Celine glanced at her watch. Had they been traveling for only an hour? It seemed like longer, probably because she was aware of every second she was in Zion’s presence. Once they’d left the city he said she should relax, and even suggested that she take a nap, and that he would awaken her when they reached their destination.
That had been a good idea due to the little sleep she’d gotten the night before. However, each time she closed her eyes, she breathed in Zion’s scent and her hormones started sizzling, making sleep the last thing on her mind.
For a while she had pretended sleep and studied him through slitted eyes, hoping he wouldn’t catch her staring. He hadn’t, but had pretty much kept his eyes on the road. She figured from the way he periodically checked the rearview and side mirrors that he was making sure they weren’t being followed.
Even sitting behind the steering wheel his powerful, masculine body was eye-catching and totally absorbing. Then there were his broad shoulders and bulging biceps. Why did he have to look so darn sexy and why did she feel obligated to notice?
Tired of feigning sleep, she sat up and stretched her neck to look out the window. It was only a matter of time before she was caught ogling him.
She couldn’t help but admire the countryside they passed. Even with the season heading into winter, it was beautiful with lush green fields everywhere she looked. She bet come spring, flowers would be blooming all over the place.
Rome was behind them, and according to Zion, they were headed toward the charming town of Guadagnolo, where his country home was located on the outskirts. She figured hiding out a week should do it. For Zion to offer her protection was extremely kind and she didn’t want to impose on him any longer than that.
“It’s not too much farther. We will get there in time for lunch.”
She glanced over at him. “Will we need to go to the market?”
“No. Since I’d planned to come here later this week, I contacted my caretaker a few days ago and asked him to stock up the place. However, he did so with my preferences in foods. There might be items you prefer eating that I won’t have.”
“I’m not hard to please.”
“I recall you telling me that once before,” he said in a throaty voice.
She remembered that time. That recollection made her glance over at him, and as if he’d anticipated her doing so, their gazes connected. Her breath caught at the heat she saw in his gaze, making a surge of yearning coil within her. “I hope you don’t turn everything I say into a sexual innuendo, Zion.”
“I’ll try not to, Celine.”
“And do you have to look at me like that?”
He shrugged his massive shoulders. “It’s no different than the way I noticed you looking at me.”
True, but did he have to point it out? “I don’t know how we’re going to last together for a week.”
“I think you do.”
She broke eye contact with him to glance back out the window. He was right. She did know. In fact, she was the one who’d suggested they just get it on and get it over with. However, he was the one who claimed his desires didn’t operate on that premise.
That made her turn back to him and ask, “Why isn’t there a serious woman in your life, Zion?”
“Why isn’t there a serious man in yours, Celine?”
She should have expected his counterquestion, but hadn’t. Regardless, it didn’t matter, since the answer was simple. “I don’t have the time.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, just kept his eyes on the road, but she could tell he was rolling her response around in his head. “I guess all that shopping and jet-setting keeps you pretty busy.”
She tried not to let it bother her that, like a lot of people, he thought that was all she did. He would be surprised to know about Second Chances. She could set him straight now, but she wouldn’t. Let him think whatever he pleased. “I guess you can say that,” she said. “Does that mean the reason you’re not involved seriously with anyone is because a relationship would take too much time away from your jewelry designs?”
“No, they are mutually exclusive. I date when I want to. It’s not a top priority for me. Some women expect to have bonded with you after a certain number of dates. Some even expect daily phone contact. Then there are others who honestly anticipate you asking them to move in after a while. None of that will happen with me.”
“That’s not all women’s expectations. Some are happy with casual relationships.”
When he brought the car to a stop at a crossroad, he glanced over at her. “Is that what you and Nikon Anastas have? A casual relationship?”
She rolled her eyes. “Nikon and I didn’t have a relationship at all. It was all pretense to give the tabloids something to gossip about. We’ve covered this before, Zion.”
“And you were satisfied with that? Having the tabloids print untrue stuff about you and him?”
“Yes, because we both knew none of it was accurate. But for Nikon to announce we were engaged definitely crossed the line.”
“I would say it did more than cross the line. Appears it made you bait for his creditors.” Zion shook his head. “You sure know how to pick them.”
She narrowed her gaze and regretted that she couldn’t see his eyes. “I did not pick Nikon. My father did. Like I said, it was a PR move.”
“And you meekly went along with it?”
Although she hadn’t liked what he’d said, she couldn’t deny it was the truth. “I live in Hollywood, where relationships between couples are fabricated all the time. Publicity is the name of the game. The more of it you get the more your career can be advanced. Dad wanted to show a friendly connection between him and Nikon, and for us to appear to be dating was one way to do it. I wasn’t seeing anyone at the time and didn’t have a problem going along with the PR move they’d proposed.”
“Well, it seems more like a PR move that’s gone bad.”
She had to agree with him on that. “I’m sure things will be fine once Nikon pays those people the money he owes them.”
“Still, they had no right to kidnap you. And what if he doesn’t pay them? Then what?”
Celine didn’t want to think of that possibility. “Then they need to deal with him directly and keep me out of it.”
“He should not have involved you in the first place. He literally tossed you to the wolves.”
