Merde!
He’d been trying so hard. Rico’s hands curled into fists so he wouldn’t reach out and touch her soft skin. Wouldn’t tuck that wayward strand of long silky hair behind her ear. Hell, wouldn’t grab her around the waist and tug her up against him.
Of course he knew she was no longer a little girl. Rico had watched the princess grow up into a beautiful woman. There was nothing he could do about the desire that had grabbed him by the throat about a year ago. The day he’d acknowledged his attraction to her was the day he began to think about opening his own security business. Getting away from the palace. Away from the royal family.
Away from Angelina.
He’d tried to stay as far away from the princess as he could. And now, when he’d almost made it out safely, here he was about as close as he could be without actually touching her. He was grateful for his suit jacket which hung low enough to cover the evidence of his improper passion.
Her cheeks had grown pink but her big dark eyes were still locked on him. He cleared his throat. “Of course, Your Highness. You are a beautiful princess.”
“I don’t care what kind of princess I am. I want to know what you think of me as a woman.”
He dragged his gaze away from her, glanced up and down the hallway. Where the hell was Tony? “You are a beautiful woman, Your Highness. Any man can see that.”
Her tongue darted out and made her pretty lips all wet and shiny. “I suppose you’d say that no matter what you really thought.”
He frowned. Didn’t she look in the mirror every morning? “I would never lie to you, Your Highness.”
She frowned back at him. “It was a stupid question. I’m sure you never noticed anything about me one way or the other.”
“Your Highness…”
“I know. I am a foolish child. I’m going back into my room now and leave you alone.”
She backed away and he let his gaze run over her, the slender body, silky hair, smooth skin, wide mouth, expressive eyes before she was gone forever. Rico realized this might be the last time he saw the princess for a long time.
Except in his dreams.
“Angelina…” Her name slipped from his lips on a whisper.
She froze in her retreat. Her eyes widened. Her lips parted.
“Angelina!”
Vittorio’s voice echoed down the hall and Rico started, backed away from the princess’s open door. She peeked around the door frame at her brother racing down the hall. Mia followed on his heels. Rico’s body went on high alert. The prince glanced at his sister, then turned his attention to Rico.
“The king wants Angelina taken away to someplace safe. Tonight.”
Rico’s mind started whirling with options—locations, transportation, manpower—while Angelina reacted as he knew she would.
“What?” she cried, stepping out into the hallway. The narrow space was getting crowded. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m surrounded by security. This castle was built as a fort. No one’s getting in here. I’m not leaving.”
Vittorio calmly turned to Angelina. “Are you going to put more stress on our father or are you going to do as he asks?”
“Not fair,” she mumbled. “Why does he think I’ll be safer somewhere else?”
“It is common knowledge that you are here at the palace,” Vittorio explained. “We’ll slip you out and everyone will think you are still here. Our security team will be on high alert, waiting for whoever it is to make their next move. But you’ll be safe. Because you won’t be here.”
It made sense, but Rico wasn’t sure if that was the best tactic to take. Still, he answered to the king. At least for a few more days.
Mia put her arm around the princess. “Come on. I’ll help you pack.”
“Wait,” Angelina protested. Her wide-eyed gaze met Rico’s for a brief moment, but she let herself get ushered into her suite and the door closed behind the two women.
Rico turned to Vittorio and waited. He had a bad feeling he knew what his friend was going to say.
“I know you wanted to leave at the end of the week. I also know we don’t have any idea how long Angie will have to stay secluded.” Vittorio clasped Rico’s shoulder. “Still, I want you to take my sister and keep her safe.”
No. No. “Your Highness. Tony is highly trustworthy. He will protect the princess with his life.”
“I know he will, but there is no one I trust more than you. I could command you as your prince.” Vittorio’s dark gaze betrayed his desperation. “I’m asking you as a friend. This is my little sister, Rico.”
“I know.” Just as Rico knew there was no way he could refuse.
