Alicia, if it’s a divorce you want, I hope it’s granted for your sake, so you can be happy. But my circumstances have changed. I’m now a happily married man and won’t be seeing you again. Believe me when I wish you the very best in the future. Stefano.
He’d promised Lanza no scandal would ever touch their marriage and he’d meant it.
Once he’d pressed Send, he read through the messages from the managers of his other mines and answered where he needed to. The next meeting in Mexico wouldn’t come until after his visit to Bulgaria.
When he finally climbed into bed, his mind was on Lanza. He couldn’t wait to spend tomorrow with her. It didn’t matter what they did because on top of the qualities he’d been discovering about her, her mind intrigued him. That distinction made her stand out from all the other women he’d known.
His last thought before he fell asleep had to do with her and Alberto. If he hadn’t died in that crash, he’d be here on his honeymoon with Lanza right now. When Stefano tried to imagine his brother being married to her now, he no longer felt sorry for him. If anything, it was just the opposite...
He must have fallen off because the next thing he knew, Lanza was knocking on his door. “Stefano? Are you awake?” She sounded panicked.
In one bound he was out of bed and pulled on his robe before running over to the door to open it. She stood there wrapped in a stunning peach-colored robe.
“What’s wrong?”
“Fausto’s gone! I can’t find him. When I went downstairs this morning to see if he needed more water—he’d tipped over the box.”
“He has to be around here someplace.”
“I’ve looked everywhere.”
“Come on. We’ll find him. He couldn’t leave the chalet.”
Her glorious chestnut hair flounced around her shoulders as they hurried below. The second he flipped on the light at the bottom of the staircase and called out, he heard yapping.
“Fausto?” She’d heard it, too.
Stefano headed for the door to the wood bin where he’d taken out some pieces for the tree stand. He opened it and Fausto sprang out. Laughter burst from him as their little pet darted up the stairs.
At this point she’d started laughing. “Curiosity killed the cat, but not our fox. What do you suppose he came down here for?”
“Since our doors were closed and he was hungry, he probably went on the hunt for food. He must have been shocked when the door closed on him.”
“I’ll fill his bowls.” She started up the stairs.
He followed after her, wanting to put his arms around her and pull her back against him the way he’d done last night. This urge to feel her next to him wasn’t going to go away. For the moment the only thing to do was channel his energy with something physical.
While they fixed breakfast and fed the fox, he had an idea. “Have you ever skied?”
“Once in a while.”
There were many things Stefano still had to find out about her, but her answer pleased him no end. “As long as the good weather is holding, how would you like to go cross-country skiing with me today?”
“That’s something I’ve never tried. I’d love it!”
She’d answered without thinking about it. That was easy and excited him. “We’ll take Fausto to the tree with some food and leave him there while we go exploring.”
“I saw that you have a backpack downstairs. I’ll make some sandwiches for us so we can be gone as long as we want.”
She seemed indefatigable, another trait he welcomed. But more important, she wanted to be with him. That meant everything. “We’ll take drinks and a pack of biscotti, too.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“I’ll find an old blanket.”
Within a half hour they were ready to go. Her figure did wonders for Carla’s ski outfit. She’d fastened her hair at the nape with a band and pulled on the white wool hat that looked sensational on her.
He wrapped the fox in the blanket. When they were ready to take off, he put Fausto under his arm and they headed across the snow toward the forest of trees. Today they saw signs of animal tracks that delighted Lanza.