Francesca had been listening with her heart and smiled. “I had several boyfriends at the university, but no one special. I take it you’re talking about real commitment.”

  His eyes searched hers. “I had girlfriends, but I couldn’t get serious because I knew I was destined to marry a princess. What happened to Valentina and me shouldn’t have happened to two people who should be free to choose for themselves.”

  “I agree,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “This last year was the unhappiest of my life. What made it worse was meeting Dr. Linard. Clear as the sun coming out, she epitomized the woman I never imagined could come into my life. She was the woman I should have been able to get to know. She touched my mind and my heart. I love the way she thinks, how she feels.”

  Vincenzo...

  “The day Valentina broke the engagement, you could have no comprehension of the joy that brought me. All my thoughts had been centered on this other woman from the first moment we met. We’ve known from the beginning that something magical has happened to us. Tell me I’m wrong.”

  “You’re not mistaken.” He was saying all the thrilling things she couldn’t have imagined would come out of him.

  “Don’t tell me it’s too soon, Francesca. I don’t want to live a lie while I keep planning on how to get to know you better without anyone finding out.”

  She averted her eyes. “Nothing could be worse than trying to hide it. We couldn’t anyway.” It was her heart’s secret desire to be with him. “But—”

  “But nothing.” He reached out to cup her hot cheeks in his hands. “I have a suggestion that could take away some of your fear.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’d like to meet your parents. They’re the ones you don’t want to hurt. I’d like to be open with them and ask their permission for me to spend time with you.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think they’d give it.”

  “Maybe not, but it would be worth a try to find out.”

  Before she could concentrate, his mouth sought hers again. This marvelous man wanted to see her enough that he would brave meeting her parents.

  “Francesca? If they’re agreeable, we could arrange to drive to Bern next weekend. It’s only a three-hour drive if I’m at the wheel.” She couldn’t hide her smile. “I could meet them and we’d talk. What do you think?”

  “I don’t know if this will work, Vincenzo.”

  “Let’s put it this way. If your parents are against my seeing you, we have to find out right away. Could you try to get your parents on the phone now? If all goes well for a visit next weekend, then we’ll make plans.”

  He was right. She couldn’t fault his thinking. Francesca couldn’t say no to him. “All right.”

  Having made up her mind, she took the big step to phone them. Vincenzo took care of the dog while she pulled the cell from her pocket. “Mom?”

  “Francesca, darling. I was just thinking about you. We love the pictures you sent of your dog. How’s he adjusting to the kennel?”

  “He likes being with the other dogs.”

  “What about your job? Are you happy?”

  “You know I am. In fact, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. That’s why I’m calling. I—I’ve met someone,” she stammered. “It’s a man who brought his sick dog into the clinic. We—”

  A small cry of excitement came over the line, cutting her off. “Do you know how long your father and I have been waiting for that kind of news?”

  “It’s not that kind of news, Mom. I’m afraid it won’t be what you want to hear.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’ve only known each other for a short while. He wants your permission to take me out in public. We could drive to Bern next Saturday if it’s convenient.”

  “Since when do you need permission?”

  She closed her eyes. “His name is Prince Vincenzo Baldasseri of Scuol.”

  The flat-out truth had to come as a huge shock. Her mother paused before venturing, “As in your cousin’s former fiancé.”

  She swallowed hard. “Yes. Their trumped-up engagement was forced by their parents a year ago. It was never an affair of the heart for either of them. Now that it has been broken off, they both have been let out of prison. As you can imagine, he’s more aware of the horrendous problems within the Visconti and Baldasseri families than anyone else alive, except you.

  “In order for us to be seen together just to eat out at a restaurant, he realizes it could make the news and open up old wounds for you. But he refuses to hide in the shadows. I know he’s right, even if it means we have to stop seeing each other. Because that’s the kind of man he is, he won’t go against your wishes. Neither will I.”

  More silence followed before her father joined in the conversation. “Francie?” It was the name he’d called her from childhood. “I’ve been listening to your conversation with your mom. I’m impressed by this Baldasseri. We’ll be happy to meet him, but it will be better if we come to your apartment.”

  Message understood. His parents didn’t need the attention. “You’re right. Vincenzo is recognized everywhere.”

  “We’ll come next Saturday and be there by lunch.”

  “I’ll have it waiting for you. Artur will be ecstatic.”

  Her father chuckled. “I’ve loved all the names you’ve given your dogs, but this one kills me.”

  Tears filled her eyes over her parents’ love and understanding. “Me too.”

  When she hung up, she turned to Vincenzo. “They’re coming to my apartment next Saturday for lunch.”

  He folded her in his arms. “You have incredible parents.” He kissed her hard. “With that call made, I have a plan for us. To make this real, I’m not going to try to be with you after work this next week. I’ll go straight home from work each night and talk reason to my mother.” Francesca’s spirits sank. “But I want to see you every day for lunch.”

  Yes!

