Dottie had a vision of them walking out that door. What if she never saw them again? The day of the car accident Neil had grabbed Cory to take him on an errand. Both of them were smiling as he carried their son out the front door. Dottie never saw them alive again.
The thought of never seeing Alex or Zoe again was unthinkable.
“Wait, Alex—”
He’d already started out the door. The momentum caused him to take a few more steps before he swung around. His haunted expression tore her heart to shreds.
“You really want to marry me?” she whispered shakily.
He slowly lowered Zoe to the marble floor and started toward her. “Would I have asked, otherwise?”
It was the moment of truth. She had to have faith that their marriage could work. He’d told her he loved her. He was willing to move to New York, willing to give her the opportunity of loving his wonderful daughter. What more could a woman ask?
But she’d been thinking about it all night. Her deepest fear was that this royal prince, who’d been denied the possibility of a happy marriage the first time, was jumping impulsively into another marriage he’d regret down the road. He was a free man. If he chose to, he could go where he wanted and live like a commoner with another woman.
After what had happened to Neil and Cory, Dottie wanted a guarantee of happiness. But as her aunt had told her, there were no guarantees. You’re a romantic, Dottie. For that reason you can be hurt the worst. Why set yourself up, honey?
Her aunt’s advice had come too late. For better or worse, Dottie had set herself up.
She closed the distance between them. “I love you, Alex. So much, you have no idea.” Emotion was almost choking her. “I want to be your wife more than anything in the world.”
“Darling—” He crushed her to him, wrapping his arms all the way around her. “I adore you, Dottie. I was up all night plotting how to get you to love me,” he whispered against her lips before kissing her long and hard. “We need to get married right away.”
“I agree,” she cried, kissing him back hungrily. “I think we’d better tell Zoe.”
“You think?” His smile lit up her insides before he said, “Why don’t we do it right here in the alcove.”
His arms reluctantly let her go before he drew Zoe over to the table where they’d spent so many delightful times together. Still trembling from the look he’d just given her, Dottie took her place across from them, her usual teacher position. She checked her watch. It was ten to seven in the morning.
Zoe eyed both of them curiously. She’d seen them kissing and knew something was going on. “Are we going to have school now?”
Alex’s lips twitched that way they sometimes did when he was trying to hold back his laughter. When he did that, Dottie thought there could be no more attractive man on earth.
“No,” he answered. “This morning is a very special morning and we have plans to make because Dottie has just said she would marry me.”
The sweetest smile broke out on Zoe’s face. “Then you’re going to be my real mommy, like Mark’s?”
“Yes.” Dottie reached across the table to squeeze her hands.
“They’re going to have a baby. Mark told me.”
“I didn’t know that,” he answered, trying to keep a deadpan face. Dottie wasn’t as successful.
“Can we have one, too?”
Dottie laughed through the tears. “For now you have Baby Betty.”
Alex’s dark eyes swerved to hers. The look of desire in them took her breath. “If the gods on Mount Pelos are kind, maybe a new baby will come.”
Zoe beamed. “A big boy like you, Daddy!”
He trapped Dottie’s gaze midair. Her soon-to-be daughter was precocious to a fault, just like her father. Both of them were remembering the jump-rope game. It was the day she fell so hard for Prince Alexius, she hadn’t been the same since. She didn’t know which moment was the most surreal. But one thing was absolutely certain. She’d committed herself and there was no going back now.
“I tell you what,” Alex said. “Let’s all get dressed and have breakfast in my suite while we make plans. After that we’ll tell the family.”
Zoe stared at her father before giving him a huge kiss. Then she got down and ran around the table to hug Dottie. “I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you, too.” Over her brown curls she looked at the man she’d just told she was going to marry. “I love you both beyond belief.”
Dottie had been to Alex’s apartment once before, but her thoughts had been so focused on her diagnostic session with Zoe, she hadn’t really looked around and appreciated the magnificence of her surroundings.
During their fabulous breakfast out on the patio, a delivery came for Dottie. She opened the long florist box and discovered two dozen long-stemmed red roses with the most heavenly fragrance. The little card said, For the first time in my life, I feel like a king whose every wish has come true. Coming from Alex, those words had unique significance.
After kissing Dottie hungrily, he excused himself to go visit his grandmother and make sure she was up. He told Dottie and Zoe he’d be coming by for them in a few minutes, at which point they would go to the queen’s drawing room and tell her their news.
After Stasio had refused to marry Princess Beatriz, Alex’s announcement was going to be another terrible disappointment. Dottie feared it might be too much for Zoe’s yiayia and she would suffer from something worse than ulcers. In a way Dottie had it in her heart to feel sorry for the dowager whose world was crumbling before her very eyes.
The older woman had grown up knowing nothing but her duty. Somehow she had made her own marriage work, and so had Alex’s parents. Deep down it had to be very hard on her to see her two wonderful grandsons so terribly unhappy up to now.
Dottie played with Zoe out on the patio, but she kept waiting for Alex to appear. A maid brought them some much-appreciated refreshments. Dottie asked for a vase so she could put the gorgeous roses in water. The gesture from Alex was one of the reasons she loved him so much.
