by Sarah Morgan
‘She’s doing just fine,’ Tasha said coldly, knowing that Alessandro might well speak to Josh. ‘Now, just say whatever it is you want to say so that I can get on with my life and you can get back into your bulletproof car.’
‘I came to apologise for last night.’
‘And you needed bodyguards for that? Now who’s the coward?’
Alessandro’s mouth flickered at the corners. ‘Walk with me.’
She lifted an eyebrow. ‘Is that an order?’
‘No, it’s a request.’
Tasha hesitated and then shrugged. ‘All right. If you’re finally going to apologise, this I have to hear.’ She put her board down on the path, horribly conscious of his powerful shoulders in the perfectly tailored suit. Dressed formally he looked remote and intimidating, nothing like the man she’d shared midnight picnics with after hot sex. ‘Make it quick. Megan is expecting me back.’
‘Why didn’t you go back to my house?’
Tasha gave an incredulous laugh. ‘Er—isn’t it obvious? Excuse me, but this is a waste of time.’ She turned away but he grabbed her wrist and dragged her close to him.
‘I didn’t take you to the wedding to make a point.’ His voice was lethally soft. ‘I took you because I wanted you with me. And because I wanted to see whether you enjoyed yourself at something like that. You’re not like most of the women who attend that sort of thing.’
‘Thanks for the reminder.’ She felt his fingers hard on her wrist and tried to tug herself free. ‘I studied for seven years in medical school and I’m still studying—but nowhere in my research have I ever found a benefit for memorising dress designers. I couldn’t care less who made my stupid dress. So you were probably right to dump me.’
‘I didn’t dump you. You dumped me.’
‘You made sure I dumped you.’
‘No.’ He hauled her against him. ‘That’s my life, Tasha. That’s what I do. I go to weddings, I attend fundraising events, I open hospitals, I go on state visits.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because if our relationship is going to work, you need to know what you’re getting into.’ He drew in a breath. ‘I did take you to that wedding to make a point, but it wasn’t the point you obviously thought I was making. It was nothing to do with Miranda or anyone else. It was to do with you and me. I wanted to show you my life. This last six weeks—it hasn’t been real, Tasha. Yes, we spent time together, and it was special. But we were cocooned in our own little world. I wanted to know if you’d still want to be with me in the other world I inhabit.’
All the air had gone from her lungs. She felt as though she was the one with the broken ribs. ‘You—’
‘I’m sorry if you felt humiliated.’ He took her face in his hands, his eyes holding hers. ‘That was never my intention. I know you’re not interested in the whole designer-dress thing, that’s one of the reasons I love you. But a huge part of my life is attending events. I needed to know that you wouldn’t hate the life.’
Tasha felt dizzy. ‘Whoa …’ Her voice cracked. ‘Rewind. Somewhere back there you said something I didn’t quite catch.’
A smile touched his mouth. ‘I said I love you. I’ve never said that to a woman before. Ever. Frankly, I never thought I would. But spending that time with you showed me I was wrong. I love you.’
The words had the effect of a drug. Tasha’s head spun. She felt decidedly strange. ‘If you … love me, why didn’t you say something sooner?’
‘Because love isn’t enough. It isn’t that simple. Not for me.’ He pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. ‘I’m very aware that when you marry me, you’ll have to take on all of it. Not just me, but the whole royal role. It’s a lot to ask of anyone.’
‘When I …?’ Tasha blinked. ‘Excuse me, but could you stop saying these completely shocking things with no warning? There’s absolutely no way on this planet I’d marry you.’
His eyes held hers. ‘Why not?’
‘Well, because you’re …’ Flustered, she waved a hand vaguely. ‘And I’m …’ She pressed her fingers to her forehead. ‘Just—give me a minute here. Yesterday your mother was looking at me as if I were a virus. Now you’re suggesting marriage?’
‘It may surprise you to learn that my mother is your biggest supporter.’
‘You’re right. It would surprise me. She turned me to ice with a single glance.’
‘Yes, she’s good at that. It’s her way of keeping people at a distance. But you impressed her, Tash. You were tough. You stood your ground. And she likes the fact that you have your own career.’ He gave a short laugh. ‘And the fact that you have no idea who designed your dress.’
‘Precisely. I have my own career.’ Her heart was hammering. She didn’t know whether she was feeling terror or excitement. ‘I’m not giving that up for anyone.’
‘I’m not asking you to. I wouldn’t want you to. You’re a very talented doctor. I’ve seen that in the time we’ve spent at the hospital. I’ve heard the way people talk about you. But we have hospitals in San Savarre. In the capital we have a brand-new hospital with state-of-the-art equipment. And consultants who are interested in being progressive.’ He paused, a wicked gleam in his eye. ‘We also have beaches. Incredible surfing. Endless sunshine.’
Seduced by the picture he painted, Tasha glared at him. ‘That’s not playing fair.’
‘I don’t want to play fair. I want you.’
Her breath lodged in her throat. ‘Well, that’s a shame because I hate you.’
‘No, you don’t. If you hated me you wouldn’t have moved in and helped me. You wouldn’t have stormed off last night. You stormed off because you love me and I hurt you. I upset you.’ He drew breath. ‘And I’m sorry. I should have come clean with you.’
