not the normal jitters a bride might feel on her big day, those of anticipation and excitement. No, Harper’s nerves were of the more sinister kind, sitting like a leaden weight in her stomach.
Never had she imagined her wedding day would be like this—that she would be facing it so completely alone, without even Leah by her side. Vieri had offered to pay her flight, insisting that her being here wouldn’t be a problem for him, that whatever had gone on between them was all in the past. But Harper had declined. She had no intention of even telling Leah that she was marrying Vieri. What was the point? It wasn’t real. In a few months the marriage would be annulled and it would be as if it had never happened. And besides, if she told Leah it would be all round Glenruie before you could say capercaillie. Leah couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.
Taking her dress from the wardrobe, Harper unzipped it from its garment bag and laid it over her arm. It was made of fine cream silk, with a loose cowl neck and a low back. This was the first time she had actually held it in her hands, and she was taken aback by just how lovely it was.
She had bought it online, having no intention of going to any of the bridal boutiques in Palermo and running into another of Vieri’s admirers. Instead she had chosen it from the vast array of wedding dresses available, rapidly scrolling through them, refusing to spend too much time deliberating over the seductive creations because what did it matter what she looked like anyway? It wasn’t as if she had a lover waiting for her at the altar, desperate to see his beautiful bride. Vieri would probably barely even notice what she was wearing.
Taking off her robe, she slipped the dress over her head. It slithered down over her body, pooling in a perfect circle at her feet. It was almost laughable the way it was such a perfect fit, as if it had been made for her. The slippery silk encased her slender body, showcasing her bare arms, her décolletage, the gentle swell of her hips, her long legs. Allowing herself only the briefest of glances in the mirror, she sat herself down at the dressing table and set about taming her curls into some sort of order, sweeping them up into a loose chignon. She would do this, she would put on some make-up, then she would make her way to the chapel and she would marry Vieri Romano. What she wouldn’t do was think. Because thinking about what she was doing had the capacity to break her heart.
* * *
‘This is all very sudden, mio amico.’
Vieri glanced across at his oldest friend. He and Jaco had been raised together in the children’s home but,