‘Alex!’ Colour flooded into her cheeks.
He was leaning in the doorway, his hands folded across his chest, with a cheeky smile on his face. She hadn’t even heard his footsteps.
‘What are you doing here?’
His smile just seemed to get broader. ‘Looks like I’m helping a damsel in distress.’ He stepped into the room and twirled his finger. ‘Go on—spin around and I’ll fasten it for you.’
It was amazing how quickly his presence could cause a buzz in the air around her. She sucked in a breath as she turned around.
Fastening a zip should take the briefest of seconds. But Alex waited. She could feel the material of her dress shifting slightly. The zipper must be in his hand. Then he stepped forward, closing the gap between them.
His head was at her shoulder. She could smell his aftershave—it was coiling its way around her. Who was the snake in that childhood film? Kaa, in The Jungle Book—with the hypnotic eyes that could make you do anything that he wanted. She was pretty sure Alex’s eyes would have the same effect on her.
‘I’m sorry I snapped at you,’ he said quietly. ‘I thought something was wrong with Annabelle.’
‘Okay...’ That was all she replied. Her breath was still caught somewhere between her chest and her throat. It was all she was capable of saying right now.
There was a drumming noise in her ears. Her heart was thudding against her chest as she waited to see what would happen next.
‘I thought today we could go back to the café with Annabelle—like you asked me to.’
She smiled. Did that mean her mistake was being forgotten, or was this part of his apology? He still hadn’t moved. He still hadn’t fastened her zipper.
She nodded. Not breathing was getting difficult. ‘Okay.’
‘Do you like the dresses?’
She could feel his breath warm the skin on her shoulder.
‘I love them—but I don’t need them. Rufus didn’t need to do that.’
‘He didn’t do it.’
She froze. One of his hands moved and rested on her hip.
This was all becoming remarkably familiar. Richard Gere was going to appear any second now. Didn’t he buy Vivian a new wardrobe in Pretty Woman?
Her profession might not compare with Vivian’s, but the thought of Alex purchasing a whole wardrobe for her was both mildly disturbing and somehow exciting. She didn’t know whether to be insulted or overjoyed.
‘I don’t think I like this, Alex. You can’t buy me. You can’t dress me up as if I’m your little doll.’ She could feel her stomach tighten.
But Alex just shook his head. ‘I’m not buying you, Ruby. I don’t care whether you wear the clothes or not.’ He waved his hand. ‘If you don’t like them give them away—give them to charity. It makes no difference to me.’
He stepped a little closer.
‘I guess I’m just not good at this. I’m trying to say sorry. Sorry about how I reacted over Annabelle. For a second I thought she was gone. I thought someone had kidnapped my daughter—I overreacted. And...’ He waved his hands again. ‘This is how I say sorry. Doesn’t every woman like clothes?’
The tightness in her chest dissipated. It was clear he meant every word.
‘What are you going to do if it happens again?’
He smiled. ‘Silent alarms. Everywhere. If Annabelle opens her door in the middle of the night alarms will go off in my room, Brigette’s room and in Security.’ He looked over his shoulder and whispered. ‘And, don’t tell her, but we’ve actually had tracking devices sewn into all her pyjamas.’
She laughed. He was sorry, and he’d put steps in place to ensure Annabelle’s safety. Of course he had. She hadn’t doubted that for a second, but it made her mood lighten.
He nudged her, and pointed to the dresses as he slid a hand around her waist.
‘Which is your favourite?’
He was so close. His lips were almost touching her ear. If she just moved her head a little...
‘The blue one.’
‘Why?’
‘I like the colour.’ The rush of blood was heating her cheeks. Her answer had been automatic.
She was conscious of the lightness of his fingers on her hip. Would he make the connection between the colour of the dress and the colour of his eyes? No. Guys didn’t do that kind of thing.
This time his lips did brush against her ear. ‘I like the red one. It reminds me of you in Paris. The same colour as your coat.’
A whole host of tiny centipedes were marching along her arms with their hundreds of legs, making every single hair stand on end.
His finger touched the skin of her back. She gasped. It wasn’t cold—it was just unexpected. A thousand butterfly wings had just exploded on her back, and all the little nerve-endings were waiting for the next sensation.
He bent a little lower and whispered in her ear again. This time it felt as if his breath was caressing her skin.
‘Ten years is a long time, Ruby.’
He pulled the zipper up with his finger inside, then ran it along the upper end of her spine, resting his fingers at the base of her neck.
Her legs were turning to jelly. It was ridiculous. It was nothing. But she felt as if she’d waited ten years for that.
Ten years of dreaming. Ten years of imagining. Ten years of hoping.
She stepped backwards. Against him. Into him. Feeling the full length of his body next to hers. Her eyes were fixed outside, on the gardens. If she turned around and looked at those blue eyes she might do something much more inappropriate than fall asleep next to his daughter.
She rested her head back against his chest. ‘Yes, it is.’
Her voice was tinged with sadness.
They both stood there—neither moving. It was almost as if they were happy for this to be the first tiny step. The first real acknowledgment that their time ten years ago hadn’t just been a figment of her imagination that she’d played over and over in her head.