‘Yes, yes you should.’ Tasha faltered. ‘So—so you were seeing if I behaved myself at the wedding? You were thinking, Does she use the right knife and fork?’
‘No. I was thinking, Could we do this together? Could we have this life?’
‘I overheard some girls talking—’
He nodded. ‘I thought you might have done. It happens, Tash. When you’re a public figure everyone assumes they know everything there is to know about your private life. They think they know you. But they don’t. But now I understand why you were so angry.’
‘Sometimes I overreact,’ Tasha muttered, her face pink. ‘Just a little. When it’s something I care passionately about.’
‘That’s all right with me. I’m happy to be someone you care passionately about.’ He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box. ‘I would have followed you yesterday, but I needed to discuss it with my parents.’
‘Discuss what?’
‘The fact that I was going to ask you to marry me.’ Sure and confident, Alessandro flipped open the box and extracted a glittering diamond ring. ‘I can’t go down on one knee because with this damn ankle I don’t think I’d ever be able to get up again.’
Staring at the ring, Tasha lost the ability to breathe. ‘Sandro—’
Without pausing, he took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. ‘I want you to marry me. I want you to be my wife and I want to live our lives together.’
‘But—’
‘For God’s sake, Tash, just say yes, will you? For once in your life could you not argue with me?’ He took her hands in his and his fingers were cool and strong. ‘Princess Tasha. Josh told me you wrote that a few times on your textbooks.’
‘That’s two reasons I have to kill him when I next see him.’
‘Don’t do that. He’s going to be my brother-in-law.’ Alessandro drew her against him. ‘I never thought I’d want to get married. I never thought I’d find a woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And then I found you. Being with you feels … right. It always did, even when you were seventeen.’
Melting inside, Tasha lifted her face to his. ‘Don’t ever mess me around. If you step out of line, I’ll hurt you.’<
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‘But at least you’ll be able to put me together again afterwards,’ Alessandro drawled, smiling as he lowered his mouth to hers. ‘I’ll take my chances with you. I’ve always enjoyed dangerous sports.’
‘Wait a minute.’ She put her fingers against his mouth, delaying the kiss. ‘You haven’t told me about Miranda. She’s the one everyone was talking about. Call me insecure, but I want to know about her.’
He hesitated and then pulled back slightly, his expression serious. ‘Miranda was my brother’s fiancée, as you know. We were good friends. I hated the way my brother treated her and for a while …’ he shrugged ‘… other people thought it would be neat if we got together. And maybe she thought it, too. But it was never going to happen. She’s always been like a sister to me, but I felt as though I owed her something. But I also knew that to go into a marriage without love was the wrong thing to do. You helped me see that.’
‘Me?’
‘It was the way I feel about you that made up my mind. So the other night I had a long chat with her. It was the most honest talk we’ve ever had. I told her about you and how I felt.’
‘And now she wants to kill me.’
‘She wants to meet you.’ Smiling, he lowered his forehead to hers. ‘You’re going to like each other. She didn’t really want to marry me any more than I wanted to marry her. We just gave each other support after Antonio died.’
‘I yelled at your mother about that.’
‘I know.’ He gave a low laugh. ‘Thanks to you, she and I also had the most honest conversation we’ve ever had. It cleared the air.’
‘So I’m not going to be arrested for treason or whatever and thrown in your dungeons?’
‘I might throw you in the dungeons if you don’t give me an answer soon.’
Tasha placed her hand against his face and looked at him for a long time. What she saw in his eyes brought tears to her own and happiness burst free inside her. ‘Yes,’ she muttered. ‘I’ll marry you. Just don’t expect me to call you Your Highness.’
His mouth came down on hers and they kissed until her heart was hammering and her brain was blurred.
Finally Alessandro lifted his head. ‘Let’s go somewhere more discreet before our most private moment is captured on film by some photographer with a long lens.’
‘Wait …’ Tasha hesitated, torn between what he was offering and loyalty to her friend. ‘I honestly don’t think I can leave right now. Megan is in a mess—she’s thinking of going to Australia. Making a new life away from Josh and Rebecca.’
‘She doesn’t have to go that far to make a new life. We need paediatricians in San Savarre. She could rent out the cottage here and make a new life for herself in the Mediterranean.’
Tasha stared at him, touched by his generosity. ‘But Josh is your friend. And my brother. Will it be awkward?’
‘Josh loves Megan,’ Alessandro said quietly. ‘He’s crushed with guilt. I think right now he’d support any idea that would stand a chance of making her happy. Why don’t you invite her? It would be nice for you to have a friend there. She can have an apartment in the palace. I’m not saying it will be easy for her, but at least she won’t have to worry about the basics.’
Smiling, Tasha held out her hand. ‘I love you, Your Highness, have I told you that?’
‘No, but from now on I expect you to do so on an hourly basis.’ He lowered his mouth to hers. ‘And that’s a royal command.’
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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First published in Great Britain 2011
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Sarah Morgan 2011
ISBN: 978-1-408-92475-4
Table of Contents
Cover
Excerpt
About the Author
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Copyright