Falling for the Secret Princess

by Kandy Shepherd

  ‘You’re as patriotic as I am.’ Somehow she hadn’t thought of that. Hadn’t factored in his own love of his country in her wild dreams about what might be.

  ‘In my own way—as a citizen. As a ruler, you have a quite different relationship with your country. One I’m trying to get my head around. But I understand your connection to your family, because family is very important to me too.’

  ‘Could you see yourself living anywhere other than Australia?’ She held her breath for his answer.

  ‘It’s where I need to be. My business is based there...the Asian markets are the future for trade. I want to be part of that future.’

  Natalia let out her breath on a slow sigh. ‘I see.’

  He turned to her. ‘I had to give all that some thought when I was still at university.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘In my second year I spent my winter vacation in Italy.’

  ‘Where it must have been summer?’

  ‘Yes. I stayed in the town near Naples where my grandmother’s family came from. I worked in a pizzeria, practised my Italian and met a girl. Her name was Chiara. I fell head over heels for her and she for me. I quit the pizzeria so I could spend all my time with her. Then I had to go back to Australia for uni.’

  Natalia hated to think of him with another woman. It actually made her feel nauseous. She had to force her voice to sound light and neutral. ‘A holiday romance?’

  ‘It was more than that. We were engaged to be married. I thought it was for ever. I really tried to make that long-distance romance work. Once I even flew to Italy for a long weekend, so I could be with Chiara for her birthday.’

  ‘I don’t see a happy-ever-after ending to this story...’ With a great effort of will, Natalia had managed to keep her voice at an even, conversational tone.

  By contrast, Finn’s tone darkened. ‘Of course it ended. Now I can see it was inevitable. Then I was gutted. She didn’t want to leave her family and friends. I had to finish my degree in Sydney. We were too young. Long story short: she met an Italian guy. She ended it with me quite brutally.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Finn,’ Natalia said—not sorry at all that he didn’t get the girl, but sorry that the experience might have made him wary of long-distance relationships. ‘What happened next?’

  ‘From then on I’ve only dated women who live in Sydney,’ he said, looking out of the window instead of at her. ‘And I hold a very cynical view of love at first sight. I don’t trust that it can work.’

  So a girlfriend in Montovia was out of the question. Was that what he was trying to tell her? As for the ‘love at first sight’ comment—she wasn’t sure what he meant by that either.

  She decided not to try and second-guess him. Thankfully she could change the subject, as they had reached the small artisan cheesemaker who made some of the most prized cheeses in Montovia.

  * * *

  The cheesemaker’s premises looked like yet another postcard view, Finn thought. The old stone buildings, the incredible green pastures, the mountains in the background—all were breathtakingly picturesque. Natalia brought a flash of colour in a red coat and a soft pink beret and scarf that suited her brilliantly. He liked seeing her in pink and red again rather than tones of grey.

  ‘Before we go in, tell me again why we’re here?’ he asked Natalia.

  ‘Matteo, the cheesemaker, prides himself on the quality of his handmade, cave-aged product,’ she said. ‘His family had always made cheeses here, but on a very small scale for local consumption. The cheese became something of a legend in Montovia and highly prized. There’s a saying that good cheese makes milk immortal, and that truly applies here. Since Matteo took over he has grown the business, but still kept it on a small scale. His cheese commands top prices. He maintains exclusivity and that is one reason he doesn’t want to export.’

  ‘If he doesn’t want to export, why am I seeing him?’

  ‘For your interest,’ she said. ‘And so that if he ever changes his mind, he will remember you.’

  ‘I follow your way of thinking,’ he said, once again appreciating her and Tristan’s business acumen.

  He also appreciated the fact that the work Tristan did with the export of his country’s products was not for personal gain, but rather the promotion of Montovia.

  ‘Although we do get a return in the form of taxes from successful businesses,’ Natalia had shrewdly pointed out when he’d mentioned it.

