“Annabelle, wait up!”
He definitely wasn’t going to relent. She stopped and turned, pausing for him to catch up. What did he want now?
He jogged up to her. “Mind if I walk with you?”
“Suit yourself.”
They walked for a few minutes in silence. Surprisingly it was a comfortable silence. Maybe she’d overreacted too. It just hurt when Grayson thought she’d betrayed his trust. When had he come to mean so much to her?
“I wanted to talk to you about that note you found in your mother’s journal. There’s just something about it that’s not quite right.”
That’s what he wanted to talk about? A little smile pulled at her lips. “What doesn’t seem right to you?”
“It’s not any one specific thing. It’s more like a bunch of small things. You said the handwriting wasn’t your mother’s, right?”
Annabelle nodded. “My mother was a perfectionist when it came to penmanship. She would never abide by that mix of upper and lowercases in every word.”
“Do you know of your mother keeping secrets? Or sneaking around?”
“My mother? Never.” And then the memory of that day at the South Shore came back to her. “Then again, there was that strange man that she was arguing with.”
“Maybe your mother was holding the note for someone else. Do you think that’s possible?”
Annabelle shrugged. “At this point, I guess most anything is possible.”
“Then I’m about to tell you something and I don’t want you to freak out.”
“Now you’re worrying me.”
“I just told you to stay calm.”
“You can’t tell someone not to freak out and expect them to remain calm.” She stopped walking. She drew in a deep breath of sea air and blew it out. “Okay. Now tell me.”
His gaze met hers. “I think the note is some sort of cipher.”
“A cipher?”
“Yeah, a code. A secret message.”
“I know what a cipher is. I just don’t know what my mother would be doing with such a thing. Surely you must be wrong.”
“I don’t think I am. Back in college, my buddy and I would write them just to see if we could outsmart each other with some unbreakable code.”
“Seriously? That’s what you did for fun?”
Grayson shrugged. “Sure. Why not? The party scene just wasn’t for me.”
“You’d rather exercise your brain.”
“Something like that.”
“How good were you?”
“Let’s just say the government got wind of what we were up to and wanted to recruit us out of college.”
“I take it you didn’t accept their offer.”
“I didn’t. But my buddy did. He works for one of those three-letter agencies.”
Wow. She’d never met someone so intelligent that they sat around writing coded messages for fun. Who did that? A genius of course. And Grayson was the cutest nerd she’d ever met.
“So what did this message say?” Annabelle asked, more curious than before, if that were possible.
“I didn’t start working on it. I mean, I wanted to, but I wanted to check with you first.”
“Yes, decode it. I need to know what it says.”
Grayson’s brows drew together. “Are you sure? I mean, it could be anything. Something innocent. Or it could be something about your mother that you never wanted to know.”
“You mean like she was having an affair?”
He didn’t say anything, just nodded.
Annabelle didn’t believe it. “I realize there’s a lot about my mother I don’t know, but there is one thing I do know and that is my parents truly loved each other. She wouldn’t have cheated on my father. Whatever is in that note, it’s something else. And it just might be what got her killed.”
“Have you recalled meeting anyone by the name of Cosmo?”
“I’ve thought about it a lot and I have nothing.”
“You mentioned that you have a brother. Could you check with him?”
She pulled out her cell phone and pulled up her brother’s number. Thanks to palace security, they made sure that cell service was available down on the beach.
“What are you doing?” Grayson asked.
“Calling my brother like you asked.” The phone was already ringing. She held up a finger for Grayson to give her a minute.
Her brother’s familiar voice came over the phone. “Hey sis, now isn’t a good time to talk.”
“Is that any way to greet your only sibling?”
He sighed. “Sorry. It’s just that I’m late to meet Elena.”
“Is there something going on with you two?”
“Why do you always insist that something must be going on with me and Elena? Can’t we just be friends?”
“When Elena is gorgeous, not to mention an international runway model, no, you can’t just be friends. Her days as a tomboy are long gone. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed because then I’ll have to take you to the eye doctor.”
“Sis, enough. We’re friends. Nothing more. Besides, you know I don’t do serious relationships.”
“And that’s what Elena wants?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you in Paris?”
“Perhaps. Now, why did you call?”
She went on to ask him about the name on the note but made sure not to mention the cryptic message. Her gut told her to hold her cards close to her chest until she knew more.
Her brother didn’t recall meeting or hearing of anyone with that name. But it spiked his curiosity and she quickly diverted his attention. He might have his issues with their father, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t inform their father of her activities if he thought it was for the best. He was yet another protective male in her life. She was surrounded by them.
As soon as she disconnected the phone, Grayson asked, “So what did he say?”
