by Maisey Yates
And it would be up to Jessica to send the other two off without making them feel like it really was some low-rent reality television show.
Jessica wasn’t used to feeling like things were out of her control. Not since that moment four years ago when she’d taken back the reins of her life. She liked to feel like she had everything managed. Like her little universe was in the palm of her hand.
It was an illusion, and she knew it, but she still liked it.
Since Stavros, she didn’t even have her illusion.
What was it about him that reminded her … that reminded her she was a woman? Not just on the surface, but really and truly. With a woman’s desires, no matter how hard life had tried to wring them out of her.
Oh, dear … right on time. The master of her rekindled sexual needs was striding toward her. Cream-colored jacket and trousers, shirt open at the collar. She did love a man who knew how to dress. A Mediterranean sex god with very expensive taste.
He also had two dark-suited members of security flanking him and discreetly parting the crowd so that His Majesty wouldn’t be jostled.
Not that Stavros ever behaved that way. He didn’t act like a spoiled prince who would be able to feel a pea through fifty mattresses, not even close. He acted like a man who carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
More than that, he acted like a man who intended to support the weight of that nation for the rest of his life. A man prepared to tailor his every decision to suit that responsibility.
“Hello, Jessica,” he said, a smile curving his lips.
“Prince Stavros,” she said, reverting because last night had gotten a bit too intimate and she had no desire to go there again. Well, that was a lie. She did want to go there again. But she couldn’t.
“Demoted, I see.”
“What?”
“Back to a title.”
“Oh …” Why did he have to notice all these little things about her? Why did he have to care at all? “Sorry.”
“How are things going?”
“Good. Great. Looking forward to you thinning the herd tonight.”
“You make it sound like there are a lot more than three.”
She sighed. “They feel like more than three. In my experience, the women haven’t been so catty. But then, I normally don’t do this with them in such close proximity to each other. I’ve also never tried to match a crown prince.”
He looked past her, into the spa. “Let’s leave them in there.”
“What?” She looked behind her.
“If we hurry, they won’t know I was here.”
She laughed. “You’re not serious.”
He frowned. “No. I’m not. Things are getting … I need to make a decision.”
“Because of Eva?” she asked, remembering his mood at his sister’s wedding.
“Everyone in Kyonos was happy for Eva. They love to see their princess in love. But I have to be sure that I make them feel like there’s stability.”
“You’ve been the rock for Kyonos for a long time,” she said, not quite sure why she felt compelled to offer him … not comfort … support, maybe.
“And I will continue to do it. With a wife by my side.”
“A most suitable wife.”
“Yes.” He looked back in the spa. “Will they be done soon?”
“Soon.
“It’s not too late to go another route,” she said, not sure why she was offering her client an out from a program she publicly professed, and privately believed, to be the best way to find a mate.
He shrugged. “Why would I?”
“You could still fall in love.” She wrapped both hands around her paper cup and hugged it close to her body.
“No. I can’t.”
“I’m sure you could. What if you met the perfect woman and she was wholly suitable?”
He shook his head. “It isn’t that I don’t think it’s possible. It’s that I won’t. Love weakens a leader. You know of Achilles and his heel, I assume?”
“Of course.”
He frowned, his expression intense. “One weakness is all it takes to crumble a man who is strong in all other areas. And a weak leader can destroy what was a strong nation. I will never have part in that.”
He was serious again. Like last night. Not a hint of flirtation. She was starting to wonder if that was really him at all. Or if it was who he thought he was supposed to be.
“Is that really what you think?”
“I know it. I saw it happen, in my family, in Kyonos. When my mother died everything fell apart. My father could not function. He … We made Xander the scapegoat for it, all because grief could only give way to anger. I had to set it aside. I had to move on for the good of the country. It took my father years to do it. He is a king, he did not have the luxury of grief, or pain. It’s different for us.”
She studied his face, so hard and impassive, as though it were carved from marble. “Feeling pain is the only way I know to deal with it.” Sometimes she wondered if she clung to pain. If she turned it over and dissected more than she needed to. If she used it to protect herself.
“I have gotten to the point where I don’t feel it at all. Kyonos comes first, and everything else comes second. That will include a wife. She’ll have to understand that. She’ll have to understand that her role is not to love me, but to love my country.”
Bone deep sadness assaulted her. He deserved more than that. More than this.
Her phone buzzed and she pulled up her text messages.
We’re done. Where are you?
The message was from Victoria.
Out front. She typed out the note and then hit Send.
“They’re done,” she said. “Brace yourself.”
He straightened his shoulders, his expression changing, that wicked charm back in place. She had to work hard to suppress a smile.
As if on cue the three women walked out of the spa, sunglasses fixed firmly on flawless faces. Victoria was the first to spot Stavros, the first to smile widely. “Prince Stavros. How lovely.”
Like she was surprised. Like she hadn’t been briefed by Jessica early that morning.