“This will be your last job for the royal family. I promise. It will also give the rest of the team practice working together without you as they find who is responsible for the attack and apprehend them.”
“The team will work perfectly together.” Of that Rico had no doubt. He had trained them.
“Just keep Angie safe.”
“I will. Do you have a location in mind?”
“It can’t be the family’s beach retreat. It is well known. Away from the coast would be best.”
“Somewhere no one would expect her to be,” Rico agreed. Someplace with no connection to the royal family.
“My father remembers you have family in Tuscora.”
“An aunt and uncle have apartments to rent in a villa there.” Tuscora was a small village at the other end of the country, as far away from the sea as one could get and still be in Mezzano. He grabbed his cell phone. “I’ll see if they have rooms there for us.”
“Don’t leave her alone. Don’t let anyone follow you.”
Rico paused in the act of calling his Tio. “You do not need to tell me my job, Vittorio.”
The prince ran a shaky hand over his face. “I do not think I can ever have children. I will die of worry before they are grown.”
Rico didn’t bother to respond to the ridiculous statement. He reached his uncle, apologized for waking him, and discovered there was one small loft apartment empty at the moment. He wove a quick spur-of-the-moment story and promised to see him in a few hours.
“I am concerned that she will be unable to remain incognito anywhere in Mezzano,” Rico told Vittorio as his mind whirled with everything he’d have to do to get ready to leave as soon as possible.
“Yes. Mia and I discussed that briefly. Our people only see Angelina when she is dressed up and made-up to be the glamorous princess. Mia thinks as long as Angie looks plain, people won’t recognize her because they would not expect to see her.”
Rico thought that even without make-up and fancy clothing she looked like a princess. “Does the princess own any plain, inexpensive clothing? Ones that will not announce that she is this country’s princess?”
“Mia knows what it is like to dress simply. She will make certain Angie packs the appropriate things.”
Rico nodded. “I can trade cars with my parents. They’ll like driving a newer model.”
Vittorio extended his hand and Rico took it. “Thank you, my friend.”
“I will keep her safe from whoever it is that wishes her harm.” But Rico couldn’t admit that he wasn’t altogether certain the princess would be safe from him.
It was still dark when Angelina, lying across the back seat of an ancient automobile, left her home on the way to what she told herself would be an adventure.
But it wasn’t an adventure. It was exile. It was leaving her home, her friends, her family, her stuff. It was wearing borrowed clothes and no makeup. It was no chance to meet guys for the foreseeable future.
What was she going to do in Tuscora? She’d never even heard of it. There was only one thing about this whole situation to make her smile.
Rico.
In fact, the more she thought about being alone with Rico, the more restless she became. The more alive she felt. Perhaps this was an adventure after all.
“Can I get up yet?” She winced at the whine in her voice. The last thing she wanted was to sound like a petulant child when she wanted Rico to see her as the woman she’d become.
“Soon, Your Highness.” Rico’s deep voice rumbled through the darkness.
“I’ve been crouched down here for hours.”
“It’s been twenty minutes, Your Highness.”
“Well, if you had to keep your face down on this old seat that smells like dirty shoes, you’d think it had been hours too. Whose car is this anyway?”
“I had planned to borrow my parents’ car, but it was still too nice. This one belongs to my sister’s boyfriend.”
The clothing packed in an old suitcase in the back belonged to the daughter of one of the housekeepers. She tried to stretch her legs out, but there wasn’t enough room in this tiny vehicle. “I don’t like this car.”
“It is necessary.”
“I know. I know. I can’t arrive in a fancy car. I can’t look like me. I’m not supposed to be me.” She knew she sounded grumpy but she couldn’t help it. She was scared and uncomfortable. What did the next few days have in store for her? And another thing. “Rico? Who am I supposed to be if not who I am?”
A pause. Sudden tension crackled through the air. She wished she could see Rico.
“My bride,” he replied.
