LITMIR.BIZ

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did I know what lay in store once you recognized the ring,” her voice throbbed.

      “Your arrival shook my world, too, Darrell. I’ll never be the same again. You do realize you’ve raised a surprisingly unspoiled child.”

      “I don’t know about that, but he is an original thinker. When he realizes Isabella is younger than his friends’mothers, he’ll like that a lot.” She needed to keep her thoughts centered on the princess. “Does she have siblings?”

      “Yes. A brother two years her senior.”

      “Then she’s been broken in”

      A half smile creased the corner of his male mouth. “Most definitely.”

      “Knowing that will please Phillip. He’ll want to meet him. You know. Get the inside scoop on what it’s like to live with a princess.”

      The low laughter she loved rolled out of Alex. “I can see you’ve never had a dull moment with him.”

      She sent him an unguarded smile. “Dull is the one adjective that will never apply to Phillip.”

      He opened the door for her. “I envy you all those years with him.”

      By the depth of his tone, she knew he meant it. “If you want to know a secret, I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me for not looking for you sooner.”

      His eyes darkened with emotion. “Thank God you found a way to get my attention. You were incredibly courageous and resourceful. If my father were alive, he would tell you you’re one of those rare female warriors upon whom future generations depend to raise up worthy sons.”

      Darrell half scoffed. She wondered if any woman had ever received such an unusual compliment.

      Deep in thought she moved past him, but her shoulder accidentally brushed against his chest. Little sparks of fire crackled through her nervous system. She hurried up the stairs ahead of him so he wouldn’t see how shallow her breathing had become.

      Even though it had only been for one night, Alex had been her sister’s lover. Her awareness of that fact intensified her guilt in ways she didn’t want to explore right now.

      It was a good thing she wouldn’t be going to dinner with the three of them. The more she was around Alex, the harder it would be to keep her attraction to him a secret, especially from Isabella, who was about to become his wife.

      A woman in love sensed when another woman was interested in her man.

      Of course the princess had no worry in that regard. Alex was pledged to her. Their future marriage had been decreed and settled years earlier. Darrell was an idiot to go on entertaining forbidden thoughts about him.

      “Phillip?” she called out after entering the apartment. “Your father’s back!”

      When he didn’t answer, she hurried through the door to the adjoining room where he planned to sleep. “He’s not here!” She turned to Alex. “I don’t know where he’d be.”

      Something close to a grin broke out on his rugged features. “Considering it’s our son, we both know the possibilities are endless. But you don’t need to worry. He’s been assigned a bodyguard. I’ll call him.”

      While he pulled out his cell phone, Darrell went over to the armoire where one of the maids had hung Phillip’s clothes. She picked out the navy blazer and khaki’s he wore to church. Even if Alex said the dinner would be informal, she wanted Phillip to be on his best behavior in front of Isabella.

      After reaching for his white shirt and striped tie, she took everything over to the bed.

      Alex spoke in Romanche, preventing her from understanding him. She had to wait until he’d hung up.

      “Where did he go?”

      “After touring the dungeon, he went to Carl’s office. They’re having an off-the-record chat about what it’s like to work for me.”

      “Oh, no—Does Carl know Phill—”

      “Yes,” Alex broke in, reading her mind with ease.

      “Everyone must know by now. You two look too much alike to deceive anyone.”

      One of his expressive brows quirked. “The family resemblance is strong. As you said earlier, the water has spilled over the dam. There’s no putting it back.”

      She moaned. “You put on a brave front, but I know deep down you have to be apprehensive about everyone’s reaction.”

      “You’re wrong, Darrell. My biggest concern is that when the novelty wears off, Phillip won’t like it here, and he’ll want to go home.”

      She couldn’t believe he’d just said that.

      “Alex—he has already bonded with you. It’s uncanny how well you get along and understand him.”

      “It’s because I see certain traits of my cousin Chaz in him. He’ll never be a conformist.”

      “You’re right, but that won’t prevent him from wanting to spend as much time with you as possible.”

      Lines marred his features. “You just hit on the problem.”

      “I—I don’t understand,” her voice caught.

      “I may be his father, but I’m also the king. The two don’t necessarily mesh.”

      Her anxious gaze swerved to his. “Weren’t you and your father close?”

      “If you mean did we love and respect each other, then yes. But it was never the kind of relationship you’re envisioning. Father was the king. He belonged to every man. I was a typical selfish child who wanted him to myself.

      “Phillip’s been deprived of his father all these years. Now that we’ve found each other I’m afraid he’s going to feel cheated in a brand-new way. I would understand if he didn’t want to hang around waiting to spend time with me. That’s what is haunting me.”

      Put like that Darrell was haunted too. Not just for Phillip who had been hanging around all day waiting, but for Alex.

      He’d just revealed something of his inner struggle as a child. He’d said it with a hunger that bespoke needs as strong in their own right as his son’s. She would never have guessed…

      “But he knows you came to get him the second you found out you had a son. You didn’t let your kingly duties stand in the way. You’re one man in a million to have claimed him in front of everyone. He feels loved.”

      “I pray to God that’s true,” he murmured.

      “It is, and it’s all he ever wanted. Just try to get rid of him now and see what happens,” she teased to cover her emotions.

      His expression grew solemn. “Where did you come from, Darrell Collier?”

      The pounding of her heart almost suffocated her. “That’s the question I’ve been asking about you since we met aboard your jet. The chance of your world and Melissa’s colliding is so remote as to be almost impossible, yet it happened.”

      If she kept the vision of him and her sister wrapped up in his sleeping bag, she might just make it through this painful experience without revealing her inner turmoil.

      His chest rose and fell visibly. “I have to be honest and tell you the memory of that night is so vague that without the photos proving the existence of the ring, I wouldn’t have recalled it.”

      “So what you told Phillip wasn’t completely true.”

      He rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb. “If you mean that I spent as much time as possible with your sister, then no. Nor did I try to get in touch with her again. There was only the one night, but Phillip didn’t need to know that.”

      Darrell hugged that piece of information to her heart. “I agree.”

      “Chaz

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