Pulling out her purse, Meg slid her fingers into the wallet and pulled out a well-worn picture, one she hadn’t looked at in weeks, but occasionally, at times like this, when decisions needed to be made, it was called upon. Even though she’d seen it a thousand times, even though she’d lived it, still the image shocked her.
Pained eyes in a gaunt face stared back at Meg, her skeletal frame engulfed by a wheelchair, a nurse at her side holding her hand as she struggled to come up from her lowest point.
There were a million reasons to set her alarm for six and get the hell out of Niroli, to organise her backpack and literally run for the hills.
But there was one very good reason to stay. Falling asleep with the photo still in her hand, Meg was only vaguely aware of Jasmine bumping around in the night, her mind focussed on one thought only.
Tonight, for the first time in her life, and only with Luca, she’d actually felt beautiful.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘I’M GLAD YOU decided to stay.’
As Luca joined her in the crowded foyer, Meg was glad she’d decided to stay too. The hour between waking and seeing him had plagued Meg with doubt and indecision. She was almost sure that her vision of the man she had met last night wouldn’t stand up to the scrutiny of the morning glare, that somehow seeing him again could only taint the delicious memory.
Wrong.
If anything, Luca was more stunning.
Dressed casually in dark denim jeans and a black T-shirt, unshaven and unkempt, he looked even more ravishing, but there was no time for awkward small talk, no time for anything at all really, as Luca took her by her arm and shepherded her out the foyer and straight into the luxurious confines of a sleek silver sports car.
‘I thought today was supposed to be relaxing!’ Meg attempted as the car sped away from the casino.
‘Now, it will be,’ Luca said cryptically, glancing in the rear-view mirror and finally slowing down. ‘I’ll ring Luigi now and tell him I haven’t been kidnapped.’
‘Your bodyguard?’ Meg checked as Luca nodded and punched in speed-dial. Even if her Italian was extremely limited, it soon became clear that Luigi was less than impressed at his boss’s hasty exit.
‘Sorry about that.’ Luca grinned when the call ended. ‘Luigi is supposed to accompany me whenever I go outside the casino or palace. I do not like it.’
‘I wouldn’t either.’ Meg smiled, glancing shyly over to him. ‘I’m glad it’s just us.’
‘Me too.’ Luca nodded. ‘You look wonderful!’
‘Er, I doubt it.’ Meg grimaced. Never had her backpack’s offerings appeared more measly. She’d been hoping to spend yesterday getting acquainted with a washing machine, but for the biggest date of her life she’d been left with no choice other than faded denim shorts and a pale lemon halter-neck. Still, given it was Luca, she’d bypassed her runners for some gorgeous leather sandals she’d purchased in Rome, and instead of scraping her hair back into its usual sightseeing fare of a pony-tail had blow-dried it and left it down. ‘I wasn’t exactly inundated with choice.’
‘Inundated?’ Luca checked.
‘Spoilt …’ Meg attempted to no avail. ‘I don’t have many clothes to choose from—I’ve tried to pack something for most eventualities, but a day trip with royalty wasn’t something I’d planned on!’
‘We may not get into the restaurant I wanted to go to for lunch—I don’t think they allow shorts.’ Luca shrugged ‘.but that’s no problem.’
‘Sorry.’ Meg flinched.
‘I tease you.’ Luca laughed. ‘There are some perks to being a prince—you could be wearing nothing more than a bikini and we would get the best table. I meant what I said—you look wonderful.’
She did.
Luca, too, had been wondering what to expect this morning. So many times before the raw beauty he’d witnessed in a woman had disappeared the second she’d found out who he was—commandeering the salon, spending up in the boutique. He’d almost resigned himself to greeting a stranger this morning, yet here she was, more beautiful, more vibrant, more sexy than the woman he had met last night—acres of soft, browned skin on show, her hair a blond fragrant cloud, and just a slick of gloss on those incredibly kissable lips….
‘Where are we going?’
‘Does it matter?’
Turning his attention from the road for a second, he held her gaze and Meg bit down on her lip, processing his question for a moment before answering, her single-word answer the boldest thing she’d ever said.
‘No.’
In fact, if they never set foot out of the car, Meg wouldn’t have minded. Dressed more casually, and well away from the extravagance and decadence of the casino, Luca was infinitely more relaxed, his company engaging. But Luca actually did have plans for the day. He wanted to show her all that Niroli had to offer and show her he did, gliding the sleek car through the steep hills, at every turn the view even more stunning.
‘No more!’ Luca grinned when Meg begged him to stop for yet another photo shoot. ‘Or you will run out of space—wait till we get to the ruins. We stop now at one of the wineries and I’ll ask them to make us a picnic.’
Which, when it was Luca Fierezza asking, meant that a blanket was included, the hamper groaning under the weight of Niroli delicacies, and Meg wanted to taste them all, only not just yet—first they spent a sun-drenched day exploring. Luca steered them well away from the usual tourist haunts in the south of the island and instead headed north where he showed her the ancient Roman ruins, regaling her with tale after tale, making her privy to information that could never be gleaned from a history book. But as excellent a tourist guide as he made, as much as he seemed to enjoy showing her Niroli, the day was about them—the sultry air thicker somehow when blended with desire, awareness thrumming as they explored, not just the temple and amphitheatre, but each other’s minds. And by the time Luca spread out the blanket and they shared their picnic, Meg knew a single day could never be enough to scratch the surface of all it had to offer—only she wasn’t thinking about Niroli!
‘Here,’ Luca said proudly, pouring her an icy glass of champagne as she gazed around the amphitheatre. ‘There are often concerts held here—there will be one this weekend….’
‘For the Feast?’
‘You have heard about it?’
‘One of the shopkeepers told me.’ Meg gave an abstracted nod, biting into slivers of bitter orange dipped in dark chocolate and closing her eyes as she relished the taste. ‘This,’ she declared, ‘is the nicest thing I’ve ever tasted.’
‘You said that about the olive dip, and then the cannoli. It is good to see someone who likes their food.’ Luca frowned at her reaction. ‘Why does that make you laugh?’
‘It just does.’ Meg’s answer was evasive, a first date not really the best time to slip in the little gem of the eating disorder that had ruled her for years, but, closing her eyes, Meg lay back and smiled as the warm sun bathed her, relishing the moment, his casual observation a revelation. Here, away from it all, for the first time in the longest time, she’d actually forgotten her problem, had just enjoyed food as it should be enjoyed. Oh, she was long past the frantic calorie counts, way, way past controlling every morsel she consumed, but to simply enjoy … Luca could never have even hazarded a guess as to how much this moment meant to her.
‘You are having a good time?’Luca enquired, lying down on the blanket beside her, his body just inches away, so achingly close all Meg wanted to do was reach over and touch him. She could feel the hum of sexual energy between them, his masculinity bathing her now, only with more ferocity than