Modern Romance Collection: December Books 5 - 8. Julia James

that cab,’ he said.

      ‘Please respect my independence, Luca.’

      ‘I do,’ he assured her.

      ‘Anywhere I want to go could easily turn into wherever you plan for me to go, and I need to get used to you being back first.’

      He had no answer for that. She was right.

      ‘Are you going to log my every move?’ she asked with a welcome return of her customary good humour.

      ‘Only some of them,’ he said straight-faced.

      ‘My lift is on its way,’ she said. ‘Give me a chance to think things through. It’s all been such a shock. And I don’t just mean the accident. Finding out your true identity, and then the months we’ve spent apart. The gifts you sent. The notes you wrote.’

      ‘Would it have been easier if I hadn’t contacted you?’

      A brief flash of pain in her eyes said it would have been hell. The same went for him.

      ‘I knew we had to talk when I discovered I was having your baby. I would never leave you in the dark. I just need time to process everything that’s happened today. Just the fact that your security team has been watching me is unnerving. I realise you’re a prince and I’m having your child, but that doesn’t give you the right to put me under surveillance.’

      ‘Your safety will always be my concern.’

      ‘Just don’t let it become your obsession.’

      ‘My security team check out anyone I’m seen with. They report to me, and I can hardly avoid reading what they put in their reports.’

      ‘I accept that,’ she said, ‘and I thank you for being so honest with me. And most especially for saving my life,’ she added in a softer tone.

      ‘I don’t want your thanks. I want your time.’ He was impatient for a very good reason. The royal council was pressing him to find a bride. The country was waiting. He needed an heir, and Callie’s pregnancy had set a clock ticking. He needed things settled between them before the ticking stopped.

      ‘You left me without an explanation, Luca, and now you’re back I’m supposed to snap to attention?’

      ‘I never misled you.’

      ‘You never told me you were a prince, either,’ Callie pointed out. ‘You allowed me to believe that you and I were on the same level.’

      ‘As we are,’ he insisted.

      She laughed and shook her head. ‘That’s a fantasy. You’re a prince and a billionaire, and who am I?’

      ‘The most determined woman I’ve ever met.’

      ‘Flattery doesn’t wash with me, Luca. We had sex, the deepest intimacy of all, and then you simply turned your back and walked away. That means one thing to me. You’re incapable of feeling.’

      ‘You disappeared and pitched up here. Is that so different?’

      ‘I was never going to stay in Italy for ever. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I always knew I’d come home at some point. And now I intend to study and go on to make a purposeful life. You might be used to women throwing themselves at you, but—’

      ‘Not in the way that just happened,’ he said dryly.

      She couldn’t bear this. She couldn’t bear the mash-up of feelings inside her. Her body was bruised. Her thoughts were in turmoil. She was in love with Luca. Their short, passionate time in Italy had left an indelible brand on her heart, but he was a man she could never have. He knew that as well as she did, surely?

      ‘There’s fault on both sides,’ Luca insisted. ‘You didn’t reply to my letters. You refused to see me. You rejected my gifts. And, yes, I can see it must have seemed to you that I’d callously walked away, but I hope you can see now that there was a very good reason for my absence. Spend some time in Fabrizio. See the type of life our child will have.’

      Fear speared through her at his words. Hormones. She knew she was overreacting, but he would sweep her away if she let him. He would expect the royal child to live with him. Yes, she should get to know his world. Luca was no ordinary man. She could never compete with his wealth, or royal status, but she believed just as strongly in her own values, and in her ability to bring up their child. They had to talk, but not right now. ‘My cab’s here—’ She looked at his hand on her arm.

      ‘What are you proposing, Callie?’

      Luca’s tone had changed, hardened. Their baby wouldn’t benefit from parents at war. ‘Truce,’ she said. ‘I’m proposing a truce. You’re a hero. You saved me. You saved our child’s life. I can never thank you enough for that. If nothing else, I’m sure we can be friends.’

      ‘Friends?’ Luca frowned.

      ‘Please? For the sake of our child.’

      Her cab rolled up at the kerb. Talking was done. He ground his jaw. Why wouldn’t she take the lift he’d offered? He could call up a diplomatic limousine in minutes. Was this how it was going to be? He couldn’t allow Callie a free hand. The heir to Fabrizio was too precious for that.

      ‘I can’t believe my new phone is still in one piece,’ she said, glancing at it before putting it away.

      ‘Give me your number.’ He pulled out his phone.

      ‘Give me your number,’ she countered, ‘and I’ll call you when I’m ready.’

      ‘Can I at least know where you’re going,?’

      ‘I’ll call you,’ she said as she climbed into the cab.

      Seething inside, he gave her his number. After the accident and the shock of seeing him, he had to cut her some slack, but seeing Callie again was non-negotiable. He had every intention of keeping track of his unborn child. Grinding his jaw as the cab drove away, he had to remind himself this wasn’t the end of anything, but just the start of their return match.

      * * *

      If her feelings had been mixed up before, they were ready to explode by the time she walked down the steps of the civic building to find Luca waiting outside. Lounging back against a sleek black car, he was staring at her with the lazy confidence that suggested he knew exactly what had happened at her job interview. Of course he knew.

      Firming her jaw, she quickened her step towards him. The sooner they got this over with, the better. She’d had her suspicions at the start of her interview. It hadn’t taken her long to realise she was never going to get the job, and the director of tourism was just curious to meet her. Even he’d admitted she was everything they were looking for; gregarious and well informed, she had read up on the history of the famous illuminations from the nineteenth century to the present day.

      ‘And I know every nook and cranny of the town,’ she’d assured him, explaining she’d visited Blackpool on numerous occasions.

      ‘In short, you’re perfect for the job,’ he agreed, just before he shuffled awkwardly in his seat and explained that the vacancy was no longer available.

      So why see her at all? Callie had wondered, until the director of tourism had added, ‘Don’t look so disappointed. I’m told you have a glittering future ahead of you.’

      ‘What did it cost you?’ she challenged Luca tensely. She’d come to a halt in front of him, and was determined to get the truth out of him, whatever it took.

      ‘Cost me?’ He frowned.

      ‘How much did it cost you to spoil my chances for that job?’ she demanded tight-lipped.

      ‘Nothing,’ he admitted.

      ‘You’re lying,’ she said quietly.

      ‘I think you should calm down,’ Luca remarked as he opened the passenger door of