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The breath he’d taken lodged in his chest as recognition flared. Marissa hadn’t lied. They were his. He traced each of the children’s delicate cheeks with his finger and his muscles slackened as relief washed over him.
“They’re yours, aren’t they?” Olivia’s voice swelled with emotion, but when he glanced at her, her expression was as serene as if they were discussing the weather. “I had hoped they belonged to Christian.”
“I just learned about them tonight.”
“Their mother never told you?” Olivia sighed. “And now she’s dead.”
“Things ended badly between us.” He couldn’t face Olivia with his emotions this raw, so he kept his gaze on his daughters. “I didn’t know she was ill.” For a moment he was consumed by despair. He pressed his lips into a tight line. Then, feeling her watching him, he settled his features into an impassive mask.
“You loved her.”
He and Olivia had never spoken of love. Their marriage was about politics, not romance. But if she suspected he’d given away his heart to another woman, she might not be so happy.
“We were together a long time ago.”
“Karina and Bethany aren’t even two. It wasn’t that long ago.”
Despite her neutral tone, Gabriel suspected she wasn’t thrilled to have his past thrown so fully in her face. If the truth about the twins got out the press would speculate and create drama and controversy where there was none. Olivia would become the unwitting victim of their desire for ratings.
“This has to remain a secret,” he told her.
“Impossible. The minute you brought them to the palace you risked word getting out.”
“Perhaps, but I’d like to postpone that as long as possible so we can strategize how we’re going to control the damage.”
“If you’re worried about my father’s reaction, don’t be. He’s committed to opening a plant here.”
“And you?”
“They’re two precious little girls. I’ll support whatever decision you make, but I think you should proudly claim them as yours.”
Her eyes were clear of hesitation or deceit. Did she realize this would make her a stepmother to his former lover’s children? Would another woman have been so understanding?
“I can’t figure you out.”
“Your Highness?”
“Gabriel,” he growled, amused rather than annoyed. “I’ll not have you calling me Your Highness in bed.”
The underlying heat in his voice reached her. Her cheeks flared pink.
“Gabriel,” she echoed, her soft voice low and intimate in a way that warmed his blood. “I promise to remember never to refer to you as Your Royal Highness, or Prince Gabriel, while we’re making love.”
For the first time he glimpsed the Olivia beneath the enigmatic, cultured woman he’d decided to marry. Impish humor sparkled in her eyes. Intelligence shone there, as well. Why had she hidden her sharp mind from him? Gabriel considered how little time they they’d spent together and shouldered the blame. If he’d gotten to know her better, he’d have seen the truth much sooner.
“All of a sudden, it occurs to me that I’ve never kissed you.” He took her hand and dusted a kiss over her knuckles.
“You kissed me the day you proposed.”
“In front of a dozen witnesses,” he murmured. He had asked her to marry him in front of her father and close relations. It had been a formality, really, not a true proposal. “And not the way I wanted to.”
“How did you want to?”
She’d never flirted with him before and he discovered he liked the challenge in her gaze. Anticipation lit up the room as he set his finger beneath her chin and tilted her head, bringing her lips to a perfect angle to align with his. He watched her long lashes drift downward.
Her breath caught as he stopped just shy of brushing Olivia’s lips. The disturbed rush of air awakened his senses with fierce urgency. He longed to crush her against him and feast on her soft mouth. Instead, he concentrated on the scent of her, a delicious floral that reminded him of a spring evening when the roses were in full bloom, while he reined his urges back under control.
What was happening to him? Her body’s tension communicated across the short distance between them, the trembling of her muscles, a siren call that demanded he claim her. He was a little startled how compelling that desire was.
