Treasured Dreams (10 page)

‘What's that?' Helen pointed at the white paper bag.

‘Nonna made pastries.'

Jimmy sat forward. ‘What sort?'

‘
Sfogliatelle
.'

‘Oh my God, Mum, you have to try these,' Archer said. ‘They're magnificent.'

‘Okay.' Helen didn't display the same amount of enthusiasm Archer did, however Rosalina was just delighted that Helen had accepted the offer. It was normally impossible to get her to eat anything. Rosalina stood up and reached for her crutches.

She hopped over to the spa, and with one of her butt cheeks on the edge, she held the open paper bag towards Helen. Helen reached in, and with knitted brows she withdrew a pastry. Rosalina wished the pastries were still warm so Helen could experience them the way they should be.

‘I'll have one.' Jimmy lunged at the bag with his wet fingers.

Archer had one too, and as the men devoured them in two or three giant bites, Helen nibbled on the pastry as if it were filled with chili peppers.

‘So is this all you boys have been up to all day?'

‘No.' Archer palmed his chest in mock hurt. ‘We stocked the bar.' Archer's carefree smile flashed at her.

Rosalina chuckled. ‘Of course you did. So what's a lady got to do to get a wine around here?'

Archer launched out of the tub, and Rosalina tried not to laugh as Helen held the pastry up high and once again brushed water from her face.

‘Wade!' Helen fumed.

Some of the gleam in Archer's eyes faded. His mother still called Archer by her long-lost husband's name from time to time, and it was always confronting. Knowing that Archer looked like his father added to his mother's confusion.

Rosalina chose to ignore Helen's slip-up. ‘I see we're going to need to implement some strict spa rules.'

‘Sorry, Mum.' Archer wiped the wet hair from his mother's eyes, then he leant in to kiss her forehead. He plucked a towel that had been placed on the nearest deck chair, wrapped it low around his hips and walked to the bar.

Rosalina had her wine in her hand and her feet propped up on the coffee table when Alessandro and Ginger joined them.

‘What's going on here?' Ginger bounded to the hot tub and dipped her hands in. ‘How nice is that?'

‘It's great,' said Jimmy. ‘What took you so long?'

‘We've had the best day.' She grabbed Alessandro's hand and swung it between them.

Rosalina still couldn't believe how quickly they'd become a couple, but she was over-the-moon happy for Alessandro. For too many years he'd wasted his yearning on her.

‘Hang on. Wait till I get another beer.' Jimmy reached over and plucked a beer from the ice bucket he'd put beside the spa.

‘Maybe we should all get out so we can go over the details together.' Archer returned to the spa and reached for his mother's hand. ‘Come on, Mum, let's get you dry.'

‘I was wondering when you were going to help me out. I'm beginning to look like an Egyptian mummy.'

Archer laughed. It wasn't very often his mother had something to say. ‘It's only been about half an hour.' Archer helped her down the steps and Rosalina handed over one of the white towels stacked up on a deck chair.

‘How was your spa?' Rosalina asked.

Helen's smile was both incredibly rare and delightful to see. ‘It was lovely. Very relaxing.'

Rosalina caught Archer's eye. He looked so proud. And so he should be—his mother's progression from the shadow of a woman she was when they'd found her to the woman who'd just stepped out of the spa was a direct result of his patience and encouragement.

Archer helped Helen wrap the towel around her body, and then he pulled out one of the day chairs for her to sit on. Helen sat, folded her hands in her lap and looked up at Alessandro and nodded, as if giving him the go-ahead to continue.

‘This better be good, Einstein. I was enjoying that spa.' Jimmy put his wet hands on Alessandro's shoulders as he spoke.

Alessandro scowled and peeled Jimmy's hands off in disgust. ‘You don't have to listen.' He cocked his head, and by the smug look on his face Rosalina knew he was holding the trump card. Jimmy would never miss a discussion about treasure.

‘Yeah, right. You're a funny guy.' Jimmy snatched a towel off the lounge and flung it over his shoulders.

Archer eased in beside Rosalina. She shuffled over, and Jimmy slotted in on her other side. Wedged in between their two warm bodies, she was consumed by the combined smell of chlorine and beer.

