The Diamond Secret by Ruth Wind

Author:Ruth Wind
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2006-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

I jumped up, throwing a five-pound note on the able. “Sorry,” I said. “I have to go right now.”

Grabbing my things, I headed out into the night. The rain was turned off for the moment, leaving the air damp and freezing, and I shivered as I headed to the car. My hands were burning with cold, and I made a mental note to buy some gloves before getting on the ferry tomorrow.

Rushing for the car, I paid no attention to a small dark, mud-splattered vehicle pulling into the car park until the window was rolled down and Luca was smiling at me. “You’re safe!” he said. “Where are you going?”

For a moment, I floundered. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“Well, here I am.” He nodded. “Climb in,” he said, cocking his head toward the passenger seat. “If we drive this, we will be less conspicuous.”

I wasn’t about to let him get me all tangled in this again. “No, Luca. The Romeo is right over there,” I said. “I’ll drive.”

“Very well. I will park.”

As calmly as I was able, I crossed the car park and opened the Romeo’s driver-side door. Luca was parking by the lamppost, and I got in the car, started the engine and pretended to be waiting for him.

Just in case, I leaned over and checked the door locks. Good.

Seat belt, good.

Rain, starting to fall again a little—even better.

I backed out of the parking space, and spied Luca crossing the gravel lot with his head down. I put the car into first gear—

And peeled out. In the rearview mirror, I saw Luca run for his own car. Good luck, buddy, I thought, and pulled out onto the A-77.

He was behind me in moments. The roads were wet and dark once we pulled out from town a little way. I thought of my father, coaching me on the high mountain roads around San Francisco. My body settled into the seat, my limbs melding into the organic nature of the car around me, not a thing made of metal and glass, bolts and rubber, but an entity of breath and beauty, power and life.

We moved, the pair of us, into the night, like horse and rider dashing over the fields. The car hugged the road, smoothly, climbing and turning, responding without a quiver to my every command. We’d come to know each other, this little car and I, and in spite of my exhaustion, I felt a surge of exhilaration.

Admirably, Luca mostly stayed with me, lagging a little behind, then catching up. He cornered marvelously well, a driver who had some mountain time on him, I’d guess. That was generally how a person came by that clear sense of the center of the road.

Intriguing. I thought of him at the table, reading my palm. Thought of his kiss, so surprising and hot, delicious mouth and skilled, probing tongue. I thought of his hands in my hair, his thumbs on my face. A cradling gesture in which some tenderness lurked.

Minor royalty.

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