Becoming the Prince's Wife (Princes of Europe) by Rebecca Winters Read Free Book Online

sitting room he was met with the news he’d been dreading all his adult life.
    While he’d been riding horses with Carolena, his mother had worked out the details of his coming marriage to Princess Alexandra of Cyprus. Both royal families had wanted a June wedding, but he’d asked for more time, hoping for another year of freedom. Unfortunately they’d forced him to settle on August tenth and now there was no possibility of him changing his mind.
    Tonight his mother had pinned him down, gaining his promise there’d be no more women. By giving his word, it was as good as writing it in cement.
    Ages ago he and Michelina had talked about their arranged marriages. Valentino had intended to be true to Alexandra once their marriage date was set, but he’d told Michelina he planned to live a full life with other women until his time came.
    She, on the other hand, never did have the same problem because she’d fallen in love with Vincenzo long before they were married and would never have been unfaithful to him. Vincenzo was a good man who’d kept his marriage vows despite the fact that he didn’t feel the same way about her. Valentino admired him more than any man he knew for being the best husband he could under the circumstances.
    But after seeing Abby and Vincenzo together while they’d been here, he longed for that kind of love. A huge change had come over Vincenzo once he and Abby had fallen for each other. He was no longer the same man. Valentino could see the passion that leaped between them. Last night he’d witnessed it and knew such a deep envy, he could hardly bear it.
    After eight months of marriage their love had grown stronger and deeper. Everyone could see it, his mother most of all. Both she and Valentino had suffered for Michelina. She’d had the misfortune of loving Vincenzo who couldn’t love her back in the same way. It would have been better if she hadn’t fallen for him, but he couldn’t handle thinking about that right now.
    The only thing to do where Alexandra was concerned was try to get pregnant soon and build a family the way his own parents had done. Even if the most important element was missing, children would fill a big hole. That’s what Michelina had tried to do by going ahead with the surrogacy procedure.
    Unfortunately, he hadn’t counted on the existence of Carolena Baretti. Her unexpected arrival in Gemelli had knocked him sideways for reasons he hadn’t been able to identify yet. Instead of imagining his future life, his thoughts kept running to the gorgeous brunette who was a guest in the other wing of the palace.
    Something had happened to him since he’d come upon Abby’s friend in the swimming pool that first evening. He’d promised his mother no more women and he’d meant it. But like a lodestone he’d once found on an ancient volcano crater attracting his tools, her unique personality and stunning physical traits had drawn him in.
    He’d met many beautiful women in his life, but never one like her. For one thing, she hadn’t thrown herself at him. Quite the opposite. That in itself was so rare he found himself attracted on several levels.
    Because she was Abby’s best friend, she was already in the untouchable category, even if he hadn’t promised his mother. Yet this evening, the last thing he’d wanted to do was say good-night to her.
    They’d shared a lot today. Intimate things. Her concern for him, the tears she’d shed for his uncle, touched him on a profound level. He’d never met a woman so completely genuine. To his chagrin she made him feel close to her. To his further disgust, he couldn’t think beyond having breakfast with her in the morning.
    With his blood effectively chilled now that the conversation with his mother was over, he excused himself and called for his car to come around to his private entrance. He told his driver to head for Tancredi’s Restaurant on the east end of the island, a twenty-minute drive.
    Once on his way, he phoned his