Angelina gasped, drawing in more fetid air. She coughed and pushed up. She couldn’t stay down on the seat cushions any longer. She couldn’t remain alone back there in the dark. She couldn’t talk about pretending to be married while she stared at the back of her supposed groom’s head. “Your bride?”
“Yes.”
She glanced around and saw there were no headlights either approaching or behind them. “I’m coming up there.” She threw her leg over the seat and rolled over, landing awkwardly in the passenger seat. Her hand found Rico’s broad shoulder as she reached out to catch herself.
His body was so firm, so hot even through the fabric of the soft white button-down shirt he wore. The sleeves rolled up past his elbows but still covered his upper arm. When had he taken off the ever-present jacket? This was the first time she’d ever touched him and she suddenly wished she could feel his bare skin beneath her fingers.
“Easy,” he said. He was always so calm, so steady. The type of man she’d want for a bodyguard. Yet, her heart raced and she found herself irritated that he wasn’t as shaken as she was by their first touch. She snatched her hand away and straightened in the passenger seat. Their shoulders were almost touching in the small space.
She tugged on the seat belt but it didn’t give. “I think this seat belt is stuck.”
Rico immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road. He leaned close, then reached across her body and suddenly she was surrounded by his heat, his scent. His face was so close to hers she could feel the warmth of his breath along her cheek. It was still too dark to see his expression in the faint glow of the dashboard. His hand brushed against her hip as he groped for the seat belt.
Her heart raced in her chest. This was so different from when Phillip had leaned over her. Before he’d even touched her, she’d panicked as a slimy distaste slid over her skin. But when Rico pressed his body into her, a rich delightful heat burst through her body.
Rico tugged, all businesslike, ignoring the fact that he was brushing over her breasts and heating the air around her with his body. He grumbled under his breath before the belt finally gave way and he pulled it free.
He was off of her in a flash, yanking the belt across her body and quickly clicking it into place. “There,” he said. His voice seemed more breathless than it should have for the amount of effort he expended, but Angelina knew it was more wishful thinking on her part. She was just a job to him.
Still, she was looking at Rico differently than she had before tonight. A crush was childish. She felt nothing like a child tonight. What did she feel for him now?
Desire? Lust? Arousal?
All those words that sent shivers through her body. Good shivers. Exciting shivers. Unexpected, unfamiliar shivers.
“We will be a newlywed couple,” he said as he put the car into gear. He still sounded so calm, as if this whole thing was no big deal. “We are renting a small apartment in a villa my uncle and aunt own. Even they don’t know who you are. I told them we needed a place for a quiet honeymoon.”
“You mean they think you actually got married? To me?”
“Yes. But they don’t know you’re their princess. They will think you are a beautiful, charming young woman I fell in love with.”
He made it sound so plausible. Made it sound as if he actually thought she was beautiful. Charming. “Won’t they be angry they weren’t invited to the wedding?” She couldn’t imagine any of her extended family being happy if they discovered she’d gotten married without them being invited to the wedding.
“They will understand. They are busy with their villa and not able to travel often. My parents are the same with their work at the palace. Holidays and family visits…and weddings…don’t take priority.”
She couldn’t imagine family not being a priority. She’d been surrounded by family, close and extended, for as long as she could remember. Family was important. That had been drummed into her head from an early age. As she was imagining not seeing her aunts and uncles and cousins for years, the rest of Rico’s comments penetrated her tired brain.
“Wait. We will be sharing an apartment?”
“Of course. A married couple would obviously share an apartment. Besides, I am not letting you out of my sight.”
The straightforward tone of his voice, as if nothing else would have ever crossed his mind, made her feel safer than anything else had tonight. Still, the reminder that he needed to keep an eye on her at all, sent a different kind of shiver over her skin.
“Do you really think all of this is necessary?” she asked. “Tell me the truth. I think my father is being over-protective.” As always. Especially since her mother died.
“Better to be safe, Your Highness.”
