Becoming The Prince's Wife. Rebecca Winters
Princess Michelina. He’d ridden in the black-and-gold carriage with his brother and their mother, Queen Bianca, the three of them grave and in deep grief.
In a recent poll he’d been touted the world’s most sought-after royal bachelor. Most of the tabloids revealed he went through women like water. She could believe it. Just now his eyes had mirrored his masculine admiration of her. Everywhere they roved, she’d felt heat trail over her skin. By that invisible process called osmosis, his charm and sophistication had managed to seep into her body.
But even up close no camera could catch the startling midnight blue of his dark-lashed eyes. The dying rays of the evening sun gilded the tips of his medium cut dark blond hair and brought out his hard-boned facial features, reminiscent of his Sicilian ancestry. He was a fabulous-looking man.
Right then he’d been wearing jeans that molded his powerful thighs, and a white shirt with the sleeves shoved up to the elbows to reveal hard-muscled forearms. No sign of a uniform this evening.
Whatever kind of work he did, he’d gotten dirty. She wondered where he’d been. There were black marks on his clothes and arms, even on his face, bronzed from being outdoors. If anything, the signs of the working man intensified his potent male charisma. He wasn’t just a handsome prince without substance.
Carolena was stunned by her reaction to him. There’d been many different types of men who’d come into her life because of her work as an attorney; businessmen, manufacturers, technology wizards, mining engineers, entrepreneurs. But she had to admit she’d never had this kind of visceral response to a man on a first meeting, not even with Berto, who’d been her childhood friend before they’d fallen in love.
The prince had said half an hour. Carolena hadn’t intended to join the three of them this evening, but since he’d used the word insist, she decided she’d better go so as not to offend him. Unfortunately it was growing late. She needed to hurry inside and get ready, but she wouldn’t have time to wash her hair.
She climbed out of the pool and retraced her steps to the other wing of the palace. After a quick shower, she unbraided her hair and swept it back with an amber comb. Once she’d applied her makeup, she donned a small leopard-print wrap dress with ruched elbow-length sleeves. The tiny amber stones of her chandelier earrings matched the ones in her small gold chain necklace. On her feet she wore designer wedges in brown and amber.
The law firm in Arancia where she worked demanded their attorneys wear designer clothes since they dealt with an upper-class clientele. Abby had worked there with her until her fifth month of pregnancy when she’d been forced to quit. After being employed there twenty months and paid a generous salary, Carolena had accumulated a wonderful wardrobe and didn’t need to worry she wouldn’t have something appropriate to wear to this evening’s dinner.
A knock at the door meant a maid was ready to take her to the dining room. But when she opened it, she received another shock to discover the prince at the threshold wearing a silky charcoal-brown sport shirt and beige trousers.
He must not have trusted her to come on her own. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or worried she’d made some kind of faux pas when she’d declined his invitation at first. Their eyes traveled over each other. A shower had gotten rid of the black marks. He smelled wonderful, no doubt from the soap he used. Her heart did a tiny thump before she got hold of herself.
“Your Highness— This is the second time you’ve surprised me this evening.”
He flashed her a white smile. “Unexpected surprises make life more interesting, don’t you think?”
“I do actually, depending on the kind.”
“This was the kind I couldn’t resist.”
Obviously she had irritated him. Still, she couldn’t believe he’d come to fetch her. “I’m honored to be personally escorted by none other than the prince himself.”
“That wasn’t so hard to say, was it?” His question brought a smile to her lips. “Since I’m hungry, I thought I’d accompany you to the dining room myself to hurry things up, and I must admit I’m glad you’re ready.”
“Then let’s not waste any more time.”
“Vincenzo and Abby are already there, but they didn’t even notice me when I passed by the doors. I’ve heard of a honeymoon lasting a week or two, even longer. But eight months?”
Carolena chuckled. “I know what you mean. While we were flying out, they were so caught up in each other, I don’t think they said more than two words to me.”
“Love should be like that, but it’s rare.”
“I know,” she murmured. Vincenzo and Michelina hadn’t enjoyed a marriage like that. It was no news to Carolena or Valentino, so they left the subject alone.
She followed him down several corridors lined with tapestries and paintings to a set of doors guarded by a staff member. They opened onto the grounds. “We’ll cut across here past the gardens to the other wing of the palace. It’s faster.”
There was nothing stiff or arrogant about Prince Valentino. He had the rare gift of being able to put her at ease and make her feel comfortable.
She looked around her. “The gardens are glorious. You have grown a fabulous collection of palms and exotic plants. Everything thrives here. And I’ve never seen baroque architecture this flamboyant.”
He nodded. “My brother, Vito, and I have always called it the Putti Palace because of all the winged boy cherubs supporting the dozens of balconies. To my mother’s chagrin, we used to draw mustaches on them. For our penance, we had to wash them off.”
Laughter rippled out of her. “I’m afraid to tell Abby what you said for fear she’ll have nightmares over Max getting into mischief.”
“Except that won’t be for a while yet.” His dark blue eyes danced. No doubt this prince had been a handful to his parents. Somehow the thought made him even more approachable.
“With all these wrought-iron balustrades and rustication, the palace really is beautiful.”
“Along with the two-toned lava masonry, the place is definitely unique,” he commented before ushering her through another pair of doors, where a staff member was on duty. Their arms brushed in the process, sending little trickles of delight through her body. Her reaction was ridiculous. It had to be because she’d never been this close to a prince before. Except for Vincenzo, of course, but he didn’t count. Not in the same way.
They walked down one more hall to the entrance of the dining room where Abby and Vincenzo sat at the candlelit table with their heads together talking quietly and kissing. Gilt-framed rococo mirrors made the room seem larger, projecting their image.
Valentino cleared his throat. “Should we come back?” He’d already helped Carolena to be seated. The teasing sound in his voice amused her, but his question caused the other two to break apart. While Abby’s face flushed, Vincenzo got to his feet and came around to give Valentino a hug.
“It’s good to see you.”
“Likewise. I’m sorry I took so long. It’s my fault for leaving work late today, but it couldn’t be helped.”
“No one understands that better than I do. We took the liberty of bringing Carolena with us. Allow me to introduce you.”
Valentino shot her a penetrating glance. “We already met at the swimming pool.”
Carolena felt feverish as she and Abby exchanged a silent glance before he walked around to hug her friend. Then he took his place next to Carolena, who still hadn’t recovered from her initial reaction to his masculine appeal.
In a moment, dinner was served, starting with deep-fried risotto croquettes stuffed with pistachio pesto called arancini because they were the shape and size of an orange. Pasta with clams followed called spaghetti alle vongole. Then came the main course of crab and an aubergine side dish. Valentino told them the white