His compliments sounded so sincere, she was in danger of believing them. “I loved it.”
After a brief silence, he said, “Dr. Tozzi was upset to see you out here with me, so don’t deny it.”
“I wasn’t going to.” She reached for some more grapes. “I’m glad you were with me. I’ve told him I’m not interested in him. Now he’s seen it for himself.”
Rini’s dark brows furrowed. “Is that the reason I was invited along?”
He couldn’t really think that, could he? It would mean he felt vulnerable. She couldn’t imagine him having a vulnerable bone in his body. She leaned forward. “Of course not!”
He bit into another plum. “Is there an important man in your life?”
Yes. I’m looking at him. “Not in years.”
“Why not?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she blurted without thinking. “Why does Rinieri Montanari sail alone?”
“I asked you first,” he returned. “A beautiful, fascinating woman like you has to have a history.”
Alessandra wasn’t used to hearing those adjectives attributed to herself. If he only knew it, she was totally enamored with him. “You don’t really want to know.”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” At this point he’d put the leftover food back in the sacks she would take down to the galley later.
“I fell in love with Francesco at twenty-two. He was a chef from Catania when I was in my last year of undergraduate school. He swore undying love for me and said he’d found his soul mate. I believed him. We talked about getting married.
“One weekend Dea came to visit. I was excited for her to meet him. She stayed in my apartment with me and the three of us spent time together. After she left for Rome, where she was pursuing a modeling career, everything seemed to change. He suddenly told me he had to go on vacation and would call me as soon as he got back. During those two weeks he didn’t phone me once.
“I thought I’d lose my mind until I heard from him. I imagined every reason under the sun for his absence except the one he gave me. He didn’t have the decency to tell me in person. Instead, he sent me a letter telling me he’d fallen in love with Dea and knew I couldn’t forgive him.”
Lines darkened Rini’s features in the semidarkness.
“At the time it was terrible. Dea didn’t come home for two months. When she did, she told me he’d followed her to Rome, but it was over between the two of them almost before it had begun. She thought he was a loser and told me I was better off without him.
“Though inwardly I agreed, my pain had reached its zenith because Dea always had this power to get the boys interested in her. But when it came to Francesco, who I thought was committed to me, something broke inside me. I suffered for a long time. But it happened over six years ago and is buried in the past.” She took a drink of water. “Now it’s your turn to tell me the secrets of your heart, dark or otherwise.”
RINI FELT LIKE he’d been stabbed in the chest. Too many emotions rocked him at once. There was someone he needed to talk to before he bared his soul to Alessandra.
“I’m afraid my story would take all night. Let’s reserve it for tomorrow evening after another dive. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sleep up here tonight.”
“Then you’ll need the quilt and pillow on the bed in the other cabin in order to be comfortable.”
“I’ll get them.”
“You sound tired after that dive, Rini. I am too, so I’ll say good night.”
“Buona notte.”
He waited an hour before going below to bring up the bedding. Once he’d made himself comfortable on the banquette at the rear of the cruiser, he pulled out his phone and called his sister. Rini knew it was too late to be phoning, but he had to talk to her.
After four rings he heard her voice. “Rini? What’s wrong? Has something happened to Father?”
“No, no.”
After a short silence she asked, “Are you ill?” He could hear Giovanni’s concerned voice in the background.
“Not physically. But I’m wrestling with a problem that needs your slant. Do you mind?”
“What a question! After all you’ve done for me, I’d give anything to help you if I can. Tell me what’s going on.”
He raised up on one elbow. “Let me give you a little background.” Without wasting words, he explained his dilemma from beginning to end.
“Ooh” was all she said when he’d finished.
“Forgive me if this touches too close to home, but you’re the one person in the world who would understand her pain after Francesco went after her sister.”
“Rini? I got over Matteo’s womanizing and it sounds like she has gotten over her pain, too, so forget her past. You only have one problem. Let this woman know how you feel about her and prove to her that your love for her is everlasting. If Mamma were still alive, she would tell you to follow your heart and not let anything get in the way.”
He could hear his mother saying those very words. “Alessandra was really hurt.”
“So was I. It passes when the right man comes along. Trust me.”
He breathed deeply. “You make it sound so simple.”
“Nothing worthwhile is simple, Rini. But look what happened when I followed my heart instead of letting go of Ric, the baby I thought was mine...”
“You mean instead of listening to me tell you not to get involved with Giovanni,” he groaned. “I was a fool to interfere.”
“Of course you weren’t! I know you were only trying to protect me. But it all worked out and I’m now an ecstatic wife and the mother of two angelic boys.”
His eyes closed tightly. “But from the start Giovanni wanted you enough to defy convention, too. That’s why it worked.”
“Rini, tonight you’re alone with her on her family’s cruiser. Do you seriously think that would have happened if she weren’t absolutely crazy about you?”
“Her father asked her to show me around.”
“But to dive? Camp out over night? Have faith, dear brother. A little patience wouldn’t hurt until she realizes she can trust you with her life.”
A lump had lodged in his throat. “Ti amo, Valentina.”
“Ti amo. Buona notte.”
Rini lay back down, thinking about what she’d said. Even if a miracle happened and her attraction grew into love, she didn’t know about his infertility, an insurmountable hurdle in his mind.
The next thing he knew, the sound of gulls brought him fully awake. Clouds blotted out the sun. He sat up to check his watch. Seven thirty. Was Alessandra still asleep? He gathered the bedding and took it below to the other cabin. Her door was still closed.
One thing he could do was fix them his favorite prosciutto ham and eggs to go with their breakfast. As he was putting their plates and mugs on the table, she appeared in the doorway wearing jeans and a T-shirt that molded to her beautiful body.
“You’ve got color in your cheeks.”
“I went for a walk.”
He’d