Exclusive!: Hollywood Life or Royal Wife? / Marriage Scandal, Showbiz Baby! / Sex, Lies and a Security Tape

She showed them to a secluded table with a wonderful view, and soon the red and white checkered tablecloth was covered with all sorts of dishes, ranging from fried fish to squid salad, lobster and a local specialty of meatballs in a delicious sauce that Victoria had grown particularly fond of in the past few days.

Now that they were away from the palace, and Alexandra’s oppressive presence, she’d recovered her mood of the night before. It was difficult to think of anything disagreeable like Bill’s ultimatum when she was being treated to so much solicitude. Determined to enjoy herself, she pushed the impending threat to the back of her mind. What could he do that hadn’t already been done? The scandal was fading, according to Anne—a seven-day wonder. Soon she would just be another item of old news.

Rodolfo was charming, as always, and she found herself melting inside when she looked at him, remembering all that had taken place the previous night. There was a new tenderness and intimacy between them that she had never known with a man before. What would it be like to leave? she wondered as she sipped a glass of chilled water. What would Hollywood and all the hype be like after this? That, and knowing that she probably wouldn’t ever see him again? Her heart sank at the thought.

Just as she was about to take another sip of water a shadow fell on the table and she looked up. A scruffy young man stood there, a smirk on his face.

‘Hi, gorgeous,’ he drawled in an American accent. ‘Having a nice day? Knew I’d find you if I looked hard enough.’

Rodolfo was looking at her, then at the young man.

‘Who are you?’ Victoria demanded, feeling her pulse race and her stomach lurch. This had to be Bill. How on earth had he found her?

‘You know what they say. You can run but you can’t hide.’ Bill wagged a finger at her and smirked again.

‘What do you want?’ she muttered, swallowing.

‘I told you what I wanted when I called you last night. But I guess it’s too late for that, honeybunch. You had your chance and you didn’t take it. Tough.’ With that he pulled a small camera from his pocket and snapped several quick shots.

‘Who the hell is this?’ Rodolfo rose quickly to his feet as Bill stepped niftily away from the table and made for the door.

‘He’s someone from LA. He—well—’ Oh, how could she tell Rodolfo?

‘What, Victoria? Tell me at once,’ Rodolfo commanded, leaning towards her and taking her hand in his. ‘You must tell me. He’s taken pictures. I need to know.’

‘He’s the boyfriend of the girl who introduced me to the doctor who gave me the pills,’ she said in a half-whisper. ‘He’s already tried to blackmail me. He—’

But before she could finish Rodolfo had spun on his heel and was marching across the restaurant. He caught up with Bill as he was about to get into his Jeep.

‘Hey—you!’ Rodolfo threw at the coarse-looking unshaven creature. ‘Give me that camera at once.’

‘You have to be kidding. This is tomorrow’s headlines.’ Bill patted the camera smugly. ‘You may run your own little show here on your fantasy island, Your Royal Highness, but where I come from money talks. Sorry.’ He made to switch on the engine.

But before he could do so Rodolfo lunged forward and caught him by the scruff of his neck. ‘I’m asking you nicely,’ he said, his voice low and filled with menace.

‘Hey, leave me be,’ the man said, trying pull away, his expression ugly. ‘I have every right to take pictures of who the hell I want.’

‘Not on my island, you don’t. As you just pointed out, I run the show around here. If you don’t give me that camera immediately I shall have you arrested for harassment. That, I believe, is a term that you should be familiar with where you come from?’

‘Hey, you can’t do that,’ Bill protested. Then, after pushing Rodolfo away, he revved the engine and skidded off down the earth road, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Without hesitation Rodolfo pulled out his mobile and called the local police. They would stop Bill at the port. No way would he allow Victoria to be blackmailed or harassed by the press or by some unscrupulous drug dealer.

As he slipped his phone back in his shirt pocket and stepped back into the restaurant, it occurred to Rodolfo that his reaction had been somewhat out of proportion. It had been that of a man protecting the woman he cared for, he thought suddenly. He looked across at Victoria, standing uneasily by their table, not knowing what to do, and smiled at her reassuringly. He did care for her, he realised, more than he would have imagined—certainly more than he ever would have deemed possible. Last night, spent together in each other’s arms, had been so special, so filled with extraordinary sensations and tenderness, that he would find it hard to forget.