After being in the apartment for two hours with no word from him, she started to get nervous. Perhaps his grandmother had suffered a setback from the news. He and Stasio were probably sequestered with her because Alex’s news had shattered another dream. Twice Dottie started to pick up the palace phone and ask to speak to him, then thought the better of it.
Zoe seemed perfectly content to play with her toys, but Dottie was turning into a mass of nerves. Another hour went by, still no word about anything. When 7:00 p.m. rolled around, their dinner was brought in, but no news from Alex. When she didn’t think she could stand it a second longer, Hector appeared on the patio where they’d started to eat.
“If I might speak to you in private.”
Thank goodness. “I’ll be right back, Zoe. I’m just going to the living room.”
“Okay.”
Dottie followed him into the other room. “Obviously something’s wrong. It’s been ten hours since Alex told me he’d be back.”
“He had to fly to Zurich today and might not return until morning.”
She blinked. “As in Switzerland?”
“Yes. He asked me to assure you that he would never have left you and the little princess unless it was an emergency. He would like you to stay in his suite.”
No doubt Alex had told him they were getting married. “Then we will.”
Hector knew what the emergency was, but he would never tell Dottie. Whatever was going on had to be serious for Alex to go away today. She rubbed her arms nervously. “Is he all right?”
The slight hesitation before he said, “Of course,” spoke volumes. “If there’s anything else you need, you only have to ask.”
“We’re fine, Hector. Thank you for telling me. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Hector was always perfectly correct. He’d served the monarchy all his adult life. Like the queen, he
didn’t deviate from his role. It would be too much to ask of anyone. She thought of Alex who’d told her he would live in New York if she wanted. She had no doubt he could do it and make the most of it, but he’d been raised a prince. That would never change.
Full of musings, she walked out to the patio. “Zoe?”
“Did Daddy come?”
“Not yet. Something came up.”
“I know. It’s business.”
Dottie smiled. Just then Zoe sounded a hundred years old. “Why don’t we get you in the tub for a nice bath, then I’ll read you some stories.”
“Are we going to sleep in Daddy’s bed?”
“Yes. At least until he calls or comes.”
A little sound of happiness escaped the little girl’s lips.
Dottie rang for a maid to bring them some things from their rooms. Within the hour both of them were ready for bed. Zoe picked out the stories she wanted and they climbed under the covers. Dottie looked around the sumptuous room, hardly able to believe she would be marrying the man who slept in this royal bedchamber when he was on Hellenica.
Though she was filled with anxiety over the reason for Alex’s absence, the feel of the warm little body nestled against her brought a comfort to her heart she hadn’t known in years. When they read the last book, she kissed her. “I’m so thankful you’re going to be my daughter soon. I love you, Zoe.”
“I love you. Good night, Mommy.”
No one slept more peacefully than a child who wasn’t worried about anything. Zoe had her new mommy-to-be, her daddy and her Baby Betty. Her world was complete. Dottie wished she could say the same for herself, but without Alex here to tell her what was going on, she was too anxious to sleep.
Instead of lying there tortured by fears she couldn’t even identify, she slid out of bed and threw on her robe. Zoe preferred the patio to any other place in the palace. Dottie was drawn to it, too, and wandered out there where she wouldn’t disturb Zoe with her restlessness.
CHAPTER TEN
AT ONE in the morning, Alex stepped off his jet into the limo and headed for the palace. He’d been prepared to stay all night in Valleder with Philippe and Stasio, but both men urged him to go back to Hellenica and be with Dottie and Zoe.
There was nothing Alex wanted so much in this life, but since the last time he’d seen Dottie, his entire world had changed. He couldn’t reverse time and put it back to the way it was before he’d gone to his grandmother’s apartment to let her know he’d returned from Aurum.
He said good-night to Hector, then entered the palace and went straight to his apartment. But he was so torn up in his soul by the events of the past fifteen hours, the burden of what he had to tell Dottie made his limbs heavy. He felt like an old man as he continued up the steps and down the hall to his suite.
No lights had been left on. The place was quiet as a tomb. He tiptoed to the bedroom and was surprised to see Zoe asleep alone. Instinct told him Dottie was out on the patio and he headed for it.
His thoughts flew back to that first day. He’d walked Zoe out there to be tested. When Dottie had thrown him that Ping-Pong ball, she’d set an energy in motion that had turned him into a different man. Now all the dynamics were different because Mrs. Dottie Richards had agreed to become Mrs. Dottie Constantinides. Or so she’d thought.
This happened to be his favorite time of night, when the moon was on the rise over the Aegean. It was the time when the heat of the day released the perfume from the jasmine, filling the warm air with its heavenly scent. Instead of it being day, this was the night of his engagement. It was a singular irony that his daughter occupied his bed.
He stepped out on the patio and glimpsed his bride-to-be at the other end. His pounding heart almost suffocated him as he moved toward her. She stood at the wall and had put her hands on either side of the ledge, taking in the unparalleled view etched in his mind from childhood. With her standing there, a new softly rounded, feminine sculpture had been added to the landscape.