“He over-reacted.”
“Do you remember Enzo and Donato?” Rico asked softly.
Tears prickled her eyes. “Yes, of course.” She didn’t regret leaning out of the car to pull Enzo inside, but it hit her hard that one of those bullets could have slammed into her. She shuddered.
“Your father did not over-react. His Majesty wants you safe. He knows how close he came to losing you tonight.”
Rico stared out the windshield at the dark road before them, illuminated only as far as the headlights reached. His hands rested loosely on the steering wheel. Looking at him, one would think he didn’t have a care in the world, but the tightness in his voice revealed more than she expected.
“It seems unreal,” she added.
“You must take this seriously. There is someone out there who wishes you harm. You can never forget that you could have been killed tonight.”
She nodded and leaned back against the seat. She didn’t want to think about it, but he was right. She could never forget.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?” he asked. “We have another hour or so to go.”
She swallowed. “I’m all right.” She rested her head back against the seat. “How long do you think we’ll have to be away from home?”
“Not long, I’m certain. Our security team is well-trained. They will discover who is behind this very soon.”
Angelina nodded. “I hope so.” She closed her eyes and inhaled. Thank goodness, she couldn’t smell the rank odor as strongly from the front seat. Up here, next to Rico, she could take in the dark, musky scent of him.
You must take this seriously. There is someone out there who wishes you harm. You can never forget that you could have been killed tonight.
What if she’d been killed in the kidnapping attempt tonight? Without thinking, she reached out and placed her hand on Rico’s wrist, his skin warm and alive to her touch. She’d spent her entire life being the good girl, the proper princess. What if she’d died tonight and never knew the pleasure shared between a man and a woman? What if she’d never had a chance to touch a man like this?
Rico glanced at her touch, then quickly turned his attention back to the road. He braked quickly when a small animal dashed across the road in front of them. Angelina knew she shouldn’t distract him, but she couldn’t take her hand away.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
“You can’t call me that when we reach Tuscora,” she said softly.
“Call you what?”
“Your Highness. You’re going to have to call me by my name.” She wanted to hear her name in that deep tone, coming from those lips.
“I can’t call you that, either,” he said wryly. “Everyone knows the princess’s name.”
“Oh. Of course, you are right.” She realized she still had her hand on his wrist and she reluctantly pulled away and dropped her hand into her lap.
“What are your other names?” Rico asked. “You must have several.”
“Yes. Two more. Concetta for my mother, but using the Queen’s name would not be a good idea, either. The other is Lucia, for my maternal grandmother. It is not as well-know, I am certain.”
“Lucia. Graceful light. Yes, I will call you Lucia.”
Foolishly, she thought that name sounded just as wonderful when he said it out loud. “How did we meet?” she asked next.
“What?”
Men were clueless about some things. Like romance. Angelina had spent her life studying romance from afar. From books. Movies.
“People will ask. Your aunt will ask even if your uncle will not. We need a story of how we met.”
“You make up a story then,” he grumbled.
“All right. I work in a small bakery nearby,” Angelina said, remembering the story Mia told her of how the future queen of Stagatland was working in her father’s bakery when she met the handsome prince who was now king. “You stopped into the bakery every morning and we began to share little looks. Small smiles.”
She thought she saw a small smile on Rico’s lips but it was still too dark to tell for certain. “What do I buy?”
“Biscotti, of course. You like to nibble on them with your coffee.”
“I nibble?” The amusement was clear in his voice. Then, a little more sharply, he asked, “How do you know I drink coffee?”
“I see you and Vittorio with your steaming cups of coffee every morning. Don’t change the subject.”
“All right. I came into the bakery all the time to buy biscotti.”
“And to flirt with me.”
“Of course.”
“Where did we go on our first date?”
She smiled at Rico’s groan. “We have to know where we went on our first date?” he asked.
“Of course. Another question your aunt is certain to ask.”
“Your Highness…”
“Lucia.”