  “When is your lunch break, Francesca?”

  “There’s no set time.”

  “Can you make one for us this next week?”

  She nodded. “Let’s say twelve thirty to one thirty.”

  He brushed his lips against hers. “I’m already wishing for tomorrow to come. Now I’d better get you home.”

  It was hard to leave. “We must drive your security men crazy driving all over the place.”

  “I try to keep them from being bored.” He grasped her hand. “I’m relieved your parents are coming. All that’s left is to gain their permission for us to be together, but I’m afraid we’ve put the proverbial cart before the horse.”

  “My father would laugh at that particular metaphor.”

  “I hope he’s still laughing after we meet.”

  She prayed for that too. Her parents were marvelous, reasonable people, but this situation was unlike any story you could think up in your wildest imagination.

  Once they reached the apartment, he helped her up the stairs with the crate and gave her another kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Miss me.”

  He had no idea.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  WHEN VINCENZO REACHED the palace, he parked his car in a hidden area around the rear near a private entrance only he used. Filled with an excitement he’d never known, he raced up the back stairway to his suite so he wouldn’t be detected.

  Bella came to his room right after and shut the door. She leaned against it, putting a finger to her lips. They stared at each other. In a low voice she said, “Princess Valentina arrived this afternoon by helicopter and has been waiting for you. I tried to warn you.”

  His dark head reared. “Before I left yesterday, I sent Mother a message that I had business and would be gone for the weekend. Are you saying that Valentina just showed up?”

  “Mother invited her and she’s staying the night because she doesn’t want your engagement called off.”

  “But Valentina did. Something’s not right, Bella.”

  “I agree. But you know Mamma. She’s working on a plan that will get Valentina to change her mind and appease Stefano so the marriage goes forward. To make up for the fact that you’re no longer the Crown Prince, she’s going to give you and Valentina her royal Sardinian inheritance from the sheep-farming industry. It should work.”

  “That inheritance still doesn’t touch our timber assets and won’t satisfy Stefano. Valentina won’t buy it either.” In record time he packed a bag. “Does she have any idea I’m here?”

  “No.”

  “Did anyone see you just now?”

  “I passed one of the maids in the hall.”

  “We can’t worry about that now.” Vincenzo shut the lid. “I’m leaving and won’t be back until after work tomorrow.” He rushed toward her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re an angel to run interference. I’ll fill you in later tonight. Expect a phone call after you go to bed.”

  Before another second passed, he slipped out of the palace and down the private stairway. Only his bodyguards trailing him would know where he was headed. Their unquestioned loyalty would keep his secret safe. He couldn’t say as much for the staff.

  Once he arrived at the chalet, he got ready for bed and phoned Bella. After telling her about his plans to meet Francesca’s parents next weekend, his sister sounded overjoyed. “You can count on me to help you in any way I can.” They hung up and he lay back down. Next weekend couldn’t come soon enough for him to meet her parents. In the meantime, he’d be able to see her throughout the week.

  At twelve thirty on Monday, he watched Francesca leave through the back door of the clinic and hurry to his car. His pulse always raced when he laid eyes on her.

  Vincenzo reached across the seat to open the door for her and drove them to the park where they had privacy. He kissed her soundly before they ate the deli food he’d picked up.

  When they’d finished, he said, “Francesca? I have something to tell you. Though I’d rather hold back from saying anything because I don’t want to ruin our lunch, this can’t wait and has to be said. I would never keep anything from you.”

  She turned to him. “You sound so serious.”

  “I wish it weren’t.”

  “You’re starting to scare me.”

  “I don’t mean to do that. Last night I returned to the palace to grab some sleep. I entered through a doorway rarely used so no one would see me. To my shock, Bella followed me into my bedroom. She’d tried to reach me by phone, but I didn’t take any calls. She told me Valentina had flown to the palace by helicopter earlier in the day and was staying overnight.”

  “What?”

  He nodded. “It seems my mother invited her so the three of us could talk about a reconciliation.”

  “That means Valentina wants you back.”

  “I don’t think so since she’s the one who called off our engagement. There’s some mystery here I don’t understand, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

  “Your mother wants you to marry Valentina.”

  He shook his head. “There’s more to it than that. I told Bella I wasn’t staying and left the palace the same way I came in. Last night I returned to the chalet to sleep. When I talked to my sister at midnight, she said she didn’t believe anyone knew I’d even been there. She texted me this morning after Valentina left in the helicopter to let me know the coast was clear.”

  “What are you going to do? Are your grandparents applying pressure too?”

  “No, but they try to support my mother now that my father is no longer with us.”

  “Your poor mother wants you to be happy.”

  He grasped her hand. “I’ve never been happier in my life. One day soon she’ll understand.”

  “I don’t know, Vincenzo. She’s lost your father and now all her dreams have been shattered.”

