LITMIR.BIZ

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wanted to say that any man who had her in his life, planning on forever, then left was a fool and an idiot. But he knew that was just the way relationships turned out most of the time. Unfortunate for people who believed in that kind of love, but it was reality. Either someone left, or a couple stuck together long past the time they should have gone their separate ways.

      Her boyfriend’s abandonment, causing her pain, was just more proof that relationships weren’t meant to last for the long haul, and that planning to get married was just a road leading to unhappiness.

      “I’m sorry. That must have been hard for you.”

      “It was. But I’m over it now.”

      Somehow he didn’t believe that. But he knew her well enough to know she was done talking about it, even though he was sure it couldn’t be the whole story. He slipped his fingers beneath her chin, tipping her face up to his, and all he could think of to do for her was kiss away the sadness on her face, replacing it with the desire he’d seen there on and off all day. Desire that he’d battled with a whole lot of effort, because he didn’t want to hurt her. A battle he had to win now that he knew her ex had already caused her pain. But just as he was about to draw back and start some unimportant chitchat, she wrapped her cold hand around his nape, brought his face close, and pressed her mouth to his.

      He could see her eyes closing just before his own did, and the way she sighed and sank into him knocked every good intention out of his head and had him gathering her close. He cupped her soft cheek in his hand, angling her mouth to his, and when she sighed again it felt like a siren song, driving him a little crazy. He couldn’t help but deepen the kiss. The wet slide of her warm tongue against his felt as erotic as full sex with any other woman, and it was only through some miracle that he managed to remember that, deserted or not, they were in a public place and pulling off her clothes right then and there wasn’t an option.

      Or a good idea. He absolutely was not going to be the next man to hurt her.

      “Gabriella.” He sucked in some much-needed air. “It’s too cold out here to be comfortable. Let’s go inside and talk in the lounge.”

      “I’m very comfortable.”

      Well, damn. What was he supposed to say to that? She pressed her chest to his, and while he couldn’t really feel her breasts against him, knowing what softness lay under all the layers of clothes they wore nearly made him moan. Her cold hands cupped his cheeks and she brought his face to hers again for another mind-blowing kiss that had him thinking about risking arrest and getting naked with her right there after all. Thank God the murmur of other voices on the patio cut through his fog and helped him get his libido at least marginally in check.

      Which then helped him remember the paparazzi and how he needed to keep Gabriella safe from the media. While he hoped they hadn’t gotten wind of them coming to Vail, he’d learned not to count on that.

      He dragged his lips from hers and sucked in a deep breath of chilly mountain air that barely cooled the heat pouring through his veins. “Bad idea to do this out here. Cameras, you know?”

      The brown eyes that met his looked a little dazed, but she nodded. “Cameras. I remember. How about we go to the room?”

      Knowing she wanted that, too, made what he had to say nearly impossible. But he forced himself. “Gabriella, it’s better if—”

      “Stop.” She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “You asked me things. There are things I want to ask you too.”

      He braced himself, not being in the mood for true confessions. Mostly because he hated to see her shock and disappointment and disapproval. But she probably had a right to know.

      “Ask away.”

      “Why are you hiding out in L.A.?”

      “What makes you think I’m hiding? I’m visiting.”

      “I don’t live under a rock, Rafael. I know there was a scandal with some woman.”

      The way she smiled and cupped his cheek in her hand relaxed him a little. At least she knew that much, and was still there with him. He turned his face to press his mouth to her palm for a moment, deciding what he wanted to say.

      “Then you know I dated a woman who some people thought was not the kind of person a prince should be dating. It wasn’t as though we had anything more than a casual relationship, but the media hounds ran with it, as they love to do. Since my face had been plastered on television and tabloids quite a lot the past couple years, there was more uproar than usual back home.”

      “Do you care about it? And if you do, why do you do things you know the media will have a field day with?”

      At first, he thought she was judging him, and the pain of that stabbed his chest. But when he looked into her eyes, really looked, he could clearly see that she was just asking, not judging. Her hand still softly caressed his cheek, and the touch weakened him. Or made him stronger, he wasn’t sure which. Either way, he realized he actually wanted to talk to her about it, which surprised the hell out of him.

      He drew in a fortifying breath before he spoke. “First, half the stuff said about me isn’t true. Or is greatly exaggerated. Second, if I read that stuff and worried about it, I’d spend all day doing it and I have more important things to think about.”

      “So why hide out at all?”

      Good question, and one he wasn’t sure how to answer. “My parents get upset about it. And this time the hubbub was so loud they demanded I lie low and keep my face out of the press. And since I’m a grown man and can do as I please, my only explanation of why I did so is that I care about their opinion of me. Because their opinion’s been pretty low for a long time, and I guess that’s always bothered me.”

      His words rang in his ears, and it was like being given a good whack on the side of the head. Apparently there was some part of him deep inside that was still that boy who was the second prince. The spare heir. The one who didn’t always follow rules and had embarrassed his parents when he’d left the kingdom to become a doctor. The one who refused to ever marry, despite having very good reasons for that.

      The son they were always disappointed in, whether he lived up or down to his reputation in the media. Pathetic that it hurt that they felt that way, but there it was. The truth.

      “What do you mean, their opinion of you is low? That’s ridiculous.”

      “Not ridiculous.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and let them stay there, because the simple connection felt good. “I told you before that they wanted me to stay in the family business, so to speak. They never understood or approved of my wanting to be a doctor, and were more than disappointed when I did it anyway.”

      “Rafael.” She grasped his face in her hands, and he felt a little like he was drowning in the sweet sincerity of the brown eyes staring into his. “I don’t know your parents. But I have to believe you’re wrong about a lot of this. Maybe they wanted you to do more traditional duties at home, but surely they’re proud of the hard work you put in to be a doctor. Of the lives you save and the good you do. When you go home, promise me you’ll talk to them. Share how you’ve felt, and clear the air. I bet you’ll be surprised at how they respond.”

      Gabriella knew a lot about human nature—hadn’t he seen it first hand in so many ways? That didn’t mean she knew a thing about his family situation, but he realized he didn’t have anything to lose by talking things over with his parents. Who knew, maybe they could come up with a relationship less full of stress and more full of the kind of closeness he’d seen in other families. Including royal ones like those of the Sheikh they’d met today, who obviously cared deeply about his extended family.

      “I don’t expect anything would change, but for you I’ll think about it.”

      “Not for me, for you. Because after another week or so we won’t see each other again.”

      A good thing for her. Not so much for him. She was the most special

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