by Raye Morgan
He nodded. “The old Catch 22.”
“Exactly. So I decided to pick something no one else was working on, and make it my special field of expertise.” She turned to look directly into his eyes. “I picked you.”
He laughed and shook his head.
“I’d already been reading a lot about Ambria, and when I picked up a book about the possibility that there were lost children from the old regime who might still be alive, I knew right away this was it. I started finding out everything I could about them. About you.”
He looked skeptical. “Did you find any evidence that they really exist?”
She hesitated. “Well, nothing solid. Not then. But I’ve read everything I could find on the speculation and the rumors. And I’ve interviewed a few people who think it’s possible. And…”
She stopped. She wasn’t ready to tell him about his brother Darius being sighted yet.
“But no one who’s actually seen one?” Joe asked when she paused.
She winced. It was a sore point, she had to admit. “No.”
“And then you saw my picture in that article last year?”
“Yes.” She perked up as she remembered her excitement that day. “I’d been working on a montage of photos from the old monarchy, and I’d gotten so familiar with the faces. When I saw yours, it was like a bolt of lightning hit me. I just knew.”
“Whoa. Not so fast.” He held up a hand as though he were stopping a train. “You still don’t really know anything.”
“But I strongly suspect. Don’t you?”
He didn’t seem happy with that question. “I don’t know,” he muttered.
“There are ways to find out.”
He looked uncomfortable and turned his gaze out toward the ocean.
“What if I don’t want to find out?” he asked softly, then he swung back and faced her. “Tell me, how is being one of these royal guys who everyone wants to kill going to enhance my life?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
KELLY BLINKED AT Joe. This was quite a revelation. It had never occurred to her that anyone would want to pass up a chance to be a prince, especially of Ambria. It was an honor. Why didn’t he get that?
“Do it for history,” she suggested.
“For history?” He raised one eyebrow and looked amused.
“Why not? What have you done for history lately?”
He thought about that for a few seconds, and then started to laugh. “What’s history done for me?” he countered.
“We don’t know yet.” She hesitated, then admitted, “Let’s put it this way. In all honesty, if you are one of them, it could do a lot for me.”
He nodded. “Your reputation?”
“Yes. I’d finally get a little respect at the agency.”
He smiled, admiring the light of ambition in her eyes. She had spirit. He liked a woman with spirit. “Does your work mean that much to you?”
“Sure.”
The sound of Mei’s voice cut off anything else she might have been about to say. Once Kelly knew the baby was awake, that was her first priority.
“Want to come help me change her?” she asked him hopefully.
He paused a moment, then shook his head. “I’ll get dinner ready.”
Disappointed, she went in by herself. Mei was standing at the crib railing and calling out, not crying yet, just letting people know she was ready to get out and join the world again. Kelly laughed and held out her arms. Mei threw out her own arms and laughed, too. Kelly held her tightly, murmuring loving words, and wished with all her heart that she would see this sort of interaction between Mei and her daddy soon. Very, very soon.
What they’d been doing so far wasn’t working, and there wasn’t much time left. She had to start training Mei to deal with Joe in a good, loving way. In another forty-eight hours, she wasn’t going to be here for this little girl. Or for Joe, either.
Having Mei acting this way toward Joe complicated things as far as getting him to accept his place as a prince of Ambria. But in some ways, it was all part of the same challenge. Mei had to accept Joe, Joe had to accept his heritage. And what did Kelly have to accept? The fact that she was starting to fall for him in a big way?
No! Where had that thought come from? Nothing of the sort. She was okay. She’d be leaving soon. This was nothing but an assignment, even if she had assigned it to herself. It was a job she had to do. Falling for Joe was not part of the plan.
The main problem wasn’t romance, however. The main problem was getting him to realize how important his position was. She had to back off, calm down and think this through. Why wasn’t it working? Why wasn’t he sharing her concerns? What was she doing wrong in the way she was presenting it to him? Most of all, why didn’t he believe that he was the prince?
Quickly, she went back over what had happened since she’d come face-to-face with him. Of course, at first she’d assumed he knew. She’d never dreamed that he would think she was crazy when she brought up the subject. He had no idea who he really was, and at first he’d taken it as a joke.
But what had she really done to convince him? Why should he believe it? She hadn’t presented any evidence to him. That was what was missing. She had to lay the foundation or it wasn’t going to work.
Kelly changed Mei, played with her for a few minutes, then got her ready for her dinner. She brought her out and put her in the high chair, then got down a jar of baby food and a long plastic spoon. Meanwhile, she chatted with Joe, who was serving up a frozen lasagna he’d warmed in the oven. He’d also whipped up a couple of delicious salads to go with it.
“Hey,” she said in admiration. “This looks great. You can cook for me anytime.”
“Is that a promise?” he teased.
But when she met his gaze, she stopped smiling. There was something serious lurking behind his humor. What did it mean? She looked away again.
They sat down and ate, laughing companionably together over things Mei did. The baby didn’t seem to pay much attention to her father now, but at least she wasn’t screaming every time he came near her.
