Becoming The Prince's Wife. Rebecca Winters

again. Though she’d dated a lot of men, her relationships were of short duration and superficial. After seven years, her pattern of noncommitment had become her way of life. No one depended on her. Her actions could affect no one or hurt anyone. That was the way she liked it.

      Dear sweet Abby had known the date was coming up. Out of the goodness of her heart she’d insisted Carolena come with them on this trip so she wouldn’t brood. Carolena loved her blonde friend for so many reasons, especially her thoughtfulness because she knew this time was always difficult for her.

      As she strapped herself in, several bodyguards entered the body of the jet followed by black-haired Vincenzo. He stopped to give his wife and son a kiss before hugging Carolena. “It’s good to see you. Gemelli is a beautiful country. You’re going to love it.”

      “I’m sure I will. Thank you for inviting me, Vincenzo.”

      “Our pleasure, believe me. If you’re ready, then we’ll take off. I told Valentino we’d be there midafternoon.”

      Once he’d fastened himself in and turned to Abby with an eagerness Carolena could see and feel, the jet taxied to the runway. When it took off into a blue sky, it left the Principality of Arancia behind, a country nestled along the Riviera between France and Italy.

      Before heading south, she could see the coastal waters of the Mediterranean receding, but it was obvious Abby and Vincenzo only had eyes for each other. Theirs was a true love story. Watching them was painful. There were moments like now when twenty-seven-year-old Carolena felt old before her time.

      Thank goodness she had a movie to watch that she hadn’t seen before. The minute it started she blinked at the sight of how young Louis Jourdan was. The story turned out to be about a Frenchman who traveled to Polynesia and fell in love with a native girl.

      Carolena found herself riveted when the volcano erupts on the island and the native girl has to be sacrificed to appease the gods by jumping into it. The credits said the film had been made on location in Hawaii and used the Kilauea volcano for the scenes.

      As the royal jet started to make its descent to Gemelli, she saw smoke coming out of Mount Etna, one of Italy’s volcanoes. After watching this film, the thought of it erupting made her shiver.

      * * *

      The helicopter flew away from the new hot fumarole in the western pit of the Bocca Nuova of Mount Etna. The fumarole was a hole that let out gas and steam. After the scientific team had observed an increased bluish degassing from a vent in the saddle, they sent back video and seismic records before heading to the National Center of Geophysics and Volcanology lab in Catania on the eastern coast of Sicily.

      En route to the lab the three men heard deep-seated explosions coming from inside the northeast crater, but there was no cause for public alarm in terms of evacuation alerts.

      Once the center’s helicopter touched ground, Crown Prince Valentino waved off his two colleagues and hurried to the royal helicopter for the short flight to Gemelli in the Ionian Sea. Their team had gotten back late, but they’d needed to do an in-depth study before transmitting vital data and photos.

      Valentino’s brother-in-law, Crown Prince Vincenzo Di Laurentis, along with his new wife, Abby, and son, Max, would already have been at the palace several hours. They’d come for a visit from Arancia and would be staying a few days. Valentino was eager to see them.

      He and Vincenzo, distant cousins, had done shipping business together for many years but had grown closer with Vincenzo’s first marriage to Michelina, who’d been Valentino’s only sister. Her death February before last had left a hole in his heart. He’d always been very attached to his sibling and they’d confided in each other.

      With his younger brother Vitale, nicknamed Vito, away in the military, Valentino had needed an outlet since her death. Lately, after a long day’s work, he’d spent time quietly partying with a few good friends and his most recent girlfriend, while his mother, Bianca, the ruling Queen of Gemelli, occupied herself with their country’s business.

      As for tonight, he was looking forward to seeing Vincenzo as his helicopter ferried him to the grounds, where it landed at the rear of the sixteenth-century baroque palace. He jumped out and hurried past the gardens and tennis courts, taking a shortcut near the swimming pool to reach his apartment in the east wing.

      But suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye that stopped him dead in his tracks. Standing on the end of the diving board ready to dive was a gorgeous, voluptuous woman in a knockout, fashionable one-piece purple swimsuit with a plunging neckline.

      It was just a moment before she disappeared under the water, but long enough for him to forget the fiery fumarole on Mount Etna and follow those long legs to the end of the pool. When she emerged at the deep end with a sable-colored braid over one shoulder, he hunkered down to meet her. With eyes as sparkling green as lime zest, and a mouth with a passionate flare, she was even more breathtaking up close.

      “Oh— Your Highness! I didn’t think anyone was here!”

      He couldn’t have met her before or he would have remembered, because she would be impossible to forget. There was no ring on her finger. “You have me at a disadvantage, signorina.”

      She hugged her body close to the edge of the tiled pool. He got the impression she was trying to prevent him from getting the full view of her. That small show of modesty intrigued him.

      “I’m Carolena Baretti, Abby Loretto’s friend.”

      This woman was Abby’s best friend? He’d heard Abby mention her, but Vincenzo had never said anything. Valentino knew his brother-in-law wasn’t blind... Though they hadn’t told him they were bringing someone else with them, he didn’t mind. Not at all.

      “How long have you been here?”

      “We flew in at two o’clock. Right now the queen is playing with Max while Abby and Valentino take a nap.” A nap, was it? He smiled inwardly. “So I decided to come out here for a swim. The air is like velvet.”

      He agreed. “My work took longer than I thought, making it impossible for me to be here when you arrived. I’ve planned a supper for us in the private dining room tonight. Shall we say half an hour? One of the staff will show you the way.”

      “That’s very gracious of you, but I don’t want to intrude on your time with them. I had a light meal before I came out to swim and I’ll just go on enjoying myself here.”

      He got the sense she meant it. The fact that she wasn’t being coy like so many females he’d met in his life aroused his interest. “You’re their friend, so it goes without saying you’re invited.” His lips broke into a smile. “And even if you weren’t with them, I like an intrusion as pleasant as this one. I insist you join us.”

      “Thank you,” she said quietly, but he had an idea she was debating whether or not to accept his invitation, mystifying him further. “Before you go, may I say how sorry I am about the loss of Princess Michelina. I can see the resemblance to your sister in you and the baby. I know it’s been devastating for your family, especially the queen. But if anyone can instill some joy into all of you, it’s your adorable nephew, Max.”

      The surprises just kept coming. Valentino was taken aback. The fact that she’d been in Abby’s confidence for a number of years had lent a sincere ring to this woman’s remarks, already putting them on a more intimate footing. “I’ve been eager to see him again. He’s probably grown a foot since last time.”

      An engaging smile appeared. “Maybe not quite another foot yet, but considering he’s Prince Vincenzo’s son, I would imagine he’ll be tall one day.”

      “That wouldn’t surprise me. A presto, Signorina Baretti.”

      * * *

      Carolena watched his tall physique stride to the patio and disappear inside a set of glass doors. Long after he’d left, she was still trying to catch her breath. When she’d broken the surface of the water at the other end of the rectangular pool, she’d