“He’s never heard the name. So does that help or hinder us?”
“It doesn’t help us. But it shouldn’t hurt us if it truly is a code.”
“Oh, good. At last, my family will have some answers.”
“Don’t go getting your hopes up.” Grayson looked very serious in that moment. “I’ve been known to be wrong. I haven’t started working with it.”
Annabelle stopped walking. “Well, what are you waiting for? The note is back the other way.”
“You mean you want to work on it now?”
“Maybe my father was right. Maybe there is more to my mother’s death than a mugging. Either way, I need to know. I owe my mother that much.”
CHAPTER TEN
EVENING HAD SNUCK UP on them.
It was nothing new for Grayson. There were many days that came and went without much notice by him as he pounded away on his keyboard. He couldn’t help it. He loved what he did for a living. In fact, he thrived on developing software. Watching a program he’d written from scratch come to life was a total rush.
Running a corporation, well, that was something that didn’t exactly excite him. There was a lot more paperwork and decisions that had nothing to do with his computer programs or the functioning of the cafés. And administrative issues seemed to crop up when he was right in the middle of a big breakthrough.
But squirreled away in the palace in this enormous library with just about every edition of the classics on the shelf, he found himself distracted. And it wasn’t the moonlight gleaming through the tall windows. Nor was it the priceless artwork on the walls or the artifacts on display. No, it was the beautiful woman sitting next to him.
Annabelle yawned and stretched.
“Getting tired?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.
”
He didn’t believe her. It was getting late and they should call it a night.
“Okay, so it isn’t all of the capitalized letters,” Annabelle said. “And it’s not any of the other combinations we’ve tried. What else could it be?”
“Let me think.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. He’d run the note through a program he had on his computer and searched for different variables. Nothing came up...at least nothing that made the least bit of sense.
She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Are you sure there’s something here?”
“You sound skeptical.”
“I am.”
“If you want, we can forget I ever said anything.”
She didn’t respond for a moment, as though she were weighing her options. “It won’t hurt to work on it some more.”
“There’s a message here. I know it. Those random capital letters must mean something.”
“I guess I should let you know that I already signed us up for some of the games at the heritage festival tomorrow—”
“You did what?” Grayson frowned at her. “You probably should have checked with me first. I’m not that sports oriented unless it’s on a digital screen.”
“Good.”
That certainly wasn’t the response he was expecting. “Why good?”
“Because then you can’t show me up at the games.”
He shook his head. “You’re something else.”
“I hope that’s good.” She smothered another yawn.
“Let’s just say you keep me guessing.”
Her eyes lit up. “Good. I never want to be accused of being boring. Now what should we try next?”
“We’re obviously spinning our wheels right now. Maybe if we take a break for the night something will come to one of us by morning.”
With Annabelle in agreement, they turned off the lights in the library and closed the door behind them. The palace was quiet at this hour. But then again, Grayson had noticed that for the most part the palace was quite tranquil. He didn’t know if that was due to the large size and the noise not carrying throughout or if it was a request of the king. It was a lot like living inside a library and every time Grayson went to speak, he felt as though he should whisper.
They stopped outside Annabelle’s suite. Grayson really didn’t want the night to end. All afternoon and evening, he’d envisioned running his fingers through her long, silky hair. And showering kisses over her lips, cheeks and down her neck.
“What are you thinking about?” Annabelle sent him a smile as though she could read his mind.
He cleared his throat. “I was just thinking some more about the note.”
She nodded, but her eyes said she didn’t believe him. “Well, you better get some rest. We’re going to be very busy tomorrow.”
“I’d be better off here, working on deciphering the note.”
“And I think you need to get out and experience a bit of Mirraccino. After all, the contract isn’t signed yet. I still need to give you a good impression of our nation.”
His gaze strayed to her lips before returning to her eyes. “I have a very good impression already.”
“Why Grayson, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were flirting with me.” She sent him a teasing smile. “I must be more tired than I thought. Good night.” And with that she went into her room and closed the door.
He stood there for a moment taking stock of what just happened. He’d been soundly turned down. That had never happened to him. In fact, he was normally the one who turned away women.
Annabelle was most certainly different. And it had nothing to do with her noble birthright. It was something deep within her that set her apart from the other women who’d crossed his life.
* * *
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
The next morning, Grayson stood in the middle of the road. He hunched over at the starting line of the chariot race. His hands wrapped around the handles of the wooden cart. Why exactly had he agreed to this? And then he recalled Annabelle’s sunny smile and the twinkle of merriment in her eyes. That had done in all of his common sense.
And now he was the horse and she was the driver. Go figure. What part of not being athletic didn’t Annabelle get? And worst of all, the king was in attendance. Grayson could feel the man’s inquisitive gaze following him.