  Finn clicked immediately with Matteo—especially after they realised that while Finn’s Montovian was non-existent, and Matteo’s English basic, they both spoke fluent Italian, as did Natalia. He appreciated yet another side of Natalia as she spoke fluently in the language of his grandmother, complete with requisite hand gestures.

  She would fit in with his family.

  He shook his head to clear the thought. It was such an unlikely scenario.

  Matteo took them through the process of making his cheeses. It started with milk from happy, stress-free cows, feeding on rich alpine pastures that included regional wildflowers, and ended in cool subterranean cellars, their walls lined with ancient wooden shelving stacked with wheels of prized cheese in various stages of ageing.

  Finn was fascinated by it. The cheesemaking he’d seen before had been on a much larger commercial scale. Here, tradition dictated every step. What was it Tristan had said about the land that time forgot? And Natalia was a part of that tradition, bound by customs that hardly seemed relevant to modern life. Yet like this cheese, prized for its tradition, her traditions had shaped the woman she was.

  After farewells had been made, Finn headed with Natalia back to the four-by-four, carrying a wheel of Matteo’s finest cheese to take to the chalet.

  ‘I actually understand why Matteo doesn’t want to lose the essence of his cheese by over-expanding, even though I would very much like to have his business,’ he said.

  ‘I liked seeing your passion for the cheese,’ she said. ‘I understand now why you’re so successful in your business—you care.’

  * * *

  Finn saw immediately why Natalia loved the Montovian royal family’s chalet. It might have started off as a humble, rustic farmhouse, but it was now every bit the luxurious mountain retreat, in a traditional style of carved timber and stone, leather and wool.

  Finn was wealthy, and he came from a comfortably off family, but the extent of privilege enjoyed by the royal family was staggering. The chalet kept a year-round staff, whose brief was to have the place ready at any time for the family to use—which seemed wildly extravagant. Although at the same time, it kept practically a cavalry of staff in employment.

  He needed to keep his mind open—not view Natalia’s life burdened with his preconceived ideas of what a princess should be.

  Natalia introduced Finn to the middle-aged grey-haired housekeeper Hanna, and her husband the caretaker, Bernard. Finn was surprised when she greeted them with warm hugs and rapid chattering in Montovian. The caretakers did not speak English.

  ‘Hanna was one of our nannies when I was young,’ Natalia explained when they were on their own, coats off, enjoying a hot drink.

  She looked elegant again, in slim trousers and a cream cashmere turtle neck. The room was heated by a blazing log fire in the most enormous carved stone fireplace Finn had ever seen.

  ‘Hanna was loyal to us, and we are loyal to her. She is considered to be—what’s the English phrase?—a family retainer.’

  Natalia’s English was so fluent Finn was surprised at the occasional reminder that it was not her native tongue.

  ‘Hanna seems a nice person,’ he said.

  ‘She’s warm and kind. Often we were left here with just Hanna and Bernard to look after us. We trust them both implicitly.’

  ‘I’ve been meaning to ask... No bodyguards for you in Montovia? Or have I just not noticed them?’

/>   ‘The royal family is loved here. We feel safe in our own homes, our own country. Common-sense precautions are taken, of course—particularly in crowds.’ She looked up at him, a smile dancing on her lips. ‘By the way, there are no security cameras here.’

  Finn liked the emphasis she’d put on the absence of surveillance. He could hardly wait to have her to himself, even if only for a few minutes, with no thought of anyone observing them together. If things went his way, they would need their privacy...

  Natalia had placed him in a comfortable guest room at the other end of the chalet from her room. Her cousin and his wife would stay in the room adjoining hers. Finn wished his room was closer to Natalia’s. However, no doubt room placement had to follow protocols like everything else.

  ‘I’m near my cousin and Amelie,’ she’d explained. ‘But you’ll find them sympathetic to our need to spend some time together while never appearing to be on our own.’

