The American Contessa (9 page)

Gaby
silently opened the door to the library.
 
The rest of the house had long gone to bed.
 
It was the perfect time to search for the
elusive book.
 
Devising that the only way
to find it was to search aisle by aisle, shelf by shelf, Gaby turned on two
small lamps near to where she planned to start her exploration.

She
was just about to begin her hunt, when she felt two eyes upon her.
 
Looking up, she was startled to find a
portrait of beautiful titian haired woman staring back at her.
 
She hadn’t noticed the picture on her earlier
venture into the library with Carmina.
 

Inching
closer, Gaby narrowed her eyes and saw that the woman wore a necklace exactly
like the one in the photograph her Grandfather had shown her.
  
“Wow,” she exclaimed breathlessly.
 
There, in all its eighteenth century glory,
was the prize for which she searched; the answer to all the financial woes that
had recently befallen her family.
 
The
painting glared accusingly at her as she leaned forward to inspect the small
brass plate attached to the bottom of the frame.

There
was no indication as to who the woman was.
 
Only the artists name and a date -1834.

“What
are you doing?”

Gaby
whirled around. “Oh,” she gasped, “You scared the hell out of me!”

Luca
sauntered into the library and leaned against the banister of the staircase to
the second level.
 
Wearing a tight white
t-shirt and low slung jeans, he fairly radiated animal magnetism. “Couldn’t you
sleep?
 
I know I couldn’t,” he admitted.

Looking
him up and down, Gaby walked to the closest bookshelf and fingered the nearest
book.
 
“I came to see if I could find something
interesting to take back to my room with me.”

He
held out his arms and smiled sexily. “See anything you’d like to take up to bed
with you?”

Gaby
harrumphed and continued looking at the books.
 
And here she thought she’d made some headway in getting to know the real
Luca tonight.
 
She must have rocks in her
head if she thought this guy had a sincere bone in his body.

Moving
closer to where she was standing, he whispered in her ear.
 
“Tell me Gaby, what tempts you; a good
mystery? Science Fiction?
  
Erotica?”

Facing
him, Gaby crossed her arms in front of her chest.
 
“Oh, I don’t know.
 
A good book is a good book.”
 
Holding his gaze, she replied haughtily, “But
I must say, I prefer a book where the protagonists are likable and the words
aren’t so utterly predictable.”

Frowning
at her sharp taunt, Luca took a step back and looked away.
 
This was not going well.
 
So she thought him unlikable and his words
predictable?
 
He was at a loss.
 
If he’d flirted with Anna Maria in this way,
there was no doubt in his mind that they’d be on floor by now going at it like
rabbits.
  
How do you talk to a woman who
seems to see through you like a pane of glass?

Avoiding
her gaze he exhaled. “You may want to try reading between the lines,” he said
seriously.
 
“Maybe a character could be
deeper than you think, but the writer just has trouble finding the right
words.”

“Maybe,”
Gaby replied carefully.
 
He was
definitely trying hard to have a real conversation with her.
 
She could tell it was hard for him not to
fall back on seducing and cajoling a woman for whatever he wanted from them.
 
Truth be known, she was having trouble
thinking of what to say to him as well.
 
The time for polite chitchat between them had long passed.
 
They’d gone well beyond that stage in their
relationship.
 
An awkward silence ensued.

“I
saw you looking at the painting.
 
You
like it?” he suddenly asked, breaking the hush between them.

“Yes
I do,” she answered honestly, glad for a safe subject. “Who is she?”

“Well,
it’s a long story.”
 
Luca leaned his back
against the bookcase, his gaze riveted to her face.
 
“The Count at the time was in love with a
commoner.
 
The family’s Governess to be
exact.
 
That’s her in the painting.”

Finding
that he had finally found a topic on which he could speak easily, Luca relaxed
a little and continued, “He loved her so much he forgot all about his station,
his family, everything.
 
Her last name,
we still don’t know.
 
But her first name
was Marina.
 
The Count wanted to marry
her and gave her the necklace she wears in the portrait.”

Gaby
walked towards the painting and looked back at him.
 
“I thought all the family are hung together
in the portrait gallery on the other side of the Villa?”

“Yes
… they are,” he answered casually as he joined her by the picture.

“He
didn’t marry her, did he?
 
I mean you
don’t even know her full name.”

“No,
he didn’t.
 
His family convinced him it
would be a mistake to marry her,” he stated matter-of-factly.
 

Gaby
shook her head incredulously.
 
