Stealing Luca's Heart (13 page)

She noticed the amused expression on Gabi’s face. She reached back and brought out the newspaper, doing her best not to lose it in the windy Jeep. “Got it.”

“I’m not sure what page it’s on, but there’s a good-sized photo in there that might interest you.”

Confused, she opened the
New Zealand Herald
and scanned all the pictures in the first two sections before her eyes froze on the quarter-page color photo on the cover of the lifestyle section. “Oh. My. God!” That was all her stunned brain could come up with.

The headline read LUCA’S LADY? The picture was clearly misleading. It showed the two of them by the baggage cart smiling at each other with Luca’s hand on her shoulder. It must have been taken by someone from the airport windows. Great.

They had just reached River Rage’s parking lot. Gabi parked the Jeep and turned to her. “You aren’t saying anything, Ally. Are you totally ticked or what? George wanted me to tell you because he chickened out. I don’t think Simone saw it yet, or she would have.”

She was still staring at the photo, processing it. Actually, it wasn’t so much about her but that Luca was with an unnamed woman. He was the one who was probably mad or embarrassed by the article.

“It’s not about me, Gabi. The article doesn’t even mention my name, and if it did, it’s not like anyone knows who I am. Actually, the photo does look misleading.”

“Well, okay, then. If we’re done with the gossip page, I’ve got work to do this morning that involves giving you, my dear, the thrill ride of your life!” Gabi jumped out, grabbed her bag, and motioned for Ally to follow.

Ally set the paper in the backseat and thought it was kind of cool to be in the paper. She climbed out and was looking forward to some excitement on a gorgeous day. Fifteen minutes later she and ten tourists, all wearing red plastic raincoats and boots, were receiving their River Rage safety briefing from their driver, Gabi Tetari-Hill.

“Now, I can’t stress enough the importance for everyone to keep their heads and all body parts inside the boat unless you want to lose them. We will come within mere centimeters of cliff facings. We’ll be skimming over boulders, at times up to eighty kilometers an hour, dodging the narrow canyon walls. This boat will spin a full three hundred sixty degrees and, without losing momentum, continue speeding down the river. Our boats only need ten centimeters of water, so we can go virtually anywhere. People, you won’t need coffee this morning after this adrenaline rush. I guarantee it.” Gabi gave everyone a wicked grin and then turned to speak to one of the crew members who was holding the safety lines.

She sat in her seat expectantly, watching Gabi give her guests a quick safety check before sitting down at the wheel. The boats were shaped like speed boats but with four rows of seats; the back row was slightly elevated. Gabi reminded everyone to pull down the safety bar in front of them so it held the riders in place and gave them something to hold onto. She started up the power engine, motioning for the dock hands to untie the boat. Gabi looked over at a latecomer running down the dock. Shaking her head, she yelled back, “Ally, could you slide over? We will be adding one more.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce my cousin, Luca Tetari, who seems to have nothing better to do this morning.”

She could hear a few murmurs over the engine.

Luca waved a cheerful hello and jumped on. He slid into the lifejacket that Gabi threw at his chest. “It’s called delegating,” he yelled to Gabi, taking his place next to Ally in the front row. “Quit following me around, will ya! People are going to start talking,” he said with a grin, nudging her arm.

She shook her head. He looked so happy and carefree. “I was wrong about you. You’re not a Peeping Tom; you’re a stalker.”

Luca did his best to look shocked.

Gabi eased the boat away from the dock. Luca leaned into Ally’s right ear so he could be heard over the loud motor. “I hope you don’t mind if I crash your girls’ morning, but I thought some damage control might be in order.”

“The picture?”

He nodded. “I ran into my dad, who informed me that Gabi was going to be the brave one and show it to you.”

She nodded, leaning in to respond. “No worries. I don’t even get credit for being the mystery woman.” They were smiling at each other just before their heads were suddenly whipped back against their seat. Gabi had slammed her foot on the gas, gunning the boat forward.

*

Man, these boats are a rush
, Gabi mused. She’d been navigating these canyons since before she could drive a car. Her dad had developed the first jet boat in the seventies and had grown the fleet to six. Hard to believe around four million people had experienced the thrill ride, making it one of New Zealand’s premier attractions. He still managed the website and a bit of the marketing, but Gabi did the rest. She was glad her mum and sister had other interests. This was her baby.

