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Her hand was still on his arm. Droplets of sea water were running down his skin, running from his hair down his chest. Physically, she wanted Alex. Emotionally, she wanted Alex. Mentally, she wanted Alex. But all wrapped up together?
It was terrifying. And she couldn’t put it into words. She didn’t know how to explain the feeling of wanting to reach out and grab him, yet feeling totally overwhelmed.
Right now she wanted to be back in her room at the palace. The room next to Annabelle’s. She wanted to be curled up with Annabelle, watching a movie and observing her. In an environment of peace and calm. In a place where she felt safe.
A place where she didn’t feel so exposed.
‘Get changed. Ruby. Put some clothes on. I’ll meet you back on deck and we’ll have some food, then go back to the palace.’
The Alex of earlier was lost. The man who’d looked at her almost adoringly and whispered in her ear had vanished from her grasp.
The warm sea breeze had turned distinctly chilly. It swept around her, making every little hair on her arms stand to attention. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders.
Her feet slipped and squelched along the wooden-floored corridor until she finally reached the room with her clothes and she sagged down, wet and cold, onto the bed.
All of a sudden the designer bathing suits didn’t seem quite so attractive any more.
She lay down on the bed—just for a second—and closed her eyes.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ALEX WAS HAVING trouble keeping his emotions in check.
Today, all he’d been able to think about was Ruby. He hadn’t worried about share prices. About price indexes. About gas, electricity and oil prices.
Today he’d just thought about the beautiful, bright-eyed woman in front of him. For a time it had seemed perfect.
Their familiarity and warmth had developed over the last few weeks and he’d finally managed to put into words the things that had been circulating in his brain.
Then—bam! It felt as if everything was ruined.
He was pacing up and down the deck. The crew all seemed to have vanished into the mists—as if they knew he was brooding. Cold diet colas had appeared magically in a silver cooler. His steward had obviously realised that this wasn’t the time for more champagne.
He couldn’t even face eating right now. So much was circulating in his head that his stomach was churning over and over.
How had he managed to mess this up? He’d planned it in his head. Give her time to think about this. Don’t rush her. He was sure he’d seen a flicker of doubt in her eyes and that had almost killed him. He was treading so carefully around her.
Then the Merrs and their darn boat. Mrs Merr had probably buzzed them deliberately. Anything to see what the Prince Regent was up to.
He’d thought he was giving Ruby time. He’d thought he was giving her space. Wasn’t that what she wanted?
But a few moments ago she’d seemed angry—annoyed that he’d tried to hide her from prying eyes. He’d only been trying to protect her. But her words had practically sent a flare up.
He wanted to be seen with Ruby. He wanted to tell the world that he was willing to take a chance on where this might go.
But he was also terrified that harsh treatment by the world’s press would send her running for the hills.
How on earth was he supposed to know what was right and what was wrong?
Would he ever be able to fathom the way Ruby’s brain worked?
Right now it seemed unlikely.
He glanced at his watch. She hadn’t appeared. He went into his cabin, pulled out his laptop and sat at the table.
Time. That was what he needed to give her.
In the meantime, he still had work to do.
* * *
Ruby hovered at the glass doors. He was concentrating fiercely on the laptop screen in front of him.
She’d sat down on the bed for just a minute and ended up sleeping for an hour. When she’d woken she’d been embarrassed. But it had been too late for that, so she’d showered and changed before coming out.
She’d half expected to find the boat moored back in the harbour, and was pleasantly surprised to find they were still out at sea.
Here, there was nowhere to run and hide. Here, she would need to talk to Alex.
She’d changed into a turquoise-blue maxi-dress and flat jewelled sandals and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She wasn’t trying to seduce Alex. She wasn’t trying to entice him away from anything else.
She was here to have one of the hardest conversations of her life.
This had all crept up on her. She’d known it was always there—hovering in the background. But things had become crystal-clear to her.
It was so easy to think that this was about her. About whether she could stand the press attention or not. But it wasn’t really. It was about him. She just had to be brave enough to say the words.
Her stomach growled loudly and he turned sharply in his chair.
‘Ruby.’
It was more like a grunt than a greeting—not a good start. But it gave her the kick she needed. She took the few steps across the cabin and pulled out the chair opposite him.
‘Sorry. I sat down for five minutes and fell asleep.’
‘You obviously don’t find my company riveting enough.’
It was a barb. And she could take it or she could react.
She leaned over and snapped the laptop shut on his fingers. ‘Got your attention now?’
He snatched his fingers back and glared at her. ‘I was working.’
‘You’re always working.’
It was as if all the barriers around them had come crashing down. Right now she wasn’t afraid to say anything—and from the looks of it neither was he.
‘Make up your mind what you want, Ruby.’
‘I can’t. There’s too many variables.’
No nice words. No beating about the bush. Two people with everything at stake.
‘Well, let’s start with the things that can’t change. The non-variables.’
She leaned over and grabbed a can from the silver bucket, popping the tab and taking a sip. This could take a while.
‘Is this like a quiz show, Alex? Do I win something if I get the questions right?’
Their eyes locked. They both knew exactly what was at stake here. They both knew what the prize was.
He sucked in a deep breath and held his hand out for the can of cola. It was the first sign that this really was going to be a discussion.
His voice was low. ‘I’m always going to be the King of Euronia. I’m always going to be father to Annabelle.’
She nodded. ‘I’ve never questioned those things.’
He held her gaze. ‘But I’ve never really told you that those are things that I wanted. Not just things that were forced upon me or inherited by birth. When I was young I thought being King would be a whole lot of pressure on my shoulders—with no say in it for me. As I’ve grown older I’ve accepted that not only is this my destiny, it’s something I actually want.’
She ran her tongue along her lips. Deep down she’d always known this. Even though Alex hadn’t told her who he was when they’d met. This wasn’t just his inherited future. This was a future he was willing to embrace.
It was a first step. It was the first time he’d actually admitted to her what he wanted in life.
He leaned back in his chair a little. ‘I went to the US to study and learn business. It was my idea, not my father’s, but he fully supported it. The world is changing constantly—it’s getting smaller—and Euronia needed to move into the twenty-first century.’
‘And now?’
‘Now I need to use everything that I’ve learned to help my country prospe
r.’
‘So where does that leave us?’
So many things were sparking in her brain. Did Alex suspect what she was about to say to him?
‘How do you feel about me, Ruby?’
The question blind-sided her. She knew they were having a frank discussion, but she hadn’t expected him just to ask her outright.
‘I...’ Her voice tailed off as her brain tried frantically to find the right words.
