Were things finally moving in a different direction?
She was smiling at the sound of his feet on the marble flooring and then came that familiar burst of excitement as he appeared in the doorway, knock-out sexy in a pair of linen trousers and a white shirt. The pale colours emphasised the burnished bronze of his skin and the raven darkness of his hair.
He was taking her out to dinner, which would be nice because she was keen to sample some of the different cuisines in the restaurants. As a chef, she was tasting new flavours and combinations every day and she couldn’t wait to broaden her scope.
‘You look...amazing,’ he said softly, strolling towards her and pausing as she stood up and moved forward.
He reached out and took her hands in his.
She did look amazing. Some kind of loose, floaty dress that managed to conceal everything yet stir the senses in quite an extraordinary way. Her hands were soft in his, her eyes wide and with that guarded look that often underlined her expression.
Would she ever trust him not to hurt her again? he wondered. He had walked out on her once and now she was here and he couldn’t help but think that were it not for the fact that he was a prince, she would not have been here at all. Yes, she would have told him about Tilly because she had a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong, but there was a nagging suspicion at the back of his mind that if he had been any old Mr Ordinary, she would have dug her heels in and retained her freedom.
But he wasn’t Mr Ordinary and so she had been persuaded into doing what was best for Tilly, even though she had had to walk away from her dreams in the process.
He had been truthful when he had told her that they shared a child who had a right to an upbringing that would only be possible here in Qaram.
Then he had painted an alternative picture of life as it would be should she choose to turn her back on his proposal. He had spared no details and he had watched carefully as she had absorbed what he’d said. So here she was and, while he recognised the importance of making her feel that this was her home, there was no way he could ever give her the fairy-tale life her romantic heart had always craved.
He had witnessed the impact on his father of his mother’s death, could remember his own heart-crushing pain at her passing. His duty now lay in running his country, for which great emotional strength was needed and, as far as he was concerned, strength was only possible if you didn’t put yourself in the position where you became weak because you’d handed your heart over to someone else for safe-keeping, and it hadn’t ended up being kept safe at all. After all, his father had never been the same after his wife had died, and all the pain and misery and stress had ultimately led to a heart attack. So it was up to Abe to make the sacrifices his father had been unable to, in order to be the ruler their country needed.
But within those confines, he would do what it took to make Georgie’s life as comfortable as possible and it was a big plus that the chemistry between them continued to burn so strong.
He’d meant what he’d told her—sex and friendship were a better basis for a marriage than anything else.
In life, you couldn’t have everything.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked. ‘I hope it’s not somewhere too formal, Abe. I’m not sure this dress would do if that’s the case...’
‘Extremely informal.’
‘I didn’t realise that princes did informal,’ she said, half laughing as they headed out into the main thoroughfare of the palace and following his lead as he asked her about her day and Tilly’s.
They left the palace without bodyguards.
Just the two of them piling into a four-wheel-drive Jeep.
‘Are you allowed to do this?’ she asked as he cruised away from the palace, covering the extensive grounds at a leisurely pace.
It felt intimate here, away from the army of staff, who were practically invisible but not quite invisible enough.
‘Do what?’
‘Drive alone? Out here?’
He grimaced. ‘This is probably one of the safest places on the planet. True, there are occasions when a bodyguard might be a necessity but generally I save the protection for when I’m abroad. I would do without it altogether but Jared, the head of security, worries. Between him and my father, I don’t know who panics more easily.’
Georgie relaxed, stared out of the window. It was balmy outside and the windows were down, and the breeze blowing her short hair this way and that made her feel a little drowsy. She slid a surreptitious glance to him. He had one arm loosely hanging over the open window, steering with that hand, and the other casually resting on the gear stick. It was very dark out here now that they had left the palace behind and the green gave way to patchy sandy dunes interspersed with stunted palm trees and in the distance...the sea.
She gazed at the dark landscape, at the distant inky line of sea. It was a thin black strip against the night sky, which was bejewelled with stars.
Just for a moment Georgie allowed herself the illusion of romance, the illusion that she was with a guy who actually cared aboutherfor who she was. They had great sex, shared a child, wined and dined together, but they had never been on adatewith all the sizzling excitement and breathy hopes for the future that a date implied. This felt like that date.
The Jeep swerved right, heading down towards the black strip of sea, bumping along the dunes, and then banked along a track towards a villa.
‘What’s this?’ She squinted and then, as they got closer, the lights came on outside illuminating a picture-perfect white villa with a red roof, which overlooked the sea.
‘It’s my bolt-hole.’
