Royally Claimed - By Marie Donovan Page 0,19
be something in several years.” He rested his fingers lightly on her shoulder. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Of course I’m joking, Frank,” she teased. “I only drink white wine with ice cubes.”
“Ah, Julia, you do not give an inch, do you?” He looped his arm around her neck and pulled her to him unselfconsciously, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Peaches.” He sighed happily.
Just then, her stomach gave a terrible growl. He started to laugh, and she gave up and joined in. “Don’t worry, honey, we’re almost there.” He pointed at the blue smudge in the distance that was becoming less of a smudge and more of a distinct shape with every minute that they drew closer.
He took one last drink of his cola and set it aside in the cup holder, his free arm still looped around her shoulder. “Time to put it back on manual control now. I’d hate to run aground on my own island. Rather embarrassing for me, don’t you think?”
“And rather hard on us and the boat, as well.” The island was turning from blue to green in front of her eyes. It was a longer, lower island than many of the others in the Azores, covered in stumpy trees and green, green grass. Since the temperatures were between the fifties and seventies year-round, nothing ever froze, unlike Boston.
Belas Aguas had always reminded her of a giant golf course, smooth and green. And terribly expensive. “Did you ever think about turning some of the land into a golf course?” she asked, knowing it was a nosy question.
“A golf course?” Frank started to laugh. “No, I can’t say I ever considered that. At one point, we were thinking about renting out the villa to people who needed a private vacation spot.”
“Like for your friend Stefania and her new husband.” She tapped her fingers on the glass of cola. “I can see how that would work.”
“Well, Belas Aguas isn’t exactly a beach hotspot. We don’t have a deep enough harbor to take really large ships, and the weather never gets really hot here unlike in the Mediterranean.” He flipped a couple switches and took his arm off her shoulder so he could steer the boat. She moved away from him, disappointed, and that was not a good sign.
Julia had been counting on the presence of their elderly chaperon, Benedito. Not because she was afraid Frank would do anything, but because she was afraid that she might. Well, she’d just have to behave herself, despite all of Frank’s signals that he would rather she did the opposite.
“SO, STEFANIA HAS DECIDED to pick gold and ivory for her bridal colors. The cathedral in Vinciguerra has beautiful marble with lots of gold decoration and her wedding dress is ivory satin with gold trimming on it. The dress designer is engaged to my friend George, Stefania’s brother. That’s actually how they met. Since Stefania’s parents are passed away, George, Jack and I offered to help her with her wedding plans.” Frank knew he was babbling as he unlocked the kitchen door of the villa, but nerves were getting the best of him.
Julia nodded as she entered the kitchen. “Well, this certainly looks the same,” she said.
He grimaced and she saw it. “No, that’s not what I mean. I love the timelessness of the villa—of the whole island.” She walked around the kitchen running her hands along the old wooden table that acted as a center island. “How old is this table?”
He shrugged, and set down the big paper bag of carry-out lunch from the café. “I suppose it’s really old. Benedito says that it’s been here since he was a boy, and he is at least 118 years old.”
Julia laughed. “You two are so bad together, but I suppose by now it’s just a game for you.”
“He means well, and he takes joy in keeping me on my toes. No chance of me becoming a stuffy nobleman with Benedito around.”
“You could never be stuffy, Frank.”
“My father died when I was about eleven, and I became the Duke. My mother is a lovely woman, but with my father gone, she focused all her fussing on me. I was well on my way to becoming quite the insufferable little prig, striding around the fazenda and barking orders to the men. Benedito was the only one who dared say boo to me and he made it quite clear that while I may have inherited the title, I had to earn the