Wedding Party Collection: Marrying The Prince: The Prince She Never Knew / His Bride for the Taking / A Queen for the Taking?

‘I gathered that.’

‘It was rather obvious, wasn’t it?’

His wry smile tugged at her heart. ‘Considering revealing anything of a personal nature seems to be akin to pulling teeth for you, I’d say yes.’

He chuckled softly and shook his head. ‘Well. I tried.’

‘That’s all I’m asking for.’

He turned to her then, his gaze dark and searching, his smile gone. ‘Is it?’

She fell silent under that searching and seemingly knowing gaze, for of course it wasn’t—and it seemed he knew that, or at least suspected. Did he guess that she was in love with him? The possibility made both humiliation and hope rush through her.

She wanted him to know her feelings, wanted to stop pretending, and yet...the thought of his contempt and horror made everything inside her shrivel. She couldn’t risk revealing so much. Not yet, and maybe not ever.

‘So, snorkelling,’ he said, and she nodded.

‘Sounds fun.’

‘Why don’t we get dressed and go for breakfast, and then we can sort it out after?’

‘All right.’

With a brisk nod Leo rose from the sand, brushing off his pyjamas, and headed back to the hut. Alyse watched him go, half-amazed that she was finally, actually going to spend an entire day in Leo’s company... And still, as always, hopeful for what this day might bring.

* * *

This friendship business, Leo decided, was simple. At least so far. All he had to do was spend a little time with Alyse, do things with her. That suited him; he preferred having a plan, preferred action to talking. As long as they kept it to leisure activities, preferably ones that kept them from conversing, he’d be fine. Everything would be fine. The thought brought him a rush of much-needed relief.

Twenty minutes later they were both dressed and heading over to the main resort for breakfast. Alyse wore a pair of body-hugging canvas shorts that made Leo even more aware of her long, slim legs and the curve of her bottom. The tee-shirt she wore, in a pale petal-pink, seemed tight to Leo. Not obscenely so, but he kept finding his gaze being drawn to the high, firm breasts he’d seen on such provocative display in those frothy nightgowns she wore. Her hair was loose and fell down her back in shining, dark waves and her eyes sparkled silver as she fell into step beside him.

He’d always thought her pretty enough but now, seeing her looking natural rather than coiffed, styled and professionally made up, he realised she was actually quite beautiful.

And he wanted her very badly.

There was no reason, he thought, why they couldn’t be friends by day and lovers by night. Really, it was the perfect solution.

As long as Alyse didn’t confuse the two. As long as she didn’t start wanting more.

He’d just have to make sure she didn’t.

The restaurant, of course, was empty except for half a dozen staff who scurried to attention as soon as Leo and Alyse entered the pavilion that was shaded from the sun and open to the sea.

They sat at a table in the corner and soon had a pot of coffee and a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice in front of them.

‘I’m starving,’ Alyse confessed. She glanced at the buffet that was spread out along one side of the pavilion. ‘I think there’s plenty of food.’

Leo followed her gaze, taking in the platters of pastries and bowls of fresh fruit, the personal chef on hand to make omelettes to order and the several silver tureens of bacon, sausage and eggs. ‘So it seems.’

‘It’s a bit of a waste, though, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘When we’re the only ones staying here.’

‘I’m sure the staff will eat it. The resort is meant to be eco-friendly.’

‘That’s good to know.’ She looked at him curiously. ‘Are you very concerned about such things?’

He shrugged. ‘I certainly intend to bring my country into the twenty-first century, in environmental matters as well as in others.’

He saw the curiosity flare in her eyes. ‘Others? What kinds of things?’

He shrugged again, discomfited now. He wasn’t used to talking about himself. He wasn’t used to anyone asking. ‘Technologically, Maldinia is about twenty years behind the rest of Europe. I’ve been drafting a proposal for broadband to be accessible to most areas.’

‘Is it not now?’

‘Really just in Averne and the outlying towns and tourist resorts. Admittedly, most of Maldinia is agricultural, and their methods are about a hundred years out of date, never mind twenty.’

She smiled, her eyes lightening with humour. ‘But that must be good for the tourist revenue—very quaint, those farmers in traditional dress herding their sheep along with their wooden crooks.’

He acknowledged the point with a wry nod. ‘They do look rather nice on a postcard. But those farmers should be able to check the weather—or the latest football scores—on the Internet when they get back home, don’t you think?’

She laughed, the sound silvery and crystal-clear. It was a sound, Leo realised with a jolt, that he liked to hear, and he hadn’t heard it very much over the last six years. ‘Absolutely. Internet access is practically an inalienable right these days.’

‘Inalienable,’ he agreed solemnly, and they smiled at each other, the moment spinning out first in simple enjoyment and then in something Leo didn’t quite recognise. Something that didn’t just skim the surface of his feelings but dove deeper, surprising and almost hurting him with its strange poignancy.

Alyse looked away first. ‘I didn’t realise you were already involved in governing your country.’

Leo’s mouth tightened, the moment evaporating like so much morning mist, gone with the first glare of light. Good. It was better that way. ‘A bit,’ he answered, his tone instinctively repressive.

He wasn’t involved, not as much as he wanted to be. He’d been trying to prove to his father for fifteen years that he was capable of being king. That he deserved responsibility and respect. King Alessandro might not be interested in government policy—he was too absorbed in his own selfish pleasures for that—but he didn’t want his son cramping his style or seizing his power.

He’d never wanted him to be king at all, and even after a decade and a half as heir Leo never forgot he was second choice. Second best.

Alyse stirred her coffee, her gaze thoughtful. ‘There’s so much I don’t know about you,’ she said, and the ensuing, expectant pause made Leo tense. Spending time together was one thing. You couldn’t talk while you were snorkelling. But getting to know each other...having Alyse ask him questions...having to answer them... That was an entirely different prospect.

‘Don’t look so horrified,’ she continued dryly. ‘I’m not about to ask you for your deepest, darkest secrets.’

‘I don’t have any secrets. Not too many, anyway.’ He tried to speak lightly, but he felt unsettled, uneasy, because for a few moments he’d enjoyed their conversation—the light banter, as well as, God help him, the deeper discussion—and that horrified him more than anything Alyse could ask.

Well, almost.

‘So no embarrassing moments?’ she quipped, a smile on the lips Leo kept realising were incredibly lush and kissable. He remembered how they had tasted. How she’d tasted. Honey-sweet with a tang of salt from the sea. Amazing. ‘No secret fears?’

He forced his gaze away from her mouth, up towards her eyes that sparkled with humour. How had he never noticed how silver her eyes were? They weren’t grey at all. They were warm and soft, glinting with golden lights, like a moonlit, starry sky...

Good Lord. He was thinking like some sort of besotted fool. Eyes couldn’t be soft, and he wasn’t about to compare them to the night sky.

What was happening to him?

‘Secret fears?’ he repeated, forcing his attention back to the conversation. ‘No, I don’t have any of those.’ None he was willing to share, anyway, and he wouldn’t exactly call them fears. More like...concerns.