Rose leaned away and tried to get comfortable, wondering if she’d misjudged this man and whether the dazzling facade might just run a little deeper than skin. In which case, her quest to delay the wedding might be more challenging than she’d hoped.
‘This is your captain speaking,’ a female voice suddenly rang out, pausing until the chatter in the aeroplane died down. ‘I just wanted to inform you that there’s an ongoing incident at Pisaairport which means we’re unable to land there at the moment.’ Rose turned in her seat and caught Ben’s eye as the other passengers began to complain.
‘We can’t land?’ Rose twisted her hands together.
‘Doesn’t sound like it,’ Ben said, looking unsettled for the first time since they’d met.
‘We’re going to circle the airport until we have more news,’ the captain continued. ‘For now, please relax while our attendants serve you with a complimentary drink. I’ll tell you the minute I know more.’
‘Relax?’ Rose protested as her shoulders went rigid. A delay was the last thing she needed. She didn’t want to spend any more time in this man’s company than necessary. He was too confusing. Besides, she had to get to Luna as soon as possible to ensure the wedding got called off, and every minute was wasted time.
2
BEN
‘I can’t believe we got diverted,’ Rose muttered angrily as she absently swung the dog carrier around her legs so vigorously that Ben wondered if Coco was going to get whiplash. He prised it from her tense fingers and watched as she sped up, marching along the cream and glass corridor towards passport control, overtaking at least a few dozen passengers on the way.
Ben followed amused. Rose was a vibrant, prickly dynamo. Exactly his type. Then again, there weren’t many women in his experience that he didn’t feel at least a modicum of fascination for. He just had no intention of letting it get beyond that again.
‘That’s what happens when there’s a fire at the airport you’re supposed to be landing in,’ he said to Rose as he caught up, trying not to smile because he guessed it would irritate her. And while he relished watching the flickers of exasperation light up her blueberry-coloured eyes, they had a long drive ahead of them.
‘Still, did it have to be Nice? It’s miles from where Luna is!’ Rose harrumphed as they joined the back of the queue of people, and she carefully opened her brown, leather handbag before pulling out a wallet of neat paperwork. Two large whiteenvelopes fell onto the ground, and she quickly retrieved them and shoved them back into her bag looking perturbed.
She was remarkably uncreased – and despite the stain on her linen trousers, she looked perfect. Ben knew if he was dressed in the same, he’d look like he’d just crawled through a junkyard on his hands and knees — and that was without an accidental coffee spill.
He went back to studying Rose as she retrieved her passport and then Coco’s paperwork. Her hair was blonde and styled in a perfectly set shoulder-length bob. Ben had watched, captivated, during the flight to see if even one of the lustrous strands had dared to move out of place. None had – and he’d enjoyed a short fantasy that involved mussing it with his fingertips before he caught himself and stopped.
She was a beautiful woman, but a little tightly wound. He could see that from the way her mouth pursed into a perfectly formed ‘o’ whenever she was concentrating. As if even the shape of her lips had to conform.
‘It’s going to take hours to drive to Bellemilia from here,’ Rose complained.
‘I called Marco when we landed, so he’s aware,’ he told her.
‘When?’ Rose’s forehead creased and she glared at him suspiciously.
‘While you were discussing travel options with Mandy.’
By options, Ben meant Rose had asked if the airline could charter a special plane to take them back to Pisa. She’d been serious too. Needless to say, the hostess hadn’t been able to help, although she had offered them both another biscuit which unfortunately Rose had declined. Rose had been most put out when Mandy had offered him her phone number, though, so Ben had decided to put in into his mobile to rile her up a little more.
‘Marco understands that we’re going to be a little late and he said he’d change the booking for our hire car, so we’ll be ableto pick it up from here.’ He paused and winced. ‘He asked if we could make a short detour since it’s not that far.’
‘Not far from where?’ Rose asked as the delicate bow at the top of her lip pinched, and Ben realised she’d found the time to apply a fresh layer of lip gloss, causing him to momentarily lose his train of thought.
‘Um,’ he croaked, a little surprised by his reaction.
‘How far is this detour?’ she demanded, narrowing her eyes. ‘This isn’t some devious plot to keep me away from Luna, is it?’
‘Nope.’ He chuckled. ‘Although I probably should have thought of that. It’s just a couple of hours out of our way,’ he confessed. ‘To a village just across the Italian border called, Neruno.’
‘And what’s there?’ she snapped as Coco let out a rough bark from the carrier and Rose knelt so she could look inside. ‘It won’t be long,’ she told the dog, her voice gentle. ‘We just need to go through passport control, collect our luggage and then I’ll let you get out for a while, it’ll give me a chance to check my emails and talk to my assistant. I’ve got lunch and treats in my handbag. If you stay quiet, I’ll give you some.’
‘You think she understood?’ Ben teased when the shih tzu growled and started to yap loudly, making Rose look around at the other passengers in the queue and wince.
‘I should have remembered that demons can’t be bargained with,’ she ground out, rising to her feet and smoothing a hand over her trousers.
‘Perhaps we should try one of those treats now?’ Ben suggested as the dog’s barks grew more frenzied.
She frowned. ‘She’s not doing as she’s told. How’s she supposed to learn?’
