Cody got out of the car, his imposing height throwing a shadow across her face and shoulder.
She was intensely aware of the click of camera shutters. Had Jill prepared the cowboy for what being photographed next to her would mean?
"You okay?" he asked quietly. His hand came beneath her elbow, warm and solid.
The cameras clicked away, faster now. Whispers rustled through the crowd of media.
His support was surprisingly welcome, but also documented for all time.
She didn’t know whether she nodded, but somehow she got her feet moving.
Two of her security detail flanked them as they made their way through the multitude toward the glass doors of the hospital. Voices shouted questions at them, but Jill had already warned Eloise not to stop and answer them.
But that didn't mean she was rendered temporarily deaf.
“Who dressed you for this outing?”
“How is your father’s health today?”
"Princess, who's your new beau?"
Her face burned, and she knew her scars were highlighted in stark relief. She wished she could duck her head and hide.
But didn't. She stared straight ahead. Just keep walking.
The voices faded into a jumbled cacophony as they moved beneath the overhang and neared the doors.
And one last question rang out, loud in the silence as the automatic doors closed behind them.
"Do you really believe a monster like you is capable of running the kingdom?"
She meant to let the words flow over her like rain, bounce against thick skin and disintegrate into nothing. The trick had worked before.
But this time, the words sank into a soft place in her heart and took hold.
Cody was used to being in the spotlight, but he'd never had media interest like this.
Reporters asking questions about Eloise and a possible relationship didn't bug him.
But that last question, shouted into the quiet...
He was watching her face closely enough that he saw the minute tremble of her lower lip. Her lashes swept low against her cheeks, hiding her eyes.
Jill glanced back, her gaze dark with concern, but there was no help coming from her as she greeted a group of what must be hospital administrators.
"Do you need a minute?" he asked quietly. "Nobody would say a word if you duck into a restroom or something."
"I'm fine," she said stiffly.
Sure she was. Her nerves had been obvious the entire car ride. She hadn't smiled once. He could feel her practically vibrating with tension.
She'd brought him along for a reason, to help ease her through this the way he had in the laundry room the day before, but he felt helpless. Had no idea what to do.
Jill turned toward them with a wide smile and introduced two hospital administrators and two approved photographers.
Cody was introduced as a friend of the royal family, here for Gideon's wedding—which was technically true. No mention of being detained by castle guards. He couldn't help noticing the curious looks he got from the press and administrators, but at least they had the decency not to say anything in front of the princess.
He followed the group down a long, light-filled hallway. Childish artwork was framed along the walls, and he couldn't help smiling.
The administrators leading the way turned into some kind of open sitting room, smiling and holding out one hand to usher the princess forward.
He followed her in, nodded at the people within, a mix of doctors and nurses in scrubs, patients—some heavily bandaged—and what must have been patients' families and friends.
"This is our brand-new burn trauma wing,” the chief administrator said, “which is dedicated to your father. We are so grateful for the royal family's significant contributions."
Cody was two feet behind her, but he couldn’t miss the moment when Eloise froze. She went absolutely still, probably not even breathing.
Applause erupted. Only then did the words the man had said to her register.
Burn trauma.
He didn't know how Eloise had gotten her scars, but he could guess that this was the last thing she’d expected to face today. Had she not known what the dedication was for? How had her media advisor not warned her?
Jill looked panicked. He started forward and reached out to touch the princess, pull her away from what had the potential to be a real spectacle.
He stepped up beside the princess, not caring that the photographers were snapping away, not caring who was watching. He turned toward her, ignoring everyone and everything else.
"Breathe," he said, quiet enough that no one could hear him above the applause.
He saw the color had leeched out of her face entirely. She was shaking badly.
And he couldn't just leave her like that. No matter if she would hate him later.
He reached out and clasped her hand in his. Her skin was ice cold.
He leaned down, whispered in her ear. "Somebody's told you that you've got to be brave, keep your chin up. Smile." He had to imagine it was her father, though he couldn't know for sure. "But I'm telling you that it's okay to feel what you feel right now. It's okay to show your people that what's happening right now is affecting you."
Her gaze darted to his, the first movement she'd made since she'd frozen.
He could see the sheen of moisture glazing her eyes, the tears gathering at the corners.
She squeezed his hand as tightly as he tied his gloved hand to his bull rope when he was going into the arena.
"You don't have to show them a happy face," he said. The applause had turned to a smattering now. She was going to have to do something. "You know what these people are going through. Show them you care."
Show them you care.
Cody's words rang in Eloise's head as the lingering applause died down and then stopped completely.
She didn't know how to do that. Didn't know how to be vulnerable to the public when she hated so many things about herself—especially the scars.
They felt like they were physically on fire, like her skin was burning as it had that horrible night. She’d been fourteen and for days afterward, she’d mourned the loss of her beauty. She’d desperately wanted her father—her only living parent—there, but he’d been in the middle of an important negotiation and she’d faced those dark days alone.
