i am a girl, and though my face may not look like Apollonia's, i am not the least bit jealous of her beauty.

and i don't think Michael's relationship with Apollonia was based on lust, or anything that can be labelled as "improper". as the others have said, there was the proper introduction to the family, visits to her home, courtship (the walk with the whole family behind them, then Apollonia almost trips), etc. everything was decent, and there was courtship.

i believe Michael really loved Kay, even while in Sicily. but more often than not, long-distance relationships don't last. it's very difficult! and in their case, they couldn't even communicate with each other, so there was no long-distance relationship to work on, in the first place. Apollonia just came at the right place and the right time.