HALFWAY on the drive to Milan, Chloe woke up crying for her purple hippo, and Lucy realized to her horror that she’d left it behind.
She’d been so rushed when she left the villa, so desperate to get out before Maximo could follow her and convince her to stay, before he could repeat the lie that he loved her. Love her? He would never love her. It had just been his last, heartless attempt to beat her grandfather.
Leaving her wedding dress and the priceless diamonds on their bed—the bed where they’d been so happy together—she’d packed a few items of clothing for herself and Chloe. And her three Ferrazzi handbags. She no longer wanted the thirty million her husband promised her. Let Maximo and Giuseppe fight over her family company till doomsday; she didn’t want it. She was going back to Chicago where things made sense.
But things were going to be different this time.
Her alligator satchel would be worth thousands of dollars even on the secondhand market. That would be enough to pay her back rent and set up a small nest egg for emergencies.
And she wouldn’t get her job back at the gas station. She would fight for the promotion she’d earned. Once she went to the H.R. department of the gas station chain and explained what had happened with Darryl, she knew she could convince them to still make her the assistant manager of a different store. Then she would start taking night classes. It might take a few years, studying at night while Chloe slept, but she would get her college degree. She’d be a school librarian and teach kids to love books as she’d dreamed.
Lucy had once thought that being a mother meant she had to give up her own dreams. But in the last few weeks, she’d learned that wasn’t true. Fairy tales could happen at any age. It was never too late to dream—never too late to achieve anything she was willing to work for.
Except for one dream. That was lost forever.
The dream of loving Maximo.
Even after she’d realized she’d left the purple hippo behind, she hadn’t been able to go back and face the man who’d lied to her and broken her heart. Pressing on the gas, she’d cried with her baby all the way to the airport in Milan. Then using five different credit cards, she bought a plane ticket to Chicago.
She’d checked their suitcase, passed security and found a dark, deserted waiting area. It was the middle of the night when she tried to settle Chloe down to sleep on a reclining chair. As they waited for their early morning flight, the airport’s hallways became deserted and most of the shops closed. Other than an occasional announcement over the loudspeaker, it was soon quiet.
Except for the crying baby.
Chloe wouldn’t sleep. And she wouldn’t stop crying. Tears shone on her plump cheeks, and her little body was racked with sobs.
“Shh, Chloe, shh.” Lucy snuggled her close, trying to comfort her. But it was all she could do not to wail along with her baby.
She’d tried so hard not to love Maximo. So hard. But he’d made it impossible. She’d thought him so strong, so tender, so powerful. So wonderful. But he’d ruined Lucy’s whole life by taking her from her family as a baby.
Did that really ruin your life? the thought whispered in her mind.
Of course it did! she replied furiously, then stopped.
As a heartbroken, angry boy of twelve, Maximo had saved her from a fire. He’d taken her to be raised by Connie Abbott, a warm, wonderful woman who’d loved her. Read her stories. Baked her cookies. Kissed away her fears. Taught her about integrity and hard work and love.
How different would her life have been if she’d been raised by a cold, vengeful man like Giuseppe Ferrazzi?
It doesn’t matter, she told herself angrily. Maximo had lied to her. He’d lured her into his bed by playing recklessly with her heart. And worst of all: he’d even tried to claim he loved her!
The playboy prince would never love anyone. He’d only said that to try to hold on to his victory against Giuseppe, to beat the old man he hated.
“Monsters,” she whispered aloud. Thank God she’d gotten them away from Maximo before Chloe was too attached. Before they were both too happy. Before…
She burst into tears.
“Principessa.”
Surprised, Chloe abruptly stopped wailing. Lucy looked up and saw Ermanno, her ex-bodyguard, standing next to Maximo’s pilot. Wiping her eyes, she glanced around in fear that their boss might be nearby. “What do you want? How did you find me?”
“A paparazzo followed you to the airport. The prince asked me to offer my assistance.” The Australian pilot bowed his head respectfully. “I am to give you a ride to anywhere you wish to go.”
“And this is for you.” Ermanno held out a manila envelope.
“What is it?”
He gave an expressive Italian shrug.
She opened the envelope. It contained the information for a numbered Swiss bank account.
And then she saw the amount.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“There’s a note,” he said.
Fearing what she would find, she reached back into the envelope. There was indeed a short note in Maximo’s handwriting.
I’ve deposited the payment agreed upon per our contract into your account. Thirty million dollars, plus the current full market value for Ferrazzi SpA, equals three hundred million.
Thank you for being so good to me. I never deserved you. I’ll never forget you. My wife. My love. The only one.
It was unsigned. Sucking in her breath, Lucy held the paper close. “Where is he?”
“Gone,” the pilot said. “I flew him to Rome as he wished to transfer Ferrazzi to your grandfather. Then he wanted to get away—”
“He gave away Ferrazzi?” she gasped. “To my grandfather?”
The pilot nodded. “I saw Signor Ferrazzi in Rome. Looking hale and hearty, too, I might add. Apparently he himself started the rumor that he was dying.” He shook his head. “Makes me glad I’m a pilot and not part of the fashion business.”
Ermanno suddenly hit his forehead. “Mi scusi, principessa. The prince, he asked me to give you this at once, the instant I saw you. He said you’d be wanting it far more than money. Here it is—”
And from the pocket of his voluminous leather coat, he pulled out a ragged purple lump. Chloe saw it and clapped her hands with a delighted gasp.
A sob rose to Lucy’s lips.
Hippo.
Maximo had found Hippo and knew what it meant to Chloe. He’d saved her. Just as he’d saved Lucy in Chicago.
He hadn’t ruined their lives. He’d taken care of them both. Protected them from Alex. Treated Chloe like his own daughter. Showered affection and gifts. Cooked for them. Read books to Chloe. And seduced Lucy with pleasure she’d never imagined possible. And at the end, even after she’d left him, he’d given up Ferrazzi—the hard-won prize he’d sought for twenty years.
Why would he do that?
There was only one explanation. Maximo hadn’t been pretending.
He really did love her.
He loved her, and she’d humiliated him. Thrown the ring back in his face. Drawn his blood in front of the whole world.
Who was really the monster?
With a harsh intake of breath, Lucy leaped to her feet. Chloe was too rapturous over Hippo to give more than a squawk of protest as Lucy turned fiercely to the pilot.
“Where is he?”
The pilot looked startled. “The prince does not wish anyone to know, your highness.”
“Tell me right now!” She stepped toward him, feeling like she might do something desperate. “Tell me!”
The pilot shook his head sorrowfully. “I’m sorry. He expressly ordered me to tell no one.”
Lucy wanted to shake him, but what good would that do? It wasn’t the pilot’s fault. The man was only following orders. Exhausted, choked with grief, she covered her face with her hand.
She’d been such a fool. She’d had Maximo’s love, and she’d thrown it all away. And now it was too late. She’d lost him.
Her former bodyguard suddenly turned his three-hundred-pound bulk on the pilot.
“Tell her,” he growled.
She looked up with an intake of breath.
“I can’t,” the skinny pilot told him, looking startled. “The paparazzi are vultures. One whisper and it all gets out. He wants to be left in peace. I gave him my word.”
“Fine. Don’t tell her a thing,” Ermanno said. He cracked his knuckles. “Just fly her to wherever he is.”
“Well, I—” The pilot hesitated, looking from Ermanno to Lucy to Chloe. Then slowly he sighed. “All right, Princess. I cannot resist true love.”