‘I didn’t think they’d speak to the press.’ Her whisper rushed. ‘I thought inviting them would...’ She shook her head. ‘I should have known better.’
‘They’ve gone the “friend of the family” route,’ he said, cynically aware of how the media worked. ‘So they can say it wasn’t them.’
‘But it was.’ She looked at him directly and he saw the hurt she’d tried to bury. ‘I’m sorry if they’ve caused problems.’ She pressed her lips together. ‘Do I have to see them?’
‘There’s a receiving line.’ He nodded. ‘There’ll be other eyes and ears but no cameras. We’ll keep them moving quickly. I’ll be on one side of you. Fi will be on the other.’
‘She’s been wonderful today.’
‘She understands what it’s like.’ Alek nodded, but the strain was still etched on her face.
‘She said she wants to stay in the States,’ she murmured.
He let her lead the distraction, realising she needed it. ‘Yes. I want her to do whatever she wants. She seemed distracted, said it’s because she’s thinking of doing postgraduate study.’
‘She’s super capable,’ Hester agreed softly before turning her gaze back on him. ‘What would you have chosen?’ She inched closer. ‘To do, I mean.’
‘The crown chose me, Hester. That’s why we’re here.’
‘But if you were free? If you didn’t have to be a full-time royal?’
The wildness clawing inside him soothed a little under her gaze. He’d always wanted Fi to have the freedom he couldn’t have. It was the sacrifice he’d made and he didn’t regret it. What he regretted right now was the tension lingering around Hester’s beautiful eyes. He never talked about all this impossibility; there was no point. But he desperately needed to stop thinking about kissing her. Distraction from difficulty was always good. And he needed to distract her too. Because that was what she was really asking him to do. So he did.
‘I wanted to study medicine,’ he blurted.
‘You wanted to be a doctor?’ Her jaw dropped and as she snapped it shut a frown furrowed her brow. ‘How was that going to work?’
‘I know, right? The idealism of youth.’ He shook his head.
‘It was a good ideal.’ She curled her hand on his arm. ‘You would have been—’ She shook her head and broke off. ‘What stopped you?’
‘My father.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘I didn’t ever think he’d disapprove of such a worthy profession, right? Literally trying to save people’s lives.’
‘You wanted to save lives?’
Dredging this up was infinitely preferable to facing the unrequited lust shivering through him like a damn fever. And thinking of this made him feel nothing but cold.
‘I watched cancer slowly suffocate my mother, stealing her vitality and joy. It was horrendous and there was nothing I could do to help her. I hated feeling so inept. I never wanted to feel that useless again.’ He glossed over the most painful memories of his life. ‘And honestly, I liked science. But my father didn’t think I could get the grades—before Mother got sick I’d pretty much mucked around.’
He’d not discussed his mother’s death with anyone, ever. Yet it was somehow easier to talk about this than acknowledge the storm of emotion swirling within him. And Hester was in a realm of her own now in his life. Maybe he was a fool but he felt he could trust her. Besides, she’d lost both her parents and that was a pain he couldn’t imagine.
‘What happened to her motivated me. I wanted to make a difference and I finally got my head together. I was so proud when I got the grades that guaranteed my entry into medical school. I presented them to him. I thought he’d be proud too.’
‘But he wasn’t?’ she whispered.
Her words somehow pushed aside the mocking self-pity to salve the true hurt beneath. He’d laughed it off to himself in recent years, but it had never really been a joke. It had broken his heart.
‘He said it would take far too long to study. Eight years, minimum, before any real speciality. I had to devote more time to my country. You can’t be King and have a career. Your career is being King. Even though I didn’t expect to take the crown for a long time.’ He shrugged. ‘So obviously I couldn’t do veterinary school either. Horses were my other passion.’ His stud farm on the neighbouring island was world renowned. ‘I learned to ride before I could walk.’ He made himself brag with a brash smile because he regretted bringing this up.
The lingering empathy in her eyes told him she still saw through to his old hidden pain but then she smiled. ‘And what other amazing accomplishments does a prince have to master? Geography, I bet. Languages?’
‘Five.’ He nodded.
‘Ventriloquism being one of them?’ Her smile quirked.
‘Of course.’ That tension in his shoulders eased.
‘Piano? Art?’