She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back. The heat from his body through the thin fabric of her dress. It felt natural. It felt as if this was exactly the place she was supposed to stand. As if this was exactly the place she was meant to be.
His hand moved slightly from her hip around to her stomach. His other hand met hers and he threaded their fingers together in front of her.
This might be wrong.
It might be inappropriate.
But why did it feel so good?
‘Your Highness?’
The voice came echoing down the hall and they sprang apart. Alex disappeared out of her door in flash to meet Rufus, who was muttering again.
Ruby’s feet were stuck to the floor.
Had that really just happened?
Her body was telling her yes. Every sense seemed to be on fire.
But her brain was turning to mush. Sensible, rational thoughts seemed to have flown from the building.
Ruby was logical. Ruby was always sensible.
The one time in her life she hadn’t been entirely sensible had been ten years ago in Paris. Ten years ago she’d acted on impulse. And look where that had got her.
But ten years ago she’d felt the same tiny flicker of warmth and excitement that was burning inside her right now.
This was the first time she hadn’t felt like the hired help.
This was the first time she’d felt as if she wasn’t here just for Annabelle.
Question was: what was she getting herself into?
CHAPTER SIX
ALEX’S HANDS WERE still shaking. That had been it. The situation that—in his head—he’d dreamed about being in.
Him and Ruby alone.
Getting private time in the palace was harder than it s
eemed.
Ruby’s questions a few days ago had started to play on his mind. How much time did he actually get to spend with Annabelle?
He tried to be there most mornings when she had breakfast. He always tried to see her before bedtime. But in a world where visits to other countries were inevitable and midnight conference calls were normal it wasn’t always possible.
Annabelle was the spitting image of her mother. He’d already been friends with Sophia at her age. And, although he loved his daughter with all his heart, sometimes she was a painful reminder of the friend he had lost.
Perhaps he’d overreacted when the nanny had mentioned Annabelle’s speech seemed a little behind?
Alex had no experience with children. And the internet seemed like a dangerous tool sometimes. He’d paid for expert upon expert to assess her—all the while terrified that there was something wrong with his child.
When Ruby had said that as part of the assessment she wanted to see how Annabelle and Alex interacted with each other he’d felt a wave of panic. Was it a criticism? She hadn’t made it sound like that. Maybe he was just feeling under pressure.
He’d planned carefully. He’d had someone pack a picnic to take to the palace grounds, then they would walk into the centre and have some ice cream—just as Ruby had suggested.
Then he gone to find Ruby and she’d been surrounded by the dresses he’d ordered and been half dressed.
Maybe not strictly true. But that glimpse of the skin on her back had been enough to send his blood pressure rising. When he’d offered to zip her up it had taken all his strength not to pull the zip down.
Alex was always in control. That night in Paris years ago had been the first time he’d shaken off his security team in years. Bumping into Ruby had made the whole night perfect. Having her in the palace again was bringing a whole host of sensations he hadn’t acknowledged in years.
Rufus had mumbled in his ear all the way along the corridor. The look of surprise on his face to see Alex exiting Ruby’s bedroom had spoken volumes without a single word being said.
Neither of them had acknowledged it. Alex had immediately started talking business and given Rufus a list of instructions for the rest of the afternoon.
Annabelle and her nanny were waiting at the main entrance for him. After a few minutes Ruby came down the main staircase carrying a bright pink ball in her arms. Her face was slightly flushed. A sure sign they’d been doing something they shouldn’t.
Brigette gave a nod and left while Alex offered his hand to Annabelle and put the picnic basket over his arm.
‘A picnic? You never said we were having a picnic,’ said Ruby.
‘Didn’t I?’
He glanced at the ball, then at her feet. She was wearing a pair of white trainers with a yellow dress. It brought a smile to his face. Ruby didn’t really worry about who might take her picture and claim she’d made a fashion faux pas.
‘I didn’t take you as a footballer.’
Ruby pulled at the skirt of her dress and smiled. ‘I have lots of hidden talents. But maybe I should have worn something different—trousers, perhaps?’
He shook his head. ‘I think your dress will be perfect. Now, let’s go.’
There was a further little flush of colour in her cheeks. Both of them were remembering exactly why he liked the fact she was wearing a dress.
But Ruby wasn’t giving anything away. She bent down in front of Annabelle. ‘A picnic—wow. It’s been years since I’ve been on a picnic. Why don’t you take us to your favourite place in the palace grounds and we’ll eat there?’
She gave Alex a little smile and walked out through the door, waiting for them to join her.
He could sense the general unease in the air. There were a few members of staff staring at them. Was it really so unusual that he spent time with his child—or had word spread even more quickly than he’d thought that he’d been seen leaving Ruby’s bedroom?
He gave Annabelle’s hand a squeeze and they walked out into the beautiful sunshine. Ruby’s idea was good. He’d been trying to decide between going near where the horses were stabled, to the ornamental gardens, the duck pond or the palace maze. But Annabelle had other ideas. She was leading them around the side of the palace, her little footsteps assured.
It only took a few minutes, then she plunked herself down on the grass directly behind the ornamental fountain.