“She’s getting better, don’t you think?” Joe asked hopefully, after he’d handed Mei a sippy cup of milk and she’d hesitated only a moment before taking it and drinking.
“Oh yes. I’m sure of it.”
Kelly wasn’t sure at all, but she wanted to keep his spirits up.
He looked at her and smiled, and she wondered if he could read her mind.
“So when do you think they’ll invade?” Joe asked innocently as they leaned back from their meal.
“Who?” Kelly asked blankly.
“The nefarious Granvilli clan, of course. Tell me, what’s their modus operandi? Do they like to sneak in at night when their targets are sleeping? Or do they prefer a full frontal confrontation in broad daylight?”
She groaned. “Now you’re just making fun of me.” Her eyes flashed. “You’ll see. Something very bad will happen and then you’ll find I was right.”
He tossed down his napkin and laughed. “That’s reassuring.”
“Sorry,” she said, rising to take Mei from her high chair. “I’m trying to be pragmatic and realistic. Too much optimism leaves you unprepared for whatever might be coming next.”
Joe stayed where he was while she took Mei off to clean her up and change her. He wasn’t sure what he thought about this royalty business. It seemed like a red herring to him. If Kelly wasn’t so cute and fun to have around, he would be dismissing the whole thing out of hand. But the longer she helped him with Mei and the more she tried to get him to understand how important she thought this all was, the more he understood just how adorable and sweet she was, and the more he wanted to do whatever it took to make her happy. So here he sat, contemplating being a prince.
What the hell?
She came back, baby in tow, and he got up to clear the table and wash the dishes. She didn’t say anything, but she had a portfolio with her and she took Mei into the living room. He knew she was up
to something. He went on cleaning up from dinner, then went out to the living room to join her.
Kelly stood holding Mei on one hip. As he entered the room, she turned and gave him a tremulous smile. She’d arranged eight-by-ten-inch photographs in groups over every flat surface in the room.
“Meet the royal family,” she told him with a flourish.
Joe stared at the pictures, and his heart began to beat faster.
“Where did you get these?” he asked her.
“This is my area of research. I brought them along to show to you.”
Taking a deep breath, he began to walk the length of the room, looking at them all, one by one. His mouth was dry and he could tell his hands were shaking. He could tell right away that there was something about these people that he connected with, something familiar that resonated in the core of his being. These pictures were going to change his life.
“Well, what do you think?” Kelly asked, after he’d had a good long time to soak it all in.
He turned and looked at her with troubled eyes. “Tell me exactly who these people are,” he said.
She pursed her lips. “I warn you, I’m going to talk about them as though they were your family.”
He nodded impatiently. “Whatever. Let’s just do this. Let’s get it done.”
She stopped before the first picture, of a very hand some couple dressed quite formally. “This is King Grandor and Queen Elineas, your father and your mother,” she said quietly. “This is their official portrait.”
She picked up two enlarged snapshots, one of them just after a tennis game, another of them sitting before a fire, both showing an engaging, happy pair. “And here are pictures of them in more casual settings.”
He nodded again. His throat was too tight to speak.
“Here is your uncle Lord Gustav. Your uncle the Archduke Nathanilius—the one who just died. Your aunt, Lady Henrika. Your grandmother, also named Henrika.”
Kelly paused, giving Joe time to take it all in. He went over each picture slowly as she named the subject, examining the eyes, studying the faces. She put Mei down in her play chair with all its attached toys and turned back to him. As she watched, she could see that his emotions were calming.
“Are you okay?” she asked him at last.
He looked up, his eyes hooded, as though he wasn’t comfortable letting her see just how moving this was to him. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She shrugged. “For a minute there I thought you were freaking out.”
He gave her a smile that was quickly gone. “Not me,” he said, going on to the next. “Who are these charming children?”
“These are pictures of your sisters and a couple of your brothers. They were taken just a few weeks before the coup.”
Joe lingered, studying each face as if trying to learn as much as he could about that individual. His expression had gone from shock and pure reaction to great interest. The pictures might even be said to be doing what she’d wanted them to.
She pointed to the last one. “And here is a picture of you as a four-year-old.”
He stared at that one a long, long time. Did he see himself in it? She wasn’t sure. She knew darn well she saw him in the adorable little blond boy playing with a pail and shovel in the sand.
Joe felt like a man riding a hang glider over a storm. A part of him was clinging hard to the reality that had been his all his life. The other part was catching a thrilling ride on a rainbow. Which one would he end up with? Was he even allowed to choose, or had these things already been chosen for him?
He’d grown up in a working-class family, learning working-class behavior. His goals had been those of the salt-of-the-earth types he saw around him. He’d always known he had a bright, inquiring mind that wanted to go a bit further than most of those around him cared to venture. He’d certainly taken enough ribbing for it in his past. But once he’d become an adult, he’d lived his own life and followed his own dreams. Still, they’d had nothing to do with royalty.
Royalty only happened in fairy tales. He wasn’t a fairy-tale sort of guy. Everything in him wanted to reject this crazy idea. It just wasn’t him.
