She dragged her gaze to him, and then his hand, swallowing hard as she put hers in it and began to step off the boat. Her feet felt like concrete.
But he held her hand the whole way into the villa, as they stepped into the incredible garden and then, to the tiled front portico. And as he opened the door, he turned to face her, eyes glowing with an emotion she couldn’t understand, and didn’t have time to process, because a second later, he was dropping his head and kissing her, holding her against his body, and somehow answering a question she hadn’t yet posed.
“I don’t think I want things to change either, Allegra. God help me.”
“I am sorry to interrupt,sir, but there is someone here to see Signora Di Santis.”
Luca turned his attention towards the door with reluctance. On the terrace in the early afternoon, with Allegra at his side, his arm wrapped comfortably over her shoulders, and both of them looking out to sea, reminded him of the yacht. Of how they’d been there. Of how they could be here.
“Someone for me?” Allegra said with a frown, glancing at Luca with obvious confusion. “I don’t know anyone in Italy, believe me.”
The housekeeper’s expression was uncomfortable. “It is the police.”
Allegra sat bolt upright. “What?”
Luca laughed, though. What on earth could the police want with his wife? One look at her and he saw how worried she was; her face was whiter than the sand of the beach below. “I’ll get ridof them,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You do not need to worry.”
And he strode inside the villa with a mix of amusement and confidence, because there was no way his wife had ever done anything to warrant the intervention of the police. She was no criminal; he knew, because he’d done a background check. No, he knew, because heknewher, and she was all that was good and honest in this world.
Two police officers stood inside the door, talking quietly amongst themselves. He recognised their reactions, when he approached. Awe. Intimidation. He saw it often.
He dipped his head once. “I believe you want to speak to my wife?”
The shorter of them spoke first. “Good afternoon, sir.” He cleared his throat. “I’m Benito, this is my colleague, Gianni.”
Luca nodded once more.
“I’m sure we can clear this up, but we do need to speak to Signora Di Santis, yes.”
“What exactly is there to clear up?”
Benito hesitated. “We’ve had a fraud complaint filed against her.”
His first thought was of his brother. That somehow Paolo had learned the truth of their marriage and was trying to force Allegra to admit the truth. “That is not possible.”
“It came through international channels, this morning, as a foreign request for cooperation. We are required to investigate, and file a report.”
International channels? He frowned. That was not Paolo, then, but someone else. He’d run a background check; it had shown that she was clean. He knew that to be the case. Only, what if he was wrong? Something shifted inside of him: a sharp sense of betrayal. What if Allegra had somehow fooled him? Butno. That was followed swiftly by the knowledge that he would walk through the fires of hell to protect her, no matter what.
Gianni shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “The complaint included a request that she return to America to answer the complaint.”
At that, Luca laughed—a sound of disbelief. “You are talking about arresting my wife?”
“No, sir, no,” Benito looked annoyed with the younger officer. “We simply want to speak with her to see if there is merit in the claim.”
“I assure you, there is not.”
“I’m sure,” Benito continued. “But we cannot take your word alone for it.”
“I am not subjecting Allegra to this, without a better understanding of the complaint.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we really have to discuss that with your wife. If she chooses for you to be there, then that’s fine. But this is a police matter.”
“You will tell me what has been alleged,” he responded, crossing his arms over his chest, staring them down.
Benito looked at Gianni, then back to Luca. “It’s fraud, sir. Fraud, and theft.”
CHAPTER 14
