Free Oceans Between Us (A Cinderella Romance) by Helen Scott Taylor

them."
    Maria leaned her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart and blinked away the tears threatening to fall. Dino didn't have time for her in his life. If he ever settled in one place, it was unlikely to be in the rural depths of Cornwall. Dino leaned down and whispered in her ear: "Would you like to visit America, Maria?"
    Memories of her time in Austria cascaded through her mind and ended with the awful final night she'd spent there. One of the drunken men who'd forced his way into her bedroom had been American. "No. I couldn't." Just the thought of leaving the safety of home again made her heart race in panic. "I'm going to run the Crow's Nest when Mum and Dad retire. It's all arranged." She hoped to have a husband at her side to help. But that husband obviously wouldn't be Dino. She'd known all along he was not the right sort of man for her, yet in her heart of hearts, she'd still hoped.
    Unbearable pressure filled her chest. She had to distract herself, shake off this awful feeling of loss. He hadn't gone yet. She pulled away from him, grabbed the remote control, and changed the TV to a dance-music channel. "Let's practice the salsa for tomorrow night."
    Dino blinked at her, looking bewildered, then seemed to compose himself and smiled. "Of course, tesoro , of course. We will make sure tomorrow night at the hop is a night to remember."

Chapter Five

    Maria carried trays of finger food she had prepared for the hop out to her car and laid them on the back seat. Dino brought a bag with four cans of lager and a bottle of wine. He held it up questioningly.
    "We have to take our own booze as the village hall doesn't have a license to sell alcohol," Maria explained.
    He wore stylish black trousers, a blue shirt, and his leather jacket as he didn't have sixties clothes. Maria had donned the yellow cotton dress with a full skirt and tight bodice she had picked up for the occasion. Her hair was in a high ponytail secured with the spotty ponytail holder she had bought in Mevagissey.
    As she locked the front door, Dino pulled a corsage from behind his back. "Oh, Dino, thank you." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her heart racing, ticking off the dwindling seconds they had left together. She wanted to ask him if he would come back to see her, but she couldn't summon the courage. If he said no, she might just fall apart. And she couldn't do that right before the fundraiser. She pulled herself together and stepped back, holding out her arm for him to attach the flowers around her wrist. "This is lovely, but a bit fancy for the village hall."
    "You look beautiful, Maria." Dino's dark gaze glided over her appreciatively.
    "Thank you." Did he really mean that? Effusive compliments fell from Dino's lips all the time. Traveling as much as he did, he must meet lots of beautiful women. In a few months, he might barely remember their time together. The thought cut through her like a knife. She turned away and tripped over her own feet.
    Dino caught her arm. "Are you all right, tesoro ?"
    "Yes, fine." She tried to smile and thought she managed convincingly. "I'm just clumsy." They climbed in her car. Dino sat beside her, his long legs crammed in the tight space. It was lucky they only had a few hundred yards to drive to the village hall. Together they unloaded the food and drink, and Dino followed her inside.
    Philip was busy organizing people to set up tables and chairs around the walls. Maria left the food in the small kitchen and introduced Dino as a friend. Philip shook his hand and slapped him on the back. "You've arrived just in time, Dino, mate. Help me set up the tables, will you?"
    Maria and Philip's wife, Millie, spread tablecloths on the trestle tables as they were erected, and laid out the buffet along one wall while other helpers fetched chairs from the store. Richard, the errant committee member who had been responsible for the music, turned up armed with a sixties compilation CD