Valtieri's Bride. Caroline Anderson

       Praise for

       Caroline Anderson

      “This lovely reunion romance is rich with emotion and humour, and all of the characters are exquisitely rendered.”

      —RT Book Reviews on Mother of the Bride

      “Multifaceted characters, a credible conflict and a heart-tugging ending are the highlights of this sweet story, one that’s hard to forget.”

      —RT Book Reviews on Their Christmas Family Miracle

      “Caroline Anderson’s novel, For Christmas, For Always, is a bittersweet romance sure to evoke both tears and smiles before the last page is turned.”

      —RT Book Reviews on For Christmas, For Always

       “I can help you,” he said before he could let himself think about it, and he thrust out his hand. “Massimo Valtieri. If you’re ready to go, I can give you a lift to Siena now.”

      He pronounced it Mah-see-mo, long and slow and drawn out, his Italian accent coming over loud and clear as he said his name, and she felt a shiver of something primeval down her spine. Or maybe it was just the cold. She smiled at her self-appointed knight in shining armour and held out her hand.

      “I’m Lydia Fletcher—and if you can get us there before the others I’ll love you for ever.”

      His warm, strong and surprisingly slightly calloused fingers closed firmly round hers, and she felt the world shift a little under her feet. And not just hers, apparently. She saw the shockwave hit his eyes, felt the recognition of something momentous passing between them, and in that crazy and insane instant she wondered if anything would ever be the same again …

      About the Author

      CAROLINE ANDERSON has the mind of a butterfly. She’s been a nurse, a secretary, a teacher, run her own soft furnishing business, and now she’s settled on writing. She says, ‘I was looking for that elusive something. I finally realised it was variety, and now I have it in abundance. Every book brings new horizons and new friends, and in between books I have learned to be a juggler. My teacher husband John and I have two beautiful and talented daughters, Sarah and Hannah, umpteen pets, and several acres of Suffolk that nature tries to reclaim every time we turn our backs!’ Caroline also writes for the Mills & Boon^® Medical Romance™ series.

      Valtieri’s Bride

      Caroline Anderson

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      CHAPTER ONE

      WHAT on earth was she doing?

      As the taxi pulled up in front of the Jet Centre at London City Airport, he paused, wallet in hand, and stared spellbound across the drop-off point.

      Wow. She was gorgeous.

      Even in the crazy fancy-dress outfit, her beauty shone out like a beacon. Her curves—soft, feminine curves—were in all the right places, and her face was alight with laughter, the skin pale and clear, her cheeks tinged pink by the long blonde curls whipping round her face in the cutting wind. She looked bright and alive and impossibly lovely, and he felt something squeeze in his chest.

      Something that had been dormant for a very long time.

      As he watched she anchored the curls absently with one hand, the other gesturing expressively as she smiled and talked to the man she’d stopped at the entrance. She was obviously selling something. Goodness knows what, he couldn’t read the piece of card she was brandishing from this distance, but the man laughed and raised a hand in refusal and backed away, entering the building with a chuckle.

      Her smile fading, she turned to her companion, more sensibly dressed in jeans and a little jacket. Massimo flicked his eyes over her, but she didn’t hold his attention. Not like the blonde, and he found his eyes drawn back to her against his will.

      Dio, she was exquisite. By rights she should have looked an utter tramp but somehow, even in the tacky low-cut dress and a gaudy plastic tiara, she was, quite simply, riveting. There was something about her that transcended all of that, and he felt himself inexplicably drawn to her.

      He paid the taxi driver, hoisted his flight bag over his shoulder and headed for the entrance. She was busy again, talking to another man, and as the doors opened he caught her eye and she flashed a hopeful smile at him.

      He didn’t have time to pause, whatever she was selling, he thought regretfully, but the smile hit him in the solar plexus, and he set his bag down on the floor by the desk once he was inside, momentarily winded.

      ‘Morning, Mr Valtieri. Welcome back to the Jet Centre. The rest of your party have arrived.’

      ‘Thank you.’ He cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder at the woman. ‘Is that some kind of publicity stunt?’

      The official gave a quiet, mildly exasperated sigh and smiled wryly.

      ‘No, sir. I understand she’s trying to get a flight to Italy.’

      Massimo felt his right eyebrow hike. ‘In a wedding dress?’

      He gave a slight chuckle. ‘Apparently so. Some competition to win a wedding.’

      He felt a curious sense of disappointment. Not that it made the slightest bit of difference that she was getting married; she was nothing to him and never would be, but nevertheless …

      ‘We asked her to leave the building, but short of escorting her right back to the main road, there’s little more we can do to get rid of her and she seems harmless enough. Our clients seem to be finding her quite entertaining, anyway.’

      He could understand that. He was entertained himself—mesmerised, if he was honest. And intrigued—

      ‘Whereabouts in Italy?’ he asked casually, although the tightness in his gut was far from casual.

      ‘I think I heard her mention Siena—but, Mr Valtieri, you really don’t want to get involved,’ he warned, looking troubled. ‘I think she’s a little …’

      ‘Crazy?’ he said drily, and the man’s mouth twitched.

      ‘Your word, sir, not mine.’

      As they watched, the other man walked away and she gave her companion a wry little smile. She said something, shrugged her slender shoulders in that ridiculous meringue of a dress, then rubbed her arms briskly. She must be freezing! September was a strange month, and today there wasn’t a trace of sunshine and a biting wind was whipping up the Thames estuary.

      No! It was none of his business if she hadn’t had the sense to dress for the weather, he told himself firmly, but then he saw another man approach the