The Army Doc's Secret Princess

by Emily Forbes

  ‘They meant lucky to be alive.’

  ‘Oh.’

  He hadn’t felt lucky. ‘The chopper crashed and then caught fire. There were six people on board. I was the only survivor.’

  ‘Everyone else died?’

  He nodded. ‘I couldn’t get them out.’ He still felt guilty. ‘I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t breathe. I dragged myself out of the chopper, but I couldn’t save anyone else.’

  He’d been told later that the others had all died on or before impact, but he didn’t know if he believed that. He still wondered if the army was telling him that to make him feel better.

  He’d lain in the dirt for an hour before he’d been found.

  Somehow, he’d survived. But for a long time he’d wished he’d died.

  ‘Were they your friends?’

  She had her head resting on his chest as her fingers made tiny circles over his abdominal muscles. Her breath was warm on his skin. Her deep, husky voice relaxed him, hypnotised him.

  ‘They were more than that.’

  He was aware of dampness on his cheeks. Tears. Tears for his colleagues. Tears for Gemma. He wiped them away with the back of his hand. He did not want to be sad, not tonight, and he didn’t want Viktoria’s pity.

  He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. He was done talking.

  He wanted to forget the past. He wanted to stay in this moment in time. He was content, sated, and he wanted the feeling to last a little longer.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THERE WAS NOT an empty seat in the basketball arena. Special platforms had been built to accommodate spectators in wheelchairs and every available seat and spot was taken. Wheelchair basketball was the first sport on the programme and expectations were high and nerves were taut—both for the competitors and the organising committee.

  But first there was the opening welcome address from the Prince. His arrival was greeted by rousing applause, but Cam scarcely noticed. Viktoria arrived in the arena with the Prince and Cam only had eyes for her.

  He hadn’t seen her since he’d left her bed in the early hours of yesterday morning.

  He had spent yesterday in meetings, discussing the final preparations for the games which began today. The irony of his situation wasn’t lost on him. He had finally met someone he actually wanted to spend time with, and he was too busy. For once he hadn’t wanted to throw himself into work. For once he had something else he’d rather be doing.

  He had expected to feel some regret, but he didn’t. He felt unburdened.

  He’d thought he might have some reservations that he had revealed too much. But he didn’t. He knew he hadn’t revealed all. Fewer than a handful of people knew the whole truth.

  He was standing courtside with the medical team and Viktoria came to stand by his side. He smiled at her. ‘Good morning. Are you ready for this?’

  ‘I think so. Are you?’

  He nodded. He had done everything he could to prepare and now he had to hope he had covered all contingencies.

  They stood in silence and listened as Doug introduced Prince Alfred.

  The Prince strode to the microphone that had been assembled in the centre of the basketball court. He was tall, blond and physically fit but he had spoken previously about the effect that being part of combat missions had on him mentally and the crowd greeted and accepted him as one of their own. He was casually dressed, wearing a dark navy Legion’s Games polo shirt and pressed chinos. It was the same shirt that the English competitors wore and it gave the impression that, although he was royalty, he wasn’t there as the Prince but simply as one of them. A returned soldier.

  Viktoria held up her phone, preparing to video the Prince’s opening address. There was a large media contingent courtside as well. Cam knew the Games would get a large amount of coverage, which could only be a good thing. Hopefully, the publicity would inspire others, both soldiers and civilians, to get involved in sport. Cam knew that was the Prince’s aim.

  ‘Thank you for that warm welcome,’ Prince Alfred said as the applause that greeted him eased. ‘I am thrilled to be in Australia for the third Legion’s Games. My vision was to encourage wounded and ill soldiers from all collegiate nations to experience the healing power of sport. I know many of you strive for perfection and love a challenge and I believed the Games would provide a platform to inspire, encourage and challenge soldiers to participate in sport. I have seen for myself how fiercely competitive most defence force personnel are, but the Legion’s Games are not just about the competition; they are also about achievement, belonging and family. For many, if not most of us, our units became our family and I know what it feels like to lose that family through injury, illness or retirement and how difficult that can be when it was not by choice.

  ‘The ideal of these Games is to bring people together. Perhaps these Games will reunite you with your defence force family or perhaps they will give you an opportunity to introduce your civilian family to your defence force family. I hope these Games give you a chance to support and embrace one another and feel part of something unifying.

  ‘The Games are about more than medals. Whether you are a competitor or a spectator, you have all achieved something just by being here. Each and every one of you are part of these Games.

  ‘The success of the first two Legion’s Games surpassed my expectations and it is fantastic to see the Games grow in size and in recognition. This year there are one thousand competitors from twenty nations competing across a dozen different sports. I know these Games will be a great success because if there’s one thing Australians do exceptionally well it is host sporting events.

  ‘I want to wish you all good health, good luck and good times with friends old and new.

  ‘Let the Games begin.’

  His speech was greeted with thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd and Cam had to bend his head close to Viktoria’s ear to make sure she could hear him. ‘All right. I’m on deck now,’ Cam said as the basketball teams from Australia and England took to the court. ‘I’ll catch up with you later?’

