Italian Groom, Princess Bride

“I thank you for what you’ve done for her, Dizo. One day when she’s married with children of her own, she’ll thank you, too.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Let’s not deceive ourselves about that.”

Lucca put a hand on his shoulder. “If there’s anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask.” The man’s sincerity resonated deep inside. “Castelmare needs more vets.”

Not this one. When Gina married Nic and went to Pedrosa to live, there would still be too many memories of her for him to stay on in Castelmare. “I’ll think about it,” Dizo lied.

“That’s good because there’s a new vacancy in Savono. As you know, my father was a great animal lover. One of his best friends ran the practice there, but he had to retire because of health problems. Another vet is temping until a permanent replacement can be found. Before father passed away, he asked me to tell you about it. Frankly he hoped you would take the position.

“The animal clinic is on the main street across from the civic center. Before you leave Castelmare, will you look into it as a personal favor to him and me? I understand you specialize in small animals, the clinic’s specialty.”

Under the circumstances Dizo couldn’t very well turn him down. “I appreciate the suggestion. I’ll drive up there in the morning.” Before I leavethe country for good. “Thank you.”

“Thank you. Ciao, Dizo.”

Dizo went out to his rental car and took off for his father’s house, staggered by events that had plunged him from one inferno into another. No matter what decision he made, he was going to be scorched alive.

If he were totally honest with himself, Sardinia held no attraction for him anymore. He’d found that out last night when it had taken a whole bottle to help him bear the thought of being back for good. Though he would always go there for family visits, his old roots didn’t tug at him. He’d made a life in Castlemare and had become entrenched ages ago.

Tonight while he was driving along the coast road and saw the white renaissance palace in the distance, his heart burned within him…because he knew Gina was there. Sixteen years of memories couldn’t be torn out of his soul.

Her brother didn’t know he’d opened up a new can of worms by mentioning the job opportunity in Savono. Dizo was touched by King Rudolfo’s interest in him. He could picture the town in his mind’s eye. It was only a mile above Capriccio to the west. Not far enough away from her at the moment, but then neither was Sardinia.

After her avowal tonight, he knew she’d leave him alone. With her wedding imminent, there was nothing more to fear on that score. They’d be living in Pedrosa. If he never ventured on the palace grounds again, the chances of meeting up with her were one in a billion. She would function with Nic in their privileged world, sealed off and protected from the average citizen. That’s what was destroying him now.

With emotions eating him alive, he found himself taking the hairpin turns up the steep mountain road past pink and ochre villas whose gardens hugged the cliffs. Soon he reached his destination and drove through Savono, one of the most charming locales on the Ligurian coast.

Nighttime brought out the tourists. They strolled in and out of shops and ate on the café terraces while enjoying the view of the yachts in the bay far below. The jewelry stores with their displays of diamonds for which Castlemare was famous stayed open for business until late, drawing in the crowds.

He slowed down in front of a cluster of buildings across from the civic center. The plaque on the middle door read Savono Veterinary Clinic And Boarding Kennel. Dizo pulled to a stop, drinking in the perfumed air.

He could easily imagine himself living here, except that everything reminded him of her.

If he lived in Sardinia, nothing would remind him of her, but that wouldn’t stop him from thinking and aching. His pain would probably be worse.

There was no question where Guido would like him to settle. His father loved Castelmare. He’d stayed on after Dizo’s mother had died and his brothers weren’t going anywhere.

Dizo stared at the clinic. A referral from Lucca and his father were as good as a guaranteed job offer. His dream to make something of his life was coming true, but without Gina, there would be no joy. This was worse than death. If she’d been the one to die, he would have been forced to accept it and go on living.

Unfortunately his beautiful Giannina was very much alive and going to be married to someone else!

Not unfortunately—

Dio mio, he didn’t mean that. He didn’t know what he meant anymore. An abyss had swallowed him whole. Everywhere he turned he bumped into terrifying darkness.

As soon as Regina reached her suite in the palace, she kicked off her shoes and phoned her secretary.

“Will you please fax a note to Nicolas in the morning? Tell him I’m sorry it has taken me this long to respond to his invitation, but my father’s passing prevented me from doing so until now. Let him know I’d love to spend the weekend with him.”