Alex blinked. This was the place where he’d had that picture taken with Sophia. They’d both been about Annabelle’s page and the photo had been zoomed around the world with the press headline ‘Future King and Queen?’
Had Annabelle ever seen that picture? He wasn’t sure, but he could tell from a fleeting glance at Ruby’s face that she certainly had.
Whatever her thoughts on the matter, she sat down next to Annabelle on the grass, not even waiting for him to lay out the picnic blanket he’d brought along.
The little girl started to fumble with her shoes. Ruby gave her a smile and knelt down next to her, taking off her white leather sandals and frilly socks.
She held out her hand to Annabelle and the two of them walked over to the fountain. Annabelle hadn’t said a word and he was confused. How did Ruby know what she wanted?
He moved closer as Annabelle stood up on the wall surrounding the fountain and dipped her toes in the water. She let out a little laugh and he took a deep breath.
His little girl’s laughter. How beautiful it was—and how rarely he’d heard it.
Annabelle was walking around the fountain now, holding Ruby’s hand to keep her balance. She had the biggest smile on her face.
He walked in pace with Ruby. ‘How did you know that’s what she wanted to do?’
He couldn’t take his eyes off his little girl. Couldn’t believe how much she looked like her mother. It alarmed him how much he noticed.
Ruby shrugged. ‘It’s exactly what I would do if I were Annabelle’s age.’
They reached the point where they’d started and Ruby put her arms around Annabelle’s waist and swung her in the air.
‘Whee!’
Annabelle laughed again as Ruby swooped her through the air and landed her on the blanket that he’d spread out. She picked up a corner of the blanket and started drying Annabelle’s toes.
Alex opened the basket and started unpacking the food. The palace chef had outdone himself, as usual, but the most curious thing was a small tub full of steamed-up food.
Annabelle gave a little shriek of excitement and grabbed it, pulling open the lid and searching for a spoon.
Ruby wrinkled her nose and leaned closer. ‘Macaroni cheese? Is this one of Annabelle’s favourites?’
Alex nodded. ‘Apparently.’ He peered in the basket. ‘I’m not quite sure how it managed to find its way into the picnic basket, though.’
Ruby grabbed an apple, bit into it, then leaned back on her hands, staring up at the palace. ‘I can’t say I’ve ever had a picnic in front of a palace before.’
He stared up at the hundreds of windows. There might be a whole host of palace staff looking down on them at any moment. It might look like a private picnic, with no one visibly around them, but the truth was it was anything but.
He pulled a bottle of water out of the basket and popped the tab for Annabelle. ‘Would you like to go and see the horses? Or the maze?’
She shook her head and continued to eat the macaroni. He reached into the basket for some more food, and squinted when his hand came into contact with something strange. A leg. A plastic doll’s leg. And another doll. And another.
He pulled them out. One was in a princess dress, one in a swimsuit and one in a semi-naked state with her arms partway into a spacesuit.
He winked at Ruby. ‘Ruby, I see you brought your dolls to play with.’
She laugh
ed and grabbed the blonde astronaut, pushing her arms and legs into the silver and white suit and fastening it appropriately. ‘Of course I did, Alex. I like playing with dolls.’
Annabelle’s head shot up and she gave a little smile, abandoning the macaroni and walking over to the dolls. Her comprehension was perfect. She understood everything that was going on around her. So why didn’t she talk?
Ruby held up the princess doll and the swimsuit doll. ‘Which one do you like best? The pink one or the purple one?’
He wondered what she was doing. Annabelle screwed up her face and shook her head. There were no pink or purple clothes.
Ruby just smiled, as if this was something she did every day—which she did. She held each doll higher. ‘Oh, I see. Silly me. Blue or red, then?’
Annabelle came over and picked the doll wearing the pale blue dress and pointed towards her own.
Ruby nodded. ‘You like blue, then?’
She gave Alex a secret smile. Every little thing she did was part of Annabelle’s assessment. Every other person who had come to see her had been much more rigid in their processes, wanting Annabelle to do certain things at certain times. Being three was difficult enough. But Alex had been made to feel as if Annabelle was being difficult or uncooperative. She didn’t seem that way with Ruby.
Annabelle took her dolls and walked over to the ornamental fountain with all three.
‘I think they’re all about to go for a swim—costumes or not,’ murmured Ruby.
She seemed perfectly relaxed out here. She picked up a ham sandwich and started to eat. He reached in and pulled out his favourite. Tuna. Hardly royal. Probably not the thing that most Prince Regents would eat. But this had been Alex’s favourite since he was a child.
The tension between them wasn’t as high as it had been in the room when they were alone. But then again, they hadn’t been on display there. He kept wondering if there were any unseen eyes watching what should be a private affair.
‘She knows her colours. For a three-year-old that’s good.’ Ruby was watching Annabelle again.
‘You can tell just from that?’
She shook her head. ‘Oh, no. I’ve done a few other exercises as well.’ She leaned forward and pulled her knees up, wrapping her dress around them. ‘Listen...’ she whispered.
The Prince She Never Forgot (Harlequin Romance) Page 8