Right now she couldn't let go of Cody.
One of the doctors stepped forward, one she recognized. She'd seen him every day for weeks after the accident.
He bowed from the waist and then extended one hand to her.
"D-Doctor Mendoza."
She still didn't let go of Cody, but accepted the doctor's handshake.
"Your Highness. We're honored to have your presence here today."
He nodded to Cody, but didn't make a move to shake the other man's hand. No doubt he could see how close to the edge she was, that she was barely holding on to her composure.
"Might I introduce you to one of my patients? She's talked of nothing but meeting you all morning."
He turned, expecting her to follow him.
And somehow, amazingly, her wooden legs carried her in that direction. Cody was a warm, solid presence at her side as she crossed the room, following the doctor toward a person in a wheelchair at the edge of the crowd.
It wasn't until they were only feet away that Eloise realized it was a young woman. A teenager, really. Her face was half-hidden by stark white bandages, one eye completely covered, and her forehead and hair were hidden by the bandages. Both hands were covered, too.
It was an image near to what Eloise had seen in the mirror for those agonizing weeks. Doctor Mendoza must remember it.
But he acted casual as he made introductions. "Princess Eloise, I'd like you to meet Miss Melinda Winters."
A part of her wanted to recoil from the memories, from the pain and loss they still carried. But hadn’t she seen others do that to her? It was a vivid, painful memory still, the way people turned from
her ugliness. She refused to do that to an impressionable young woman, to anybody. She was aware of the cameras, of the crowd, and of the many people who watched nearby to see what she would do.
"Hello." She bent to the girl’s eye level, still clinging to Cody's hand as if it were her lifeline.
The girl bobbed her head, not speaking. Maybe too shy—or too scared—to meet the beastly princess, though the doctor had claimed differently.
Doctor Mendoza put a hand to the girl's shoulder. "Melinda was trapped in her bedroom when her family's apartment caught fire. She suffered burns and smoke inhalation."
Eloise's throat was closed off, and she couldn't find words.
Cody was there to rescue her again. "I'm real sorry to hear that happened to you. Seems like you've got a good team of doctors here to take care of you."
Eloise didn't have to look at the man beside her to know the warm, genuine smile he wore as he talked to the girl.
Melinda nodded, her gaze lingering on the cowboy.
Doctor Mendoza said something to Cody about the medical team, but it passed over Eloise's head. She couldn’t take her focus off the girl.
"Your boyfriend is really cute," Melinda whispered as Cody answered the doctor.
Heat flamed worse in Eloise's face. "He's not...we're not..." She shrugged helplessly, aware of the curious eyes all around.
The girl tilted her head, considering Eloise. When Cody's attention shifted back to Melinda, she asked with an innocent curiosity, "Don't you think the princess is lovely?"
They were still connected, palm-to-palm, and instantly she wanted to distance herself from him.
But he didn't let go.
Prickles climbed the back of her neck, awareness that everyone was listening and watching.
She half-turned to him, and he to her, so they were nearly face-to-face. She couldn't look him in the eye, but stared at the collar of his shirt.
"Please," she whispered, and she didn't know whether she was asking him to lie—and say he found her lovely—or to put her out of her misery.
He didn't rush to answer, which left her heart beating anxiously in her throat and the desire to close her eyes and disappear into the floor. Or run away.
"As a matter of fact," he said in his careful cowboy drawl, "I think the princess's scars enhance her beauty. They show how courageous she is."
He shook her hand where he held it, jogging her out of her misery and making her raise her eyes to his. He looked sincere, his eyes holding hers steadily, but how could he mean what he said? He wasn't smiling, wasn’t teasing or joking. He seemed…serious.
There was an audible hum of appreciation from the nearby guests, reminding Eloise that they were in a very public setting.
Then Cody turned to Melinda. "In my profession—bull riding—we happen to think scars give us a story to tell. My best one is right here."
He lifted one lapel of his shirt, revealing a slab of flat stomach roped with muscles. He pointed to a jagged pink scar just beneath his left rib.
Melinda smiled widely. Cameras snapped away.
He was telling the story about how he'd gotten the scar, but Eloise was distracted by one of the other doctors approaching to talk to her.
While her emotions were still close to the surface, she was able to converse with the guests and even pose for some pictures.
But the entire time, she couldn't forget Cody's words. They burned in her stomach like acid.
How could he act like her scars didn't matter?
7
She had come.
When he arrived on the beach to find her already there, Cody could barely believe the princess had come out to the beach. She stood with her back to him, looking out on the setting sun.
He'd seen her upset during the hospital visit. Saw how hard it had been on her. She'd been quiet and attentive during the short tour of the new facility.
On the drive back to the palace, she'd been silent, stared out the window the entire time. With Jill and the driver in the front, he hadn't wanted to try to mention the conversation they’d had with Melinda.
