don’t mean that.”

      “Try me. What can he do except rage?”

      “I suppose you’re right.”

      “All I know is, your mother should never have asked you to help me.”

      He slid his arm along the back of the seat. “Aside from the fact that I met you at her house in the middle of the night, she didn’t have anything to do with my decision to fly you here.”

      She stirred in the seat. “How can you say that?”

      “Because I’ve had to live with Vincenzo and Gemma’s story for many years. The night my mother told me about your situation, the horror of their history came back to haunt me. For you to be forced to undergo a betrothal at your age was not only feudal, it was criminal.”

      “Zia Bertina said the same thing many times. That’s why she agreed to help me escape. I’ll love her forever for what she did for me.”

      “The emotional damage to you was as bad as anything physical,” Cesare spoke his mind. “When Mamma asked if I would help you leave Palermo, I didn’t have to think about it and was determined to help you any way I could. That hasn’t changed for me. Does that answer your question?”

      Once more she hid her face in her hands, but she nodded.

      He ruffled one of her curls with his fingers. “You said you wished you were a normal girl I’d hired to work in one of my restaurants in New York. In truth it’s exactly what I’ve done, but this restaurant happens to be in Milan. Shall we put all the angst of the past aside and concentrate on tomorrow? You’re my new pastry chef who’s going to be running the show.”

      She finally lifted her head. “I intend to make you proud. Maybe you should take me back to the apartment. I rested a little today, but I didn’t sleep. If I go to bed now, I’ll be in much better shape by morning. Another time I’ll come out here and watch for the swans.”

      Tuccia’s resilience was something to behold.

      “There’ll be many opportunities.” Cesare started the engine and he drove them back to the pensione. When they arrived, he walked her to the door.

      Don’t touch her, Donati.

      If he made that mistake, he would never leave her apartment. “I’ll be by for you at eight. We’ll have a working breakfast with Gemma.”

      “I’ll be ready. Thank you for the dinner and the tour, Cesare. Dormi bene.”

      “E tu.”

      Giving in to unassuaged longings, he pulled her in his arms, kissing her long and hard.

      He walked back to his car aware of a new fear attacking him. How would he handle it if he asked her to marry him and she turned him down?