“Lovely to see you, Victoria,” he said, inclining his head. “Cherry, Amy.”
Cherry and Amy didn’t look thrilled at being afterthoughts, but they managed to smile, too, and offer platitudes about what a lovely day it was.
“I’ve made reservations at a café down by the water,” he said.
“Sounds lovely,” Amy said, taking her chance to be the first to speak.
“My car is just this way,” he said, leading down the narrow street and to a black limo idling at the curb. The security detail opened the back doors on both sides. The women slid in and took their positions on the bench seats that ran the length of the car.
Jessica got in and sat on the bench facing them, and Stavros slid in beside her. The doors closed and the air-conditioning provided immediate relief from the heat. Or, rather, it would have, if Stavros himself wasn’t so hot.
A thick, awkward silence settled into the air and Jessica worked to find her social ease. She was good with people. It was one of her strengths. But Stavros had her in the throes of her first sexual attraction in years and his potential brides were sitting a foot away.
It was more awkward than any situation had the right to be.
“I …” She cleared her throat. “I’m really looking forward to lunch.”
“I’m looking forward to dinner,” said Cherry, flashing Stavros a smile.
From awkwardness to greater awkwardness.
“I imagine everyone will be eating dinner tonight,” Jessica said, a bit too brightly. Some will be eating alone, though.
Stavros laughed … easy, charming. False. He did that so well. No matter the situation he seemed to be in control. More than that, he seemed to distance himself. The flirtier and friendlier he seemed, the less present he actually was. And that seemed to be his default setting.
Not alway
s. Her mind flashed back to the kiss. That hadn’t been emotionless at all. Or distant. That had been … amazing. And wild. She sneaked a peek at him from the corner of her eyes, her line of sight connecting her with the strong column of his throat. She was willing to bet he tasted like salt. Clean skin and man.
“I’m certain everyone will,” he said, earning a delicate blush from Cherry.
The limo stopped and Jessica nearly said a prayer of thanks out loud. “We’re here!”
The doors opened and they filed out. The restaurant was at the harbor, the seating area extending over the pier. Boats, ranging in size from dinghies to yachts, filled the horizon. Seagulls screeched nearby, landing near tables, fighting over crumbs, showing no respect for their otherwise elegant surroundings.
Jessica made sure everyone ordered wine with their lunch. Heaven knew they would need it to get through the afternoon.
They made appropriate small talk while they waited for their orders to be filled and Jessica cringed inside as she watched the patented disinterest in Stavros’s eyes grow more and more pronounced.
She wanted to pinch him. She couldn’t fix him up if he didn’t even try to like the women she introduced him to.
She caught his gaze and treated him to a hard stare. A glimmer of amusement appeared in the depths of his dark eyes. She didn’t even want to know what he was thinking.
When everyone had their food, Stavros leaned in, his very best charming-politician smile on his face. How had she not noticed before? How fake it was. How much it wasn’t him at all. “I know this is a bit unusual. But I think it’s best to think of it as a job interview. I hope no one finds that offensive. We have all signed up to have Jessica’s help finding a suitable spouse, have we not?”
Jessica wanted to hit him. Except none of the women seemed offended at all. They should have been. His mercenary assessment should have made them all angry. They should have poured wine in his lap.
They didn’t, they simply nodded.
“The reality is, my country needs very specific things from a queen. That’s my top priority.”
“Naturally,” Victoria said. “We’re all far too practical to think this is going to be a love match.”
Cherry nodded, and Amy only stared into her glass.
“Then the rejection should not be personal, either,” he said, his charm never slipping. He was firm, yet still perfectly engaging. She didn’t understand how he did it. She didn’t understand what he was doing, and yet, he was doing it.
“This is really lovely,” Jessica said, looking around them. “Isn’t it lovely?”
Amy nodded. “It really is.”
She chattered on about the scenery and the food, anything to dispel the lingering scent of that horrible honesty of Stavros’s. They managed to make it through the meal and get the women deposited at their hotel without it appearing again.
That left just the two of them alone in the limo for the ride back to the villa.
“And what was that?” she asked.
“What was what?” He was positioned across from her, and he still felt too close, because now there was no one in the back with them to help diffuse the tension.
“That. The whole thing about it being a job interview. Didn’t I tell you to keep your candor to yourself? Or just tell me if you have something so honest to say.”
“They didn’t seem to mind. Anyway, I had to make a choice about tonight, about which one of the three to continue seeing. If that, the clinical nature of this, is going to bother them, they should leave now. I’m not doing this for romance.”
“I know …”
“And now so do they. If any one of them wants to leave they better do it now, I don’t have time to mess around with the future of my country. I told you already, I need a queen who understands that her loyalty will be to Kyonos.”
“Still … geez. Don’t underestimate the power of a little sweet talk.”
“I of all people know about sweet talk, as you should know. I do have a reputation. But I’m not going to deceive anyone that’s involved in this.”
