He smiled. "That's my girl."
The plane was tiny, a four-seater Cessna. There would be no flight attendants. Only one pilot. And only one passenger.
But it was going to be all right, Scarlett suddenly knew. Because she trusted this pilot with her life.
She sat beside him now as he pushed knobs and flicked on switches. He moved the throttle, then glanced at her. "Maybe someday you'll get your own pilot's license."
"Ha-ha," she said, then realized he was serious.
Vin looked at her. "The best way to live is to do what scares you most. You taught me that, cara."
Maybe he was right, Scarlett thought suddenly. Maybe. But...
"I'll just survive being a passenger first," she said, gripping her headphones tightly.
He reached over and put his hand on her knee. "Look at my face."
She did and relaxed.
"There's no way we can crash." He sat back in the pilot's seat with an encouraging grin. "I'm safe with you, remember? You'll watch out for me."
"I meant it." She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her, either. If anyone could keep Vin safe, it was Scarlett. If anyone could keep Scarlett safe, it was Vin.
She took a deep breath, clutching her armrests.
So much had changed in the last eight months, since the night of Maria's wedding, when he'd been shot by Blaise Falkner. Vin had spent days recovering in the hospital, where he'd also been interviewed by the police. But he'd been lucky.
"If he'd shot you a little lower in the shoulder," the doctor had told him, "the bullet would have hit you in the heart. If he'd shot you a little higher in the thigh..." He hesitated.
"I'd be done fathering children?" Vin had grinned up at Scarlett, standing by his hospital bed. "Remind me to visit Falkner in prison and thank him for his poor aim."
She didn't find it funny at all. "This is no laughing matter."
"Oh, cara, but it is." Vin had kissed the back of her hand, then looked at her seriously. "One should always be joyful in the presence of a miracle."
When he finally was able to return home, he'd embraced his baby son happily swinging in his bouncy chair, who had no idea of the tragedy that had nearly taken his parents' lives. Vin had kissed his son's downy head, kissed his wife's lips, then gone straight to the study and thrown the signed postnuptial agreement into the fire.
He'd also ripped up the villa's lease to the movie star. The man had immediately threatened to sue, but Vin had solved the problem by paying for him to stay three months at a fancy hotel, and the actor quit complaining.
"Room service," Vin explained succinctly.
Vin had also insisted on paying for his sister to have a second honeymoon. It was the least he could do, he said, after ruining her wedding reception. After the young couple had returned from Tahiti, while Giuseppe and Joanne were visiting their grandson for a week, they had the whole family together for dinners and game nights.
Eventually, when Vin's wounds had healed and Scarlett felt ready, they had a farewell party to say ciao to Rome. They packed up what they needed most and took the train to London and, from there, a luxurious ocean liner to New York.
Scarlett had felt guilty about the six-day voyage-so much longer than a transatlantic flight-but her husband hadn't grumbled once. In fact, he'd claimed he enjoyed the vacation, and the chance to dance with his wife every night on the dance floor while Mrs. Stone kept a close eye on Nico in their lavish suite.
"In fact, I might consider a fleet of ships for my next SkyWorld expansion," he'd told Scarlett, waggling his eyebrows. She still wasn't sure if he'd been serious.
The two of them had agreed to compromise, and split their time between Rome and New York. But since they'd moved to Manhattan, Scarlett had found to her surprise that she'd come to love this rough-and-tumble city, too. Next week, when they returned to Rome, she might even miss New York. Living in their delightful two-story penthouse with a view of Central Park-which she'd decorated to be homey and comfortable-meant she often passed St. Swithun's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
"The place you decided to marry me," she liked to tease Vin, "in the middle of your wedding to someone else."
He grinned. "Bella, I know a good thing when I see her."
"I love you," she said.
"I love you more," he said seriously.