“What did you say?” Annabelle asked. “I can’t hear you from back here.”
Before he could answer a horn was blown.
“Hold on!” Grayson yelled and then he lifted the front of the wooden chariot and set off.
Annabelle of course got to stand in the rustic chariot. He could hear her back there shouting encouragements. It wasn’t helping. Why did people find getting all hot and sweaty so exhilarating? He jogged each morning, but that was for the health benefits, not because he enjoyed it. His favorite part of running was when it was over. He was more than fine with a tall cold drink and his laptop.
Lucky for him Annabelle didn’t weigh much. He kept his gaze on the finish line. He’d told Annabelle not to get her hopes up for winning. He was definitely not a sprinter, but now that the race was under way, his competitive streak prodded him onward.
He looked to his right. They’d passed that team, leaving only one other team in this heat. He quickly glanced to the left to find two guys. They were slightly ahead.
“Go, Grayson!” Annabelle cheered. In his mind’s eye he could see her smiling. “We can do this!”
She was right, he could catch them. Adrenaline flooded his veins.
He just had to push harder. This wasn’t so bad. In fact, he kind of liked it.
“Grayson, straighten up.”
He glanced forward and realized that he’d listed to the left. Oops. But it wasn’t such an egregious error that it couldn’t be fixed. He just had to stay focused. The further they went, the heavier his load became. His leg muscles burned, but he refused to slow down. Annabelle was counting on him.
His breathing came in huffs. He really needed to take his running more seriously in the future. Who knew when the next chariot race would pop up? He’d laugh, but he was too tired.
He was running out of energy. Still, he kept putting one foot in front of the other. The finish line was just a little farther. Keep going. Just a little farther.
He.
Could.
Do.
It.
When his chest struck the ticker tape, a cheer started deep in his chest and rose up through his throat. He lowered the cart. He drew in quick, deep breaths.
The next thing he knew, Annabelle ran up to him. With a great big smile, she flung her arms around him. “We did it! We did it!”
He wasn’t so sure how much of a “we” effort it was, considering all she’d had to do was hold on, but he wasn’t about to deflate her good mood. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and enjoying the way her soft curves molded to his body.
But then she pulled away—much too soon. She was still smiling as she leaned up on her tiptoes and swayed toward him. She was going to kiss him. That would make this torture he’d gone through totally worth it.
And then something happened that he hadn’t expected; her lips landed on his cheek. His cheek? Really? He deserved so much more than that.
Totally deflated, he struggled to keep the smile on his face as the official made his way over to congratulate them and let them know that they would be racing later that afternoon in the final heat.
Yay! Grayson couldn’t wait. Not. But when he looked back at Annabelle, who was still grinning ear to ear, his mood lifted. How could he complain when it obviously made her so happy? Besides, it meant that he didn’t have to go running later this evening or tomorrow morning. He could deal with th
at.
When they set off to get drinks, Annabelle glanced his way. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“If you say so.” He refused to tell her that she was right. If he did, he worried about what she’d come up with next for them to do.
“And I bet you thought all of these old games would be boring. Sometimes you don’t need technology to have a good time. Doing things the old-fashioned way can be fun too.”
There was something in what she said that struck a chord in his mind. While Annabelle got them some cold water to drink, he thought about what she’d said about not needing technology and doing things the old-fashioned way.
“Here you go.” She held the water out to him.
He readily accepted it. He could feel the icy-cold liquid make its way down his parched throat. It tasted so good that he ended up chugging most of it.
“You know, you’re right,” he said.
“Of course I am.” Then she paused and sent him a puzzled look. “About what exactly?”
“Not needing technology. Sometimes old school works.”
“I’m not following you.”
He lowered his voice, not wanting to be overheard. “The note. I was trying more modern ways of cracking it but I need to try a more old-school method.”
“Oh.” Her eyes lit up. “That’s great.” Then the smile slipped from her face.
“What’s the matter now?”
“You won the race.”
Leave it to Annabelle to confuse him once again. “I thought that was a good thing.”
“It was until you figured out what to do with the note. Now we have to stay for the final heat and the note is back at the palace.”
“Stop fretting. It isn’t going anywhere.” He glanced around. “Why don’t you show me around the village before lunch?”
She hesitantly agreed and set off. He found it interesting that the streets within the village were blocked off to cars and trucks. The cobblestone paths were for two-legged and four-legged passersby only.
Annabelle pointed out historic buildings with their stone-and-mortar walls. Each building was unique, from their materials to the layout, and even the doors were all different shapes. There were no cookie-cutter replicas anywhere.
The Millionaire's Royal Rescue Page 9