  ‘Why is that?’ He had met Marco and Amelie at the soirée on his first evening, and had enjoyed their company.

  ‘Until the law was changed they were unable to marry because Amelie was a commoner. They had to keep their relationship secret. I sometimes manoeuvred things so they could be together.’

  ‘So they want to return the favour?’ he said approvingly.

  Much as he liked the Count and his doctor wife, the Countess, he still wished he had Natalia all to himself. His imagination played with the idea of kissing her, of peeling off her clothes on that densely fluffy rug in front of the log fire, seeing the flickering shadows from the flames playing on her creamy skin.

  But then it seemed the staff would always be present, so that was a scenario that was unlikely ever to be played out.

  Marco and Amelie arrived, greetings were exchanged, and it was decided that the four of them would go for a hike on the trails through the forest surrounding the house.

  ‘The light is already starting to fade,’ Natalia said. ‘So we won’t go too far from the chalet.’

  Finn was eager to get outside after their time cooped up in the car, luxurious as it was. He also wanted to snatch any opportunity to be alone with Natalia. He was only too conscious of the hours ticking away towards the time for his departure from Montovia the following afternoon. There were things to be said, decisions to be made. Non-verbal communication too, of the more intimate kind.

  The chalet was not far behind them when Marco said he thought he’d spotted red deer and wanted to peel off from the pathway. Amelie followed him. Not a word was spoken but the message was clear. They were getting away to give them space.

  He was alone with Natalia. At last.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  AT LAST. FOR three long months Natalia had dreamed of being in Finn’s arms again. Now they were alone. She was trembling with awareness and anticipation. There was every chance it might happen.

  It had to happen. She would die if it didn’t. Not literally—she had never had suicidal thoughts. But her soul had shrivelled that morning she had left Finn behind in Sydney. And in the following months she knew her family had been worried about her mental health.

  She’d been worried about her mental health. So much so that she’d sought medical advice. She’d been unable to be completely honest, though—rather she had explained that she’d broken up with an unsuitable man and was unable to come to terms with it.

  The doctor had diagnosed situational depression, caused by a traumatic event in her life, and Natalia had done her best to follow the advice given on how to alleviate her symptoms. But it hadn’t been until she’d seen Finn again that the cloud had started to lift.

  Her life was fulfilling in so many ways. It wasn’t that she needed a man to take it to another level. She needed Finn. She hadn’t known what was missing until she’d met him, lost him and then been fortunate enough to have him fall back into her life. Now she’d been given a second chance to be with him, to get to know him, to discover if what she thought she felt about him was real.

  Worth breaking the rules real.

  Now she stood facing him under the canopy of a thicket of spruce trees against a chilly blue sky. The forest seemed still and silent with expectation.

  ‘Have they gone?’ Finn asked.

  Natalia nodded, too choked to utter a word. She looked up at him, thrilled by the intensity of his expression, his green eyes focused solely on her.

  ‘Good,’ he said.

  He pulled her into his arms.

  At last. Her heart sang.

  She was wearing gloves, and so was he, but even through the layers of both their padded jackets she could feel his strength, his warmth.

  Finn. She sighed her joy and relief. This was where she wanted to be. It had been three very long months since their last kiss. She couldn’t wait a second longer for another.

  She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his, closed her eyes at the bliss of it, the tenderness, the way he tasted of coffee with a hint of toothpaste. He’d been expecting to kiss her. Maybe wanting it as much as she did.

  ‘Finn...’ she murmured urgently against his lips.

  He kissed her back, his mouth firm and warm on hers, and there were no further words.

  The kiss grew deeper, more demanding, more thrilling. Their breathing became more ragged, loud in the still of the forest. Her knees threatened to sag beneath her. Holding her tight, he nudged her towards a tree so her back rested against it. That made it easier for him to unbutton her jacket, to pull off his gloves and drop them on the forest floor, to slide his hands, bare and warm, under her jacket.

