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“Oh, ye of little faith. You’ll regret that when you see the treat I have in store for you.”
“Oh wow.” Stella’s reverential tone echoed in the intimacy of the underground cavern when she took the final step. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. I don’t even take Krav Maga. Aleki, what is this place? It’s amazing.”
Aleki watched Stella, an anxious twist in the base of his stomach, her eyes roaming over the restaurant set into the natural cave. Tables, covered in crisp white linen meandered along the curve of the cliff edge, while below the ocean lapped at the rugged rock formation. Golden light from the lanterns embedded in the ornate railing spilled onto the polished wooden floorboards, creating a sense of warmth despite the proximity to the water, and emphasising the glint of silverware on the tables.
He had invested in his cousin’s restaurant as soon as Sio approached him with the idea. The stunning location, combined with Sio’s exquisite food, meant that The Grotto was fast earning a reputation as one of the Pacific’s most luxurious dining establishments. Bookings were made months in advance, and the number of proposals the place saw most nights had it rivalling Santorini sunsets for its romance.
Even now, in the still of the day, hours before it opened for evening bookings, the magic of the setting seemed to whisper through the air in time with the light lap of waves at the foundations.
“Aleki!” His cousin’s voice rolled through the dining room as he emerged from the discreet door to the kitchen at the far end of the floor.
“It is good to see you, cousin,” Aleki responded, stepping into Sio’s warm hug. The two embraced firmly.
“O le fogava?a e tasi.”
“O le fogava’a e tasi,” Sio repeated, patting his cheek.
One family.
Aleki extended a hand towards Stella.
“Sio, I would like you to meet Stella Warren, a friend of mine from New Zealand. Stella, this is my cousin, Sio, owner of The Grotto.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. You have a wonderful place,” Stella stepped forward with her hand extended.
Sio brushed it aside and wrapped her in an exuberant embrace.
“Ah, beautiful palagi, no handshakes! We are all family here! It is an honour to have you in my restaurant. Please, sit, sit.” Sio gestured to the nearest table. “I will be back with treats for you!”
Stella smiled after Sio as he hurried away, her genuine enjoyment of his cousin shining through. Aleki felt a pang resonate as he realised she hadn’t looked at him that way since she arrived on the island.
“So,” he offered, pouring water from a carafe into the tumblers in front of their place settings, “is this your first time in the Pacific?”
Stella eyed him suspiciously as she lifted her glass to her lips and drank. He tried very hard not to notice the wet sheen of her lips when she returned the glass to the table.
“No,” she responded carefully. “I’ve been to the Cook Islands several times. I’ve had two weddings there for work and a few holidays.”
“With friends?” The desire to know if she’d lain on the beaches with another man suddenly pulled at him.
“Mmm hmmm.” A noncommittal answer if ever he heard one. Before he could press the point, she spoke again.
“What is it you do when you’re not princing?”
Aleki snorted softly. “There is always princing to be done, fafineaulelei. However, if you’re asking about my hobbies, they are few and far between. A little surfing, a little reading, a little fishing.”
“Fishing for food, or fishing for women?”
He narrowed his eyes at the crack.
“For food, and for pleasure. Though I will not deny that I have been lucky enough to spend time with some amazing women in the past.”
“For more than a night? What witchery those special few must possess.”
“There is more than one way to enjoy spending time with the opposite sex. However, my rules are clear. I do not, nor will I, enter into ongoing liaisons.”
Stella hitched a single incredulous brow. “So you can date? You can sleep around? You just can’t be in a relationship?”
“A relationship is impossible in the life I lead,” Aleki insisted.
“Do you ever find it lonely?” Stella’s querying tone drew his attention further.
“I am never alone.” He hitched a shoulder. “There are always people around me. The opportunities for solitude are slim, and when they occur I treasure them dearly.”
Stella lifted her water glass to her lips.
“Don’t be obtuse, Aleki. It’s beneath you.”
Pleasure coursed through him at the challenge and despite himself he felt one corner of his lips tug upward. Stella had always been one to cut through his bravado.
