Becoming The Prince's Wife. Rebecca Winters

first allegiance is to the welfare of his people. I explained to my parents that when Etna erupts again, and she will, I don’t want to see a repeat of what happened in l669.”

      Carolena was transfixed. “What did happen?”

      “That eruption turned into a disaster that killed over twenty-nine thousand people.”

      She shuddered, remembering the film. “I can’t even imagine it.”

      He wore a grim expression. “Though it couldn’t happen today, considering the sophisticated warning systems in place, people still need to be educated about the necessity of listening and heeding those warnings of evacuation.”

      “In the film, there’d been no warning.”

      “Certainly not a hundred years ago. That’s been my greatest concern. Gemelli has a population of two hundred thousand, so it can’t absorb everyone fleeing the mainland around Catania, but I want us to be prepared as much as possible.”

      “How do you get your people prepared?”

      “I’ve been working with our government to do mock drills to accommodate refugees from the mainland, should a disaster occur. Every ship, boat, barge, fishing boat would have to be available, not to mention housing and food and airlifts to other islands.”

      “That would be an enormous undertaking.”

      “You’re right. For protection against volcanic ash and toxic gas, I’ve ordered every family outfitted with lightweight, disposable, filtering face-piece mask/respirators. This year’s sightings have convinced me I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s needed to be done to feel at all ready.”

      “Your country is very fortunate to have you for the watchman.”

      “The watchman? That makes me sound like an old sage.”

      “You’re hardly old yet,” she quipped.

      “I’m glad you noticed.” His remark caused her heart to thud for no good reason.

      “I’m very impressed over what you do.”

      “It’s only part of what I do.”

      “Oh, I know what a prince does.” She half laughed. “Abby once read me Vincenzo’s itinerary for the day and I almost passed out. But she never told me about your scientific background.”

      “It isn’t something I talk about.”

      “Well, I think it’s fascinating! You’re like an astronaut or a test pilot, but the general population doesn’t know what you go through or how you put your life on the line.”

      “That’s a big exaggeration.”

      “Not at all,” she argued. “It’s almost as if you’re leading a double life. What a mystery you are!”

      She wouldn’t have put it past Abby to have chosen that particular film because she knew about Valentino’s profession and figured Carolena would get a kick out of it once she learned about his secret profession.

      After a low chuckle, he opened the doors so they could walk down the hallway and around the corner to her room. She opened her door. Though she was dying to ask him a lot more questions about his work in volcanology, she didn’t want him to think she expected his company any longer. She was also aware the queen was waiting for him.

      “It’s been a lovely evening. Thank you for everything.”

      His eyes gleamed in the semidarkness. “What else do you do besides give unsuspecting males a heart attack while you’re diving?”

      Heat scorched her cheeks. “I thought I was alone.”

      “Because I was late getting back, I cut through that part of the grounds and happened to see you. It looks like I’m going to have to do it more often.”

      He was a huge flirt. The tabloids hadn’t been wrong about him. “I won’t be here long enough to get caught again. I have a law practice waiting for me back in Arancia.”

      He studied her for a moment. “I heard you’re in the same firm with Abby.”

      “We were until her marriage. Now she’s a full-time mother to your nephew.”

      A heart-stopping smile appeared. “It must be tough on your male colleagues working around so much beauty and brains.”

      “They’re all married.”

      “That makes it so much worse.”

      She laughed. “You’re outrageous.”

      “Then we understand each other. Tomorrow we’ll be eating breakfast on the terrace off the morning room. I’ll send a maid for you at eight-thirty. Buona notte, Carolena.”

      “Buona notte.”

      “Val,” he said again.

      “Val,” she whispered before shutting the door. She lay against it, surprised he was so insistent on her using his nickname, surprised he’d made such an impact on her.

      After their delicious meal, she wasn’t ready for bed yet. Once she’d slipped on her small garden-print capri pajamas, she set up her laptop on the table and started to look up Mount Etna. The amount of information she found staggered her. There were dozens of videos and video clips she watched until after one in the morning.

      But by the time she’d seen a video about six volcanologists killed on the Galeras volcano in the Colombian Andes in 1993, she turned off her computer. The scientists had been standing on the ground when it began to heave and then there was a deafening roar. The volcano exploded, throwing boulders and ash miles high and they’d lost their lives.

      The idea of that happening to the prince made her ill. She knew he took precautions, but as he’d pointed out, there was always a certain amount of risk. The desire to see a vent up close would be hard to resist. That’s what he did in his work. He crept up close to view the activity and send back information. But there might come a day when he’d be caught. She couldn’t bear the thought of it, but she admired him terribly.

      The playboy prince who’d had dozens of girlfriends didn’t mesh with the volcanologist whose name was Val. She didn’t want to care about either image of the sensational-looking flesh-and-blood man. When Carolena finally pulled the covers over her, she fell asleep wishing she’d never met him. He was too intriguing for words.

      At seven-thirty the next morning her cell phone rang, causing her to wonder if it was the prince. She got a fluttery feeling in her chest as she raised up on one elbow to reach for it. To her surprise it was Abby and she clicked on. “Abby? Are you all right? How’s Max?”

      “He’s still running a temperature and fussing. I think he’s cutting another tooth. The reason I’m calling is because I’m going to miss breakfast with you and stay in the apartment with him. It will give Vincenzo and Valentino time to get some work done this morning.”

      “Understood. I’m so sorry Max is sick.”

      “It’ll pass, but under the circumstances, why don’t you order breakfast in your room or out by the pool. I’ll get in touch with you later in the day. If you want a limo, just dial zero and ask for one to drive you into town, and do a little shopping or something.”

      “Don’t worry about me. I’ll love relaxing by the pool. This is heaven after the hectic schedule at the law firm.”

      “Okay, then. Talk to you soon.”

      This was a good turn of events. The less she saw of Valentino, the better.

      CHAPTER TWO

      BY TEN-THIRTY A.M., Valentino could see that Vincenzo wasn’t able to concentrate. “Let’s call it a day. I can see you want to be with Abby and Max. When I’ve finished with some other business, we’ll meet for dinner.”

      Vincenzo