  He wanted to stay with her but he needed to work.

  He wanted to hold her, to take her hand and take her away to where it could be just the two of them. To somewhere he didn’t have to worry about what to do next, to somewhere no one would expect anything of him, to somewhere with no responsibilities and no commitment. With nothing but the two of them.

  He was under her spell and he had no idea how it had happened. How he’d gone so quickly from being irritated at the thought of having to chaperone her to completely enamoured.

  It wasn’t like him to fall so fast. He was measured. Controlled. Sensible.

  They’d shared one night and two days. It was crazy but he felt transformed.

  Perhaps it was a good thing that he had to work. Perhaps he needed some time for his hormones to settle. For his emotions to calm down. His heightened emotions were usually of the fight kind—tense, wound tight. He wasn’t used to this feeling of peace and calm. Of happiness. It was a little disconcerting.

  Viktoria took her seat beside Freddie and quickly checked and uploaded the video of his welcome speech to the various digital platforms before settling in to watch the game.

  The first game of the day was Australia v England, followed by USA v Canada. The stakes were high and the competition physical. The crowd got right behind the players and the stadium was filled with family and friends along with the team members of the other competing countries.

  Flags from the twenty nations were hung throughout the stadium and the crowd was vocal, none more so than the Aussies with their popular, if uninventive, chant of, ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!’

  But Viktoria could see the attraction of it—everyone knew the words! Even the other nations were getting into the spirit of the chant. But there was equal applause for the English team whenever they shot a b
asket or made a good play. The spirit of the Games was off to a great start.

  Viktoria had never seen wheelchair basketball before, and she was surprised by how rough it was and how often the competitors were tipped out of their chairs.

  Among all the action, she was also aware of Cam. She could see him across the court in the medical tent. Even though the base medical centre was only metres away in another building, first aid facilities had been established in each venue as well. Doctors were there to treat injuries, physios were busy taping and masseurs were on hand to relieve tired, cramping muscles.

  Cam was busy but occasionally he glanced up at her and smiled. She couldn’t help but smile back. She had come to Sydney for an adventure, but she was getting more than she had bargained for. She hadn’t counted on meeting someone like Cam, but she intended to enjoy every minute of the experience. She would soon have to return to reality, to her real life.

  The crowd gasped collectively, bringing her attention back to the court in front of her. One of the Aussie competitors had fallen hard. Viktoria recognised him as one of Mark’s friends, one of the swim relay team, Bud.

  She held her breath as his wheelchair was righted and he was escorted from the court. She could see him undergoing a concussion test in the medical tent and he didn’t re-join the game, although he was able to go back onto the court at the end of the match when Freddie went to shake hands with all the players.

  Cam came to sit next to her in the break.

  ‘Is Bud okay?’ she asked.

  ‘He has a concussion. He might miss the next basketball game.’

  ‘What about the swimming? The relay team sounds like it might be getting quite depleted.’

  ‘As long as he can tell the deep end of the pool from the shallow end, he’ll be okay.’ Cam grinned at her. ‘Have you got plans for tonight? I thought I could take you out for dinner.’

  ‘I am having dinner with Fr—Prince Alfred.’ She’d almost made a mistake. ‘I am going to discuss my ideas with him.’

  ‘Tomorrow night then?’

  ‘Oui, I would like that.’

  Viktoria was dining with Freddie when her mobile phone pinged with a message. She glanced at it and, when she saw it was Cam, picked it up to read it.

  Let me know if he’s boring you and you want to be rescued.

  She smiled and texted back a quick reply.

  ‘Who was that?’

  ‘No one.’

  ‘Come on, Viktoria. I know you better than that. Spill.’

  Viktoria knew he would persist until she gave in and because she was more than happy to talk about Cam she filled Freddie in on the basics of the past few days.

  ‘So, quite the adventure you’re having,’ her cousin said when she finished imparting the details she was happy to share. ‘Are you going to tell him who you are?’

  ‘No. That is not necessary. I will be gone in ten days. He does not need to know I am a princess. It does not matter.’

  ‘Keeping secrets is never a good idea. I think you should tell him.’

  ‘When I leave here I will be going home to get engaged. I will be getting married. I will not see him again so there is no need for him to know. I just want to be Viktoria for a few more days. That is all.’

  ‘If you’re sure.’

  She had thought about telling Cam who she was, but she wasn’t sure how he would take it. She didn’t want it to change things between them. They didn’t have a future together. It didn’t matter that she had been picturing all sorts of alternative endings to her adventure in Australia, to what waited for her when she returned to Berggrun. Knowing that Cam was just the sort of man she could fall in love with—kind, considerate, intelligent and handsome—didn’t mean anything.

  He was also still guarded. She often had no idea about how he felt. She had no idea of his past. Of his plans for the future. Did he have any that could include her? She couldn’t imagine him leaving everything he had here to follow her to Berggrun.

