“Thanks,” she said, laughing slightly. She supposed she had asked for it.
“There are worse things than being naïve, cara.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
“It’s like my whole childhood was a lie. Oh, I knew my father wasn’t a good man, but not this. And I always thought my mother was painfully honest—she drummed it into me constantly for as long as I can remember—don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t…” she shook her head in confusion. “Was it all an act?”
“Maybe she was trying to protect you. Maybe it was what she believed, but she loved your father and was ashamed of it.”
“Perhaps. Were you ashamed?”
“Of what, cara?”
“Of your father.”
He shook his head. “No. Well, not in the way you mean. My father was weak. I recognized that as I got older, and I suppose I was ashamed in a way. Where I grew up, being weak got you into trouble, which was definitely true of my father.”
“What happened to him?”
“He died when I was sixteen. He was killed in a robbery that went wrong.”
“And your mother went back to Italy?”
“No, not then. My mother is a proud woman—she wouldn’t go crawling back unless she had to.”
“It’s where you got it from. But she’s back now?”
“When I was convicted she returned. She knew only a good lawyer could do anything for me. She put aside her pride and went to her family.”
“So her family have money then?”
“Just a little.”
“And they got you out?”
He regarded her curiously. “Have you read about my case?”
Lia shook her head.
“Why not?”
“I think there’s a lot of rubbish on the Internet. I never know what to believe and what not to.”
“Weren’t you curious as to what sort of monster you were living with?”
She rolled her eyes. “Stop being so melodramatic.”
He sighed. “Yes, they got me out, and the conviction was overturned.”
“How?”
“One day I’ll tell you, but now isn’t the time to talk of this. Drink your champagne. Forget it for a while.”
She wanted to know, but also she remembered back to that night when they had fought. Luc was being so… she tried to think of the word. Agreeable maybe. Luc was being agreeable, and she really didn’t want to spoil the mood. All the same, a flicker of unease prickled across her skin, and she rubbed her arms. She took another sip of champagne, feeling the bubbles in her stomach, and pushed the unease to the back of her mind. “Okay,” she said, “tell me where we’re going then. Are we staying in Rome?”
“No. We’re going to an island off the coast. I have a villa there. It’s private, and we’ll be entirely alone. I hope that will be okay.”
A ripple of excitement shivered through her at the thought of being alone with Luc. She sipped her champagne and allowed her worries and inhibitions to slide away. This was time away from reality.
…
After that, the whole day took on a dreamlike quality. Everything moved fast. They’d been transported swiftly through the airport in Rome, seemingly unfettered by the restrictions that plagued the ordinary traveler. A long black car had driven them across the airport to where a black helicopter waited for them, the blades already turning as they pulled up beside it. Luc had steered her from the car and helped her climb on board and fasten the safety harness.
She was sitting ramrod straight in the seat, her knuckles white as they gripped the armrests, her heart beating fast with excitement. Luc pried open the fingers of the hand closest to him, loosening its deathlike grip, tugging it toward him.
“I’ve never been in a helicopter before,” she said as they slowly rose into the air.
“Another first then.” He stroked her palm, and she shivered in reaction. “Relax,” he said, “and you’ll enjoy it.”
“I am—it’s fantastic—I’ve always wanted to.”
She tried, but relaxing wasn’t really an option with Luc beside her, toying with her fingers. As he raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm, the damp tip of his tongue stroked across the sensitive flesh, and heat coiled tight in her belly. He bit softly down on the fleshy mound at the base of her thumb and kissed the soft skin inside her wrist. Lia wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle at his feet; she was sure that only the safety harness was keeping her from doing that. She glanced at the back of the pilot’s head, then out of the window. They were in the air and she hadn’t even noticed. She swallowed; it was one thing to accept that she was going to do this, but this feeling of being out of control was scary. She tried to pull her hand free, but Luc kept a tight hold. At least he stopped kissing it and she could think again. He placed it on his thigh and clamped it in place with his own much larger hand on top. Lia felt the heat through the material of his trousers.
She cleared her throat. “So, how long will it take?”
“How long will what take, cara?”
His voice made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Shaking her head to clear it, she tried again to tug her hand free, but he held it firmly in his grip.
“To get to this island.”
“About twenty minutes.”
She stared down out of the glass bubble at the world moving swiftly below her. Luc started speaking, pointing out places passing beneath them, and Lia slowly relaxed. They were flying along the coast now, the sea calm and unruffled.
“There,” Luc said.
Lia stared out to sea and gasped. The island lay like an emerald in the turquoise ocean, green mountains circled by golden beaches. They were flying over it now. It seemed deserted; when Luc had said they were going to be alone he had meant it literally.
“Let me get this straight,” she said as Luc pointed out the single building. “You own this whole island.”
“My grandfather left it to me.”
“And no one else lives there?”
“It’s where I go when I need to be alone.”
They were coming to land, the helicopter blowing up a cloud of red dust beneath them. Luc finally released her hand, and Lia fumbled with the harness, but her fingers didn’t seem to be working. Luc brushed them out of the way.
“Let me.”
Lia sat quite still as Luc unfastened the buckles and released her. He spoke briefly with the pilot, then opened the door and jumped down, holding out a hand for Lia. Threading her fingers through his, she jumped down. Luc took their bags and then waved the pilot away, and they watched as the helicopter rose slowly into the air and headed off toward the mainland.