“I appreciate that. I wasn’t talking deceit. Just … sugarcoating.”
“I didn’t think you did sugarcoating,” he said, his dark eyes locked with hers.
“Um … well, I don’t … I mean not with you, but you have to know how to talk to women.”
“You think you know how to talk to women better than I do? How many women have you dated?”
She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Zero, but I am a woman so I win.”
“This isn’t about tricking someone into marrying me because they want to be a princess and live in a castle and have their happily-ever-after. They can want a title, but they have to be worthy of it. They have to know what it means. They have to realize I’m a busy man and that love isn’t high on my list of priorities. It’s not even on the list of options. For that reason, I thought it was important I spelled it out.”
She looked out the window, her throat tightening. For one moment, just for a moment, she pictured Stavros without the obligations. What would it be like for him? If he could have been free to do what he wanted? If he could have had that wife and the children that he’d seen in his mind’s eye last night while they were talking? Would his expectations be different?
Would he have loved that wife? If he didn’t feel like a nation was dependent on his emotional strength, would he have given himself over to love? Would he have focused his fearsome loyalty on his family?
The thought of it, of what it would be like to be the woman on the receiving end of all that intensity, filled her with a kind of bone-deep longing.
Get a grip, Jess. Even if he was free, she wouldn’t be the woman for him. He had goals, dreams and desires that weren’t about his wife, or who she was, but what she could offer. And they were things she couldn’t offer. She knew all about trying to be perfect for someone when she fell so far short of it. She could never do it again.
“I respect that,” she said.
“Victoria.”
“What?”
“It’s Victoria. She’s the one I want to see again.” His voice didn’t hold any particular enthusiasm.
She felt like she’d been sucker punched. And she wasn’t sure why. “Did you … have a lightning-attraction thing?”
A muscle in his cheek jumped. “She’s lovely. More than that, I think she’s a bit … well, she seemed unemotional.” He didn’t sound too enthusiastic and she hated the small, ridiculous part of herself that liked that. The part that wanted Stavros to be dwelling on their kiss, and not on his attraction to another woman.
Even if that other woman was the one he might potentially marry.
“Victoria is … She’s very smart. And I’m certain she would do a lot of good as queen.” Victoria wasn’t just smart, she was brilliant. And, Stavros was right, a bit on the unemotional end of things. She was looking for an opportunity to better herself, and to make an impact on the world.
Jessica had been trying to talk Victoria into considering a few of her previous clients, but Victoria hadn’t been interested. Because she’d clearly been holding out for better. And had found it in Stavros.
Well, nice for some.
For you, too, she tried to remind herself, but herself wasn’t listening. Herself was sulking a little bit.
“Great, I’ll call down to the hotel later.”
“I’ll do it,” he said. “If you give me her room number.”
“Can’t,” she said, the word escaping before she could think better of it.
“Why?”
Her stomach tightened to a painful degree. “No sex, remember?”
“I’m not going to have sex with her, not at this point. I’m going to call and ask her to dinner.”
She cleared her throat, ignoring the little surge her heart had taken when he’d said the word sex. Because when he said it was so … evocative. Husky male tones wrapped in an exotic accent. It made her think of tangled limbs and heavy bre
athing and …
And what? Like she was some great sensual goddess? Like she would be able to enjoy being with him? Like he would enjoy being with her? Her throat ached and she couldn’t fathom the sudden onslaught of emotion. What was wrong with her?
“Yeah, I’ll call Amy and Cherry then and just let them know that … I’ll let them know they can return home.”
“At their leisure. They can stay in the city for a few more days if they wish. I’ll continue to pay their expenses for as long they remain here. An extended holiday doesn’t seem too unreasonable.”
“Ah, so you’ll ask Victoria out but I have to break it off with the other two?”
“As I said earlier, it’s just a job interview. And only one candidate can get hired, so to speak.”
“Right.” She leaned back in the chair and flexed her fingers, curling them into fists and letting her manicured nails dig into her palms.
There was no reason at all the thought of Stavros going on a date with Victoria should make her feel like she might be sick.
But it did. She couldn’t deny that it did.
She was seriously losing it.
“Well, if I don’t see you again before your date … break a leg.”
He smiled, but his eyes held a strange, unreadable expression. “I’ll see you. After at least.”
No. “See you then.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
THERE was nothing wrong with Victoria. She was beautiful, she was pleasant. Smart. She would make a wonderful queen. Over dinner she’d talked at great length concerning how passionate she was about charities, starting foundations and visiting hospitals.
She possessed all the qualities he required for a bride.
Yet as he thought of binding himself to her, he felt nothing. No matter how hard he tried. He felt like he was being suffocated. As if the weight of the crown would physically crush him.
Don’t think of marriage. Think of sex.
If he could find a connection with her on that level, then maybe nothing else would matter. If he could flirt and put them both at ease, put a wall between them, maybe the tightness in his throat would abate.