He held both hands quite still for Libby to examine. Immediately she could see quite clearly there was a thickening and tightening of tissue under the skin of both hands. It was affecting the ring and little fingers. Both fingers on the right hand were almost completely closed into his palm. She recognised the problem immediately.
‘How long have you had this condition?’
‘A few years now but it’s been getting worse lately,’ he told her with a voice that signalled acceptance of his fate. ‘I’m worried if both hands close I might not be able to drive and that would make life tough for the family. I’m fifty-two years old and I’d like to drive for another ten years if I can. My daughter’s getting married next year and she wants the big wedding with all the bells and whistles so I can’t be out of work.’
Libby said nothing as she continued to examine his hands. ‘I’m not an expert but you may have a condition called Dupuytren’s contracture.’
‘Is there a treatment for it?’
‘If it is what I think, it can be managed,’ she told him. ‘And it’s definitely worth your while seeing someone. You would need to be referred to a specialist. My father had the condition and that’s why I’m aware of it.’
‘My ma told me it was arthritis and there was no hope. It’s in my genes, she told me. My pa had it, but he died nearly twenty years ago ’cos of his diabetes.’
‘Again, I am not an expert but if you make an appointment with your regular doctor...’
“I haven’t seen a doctor in over ten years,’ he cut in. ‘I’ve been healthy as an ox and haven’t needed one.’
Libby was well aware that there was a genetic predisposition to the condition but Dupuytren’s contracture could be aggravated by cirrhosis of the liver and the presence of certain other diseases, including diabetes, which she was now aware was in his family along with thyroid problems so a visit to the doctor was well overdue. It could uncover a hidden condition that needed to be managed. The man’s hands might be a sign that something even more serious was happening out of sight.
‘I would make a time and get a general check-up and blood work while you’re there. We should all do that every year. I’m sure you want to be heathy and happy and dance with your daughter at her wedding.’
‘I do,’ he said. ‘I’ll make a time next week to see a doctor. Honest, I will.’
Libby smiled and paid the fare, including a generous gratuity, and then reached down for her belongings.
‘Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Not many people do that nowadays. Everyone’s in a rush. It was real nice of you,’ the driver continued as he slipped the cash into his shirt pocket. ‘You’re a princess and I think you’re a real good nurse.’
Libby smiled again and then reached for the suitcase that he had managed to pull from the trunk and place on the kerb. ‘You take care of yourself.’
‘And you have a great trip. Hope you meet a prince on that yacht,’ the man said before he climbed into the cab.
Libby suddenly felt a little flustered with the thought as she struggled to manage her belongings. She didn’t want to meet a prince—or any man for that matter. She just wanted to get the next week over and done with and return to the only man who mattered to her: her son. With a bag across her chest and a laptop case slipping from her shoulder, she reached for her large suitcase sitting on the pavement where the driver had placed it and tried to calm her nerves. It’s only a week, she reminded herself. Only a week.
Accepting her fate, she drew in a deep breath, put a smile on her face and hoisted the slowly slipping laptop bag back up onto her shoulder and made her way to the walkway onto the yacht. The sun was shining down and she could feel the warmth through her thin T-shirt. As she climbed aboard, she could see the shining deck, perfectly arranged with black wicker outdoor seating, scattered with oversized striped cushions in striking colours. Everything about it was stunning, even the sky and sea matched perfectly.
Under different conditions she might have enjoyed herself. But Libby had a job to do and then get home. She had no intention of socialising. She had no intention of doing anything other than tending to the medical needs of Sir Walter.
Brushing away wisps of red hair that had escaped her ponytail, Libby hoped that the days ahead would pass quickly.
* * *
Dr Daniel Dimosa stood at the bow of the Coral Contessa, looking out across the perfectly still blue water. His mood was reflective, borderline sombre. It was the first day of his final ocean placement, then it was time to return to his family. The time had come. He looked down at his phone and reread the last message from his mother.
My darling son,
Thank you so much for agreeing to return to your home and your rightful place.
Your father’s condition has deteriorated further since the last time we spoke. He has not made any public appearances in the last week and he must abdicate very soon. There are days that he struggles to remember his advisors’ names. Thankfully, he is still very aware of who I am, and my prayer is that our love for each other is strong enough to help us through the most difficult times ahead.
I know the people of Chezlovinka will be elated to see you take up your role as Crown Prince, just as your father and his father before him. Without you, my darling, I know there would be unrest and instability and I fear what may become of our land and the future of the people who so rely upon us.
Your loving mother xxxx
Daniel knew he had no choice but to stop running from his past and stop wondering what might have been. There were still question marks over the future, but he would deal with those in time. His own time. In his heart, he knew that he was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps, perhaps in more ways than one. Early onset dementia was a genetic disease and he was not certain that it had eluded him.
He knew he would miss the spray of salt water on his face, the sounds of the gulls whenever they drew closer to shore, and the serenity of the endless blue horizon. And most of all the freedom to practise medicine. He drew a deep bitter-sweet breath of warm, humid air. Sadly, his love affairs with both the sea and medicine were drawing to an end at the same time.
