“Let me transport those bags to the plane.”
“Only Luc’s,” she said when Nic started to reach for them. “He’s the one who needs to get back to Monaco and rest. Otherwise he’ll blame me when it takes his leg longer to heal. I couldn’t bear that on my conscience along with everything else.”
“Everything else?” Nic shot her a questioning glance.
With her emotions so close to the surface, she was in danger of giving herself away. “I—it was just a figure of speech,” she stammered. “I was starting to get nervous out there. Without power I wouldn’t have been able to cook us more fish even if I’d been lucky enough to catch another one.”
He looked shocked. “You caught fish?”
“Yes. Who would have believed?” She gave him a tired smile. “Thank you for everything, Nic. You’ve been a real lifesaver.”
“Where are you going?” he questioned after she’d kissed his cheek.
“Greer made me promise to take the train to Colorno and spend a few days at Max’s villa before I fly home to New York.”
It wasn’t a lie. Her sister had told her she and Piper would always have a home with them. They would never have to wait for an invitation.
Of course Olivia had no such intention of traveling to Colorno. There was only one detour she planned to make before leaving Italy, but nobody else needed to know about that, least of all Luc. She just hoped she wasn’t too late.
“Bye.” With a little wave she stepped off the boat with her suitcase and headed for the town. It was only a five-minute walk to the train station.
“I’d like a one-way ticket to Positano, please.”
“Si, signorina.”
Before she left for Kingston, she wanted to know why Luc hated her so much. She had a gut instinct the younger Falcon brother could provide her with the answer. Not that it would take away her pain. Nothing could do that, but she wouldn’t be able to go on functioning without some kind of explanation.
Nic climbed into the seaplane with the valise. He stashed it behind the seat before his gaze flicked to Luc. “Olivia’s not coming.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Luc had seen her march off with her suitcase toward the town, her gleaming blond head held high, her curvaceous body the cynosure of every male eye in the port. “Let’s go.”
While Nic strapped himself in the co-pilot’s seat and told the pilot to take off for Monaco, Luc phoned Signore Galli. The head of security at Genoa airport had dealt with the Duchess sisters before. If Olivia did check in for her overseas flight, the other man would spot her immediately and contact Luc.
Nic didn’t try to make further conversation until they were alone in the back of the limo headed for Luc’s house. “Why the call to Signore Galli?”
“If she’s flying home from Genoa, I plan to put her on the plane myself. I want proof she has left the continent.”
Another experiment like last night and he’d never be able to hold out. The things she’d done to him, the way she’d made him feel… He couldn’t believe he’d come so close to being the amoral bastard he’d accused his brother of being. Olivia was poison disguised.
“The sooner thousands of miles separate us, the better.”
“I hate to tell you this, but she said she was going to Colorno for a couple of days first.”
Luc made an angry sound in his throat. “Neither of her sisters is there which means she lied to you.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s probably running to Cesar.” In fact he was sure of it. She’d couldn’t last twelve hours without a man. “Her next trip on water will probably be a honeymoon cruise. In that case I wish them Godspeed on their way to hell.”
A shadow crossed over his cousin’s face. “Luc—”
“If you’re going to tell me she’s not like Genevieve, don’t waste your breath. Last night put any doubts about that to rest. I’ve decided all women are alike, offering themselves to the highest bidder.” Even Nina, Nic’s deceased fiancée. But that was a secret Luc and Max would take to their graves.
“I think you’re mistaken about Olivia.”
“You don’t know what I know,” Luc lashed out, then lowered his head. “Sorry I snapped, but even the most luscious-looking peach can have a rotten pit at its core. Should she end up becoming Madame Cesar de Falcon, how would you like a permanent new neighbor?”
Nic looked stunned. “You would move to Spain?”