She took a deep breath. “If these tarts meet your exacting criteria, it’s because you were my teacher. To answer your specific question, after I got over being nervous with you standing there watching me, I had more fun than I would have expected.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
“It amazes me that I’ve eaten desserts of every kind all my life and never paid attention to the intricacies that go into the preparation. That’s what frightens me. This was just one dessert. When I think of the dozen others I have to learn how to make, I feel totally inadequate.”
“Keep in mind that all it takes is one step at a time. I’ll wrap up your pan of mounds and take them with me.”
“Why?”
“I want my partners to try them.” He heard her groan. “After the dishes are done, I’ll say good-night.”
While he called for a limo, he watched how hard she worked to clean up the flour on the table and floor, let alone her clothes. She’d proved she was worth her salt, but this had only been her first lesson. Another few days of this and the last thing she would tell him was that it was fun.
He had to give her full marks for putting the kitchen back together with little help from him. “You’ve done a great job, Tuccia. I’ll be back in the morning and we’ll talk about what’s going to happen. I hope you get a good sleep.”
She walked him to the front door. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for shielding me and giving me this chance.”
“I’m equally grateful and impressed that you’re willing to try something so different from the world you’ve come from to help me. Who knows? We may pull this off yet.”
She flashed him a tired smile. “‘May’ being the operative word. Bona notti,” she called to him.
* * *
On Cesare’s way to the castello, her parting words resonated inside him. She’d said good-night to him in Sicilian, using the Palermo dialect. It reminded him of the language he used with his own family, making him feel more connected to the princess.
That was bad. He couldn’t afford to have intimate thoughts about her, but that was a joke because he could still feel her body pressed against his in his mother’s kitchen. That was a moment he couldn’t forget if he wanted to, even if she’d just run away from her fiancé.
Cesare had offered to help her so she could gain her independence. He hadn’t done it to take advantage of her. The last thing he intended was to come on to her. If he did that, he’d be every bit as bad as the lecherous comte Cesare’s mother had described.
You are just as bad, Donati.
By the time the limo dropped him off around the back of the castello, he realized he had to tell his partners the truth about her. If they couldn’t handle it—and he was pretty sure they couldn’t—he would understand. So would Tuccia. Even though he hadn’t been around her long, he knew she’d pretend it was all right.
It was five to ten when he stole through the passageway to the back stairs not used by the hotel clientele. Halfway to his room on the second floor in the private section, he ran into Takis coming down the stairs from the turret bedroom he and Lys used when they were in Milan. They had their own home in Crete and flew back and forth.
“Cesare—You’re back! We didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow. What have you got there?”
“You’d be surprised.”
Takis frowned. “What’s going on?”
“I had a slight change in plans. Where are you headed?”
“To the kitchen.” Takis smiled. “Lys had a sudden craving for ice cream.”
“So it’s true about pregnant women.”
“Si. One day it’ll be your turn to find out.”
A sudden vision of a pregnant Tuccia in her yellow silk robe flashed through Cesare’s mind, disturbing him.
“Eh, amico. What’s wrong?”
Diavolo. What wasn’t? “Everything’s fine.”
“The hell it is.” Takis could read him like a book.
“Your wife needs you. Is Vincenzo here or in Lake Como with Gemma?”
“In order for us to be together tomorrow and meet the new cook, they never left for home.”
“Perfetto. See you two in the morning.”
Not wanting to prolong this any longer, Cesare bounded up the rest of the stairs. When he reached his suite, he put the tray of tarts on the coffee table and went in the other room to take a shower.
Later, after throwing on a robe, he phoned his mother and found out the police had been by the villa asking questions about Tuccia.
“I said I didn’t know what they were talking about. I’d been at the hospital all day and told them to check the nursing station at San Giovanni if they needed verification. That was enough for them and they left. I’m positive they won’t be back.”
“Grazie al cielo.”
“Bertina is overjoyed no one can find her niece.”
It might interest his mother to know Cesare’s relief was just as great. The more he thought about Tuccia’s detestable royal engagement, the happier he was that he’d played a part in her escape. As for the rest... “I take it Ciro is still in the ICU.”
“Oh, yes. The nurse told me she would call me when they moved him to a private room so I could visit.”
“That’s good.”
“Tell me how you are. How’s Tuccia?”
“We’re both fine.” He’d told Takis the same thing. Fine covered a lot of territory, good and bad. “Don’t worry about anything. Get some sleep, Mamma. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Not wanting to answer any more questions, he hung up wondering if he’d be able to get any while he was torn apart by thoughts of Tuccia and what would be the best thing for her. Now that he’d agreed to help her, he had to see this through one way or the other. But he couldn’t seem to stop from touching her. Earlier tonight he’d kissed her.
Cesare was about to turn out the overhead light when there was a knock on the door. Instinct told him it was Takis. He crossed the room and opened it to discover both him and Vincenzo standing at the threshold.
“Shouldn’t you two be with your wives?”
Vincenzo’s silvery stare had a way of pinning you in place. “We think you need us more.”
“I’d hoped to have this conversation in the morning.”
Takis shook his head. “Let’s talk now or none of us will get any sleep.”
How true. But the fear that his partners might not be on board with his plan to train Tuccia had been bothering him. Deep inside lurked another fear that if she left Milan to do something else, she wouldn’t tell him where she’d gone and he might never see her again.
“Come in.” They walked in his sitting room and sat down. He paced for a minute before coming to a stop. “I don’t want to keep you up all night, so here’s the bottom line. The person I’d hired for our ristorante is in the hospital in Palermo as we speak.”
In the next breath Cesare explained everything that had happened from the moment he’d arrived at his mother’s villa until now. He told them about Ciro’s sudden illness and Tuccia’s plight.
“I took her to the pensione where Gemma stayed.