And she really knew how to challenge him.
She frowned. ‘Tell me the worst thing you’ve ever done, aside from getting me pregnant.’
‘That’s not the worst thing I’ve ever done,’ he snapped. ‘We’re growing a baby. That’s amazing.’
Her cheeks lost colour. ‘Well, what can you tell me that would make me like you less?’
‘So you like me?’
‘That would make me want you less.’
At that admission something broke within him. He wanted to know her thoughts. Because what she thought suddenly mattered.
‘I let my brother down,’ he said bluntly. ‘Many times. Too impulsive...too unreliable. Too hot-headed—’
‘You’re not that bad,’ she interrupted. ‘You’re just under greater scrutiny than most. Everyone screws up.’
‘Not the way I have.’ Soft words tumbled from him. The culmination of hurt and guilt and desperation to stop his mistakes spiralling into a mess meant he couldn’t hold back. ‘I was studying in England when our parents were killed.’
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything at his change in tone.
Eduardo couldn’t look at her any more, so he looked across the blinding blue water instead.
‘Antonio needed to concentrate on his coronation. I wanted to return home to help, but he refused. He said it would be better for me to stay studying abroad while he handled it. He didn’t want to have to worry about me.’
He glanced at her when she made a small sound and shook his head at the pity he read in her eyes.
‘Matteo was with me. I wasn’t alone. Not the way Antonio was. His girlfriend, Alessia, was already studying at Cambridge when I got there. They’d been secretly engaged since school. He wouldn’t let her come home either. He delayed announcing their engagement. He didn’t think it right to celebrate so soon after our parents’ death.’
‘I know about Alessia,’ Stella said softly.
Everyone knew about Alessia now. And that was Eduardo’s fault.
‘What is it that you know,’ he asked bitterly. ‘That she got sick? That Antonio buried his heart with her when she died?’ The old guilt and helplessness surged inside him. ‘Do you know why you know all that?’
Stella waited silently. And, stupidly, that made him madder.
‘Alessia hadn’t told Antonio how bad it was because she didn’t want to bother him at such a difficult time. She swore me to secrecy and I promised her I wouldn’t tell him.’
‘You cared about her?’
‘She was the big sister I’d never had.’ He nodded. ‘The one person who made Antonio smile. He was always serious, always burdened, but she brought him joy. And he pushed her away. I was so angry with him.’
He hadn’t been able to understand why Antonio had kept her at a distance, and he’d been angry when his brother had pushed him away too. Because he’d been too young, too impulsive, not really necessary—which was pretty much the sum total of his life. ‘Special’ but not needed.
‘I didn’t tell him and I should have. I should have made him come and see her.’
Stella frowned. ‘What happened?’
He regretted this already. But he saw the look in Stella’s eyes and the words fell from him anyway. ‘I was dating a girl from my law class. She saw me with Alessia and was jealous. I told her the truth—that Alessia was Antonio’s fiancée and that she was sick, and that was why I was visiting her. But I hadn’t realised just how sick Alessia was. And then Antonio learned that his fiancée was dying through the media.’
‘Because your girlfriend sold the story?’
The look of outrage and disgust on her face made him smile bitterly. ‘Alessia refused to see him, but he got in to see her anyway. She refused to marry him. She couldn’t give him heirs. She was too ill. He said he didn’t want children—he wanted her for as long as they had left. But she still refused. She sent him back to San Felipe and in the end he had to go. He had to rule. She died a few weeks later.’
He reached past Stella to steer the yacht back on course.
‘He won’t marry now, won’t have children. He promised that to Alessia and he’s determined to keep it true. That is his decision. Duty above all else.’ He glanced up at the flapping sail and pulled on a rope. ‘He could have had a chance with her...even just more time. But I let him down by not telling him. And then by talking to someone I thought I could trust.’
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ she said. ‘You should have been able to trust her. Antonio must have understood that.’
‘Antonio was lost in his own grief and I just made things worse for myself. That was my “playboy prince” period.’ He grimaced. He’d given in to a downward spiral of meaningless sex and parties. His university daze.
‘What made you stop?’
‘It wasn’t fun any more.’
He’d got bored, unhappy, lonely. He’d come home and apologised to an unmoved Antonio and he had been trying to redeem himself ever since. But he was still bound by the limitations his meaningless title imposed.
He sighed. ‘Shall we see how fast we can make her go?’
‘Yes.’
Eduardo loved fast. So did Stella.
Those headlines she’d read—Search for San Felipe’s brides—who will heal Antonio? Who will tame Eduardo? She’d thought it was all glossy marketing speak to help sell the romance of the islands to tourists, but it was based in truth. Eduardo was everything she’d imagined—full of vitality and energy and passion. But he was also full of anger and hurt, and she’d never expected to ache because of that.
Her leg pressed close to Eduardo’s as they sat side by side on the very edge of the vintage yacht, half hanging over the water as they raced as fast as they could.
‘I’d missed out on a promotion,’ she confessed. ‘That day I met you on the beach.’
He looked at her.
