Damn if the way he brushed a tendril of hair off her cheek before speaking didn't turn her inside out. "It would be my pleasure, bella mia."
* * *
Royal companion wasn't the right term at all. Nico was a king. Smiling brightly and waving to the crowds, he belonged at the front of the parade far more than Louisa did. The town loved him.
Or maybe Monte Calanetti was just full of love today. The streets were lined with revelers who laughed and cheered them along as they wound their way slowly down the cobblestone streets. Behind them, the costumed men carried baskets of grapes while the women tossed bags of sugared nuts they had stored in the pockets of their aprons. If photographers were there, they were hidden by the throngs of tourists who, it was clear, were only interested in enjoying the day.
"Signorina! Signorina!" A little girl wearing a dress the colors of Italy, ran into the street carrying a crown made from ribbons and roses. "Per voi la Signorina Harrison," she said, holding it in her hands. "Una corona per la regina."
Louisa beamed her. A crown? For her? "Grazie," she said, placing the flowers on her head. The wreath was too big and slid down to her ears, but Louisa didn't care. She grinned and flicked the ribbons over her shoulder.
There were more children. More flowers presented. Too many for Louisa to carry, so she began giving them to the women behind her, running from the front of the parade to the rear and back again. It became a game between her and the children, to see how fast she could run the gamut before another flower appeared. By the time they reached the fountain, she was laughing and gasping for breath.
"Told you the town wouldn't care," Nico whispered in her ear. She turned to discover his eyes glittered with laughter, too. "This is amazing," she told him.
"You are having fun, then?"
Was he joking? What she was feeling at this moment was so much more than amusement. She felt free. All those years of being the outsider were but bad memories. She'd found a place where she'd belonged. A home.
To think, if Nico hadn't gone to the palazzo the day the headlines broke-if he hadn't insisted she stay-she might still be looking.
What would she have done without him?
"I'm having a wonderful time," she said. She moved to throw her arms around him in a hug only to be thwarted by the enveloping crowd. Having emptied their baskets into three oversize half barrels, the marchers stood clapping rhythmically. "They're waiting for you," Nico told her. "The queen is the first to stomp the grapes."
As though they'd been waiting, two of the men wearing medieval costumes appeared at her elbows and began guiding her forward. "Wait, wait," she said, laughing. "I still have my shoes on."
"Just kick them off," a familiar voice hollered. Looking left, she saw Dani waving from a few feet away. "I'll grab them for you," her friend said.
She made her way to the front barrel that, despite its size, was overflowing with large bunches of purple grapes.
"I'm not doing this without my royal companion," she said, looking over her shoulder.
Evidently the crowd thought this a wonderful idea, because a second later, Nico was pushed into the circle. As he stepped closer, his laugh faded to a mischievous gleam. "Now you've asked for it, bella mia."
Grabbing her by the waist, he lifted her in the air and plopped her feetfirst into the barrel.
Louisa shrieked as the grapes squished between her toes. "It's cold!"
"You expected a warm bath?" he asked with a laugh. Stepping into the barrel with her, he took her by the hands. "Be careful, it's slippery."
No kidding. The crushed grapes and skin quickly stuck to the bottom of the container, creating a layer of slickness. Twice already, she would have lost her balance if Nico hadn't been holding her up. Still, as cold and slippery as the grapes were, it was fun marching in place. Particularly with Nico's hands sending warmth up her arms.
A few minutes later, the rest of the crowd joined them, kicking off their shoes and crowding into the vats. Laughter abounded as everyone was eager to take their turn mashing the grapes to a pulp.
"I can't believe this is how people used to make wine," she said to him over the noise. "They must have had incredibly muscular thighs."
"Not really." Nico had leaned in to speak. His breath floated over her collarbone leaving goose bumps. "Italian winemakers have used presses to crush grapes since the middle ages. This is just for the tourists."
"You mean there is no Old World tradition?"
"Not that I know of."
"I'm up to my ankles in pulverized grapes because of a gimmick? You-"
He laughed and she gave his shoulder a shove, only to have her feet slide out from beneath her.
"Careful!" Nico scooped her up into his arms just as she was about to fall bottom first into the mashed fruit. "We wouldn't want you to be trampled," he said, smiling down at her.
No danger of that now. With her arms wrapped around his neck, and his arms holding her tight, Louisa had never felt safer. "I'm not worried," she said. "You'd rescue me."
His smile faded. "Always."
Louisa's breath caught at the seriousness in his voice. Just as it had at the royal wedding, the world receded, leaving only the two of them and the sound of their breathing. Nico's eyes grew heavy lidded, his attention focused on Louisa's mouth. Slowly she ran a tongue over her lower lip, an action for which she was rewarded with the tightening of his hand on her waist. "Louisa..." His voice was rough and raw.
He wanted her. But he was holding back to let her make the first move. That she held the power was all Louisa needed to reach a decision.
She pulled his head down to meet hers...
Dear Lord, how on earth could she have gone so long without kissing him? Nico might have given her the power to decide, but once their mouths joined, he took control, kissing her so deeply Louisa couldn't tell where she ended and he began. She didn't care. She was too swept away by the moment.
It was the cheer rising from the crowd that finally broke the moment. "I think the crowd approves," Nico said, rubbing his nose against hers.
Heat rushed to Louisa's cheeks. Let the crowd cheer, she decided. She held his gaze and wondered if her eyes looked as blown and glazed over as his.
"Why don't we go someplace more private?" he said. Without giving her a chance to answer, he carried her out of the barrel and through the crowd.
* * *
Nico pressed a kiss to the head resting on his shoulder. Louisa and he were in his garden, ensconced on a lounger beneath the pergola. Insects could be heard buzzing in the foliage above, their soft droning working with the wine to make him comfortable and drowsy. An interesting sensation, since only an hour before he'd been consumed with lust. Once alone, the urgency had receded. The best wines were made with patience. So it was with lovemaking, as well. They had all night. Why rush when you could draw out the pleasure?
Besides, strange as it seemed, being close to Louisa like this was pleasure itself.
"What was she like?"
Her question came out of nowhere. "Who?" he asked, fingers playing with the tendrils of her hair.
"Your fiancée."
"Floriana? Why do you ask? Are you jealous?" That she might be gave him a jolt of satisfaction.
"I'm curious. What made her so perfect?"
He thought back. "I told you, she liked the same things I liked, she had the same sense of humor. Plus we wanted the same things out of life."
"Which were?"
"To create wine and live a life free of drama."
"I take it you never threw a reporter off her balcony."
"She didn't own a balcony,"
"You know what I mean."
"Yes, I do." Floriana would never need to take refuge in his winery to avoid scandal. Rational to a fault, she would never have fallen for a man like Steven in the first place. On the other hand, she also never ignited a fire in the pit of his stomach the way Louisa did. Standing in those grapes, with that silly floral crown falling about her ears and her clothes wrinkled and damp from the heat, Louisa had been the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen.
"She sounds like someone Steven would have liked. Whenever I found an interest Steven didn't like, he would find a way to suck the fun out of it."
"I don't understand." The American colloquialism threw him, although he could wager a guess.