Very near completion, it was the largest structure in the world of its kind.
Catching up to Rita where she stood in the shade of scaffolding, her palm placed flat against its surface, Jag asked, as if in all seriousness, “What do you sense?”
Laughing, she pitched her voice into the realm of science fiction and horror, and crowed, “It’s alive!”
Surprisingly, he caught himself smiling alongside her though he was not typically one for such silly jokes. His sense of humor and play was best showcased in situations that he and Rita would not be finding themselves in.
Had agreed not to.
Attempting to pull his mind back from the edges of what it was thinking, Jag defaulted to the dry and factual. “In truth, itisalive. When completed, this building will be the largest biophilic structure in the world.”
At his side, Rita nodded in appreciation. “Outstanding. I took a course on biophilic design over a summer semester once. It inspired a lot of the renovations I did in my home and garages. It’s really the way of the future...” She trailed off as she explored the wall in closer detail, noting especially where the living elements joined with the artificial.
Jag watched her, oddly rapt, as she gently probed and felt the structure.
Her hands were quite small, he realized only now.
He had not noticed the fact while in her garage, nor during their plane journey, but now, as if every moment with her promised a new revelation.
How unexpected it was, that such small hands were solely responsible for creating some of the most advanced electric engine systems on the planet.
“You do renovations as well, now?” Jag asked, a single eyebrow lifted. “I didn’t know I had conscripted a woman of all trades.”
Rita turned to him with a smile and a laugh that knocked him back a bit, though she didn’t seem to notice. “You do everything when you’re just starting out and growing a business at the same time.”
“And here I thought it was all about the cars for you.”
Still easy and smiling, she returned to her exploration of the building as she answered, “It is, but as hard as it might be for a man like you to imagine, there are a lot of roadblocks along the way to progress, and they’re usually financial. Whenever I ran out of funds to pay for garage or home improvements, which happened pretty much between every commission at first, I was left with the choice of either scrounging up materials and figuring out how to do it myself or twiddling my thumbs and waiting.”
Jag smiled, familiar enough with her by now to know she was not a woman who waited for things. “Impressive.” He commended her with a nod.
Turning, she caught his eye and once again they shared a heartbeat of simply staring, before she remembered to smile and gave him a shrug. “It’s just the way my family always operated.”
“Well, it’s made you well-versed. You should make something for my father,” Jag said, trusting she had gleaned enough of the picture now to realize what an absurd idea that was.
She didn’t let him down.
Chuckling, she said, “From what you’ve told me, I’m sure he’ll love that. ‘Here you go, Father-in-Law, even more evidence that your new princess is...dun-dun-dun...handy.’”
Laughter danced in Jag’s eyes, even as mention of his father reminded him that until the announcement was made, it was still better to limit the amount of time Rita spent out and about. “Imagine his horror,” he agreed, before adding, “As excited as you are, my dear, it is best I show you your new home.”
He hadn’t meant to call hermy dear, just as he had not meant to allow his mind and body to drift off into familiar and flirtatious behavior the countless other times they had since he and his bride had agreed to keep things professional between them, but it happened nonetheless.
After a good night’s rest, and some time away from his blushing bride, however, he would have no problem maintaining the warm and unemotional facade of a royal husband.
And in the meantime, he would take her to his mother’s old palace. With its custom design and elaborate gardens it was the only one of his palaces or residences that seemed remotely right for the vibrant woman at his side, despite the fact that he hadn’t set foot inside it in years.
CHAPTER SIX
AWEEKLATER, Rita met Jag in the palace’s central open-air courtyard beside its gorgeous centerpiece, a massive mosaicked fountain.
She hadn’t intended to be there when he arrived.
She had simply finished the project she was working on too late to start a new one before dinner so had gone early to clean up in the palace baths and just happened to be crossing back at the same time that Jag entered from the hallway that led to the old garage.
She had only been in residence for a full week, and her new garages were nearly complete.
Smiling, her wet hair wrapped up in a towel and her body draped in the lovely linen pants and fitted cotton T-shirt that Jameel had made for her, Rita said, “Hi.”