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“No, thank you, Princess.”
Her heart stuttered at the use of the name someone else once called her. “I think you can stick with Janel.”
“Message received. No pet names. How are you feeling today, Janel?”
She was so tired of being asked that. She was blind. How did people think she was? Planting her default assuring smile on her face, she replied, “I’m fine, thank you. It’s a beautiful sunny day and I’ve been enjoying the warmth on my face. For so long in America, I thought I’d never be warm again.”
He chuckled. “Next time, you need to come in the summer.”
Next time? That was a joke. Even if she could go back, what was there for her? She tried to keep the bitterness from her voice when she responded, “I don’t see a next time in my future.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
She thought it was obvious. She was blind. She could do no more than sit and do nothing. Everyone had to wait on her hand and foot. She had to be led everywhere. Even her damn food had to be “prepared” in the kitchen before it was served to her. What the hell that meant was someone had to cut her food up as if for a child in the nursery.
Last night, she’d dropped her toothbrush on the bathroom floor and, after searching extensively, she’d been forced to call someone to find it. She was a child. She was worse than a child. A child could at least see the damn toothbrush.
His hand took hers and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go for a walk. You’re right. It is a beautiful day and we shouldn’t waste it.”
She tried to pull her hand away. Darkness was frightening and she wasn’t good at putting her trust in others. Even her own family. “I’d rather not. It isn’t easy stumbling around in the dark,” she snapped.
“Then don’t stumble,” he calmly replied, took her hand, and placed it on the curve of his elbow. “You hold tight there and I promise not to run you into a tree or lake.”
“Luc, I really don’t think…”
He didn’t wait for her to finish before starting to slowly walk down the garden path she remembered. At first her steps were short and hesitant, but once she became adjusted to his gait, she could actually enjoy the different sounds and scents as they strolled.
Their walk was far from being independent, but it was a change of the boring pace of sitting—or being led to the next place to sit.
“How are things going with you?” she asked and his bicep tensed. They rarely spoke of his father and the war Luc had waged taking on his family business.
“Not much has changed. I suppose that, in and of itself, is a good thing. I see more conflict on the way before the calm. Much like your father rebuilding the infrastructure of his country.”
He sounded tired and weary of his constant struggle. He carried a heavy burden. She didn’t pretend to know what he was talking about. The dynamics of his family were foreign to her. She only prayed he could find peace and happiness. “These drop-by visits take a lot of your time. A call would be okay, you know.”
“And I thought you enjoyed my company.”
She heard something more in the tone of his voice, like she had disappointed him in some way. “I do. Just know that I don’t expect you to come.”
Their steps slowed to a stop, and she startled when he gently touched her cheek. “If I thought there was room in your heart for me, I’d be here every day. But there isn’t. Is there?”
She wished she could have feelings for Luc. Her life would be less complicated. She bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Luc. Someday you will find the perfect woman to love with all your heart.”
Luc pulled her into a hug and whispered against the top of her head, “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“Get away from her, Luciano.”
Janel’s head whipped around toward the voice she thought she’d never hear again. “Travis?”
An acutely intense pain shot through her head like a bolt of lightning. She cried out and arms closed around her to keep her from crumpling to the ground. She knew those arms. She squeezed her eyelids tightly shut against the pain.
“Get out of here, Luciano. You aren’t wanted here. Janel is mine.” Dozer kept his voice lowered yet lethal.
She heard Luc step closer and Travis tightened his arms around her protectively. “I’ll go. But, Janel, if you ever need me, you know how to get in touch. I’m only ever a phone call away.” Luc’s footsteps receded.
Travis kissed her throbbing forehead and asked, “What’s wrong, princess?”
“I…I don’t know.” Her knees grew weak and she was lifted into his arms. She knew when they entered the palace because of the coolness of the air-conditioning. Her mother told him to follow her and then he laid her down. The bed shifted and he took her hand.