And yet, as he looked at this picture of a little prince playing in the sand, something deep inside him resonated with it just a little. As he stared into the faces of the royals Kelly had put around the room, something in each one caught at a place in his emotional makeup that he wouldn’t have dreamed of before she had dropped into his life. But he couldn’t admit it to her, not yet.
Finally he looked up and smiled at her. “Thanks, Kelly,” he said calmly. “This really does help me get a fix on what this is all about.”
She waited, hoping to hear more, but he wasn’t forth coming so she shrugged and went on to the next subject.
“I called my office a few hours ago,” she told him significantly. “There’s news.”
He frowned. “What sort of news?”
“There are rumors that one of your brothers has been sighted on his way to the funeral in Piasa.”
Joe’s mouth quirked. He didn’t bother to remind her there was no proof that any of these were his brothers. Not yet. “Which one?”
“Prince Darius.” She pointed to his picture. “He would be almost two years older than you.”
Joe nodded, looking at the picture and frowning uncertainly. “More rumors,” he murmured. “I’d like to hear some substantiated eyewitness reports.”
“Of course. We all would.” She searched his face. “So what do you think?” she asked again. “Does seeing these pictures stir any memories? Do you feel a connection to these people on any sort of visceral level?”
She was so eager, so hopeful. He turned away and didn’t answer for a long time, gazing at the pictures of his brothers. Finally he gave her a lopsided smile.
“Sure, Kelly. They look like a great bunch. Who wouldn’t want to be related to people like this?” Joe raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in crazy patches like it did right after surfing. “But just because they and their lifestyle of the time are very attractive, that doesn’t mean anything, does it?”
“But what if you are related to them? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
He gave her a glance that said Not so fast. “How can I ever know for sure?”
“DNA testing,” she answered quickly. “It will take a while to get the results, but it will be worth it. You’ll have the facts.”
He stared at her for a long moment in a way that made her think he wasn’t really seeing her at all. He was seeing something else—something in the past, something in his future.
“But do I really want them?” He looked tortured as he turned away. “Would knowing mean I would suddenly have a whole new area of responsibility? What would I have to do? And what the hell do I care, anyway?”
She swallowed, surprised and somewhat dismayed at his reaction. “Are you saying you really don’t care? That you don’t want to know?”
“Kelly…” He turned and stared at her again. Then his expression softened and he took her face in his hands and tilted it up. “Kelly, I know you care so much. You’ve been living with this, trying to get the answer to this puzzle, for so long. You have your own life invested in it. But I don’t. Until I see more than this…”
She was breathless, not sure why he was holding her face this way, as though she was someone he treasured. But she liked it—she really liked it. Her body felt as though it were made of liquid, as if she could float away on a magical stream of happiness if she let herself. He was so close and his touch felt so good.
He seemed to be studying her face, but she hardly noticed. She was caught up in a wave of feeling—feeling his hands on her face, feeling his breath on her lips, feeling his affection, even his desire. Was that right? Wasn’t that the flicker of something hot and raw that she saw in the depths of his eyes? Was she imagining it?
As if to answer that question, he dropped a quick, soft kiss on her lips, and then reluctantly—she
could swear it was reluctantly—drew away.
“I’ve already got a life planned out, Kelly,” he told her. “I don’t need a major change. I’m not sure I could handle it.”
Her face felt cool where his palms had been, and now her heart was chilled by what he was saying.
“I…I think you could handle just about anything,” she said, working to regain her equilibrium. “I’ve seen you surf.”
His quick flash of a grin reassured her, but he still looked as though he wanted to go. Maybe he needed to. Maybe he needed to assimilate the information he’d taken in here. Still, she needed more from him. She had only a short time left and she had to get all she could from it.
“Wait,” she said, afraid he would leave the room entirely. “Please, Joe. Do one more thing for me.”
He looked into her eyes with a tenderness that confused her. “Anything,” he replied.
She took in a deep breath. “Sit down here on the couch with me for a few minutes. Tell me about what you remember of your childhood. Help me fill in some of the blanks.”
“Sure.” He shrugged, then glanced at Mei. “Is she going to last?”
Kelly hesitated. “I think so. She’s still tired from her flight, I think. Baby jet lag. So she’ll probably go down soon. But we’ll hope for the best.”
Kelly sat and so did he.
“The information I have on your background is really sketchy,” she began. “I know you spent your early years in London. The woman listed as your mother died, and you were adopted by your aunt and uncle, and they brought you to New York. By the time you were a teenager, the family had moved here to San Diego.”
He gazed at her in wonder. “How do you know all this stuff?”
She shrugged. “I know where to look. It’s all in public records, and not that hard to get when you know what to ask for.” She gave him a quick smile. “It’s my job, remember?”
He began to look at her as though he wasn’t sure if she was the same Kelly he thought he knew. “Are you some kind of private eye?”
“I’ve told you all about it before. I’m an analyst. An investigator of sorts. But really just an analyst.”