Alessandro remained standing as he told what had happened with the monkey statue today. He described what they'd learnt from Professor Sezoine in great detail, and by the time he arrived at the incident with the shooting dart and showering glass he was bursting with wild energy. His hands flung out and back as he recounted the blow-by-blow action. He finished with a flick of his thick black hair and presented the blue cylinder with a beaming smile.

The cylinder was passed to Rosalina, and as she studied its intricate design she was struck with a question. ‘I still don't understand how a two-thousand-year-old statue came to be on a thirteenth-century ship?'

She watched Alessandro think it through. ‘It's a mystery, I agree. Maybe we'll find something in the cylinder that will explain it,' he said.

‘Anyway, it's our turn in the spa.' Ginger grabbed Alessandro's hand. ‘We're getting our togs on, and we'll be back up in a sec.' They dashed off, and Rosalina wished she could move that quickly.
Just three more days
, she lamented.

Helen pushed off the lounge to stand up. ‘I'm going to bed. Good night.'

Archer hopped up and helped his mother. They disappeared together down the stairs, and within minutes Rosalina watched Ginger and Alessandro climb into the spa. Rosalina would've been in there with them in a heartbeat if she could. Instead she watched from the sidelines, and it wasn't long before Jimmy climbed in too.

Archer returned and walked straight towards Rosalina to lean into her ear. ‘Want some quiet time?'

His words were music to her ears. She turned to him, and his eyes softened. ‘I'd love that.'

He reached for her hand. ‘Rosa and I are heading to bed. See you crazy cats in the morning.'

‘Night guys,' Ginger and Alessandro said in unison, and then laughed as they raised their glasses high above the bubbles to clink together.

‘See you in the morning,' Jimmy said.

Before she knew it, Rosalina was scooped up into Archer's arms. ‘What are you doing?' Rosalina playfully slapped him on the chest.

‘Watching you go down the stairs with the crutches is torture. Now grab your sticks.'

As directed, she picked up her crutches when he tilted her in their direction. She held them in one hand as she waved good night to the others.

‘Thank you, babe. I was starting to nod off.'

‘I noticed. But the night's still early.' He wriggled his eyebrows as he turned sideways and navigated the stairs with ease. At the bottom of the stairs, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He smelt of chlorine and beer, yet his favourite cologne, offering hints of spices from the orient, still lingered.

At the kitchen, he diverted to the bench and lowered her onto it.

‘Stay there.' Archer kissed the end of her nose then reached up to the overhead cupboard, selected two champagne glasses and placed them on the bench beside her. He turned to the fridge and removed a bottle of Villa Pandolfini's red Chianti and a wooden box.

She cocked her head at him. ‘What have you got there?'

‘A little surprise. Now stay there; I'll be back in a sec.'

He grabbed her crutches and the other bits and pieces, and dashed off down the hall. Back in a flash, he picked her up off the bench, and with her arms wrapped around his neck again, he carried her to the Hamilton suite. Archer had closed the blinds, put on some music, and lit the vanilla-scented candles on the bedside tables that they'd bought from her favourite little gift shop in Livorno.

Archer carried her to the bed and lowered her to the covers. He eased her backwards, climbed up on the mattress and straddled her so he could hover above her. His pendant, that he never removed, dangled from his neck, and she wrapped her hand around the curved finger of gold. This little piece of ancient treasure was what started their hunt for the Calimala treasure. It had a lot to answer for.

Archer cupped her cheeks, drawing her eyes to his. ‘I've missed you, babe.'

She frowned, unsure what he meant.

‘Tonight was the first time you've smiled in weeks. I've been worried about you.'

Rosalina sighed. He was right. She hadn't been herself. ‘I'm sorry. I think it's this stupid leg cast; it's driving me crazy.'

The candlelight danced in his dark eyes. ‘Is that all?'

Was that all? She'd been asking herself the same question. No. No, it wasn't all. ‘You mean besides nearly dying, nearly losing the man I love, and finding out my brother and I have different fathers?'

He cocked his head. ‘Okay, I admit they're all big things, but—'

‘Huge things,' she corrected.

‘Okay, huge things. But I didn't die, you didn't die, and your brother is still the same man you knew a month ago.' He shrugged. ‘Nothing has changed.'