‘I was so angry and so alone and I...’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘You didn’t know me. I wasn’t the usual challenge to you—the tough one all the guys placed bets on. I wasn’t the General’s forbidden daughter. I wasn’t anyone. I was just a girl and you were—’ She broke off.
‘The pirate Prince?’
‘You were fun and a...a rogue. And—’
‘You thought you knew me?’ He shook his head. ‘There’s more to me than that. Just as there is more to you than being the General’s daughter.’
‘Yes,’ she muttered—she was learning that about him. ‘But back then I just wanted a moment for me.’
‘Only now you’re paying quite the price?’
She didn’t like the sombre expression that had entered his eyes. ‘A boatload of trouble, you think?’ she teased, pleased when she saw his amusement sparkle back. ‘Are we going to land on that island?’
She sat up and put out her hand to shade her eyes, realising they were getting closer and closer to a land mass.
She rested for the next twenty minutes as Eduardo sailed the small yacht right up to an ancient wooden jetty and leapt to secure it.
He grinned at her and held out his hand to help her up. ‘Come on.’
‘Where are we?’ She stretched and started walking.
‘A tiny town on the coast of Sardinia.’
Stella gaped. ‘We sailed that far?’
‘We’ve been going for hours.’ He pulled a phone from his pocket and, yanking it out of the dry bag he’d stored it in, walked along the dock with her.
‘No wonder I’m starving.’ She jogged ahead, on the lookout for the nearest eatery in this very small town.
‘Stella—’
‘Come on—I’m famished!’ she called as he lagged behind her.
She spotted a small, grimy-looking café. The ‘Closed’ sign was up, but she went inside the open
doorway anyway, hoping to convince the proprietor to make them a small snack.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said rapidly in Italian to the worn-looking woman behind the counter. ‘Would you mind—?’ She broke off as sheer amazement and then blushing wonder washed over the woman’s face.
As the woman dropped into a deep curtsy Stella turned to look at Eduardo, walking up behind her. Before her eyes he was transformed from her windswept, sexy companion to ‘the Prince’—the suave, charming man on all those magazine covers. But his smile, while still gorgeous, was slightly set, and that tiny dimple had disappeared. Small changes she wouldn’t have noticed before.
And now she read the brief apology in his eyes.
But she felt sorry—because she’d broken their brief private peace. Everyone knew who he was. Everyone changed in his presence. He was ‘different’.
As the General’s daughter, in the army she’d been ‘different’ too. Their birth circumstances stood them apart from others, and they each had to play a part.
But hers had been nothing on his. Now she started to understand the strain and isolation he felt when appearing in public. From this one woman’s overwhelmed reaction she saw what it must be like for him, walking into those galleries or gardens or concert halls filled with people craning their necks to have a look at him?
And he did it alone. His brother was too busy and aloof, doing ‘important’ Crown Princely things.
But now—at least for a little while—Eduardo had her at his side. Suddenly she didn’t want to let him down. She wanted to play her new part as well as she could. Except her clothes were wet, and no doubt her hair was wild.
She should have thought before sprinting into the small town and flinging herself into the first café she’d found. But it was too late. The woman promised absolute discretion and bustled away to fix them some food.
‘I should have realised you would be hungry.’ Eduardo fetched a chair for Stella and waited until she was seated. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘We lost track of time, sailing.’ She smiled. ‘It was fun.’
That beautiful, intimate smile flashed on his face, but it disappeared almost instantly when he caught sight of something over her shoulder.
Stella turned.
It was a young child, peeking from behind the café counter. Stella turned back to see Eduardo waving the girl over with a conspiratorial wink. Two minutes later he was laughing at the manageress when she brought their dishes over and came to apologise.
‘It’s okay,’ Eduardo assured them. ‘We would love to talk with you.’
‘You’re Prince Eduardo from San Felipe,’ the girl said.
‘Yes.’
‘Who’s she?’ With the unashamed curiosity of the young, the girl stared at Stella.
‘She’s my princess,’ Eduardo answered.
The little girl’s eyes widened. ‘Did you make her a princess?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can you make me a princess?’
Eduardo laughed lightly. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, I had only one crown to give and I gave it to her.’
Like a heat-seeking missile the older woman’s gaze locked on Stella’s hand. Her jaw dropped as she clocked the heavy sapphire and the gold band. Stella turned to Eduardo, but he was too busy talking to the small girl to notice. Yeah...he didn’t just win the hearts of every woman who laid eyes on him, but every person who spent more than two seconds with him.
‘You’ve made their day,’ Stella said softly when the woman returned to the kitchen with the giggling little girl running ahead.
‘It’s not me,’ Eduardo answered drily. ‘It’s the title. It’s my job.’
She lifted her fork and pointed it at him. ‘Your brother is a prince too, and he doesn’t get that reaction from people. It’s you. Not your title.’
He sipped some water.
‘You don’t believe me?’ She jabbed her fork harder in the air. ‘You have such power. You can bring people to everyone’s attention.’
‘Are you prepared for everyone’s attention?’ he asked in a low voice.
‘Sure. Bring it on. I’m not afraid of a challenge.’ She eyeballed him, hot tension swirling between them again.
‘No. Not of issuing them.’