“Dottie?” he murmured. A cry escaped her lips. She turned toward him in surprise. “Enjoying the view?”
“This kind of beauty goes beyond perfection.”
He sucked in his breath. “It does now.” She looked gorgeous yet maidenlike standing there in the moonlight in her simple pink robe. Alex found it hard to believe she’d given birth to a child in another time and place.
“Hector said you might not be home before morning.”
“I thought I might have to stay in Valleder until tomorrow, but my brother and Philippe sent me back.”
Her eyes searched his. “Why did you have to go to Philippe’s? What’s happened?”
“You deserve a full explanation and you’re going to get one, but it’s going to take a while. Maybe you should sit down.”
“That sounded ominous.” Her voice trembled. “I think I’d prefer to stand.”
“The bottom line is, Stasio submitted papers to the ministers and has taken the steps to abdicate from the monarchy.”
In the silence that followed, he watched her face pale. “What did you say?”
“Apparently he’s been planning it for a long time. When you suggested that I might have decided to abdicate in order to marry you, the idea wasn’t so farfetched after all. You just happened to apply it to the wrong prince.”
A hand went to her throat. “He’s really stepping down?”
“Yes. After Stasi called off his betrothal, I should have guessed this would be the next step, but I’ve been so caught up in my feelings for you, I’m not the same person anymore.”
“Darling c”
“It’s true, Dottie. The reason he was out of the country so long was because he had to work things out with Philippe.”
“What things?”
“Stasi has persuaded our second cousin to rule as king over Hellenica.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Philippe will be able to reign over both countries without problem. The Houses of Valleder and Constantinides are intrinsically entwined. He’s well loved in Valleder. It will be the same here.”
She looked shellshocked. “Aren’t you the second in line to the throne?”
“Yes. But Stasio knows how I feel and would never put me in that position, especially now that I’m going to marry you and move to New York. Zoe is third in line and, if she wishes, will rule one day when Philippe is no longer king.”
“So does that mean the coronation has been called off?”
“Yes. The announcement will go out on the news tomorrow evening. My grandmother will continue to be the head of the monarchy until Philippe is installed.”
Dottie stared out at the sea. “I’m surprised the queen isn’t in the hospital by now.”
“She may end up there, but she hasn’t given up the fight yet. This change to install Philippe has to be voted on by the ministers of the parliament. She has powerful friends there. So does Stasi. I believe the votes for Philippe will prevail. She’s calling for an emergency assembly.”
“What if they vote against installing your cousin?”
“Then she’ll continue to reign until her death, issuing her edicts through the head of parliament.”
“And after that?”
“The parliament will convene to find an heir from the Constantinides line. We have a fourth cousin living on the island of Cuprum in the Thracian Sea. He’s in his sixties and could be brought up for consideration. However, we have no idea how long my grandmother will live. She has a strong constitution and could outlive him.”
“This is all so unbelievable. Your poor grandmother. Poor Stasio,” she whispered, wringing her hands. “To be so desperate for his freedom, he’d give up everything c”
“Actually, I never saw anyone happier than he was when I left him. He’s been in love with a woman from Norway for the past ten years and had to make a choice. In the end he chose Solveig. He’s a different man now.”
“I can only imagine. The second you said abdicate, I thought there had to be a woman. Only a powerful love could cause him to make a break with your family.”
“I told him he was insane if he ever wasted another moment feeling guilty about what he’s done.”
“You’re a wonderful brother to say that to him.”
“Stasi would do the same for me. Fortunately our father provided that escape clause for me in his will. Otherwise there would have been two abdications.”
“You don’t really mean that.” Her voice shook.
He gave an elegant shrug of his shoulders. “After Teresa died, I put the idea of marriage completely out of my mind. Much later I realized I wanted to marry you, and knew I would have to have papers drawn up for my abdication because there was no way I was going to let you get away from me. I loved you from the moment I saw you. When Hector heard you were leaving, he acted on my father’s wishes and told me about the codicil to his will. As you said, it takes a powerful love.”
Her breathing had changed. “You loved me from the beginning?”
“I realize now that I fell for you the moment you walked into my office and treated me like an ordinary man. You had no idea what that did to me. My world changed and I knew I had to have you, even if it meant turning my back on my heritage.”
“Alex—
“I love you desperately. When we reach New York, I plan to show you what you mean to me. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to make our marriage work.”
“So will I,” she declared. “Don’t you know I’m so crazy about you, I’d do anything for you, too? At first I feared the only reason you wanted to marry me was because I was forbidden fruit and able to be a mother figure for Zoe. But I took the risk and said yes to you anyway because I’m so in love with you, nothing else matters.”
“Do you have any concept of what those words mean to me, Dottie? I raced back here from Valleder fearing maybe all this was a fantastic dream. It’s so hard to believe that I’ve found the only woman for me, and she loves me, too.”
“Then believe this—I don’t want to go back to New York with you. I don’t want to live there.”
A Bride for the Island Prince Page 14
