The door burst open and a harried-looking Antonia stepped into the room. Her relief was obvious when she spotted her daughter.
“I’m sorry. She was napping when I left her for a while. Took me some time to figure out where she went to since the cameras were-” she faltered when Luca rose, carrying Alessa.
Sabrina wondered what had her looking so flustered when she realized she and Luca were still clad only in bathrobes.
“It’s alright. She’s such a lovely child. I’ll take her to your room.”
“There’s no need,” Antonia said in a rush, moving forward to take Alessa, but Luca sidestepped her in one gracious movement.
“I’ll be back. Wait for me here,” he called out.
Antonia threw her an apologetic smile as she pulled the door close with a soft click on her way out.
Sabrina looked around her properly. The library did not have a stuffy, old gentleman vibe atmosphere that one associated with most libraries. For one, the bookshelves were made of a clear material, like fiberglass, so the books looked like they were floating. She spied a globe in one corner, and it too was made of a clear material. She touched it to spin and was startled when it lit up, illuminating the shape of a land formation. She looked closely. It was Seirenada.
She’d never imagined her search for the truth would lead her to the tiny principality, and with it a chance encounter with an Italian billionaire who was too sexy for her peace of mind.
Her body ached in the most pleasurable of ways. Luca was a generous lover and she blushed, recalling how generous he had been, of how he stripped her of all inhibitions.
The door opened and he stepped inside, her lover for a few more days. Tomorrow was the wedding and the day after, she was leaving.
“You’re good with children.”
“My cousins in Italy breed like rabbits. Their brats are always underfoot in family gatherings.”
She could hear the fondness in his voice he tried to underplay. “Was your great-grandmother really a princess?”
He flashed her a lazy smile, stopping in front of her. “No.”
“Liar,” she said, pulling on the lapel of his robe.
An odd look passed across his face but it was gone in a flash, leaving Sabrina to wonder if she had imagined it. “Poetic license,” he murmured, snaking his arms around her waist. “She was a duchessa.”
“Oh. Were you making it up about the shoe?”
“It’s true. It resides in the family museum. She wore it to her wedding to my great-grandfather.” He glanced around and spied the book on the floor. “There’s a photo of it in there.”
“And that part about your great-grandfather falling in love at first sight? Was it true?”
He stared down at her. “You still believe in fairy tales?”
“I just wanted to find out if it was true,” she scoffed.
“Dio, you’re hoping it’s true.”
She struggled out of his grasp. “I was not.” But of course he knew she was lying. And she hated him for glimpsing something she even denied to herself. He refused to budge, his arms grasping her tighter more than ever. “I was…I was just curious.”
Now his arms released her waist to cup her face. “The truth was,” he said, his voice a rich, dark timbre, his thumb caressing the angle of her jaw. “He took one look at her,” Sabrina’s breath suspended, bracing herself for disappointment, “and he knew.”
“Knew what?” she whispered.
The air in the room became charged. Her mouth had gone dry. Her pulse kicked up. His blue eyes, darker than she had ever seen them, pinned her. She could feel his heat through their thick robes.
“That she was the one. The one he had been waiting for all his life.”
Her breath came out in a whoosh and her knees almost buckled. For a few seconds, she had imagined Luca saying those romantic words to her.
Silly Sabrina. Just because you had crappy parents like most kids in those fairy tales, you think the universe owes you a happy ending.
She faked a laugh. “That must have been a kick-ass pair of shoes.”
Luca’s brows drew together. Then his arms dropped and he took a few steps back, as if remembering himself and who he was with, she thought with a pang.
“And speaking of shoes, I have nothing to wear to the wedding. Can you bring me back to the mainland before the shops close? I know they close quite early here.”
He stiffened, his eyes darting away from her. “You don’t have to leave the yacht, strega. I’ll take care of it.”
“I can buy my own clothes.”
“I said I’ll take care of it. We have a store in Seirenada. I’ll pick something out for you. I’ll have it sent here.”