‘Fernando’ started as he served the main course. It was one of Abba’s slowest, finest songs and it meant Lily could lose herself in the music and eat again without thinking. She ate three slivers of fish, three tiny potatoes and a good serving of salad.
He cleared the plates with the same satisfaction he might have felt if his company received top place in the Chelsea Flower Show.
She seemed…bemused.
She really was beautiful, he thought as he watched her enjoy herself. When he’d first met her he’d thought her hair was glorious. Now, with her mass of drifting curls replaced by an almost boyishly short crop, he thought her hair had been a distraction. Her eyes were huge in her pale face. Her face was alive with emotion and enjoyment as Abba launched into ‘Take a Chance on Me’.
Beautiful didn’t begin to cut it.
He’d taken this woman to bed. She’d borne his son. He’d married her. Now, weirdly, he was starting to regret it. He’d like to start this again, without the baggage, without the tentative twelve-month time line, without the feeling that she’d been coerced into marrying him.
He’d filled her wineglass but she’d drunk a mere inch. She was still wary, he thought. She was giving in to the moment but she was still…afraid? Maybe that was too harsh a word, but behind her laughter there was always the echo of knowledge that this had to end.
He didn’t want her to think this had to end. He didn’t want her to be wary. He wanted her to laugh.
He wanted her to be free, he thought. Free to decide to love him?
Would she want a real marriage?
Would she want to be tied to him?
More and more, it was what he wanted. With Lily by his side, he could do anything, he thought. They could change this island together. They could truly be Sappheiros’s ruling couple.
The thought was so exhilarating that he wanted to shout it. He wanted to tell her, to hold her in his arms and say it just like he’d thought it.
But he had to be wary here. There were loose ends. He’d left them loose because…because he hadn’t wanted to commit himself. Only now he did.
But he wasn’t going to pressure her. This was too important to mess with.
And he had things to sort out. He’d leave tomorrow and get it sorted—get it all sorted. Then he’d come back and woo her as she deserved to be wooed.
Meanwhile…dessert. He’d sweated over the dessert, wanting to present her with something irresistible. But the thought of her still pale and thin face had given him pause.
He’d cared for his mother when she’d been ill that last time, and he’d learned a little about invalid appetites. Lily was still recovering. A big dessert, a slab of luscious chocolate cake, for instance, could serve only to make her feel queasy.
He’d learned the hard way that tiny amounts were far more tempting.
So he’d lashed out on a really special dessert. Now he spent ten minutes arranging it, while Lily listened to ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Rock Me’ and ‘Take a Chance on Me’.
She didn’t talk. The only way to get her to talk was for him to push, but he wouldn’t push.
What he was trying to do…Well, to be honest, he was still trying to figure it out for himself, but he knew it behoved him to behave as if he were balancing on eggshells.
This was precious.
That would do as an adjective, he decided. He didn’t know what to do with it, but he knew it had to be protected.
Lily.
Michales.
Lily.
His family?
Where was he going?
He knew where he was going. Maybe it scared him, but the alternative was far, far worse.
Family was what he wanted.
The dessert was irresistible. It was served on an antique platter, delicate china etched with faded rosebuds, pink and cream. On the plate…six tiny desserts. A tiny chocolate éclair. A thimbleful of chocolate-orange mousse. Crystallized ginger. A strawberry sponge cake, exquisite in miniature. A gold-burned baked caramel, two spoonfuls at the most. Grapes, frosted with sugar and glistening.
Yum.
Maybe she could relax a bit more, she decided, and took another sip of his lovely wine. Just a little. Just enough to enjoy the desserts.
He’d bought the desserts from the best cook on the island. Marika had had to close her restaurant tonight to prepare them, but what the heck? What was the use of being royal and rich if you couldn’t be indulgent? Watching Lily try and resist the last grape—and fail—Alex thought it’d have been worth it if it had cost half his fortune.
She had him fascinated. More.
He’d wanted her the first time he’d seen her, and he wanted her so much now it was like a hunger, starting deep within and refusing to be sated. Wary of commitment for so long, he knew now what the truth was.
He wanted her on whatever terms she cared to name.
She popped the last grape into her mouth and smiled at him. ‘All finished. And our son’s fast asleep. What to do, what to do…’
‘I’ll show you,’ he told her. And did.
He needed to get his business over and come back here. They slept in each other’s arms but he woke before Lily and gently disentangled himself. He showered and dressed and she woke to find him standing over her with a mug of coffee, toast and an apologetic smile.
She sat up fast, drawing the sheet up to her chin.
She’d changed in these three days, Alex thought. She’d blossomed. She glowed from the inside out.
His Lily. He’d known she was beautiful but he couldn’t have guessed how beautiful.
She held his heart in the palm of her hand.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ She sounded a little bit scared, he thought, but she was covering it with indignation. ‘Dressed, sir, when I’m not.’
‘A man has to have the advantage some time.’
‘Well, I don’t like it,’ she said. ‘Come back to bed.’
‘I need to go back to the palace. I have things to do. I may need to make a fast trip to Manhattan.’
