Twice Upon a Time Read Free

himself into the waiting speedboat. He slid into the driver’s seat and started up the engine, waiting as his bodyguards jumped into the boat with him.
    Although Ludo understood that the bodyguards were just doing their jobs, he resented that they went everywhere with him. Even when he was in the bathroom one of them wasn’t far away.
    There had only been a few times when he’d managed to escape them, but those triumphs were hardly worth the wrath of his mother when he returned home.
    Though her role in the small principality was largely ceremonial, Queen Sofia of Sardinia was strict on tradition and proper conduct, and not even charming Ludo could escape her eagle eye for long.
    Mooring the speedboat, he let the bodyguards tie it up while he went ahead in search of the Cinzia Hotel.
    He found it easily enough in the dirty end of town. It was a tired-looking place, with pink paint peeling off its walls and its window boxes adorned with a few straggly geraniums that looked like they hadn’t been watered all summer.
    Backpackers were sprawled on plastic chairs on the front balcony, and Ludo could smell the distinct aroma of bud as he walked up the wooden stairs and into the foyer.
    He walked towards the reception desk, past the noticeboard covered with posters for tourist activities and places to stay around Italy, and handwritten ads for odd jobs.
    ‘ Ciao. Lucinda è qui?’ he asked the woman who was standing behind the front desk, holding a mop.
    She looked up at him and then tossed her head in the direction of the stairs.
    ‘ Sul tetto ,’ she said, and then leant over the counter to take a closer look at Ludo.
    He was glad he had left his sunglasses on; he was pretty sure the woman would have recognised him. He stepped away from her Chianti-soaked breath and turned to take the stairs to the roof.
    He removed his sunglasses and hung them on the front of his shirt as he jogged up the three flights of stairs to the door to the roof.
    He pushed against it, only to find it was stuck or locked. But surely it wouldn’t lock from the outside? He tried again but the door wouldn’t budge.
    ‘Can we help, Your Highness?’
    Ludo turned to see Sergei and Alexi behind him.
    ‘Can you please open this door?’ he asked, stepping back and gesturing to the door.
    Sometimes the goon squad has their uses , he acknowledged as the men pushed against the door with their impressive shoulders. The door flew open. Ludo smiled his thanks and asked them to discreetly wait downstairs. ‘I don’t want everyone knowing who I am,’ he said.
    Stepping through the door and onto the roof, he saw Cinda sitting on a wooden box, a sketchbook in her hand. He was reminded why he had bothered to find her. She looked even better than he remembered.
    ‘Hello,’ he said, and she turned around at the sound of his voice.
    ‘Oh, hey,’ she said, looking surprised to see him. ‘I’ve been waiting to be rescued,’ she laughed. ‘The door was stuck. How did you get out?’
    ‘I used my muscle,’ Ludo said, which wasn’t a complete lie.
    Cinda stood up, and put down her paper and charcoal. An exquisite sketch of the Positano rooftops stared up at him and he bent over and picked it up.
    ‘This is wonderful,’ he said, turning to her. ‘Really lovely.’
    He was pleased to see she blushed with pleasure at his words. He was pretty sure neither of them were clear on whether he was describing the art or Cinda herself.
    Her long dark curls were in a ponytail, but fine tendrils fell down around her neck and he had an overwhelming desire to brush them away with his lips.
    ‘So, why are you here, Prince Charming?’ she asked lightly, and he felt himself wince a little at her choice of words.
    ‘To pay for your artwork,’ he said with a smile, but Cinda shook her head.
    ‘There’s no need, honestly. The painting’s worthless.’
    ‘Don’t speak about your work like that,’ he said firmly. ‘It’s not good for your ego.’
    She raised her