Walking through Portolina, Grayson felt as though he’d stepped back in time—at least a couple of centuries. He enjoyed visiting, but he definitely wouldn’t want to stay. He had a soft spot for all things technological starting with his computer and microwave.
The villagers were super friendly. Many of them made a point of greeting Annabelle. They didn’t treat him as an outsider but rather drew him into the conversation. He’d never visited such a friendly place.
The cobblestone path wound its way through the village, past the tailor, baker and schoolhouse. Whatever you needed, it was within walking distance. It was such a simple way of life. The exact opposite of his high-tech, state-of-the-art existence.
But not all of Mirraccino was locked in the past. This island nation had the best of both worlds. It tempted him to consider purchasing a vacation home here.
He glanced over at Annabelle. She was all the incentive he needed to spend more time here.
He halted his thoughts, startled that he was beginning to feel something for Annabelle. But that couldn’t be. He wouldn’t allow himself to get emotionally invested.
If he were smart, he’d catch the next plane to Rome. But he’d already obligated himself to decipher the note and there was the pending proposal for the café. He was stuck.
He’d just have to proceed carefully and not risk his scarred heart.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SHE HAD TO HURRY.
That evening, Annabelle rushed out of the kitchen. She paused in front of an ornate mirror in the hallway to run a hand over her hair. She considered going back to her room to touch up her makeup, but she didn’t want to waste any more time. She was already ten minutes late to meet Grayson.
The day had rushed past her in a heartbeat. In between the chariot races, the tour of the village and the quaint shops, they’d sampled many of the local culinary treats. Truth be told, she’d had a fantastic day. She’d had more fun with Grayson than she’d had in a long time. She hadn’t realized until then how much she’d let her work take over her life. And that had to stop.
She promised herself that once she finished the South Shore Project she would start living her life and having some fun. If she’d learned anything from her mother, it was that life was too short not to enjoy it. And she enjoyed it a lot more with Grayson in it. He’d been such a good sport that day with the chariot races. And she had a surprise for him tomorrow at the festival.
But now it was time to puzzle over that note again. It wasn’t like she could make anything of it. She honestly didn’t think there was anything to it. However, she didn’t mind spending more time with Grayson while he worked on it.
Annabelle rushed into the library to find Grayson already there. “Sorry I’m late. Things took longer than I’d planned.”
He glanced up from where he was sitting on the couch. “No problem. I haven’t been here that long. I had a lot of emails to answer and a couple of phone calls to return.”
“Sounds like you were busy. I hope there aren’t any problems with your business.”
“No. Nothing serious. Just the usual things that need answering or approval. If it isn’t one thing, then it’s something else. I also did some thinking about that note. Do you think Cosmo is some sort of nickname that your mother had?” Grayson asked. “Maybe something from her childhood?”
“Not that I know of. Does this mean you think the note was written to her?”
“It’s just a thought.”
She stood behind him as he sat on the couch. She leaned over his shoulder, getting a better look at the note. “But if this note was written to her, I’m confused. So she gave someone tea who must have known her when she was a child? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Which is why I think it’s a cipher.”
She picked up the note and stared at it, wishing something would pop out at her. “In the beginning I thought the chance of this note being some sort of cipher was a bit far-fetched.”
“And now?”
“I’m still skeptical but the mix of random upper and lowercase letters is odd. And then there’s the strange wording. I mean, do people really say that tea is their gold. Isn’t that a bit of overkill?”
“What do you think?”
She moved around the couch and sat down. “Maybe Cosmo is some sort of code name.”
Grayson smiled. “Have you been watching a lot of 007 movies?”
She shrugged, not really in a jovial mood. Maybe it was just exhaustion settling in. Or maybe it was her rising frustration. “I just want to know the truth. I want to know if there’s more to my mother’s death than anyone has acknowledged. Maybe unraveling what exactly happened to her and who killed her will help my father. I don’t think he’s ever really recovered from the event. He’s always worried about me and my brother.”
“And you think that if you can figure out what happened then your family can have a normal life?”
“Maybe not normal precisely. I’m not even sure what that is anymore, but something less stressful than what we have now. My father is always worried, checking in every evening. And my brother, well, he says that he’s fine, but he’s never home. He’s always on a new adventure. Last I heard he was in Paris, visiting an old friend of ours. It seems like my family is never in the same place at the same time.”
Grayson reached out and took her hand in his. “I’m sorry. I hope you’re able to change things. I know what it is to live without any family around. It can get pretty lonely, especially around the holidays.”
“Why don’t you try talking to your family?”
He shook his head. “That chapter of my life is over.”
“A lot of time has passed since you’ve spoken to them—tempers have cooled, expectations have adjusted and regrets have set in.” She didn’t want him to pass up a chance to reconnect with his parents. If she could have one more day with her mother it would mean the world to her. “When was the last time you spoke with them?”