He'd worried that the princess had been more upset than she'd let on, that the few things he'd been able to say had made things worse for her.
But here she was.
"Evening," he said easily as he joined her.
She continued to stare out at the rolling waves. A storm was brewing off the coast. He could see lightning flashes in the distance, near the horizon. The wind was high, too, whipping her hair against her cheek and rifling through his too.
The princess's arms were wrapped around her middle, like they had been that very first day.
Her lips moved, but in the high winds and with the surf breaking loudly at their feet, he couldn't make out her words.
"What's that?"
She turned to him, her arms coming away from her body and her hands flailing.
"I want you to explain yourself," she said. Her eyes flashed, or maybe it was a reflection of the far-off lightning. "I demand it."
She was furious.
So much for her not being upset after what had happened earlier.
"Which part?" he asked, honestly curious.
She poked her index finger into his chest, her fury boiling. "You said…you said…" She took a breath, seemed to stall out.
Her eyes were wild, her hair blowing in her face.
"I said you were beautiful," he said calmly.
"You lied!" She poked him in the chest again. Her voice was almost a shriek.
"I didn't lie." He took hold of her wrist, because that finger was starting to hurt his pec.
She didn't jerk away from him, didn't distance herself like she had before. He held her wrist loosely between them.
"It was kind of you to try and help the girl, but you lied. There's nothing about me that's beautiful." She gulped, her shoulders rising and falling with each breath.
It was as if the rising storm was contained within her. He wanted to protect her from it.
"Your scars don't define you," he said.
She shook her head violently. Her hair blew across her face. He desperately wanted to see her eyes.
So this time, he did what he'd wanted to do before. He reached up with his free hand and brushed the hair away, tucking the long strands behind her ear. He cupped her jaw with his hand, the side of her face that was smooth and unblemished.
"You're beautiful," he said, holding her gaze steadily. "Including your scars."
Her eyes closed. She shook her head again, her cheek rubbing against his palm. He didn't let go of her.
"You are beautiful," he whispered.
Two silver tears slipped from beneath her lashes and down her cheeks.
He let go of her wrist to raise his other hand. He gently ran the pad of his index finger over the pale scars that marred her skin.
"You are beautiful," he whispered again.
Her face crumpled as if the weight of the emotions bombarding her was too much to bear. She squeezed her eyes closed.
He ran his finger along her scars until he touched the corner of her mouth.
He couldn’t resist. He cupped her jaw with both hands and leaned down to kiss her.
At the first brush of his mouth against hers, she jumped. Maybe she hadn't been kissed in a long time.
She didn't pull away. He focused on that and the tiny tremble of her lips against his.
He feathered kissed against the corners of her lips, the bow of her upper lip, then slanted his mouth fully over hers.
Her hands, uninvolved until now, came to rest at his waist. Not quite clinging to him, but close.
And then a nearby rumble of thunder startled them both, and he stepped away.
Eloise stared at Cody, who was still standing close enough that she could feel the warmth emanating from his body, such a contrast to the chill of the cold front that had swept in.
You are beautiful. His words whispered through her mind, bouncing off her loss and the truth of her dis
figurement.
His intense eyes held her captive. Only inches separated their bodies.
"Don't hide from me," he said, his words punctuated by another flash of lightning, another roll of thunder. "Not now."
How did he know that was her instinct? That his words had frightened her with the intensity of how desperately she wanted to believe him.
How could she believe his word, when her past had pummeled the truth of her hideousness into her? When so many had shied away from her, turned away in disgust?
When she knew the ugliness she carried whenever she unleashed her horrible temper?
She wanted to believe him.
He reached for her, but a wall of icy rain descended on them.
Lightning struck again, and thunder boomed, dangerously close now.
They needed to take cover.
She met his outstretched hand, and they ran for the steps. As soon as they were sheltered in the curve of the outdoor stairwell, Cody pressed her against the stone wall. He brushed wet hair off her face, away from her scars. She thought to insist they continue upstairs and into the shelter of the castle.
But she didn’t, because the last thing she wanted was for this moment to be over.
All her life, she’d longed for this, a man who looked at her as if she were beautiful. A man to hold her and touch her as if she were a priceless treasure. She hadn’t even known the ache was there until the look in his eyes massaged it away.
He leaned closer, seemed to waiting for her to protest. She opened her lips, thinking she should. But the words lodged somewhere between her fear and her aching desire.
He took her hesitation for permission and kissed her again.
In the curve of stone, the rain only reached them when it was carried on a gust of wind. His skin was warm, his lips both hot and gentle against her rain-chilled skin.
This time she clung to him, her hands linking behind his neck, his resting respectfully at her waist.
Perhaps she couldn't believe his words, but could she believe his kiss, just for these moments?
8
Mia opened the door to Eloise's suite, quietly so as not to disturb her sister if was on a phone call for official business.
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