  She needed to remember to treat this relationship as it was—a holiday romance—and not let herself get carried away with her dreams. She’d done that before with Luca and it had been a disaster.

  The reality was that she was a reverse Cinderella. She was a princess pretending to be ordinary and at the stroke of midnight, or in her case when she stepped onto the plane that would take her home, she would become royalty again.

  She was worried that if she told him the truth, instead of Cinderella running from the ball it would be Cam.

  She and Cam were from two different worlds. In her limited experience that did not get them off to a good start, no matter how intense their chemistry was. She could not imagine him anywhere but here.

  His career was here. His family was here. Why would he leave all that behind for her? They barely knew each other. And it wasn’t as if she could quit being a princess. No matter how much she might dream of doing exactly that, she knew it wasn’t a realistic dream. It was a fantasy.

  ‘Please don’t say anything, Freddie.’

  ‘Of course I won’t. It’s not my place. But I still think you should tell him.’

  Dinner was at a restaurant overlooking Watson’s Bay, a short walk from Cam’s house. It was yet another perfect vista. Every corner she turned in Sydney seemed to bring her to another view of the water, another bay, another stretch of golden sand, more boats. Berggrun was a beautiful country, wealthy and with beautiful marinas, but it didn’t have Sydney’s stunning abundant natural beauty.

  ‘Is every corner of Sydney as beautiful as the next?’ she asked as the waiter took their orders.

  ‘I haven’t seen anything to compare to this view,’ Cam told her, looking directly at her, his grey gaze so intense that she could feel herself blushing. ‘I’m finding it hard to believe you are single.’

  ‘I am definitely single.’ For another few months at least. Until she turned thirty. ‘I have been for several months. Since my ex-fiancé cheated on me.’

  ‘You’re kidding?’

  ‘I wish I was. Or, at least, at the time I wished it was all a misunderstanding. Now I think I had a lucky escape.’

  At the time she had believed Luca was the one for her but now she wondered if that was only because she was approaching her thirtieth birthday. There had always been red flags—he was charming and ambitious and selfish—but she had thought he’d loved her. She’d thought she’d loved him. But perhaps she’d been ignoring the warning signs, looking through rose-coloured glasses because in her head she knew she was expected to marry by the time she was thirty.

  She wasn’t sure if she’d really been in love with Luca or just in love with the idea of a fairy tale wedding.

  But she’d learnt one thing from that experience—being a princess didn’t guarantee a fairy tale ending.

  ‘My brothers and Luca never got along. That should have been a warning sign for me. Next time I’ll pay more attention.’

  ‘You have brothers?’

  ‘Two older brothers.’

  For a moment she considered telling Cam who she really was, before deciding he didn’t need to know. They wouldn’t have a future and she didn’t want to change anything between them at the moment. They only had a few more days together. ‘So a holiday romance is just what I need to forget all about my disastrous love life.’

  ‘And at the end of your holiday?’

  ‘I have to go home. I have to be back in Berggrun for a family celebration. I leave the day after the Games.’

  ‘So we will have to make the most of every minute,’ Cam said as he signalled for the bill.

  ‘Damn,’ Cam said when they arrived home and he saw a car parked in his driveway.

  ‘Whose car is that?’

  ‘Skye’s. I’d forgotten she was coming to stay.’

  He didn’t want to share this time with his sister.
He didn’t want family intruding. That was selfish but his thoughts were far from family. He only had one thing on his mind.

  ‘You forgot?’

  ‘I’ve been a bit preoccupied,’ he said as he bent his head and kissed her. ‘She hasn’t come to see me; she has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I think it must be her thirty-six-week check-up.’

  ‘Should I get the hotel to send a car for me?’

  ‘No.’ It was late, and he hoped that Skye would have gone to bed already. Even before she’d got pregnant, she was an early to bed, early to rise person, always up at the crack of dawn with her horses. He was prepared to bet that she wouldn’t be getting in their way.

  He opened the door. The house was dark; just a single lamp was lit in the entry but there was a note on the kitchen bench from Skye.

  Cam picked it up and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘She’s gone to bed.’

  Viktoria stood behind him as he read the note. She pressed herself to his back and he felt her arms snake around his waist as she slid one hand under his shirt, her palm warm against his skin. He spun her around and pressed her back against the kitchen counter. He lifted her onto the benchtop. His hands cupped her buttocks. He pulled her towards him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  ‘What if Skye gets up?’ she said before he could kiss her. ‘I don’t want her to see us here.’

  Cam scooped her off the kitchen counter, lifting her easily, but she protested, ‘Wait. Put me down. I can walk.’

  ‘I’ve got you.’ He wasn’t about to let her go.

  ‘But what about your leg? Let me walk.’

  ‘My leg is fine.’ He hadn’t even thought about his leg and he certainly didn’t want to be reminded of it. His door was ajar, and he kicked it open and carried her into his room.

  He pushed the door closed with his foot and leant against it, letting Viktoria slide down until her feet touched the floor, but he kept his arms around her, keeping her pressed against him.

  His breath was coming fast but it wasn’t from exertion.