Her face stilled. ‘Of…of course.’
‘Will you stay here until I come back?’
‘You’ll be back…when?’
‘A week? Maybe less. I can’t say.’
‘As long as that?’
‘I can’t help it, Lily. There’s pressure from all sides. But now that you and Michales are settled…’
Her face grew even more expressionless. ‘You’ve sorted us out and now you can move on?’
‘I didn’t mean that.’ He looked down at her and she was so lovely…He should sit down here and now and tell her his plans. His dreams. His desire to fit her into his life so she’d never leave.
But if she reacted badly…If she took fright…The need to go was imperative, and if she didn’t agree…He wouldn’t have time to retrieve it.
Better not to say anything until he could return and stay.
And maybe she understood. ‘I know you didn’t,’ she said, contrite, schooling herself to look calm. ‘I know you need to go. I need to catch up with Spiros as well. I haven’t even seen his boatshed.’
‘It’s great,’ he said, grateful she’d moved on so easily. ‘He and Eleni are in a house by the harbour—my people set it up for them. As far as the boatyard goes, Spiros is using a small one for now but in the long-term he’ll tell us what he needs and we’ll build a bigger one.’
She tried to get her head around this. Alex sounded businesslike. She needed to be, too.
Their honeymoon…was over?
‘I thought you said this country was poverty-stricken.’
‘It is, but if I pay bills and do nothing else we’ll be bankrupt in no time. I’m organizing to rationalize our debts and work our way through them. Now I’m Crown Prince I can sell our overseas assets, and I can also access royal funds. I can get Spiros’s boatshed working, employing locals, and that’s just the beginning. I can get this whole island working.’
He bent and kissed her s
olidly—so solidly that her coffee slopped onto the sheets. ‘Uh-oh,’ he said and took her coffee, placed it on the side table and started kissing her again. ‘Don’t worry about a little stain,’ he said. ‘We’ve practically worn this set of sheets out anyway.’
‘There’s an ego,’ she said, and he smiled.
‘There’s a lot to boast about,’ he said. ‘You’ve given me this, Lily. By agreeing to marry me…There’s nothing I can’t do.’
She smiled at his enthusiasm. But…But…She kissed him back but, for the first time in days, she knew doubt.
By agreeing to marry me…
He could have had all this without marrying her, she thought. Couldn’t he?
Maybe not.
Of course not. She knew that.
How could she have forgotten? She’d agreed to marry him to secure the Crown so he could save this country. Not because he wanted to wake up beside her for the rest of her life.
He was moving on. He’d stepped back now, and she saw the latent energy in him, her Prince about to achieve his goals for this nation. He’d achieved what he needed here. It was time to move on to the next challenge.
She was being fanciful, she thought, but she couldn’t stop a shiver starting deep and growing.
‘Lily, you’re beautiful,’ he said, sensing her doubt and looking as if he didn’t know how to quell it. Looking as if he didn’t have time to quell it. ‘You know you are. But…’ he glanced at his watch and grimaced ‘…I’m meeting a group of international bankers at the palace in two hours and there are figures I need to check first. I’ve stayed with you for as long as I can. You’ll be okay on your own?’
‘Of course.’ There was no of course about it, but a girl had some pride. ‘Go slay ’em, my love.’
‘I’ve organized a car for you. It’s in the garage and the keys are on the bench in the kitchen. There’s a baby seat in the back for Michales. Go down to the harbour if you want, and find Spiros. Just keep a low profile and stay away from the press.’
‘You don’t want me talking to the press?’
‘It’d be better if we did it together.’ He bent to kiss her again—hard, possessive, claiming his own. ‘You and I stand together. We’re a team. Remember that.’
He touched her lightly on the cheek. He strode into the other room and bent over Michales for a moment—a silent farewell to his son.
And he was gone.
We’re a team, Lily repeated softly to herself. A team.
Only…what sort of a team was it when one member was free to come and go as he pleased? The other…had been told not to speak to the press. Had been given permission to visit Spiros.
He’s not promising you a real marriage, she told herself, fighting against sudden, inexplicable desolation. This is a marriage of convenience. The fact that we enjoy each other’s bodies…
She enjoyed more than his body.
No. Enjoy was such a miserly word.
She loved.
A woman who’s ruled by her heart is a fool.
Where had that come from? It was a saying of her mother’s. She remembered her mother explaining why she had to leave.
‘We’ve run out of money and your father wants to move to a cottage on the coast. I can’t live that life. You say you love your father, but love isn’t in my vocabulary. It shouldn’t be in yours either. Mia and I are going. Come if you want but don’t whinge about your headaches if you do. I can’t bear it. And if you stay…don’t blame me if you end up unhappy. Make decisions with your head, Lily. A woman who’s ruled by her heart is a fool.’
Maybe she was a fool. She was so deeply in love.
What was she doing?
She rose and crossed to the windows looking over the driveway. Alex was driving a Jeep. Until now she hadn’t even known he had a car here.
Her sense of unease deepened.