Gabi maneuvered the boat over the shallow edge of the river, weaving around boulders until she was in the middle of the narrow canyon, pushing the boat to go faster. She could hear the gasps coming from behind her.

*

This doesn’t seem too bad
, Ally thought. The next thing she knew she was screaming with the rest of the group as Gabi skillfully aimed a canyon wall at her skull only to steer clear by a hair, do a three-sixty, splash water into the boat, and continue on with the throttle down, slicing through the water along the steep rocks.

Gone was the perky girl with the quick smile. Gabi was in her element, Ally decided. She deftly handled the boat with confidence and nerves of steel.

They spent another thirty minutes dodging rocks and cliffs, turning, spinning, and by the end, Ally had practically landed in Luca’s lap, wet and giggling. How could she have thought this was going to be a log-flume ride? When they finally returned back to the dock, Ally hung back with Gabi while she checked the boat before shutting it down.

“Ally, I hope you enjoyed the ride. Do I have a great job or what?”

“You have an amazing job; this is awesome! What an adrenaline rush.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun.

She glanced over to the parking lot where Luca had his arm around a sixteen-year-old boy like they were best mates, posing for a photo with the grinning teen.

“Just be careful with that one.”

“Luca?”

Gabi nodded slowly.

“Really? I thought he was under Simone’s orders to entertain me today.”

“Exactly.” Gabi handed the boat’s keys to an employee who had finished tying the boat off.

The two women stepped onto the dock and started walking up toward Luca. Gabi held up her hand and stopped.

“Ally, I like you, so I’m going to be honest with you,” Gabi was suddenly serious. “You seem really cool and smart. Why wouldn’t he be attracted to you?” She held up her hand again when Ally started to interrupt. “I know my cousin, and trust me when I say he’s interested, and it has nothing to do with your dad or Simone.”

“Gabi—”

“Ally, let me get this out before he comes over here,” she said quickly, glancing toward Luca. “Look, everyone has opinions and perceptions about Luca—granted, most of it deserved. I’m telling you that he’s never been into long-term relationships; he’d never keep company with a woman just to be polite. Women pursue him all day long.” Gabi stuck out her tongue to show her disgust. “It’s sickening, really. All he’s had to do is just pick and choose from whatever falls his way. I’m thinking he sees you as a challenge.” Gabi gave her a quick hug. “Just be careful. He’s a heartbreaker.”

Ally just stood there while Gabi pulled back. Why did everyone assume she didn’t know what she was doing? She’d been taking care of herself for years.

She looked over Gabi’s shoulder and saw that Luca was coming toward them.

“I texted Mum and told her I’d take you to the hospital myself, Ally, since I’m already here. If you’re ready, we can go ahead and take off.” He looked from Ally to Gabi, meeting her frosty stare. “What?”

Gabi ignored him. “Ally, give your dad my best and tell him we hope to see him on the farm in a day or two.” Gabi gave a final hug. “I’m sure I’ll see you at the party tonight.”

“Thanks again for the boat ride. I want you to meet my sister, Tara. I think you’re really going to like her.”

“Looking forward to it. Remember what I said, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Sunshine is stormy,” Luca said to Ally when they were in the parking lot.

“What?”

“We call Gabi sunshine since she’s always got that positive vibe going, but she actually looked ticked that I showed up here this morning.”

“Maybe she figured you had sheep to shear, assets to count, rugby balls to throw, or whatever you do during your days.”

Luca glanced at Ally, clearly enjoying her sass. “Well, life is about prioritizing. When I got to my office and saw the picture, our picture,” he corrected, “I thought it would be very gentlemanly of me to make sure you weren’t embarrassed or disgraced.” He reached into his jeans’ back pocket and pulled out the newspaper clipping. “We look like a happy couple, don’t we?”

She took a look at it again, wondering if her dad had seen it. “Thanks for checking on my mental state, but it’s really not a big deal.”

Luca led her out of the parking lot to a clearing across the road.

