"No, Dominic! We must stop now." She pushed hard against his chest but could not free herself. Suddenly, he let her go and she almost fell off the bench, righting herself only because he helped her to.

"Why, Maddalena? You want me just as I want you-need you. Just once, let me lose myself in your arms." The plea in his voice surprised them both. He was that desperate.

"I am to marry Giovanni. We cannot forget that. I can't be unfaithful to him."

"Is not kissing someone else unfaithful?"

She hung her head at his words and murmured, "Sì, it is. But not near so bad as...."

Her words trailed off, but he knew she meant consummation. Giovanni would never know, unless Maddalena told him. "So, that's it, then? You don't think you could keep it a secret from Giovanni, so you will deny this passion between us?"

"I could not keep it a secret. And once would probably not be enough to extinguish the desire between us. We would end up making love until the passion died, and then we would hate each other. I don't want that. I want to be friends."

He was taken back by her words. Friends? It had never occurred to him, and it did not sit well now that it had. It would be better to hate her. At least he would be away from her, away from the pain in his heart. Could she ever come to love him like he loved her? Maybe consummation would make her realize that her passion for him was truly love, make her understand that love is a fire that cannot be extinguished. But, what if he did make love to her and she discovered that her passion had died? What if she began to hate him, like she said she would? He could never live with that. He would just have to endure the pain exploding in his heart until he finished his commission, then he would make sure that he never saw her again.

"Friends, Maddalena? I would like that. You are fun to be with, and you obviously enjoy art. But, can we be friends with so much desire between us?"

"I think so. I think that it will pass once we get to know each other well."

If only it would, he thought to himself. But he knew that his love for her would only grow in the richness of her company, like a rose in fertile soil. "Friends, then?" he asked, fighting the urge to declare that he wanted much more than friendship from her.

"Sì."

The smile she gave him shone bright, piercing even the darkest corridors of his heart. How would he ever make it through the next few months? He ate the last piece of cheese, then rose to his feet. "I will get back to work now. Are you going to join me?"

"No, I think I will go back inside. You will be at dinner?"

"Sì, I will be there."

"That's a wise decision. If you didn't show, Ellania would be out here bothering you and then you would starve as well as get little work done. Unless you accomplish more than work with Ellania." She grinned wickedly, then laughed, the tinkle raining down on him.

How could she leave his embrace, then speak so nonchalantly about his making love with another woman? What little hope he had still harbored about her feelings for him died at that moment. She did not love him, and making love to her would've been a dreadful mistake. He was glad she told him no. He did not answer her, but gathered up the mess on the floor of the gazebo. Handing her the basket, he attempted to smile, but failed. "I will see you at dinner." He strode off to the chapel, leaving her to stare after him.

Maddalena raced into the palazzo, up the steps, and, dropping the basket outside the kitchen door, into her room. She threw herself down on her bed and buried her face in her pillow. It had taken all of her willpower to face Dominic and actually speak of him with Ellania. And the laugh! It had sounded so natural. She had almost convinced herself that she did not care. Almost! But almost was not nearly enough, for her heart was screaming in anguish and her eyes were flooded with tears.

Friends! What a bright idea, she scolded herself. How would she ever be able to control her emotions around him long enough to maintain a friendship? For at least two more months? And if he decided to pursue Ellania, she could only blame herself. Dominic said he would not if it bothered her-why did she tell him to? How would he have responded if she had flung herself into his arms and proclaimed her undying love for him? He would laugh at her foolishness! That's what! Just because he found her attractive and desired her didn't mean he would ever come to love her. She was glad that she didn't give into the plea in his voice when he asked her to give herself to him just once. The only way she had been able to turn him down was to imagine Giovanni's disgust on their wedding night. She owed Giovanni more respect than that and if she had given herself to Dominic, she would've ruined any chance of making her marriage work and she would have had to live with the consequences for the rest of her life.

Just today she had finally realized that Dominic thought that she was already sexually involved with Giovanni. It was the only explanation, the only reason, for him to think that she could keep any infidelity from Giovanni. Why she didn't tell him that she was still a virgin, she didn't know. It hurt that he believed that she was so lax in her morals, and deep down she knew that Dominic would never come to love her. How could he ever learn to love someone he thought so immoral?

She did not hear the light tap on the door, or even the creak of the hinges when Lucia opened it to look in on her. It wasn't until she felt the dip in her bed that she realized her mother had come into her room. She looked up and found her mother sitting next to her, and, although Lucia was not touching her, she was comforted by the older woman's presence. Sitting up, she wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Lucia pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

"That's right, Maddalena. Dry your eyes now, child. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I will be all right."

"I saw you and Dominic in the gazebo. You had an argument?"

Oh, sweet Mother Mary, what exactly did Mamma see? "Not really," she sniffled into the lacy handkerchief, "actually, we are now officially 'friends'."

Lucia frowned. "And whose idea was that?"

"Mine. We were both pretty rude to each other at first, and I felt bad for playing with the man's mind."

"I knew you were up to something. You are lucky your Papa is so blind when it comes to you."

Maddalena's lip trembled, the tears beginning again. "I can't hide anything from you, Mother."

"Not too much, anyway. I saw Dominic kiss you out there in the garden. You did not push him away."

What could she say? Her mother had witnessed the embrace and she could not lie about her actions now. "No, but I should've. Giovanni will never forgive me if he finds out."

"He won't find out, Maddalena. Not from me. I have never came straight out and told you this, but I do not want you to marry Giovanni."

"But you have surely hinted!" Maddalena's lips tilted up ever so slightly, but it did not become a smile.

"That I have. Can you not come to love Dominic?"

Maddalena laughed then, but it was not a cheerful sound. "Love Dominic? Mamma, you are asking too much. To fall in love and then marry someone else?"