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It was almost as if all the energy had gone from her body. Her shoulders sagged, her head dipped and her breathing got heavier.
He’d never seen her like this.
His mind was whirling around and around. He knew exactly what he should do right now. But the timing just felt so off.
It was inevitable. He’d spent the last two weeks in a bubble that didn’t really exist. It was time to tell the truth. His brain was desperately trying to create a spin on what he was about to reveal.
He took a deep breath. ‘Arissa, I know this is a shock. But, maybe this means you have an opportunity to do something different?’
‘Different like what? What else is there that I can possibly do?’
He gave her a hesitant smile. ‘How about I take you someplace else? A different country. A country that could benefit from your expertise.’
She frowned and shook her head. ‘What?’ It was clear she had no idea where this was heading.
There were parts of this story that he knew she wouldn’t be happy about. He took a few breaths. ‘Arissa, have you heard of Corinez?’
She shook her head. ‘Where?’
He wasn’t offended. While most people in Europe had heard of Corinez, in other continents around the world it wasn’t so well known.
‘Corinez. It’s an island near France, Monaco and Italy.’
A frown creased her brow. ‘Corinez? That’s the place you’re from?’
He nodded. ‘I’m due to go back—to start a new job...’ he cringed as he said those words ‘...and I wonder if—until you get things sorted—you would come with me.’
For a few seconds she looked stunned, then confused. The frown in her brow grew even deeper. ‘To do what?’
He paused for a moment. ‘I have a senior position. One that means I’d be able to look at the possibility of setting up a scheme similar to the safe haven scheme you’ve set up here.’
It didn’t take more than a few seconds for the pieces to fall into place for Arissa. It wasn’t usual for a doctor who’d spent the last few years specialising in an ER to go to a job like that. ‘Exactly what kind of job do you have in Corinez?’
‘I’m part of an advisory committee.’ He kept his reply short.
Her eyes widened. ‘An advisory committee for a hospital?’
He hesitated. ‘No...an advisory committee for the whole country.’
‘Wow. That sounds important.’ She gave a little smile. ‘I don’t mean to be cheeky, but how on earth would you get a job like that?’
He looked up and met her confused gaze. ‘I was born into it.’
He waited. She pulled back. ‘What on earth does that mean?’
‘It means that I was born to be on the advisory committee for overseeing healthcare. My sister was born to do the same for finance, and my brother...’ he took another breath ‘...he was born to be King.’
Silence. So long and so amplified that the breath he was holding almost burst his lungs.
She seemed frozen. Her eyes couldn’t get any wider. Finally, she made a kind of stuttering sound. ‘So...so...if your brother will be King...that makes you a prince?’
He flinched at the way she said the word—as if it were some kind of awful disease.
He nodded. His heart heavy. Most of his life when he’d dated he’d wondered if people were going out with him because he was a prince, not because he was Philippe. Working in the hospital in Corinez had felt almost awkward. People had been ridiculously polite to him, tiptoeing around him when they should have been more worried about providing healthcare.
But coming here had been something again. He’d never had such a blank slate before. And for the first time he’d managed to have a friendship develop and blossom with no underlying knowledge of his true identity. For his part, it wasn’t exactly honest—he knew that. But it had felt so freeing—even if it was only a few days.
He knew that the start of the friendship between him and Arissa had been about him. About them.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Her voice was tight.
He ran his hand through his hair. ‘Because I came here under the radar, for a holiday. I met Dr Reacher on the plane. When he told me what he was supposed to be doing, then...’ he winced ‘...died, it made me curious.’ He gave a smile and held up his hand. ‘And then I reached the luxury resort, and within a day...’ he pulled a face ‘...truth is, I was bored. Even if I hadn’t met Harry on the plane I would still have come looking for something else to do. A way to volunteer or help.’