“On occasion,” he admitted, his eyes following the long column of her throat as she swallowed. ”But the risks outweigh the benefits.”
“The risks?” Her eyebrow arched again.
“The potential for scandal. For stories being sold to the press, rumours about the family.”
“You really think that would happen?”
“It already has. Avali is a small country. We cannot stand to lose our holdings with other nations. Any whiff of trouble can be enough for them to run scared, to take their deals to the larger islands, Samoa, Tonga, Niue. I will not allow it. The people of Avali work too hard to have their earnings compromised by some scorned lover or column inches in a gossip rag.”
Stella sat back in her seat and openly appraised him. A slight curve touched her lips.
“Well, look who’s all grown up now.”
A chuckle rumbled out of his chest at the not-so-subtle reminder of his wayward party days during his time in Wellington.
“We must all mature sometime. Happily though, for you and I, our looks have remained intact.”
His companion snorted.
“Speak for yourself. I prefer to think I’ve improved with age. God knows, I’ve spent enough on laser eye surgery to hope so.”
“I liked your glasses.”
“And I liked you weedy, yet here we sit, with my twenty-twenty vision and your hulking arms.”
“Weedy?” Disbelief coloured his tone. “Pacific Islanders are never weedy.”
Stella flipped a hand. “Well you certainly didn’t resemble a miniature version of The Rock like you do now. With hair, of course,” she added generously.
“Of course.”
“How lucky for the women of the world that you’re unwilling to just settle for exclusivity. One Night With A Prince. It sounds like a film.”
“And you? Will they be making a film of your romantic life?”
“They already did. The Wedding Planner, with Jennifer Lopez. She runs off with one of the grooms, which is beyond unprofessional. However from memory, the alternative is playing checkers with her dad and she wants more than that. Me, on the other hand? I love checkers.”
“But don’t you ever find it lonely?” He parroted her earlier question back to her.
A secret smile crept over her face.
“I can date. I can sleep around. I just can’t have a relationship.”
Jealousy resonated through Aleki’s core, a white-hot slash of possessiveness unlike anything he had ever felt before. The idea of another man touching her, of her chesnut hair spread over another man’s chest, the rub of her smooth skin over anyone else’s body - red flashed behind his eyes and tension ricocheted through his body, coiling his muscles under the fine fabric of his suit.
“And what stops you?” The tightness in his tone betrayed him.
“My career. People think it’s all ruffles and canapes, but there’s a huge amount of work that goes into each event. In my experience, men don’t seem interested in dating a girl who is constantly thinking about weddings, even if it’s not her own. I’m never available weekends, won’t turn my phone off and refuse their requests to accompany me on work trips like this one.” She raised a hand and gestured at their luxurious surroundings. “I am Stella Warren Events. It’s my name people pay for, my reputation. That’s how I support myself. I won’t let anything jeopardize that.”
“Not even love?”
“Especially not love. Love is beautiful, inspiring, incredible. But it’s also unpredictable.” Stella’s eyes fixed on him and Aleki’s heart squeezed at her mask of determination. “I can’t risk my livelihood for something so fickle. I cannot change who I am. And finding someone who accepts that is impossible.”
“Ah, fafine aulelei,” Aleki chided. “Life is full of surprises.”
“Stop calling me your beautiful woman. I don’t do surprises, Aleki. I’m a planner. The word is literally in my job title. The uncertainty, the insecurity of love? That’s unacceptable to me.”
She paused, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I cannot put my happiness in someone else’s hands.”
Longing flooded Aleki’s senses. Longing to reach out, to feel the silk of her dark waves beneath his own fingers. To smooth away the vulnerability that blanketed her with a touch, a kiss. To convince her with his words and his body that she was special - that her fear was unwarranted.
But how could he?
Lust punched through him, tempered by caution. The same caution that had sent him running from New Zealand ten years ago. He wanted Stella, that much was obvious from the electricity that soared through his blood every time their eyes met. But he could not deny his obligations. His responsibility was to the throne and the people of Avali. Whatever craving he felt for the woman in front of him, he could never allow himself to fall for her. One night was all he would ever be able to offer Stella Warren.