He cleared his throat. “When I got a scholarship to college. I was sixteen.”
“Sixteen. Wow. How did you make it on your own?”
“I worked. Hard. I took every job I could find. I ate a lot of ramen noodles and cans of tuna.”
“Surely they miss you.”
He shook his head. “They made their feelings bluntly obvious.”
“A lot of time has passed. Maybe you could try again.”
“Annabelle.” There was a definite warning tone to his voice.
She understood this was a sensitive subject for him, just as her mother’s murder was sensitive for her. If she could pay him back for all of his assistance by helping to find a bridge back to his family, she had to try.
“I’m sure they regret the way things ended.”
“Stop.” Grayson’s body grew visibly stiff. “Now, do you want to go over this note or not?”
Perhaps she shouldn’t have pushed the subject of his family so much. “I only meant to help.”
“I know.” He turned his attention back to the note and then began typing on his computer.
She glanced at the monitor. “Your idea of this being old-school coding, what did you mean?”
“I think this note could simply be a case of letter replacement or taking every other letter or so.”
“What can I do to help?”
He explained his plan to unravel the note. It sounded simple enough. She just wondered if it’d work.
Annabelle made a stack of photocopies, even though Grayson offered to write a computer program to sort out the correct letters. She said they could do it just as quickly by hand. And she wanted to be able to contribute. So with copies of the note and highlighters, they started going through the note, highlighting every capital letter without success. Then they tried every other letter
, every third letter and so on.
“This isn’t working,” Annabelle said in exasperation.
“I agree.” Grayson studied the note for a bit. “Maybe we’re jumping ahead.”
“What do you mean?”
He continued staring at the copy of the note. “Perhaps the note is telling us something.”
Knock. Knock.
Who could that be? Annabelle sent Grayson a worried look. No one in the palace knew what they were up to and that’s the way she wanted it to remain. She quickly turned all of the pages over.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Mr. Drago stepped into the room. Annabelle had known him all of her life. He was a quiet man, who never gave any outward signs of what he was thinking. Annabelle had always felt like they were strangers.
“Excuse me, ma’am. The king would like to know if you are done in his office.”
“Yes, I am.” Did her voice really sound off? Or was she just being a bit paranoid. “Please thank my uncle for me.”
“Yes, ma’am. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Thank you, but I think Grayson and I are good.”
“Very well.” He looked at her like he wanted to say something else, but then he quietly backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, she breathed easier and unclenched her hands. “Do you think he suspects something? Or worse, do you think my uncle is suspicious?”
“Why? Because he asked if you needed anything?”
She nodded. Her mind raced with potential scenarios, none of them good.
“The only reason anyone would be suspicious is because you look like you’re ready to jump out of your skin. Relax,” Grayson said. “I’m serious. You look like you just stole the crown jewels.”
“Not me.” She sat down on the couch next to him. “I’d crack under the stress.”
“I don’t know about that. You seem to be doing fine with our secret investigation.”
“But that’s different. If this note proves to have something to do with my mother’s death, what we’re doing is about uncovering the truth about my past—a chance for my family to heal. I’m not out to hurt anyone. Unless you consider the killer being exposed and punished.”
“And for any of that to happen, we need to decode this note.” Grayson paused and gave her a serious look. “Are you going to be okay if this turns out to have absolutely nothing to do with your mother’s death?”
“I honestly have no expectations. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I’m starting to believe you. But whether the coded message has something to do with my mother’s death is questionable. And we won’t know unless we get back to work.”
“It’s getting late. Maybe we should pick this up in the morning.”
“About that...we can’t.” This time she avoided his gaze.
“And why would that be?”
“Because we have plans.”
“Oh, no. Not another chariot race. I refuse. I ache in places that I don’t think are supposed to hurt. You’ll have to find yourself another horse.”
Annabelle failed to suppress a laugh. “I promise it’s nothing like that.”
“Good. Then what plans would these be?”
“I promise no physical effort will be required, but I’m going to make you wait until tomorrow to find out the details.”
“Oh, no. I don’t think so.” His determined gaze met and held hers. “You have to tell me or else.”
She couldn’t stop smiling. “Or else what?”
He reached out and started tickling her. His long fingers were gentle, but they seemed to gravitate to all of her ticklish spots. Laughter peeled from her lips as she slid down on the couch. She tried shoving him away, but he was too strong for her.
And then suddenly she realized that he was practically on top of her. He smelled spicy and manly. And her hands were still gripping his shoulders that were rock hard with muscles.
Their gazes met and her heart leapt into her throat. Did he have any idea what he did to her body? Or how much she wanted to pick up kissing him where they’d left off before?
