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‘I have a choice. I can stand by you.’
‘You don’t want this, Marie. You’ve told me yourself that you’re not comfortable with my royal status, and it’s about to get a whole lot worse.’
‘I never said that!’ Marie reddened. She’d demonstrated it, though, by refusing to wear the diamond. Actions spoke louder than words.
‘Are you going to tell me you’d be happy with that kind of notoriety?’
‘No. But I don’t have to be happy with it, Alex. If it’s who you are then that’s what I’ll be.’
‘That’s...’
His gaze softened for a moment, and Marie though he was about to relent. Then steel showed in his eyes again.
‘I’ve seen the damage that can do, and I won’t let you do it, Marie.’
‘But I want to do it. I don’t want to be the kind of person who thinks the best thing to do when things get tough is to walk away. My father did that, and I’ve been dealing with the consequences ever since.’
That was the difference between them. It wasn’t just a matter of lifestyle—although it terrified Marie to think she might be catapulted into a world where she felt like a fish out of water. They’d both lived through different versions of an unhappy childhood, and they’d always have different solutions for life’s problems.
Tears suddenly blurred her vision, burning like acid. Maybe the answer to this was that there was no answer. That there was nothing either of them could do to make it right.
He got to his feet. ‘Perhaps we should talk about this later. I have to go over to see Sonya, to work up a press release. Just the basic facts; she reckons that’ll give us some breathing space.’
That was probably wise. It would give them both a little time to cool off. Although in truth Alex looked perfectly cool now. He’d switched off, retreating behind the mask he’d worn all his life—the one he’d hidden behind as a child, which had protected him from his past ever since.
‘Yes, okay. You’ll go back to the clinic?’
‘Yes, I’ll see you there.’
He turned away. When Marie heard the front door close it sounded just the same as it always did. She’d almost prefer that he’d slammed it—at least it would have given some hint of what was going on in his head.
She should go to work. By the time Alex returned to the clinic she’d be calm. And when they came back here they’d go to the bedroom and forget all about their differences.
Maybe.
Marie picked up the overnight bag into which she’d folded her dress and jacket, collecting up the other odds and ends that had found their way here and putting them into it too. A comb and a tub of moisturiser. A book that she was only halfway through, which lay on the kitchen table. The pages were creased at one corner from where it had been dropped on the floor, discarded when Alex had leaned over to kiss her and passion had made her forget everything else. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she stuffed it quickly into her bag.
She didn’t need to do this. Gathering up her things seemed so final...as if a decision had been made. People argued all the time...
But Marie couldn’t see the way back from this. As she closed his front door behind her the click of the latch seemed to mark an ending.
* * *
Alex’s meeting with Sonya lasted half an hour. She’d seen that he couldn’t concentrate, and had kept it short and simple. ‘Just tell me what you want and I’ll handle it,’ had just about covered it.
He took a taxi back to his flat, but Marie was already gone. That at least gave him some time alone, to think. He just wanted to take shelter from a world that wanted to know nothing about him and everything about his royal connections.
Running to the comfort of Marie’s arms would ease his pain, but it was the same as hiding inside the walls of the clinic. If he was going to protect them—Marie and the clinic—he had to distance himself from them both for a little while.
Sonya would manage things, and a few well-chosen media releases and interviews would draw the press away from the gates of the clinic, so their patients didn’t have to run the gauntlet of photographers. It would draw them away from Marie, as well, so she didn’t have to face the bright glare of publicity.
Marie would never forgive him if he walked away. She’d told him already that she would stand by him, but he’d never forgive himself if her commitment to the job, to the clinic, to his dream, meant she had to change in an attempt to fit in with what she thought was expected of her.
If he stayed he’d lose her completely, but if he left there was a chance that their friendship might survive.
For the last few weeks he’d been beyond happy, and he’d allowed himself to think that maybe he did know how to make a relationship different from his parents’ marriage. But he’d fallen at the first hurdle.
When he finally made a move, changing out of his crumpled suit and making his way back to the clinic, he knew what he had to do. Marie was in a staff meeting that was due to last for the rest of the afternoon, and he waited until Tina, the receptionist, popped her head around his office door.
