Chapter Five
Luke shook me awake, and when I tried to bat his hand away, he chuckled and kept insisting. “Rue, come on, cara. The plane will be landing soon, and the cabin crew wants us back in our seats.
Pushing the covers off of me, I yawned and stretched. “I don’t know why I got so sleepy. It’s pretty handy to have a bed on a plane.”
“We left your place pretty early, plus you had both of our glasses of champagne when we boarded.” He brushed a strand of my hair away from my face.
“What can I say, I was nervous. I’ve only flown a few times, and never on a private jet.” The same hollow pit that had upset me when I first boarded returned.
Not once in our entire relationship had Luke made me feel like I wasn’t equal to him. For the most part, he lived the simple life of a talented car mechanic. The only outward show that he possessed more money than one would assume was his penchant for expensive vintage cars.
It had been a recent discovery that when he remodeled his modest house, he’d dug out a secret basement and outfitted it with a way to house a considerable amount of goods he’d obtained over his many years of existence. The opulence of our ride back to his country of origin both impressed and frightened me.
The flight attendant waited for us to buckle into the plush leather seats of the cabin before offering us one last drink. “Is there anything else you’ll be requiring, Signor de Rossi?” she asked in an accent that mixed a little Italian lilt with a British education.
“Will our means of transportation be ready for us upon our arrival?” Luke asked in a crisp tone unfamiliar to me.
The attractive woman nodded. “I believe all of the preparations are on schedule as requested. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for either of you.”
As we descended, clouds danced in front of the window as scenes from the land below came into better focus. Luke crowded over me to point out the landmarks that defined the different areas.
“And there is our destination. A Roma.” The R rolled off his tongue.
I suppressed a girlish giggle, realizing I would have plenty of time to enjoy his attractive accent even more. “I thought we were going to your home town. Perdaggi?” I mangled the pronunciation.
“Perdaggia,” he corrected, changing the hard G to sound like a J. “We could have routed there since there is a private airport just outside of the province, but I thought I would let you get your feet wet first. Plus, I’d love some time for just the two of us.”
His statement earned him a very long, tender kiss. When I broke away, I gazed out the window. “Rome,” I murmured, staring down at the sprawling city below. “Will we get a chance to see the Colosseum?”
“Certo. Of course. I couldn’t bring you to the Eternal City without showing that to you.” He settled his chin on my shoulder, gazing out the window with me. “Where else would you like to see?”
My cheeks heated, and I shrugged. “Honestly, that’s the only place I know for sure. Why don’t I let you surprise me?”
His lips brushed from my shoulder up my neck and right by my ear, causing me to shiver with excitement. “It would be my absolute pleasure.”
The plane descended, and I squeezed Luke’s hand as it dipped and bounced.
The flight attendant unbuckled her seat belt and made her way to us. “Mi dispiace. There is a little turbulence as we get lower. We should land a little ahead of schedule.”
“Thank you, Elena.” Luke flashed her a smile that I knew only conveyed politeness on the surface.
The faint blush that bloomed on her cheeks annoyed me, but since she’d been so nice to me the entire flight, I let it go.
We landed with a soft bounce and taxied a little distance until the plane slowed down and steered toward a small hangar. Airport personnel waved their directions using orange lights and coordinated hand signals. Once we rolled to a stop inside, the roar of the jet engines died.
I looked to Luke to give me cues for what happened next. He relaxed in the seat, looking very different in a pair of khaki pants and a crisp burgundy button-down shirt. His sports jacket lay over the seat across from us.
With a critical eye, I examined my own choice of clothing and cringed. Wrinkles covered my favorite green sundress since I wore it while napping in the private plane’s bed. The denim jacket I’d taken onboard in case I got cold had a couple of small holes from lots of use plus some fraying around the edges.
Feeling a little conspicuous, I pulled on the chain around my neck and held the token in my hand. It warmed at my touch, and I smiled, knowing my great-grandmother supported me no matter what I wore.
After some tense moments of waiting, the pilots turned the engines all the way off. Elena got off the phone at the front of the cabin and opened the door.
“I believe everything is ready for you,” she declared, her perfectly pink lips grinning.
“After you, cara,” Luke insisted, refusing to let me pick up my carry-on.
I threw my purse over my shoulder and clutched it as I reached the door.
Elena nodded her head at me. “Bienvenuti a Roma. Welcome to Rome, Miss Ruby.”
Giving her my sincere thanks, I climbed down the stairs with great care, heaving a sigh once my feet hit solid ground. I waited in nervous anticipation for Luke to join me. He grasped my hand in his and kissed my knuckles.
A man about the age and size that Deacon would be, if my cousin wasn’t in his pig form, stepped away from a shiny black car and approached. As soon as Luke saw him, he let me go.
“Claudio!” he shouted, embracing the young