He stopped tickling her, as though he were reading her thoughts. Was it that obvious on her face how much she desired him? And in that moment, she wanted him touching her again, not tickling her, but caressing her. And she wanted his mouth pressed to hers.
Not about to let the moment slip away, she reached up and pulled his head down to hers. She claimed his lips with all the heat and passion that she’d kept locked up inside her. His lips moved over hers with a gentleness that surprised her. His approach was much smoother than her inexperienced clumsiness.
She slowed to his gentle, enticing pace. She found the slow kiss allowed her to enjoy the way he evoked the most delicious sensations within her. She could kiss him all night long. A moan swelled in the back of her throat and grew in intensity.
The note and its meaning slipped to the back of her mind. All that mattered right now was the man hovering over her. She’d never felt like this for a man before...ever. He was sweeter than the finest chocolate cake. And he was more addictive than her caramel coffee lattes.
She had no idea how much time had passed, nor did she care, when a cell phone buzzed. Annabelle knew nothing could be as important as this moment. And apparently Grayson agreed as he continued to kiss her. But the phone kept on buzzing.
Grayson pulled back. The phone stopped ringing. Too little, too late.
He ran a hand over his mouth as though realizing the gravity of what had just happened between them. It wasn’t just a passing fancy. There was something serious growing here. Annabelle wasn’t anxious to examine it too closely. Everything would be better if they just kept it light and simple.
The phone began to buzz again. Grayson frowned. “I better get this.”
Annabelle sat up and straightened her clothes. “Go ahead.”
It was funny how things went from very heated to suddenly awkward in a matter of seconds. What in the world had come over her? She remembered their sweet moment of abandon. It had been so good. And so not what they should have been doing together. After all, she still had a deal to sign with Grayson. The last thing she needed to do was complicate matters even more than they were already.
Still... She sighed, recalling the way his lips felt against hers. Heat swirled in her chest and rushed up her neck. She resisted the urge to fan herself.
Annabelle lifted a sheet of paper with a copy of the note. This was what she should be concentrating on, not Grayson and his tantalizing lips.
“Sorry about that,” Grayson said, turning back to her. “It was business.”
“Um, no problem.” She pretended to be concentrating on the note, but she was having a severe problem focusing. “I was just thinking some more about this note.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” He swiped the paper out of her hand and set it on the coffee table.
“Hey, what did you do that for?”
“Because we weren’t finished yet.”
Again, heat flooded her cheeks. “Grayson, I don’t think—”
“Hey, you owe me an answer and I’m not letting you get out of it.”
An answer? He wasn’t talking about picking up where they’d left off with the kiss? Oops. She averted her gaze, not wanting him to read her thoughts.
“Well?” he prompted.
She glanced at him, surprised to find merriment twinkling in his eyes. So, he didn’t regret what just happened between them, but had she read too much into it? That must be it. She needed to lighten up.
Her thoughts were cut off when Grayson’s fingers began tickling her sides again. Why did she have to be so ticklish? How embarrassing.
Laughter filled the air and her thoughts scattered. What was it about
this man that made her forget her responsibilities and just want to have fun with him?
Having problems catching her breath between the laughter, she finally gasped, “Okay.”
He paused and arched a brow. “Okay, what?”
“Okay, you win.” She drew in one deep breath after the other, so relieved that the tickling had subsided. “I’ll tell you.”
“So out with it. What devious plan do you have in store for me?”
“Eating cake.”
His brows drew together. “What?”
“You’re a judge for the baking contest tomorrow.”
It took a moment for her words to sink in and then a smile lifted his very tempting lips. “I can do that. I like cake.”
“There’s more than cake. There will be cookies, bread and some other stuff.”
He rubbed his flat abdomen. “Sounds good to me.”
“I’m glad you approve. So it’s a date?”
The startled look on Grayson’s face alerted Annabelle to her slip of the tongue. She inwardly groaned. If only it were possible to go back in time, she would. In a heartbeat.
CHAPTER TWELVE
A DATE?
Was she serious?
Grayson’s heart was lodged in his throat. Sure they’d had some fun this evening, well, pretty much all day. He hadn’t even minded playing the part of her horse for the races. But this was going further than he’d intended.
Granted, he probably shouldn’t have given in to his urge to tickle her—to hear her laugh, but hindsight was always twenty-twenty. And then he’d made things worse by kissing her. Or was it that she’d kissed him? It was all a bit jumbled in his mind.
He got up and backed away from Annabelle. Some distance would help them both think clearly. He hoped.
Because there was no way he was dating her—or anyone. He’d sworn off relationships after Abbi had died in that car crash. He couldn’t make himself that vulnerable again. He couldn’t go through the pain of losing yet another person who he loved.
The Millionaire's Royal Rescue Page 10