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PROLOGUE

‘SIGNOR! SIGNOR, VENGA ORA!’

Logan Cascini was on his feet in an instant As an architect who specialised in restoring old Italian buildings, to get the call to help transfor was a dream come true

The property at the vineyard was sprawling and over the years areas had fallen into disrepair His as painstaking, but he only employed the most specialised of builders, those who could truly re-create the past beauty of the historic chapel in the grounds and the s he worked on were listed and only traditional building lory

Tiet the chapel restored for the royal wedding of Prince Antonio of Halencia and his bride-to-be, Christina Rose No expense was being spared—which was just as well considering he had twenty different master builders on-site

‘Signor! Signor, venga ora!’

He left his desk in the main palazzo and rushed outside to the site of the chapel His sto that would hold up the build The last thing he needed was some unexpected hundred-year-old bones or a hoard of Roman crockery or coins

This was Italy It wouldn’t be the first ti unexpected had turned up on a restoration project

He reached the entrance to the ancient chapel and the first thing that struck him was the fact there was no noise For the last feeeks the sound of hammers on stone and the chatter of Italian voices had been constant Now every builder stood silently, all looking towards one of the walls

The interior of the chapel had been redecorated over the years Much of the original details and façade had been hidden The walls had been covered first in dark, inlaid wood and then—strangely—painted over with a variety of paints Every tied Some were just trends of the time—others were individual owners’ ideas of whatbetter In restoration terinal wood and stone had been ripped away and replaced with poorer, less durable e done was irreparable

His eyes widened as he strode forward into the chapel Light was streah the side s and lass s behind the altar were muted and in shadow But that didn’t stop the explosion of riotous colour on the far wall

A few of the builders had been tasked with pulling down the painted wooden panelling to expose the original walls underneath

There had been no indication at all that this ould be found

Now he understood the shouts Now he understood the silence

Beneath the roughly pulled-back wood eed a beautiful fresco So vibrant, the colours so fresh it looked as if it had just been painted

Logan’s heart rate quickened as he reached the fresco He started shaking his head as a smile became fixed on his face

This was a It was one of thethe Madonna and Child Through his historical work Logan had seen hundreds of frescoes, even attending a private viewing of the most famous of all at the Sistine Chapel

But the detail in this fresco was stunning and being able to see it so close was a gift He could see every line, every brushstroke The single hairs on Mary’s head, baby Jesus’s eyelashes, the downy hair on his skin, the tiny lines around Mary’s eyes

Both heads in the fresco were turned upwards to the heavens, where the clouds were parted, a bea their faces

Part of the fresco was still obscured Logan grabbed the nearest tool and pulled back the final pieces of broken wood, being careful not to touch the wall Finally the whole fresco was revealed to the viewers in the chapel

It was the colour that was most spectacular It seemed that the years behind the wood had been kind to the fresco Most that he’d seen before had been dulled with age, eroded by touch and a variety of other elements There had even been scientific studies about the effects of carbon dioxide on frescoes ‘Breathing out’ could cause harm

But this fresco hadn’t had any of that kind of exposure It looked as fresh as the day it had been painted

His hand reached out to touch the wall and he inetic—the pull of the fresco, the desire to touch it He’d never seen one so vibrant, from the colour of Mary’s dark blue robe to the white and yellow of the brilliant bea countryside, the pink tones of Jesus’s skin, the ochre of the se and red flowers depicted around them It took his breath away

He’d hoped to restore this chapel to its for that would surpass all his expectations

‘Signor? Signor? What e do?’ Vito, one of the builders, appeared at his elbow His eyes ide, his face smeared with dirt

‘Take the rest of the day off,’ Logan said quickly ‘All of you’ He turned to face the rest of the staff ‘Let me decide how to proceed Come back tomorrow’

There were a few nods Most eyes were still transfixed on the wall

There was a flurry at the entranceway and Louisa, the nener of the palazzo, appeared ‘Logan? What’s going on? I heard shouts Is sos automatically propelled her forward

Louisa Harrison was the American who’d inherited Palazzo di Comparino and hired him to renovate both it and the chapel back to their for blond hair was tied up in a ponytail and she earing yoga pants and a loose-fitting top Her broas furrowed as she looked at the fresco and shook her head ‘This was here?’ She looked around at the debris on the floor ‘Behind the panelling?’

He nodded while his brain tried to process his thoughts Louisa would have no idea what the implications of this could be

She turned back to face hi The colours are so fresh it’s as if the painter just put down his paintbrush today I’ve never seen anything like this Have you?’

He took a deep breath and chose his words carefully ‘I’ve seen a few’ He gave a nod to the wall ‘But none as spectacular as this’

She was still sot here Louisa rarely talked to the tradesmen or contractors and when she did it was all business No personal stuff He’d learned quickly that she was a woed to inherit such a wonderful part of Italian history

But her intentions see with the request for a wedding venue fro architecture business and natural curiosity there had been no way he’d turn down the opportunity to do these renovations

‘It will be the perfect backdrop for the wedding,’ Louisa said quietly, her eyes still fixed on the fresco ‘Won’t it?’

He sed Exactly how could he put this?

‘It could be I’ll need to make some calls’