Which of them loved the other one more was, of course, not their only quarrel. They were human, after all. Sometimes Vin worked too much, or Scarlett fretted about their perfectly happy baby, who could now sit on his own and loved to giggle and was starting to talk. But even during their rare arguments, Vin would claim that Scarlett was perfect, the most wonderful woman in the world. It irritated her to no end. How could she properly fight with a man who continually insisted she was perfect?
So when Vin suggested one tiny, tiny thing she might do for his birthday, she had to listen. He asked her to take a plane ride. "I have a little Cessna parked at Teterboro. I'd be the pilot. We'd fly for fifteen minutes, tops. Short circle, totally uneventful, then we'd land." He looked at her hopefully. "What do you say?"
She hadn't wanted to disappoint him, so she'd agreed.
But now...
"I can't believe you talked me into this," she breathed, as the engine noise started to build, shaking the small plane.
He grinned. "You'll love it. Trust me."
And the funny thing was, she did trust him. So maybe he was right. Maybe she would love this. Maybe the fear that had been holding her back all this time from flying was the same one that had made him afraid to love her.
It was normal to be afraid of taking a risk. But wasn't it the point of life to find courage-even if it took a little while-and be bold enough to fly?
"Are you ready, Scarlett?" her husband asked quietly.
She felt green with fear. But she knew that if anyone could keep her safe, if anyone truly loved her, it was Vin. She took a deep breath. "Hit it."
"I love you," he said, pushing the throttle forward.
She looked at him, her heart full. "I love you more."
The Cessna started to increase speed down the runway, going faster and faster. And as the nose lifted off the ground, and their little plane soared off the runway into the bright blue sky, Scarlett knew they'd be relishing the pleasures of that argument for the rest of their lives.
Read on for an extract from TRAPPED BY VIALLI'S VOWS by Chantelle Shaw.
Trapped by Vialli's Vows
by Chantelle Shaw
CHAPTER ONE
SO YOU'RE LEANDRO'S dirty little secret.'
Marnie jerked her gaze from the door of the restaurant-she'd been watching it for Leandro's arrival-to the man who had sat down on the bar stool next to her. She wondered if she had misheard him.
I'm sorry?'
He grinned and held out his hand. Forgive my little joke. I'm Fergus Leary, senior accountant at Vialli Entertainment. Everyone in the company is curious about why Leandro keeps his girlfriend hidden. We only heard of your existence when he asked his PA to phone you about the party.'
Marnie tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had taken an immediate dislike to Fergus, but smiled politely. At least the accountant had spoken to her, which was more than any of Leandro's other staff had done. She had felt nervous enough when she'd arrived alone at the restaurant which had been booked for the private party, and the curious glances she'd received from the other guests had made her feel worse.
Like her, everyone seemed to be waiting for Leandro. He was fifteen minutes late and, although she'd tried calling him, his phone was constantly busy. There was nothing new in that, Marnie thought ruefully. She had only spoken to him a few times in the past two weeks while he had been away on a business trip to New York.
Leandro gets frustrated with the paparazzi's constant attention so we avoid popular restaurants and bars,' she explained to Fergus.
In fact lately she had wondered why Leandro never asked her to accompany him to social events, such as the star-studded film premiere he'd attended the previous week.
I'm going to the premiere because it's a good business opportunity and a chance to network,' he'd told her when, for the first time in their relationship, Marnie had queried why he hadn't invited her to go with him.
You won't know anyone, and I'm sure you would be bored.' Her disappointment must have shown on her face, because then he had said in a conciliatory tone, We'll go out for dinner when I get back from New York. In fact we'll have a weekend away somewhere. Choose where you want to go and I'll make the arrangements. How about Prague? You've often said you would like to visit the city.'
He had avoided further discussion by taking her to bed, but later, after he had fallen asleep, Marnie had realised that yet again he had distracted her with the promise of a trip away together and sex-which always reassured her that although their relationship might be unconventional she was extremely happy living with Leandro and he seemed equally content.