And then…as his Jeep approached the rhododendron drive she saw two men in suits step out of the shadows. Alex stopped to talk to them. He motioned towards the house—up to her window—and she shrank back against the curtains.
When she looked again his Jeep had disappeared and the men were melting back into the shadows.
Security?
What had she got herself into?
She needed to get out of here. If he thought she was going to sit here calmly and wait for him…
She wouldn’t speak to the press. She’d go and find Spiros. She could have fun helping him set up his boatyard.
It’d be more fun than sitting here waiting.
Maybe that was what royal princesses did—sat and waited for their men to have time for them.
Not this one.
CHAPTER TWELVE
BY THE time Lily had figured out the car, the baby seat, the logistics of getting the garage roller door raised, she was more than flustered. She was fuming.
It was all very well for Alex to buy her a car and blithely say go visit your friends if you want. But he didn’t have to juggle strollers, baby bottles, diaper bags and a baby who decided just as she strapped him into the car that he had other plans. Which necessitated taking him out of the car, heading for the bathroom, then figuring out a whole new wardrobe for both of them.
‘Though it’s just as well we weren’t halfway down the coast road,’ she told Michales ruefully. ‘I want Spiros to be pleased to see me.’
But at last she was ready.
As she swung out into the rhododendron drive, a grey saloon swung in behind her. It stayed about a hundred yards behind, speeding up when she speeded up, slowing when she slowed.
Was this something she had to get accustomed to?
‘These’ll be your father’s heavies,’ she told Michales. ‘Where were they when you needed changing or when I was trying to fold up the stroller?’ She glowered into the rear-view mirror. ‘If you guys intend to stick with me, your job description’s about to change.’
But, inexplicably, her mood was lifting. The morning was gorgeous. The sun was sparkling off the ocean like the diamonds that had given the isles their name. The islands of Khryseis and Argyros looked mysterious and wonderful on the horizon. They were nations now in their own right. When she had a boat she could explore them.
‘With my bodyguards chuffing along behind me,’ she reminded herself and managed a grin.
Defiant, she slowed, opened the sun roof and hit the sound system. Hey! Alex had set Abba on for her.
He was a very nice man, she decided. And so sexy he made her toes curl. Her very own prince!
She hit ‘play’ and sang along at the top of her voice, grinning at Michales in the rear-view mirror.
Happy—yet defiant.
That was how she felt. Not a princess, she thought. Just…normal.
So what did Alex think he was doing, supplying her with a luxury car and a couple of bodyguards, then going off to play banker?
Maybe she was being unfair.
This was what Mia and her mother had spent their lives trying to achieve, she thought. Fame. Riches.
Lily’s aim of independence came a very poor third.
But I don’t want to be independent any more, a small voice whispered in the back of her head.
Just as well, she thought. When she was followed by security men. When she wasn’t allowed to talk to the press.
Her vague sense of unease deepened. Was what had happened over the last three days a fantasy?
She slowed as she passed the palace. Somewhere within that vast confection of turrets, towers and general ostentation was Alex. Trying to sort things out.
Without her.
So he still had his independence. While she stayed…where she was supposed to stay.
‘I don’t want to stay in the palace,’ she told Michales but she knew she was lying.
Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge, your people shall be my people…
Ruth had it right, Lily thought. Where her love went, there was her home.
She’d fallen so deeply in love
that if Alex needed to live surrounded by chandeliers—or if he needed to live in Manhattan—then that was where she should be, too.
He didn’t want her. Not like that.
She couldn’t sustain her happiness. The unease was too great. For the last three days she’d allowed herself to believe in happy endings.
Today was the beginning of reality.
Alex pulled up in the castle courtyard. Nikos was waiting. He’d asked his cousin to be here.
‘Hey,’ Nikos said, strolling across the forecourt to grasp his friend’s hand. ‘How goes it?’
‘Fine,’ Alex said. And then he grinned. ‘Maybe even great. I’m thinking we have a chance of getting this sorted. Thanks for doing this for me. I didn’t want to face these vultures alone.’
‘I thought you had Lily here,’ Nikos said.
‘She’s over at the hideaway.’
‘She didn’t want to be here?’
‘This is nothing to do with her.’
‘Right,’ Nikos said. Then he shook his head. ‘Nope. Not right. Aren’t you two married?’
‘Yeah, but…’
‘Then she’s supposed to be here.’
‘You think Lily will understand one part of what these guys are saying?’
‘You think I will?’
‘You’re here for moral support.’
‘Right,’ Nikos said again, dryly, contenting himself with a quizzical look without further comment. He took his friend’s arm. ‘Okay, let’s go. But, before we do this, there’s something you should see.’
‘What?’
‘Lily’s mother is in Athens. Mia’s mother. She’s been talking to the press. If you and Lily aren’t having problems already, I suspect you’re about to now.’
Okay, she wasn’t speaking to the press but Alex hadn’t forbidden her to shop.
Feeling strange and self-conscious and more than a little nervous, Lily swung the big car into Sappheiros’s main shopping square.
She was feeling ever so slightly defiant. She might do something really shocking. Like…like buying sexy lingerie.
There was a thought.
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