She didn’t want to agree, but she had to. Nikon had pretty much shown he didn’t give a crap about her well-being. She was tired of talking about her predicament and decided it was time to turn the conversation back to him. “When was the last time you had a steady girl?”
“Steady girl or steady bed partner?”
“Either. When was the last time?”
“Years ago. Steady or unsteady, they all knew Zion’s Rules.”
“Which are?”
“There are several. I told you about the not-mixing-business-with-pleasure rule while I was in Los Angeles. Then there’s my rule that any woman entering into a relationship with me must know she can’t change how I feel and what I think. I let them know up front that I don’t believe in happily-ever-after, marriage or long-term relationships. I believe in living my life as a bachelor to the fullest, and I intend to do so for the rest of my days.”
“Why don’t you believe in happily-ever-after, marriage or long-term relationships?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“I think so. Having a stable of willing women at your beck and call will eventually get old, don’t you think?”
“For some people, but not for me. I have no problem having a revolving door to my bedroom, and I make no excuses or apologies for doing so. Women are told up front that I am not a forever kind of guy. If they conveniently forget, that’s their problem, not mine.”
Celine studied his features. Was he putting her on alert? Letting her know that if they ever made it to his bed or hers, a roll between the sheets was all she’d ever get from him? “You said your five godbrothers are married, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re happy for them?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? They met and fell in love with nice women.”
“However, you don’t think it can happen to you? That you could meet and fall in love with a nice woman?”
“No.”
His answer sounded pretty final and quick. He hadn’t even paused to think about what she’d asked him. She wondered what had happened in his life to make him feel that way. Did his parents have a bad marriage?
She recalled he’d said his mother had died close to nine years ago. She also remembered that he’d moved to Rome shortly after her passing. Did he and his father not have a good relationship? Had his parents endured an unhappy marriage? It really wasn’t any of her business, but there had to be a reason he was so antimarriage.
Although she was not interested in marriage or a serious involvement now, Celine had no problem with settling down and getting married one day. And it would be to a man of her own choosing. She would not let her father dictate what he thought was the perfect man for her like her maternal grandparents had done to her mother.
“Tell me about your parents, Zion.”
She could tell from the immediate tightening of his jaw that she’d hit a sore spot. He slowed down the speed of the car and glanced at her with narrowed eyes. “Why do you want to know anything about my mom and dad?”
“Just trying to figure you out. There has to be a reason you’re so against marriage.”
* * *
Not for the first time, Zion thought Celine was too astute for her own good. “Why can’t it be that I just don’t want marriage and it has nothing to do with my parents?”
She shrugged. “Because usually if people come from a happy home where both parents love each other, it’s easier to accept that sort of relationship for themselves.”
He wondered if perhaps that was true, because he definitely had trust issues when it came to women. He knew those issues had developed after he’d found out his mother had betrayed his father. Of all his godparents, he would say Virgil’s parents were the couple who most enjoyed displaying open affection, even after over thirty years of marriage. Virgil’s father still referred to his wife as his queen.
“I don’t see you making any wedding plans, Celine. Didn’t your parents have a good marriage?” he asked, in an attempt to shift the conversation from him to her.
“It depends on what you mean by good,” she said, glancing at him when he brought his SUV to a stop at a traffic light.
He’d found her response interesting. “Weren’t they happy together?”
She shrugged. “I guess you can say they tried to make the best of it. My maternal grandparents met my father and decided he would be a fine husband for their daughter, regardless of the fact that she was in love with someone else. A guy she’d met at college. They gave her an order as to who to marry and she obeyed.”
“A marriage of convenience?”
“Yes.” Celine took a breath, then explained. “I think Dad eventually fell in love with Mom, but I’m not sure she ever fell in love with him. I truly believed that until the day she died her heart belonged to another man.”
As the traffic light changed, he asked, “And knowing your mother didn’t love your father doesn’t bother you?”
“No.”
He didn’t miss the firmness in her tone. “Why not?”
“I’m told Dad knew my mother was in love with another man, yet he married her anyway. I guess he assumed she would eventually fall in love with him.”
She said it like it hadn’t mattered one way or the other to her that her parents hadn’t loved each other. Zion guessed not being in love was different from not being faithful. His father loved his mother and had assumed the feelings were mutual. They hadn’t been. Otherwise, she would not have done what she did. He couldn’t help wondering what was worse: a loveless marriage or an adulterous one.
He turned off the major highway onto a two-lane narrow roadway that led to his villa. The road reached a steep incline, and when he hit level ground again he brought the vehicle to a stop. “Look to your right.”
She did, and he saw the moment her eyes grew bright and her lips parted in awe. He smiled. He liked observing a person’s first reaction when seeing his countryside home.
“Is that your place?” she asked, staring at him before returning her gaze to the window.
“Yes, that’s mine. All ten acres, including the waterway it sits on. This is where I come when I need peace and quiet.”
“And I’m invading your space.”
“As you can see, it’s plenty big for the both of us.” He meant that. She could have her own wing and not be underfoot.
“I can’t imagine you not getting lonely here by yourself.”
“Imagine it, because I don’t.” He studied her mouth and wished he wasn’t so focused on her lips. “You can have your very own suite. There are several. You can take your pick.” And he hoped it was the one farthest from the master suite. “And, Celine?”
“Yes?”
“You are safe here.”