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He backed away suddenly, and she could breathe easier, but she’d enjoyed the pressure of his body against hers, his delicious musk and bergamot scent. Thumping his closed fist against his leg, he muttered, “I’m sorry. I know we need to focus, and I appreciate the different points you’re bringing up. I’ll keep a closer eye on each of the people you’ve asked about. The problem is … My mind keeps stirring up all these images of you with these impressive American special ops guys in full combat gear.” He shook his head and concentrated on the wall of monitors.
Macey’s heart thumped out of control. She loved that he was stirred up over her. She wanted him to open up and say he was falling for her, but that was too much to dream of. Macey Clifton with the most incredible prince of the century? Talk about unattainable dreams.
“Brave, bold, and beautiful,” she muttered. Please help me, Lord.
His gaze darted to her.
She drew in a breath and stepped up to him, not touching him but wanting to be close. She looked up into his eyes and admitted, “I dated one of Sutton’s ops five years ago when I was just out of college. His name was Steve. It ended … badly. Horribly. As in Sutton, Liz, Liz’s daughter, and their future son-in-law almost being killed and Sutton’s beautiful mansion being blown up. Steve was a traitor, a double-agent working for Liz’s vile ex-husband, the Duke of Gunthry. He used me for information.”
It was so humiliating to admit all of that ugliness to Ray.
“I’m sorry.” His gaze was compassionate.
“Thank you. After that, I swore to myself I wouldn’t date any of Sutton’s guys.”
He nodded his understanding; his blue gaze seemed relieved. “I bet they go insane asking you out.”
She stepped back and tried to push her glasses up onto her nose. Of course they weren’t there. Her stomach churned.
Ray caught her hand. The warm pressure of his fingers and palm calmed her. With her hand in his, she’d faced the press as if she were a confident future princess. What else could she conquer with him by her side? Sadly it couldn’t happen, so she needed to stop fantasizing about it.
“Why do you do that?”
“I’m used to wearing glasses,” she admitted.
“Are you wearing contacts now?”
“I have good vision.” She bravely met his gaze. “I wear the glasses to hide my face. And that’s not all. I always have my hair in a bun or ponytail.”
He stared at her, the pieces clearly clicking together. “And you wear baggy T-shirts and tights to hide as well?”
She nodded.
“Because Steve broke your heart?”
“I wore the glasses and hid before Steve. That’s who I am. All this future-princess stuff … it’s just a mission.”
He cocked his head and studied her, obviously confused. Macey did not want to talk about this. She’d shared about Steve and that she was a geek; that was more than enough. She did not need to paint the picture of her childhood and teenage years. He didn’t need to know about the men her mom had brought around who had said inappropriate things to and about Macey, who were always looking at her and trying to touch her. Thankfully, none of them had taken advantage of her, but she’d lived in constant fear.
Ray was a prince. He’d grown up loved, with a beautiful family, money, privilege, in a castle for crying out loud. Besides all that, he was a tough alpha male. No way would he understand a scared little girl climbing into the top of her closet and hiding behind clothes, trembling and praying until the men stopped looking for her or Gage got home. Her older brother had been—and still was—her hero.
She pulled her hand free from his, turned away from his penetrating gaze, and sank into her chair. Clicking on the computer that had gone to sleep, she stared at the screen, trying to make sense of it. Ray didn’t move.
Maybe it was because she was terrified she’d spill about her awful childhood and have him realize how beneath him she was, maybe it was to hide her embarrassment about Steve, or maybe it was simply said in spite because his family seemed so ideal, despite losing his mom, but she burst out with, “The only people who had access to, or were at the castle the night of your mom’s death who have red flags in their background are Curtis and Malik.”
“Excuse me?” He sounded offended, but maybe a little guilty? Did he know about his brothers’ infractions?
She looked up at him. He towered over her as she sat. Macey hadn’t seen him in ‘general’ mode yet. She imagined he could be very intimidating. She knew what a nice guy he was, but right now there was a tiny part of her that wanted to climb into the top of a closet and hide. She eyed the nearby drawers, wondering if there was any chance someone had left a pair of cosmetic glasses inside any of them.
Steeling her spine, she reminded herself she wasn’t a scared little girl. This man would never hurt her. She pointed at her screen and said, “Curtis was suspected of being responsible for a fellow rock climber’s death eight months ago. Malik was involved in a battery case in Czech Republic shortly after your mother’s funeral, and it was swept under the rug.” She glanced up at Ray. His jaw worked, but he didn’t respond immediately.
“Before I explain each of these situations, I feel I should remind you that I have turned over every stone, including hiring an outside team of investigators from Germany with no affiliation or loyalties to my family to investigate each of my family members, including myself, and determine if there was anything suspicious or that could link any of us to my mum’s death. Each of my siblings, my father, and our extended family allowed their backgrounds, electronic devices, and any personal property or spaces to be combed through. Nothing was found to implicate any of us.”
The words were all said calmly, controlled, but he was obviously upset. She understood. If anybody had accused Gage of something horrific like this, she’d be livid.
She remembered the investigative report he was talking about. They’d looked at it yesterday and she’d actually thought it was a little extreme to investigate the family so in depth but here she was questioning his family.
“I apologize. I remember that report. I’m only trying to cover every angle, and my models always pull up information others don’t find. I can’t imagine how frustrating it’s been trying to figure out how your mom died when there’s so little to go on.”
