‘No, no, don’t tempt me,’ he said, his breathing as ragged as her own. ‘Not yet. Not until we get some things straightened out.’
He changed position so they were both propped comfortably up against the cushions.
His expression was suddenly grave. ‘There is one thing on my mind, tesoro.’ He hesitated. ‘Call me a throwback to mediaeval times, but I do observe some obligations to my family.’ All at once he looked quite stern, like a proud, darkly handsome pirate captain reviewing the past that had shaped his aristocratic heritage. ‘The Vincentis can be flexible about most traditions, but one of them is really quite-uncompromising.’
‘Oh?’ She felt a sudden chill of excitement. A delicious, anticipatory buzz warmed her veins.
He took her hand and kissed it. ‘It’s a small thing, carissima. We Vincentis like to marry our women. It might be seen as an old-fashioned practice in some places, perhaps, but-’ he shrugged ‘-it is-still important to me.’ He dropped a light kiss on her nose and grinned. ‘There isn’t much point being a marchese if you can’t persuade some woman to be your marchesa.’
She laughed. ‘I can’t believe you haven’t had heaps of offers.’
His eyes glinted. ‘There’ve been-one or two who might have been willing. Too willing, in fact. Neither of them was the one.’
‘The one? I know what you mean. No one else will do. And if others are too willing-what a turn-off.’
‘Exactly.’ He smiled. ‘Now, take your case. I’ve had such a hard time catching you, tesoro, I feel I need to pin you down. Somehow, I feel I need to know we are truly together. That it’s permanent.’ He flashed her a glance. ‘Can you understand that?’
Though he spoke lightly, there was something in his smile that made her guess suddenly at the pain he must have suffered the time she’d inadvertently let him down in the past.
He angled his lean, powerful frame a little further around to face her, leaning on his elbow, and said gently, ‘See, Larissa, I want to know you’re truly my family, my-wife. I don’t want to ever risk losing you again.’
‘Oh.’ Her eyes were suddenly so misty everything became a beautiful blur. In fact, a few actual tears spilled over. With his usual courtesy, Alessandro helped her out by mopping her up with the corner of a beach towel, and making soothing noises.
She managed to reply at last. ‘I think I do understand what you’re saying. The marriage tradition is not completely unknown in Australia, you know. I wouldn’t mind being put out of my single misery if the right man came along with a good offer.’
His brows went up. ‘Oh? You wouldn’t?’ He searched her face with an intent, urgent gaze. ‘Well, then…So…How about me? Will you marry me?’
Joy blazed in her heart in a fierce, pure flame that momentarily snatched away her ability to speak. He gazed silently at her, then she sat up and hugged him. ‘Oh, my darling,’ burst from her. ‘Yes, and yes, and yes.’ She accompanied each yes with a small passionate kiss.
He let out a long, shuddering breath. ‘Grazie a Dio!’ His face lit with a smile and he seized her and held her close to him, stroking her hair. ‘You won’t be sorry, I promise. We’ll be happy together because we love each other. Vivi will be happy. She’ll be safe. I will take care of you both. Everyone will be happy. Your mother, my mother…’ He broke into a wicked laugh. ‘Wait until they meet at the wedding.’
‘I can hardly imagine that.’ She added nervously, ‘The Meadowses don’t really go in for grand splashes, you know.’
He grinned. ‘No need to worry yourself about that, tesoro. The Vincentis will take care of everything. At your instruction, of course,’ he added quickly. ‘And we’ll have to do something about the residence.’
She looked enquiringly at him. ‘What residence?’
His thick black brows lifted. ‘Our home. Do you have any ideas of where you’d like to live? I myself am used to seeing the sea wherever I live. Since childhood, you understand. Do you like ocean views?’ She nodded, and he said, ‘Good. We’ll start looking when we get back to Sydney.’
She was just starting to consider the exciting residential possibilities when Alessandro’s eyes lit with a piercing, sensual gleam.
‘In the meantime, tesoro, maybe we can start thinking about our honeymoon.’
With the moon rising in the eastern sky, the surf lapping the beach and a balmy ocean breeze to fan their limbs, a lounger seemed an ideal place to contemplate some honeymoon possibilities. Alessandro’s strong, warm arms slid around her, his sensuous lips embarked on a blissful exploration of her neck, and Lara gazed up into the tropical sky and, with all her heart, thanked the starlit heavens for all the treasures that were hers.
Anna Cleary
As a child, ANNA CLEARY loved reading so much that during the midnight hours she was forced to read with a torch under the bedcovers, to lull the suspicions of her sleep-obsessed parents. From an early age she dreamed of writing her own books. She saw herself in a stone cottage by the sea, wearing a velvet smoking jacket and sipping sherry, like Somerset Maugham.
In real life she became a schoolteacher, and her greatest pleasure was teaching children to write beautiful stories.
A little while ago, she and one of her friends made a pact to each write the first chapter of a romance novel during their holidays. From writing her very first line, Anna was hooked, and she gave up teaching to become a full-time writer. She now lives in Queensland, Australia, with a deeply sensitive and intelligent cat. She prefers champagne to sherry, and loves music, books, four-legged people, trees, movies and restaurants.