Banishing his thoughts, Rodolfo went over to her. ‘The police will cut him off further down the road or at the ferry, so don’t worry. He won’t leave the island with those pictures. And if he doesn’t give the camera up voluntarily he’ll go to jail for a few hours. That should do the trick.’ He smiled down at her, his fingers touching her hair, and he made her sit down again. ‘There is no need to worry, Victoria. All that is behind you now, cara mia. But you must swear something to me.’

‘What is that?’ she asked sinking back onto the chair, her hand still held in his.

‘That if anybody should come bothering you or threatening you again, you will tell me at once. Trust me, Victoria. Above all, I’m your friend.’

She swallowed, then nodded silently, allowed him to pour her some more mineral water and sat with her hand covered by his.

‘Promise?’ He raised his glass to hers.

‘I promise,’ she said, smiling into his eyes. It felt strangely reassuring to know that he cared for her enough to worry about her well-being. ‘I wish I didn’t have to go back to Hollywood and that whole scene,’ she said suddenly.

‘Then why not drop the whole thing?’

‘Because I love acting—and the script of this new movie. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I can’t just run away. I would never forgive myself. I just wish—’ She cut off abruptly, looked down into her glass and sighed.

‘What do you wish?’ he asked softly.

‘That I was made of sterner stuff,’ she replied with a smile.

‘You are strong. But that world is full of traps. I know—I’ve seen it close-up. Are you sure you have to go?’

‘I have to. Apart from the fact that I’d never be able to face myself if I failed, I’m under contract. Ed would have a fit. No,’ she said, shaking her head and sipping more water, ‘I’m just going to have to face it.’

‘And fall back into old habits?’ he said, raising a harsh dark brow and withdrawing his hand from hers.

‘No. I’m determined not to.’

‘Easily said, when sitting here away from it all,’ he remarked dryly. ‘You don’t want to go back to popping pills, but you can’t guarantee that you won’t when the going gets tough.’

‘I will do my very best, I promise. And I’ll have Dottore Manfreddo’s tea.’

‘That’s not good enough,’ he said harshly, his eyes meeting hers. ‘I want you to swear to me that you won’t ever take those things again. Don’t you realise the danger? You have no idea what you’re taking. They could kill you, Victoria.’

Her eyes met his full-on, and she read the concern and anger in them and felt sudden resentment at his attitude. ‘Rodolfo, it’s easy enough for you to judge. You live here, in this magical kingdom, protected from everything. It’s different out there in the real world. I don’t want to fall back into anything, and I don’t believe I will now that I know the full truth, but I can’t promise you that in a crisis I won’t, because I don’t honestly know. I’d be lying. Sometimes the stress is overwhelming and, as we both know, I’m not good at too much pressure.’

‘You’re right,’ he conceded reluctantly. ‘Will you at least promise me that if you’re feeling down, overwhelmed or whatever, you will call me before doing anything rash, and that together we’ll find a solution? As I said before, cara mia, I’m above all your friend.’

She nodded. ‘I promise.’

Her friend. That was all. She supposed it was a lot but she wished he had said, I’m the man who loves you. But that wasn’t to be, she argued reasonably. And she was foolish even to think of such a thing.

Several minutes later Rodolfo rang the police and was advised that Bill had been stopped on the road and his camera confiscated. He had left the island furious, threatening lawsuits. But that, as Rodolfo knew, was just hot air.

‘He can threaten as much as he likes. The laws here do not permit harassment of my residents,’ he said autocratically. ‘Victoria, I suggest we go back to the castello and take a long afternoon siesta?’

He sent her an intimate smile filled with promise. His tender eyes and fingers, caressing the inside of her wrist, sent shivers jolting through her. Was it foolish to allow him to make love to her again? Was it courting trouble? Perhaps. But how could she resist? She had only a few days left before the dream came to an end and she returned to reality. She knew that, whatever the consequences for her own heart, she must live it to the full or regret it for the rest of her life.

A HEAT HAZE SHIMMERED outside, but in the shuttered bedroom of Rodolfo’s apartment the atmosphere was cool. Drawing Victoria towards him, Rodolfo slipped her top off, then her skirt and lacy undergarments. There was no pretence, no lingering over niceties, just a deep-rooted need to be in each other’s arms, skin to skin, throbbing heart to throbbing heart.

As her bra fell to the floor and his eyes fell upon her upturned breasts he sighed. ‘Ah, bellissima Victoria, how shall I be able to let you go?’ he whispered, letting his fingers trail down her throat, then down to caress the tips of her taut nipples.

She swallowed, eyes closed, then let out a tiny gasp of delight when his thumb grazed the aching tips and his other hand reached between her thighs for that special secret spot inside that she had never known existed until yesterday.