  “But they aren’t my dreams.” He leaned over to kiss her once more. “Let me finish. The simple truth is, I’ve fallen in love with you, deeply in love. You may say it’s too soon for you to know what’s in your heart. Maybe knowing how I feel, you would prefer that we don’t see each other again. You can cancel the plans with your parents if that’s your wish. But I’m well acquainted with my feelings and can’t hold back what matters to me more than anything else in the world. I love you.”

  He waited until her brown eyes looked into his. She breathed deeply. “Do you think I would have spent time with you from the beginning if I didn’t have feelings I can’t deny? Your honesty has forced me to reveal what’s in my soul. I love you too, Vincenzo, more than I ever thought possible. I’m so in love I’m almost sick over it.”

  “Francesca—you’re the woman I’ll adore forever.” He pulled her against him and kissed the mouth he could never get enough of. “I know this is the wrong place to pour out my heart, but I can’t help it. More than ever I need to meet your parents, to know if there’s hope for a future. Speaking hypothetically, how would you feel about being married to a man who runs a timber company?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You already know the answer to that. I loved every minute with you yesterday, and can’t wait to learn more. The real question is, how would you feel about having a vet for a wife? I’m hardly the choice for a prince.”

  He smoothed the hair off her forehead. “The moment I met you, thoughts of Daniel helping me with Karl left my mind. You filled my every need and Karl loved you. I knew at once that no other woman could ever satisfy me while I lived on this earth.”

  “Vincenzo... It happened that way for me too,” she confessed.

  “The next question is, are you happy working for Daniel?”

  “Totally.”

  “Then our only problem would be where we live.”

  Her heart pounded harder. “The palace is your home.”

  “Do you know I lived more than four years in a private dwelling in Scuol?”

  “I can understand that.”

  He flashed her that compelling smile. “Naturally I paid visits home, but I liked my bachelor life with Karl, and only went back to the palace to live after my father died. My mother and grandparents needed me.” He cocked his dark head. “Do you love your apartment?”

  “Very much.”

  “I like it there too. It already feels like my home away from home. Were we to marry—I’m speaking hypothetically—how would you feel if I moved in there with you where you’d be close to your work?”

  She bit her lip. “But Vincenzo, you’re a—”

  “Don’t say it.” He put a finger to her lips. “Forget I’m a prince.”

  “I do, most of the time.”

  “That’s good. What’s even better, your apartment is only a twelve-minute drive to my work. I’ve timed it.” She chuckled. “On weekends we could stay at the chalet, or at the palace. Whatever we feel like.”

  “But your family will want you to live there with them all the time.”

  “You’re wrong. They’ve had no future expectations about that. If Rini hadn’t recovered his memory, Valentina and I would have been forced to live at the palace in San Vitano after the marriage. My great-uncle King Leonardo wanted me near him.”

  She shook her head. “So much has changed.”

  “Since meeting you, I feel reborn.” He pulled her closer. “Ti amo, Francesca.”

  “Ti amo, Vincenzo. That much isn’t hypothetical.”

  Their hunger knew no boundaries. No kiss was long enough or deep enough to satisfy them, but this couldn’t go on. “I need to get you back to the clinic.”

  “I know.” She eased out of his arms and sat over on her side of the car.

  He started the engine and they left the park. Her admission of love had transformed his world. “Our talk has settled many questions that have made me happy beyond belief. My biggest worry is that your parents will decide they don’t want me pursuing you. If that happens—”

  “Don’t think that way,” she broke in. “They fought against the odds to find their happiness. I have to believe they’ll grant us the same chance. My worry is that your mother won’t be able to accept me.”

  “I’m working on it.” He started the car and drove them the short distance to the clinic. It was a wrench to have to leave her arms. An hour wasn’t enough time.

  When he parked, she turned to him. “Come to my apartment tomorrow at twelve thirty and we’ll eat there. Tonight I’ll fix our lunch and have it ready.”

  “Have I told you before that I love the way your mind works, bellissima? Much as I want to, I don’t dare kiss you again.”

  She leaned over and kissed his lips gently. “Until tomorrow.”

  To his relief, the rest of his work week had never been busier. Their lunch dates kept him sane, but nothing stopped him from counting the hours to see her. Each night he called to let her know of his love and what was going on.

  “Is there any more news about Valentina?”

  “Only that my mother is worried about her. The breakup has caused her to be distraught.”

  “But that makes no sense.”

  “No, it doesn’t. My mother is begging me to make things right. She’s positive that if I get back with Valentina, she’ll be herself again. Mamma is in denial. I don’t know what it’s going to take to make her see reason, but she’ll have to in time.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I do.” He and his mother had reached an impasse. Vincenzo was living for the meeting with Francesca’s parents. Everything hinged on their approval. If it was given, life was going to go in a new direction no matter what.

  * * *

  At ten to ten on Saturday morning, Vincenzo knocked on Francesca’s apartment door. He held the sack of groceries with the ingredients they’d decided on for this important meal. Adrenaline surged through his body as he anticipated what this day would mean for the two of them.