If only Em and Jen had gotten back to the bench in time. Gaby wouldn’t have been there for Marco Allegretto to hurl back in time. She could only imagine how guilty they must be feeling, which only made Gaby feel worse. They must have been beside themselves when they realized that Gaby was gone. Not gone back to Em’s or gone back to Chicago, butgone gone.They must have contacted the police by now. Surely an investigation was underway.
Oh, what a mess!
Gaby’s instincts told her that her presence there at Lady Darling’s must be connected to Allegretto. Nor could it be a coincidence that an American art collector would be one of the guests at Lady Darling’s party. If she could figure out what Allegretto needed her to do, she might find a way back to her friends and family, and everything would be all right. She had to believe that it would.
Gaby noticed that the villa had quite a few paintings on the walls, but none she’d seen so far was an Allegretto. She hadn’t seen the entire house, but a painting of such import would be prominently displayed. It could be hanging in Lady Darling’s bedroom. After all, Allegretto had been known for his sensual boudoir paintings. Gaby would have to sneak a peek into the bedroom. She would have considered Jack a better candidate for hanging a sexy portrait over his bed—but alas, the painting above his bed was a landscape.
“Who else will be visiting?” Gaby asked, her curiosity now thoroughly piqued.
“The Marquess of Danbury and his wife are meeting friends from Paris, Chief Inspector Xavier Doumaz and his wife. I can’t recall her name, but the wife was born in Paris and once lived in America. They are all friends and planned a vacation and reunion together here in Maremma. You might share similar experiences with the marchioness. Perhaps being in the company of several Americans will return your memory. That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?”
Gaby almost teared up at the hopeful expression on Lady Darling’s face. “Yes, it would be wonderful,” she replied in a husky voice.
“I forgot to mention that Sir Albert Findley’s widow, Donatella Falaguera, is scheduled to arrive today. The baron’s beautiful niece Cynthia is accompanying them. Cynthia recently lost her father too. The baron was an old friend of my dear, deceased husband Stewart, but I haven’t seen dear Bertie in three years… Not since Stewart’s passing—and now, poor dear, he’s gone too. It’s too much to bear.” Lady Darling wiped a tear from her cheek.
“I’m truly sorry about your late husband,” Gaby said.
“Thank you, my dear,” Lady Darling said, patting her hand. “It is difficult to lose a loved one, but life is not without risk. And love is the greatest risk of all. But oh, so worth it.”
Gaby heard Jack mutter something behind them and was tempted to sneak a peek over her shoulder again, but she didn’t dare.
“Now, where was I?”
“You were telling us about dear Bertie,” Jack dryly said from behind.
Gaby did turn around at that, and her eyes met his once more. She was surprised to see his gaze no longer held anger. In fact, there was a notable softening of his expression, although he was as unreadable as ever.
Gaby averted her eyes to not encourage her cheeks to redden and her pulse to quicken whenever she met eyes with Jack.
“He recently married Donatella Falaguera, who I’ve heard is an Italian countess,” Lady Darling continued. “Bertie died within months of their marriage, as did Cynthia’s father. We are hopeful that Cynthia might accept Jack’s suit and become his future countess, since he desperately needs a wife. Cynthia’s dowry is no less than what a king’s daughter might provide,” she added in a teasing tone, throwing a wink over her shoulder at her nephew.
Gaby felt her heart wrench. Of course Jack would be spoken for. Money went to money. Or, in this case, Jack’s desire for money.
Gaby had once read about how some aristocrats were poor and had to marry wealthy non-aristocrats to keep their fancy estates. Even if Jack was a moody jerk, he was gorgeous and accomplished, from what Gaby had seen of him. She could picture her nonna shrugging her shoulder in that typical, fatalistic Italian fashion.Meglio soli che male accompagati. That was what her nonna would say.Better to be alone than in bad company.And so far, Jack was the very definition of bad company.
Well, it’s nothing to do with me. I was sent here to help Allegretto, not to find a husband.She needed to hold that thought, or she’d never get back home. And being stuck here to possibly see Jack marry this Cynthia heiress was not part of the plan. If only she could figure out her purpose here, she’d be home free.
“I believe it is somewhat premature to announce nuptials, Aunt Kitty,” Jack said in a dry tone.
“Well, we’ll see what happens this weekend, shall we?” Lady Darling replied in an equally dry tone.
Gaby felt a cramp grip her stomach, and it had nothing to do with her wound. She pressed her hands against the sharp stab. So much for it having nothing to do with her. Why it would bother her that Jack intended to marry this woman, she couldn’t explain. Perhaps it was just the shock of hearing that the man she was dangerously attracted to was promised to another. She had no claim to him. She wasn’t titled, or possessed anything beyond the clothes on her back, which were not even hers. It was ridiculous. They shared nothing in common. Yet it was all she could do to hold back the tears.
“Are you all right, my dear?” Lady Darling said. “Is your injury bothering you? Jack, do something.”
Jack grabbed Gaby’s elbow, and she looked up and found what she would never have expected from him—tenderness. He looked as if he cared about her, as if her suffering had caused him pain too. It was impossible to read what he was thinking exactly, but she could see he worried for her, and it stole her breath.
“You really should be in bed,” he said in a husky voice. “You need to recover from your wound and near-fatal fall off that cliff. Allow me to be of assistance.”
Before she knew what was happening, he’d lifted her in his arms as though he were carrying a basket of feathers.
“Oh!” she said in surprise as her eyes met his. Those Mediterranean baby blues were regarding her intently. Not that look of tenderness she’d glimpsed before, but something else—something that made her want to close her eyes and lean into him.
Oh God, I’m in deep trouble.The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be near him. She needed to be careful. She needed to stay in control. And in no way could she allow her physical desire for Jack to override her common sense.
“Thank you for your assistance. I-I was feeling lightheaded for a moment. It must be from yesterday’s ordeal.” A lie, of course. She was sore, but the only thing making her lightheaded was being in Jack’s arms.
“Jack will carry you into the dining room so you can have something to eat,” Lady Darling said, patting Gaby’s shoulder. “Come along, Jack, hop to it!”