They ate quietly, hungrily. It was simple, but delicious.
‘Come on. Let’s use some of my supposed power, shall we?’ Eduardo said once Stella had lowered her fork, utterly replete. ‘I think they’re on to us anyway.’
‘You think...?’ Stella sighed.
He stood and talked quietly to the woman. The woman’s face lit up like fireworks and she scurried to the kitchen. Seconds later she returned, phone in hand.
Startled, Stella looked at Eduardo. He simply smiled his best ‘Prince Eduardo’ smile.
‘Are you sure?’ Stella whispered out of the side of her mouth as they posed for a photo.
Eduardo merely put his arm around her waist and drew her closer. ‘Smile, my Princess. This is the first of many.’
‘But she’ll probably put it on social media in seconds.’
‘She’ll have snapped some pictures in secret anyway—it’s better to give her permission to make the most of it. And it won’t be social media. I’m sure she’s savvy enough to sell them.’
Stella turned to look up into his eyes and saw the hint of bitterness. He expected not to trust the woman. Expected that his private moments would be sold even when someone had promised him they wouldn’t. Just as his ex-girlfriend had sold his secret about Alessia.
He didn’t trust anyone. Yet he’d told her about Alessia and his own involvement. Did that mean he trusted her?
For a half-second she hoped so. But then she remembered that he’d been savvy enough to ensure she’d signed a contract—binding her to silence. Now she understood why he’d felt the need to.
‘It will become the most popular restaurant on the island,’ Stella said as they left the woman and the girl waving from the café.
‘For a while.’ He nodded.
For a long time, she’d bet.
Eduardo looked at his watch, his eyes narrowing. ‘Come on, we need to get going.’ He turned away from the marina and started walking quickly.
‘We’re not going back in Miranda?’
‘It would take too long and we’d get lost at sea.’ He took her hand. ‘I phoned for the plane. It’s here now, and a car is on its way to take us to the airfield. We’ll meet it along this road in a minute or so.’
He’d what?
‘Plane? Where are we flying to?’ Stella hurried to keep pace.
‘San Felipe,’ he answered briefly. ‘It’s only a short flight—we’ll use the baby jet.’
A laugh bubbled from her. ‘That’s what you call it?’
‘It’s not as big as Antonio’s.’ He sent her a look as a sleek car pulled in alongside them.
‘Never mind.’ She patted his shoulder soothingly before she climbed into the back seat. ‘You don’t have to prove yourself to me.’
‘I know,’ he muttered with a wicked smile, his tone mimicking her earlier whisper. ‘Because I’ve already captured your heart.’
He thought it was a joke, but his words held too much truth for her comfort.
Ten minutes later they walked across an airstrip to board the waiting plane. Eduardo might consider it a ‘baby’, but it was the biggest private jet she’d ever been in. All luxurious fittings and gleaming paintwork. But as the powerful engines were fired up she couldn’t relax and enjoy it. She’d thought she’d have more time to prepare before facing mainland San Felipe. She’d thought she have another night alone with him on their secret island.
‘Under no circumstances are we to be disturbed.’
She sank into one of the plush chairs as Eduardo instr
ucted his staff.
‘Of course, Your Highness.’ The man disappeared through the door that Stella guessed led to the cockpit.
She belted up for take-off as Eduardo took the seat opposite hers. She refused to meet his eyes but knew he was watching her relentlessly. She knew what he wanted. Mile High Club, here she came. She’d be willing if she wasn’t so worried about what was going to happen when they landed back on solid ground.
‘Do you play cards?’ He sprawled back in the seat opposite her as the plane levelled out. ‘Doesn’t every soldier carry a deck?’
‘Not all. I do. But I prefer Patience to poker. I’m guessing you’re a poker player?’
‘And I’m guessing you prefer a challenge of skill and strategy over chance and fate?’
‘You’re a quick learner too,’ she acknowledged.
‘Observant.’
He wasn’t just a pretty prince...
‘What about a board game instead?’ He stood and opened one of the storage compartments.
‘You have board games on the plane?’ Somewhat bemused, she watched him pick out the third box from a stack. ‘It’s not all lap-dancing flight attendants and whisky?’
‘Maybe later—if you’re lucky,’ he drawled.
‘You’d give me a lap dance?’ She gazed up at him, for a moment indulging in a vision of him slowly stripping his formal uniform from his body.
He turned and his eyes locked on hers—clashed in a slam of suggestion and want. He actually flushed. Heat burst within her. The plane was suddenly very, very hot. His eyebrows were raised and she looked away, burning up.
He unfolded the playing board on the table between their chairs. He handed her a pile of plastic pieces and sat back down in his seat. ‘See if you can defeat my army and we’ll negotiate.’
Swallowing, she put one of the plastic toys upright on the board with a click, pushing away the unruly X-rated images in her head. ‘Soldiers, huh?’
‘It’s the closest I’m allowed to get to any battlefront,’ he muttered, faux mournfully.
‘You know you can play with this soldier any time?’ she murmured, still enjoying the way she’d made the colour in his cheeks deepen with her lap-dance request.
The Secret That Shocked De Santis Page 13