“I can’t
believe that if he was so much in love, that what his family thought would make
any difference.”

“You
don’t understand these things,” he said offhandedly.
 
“The world I’m from places a lot of
importance on such things.
 
Marrying
beneath you is not an option.”

“No,”
she said emphatically, “I understand better than you think.
 
She probably didn’t fit into his world.
 
But that doesn’t mean they didn’t belong
together.”
 
Gaby’s voice rose in pitch as
she imagined the Governess, Marina, being told by the man she loved that it was
beneath him to marry her.
 
“If he’d loved
her enough, nothing would’ve mattered.
 
He didn’t fight for her even though she was probably the best thing that
ever happened to him.”

“That’s
quite an assumption.
 
Love conquers all,
is that it?” he snorted.

Gaby
sighed resignedly.
 
“You still didn’t
tell me what happened to her.”

“She
… disappeared.
 
There’s no record of what
became of her.
 
She was quite the hellion
apparently though.
 
Family lore has it,
that when he ended it, she threw the necklace back in his face …”

“Good
for her,” Gaby whooped.

“And
…, she cursed him.”

“I’d
curse at him too.”

“No,
I mean she cursed the Manetti family; the necklace in particular.”
 
Luca twisted his lips in a wry smile.
 
“The necklace was always passed on to the
woman who was to be the future Contessa.”

“What
was the curse?”
 
Gaby asked wide-eyed.

“That
whoever possessed it would never be happy, and I guess,” he continued
sardonically, “by association, neither would the Count she married.”

“
Hmm.
”
 
Gaby exhaled and studied the painting once
again.
 
“Do you believe that?”

Luca
waved his hand in the air.
 
“It doesn’t
matter what I believe.
 
The necklace was
stolen years ago, and has never been recovered.”
 

Swallowing
hard, Gaby lowered her eyes to the floor.
 
His comment was a harsh reminder of why she was there in the first
place.
 
She was growing to hate the
deception more and more with each passing minute she spent in the Italy.

“So
it would seem I’m quite safe from an unhappy marriage,” he said mockingly.
 
“If ever I were to marry, that is.”

“So
it would seem,” she replied solemnly.
 
Slowly walking towards the library door, Gaby looked back at him.
 
“Goodnight Luca.”

“What,
no book?” he blinked.

“No.
 
Guess your tale was bedtime story enough,”
she answered wearily.

Luca
was hesitant to let her leave.
  
He tried
to quickly think of something more to say.
 
“If there’s anything you’ve seen that you really want to read, I’d do it
sooner rather than later.”

Pausing
at the door Gaby replied, “Oh, why’s that?”

“My
Nonna
is giving about a third of the
library to some charity or other in a week.
 
So a lot of the books are being boxed up for donation and there’ll be
less choice soon.”

Gaby’s
mouth dropped open and she nodded in comprehension.
 
Passing through the doorway he called to her,
“Gaby?”

“Yes?”

“Sweet
dreams,” he smiled at her.

She
smiled wanly back.
 
“You too.”

“
Certo
. You can bet on it,” Luca
whispered, but she’d already gone.

One
week.

That
wasn’t enough time.
 

In
a week, Luca and Carmina’s Grandmother would be visiting the Villa and holding
a charity event to celebrate the donation of a good portion of the books from
the Manetti library to a local historical society.
 
Soon, some of the
Societa’s
volunteers would be coming to the Villa to sort through
the shelves to select those books to be given away.

What
if one of the volunteers happened upon the book for which she’d been
searching?
 
Of course, “Crime and
Punishment” was not on the list to be donated.
 
It wasn’t of any historical Florentine importance.
 
But the entire library would be disturbed and
anything could occur with so many people going through the books.

Sitting
on the terrace with Carmina for breakfast, Gaby pondered what to do.
 
Abandoning the whole quest seemed like the
most likely prospect.
 
But she had
promised her Grandfather to do what she could in finding the necklace.
 
Why oh why had she made such a rash
promise?
 
She wracked her brain for a way
out of the whole mess and decided the only thing she could do was to at least
put in an effort to look for it.
 
If she
didn’t discover it, or if someone else did, then so be it.

Luca
strolled out of the Villa to join them and eyed her warily.
 
Last night’s encounter with Gaby had left him
craving her company more than ever.
 
Her
indifference was killing him.
 
He could
make her angry, but he didn’t want only anger from her.
 
He wanted … everything.
  
