The Royal House of Niroli: Secret Heirs: Bride by Royal Appointment / A Royal Bride at the Sheikh's Command

She nodded, smiling. “I like to work in the garden, but, of course, I do have some logistical problems. I have a friend who’s a landscaper. He comes by and does basic maintenance for me every now and then.”

He frowned. Another “he” friend, huh? And she claimed there was no love in her life. But that was really none of his business, was it?

“I noticed a little house out back. Who stays there?”

“Oh, that’s the guest house.” She lifted her fingers from the keys as she thought about it. “My grandmother had it fixed up for friends who came to stay. When you live in a place like Niroli, you get a lot of visitors.”

“So it’s ready to go.”

“Ready to go?” She looked wary. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s move-in ready. And I’d like to move in.”

“What?” The shock of that concept flashed through her. She could hardly think she’d heard him right.

“Jeremy and I need a place to stay. Your little guest house would be perfect.”

“No.” She was shaking her head vehemently. With every ounce of emotional strength, she felt herself rejecting the idea. “Oh, no. No, that won’t work.”

“Sure it will.”

Her heart was beating very fast. Her adrenaline was even flowing. Every part of her knew this was not an option. She could not have Adam Ryder living here with her for the duration. It just couldn’t be. She rose from the piano bench and backed away from where he still sat. Her hand went to her throat and flattened protectively.

“No,” she said with pure passion. “Don’t you see? That is absolutely impossible.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“IT CAN’T happen,” Elena insisted. “You don’t belong here. It’s impossible.”

Adam sat where he was on the piano bench and stared at her. He loved the way her entire body seemed to be consumed with whatever emotion she was feeling. It was almost as though the communications that might have been made by her eyes were instead made by every cell in her body. She was a symphony of the heart, a ballet of the soul. He felt as though he could watch her for ever.

Or at least until things got a little too intense. Watching her body language stirred some body response of his own. Physical communication. He’d never been more ready to try it—at least in theory. Because he knew very well that wasn’t going to happen. She was untouchable.

He wasn’t usually so attuned to the subtleties of life, especially where women were concerned. He worked in an industry that was rife with beautiful females, and many of them were readily available to an attractive man in his position. There was a temptation in that environment to use women like disposable toys. He’d been guilty of it a time or two himself.

But he’d known right away that Elena could never be a part of something so banal. And it wasn’t just because she was blind. There was more, an innocence to her, a purity of spirit that he knew he didn’t have the right to sully. She was sacrosanct. And for once in his life, he was going to honor that. Too bad he couldn’t think of any straightforward way to let her know that she didn’t have anything to worry about on that score.

“You’re not giving my idea a fair chance,” he told her. “We can make it work.” He shrugged, knowing he wasn’t being very persuasive but not sure how he could do better. “Think it over for awhile. Go over all the ramifications. Don’t let your first impulse rule your head. Take some time and—”

“I don’t need time to know that having you here just won’t work,” she said firmly. “You … you …”

When she couldn’t come up with the words, he tried to help. “I what? Bother you in some way?”

Her cheeks reddened so quickly, it was obvious she’d already been thinking along those lines.

“Okay, I promise to try hard not to bother you. In any way. We’ll be out there in the little house, quiet as mice. You’ll hardly know we’re there.”

He knew he was blowing smoke and so did she. She didn’t even bother arguing his points, turning on him with a new tact instead.

“Are you doing this just because you think the hotel is angry with you over the wedding-cake incident? I’m sure the money you gave them has gone a long way toward clearing that up. If you just go back and—”

“It’s not really that,” he told her earnestly. “That’s only part of it. There’s a lot more.” He hesitated. It was probably time to come clean. Maybe past time. “I … well, I really haven’t told you everything …”

“About how you’re supposed to be interviewing to become the next King of Niroli?” she interjected quickly, thinking he would never get to the crux of the matter if she waited for his halting explanation. And she needed this cleared up right away. He couldn’t stay here!

“So what? If you don’t like the hotel, why don’t you just go stay at the palace? I would have thought that would be where you would want to be anyway.”

“Not hardly,” he said, studying her with surprise. How had she figured out that he was in line for the crown? The news must be more widely known than he’d realized. And that was not good. It only emphasized how important it was for him to hide out someplace like this.

“How did you know?” he asked her curiously.

“Gino told me.”

“Ah, the ubiquitous Gino.” He was rapidly developing a firm dislike for the man. “He gets around a lot, doesn’t he?”

“Gino is one of my best friends,” she insisted sharply. “He knows more about what’s going on around town than most people do.”

“Good for him,” he replied dryly. “Then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pass this on to him, but, as far as the palace goes, I’m in the bargaining phase right now. I don’t want to stay there because I need distance and a way to make them wonder if I’m really interested. You understand negotiation, don’t you?”

“You mean manipulation, don’t you?” she shot back, beginning to pace on the Persian carpet.

He grinned. “Okay. I’ll accept that word. But you can see why I don’t want to stay where the palace bureaucrats can keep tabs on me twenty-four hours a day.”

“Then try another hotel.”

“I don’t want a hotel. The press has already been nosing around. All I need is for the local paparazzi to start peeking in my window. I have to stay someplace where nobody knows my name.”

She stopped before him, almost pleading. “Adam, it’s a small island. You can’t hide here like you can in a big city.”

“I can lay low for a little while. Put off the inevitable. I’ll pay you well for the place.”

“Oh!” She went back to pacing. She didn’t want him here. She couldn’t have him here. She’d never wanted him in her house in the first place. And now he wanted to stay!

No. It was impossible. He was too big, too loud, too overwhelming. It had been bad enough having him hanging around all afternoon. She’d been on edge, unable to really relax. She couldn’t be like that for days at a time. This was her space. She didn’t want him in it.

The front door banged and Adam spun in surprise. A tall man with a hard, wiry build was coming into the house. Handsome in a self-conscious way, he looked tough and a bit petulant.

“Hello,” he said to Elena. “I just dropped by to let you know Devon and Martha can come tonight after all.”

“Oh, good,” she said distractedly, then waved a hand in Adam’s general direction. “Gino, meet Adam Ryder.”

Adam rose from the piano bench, ready to shake hands, but Elena’s friend didn’t seem to be in a handshaking mood.

“Oh.” Gino looked at Adam but he didn’t look pleased. “What’s he doing here?”

Elena threw up her hands. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”

Adam had no problem providing an answer. “Right now I’m trying to get Elena to rent out her little guest house to me.”