Regina didn’t care how it looked. She’d done all the mourning for two men there was to do in one life. Enough of that. If Nic wanted to make final wedding plans, so be it!

“Yes, Your Highness.”

No sooner had she hung up than she heard her brother’s rap on the outer door of her suite. She’d been expecting him. If he thought he would find her convulsed on the bed, he was in for a shock.

She grabbed a nail file out of the drawer in her bedside table and sat in the middle of her bed cross-legged against the silky duvet. “Come in, Lucca!”

When he walked in her bedroom furnished in shades of cream and pale green, she looked up at him. “If you’ve come to check on me, I’m fine. Go home to your wife and child.”

He stood at the end of her king-size bed without saying anything. She could tell he was really angry with her. It shook her. He’d always been her sibling, but now he was a lot more than that. Somehow she hadn’t fully realized it until now.

“You do understand why Dizo reacted the way he did—”

“Of course. I went too far and he called my bluff because he’s the iron man. I thought I’d test him to see if he had an Achilles’ heel.” She flashed her brother a broad smile. “He doesn’t, at least not where I’m concerned. I get it.”

She started filing the nail of her index finger.

“It’s called decency, Regina. Respect for the crown. What shocks me is that you thought you had the right to cross the line with him.” Her brother was truly upset with her. Now that their father had passed away, he was feeling the weight of his responsibilities and she was one of them. While she waited for him to speak, she didn’t realize she’d filed her nail down to the skin.

“From the age of sixteen when Dizo first came here, he has known that any romantic association with you was out of the question. Taken to its furthest degree, he could never marry you. When he left for Sardinia, it was to start a new life as a vet. He never once made a wrong move with you.”

“You’re right! He’s got a stone where his heart is.” Fire filled her cheeks. “How come you managed to get away with enjoying all the off-limits-women in your life?”

“They didn’t work at the palace,” her unflappable brother came back with his indisputable logic. “Their fathers didn’t have the kind of friendship Guido enjoyed with our father.

“Dizo is the product of his own strict upbringing. The Forneses have an enviable code of ethics handed down from their ancestry and are the finest people I know. Would that Alexandra and I can instill that kind of character in Catarina. He did the honorable thing so you could preserve your reputation. Think what you did by flying to Sardinia—”

“Honor be damned. When all’s said and done, he didn’t want me.” A brittle laugh escaped her throat. “Saving my reputation,” she mocked.

“Yes. And his family’s. And Nic’s.” He stared her down. “In the end that’s all any of us has.”

Guilt smote her.

“I guess it’s as good an excuse as any for admitting I don’t have what it takes to turn him on.” She tossed her head back. “Well, he did a superb job of it. Never mind those hours we were in bed together where he couldn’t stop telling me how much he wanted me. That was only the alcohol talking in the heat of the moment. As soon as he was sober, he couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.

“You should have seen his eyes light up once I told him he didn’t need to worry about becoming a father. Would you believe he was so drunk he fell asleep before anything major could happen? Even out of control, Dinozzo Fornese was in control.” Her voice shook. “The joke’s on me.

“Even if Guido lied about Dizo’s forthcoming wedding, he was being prophetic. One day soon I’ll learn that Dizo married a local girl from Sassari. They’ll help take care of his grandmother and everything will be just as it should be in the Fornese corner of the world.”

She tossed her file on the table. “Just so you know, I’ve accepted Nic’s invitation for this coming weekend. He wants to talk over wedding plans. I think it’s time. Let’s agree that miracles only happen once. You got yours when Alexandra swept into your life at the midnight hour setting you ablaze.

“As Dizo informed me in his doomsday voice a little while ago, the fairy tale is over for us. I’m ready to marry Nic. The sooner the better. Unlike you, I want a life and children before I reach my thirties. By then I’ll be too old to get down in the dirt and make mud pies with them.”

There would be no fire with Nic. Nothing could equal what had taken place in the privacy of Dizo’s bedroom where Regina had known rapture of a kind she had no idea existed. She looked away from her brother’s all-seeing gaze.

“By now Catarina will be waiting for her papa to kiss her good-night. You’d better go or Alexandra will start to worry.”

“I’m going, but I want you to call me if you need me.”