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He studied her hard. She was a bookish creature. Not terribly beautiful, in his estimation. Not terribly brave, either. Intensely clever, though. Still, the lack of bravery made it unlikely that she was lying to him. The cleverness, on the other hand, was a very large question mark.
It made her unpredictable.
This was why he preferred women who were not so clever.
Life was complicated enough. When it came to interactions with the female sex he rather liked it simple, physical and brief.
He had a feeling his association with Gabriella would be none of those things and that only set his teeth on edge all the more.
“I do not believe that you have the key, or rather, have access to it that I cannot gain.”
“Okay, then. Enjoy the journey to Isolo D’Oro without me. I’m sure when you get there and find that you hold nothing in your hand but your own—”
“Well, now, there’s no need to get crass.”
She blinked. “I wasn’t going to be crass. I was going to say you hold nothing in your hand but your own arrogance.”
He chuckled. “Well, I was imagining you saying something completely different.”
“What can I have possibly—?” She blinked again. “Oh.”
He arched a brow. “Indeed.”
She gritted her teeth, her expression growing more fierce. “Crassness and all other manner of innuendo aside, you are not gaining access to the painting without me.”
“Right. So, you know where it is, and you clearly possess the key. Why not go without me?”
“Well, it isn’t that simple. I am a member of the D’Oro family. And while technically I can return to the island because I am only of the bloodline, and I never ruled, gaining access could still be a problem.”
“I see. So, how do we play this? Wealthy American businessman on a vacation takes a beautiful…” He paused for a moment, allowing his eyes to sweep over her, not hiding how underwhelmed he was by the sight. “A beautiful princess as his lover?”
“Absolutely not!” She turned a very intense shade of pink, and he found himself captivated by the slow
bleed of color beneath her skin.
“You have a better suggestion?”
“I want to prevent scandal. I want to bring the painting back here with as little fanfare as possible. I don’t want you making a big production of things.”
“And I assure you I will not. This is for a private collection and has nothing to do with causing embarrassment to the royal family.”
She worried her lip between her teeth. “I don’t trust you.”
“Excellent. I wouldn’t trust me, either.”
“Excellent. No trust.” Her cheeks were getting redder. This time, he figured it was from frustration. “I want to go with you. But I don’t want to cause a scene. I can’t cause a scene. You have no doubt seen the kind of scandal my parents create in the headlines with their drug use, affairs, separations, reconciliations… The press would love to smell blood in the water around me and I just can’t chance it.”
An evil thought occurred to him and it made him smile. “Well, if you don’t wish to go as my lover—”
“I don’t!”
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to come as my assistant.”
“No one will believe that I’m your assistant. I’m a princess.” She lifted her little nose in the air, dark hair cascading over her back like spilled ink. Now she did indeed look every inch insulted royalty.
“What do you typically look like when you go out and about? I imagine it isn’t like this,” he said, indicating her rather drab trappings.
“I don’t go out frequently. But when I do I have a stylist.”
