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“Right, a nanny can’t replace a grandmother.”
Arlene’s eyebrow arched. “That’s not exactly what I meant, dear.”
Madison ignored the comment. “I’ll go change to join them in the pool.” She’d brought a decent one-piece suit and covered it with a wrap.
The boys dove, swam under water, and reappeared at the other end.
Wow! She stared unable to believe her eyes, until the two fish showed up at her side. “Impressive. You’re great swimmers.”
“In summer, we swim every day. We had lessons and competed.”
Curious, she asked. “Where? At camp?” It wouldn’t hurt to learn more about their previous life.
“Yes, at the Cote d’Azur Camp in France. In Dubai, there was an instructor who came to the Prince’s palace to coach Aly, Tarek, Michael, and me,” Mark explained. “My friends’ dad said we have to represent the country with pride. He’d be upset if one of us didn’t win when we competed internationally.”
What a pressure to put on small kids. No wonder they were such good swimmers. “What other sports did you play?”
“Soccer. We were together on the national team, and we often won. We also took karate. Michael and I didn’t have bodyguards like Aly and Tarek. Dad said it was important to know how to defend ourselves. He was right. We used a few moves on Randy and Cody when they attacked Michael.”
Preferring to avoid the subject of yesterday’s fight, Madison suppressed a sigh. “Did you have time for studies?”
“Of course, sports were done during the summer. At school, we studied a lot and spoke French. We also had private tutoring in math, English, and Arabic. It helped us get good grades.”
These kids had faced too much pressure in their lives and didn’t know how to relate and respond to other children. Was academic excellence that important to Rick?
“Did you have friends?”
“Sure, we had nice friends, not like the nasty ones you saw yesterday.” Michael’s grouchy pout indicated he still resented his classmates. “First, our best friends Aly and Tarek, and all the boys in our class or at camp.”
The boys spent two hours elaborating about their life at school, at camp, in Dubai with their friends, in the Philippines visiting their maternal grandparents, or on their vacations across Europe with their father, driving, sailing, skiing, and swimming. A fabulous time she had trouble imagining.
“So you all played together?”
“At school and at camp, yes. In Dubai, we often went on the prince’s yacht and jumped into the sea to swim.” Michael smiled at the happy memory. “Sometimes, when Daddy was traveling or when he went out with his girlfriend, we slept at the palace.”
Madison swallowed the wrong way. “Your dad had a girlfriend in Dubai?”
Michael laughed. “Daddy always had a girlfriend.”
“Not only one girlfriend,” Mark corrected. “Every month there was a beautiful, new lady around. Aly’s mother explainedthat since we’ve lost our mommy, Dad needed to have a lady friend to go out with.”
“A lady friend?” Dang, was she his latest lady friend? Not pleased with this information, she blinked. Hating to question the children about their father’s private life, Madison struggled with her doubts. “Did you meet his ... lady friends?”
“Sometimes.” The boy shrugged. “Dad said not to worry about his girlfriends.”
Was Rick out of his mind bringing his girlfriends home?
“Ms. Madison, are you Daddy’s girlfriend now?”
Michael’s question froze her.
“No, she’s not,” Mark snapped. “Ms. Madison doesn’t dress like Dad’s girlfriends, and Dad doesn’t take her out at night.”
“Good.” Michael exhaled with relief. “I don’t want to lose her in a month.”
The kids’ words shook her to the bone. “I’m your family’s friend ... Your grandmother’s friend, your father’s friend, Mark’s friend, and your friend, Michael.”
“Yes, Madison is our family’s friend, our wonderful best friend.” Rick’s assertive voice startled them all.