Daniel knew he had to face the fact that his current way of life was over and no matter how much he wished it could be different, it couldn’t. He was a realist. His path and his fate had been chosen the day he was born and now he had no choice but to return to his homeland. He had seven more days as Dr Daniel Dimosa before he turned his back on his life as a doctor and returned to his life as Crown Prince Daniel Edwardo Dimosa.
The breeze picked up and Daniel felt a familiar emptiness in his heart. He had grown accustomed to a life with no ties but it didn’t stop him wishing for more and wanting to feel again how he had felt in San Francisco all those years ago. But he would never put a woman he cared so deeply for through what his mother had faced since his father’s diagnosis five years earlier. The worry of not knowing when her husband and the man she had loved her entire life would look at her as if she was a stranger.
His expression fell further as he admitted to himself that this would be the last time he was on US soil for a very long time. It would make this trip even more poignant.
While the day was warm and calm at that moment, weather at sea was more unpredictable and prone to drastic change. Not unlike some of the women Daniel had bedded over the last four years while he’d been trying to forget the sweet, loving redhead who had so unexpectedly captured his heart. Wherever the ship docked there were women who were happy to share one night of pleasure with no strings attached. It was enjoyable, and both parties were happy to walk away knowing it would never be more than that. He forgot them as quickly as he met them and he felt sure they did the same.
A tic in Daniel’s jaw began on cue, the way it always did when he thought back to the woman he had loved so briefly. With all of his being, he wished he had handled it di
fferently or, better yet, never become involved. He wished he had been in a place where he could have explained everything and told her the truth but he hadn’t been. He had been sworn to secrecy and he couldn’t break that promise.
Daniel was a man of his word—both as a doctor and as Crown Prince Daniel Edwardo Dimosa.
Travelling had been all he had known for so long and he was reluctant to leave that way of life, but he was needed at home so his choices were limited. Daniel’s father had carried the burden of royal responsibilities for a long time. Now, at only sixty years of age, his condition had worsened and Daniel would not turn his back on the man he both loved and admired and who was slowly being trapped inside his own deteriorating mind.
By taking over the throne, it would allow his father to retain his dignity and see out his final days away from the scrutiny of the public eye. And keeping that secret was paramount to the economic security of the principality. There was really no debate. Daniel needed to be there for his father and for the small European principality of Chezlovinka.
Over the years there were times late at night when his thoughts sometimes wandered back to the woman he had left behind. He hoped she had forgotten him, married and had a family. She deserved that and more...even if it wasn’t with him.
* * *
‘Dr Dimosa,’ the young concierge began, ‘I thought I’d let you know the ship’s nurse has just boarded and has headed to her cabin. You asked me to notify you.’
‘Thank you,’ Daniel replied, turning momentarily to acknowledge the young man then just as quickly turning back to the view.
His life was to be one of duty to the principality he was destined to rule. It would be a life without freedom.
And one without love.
CHAPTER TWO
LIBBY STOPPED OUTSIDE her allocated cabin and reached into her bag for the door swipe card she had been given by one of the three stewards. They had offered to take her bags to the cabin but she’d wanted a few moments alone to take in her surroundings, to be alone with her thoughts and steady her unsettled nerves.
She was huffing and puffing, as well as flustered and anxious again by the time she reached her cabin and felt quite silly having a bag large enough for a month-long vacation. What was she doing? Why hadn’t she fought the board’s decision? And why had she allowed Bradley to pack so many outfits into such a large suitcase?
Everything was suddenly a little overwhelming again.
She should be home with her son instead of on the other side of the country, and sailing even further away. It was like the other side of the world to Libby, and her world was her boy. She didn’t want to be anywhere without him.
* * *
‘Hello, there.’
Libby turned quickly to find a young woman with a mop of blonde curls and a wide smile approaching her.
‘Oh, my goodness, it can’t be,’ the woman began, then took a step backwards and faltered momentarily. ‘Libby McDonald? Is that you?’
Libby realised instantly that she knew the woman. Standing before her was one of her closest friends from junior high.
‘Georgie? Georgie Longbottom? I can’t believe it’s you.’
Without hesitation, the two embraced with wide grins and genuine elation.
‘How long has it been?’ Libby began as she released her hold and stepped back a little. Her previous apprehension and nerves were temporarily replaced with a much-needed feeling of comfort and familiarity as their eyes scanned each other with their smiles still broad and their shared joy palpable. ‘It must be...almost twelve years?’
‘Thirteen actually. I remember because I returned to London at the end of my sophomore year. Our crazy fun year at Seaview High was the best year of my school life,’ Georgie confessed, then paused for a moment as a wistful smile washed over her pretty face. ‘To be brutally honest, it was probably one of the best years my life, full stop. We were fancy free and had no idea just how tough the real world can be.’
Libby nodded, silently admitting the carefree days of the final years of senior school had been some of the best for her too. The reality of Georgie’s words brought her back to reality. They were not seventeen, wide eyed and looking for an adventure any more. The Caribbean adventure that Libby was facing now was not one about which she was feeling any real level of excitement.
