Honeymoon With a Prince (Royal Scandals) by Nicole Burnham

to touch the back of his waist.   He was still warm with sleep.   Instead of speaking, he reached around to put a hand on her forearm and raised the other to signal that he was listening.
    She frowned, straining to hear what he heard.
    “Gaspare, come.”   The words were spoken quietly.   A subdued, responding woof came from the living room.
    “He doesn’t bark without reason.”   Massimo’s voice was low and firm, just as it was when he called the dog’s name.   Gaspare’s nose, then the rest of his large body pushed through the cracked bedroom door, sending a blast of sunlight spilling across the bed.   “What’s up, boy?   Someone on the beach get too close?”
    As he spoke to the dog, Massimo reached down to the floor to retrieve his underwear and slacks, pulling them on with the deftness of a man used to dressing in seconds.  
    Aware her own nakedness was now on full display, Kelly lifted the top sheet to cover her breasts.   “You think there might be a person outside?   He’s not just asking to be let out?”
    “If he needed to go, he’d have nudged me, not barked.   Plus, I let him out after our shower, so he shouldn’t have to yet.   But we’ll see.”   Massimo whipped on his shirt and was midway through buttoning the front when a pounding shook the front door.
    “ Signor Robards!   Polizia! ”  
    A second voice, the accent thick, added, “Mr. Robards, this is the Cateri police.   Please now to open the door, or we will enter with the manager of this property.”
    Massimo spun to look at her.   “Robards?”
    Ted?   Her heart thrummed against the walls of her chest in a panic.   What in the world was going on?   Why would the police be looking for him here?
    And geez, she was naked.
    “Just a moment!   I’m getting dressed!” she called to the door.  
    “We will give you one minute, yes?” came the annoyed reply.
    “Thank you, I’ll be right there!” She sprang from the bed and raced across the bedroom for her clothes.   Her suitcase was perched on a luggage rack beside the bathroom door.   Rummaging through, she located a clean bra and underwear, a T-shirt, and a pair of jeans, then began yanking them on.   The silence from the opposite side of the room felt like a knife to her back.
    “I had this reservation under another name,” she explained as she put one foot, then the other into the jeans.   “I’m sure there’s some confusion is all.   Give me a second and I’ll straighten it out.”
    “Of course, Signor .”
    She whirled around as she pulled the T-shirt over her head.   Bemusement lit Massimo’s features as he strolled across the bedroom, then took a seat in the armchair beside the window.   His eyes never left her body as she pulled her hair out of the neck of the shirt and fluffed it over her shoulders.   Did he actually find this funny?   Or was his humor sarcastic?   Given that she had a more pressing concern at the front door, she wasn’t sure it mattered.
    “It’s a long story.”   Because what else could she say?   That she was supposed to be here on her honeymoon?   “I’m shocked the police are here.   It makes no sense.”  
    “I’m sure they’re more than willing to explain it to you.”
    Great.   She glanced at Gaspare as she crossed to the bedroom door, then said to Massimo, “You want to hang out in here with him so he doesn’t freak out the police?”
    Massimo leaned back in the chair and made a wide gesture.   “Go right ahead.   But don’t take too long or Gaspare really will need to make use of the outdoors.”
    When she reached the front hall, Kelly smoothed her hair as best she could before putting her eye to the peephole.   Sure enough, two uniformed police officers stood at the door.   Just behind them, an agitated-looking man in a pair of black slacks and a light gray shirt paced back and forth in front of the police car that now blocked in Massimo’s Jeep.
    She closed her eyes, stepped back