Taking a seat next to her, he observed she
was behaving most oddly.
 
She was
preoccupied this morning and not affected, good or bad, by his presence in the
least.
  

After
she’d left him the previous evening he had walked the halls of the Villa,
recounting every moment of their conversation.
 
Gaby had been quite receptive to him at dinner when Carmina provided a
buffer, but alone in the library he’d resorted to all his old seduction tricks
and she would have none of it.
 
At least
they hadn’t ended up in a shouting match, hurling insults at each other. For
that he was grateful and even a little optimistic.
   

It
was the damnedest thing!
 
Women were
usually completely at his mercy and taken in by his smooth demeanour.
 
Gaby was completely different.
 
His flirting held no appeal for her.
 
But then, even Carmina had no use for him
when he behaved in a spurious or superior manner.
 
It was for that reason, and that reason alone
that he had been natural and candid at dinner the previous evening.
 
He knew that Carmina would take him to task,
in front of Gaby if necessary, if he conducted himself badly.
 
Could it be that Gaby found his candour
appealing?
 
Being himself seemed like the
only option open to him at this point.
 
Could he really be himself with her?
 
There was only one way to find out.

Gaby
was deep in thought when Carmina touched her arm.

“Are
you still with us?” she asked brightly.

Smiling
at her friend Gaby replied, “I’m sorry.
 
I guess I didn’t sleep very well.”
 
Avoiding Luca’s gaze she took a sip of coffee.
 
“Would you mind terribly if I didn’t come
shopping with you today?”

“No,
of course not,” Carmina answered.
 
“Take
it easy.
 
Maybe soak up some of our
famous Italian sun by the pool.”

“Thanks,
that sounds like a great idea.”

Luca
quietly watched their interaction and said nothing.
 

*****

The
cool water was invigorating and just what Gaby needed to refresh and cleanse
all the thoughts from her head.
 
She
wanted to forget all her troubles for the moment and just let the water wash
them all away.
 
Lap after lap she swam,
tiring herself to the point of exhaustion.
  
As she emerged from the water and lay on the chaise lounge beside the
pool, the sun warmed her skin and she closed her eyes, oblivious to all around
her.

“Be
careful you don’t burn.”

Opening
one eye, she saw that Luca had taken the chaise beside her.
 
Wearing only a pair of shorts, he looked fit,
tanned and completely devastating.

“Duly
noted,” she replied sternly, closing her eye again.

“Gaby?”

“Yeah?”

“I
want to apologize to you.”

She
opened her eye once again.
 
“You do?”

He
looked sheepishly at her.
 

Sitting
up, she reached for the towel slung over the back of the lounge and covered
herself.
 
All of a sudden, a bikini was
not sufficient protection from all that male testosterone.
 
If he was going to use his charm on her she
needed every barricade she could lay her hands on against his heavy artillery.

“Why
the need to apologize all of a sudden?” she queried, raising her eyebrows at
him.

He
shifted nervously in his chair.
 
“The
things I’ve said to you; the insults, the suggestive remarks.
 
Well, I admit I’ve been behaving like the
total jackass you said I was, and I’m sorry.”
 
He let out a long breath as though saying as much had been a significant
effort.

“Okay,
apology accepted,” Gaby said simply.

Luca
looked at her confusedly.
 
He’d
apologized but it really hadn’t changed anything.
 
It’s not like he expected her to jump into
his arms or any such thing.
 
But her
manner hadn’t altered at all toward him.
 
How could she be so cool, calm and collected, while he was so totally
besotted.
 
Did she feel anything for him
but pure distaste?
 
He had to find
out.
 
“Look, I know that you don’t like
me, but …,”

“Who
said I don’t like you?” Gaby asked.

He
looked at her hopefully.
 
“Do you?”

“Well,
not much,” she smiled.
 
Apologizing was
obviously not something he did very often, she thought smugly.
 
Why not make him suffer a little first.
 
“But then you haven’t really given me much
reason to like you, have you?”

“I’d
like to,” he stated tensely.

Gaby
licked her lips and grinned at him.
 
It
was great to have the upper hand, even for a moment.
 
“Well, maybe there’s hope for us to be
friends yet.”

Luca’s
face dropped.
 
“I don’t want to be
friends
with you.
 
I mean I do.
 
But ... I …”
 
Putting his face in
his hands, he groaned loudly, “I can’t stand this.”

“Stand
what?”

Without
lifting his head he replied fervently, “Being so close to you.
 