Life had certainly not turned out as Libby had expected...in so many ways. And it sounded as if life had not been perfect for Georgie either but Libby didn’t want to dwell or complain or ask too many questions, at least not immediately, of the friend she had not seen in for ever. She wanted to live at least for a little while in the unexpected joy that seeing Georgie had brought to her.
‘That was a wonderfully happy year, wasn’t it?’
‘Absolutely,’ Georgie replied as she reached for Libby’s laptop bag that was slipping from her shoulder. ‘What’s your role on board?’
‘Sir Walter’s nurse. What about you, what brings you on board?’
‘I’m Walter’s chef again for this trip,’ she replied. ‘He’s a lovely man and easy to work for. I’ve done the Caribbean trip a few times for him. I’ve also catered some of his large, exclusive parties in his UK residence. He has a place in Miami, another in San Fran and one in London, and I own a restaurant not far from his London home. He tells me often enough to boost my ego that my restaurant is his favourite in the world. Anyway, he invited me to have a working holiday in the Caribbean, overseeing the galley crew and making some fabulous desserts, and I couldn’t say no.’
‘That’s so exciting and what a compliment. I never knew you wanted to be a chef,’ Libby confessed. ‘I never even knew you cooked.’
‘It’s a long story, but I found my passion in life after I left school. But enough about me. I want to hear all about your life and since your cabin is right next to mine, I’m sure we’ll have lots of time to catch up. I saw your name on the room register half an hour ago. I knew you always wanted to be a nurse so I wondered if it could possibly be you, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up because there’s more than one Elizabeth McDonald in the world.’
‘Yes, it’s not an exotic or exciting name...’
‘And you think Georgina Longbottom sounds like a rock star?’
Both girls laughed.
‘Hey,’ Georgie continued as she took Libby’s laptop bag and put it on her own shoulder. ‘Let’s get you unpacked before the staff meeting.’
‘I think I’ve over-packed.’
Georgie smiled again. ‘I would have to agree with you on that...and from memory that’s not like you. I was always the one with too many bags when we’d take off down the coast for a few days to one of those music festivals. You were always the sensible one with everything packed neatly into a backpack. Quite the minimalist. Clearly things have changed in regard to that.’
‘My friend Bradley made me pack...’
‘Bradley,’ Georgia cut in, looking her friend in the eyes with a cheeky smile and her head tilted. ‘Is he your other half?’
‘No, Bradley’s other half is Tom and he’s super nice. I’ll tell you all about him when we get inside, if I can fit all of this in the cabin.’
‘We’ll manage. The cabin’s quite tiny but we can put the suitcase under the bunk.’
‘Bunk?’
‘Yes, bunk, but you have the cabin to yourself as there aren’t too many staff on board so you have the choice of top or bottom bunk. It’s not a stateroom like the guests have but it’s quite nice in there.’
Libby smiled as she tried to recall the last time she had slept in a bunk. Then it came to her. ‘Like at Big Bear camp?’
‘Maybe a little, but this cabin has a porthole. It moves with the motion of the waves but you’ll get used to it,’ Georgie remarked with a half-grin.
Libby nodded as she retrieved her swipe card from the unlocked cabin door and they
stepped inside. She was definitely older and she prayed wiser but the fact that she was on a luxury yacht so far from home had her doubting her wisdom. Seeing Georgie made her feel a lot better about the situation but it also brought back a time that had been uncomplicated and for the longest moment she wished she was that innocent again. A time when everything was exactly what it seemed. A time when she could trust people’s intentions.
Libby drew a deep breath. ‘I think the next seven days are going to be a lot better with you on board,’ Libby said, feeling a little more relaxed than she had thirty minutes earlier.
‘Have you been on many ships other than this one?’ Libby asked, pushing unwanted thoughts of romance from her mind as she quickly checked out the cabin and found a small bathroom with a toilet, wash basin and shower. It was clean and compact like the rest of the accommodation and with Georgie’s help she was quickly becoming more comfortable in her surroundings. She was gaining control in small ways and it was making her relax just a little.
‘No, just Walter’s. I’m busy running the restaurant so I can’t afford the time to do it for anyone else.’
‘You’re back so I guess you must have enjoyed it.’
Georgie nodded. ‘Yes, I did. It’s stressful at times but so much fun and you end up becoming good friends with the other team members. Or even more sometimes.’
‘Romance at sea. That sounds like a dreadful idea,’ Libby said with a look of disdain. She couldn’t think of anything worse at that moment.
‘It’s happened before and the doctor on this trip is ridiculously handsome—tall, dark and single—but he’s too aloof for me. The crew all say he’s a nice guy but he’s way too mysterious. I’m over that type but maybe you...’
‘Absolutely not. I’m definitely not looking for romance,’ Libby cut in, shaking her head and feeling shivers run over her body. Tall, dark and mysterious was everything in a man she never wanted again.
Reunited with Her Secret Prince Page 3