“So when you said let’s take off, you really meant take off?”

“Nothing gets by you, does it?” he said, giving her a playful push on her shoulder that nearly had her toppling over. With that move, she guessed they had moved from acquaintances to friends now. He held the door open, motioning for her to climb into the back of the waiting helicopter.

Chapter 11

When they reached the hospital, Ally took Luca up on his offer to pick up lunch while she checked in on her dad. She walked into his hospital room and found him sitting up in bed staring at the computer in his lap. Definitely a good sign. Her dad gave her a big smile and waved her over. She walked over and placed a kiss on his head before sitting down in the chair next to the bed. The governor was on the screen but didn’t seem to notice her.

“Ian, I keep telling you I’m fine. The doctors have promised to let me out of here as early as tomorrow.” He looked to her. “They told me that I’m mostly out of the woods.”

“That’s great,” she whispered. A wave of relief flooded her system. Not that she believed he’d suffered serious brain damage, but to hear it was official allowed her to relax now. She took in the sight of his bed. Between the computer and the papers scattered around him, he seemed to be catching up on work and returning messages. Back to normal.

“I’ve got some great ideas to share with you when you’re here, Ian. Actually, you’ll probably hear the announcement yourself at the conference from Luca Tetari. They’ve got some exciting stuff happening at their farm.”

“What are you doing about your speaking slot, Cal?” Ally noticed on the screen that the governor wore a look of concern as he shoveled in a forkful of scrambled eggs. “Are they going to replace you?”

“I guess so. I was going to see if Ally was interested in taking it over. It would be good experience for her, but I’m not going to put her to work.” She opened her mouth to protest, but her dad shook his head.

“It’s good for her to have some downtime. The people running the conference said they have other people who have expressed an interest, so they’re covered.”

Ian nodded. “I see Luca’s one of the main speakers? He’ll bring some publicity to the event, that’s for sure. While we’re discussing the conference, did you happen to see the e-mail with the updated itinerary and speaker list?”

“I glanced over it.”

“Did you see who the other keynote speaker is?”

Cal shook his head. “I may have, but right now I can’t recall.”

“It’s Graham McMann.”

Cal leaned against the pillow behind him. “Graham’s coming to New Zealand? Huh, I would have thought he’d have let me know. I’m not surprised he’d want to speak. Seems to revel in doing that every chance he gets, doesn’t he? He’s always been a bit too slick for me, but it’s hard to deny that what’s he’s doing for green energy is unprecedented.”

“It’s unprecedented all right,” Ian mumbled. “You know, Cal, I wish I hadn’t sent you out to the Tetari farm. I should have gone myself before the conference. Then we wouldn’t be looking at your ugly ass in a hospital robe.”

“Oh, get off it, will you? We’ve been over this. It was just a freak accident. Listen, tell me where you’re at with running for the big office? Are you still exploring that?”

What! She had no idea that the governor was contemplating running for President. That was exciting.

Ian held his forkful of hash browns in midair. “I don’t know. My polling numbers are good, and I have the political dream team frothing at the mouth to get started.” Ian hesitated, and she saw him look quickly around his kitchen. “I have some personal issues I need to work out first, need to make sure I’m squeaky clean and all that. Plus, I’m not sure I want to deal with all the special interest groups wanting their handouts. It’s like you start losing control of your identity at some point.”

“How do June and the kids feel about a presidential run? All your dirty laundry on display for everyone?”

She couldn’t imagine living in that bubble or how Ian and his family would cope with the intrusion.

“They’re very supportive. June and I agreed that we’d keep the three boys out of the campaign and only put her into the spotlight if necessary toward election time. We want to keep the family life as normal as possible, not trotting around the country. Those are our thoughts, but like I said, I still haven’t made the final decision yet.”

“Well, that sounds like a good plan.”

Both she and her dad looked up when Luca poked his head in and held up a large paper bag. She gave him a wave and motioned at the table and chairs across from the bed. He set the lunch down and came over to shake Cal’s hand.

Cal shifted his focus back to the computer screen. “Ian, I should go. Ally and Luca are here with lunch, Italian by the smell of it,” he remarked, taking Luca’s outstretched hand.