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‘Right.’ He sat for a moment, absorbing this change in events, the feelings coursing through him: disappointment, sadness, the sense that something rare and precious was about to slip through his fingers. But not yet. They still had a few hours. ‘Then we’d better not waste them.’
Rosy’s troubled expression turned confused, and Jack pushed his chair back, leaving the scone uneaten as he stood and strode over to her, taking her hands in his. ‘Jack,’ she half whispered, and he captured her mouth with his, urging himself to seize every moment, every sensation, every touch.
‘This has been more than just a fling for me,’ he said, breaking away to cup her face in his hands.
‘Me too. If things were different. But these are the cards we were dealt.’
‘We just need to make the best of them.’
She knew him, she understood him, and Jack knew how rare that was. Lily and he had shared passion and built a life together, but she had never understood him and, try as he might, she had eluded his understanding too.
‘I wouldn’t change a thing either,’ she added. ‘You’re a wonderful father and a wonderful man, Jack. That’s why I have come to care for you as much as I do. But...’
‘You don’t have to say anything else. We both knew that this was a one summer thing. I went into it with my eyes wide open and I wouldn’t change a thing.’
‘You wouldn’t?’
‘Well, maybe one thing. If I’d known you were leaving so soon I would have kissed you the first day I met you and not stopped.’
‘That might have got awkward. People would have definitely noticed.’
‘It would have been worth it.’ And then he did kiss her, slow and sweet, as if they had all the time in the world, not just a few hours, breathing her in, memorising her, trying his best to show her what she meant to him without words. Rosy responded in kind, holding him close so he could feel her imprinted on him. Jack refused to think of the countdown until she had to leave, not deepening the kiss or rushing them, instinctively aware that whatever they did, whatever they said in the hours to come, this right here was the real goodbye.
Rosy filled his senses, her scent, sweet and warm and uniquely her, her taste, the sound of her breath and her occasional murmured endearments, the silk of her skin under his fingers until all he could think of was the here, the now and her.
She pulled back and looked up at him, lips swollen and expression hazy with desire. ‘Let’s go upstairs,’ she said. ‘I want you.’
‘You have me,’ he vowed and swung her into his arms, enjoying her surprised shriek as he carried her upstairs. ‘You have me.’ And he meant every word. For today at least.
CHAPTER TEN
‘MAMAN,AREYOUOKAY?’
As usual Queen Iara was impossible to read. Arrosa’s mother had perfected the art of the professional mask a long time ago and Arrosa had never seen it slip. But if she was ever going to falter then today would surely be the day because in less than half an hour the Asturian Royal Family would hold a press conference and announce Clem’s existence to the world.
‘I’m fine, dear. Clemence is a lovely young woman, and I am happy to be welcoming her into the family.’
‘Maman, this is me; you don’t have to repeat the press statement.’ But they had never had a close relationship, never confided in one another and maybe that was why Arrosa had not told her mother about Jack and how much she missed him.
She’d hoped time would help but although she’d now been apart from Jack for longer than she’d known him, she still felt his absence keenly. She’d been too busy to pine but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing, a constant sense of loss. As a result, she’d welcomed her packed diary, preferring to work from the minute she poured her first coffee until she cleaned her teeth at night.
The ratification of the law had gone through unanimously the month before and Arrosa was now the Crown Princess and official heiress to the throne, tripling her workload and responsibilities overnight. She, her father and Clem had discussed making Clem’s existence public before the ratification, but Clem had not been ready, nor had she wanted to overshadow Arrosa’s big moment. Just knowing that their father was willing to acknowledge her had been enough for her then. But Clem had accepted Arrosa’s invitation to stay at the villa and house share with her and, even though the press didn’t have access to the estate, Clem’s existence was being noticed and questions were being asked, especially as she and Akil were seen more and more in public together.
Once Clem had agreed that she was ready to face the spotlight they had just needed the Queen’s agreement for today’s announcement. An announcement that would change Clem’s life for ever. Arrosa just hoped her sister was ready. And that her mother really was as comfortable with it all as she claimed.
‘The past is about to be raked over, that’s got to be difficult.’
‘Your father’s romance was over before we married.’ The Queen’s smile was serene.
‘Barely. And you might not have been formally engaged when he was with Simone, but you had an understanding...’
‘Arrosa. Things are different for us, you know this. I didn’t love your father when I married him, and I didn’t expect him to love me. We married because I knew what being the Queen would entail and I was willing to make the sacrifices necessary. I respected your father and I still do. Clem and her mother didn’t change that.’
Was that true? After all, Arrosa’s mother hadn’t found out about Clem’s existence until after she was pregnant with Arrosa and there had been no more children once she was born. Her parents had separate suites of rooms, separate beds. Had they tried for more children or had the realisation that her husband loved another poisoned their marriage, despite her mother’s calm words? Once again, she wished she had the kind of relationship with her parents that would enable those questions to be answered.
She laid a hand on her mother’s arm, wishing she could give her the kind of easy, warm hug Simone had doled out so easily. ‘Well, I just want you to know how much I appreciate it. Thank you for making Clem welcome and agreeing to let her be part of our family in every way. It can’t be easy, but it means a lot to me. I hope you know how much.’
‘Her mother was very good to you, and I was always grateful for that. You bloomed in Cornwall, would come back refreshed and invigorated—and you did once again this summer. I was pleased to see you looking so well. I had been worried about you but since you returned you seem more like your old self.’