‘Actually I do play the piano but I can’t draw.’
‘Well, I’m glad to discover you do have an imperfection or two,’ she teased. ‘So what did you do after he said no to everything you wanted?’
‘I went into the military. Always acceptable. I trained with both navy and land-based forces.’
‘But not air? You mean even with all your amazing accomplishments you can’t fly a plane?’
‘I occupied my very little spare time with polo. And other off-field pursuits.’
‘Women.’
‘I was going to say partying.’ He maintained his smile through gritted teeth. ‘I was bored and bitter and I felt stuck. I resented him for saying no to every damn thing that I truly wanted to do. So I did my work, but I had frequent blow-outs—and, yes, in part it was to piss him off.’ He glanced at her ruefully. ‘Predictable, right?’
‘I can understand why you’d resent him and want to rebel. It’s horrible being denied what you want all the time.’
‘It is.’ He glanced at her again and smiled faintly to himself. ‘I’d wanted to do something meaningful and I wasn’t allowed.’ He sighed. ‘I was angry. I was angry that Fi was so constrained. I was angry that he was always so distant and no matter what I did it was always a disappointment. He disapproved of my straight As, for heaven’s sake. What was left to do other than rebel? But then it just became a habit and what everybody expected. It sure kept Triscari in the news—I maintained our high profile. There were just other consequences as well.’
‘You were lonely,’ she said softly.
‘Hester.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘I was surrounded by people.’
‘People who you couldn’t really talk to. Your father was distant. Fi was too young and then you helped her get away to study, your mum had gone, there was nothing but party women and yes-men. I think that would get lonely.’
He rubbed his shoulder. ‘You’re too generous, Hester. I revelled in being the Playboy Prince.’
She studied him. ‘You still want to do something meaningful?’
‘My only job now is to be a good king for my country. I was angry about the marriage thing but perhaps, now it is done, I can get on and prove that this will all be good.’
‘I don’t think you need to prove yourself, Alek,’ she said. ‘I think what you do is very meaningful.’
He had no idea how the conversation had got so sidetracked. He’d meant to distract her from her distress about her family and himself from his desire for her. Yet somehow this had turned heavy and he’d told her far more than he’d intended. And somehow she’d soothed an old wound within him that he hadn’t realised was still aching.
He gazed at her—her beautiful leonine eyes were more luminous than ever and how was it he wanted her more than ever? The ache to lean close, to touch her, was unbearable.
Instead he put down the tablet and stalked towards the door, remembering far too late that they had a palace full of people to please. ‘We’d better get this over with.’
CHAPTER
SEVEN
HESTER WATCHED HER husband charm everyone—hustling the receiving line through while making every guest believe he’d paid them extra special individual attention. She was fascinated by his skill—and so busy contemplating what he’d told her, the depth of his secrets and sadness and sacrifice, that she didn’t spot her cousins until they were right there, confronting her with their fake smiles and stabbing eyes.
All the noise of the room receded as Joshua, Kimberly and Brittany stared at her. Hester froze, struck dumb as Kimberly executed a tart curtsey that exuded total lack of respect.
‘Thanks for the invitation.’ Brittany’s faux polite opener was so barbed.
Hester still couldn’t speak. They were older yet hadn’t changed a bit. And how was it that they could make her feel so inept and small, even here and now?
‘Our pleasure.’ Alek filled the small silence and extended his hand to Joshua. ‘We’re grateful you could join us in celebrating our special day.’
In the face of Alek’s ruthless charm the three of them were rendered speechless. Hester watched with relief as they continued on into the reception room. It was good they’d shut up, but she’d not silenced them. And to her horror she discovered she still cared just a tiny bit too much. But Alek held her hand tightly, glued to her side in an outrageous display of possessiveness and protectiveness that she was enjoying far too much.
‘I instructed Fi to spread the rumour that we’re sneaking away early,’ he muttered near her ear as they took to the dance floor. ‘Which we are, by the way.’
‘Okay.’ It was silly to feel nervous. This wasn’t a real wedding night, but a charade.
Less than thirty minutes later they walked through the corridors to their private apartments. ‘You’ll have to stay with me tonight,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll sleep...’
‘On the sofa?’ she finished for him.
‘Something like that.’
‘We survived.’