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She shook her head and gave a sad kind of smile. Her heart felt a little heavy. ‘For me to get to know you, I need to know all of you—not just the person you want me to see.’
She could sense he was getting anxious. He thudded his hand against his heart. ‘This is the real me. You know me. You met me back on Temur Sapora.’
But she shook her head again. ‘I met part of you. Not all of you.’ She held out her hands. ‘This is the place where you feel most at home. This is where you lived your life and grew up. I know and liked Philippe Aronaz. I’ve still to make my mind up about Prince Philippe of Corinez.’
She tipped her head to one side. ‘You might not know this, but you have a bit of a reputation as being a playboy. Or being on—’ she put her fingers in the air ‘—“the most eligible royals in the world” list.’
He visibly cringed. ‘I hate all that stuff.’
‘There’s a world of pictures out there, Philippe, of you with a gorgeous girl wearing million-dollar jewellery and clothes on your arm. Lots of girls.’
He leaned forward and caught her face with his hands. ‘But you are more beautiful than all of them.’
She shook her head. ‘But that’s not me. That won’t ever be me. I want to keep doing the job that I love and keep my head down. I don’t want to be photographed. I don’t want my life picked apart by nosey reporters. I don’t want to be one of “those” people who court the media. I’m not sure that part of your life will ever change. And I wouldn’t ask you to change your life for me. This, this is your destiny.’
There was silence for a few seconds, because both of them knew that was true.
He spoke slowly, his words almost pleading. ‘But you’re here, now. You came halfway around the world with me. For a guy you met in a clinic two weeks ago. That must mean something. Don’t give up on something before it’s even started. You came here to help me work. Let’s do it. Help me. Be a part of the changes I want to make here.’
She could see the enthusiasm emanating from every part of him and it made her ache. From the second she’d looked down from her window tonight, a little part of her had worried.
Things were different here, and, even though she’d expected them to be, it was only now starting to sink in.
She couldn’t ever get back the guy she’d kissed and swum in the ocean with. No matter how much she wanted him.
She had no job to go to right now. It made sense to stay here. But the more time she spent in Philippe’s company the more she realised she was gradually losing a little part of her heart to him—a guy she could never really be with.
Did she really want to do that?
She licked her lips. ‘I’ll stay, just for a while. But I’ll be applying for other jobs. I need to find another paediatric oncology centre where there is a suitable position—and this time, I’ll sort out my own visa.’
There was a flash of disappointment in his eyes and she hated that she’d put it there. But honesty was better.
If she’d known he was a prince would she have let him close to her? Probably not, and that made her stomach twist in a way she didn’t like at all. Because this man standing in front of her was the man who’d made electricity flow through her skin. The man who’d kissed her in a way that no one else ever had. She couldn’t ignore that. No matter how much other stuff was going on in her head.
She looked around. It was pitch black. They were in the middle of the palace gardens in the dead of night. For a few minutes more she could try to forget about the prince part. She could try and remember the gorgeous man she’d wrapped her legs around in the ocean and raced to the buoy.
She stepped forward and gave him a smile. ‘How about, for now, we just be you, and me?’
She saw his shoulders relax. It was as if a weight had just lifted from him. ‘Show me your maze, Philippe,’ she said quietly, leaving all the titles to the side.
He slid his hand into hers in agreement. ‘Come on, then.’
They entered the maze. The hedges were at least eight feet tall; there was no way either of them could see over. ‘I should have tried to memorise what this looked like when we were on the steps above,’ she murmured.