Archer had a gift at simplifying things. A smile curled at his lips and faint creases lined the corners of his eyes.

‘I guess you're right.'

‘I am right, babe. All that matters is that you and I are together. I lost you once—I'm never going to lose you again. So what can I do to make you happy?'

‘Take my cast off.'

He scrunched up his nose. ‘Other than that.'

She laughed and let out a huge sigh. They were good together. There was no other man in the world who could make her feel like Archer did. ‘You can kiss me.'

He glided his thumb over her lips. ‘My pleasure.' He lowered and as their lips met she traced over his rock-hard pectoral muscles and placed her hands so his nipples rested between her thumb and forefinger. They hadn't made love since before the helicopter crash, and as he pushed his tongue into her mouth she realised just how much she'd missed it.

She rolled her hands down his body, absorbing the heat of his skin with her fingers. The towel was still wrapped around his hips. She tugged it from his body and gasped. ‘You're naked.'

He rolled his eyes. ‘Well I wasn't until you took the towel off.'

‘Where are your boardies?'

‘I took them off when I brought the wine in. They're still a bit wet.' His dimples punctuated his cheeks.

She suddenly remembered the wooden box he'd removed from the fridge. ‘Are you going to show me what that little surprise is?'

‘Hmmm, you'll have to ask me nicely.' The golden flecks in his eyes dazzled.

His full, kissable lips always fascinated her, and as if knowing exactly what she was thinking, Archer flicked his tongue over them. She used his gold pendant to pull him towards her for a kiss. This time she forced her tongue into his mouth, and the weeks of tension that had gripped her glided away as she tasted him. Kissing Archer captivated all her senses—sight, smell, taste, touch, and even sound, as little whimpers of pleasure tumbled from his throat. She cupped his buttocks, massaging the firm flesh in her fingers, and at the right moment she smacked him on the bottom.

He pulled back, eyebrows raised.

‘Stop teasing me. What's the surprise?'

‘I do believe, Miss Calucci, it is you that's teasing me.' He gave her a quick kiss before he pushed off the bed. Just the sight of him naked was enough to set her heart racing and draw delicious heat to her loins. It was her turn to run her tongue over her lips as she admired his body while he walked away. The muscles in his well-toned bottom bulged and flexed with each step he took to the coffee table centred between the two red leather day chairs.

He turned with the wooden box in his hands, and a full-blown erection between his legs. The heat between her thighs hit overdrive as he stepped towards her with burning desire in his eyes.

‘I bought this the other day and I thought it would cheer you up.' He placed the wooden box at her side.

She propped up on her elbow to study the gift and instantly recognised the insignia burned into the lid. ‘Oh, Archer. When did you go to Arte Del Cioccolato?' Roberto Cattinari was one of the finest chocolatiers in Florence, possibly in all of Italy. Rosalina had been fortunate to spend a few months working with him during her chef apprenticeship.

‘I didn't. I rang Roberto and he selected out a few of your favourites.'

‘You rang him? How do you even know him?'

‘I didn't, but when I told him who the chocolates were for he was more than willing to help. It seems you were one of his favourite students.'

She frowned, completely confused. ‘But Archer, how did you even know that I'd worked with Roberto?'

‘You told me once.'

‘I did?' Rosalina had no recollection of it.

Archer slid the lid back on the wooden box to gradually reveal five rows of individual chocolates. Each one, she knew, would be unique and exquisite. ‘We were in Melbourne, in one of those fancy mosaic-tile-lined arcades, and we stopped for a coffee and chocolate. You took a bite of your treat, screwed up your nose, and then told me about Roberto Cattinari and how amazing his chocolates were. You did that little eye-roll thing you do when you're eating something that pleases you.'

‘Oh babe, this is one of the most thoughtful gifts you've ever bought me.'

‘I wanted to make sure your tastebuds were still working okay.'

She chuckled. ‘I'm sure they're fine.'

‘Let's see then, shall we?'

Archer studied the pictorial chart and then, after apparently making his choice, he selected a square chocolate decorated in gold flecks. ‘Open your mouth.' She obeyed, and he popped the chocolate onto her tongue.