Sleeping in the room down the hall from you
but being kept at arm’s length.”
 
He
raised his eyes to hers.
 
“Don’t you know
what you do to me?”

Stunned,
Gaby stood up.
 
Running away seemed like
a pretty good idea.
 
The hungry look he
was sending her way, had her more nervous than a virgin at a prison rodeo.
 
“I don’t think there’s much point in having
this conversation.
 
You know I’ll be
leaving soon.”
  
Looking from Luca to the
door back inside the Villa, he guessed her thoughts immediately.

“Don’t
go,” he pleaded with her, clutching her hand. “If friendship is all you can
offer me right now, I’ll take it.”

Standing
as well, Luca blocked her path.
 
There
was no way she was leaving him now.
 
He’d
bared himself as he had never before to any woman.
  
“But don’t think that I don’t want more …
much more.”

Gaby’s
eyes fell to his lips and a small sigh left her own.

Sensing
her slight surrender, Luca seized the chance and grabbed her by the
shoulders.
 
Savagely lowering his mouth
to hers, he plundered with all the longing and lust he’d felt since the moment
he’d seen her.
 
His tongue invaded her
mouth, coaxing her to respond in like.
 

Instinctively,
Gaby’s arms wound around his neck and she pressed herself against him. She’d
never been kissed with such passion and need.
 
His hands encircled her back and molded her body to him more
tightly.
 
She could feel his hard length
against her stomach.
 
Their lips parted
for a moment and he breathed, “Oh Gaby, what you do to me.”
 

As
his lips trailed kisses down her neck, Gaby threw her head back to allow him
better access.
 
This could easily get out
of control and she wasn’t sure if she had the power to stop it.
 
She hoped if she begged him to, he would have
the restraint.
 
“Luca, this isn’t a good
idea,” she uttered softly.
  
“Please.
 
Please, stop.”
 
He groaned loudly and halted his sensual
onslaught.

When
he released her, they were both panting hard and Luca gave her the most
conceited and egotistical grin imaginable.
 
“You’re right, this isn’t exactly private.
 
Why don’t we continue this in bed upstairs?”
he murmured, inclining his head towards the house.

Widening
her eyes at him, Gaby was in disbelief.
 
Give this guy an inch and he’d take a mile!
 
Sure, she’d kissed him back –he was without
doubt a great kisser, but did he really expect her to go to bed with him after
one little apology and a kiss.
 
Realising
that her hands were still resting on his chest, she gave an almighty push,
which landed him straight into the pool.
 
Splashing and spluttering he came up for air.

Gaby
was positive he would be furious, but when he broke the surface of the water,
he still held the same stupid grin on his face as before.

“What
was that for?” he yelled, beaming at her from ear to ear.

“I
thought you could do with some cooling off!” she declared back at him.

He
splashed some water up at her and waggled his brows, “Why don’t you join me?”

“But
I’m not hot,” she countered with a wicked smile.

He
looked her up and down and his voice got husky.
 
“I beg to differ.”
 

Gaby
picked up her towel and walked around the pool’s edge under his watchful
eye.
 
As she reached the other side, he
swam across to meet her.

“Have
dinner with me?” he asked hopefully, putting his elbows on the side of the pool
and looking up at her.
 
“To celebrate our
new found . . . friendship.”

“More
like a new found truce,” she replied, folding her arms in front of her.
 
“What did you have in mind?”
 

Luca
took a moment to regain his cool.
 
He’d
been sure that she would shoot him down the instant he’d asked her out.
 
“Well, I happen to know the maître d’ at the
best restaurant in the city.
 
We can have
a Michelin star dinner then go dancing at an exclusive club.”

Gaby
looked unimpressed.

“Or
not?” he continued uncertainly, “Where would you like to go?”

“Well,”
she said slowly, “I’d really just like to go for a pizza like a normal person.”

“And
I’m not a normal person?” he asked with a raised brow.

“I
didn’t say that.”

“I
may be a Count, Gaby.
 
But I’m just a man.
 
Just flesh and blood; like any man.”
 

With
that, he pushed himself up to sit on the side of the pool with his legs
dangling in the water. “Just like any man, I make mistakes, say the wrong
things all the time, as you’re well aware.
 
And like most men I ..., love pizza.”

Gaby
thought about what he’d said.
 
She also
watched the droplets run across his skin and fall from his rather spectacular
body.
 
Unsure of which reason made her
decide, but pretty sure it was the latter, she uttered softly, “Okay.”