“Lucia. Right…”
He was so clearly out of his comfort zone it made Angelina smile again. “If you walked into the bakery one morning, after weeks of veiled glances and little smiles, and you desired to see me away from my usual surroundings, to spend time together with no one else but you and me, where would you want to take me?”
“I would take you for a drive, like I am right now,” he said immediately. “It is difficult to find time alone otherwise. There seem to be people everywhere.”
“Yes,” she agreed. Especially at the palace. There was no privacy there. So Rico felt it too. She wished for the sunrise so she could see his expression. “All right, you took me for a drive and we talked for hours.”
“Talked? For hours?”
“When you find your soul mate, hours fly by as you get to know each other.” So she’d heard. So she’d dreamed.
“Soul mates.”
“Are you going to repeat everything I say like a parrot?”
The sky must have been lightening because she was certain he narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.
“If you want people to believe that we fell in love and married quickly, we have to convince them that we are soul mates.”
“Your Highness…”
“Lucia,” she reminded him. “Are you certain you are the head of our security force? Have you never been undercover before?”
“This is not quite working undercover.”
“That’s right. It is I who am undercover. Still, you need to remember our cover story.”
“I fear you watch too many movies.”
What else did she have to do on lonely evenings? “How did you propose to me?” She glanced down to her hand. “And where is my ring? If we’re married, I must have a ring.”
Rico’s head was pounding from all the princess’s questions, but she was right about this. They had to have a story. She had to have a wedding ring. He looked down at the pinky ring he’d bought for himself when he made his first million. He’d been pleased to discover he had the right instincts for investing the majority of the salary he’d been paid over the past ten years.
He remembered walking into the jeweler’s, looking at the cases of rings and the satisfaction he felt knowing he could afford to pay cash for his purchase. He’d wanted something not too flashy but enough of a statement to make it a personal celebration. Something he remembered many of the important men who came to the palace wore. Something he thought he’d never have.
It was a platinum band with a round two carat diamond set in the center. He hoped it wouldn’t be too big for the princess’s finger, but it was the only option at the moment. The landscape was becoming hillier, a sign they were getting closer to their destination. The sun was beginning to rise. Once they reached the top of the hill, Rico pulled the car over to the side of the narrow road.
“Why are we stopping?” the princess asked him. There was enough light now to see her bright eyes. They scanned his face, so curious, looking for answers. So beautiful he could hardly bear to look at them.
“Let’s get out and stretch our legs for a moment,” he said.
“All right.” She climbed from the car as he rounded the front. She glanced past his shoulder and smiled. “What a beautiful sunrise.”
“Yes. Beautiful.” But Rico didn’t look behind him. The beauty he saw was in front of him. Before he could think too much, he dropped to one knee in front of the princess of Mezzano. Something he certainly never imagined doing.
“Rico?”
He cleared his throat as he tugged the ring off his finger. “Lovely Lucia,” he said softly. “You are my soul mate. The love of my life. Will you marry me?” She looked at him with wide eyes, her lower lip caught between her small white teeth. “I hope this will fit you.”
“Oh.” Princess Angelina held out her left hand and Rico was surprised to see it trembling. He slipped his ring on her finger. “It’s beautiful,” she said. But her smile was what he thought was beautiful. “It’s not so very loose. I’ll be careful with it, Rico.”
“I know.” The emotion in her voice was more than he could take. This was only a job. He stood and pointed to a small town in the distance. “There is Tuscora. We don’t have far now. Let’s get going.” He started for the car.
“Rico?” He stopped and took a deep breath before he turned back to look at her. “Why didn’t you just hand me the ring in the car?” she asked him.
He smiled wryly. “Now when my aunt asks you how I proposed, you can tell her I got down on my knee at the first hint of sunrise and called you my soul mate and slipped the ring on your finger.”
She sighed, a wistful sound that he really didn’t need to hear. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
He turned to circle the car. “I’m not.”