  She gasped as he tugged her sweater from the waistband of her trousers, slid his hands around her waist. His hands felt so good on her bare skin. Three months of banked-up desire ignited and flared until she burned for him—more touch, more kisses, more Finn.

  ‘You’re wearing rather more clothes than when I last kissed you,’ he said, his voice deep and husky.

  Last time she’d been wearing just a pink lacy bra and tiny lacy panties. She flushed at the memory of it. She was wearing the same now—though in a smaller size.

  ‘You’re more encumbered too,’ she murmured, as she stripped off her gloves and fumbled with the belt of his jacket, annoyed with herself that she wasn’t more adept.

  He pulled back from the kiss, panting. ‘Any chance we can continue where we left off in Sydney?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ she said, scarcely able to get the words out. ‘Though it’s a tad chilly to get naked out here.’

  But if he wanted to make love to her in the forest, if he wanted to lay her down on a bed of pine needles, she’d still say yes. Which was all kinds of crazy. And exciting. And likely to lead to frostbite in uncomfortable places.

  ‘Are there bears and wolves?’ he asked.

  ‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘More likely foxes. And rabbits. Hares, too.’

  ‘Hmm...’ he said, nuzzling her neck. ‘The rabbits don’t scare me.’

  ‘The hares can get a bit scary when they fight.’

  ‘Maybe out here isn’t the best place,’ he said, releasing her with obvious reluctance. ‘And not just because of the dangerous hares.’

  ‘Wise decision,’ she said, though her words were tinged with regret.

  What if they didn’t get another chance?

  Her hair had got tousled and he smoothed an errant lock away from her forehead in a gesture that sent pleasure shimmying through her.

  ‘Getting together isn’t so easy this time, is it?’ he said hoarsely. ‘Back then we were two regular people, struck by an instant attraction, and possibilities were opening up ahead of us. We could choose what we wanted to do about them. It seemed so uncomplicated. Now we know how very complicated our situation is.’

  ‘I know only too well,’ she said.

  ‘Try not to be alone with him.’ Her mother’s words
hadn’t been in the slightest bit ambiguous. Sorry, Mother.

  He cupped her face in his large warm hands, looked deep into her eyes with an intensity that thrilled her as much as a caress.

  ‘I still want you, Natalia. More than anything, I want you.’

  ‘I want you too, Finn. I never stopped wanting you.’

  ‘Back then I knew nothing about you except that I wanted you. Now I know everything I need to know.’

  She stilled. ‘Not quite everything,’ she said, in a very small voice.

  ‘What do you mean?’ His face tightened and his hands dropped from around her to his sides. ‘More secrets? More lies?’

  She could see the disappointment in the twist of his mouth, hear it in in his voice.

  ‘Nothing like that,’ she said.

  ‘No more big surprises—please, Natalia. Finding out you were a completely different person was surprise enough for me. I don’t know that I can deal with any more.’

  ‘It’s not that. I have no more identities. No more lies. It’s just...’

  ‘What?’ he said.

  ‘Do you remember that night? In my hotel room?’

  He grinned—a slow, sexy grin that sent a shudder of want spiralling through her.

  ‘As if I’d ever forget.’

  ‘Back then I told you I hadn’t done that kind of thing before...’

  ‘I remember. I guessed you weren’t in the habit of taking a man you didn’t know very well back to your hotel room. But it felt like we’d known each other for a long time, didn’t it? That we knew each other well enough to—’

  ‘You’re right. I had never taken a man back to my room. But you have to understand I—’

  ‘Hell, Nat, you don’t think I’d pass judgement on you for that? I’m not in the habit of hopping into bed with someone I scarcely know, either. It was special that night. We both wanted each other too much to wait. We both knew the score.’

  She bent down to pick up her gloves from where she’d tossed them on the ground. Pulled them slowly back on, first her right hand, then her left. Delaying tactics.