LITMIR.BIZ

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since the subject had come up, at least in her mind.

      “Why do you want to know?” he shot back without missing a beat.

      “Oh!” This was surely the most defensive and distrustful man she’d ever met. She made a quick sound of exasperation. “What do you mean, why do I want to know? That is so rude!”

      “Sorry,” he said gruffly. “But, believe me, I have reason to not want people to know where I’m staying.” He hesitated. “We started out at the Ritz but I’m afraid we’ve got to move to another place. They’ve likely put our possessions in the street by now.”

      She shook her head, uncomprehending. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

      He sighed heavily. “My adorable son Jeremy happened. As usual.”

      She frowned. The man was impossible. “I wish you wouldn’t talk about him that way.”

      “I wish I didn’t have to.” He saw the look on her face and backed down a bit. “Okay, I’ll try to hold back on the sarcasm. But, believe me, you’ll be saying mean things about him too when you hear what he did.”

      She made a disbelieving face. “Tell me.”

      He took a sip of his unfamiliar coffee drink and had to admit it was pretty good. Settling back, he began his story.

      “Here’s how it all went down. I was up half the night trying to make business calls to the States, so Jeremy woke up before I did this morning and headed out to see whose life he could ruin.”

      “Adam!”

      He grinned, then, realizing she couldn’t see a grin, shrugged and went on. “When I woke up and saw he was gone, I knew right away we were in trouble. I searched all over for him, looking for evidence of recent disasters. It took awhile, but I finally went to the hotel kitchen. And there he was.”

      “And? What did he do there—sneak a cookie?”

      “Oh, no.” He issued a short laugh. “Jeremy never does small things like that. I’ll tell you what he did.” He grimaced, remembering the sight he was about to recount to her. “You see, the kitchen staff were preparing for a wedding, and in a sweetly fashioned little portico they had placed a beautifully decorated wedding cake, all ready to go. It was about five layers tall. And I’m sure it was a work of art … before Jeremy got to it and licked off most of the frosting.”

      She gasped. “Oh, no!”

      “Oh, yes.” He groaned, stretching out in his chair and shaking his head as he remembered the horrible scene. “The funny thing was, he liked the yellow roses and gobbled them right down, but the red roses didn’t taste right to him, so as he pulled them off he merely squished them on the table. They looked like sad little soldiers lying there, abused and unwanted. It was heartbreaking. Really.”

      Elena was trying not to laugh but it wasn’t easy holding it back.

      “In the meantime, he dipped his finger into the white foundation coat, making swirly pictures as he scooped off hunks of white frosting and gorged himself with it. And no one caught him in time, so he just kept eating. He was looking a bit green around the gills by the time I found him—and still trying to stuff more frosting down his greedy gullet.”

      She sighed, shaking her head. “Poor Jeremy.”

      “Poor Jeremy?” He was slightly outraged by her misdirected sympathy. “How about poor Jeremy’s father? Or the poor pastry chef? Or the poor bride, for God’s sake. You should have heard the screaming once everyone realized what had happened.”

      She held back a chuckle. “What did you do?”

      He shrugged. “I threw some money at them and grabbed the kid and got out of there. Believe me, I don’t think we should go back. We’ve been wandering the streets ever since.” He sighed. “So now we have to find a new place to stay. Then I’ll send for our clothes.”

      He threw some money at them. She nodded silently, thinking that was probably what he did with a lot of things. Got a problem? No big deal. Here’s some money so I don’t have to think about it anymore. Heaven help any woman who got involved with a man like this.

      Not that she was in any danger of that. She was pretty sure she’d made it clear that she wasn’t responsive to him. He must have picked up on things she’d said and the way she’d said them. He couldn’t be so dense—or so egotistical—that he thought she would be interested.

      He was trying to make a call again, then muttered something and swore softly. “So where the hell did they disappear to, anyway?” he said.

      She frowned, then realized with a start that he was talking about Jeremy and Fabio. She hadn’t given them a thought for some time now. Silently, she scolded herself. Here she’d just been thinking about how dangerous it would be to care about a man like Adam, and the next thing she knew, he gave her raw evidence that she was letting his presence turn her head as it was.

      “I’d better go take a look and see if I can find them,” he said, rising. “Be right back.”

      She nodded but didn’t speak, glad for a moment to steady herself. But she only had seconds to do that, because her friend Gino arrived just as Adam left.

      “Hey, Elena,” he said, slumping down into a chair beside her. “Isn’t that Adam Ryder?”

      Elena’s head rose in surprise. “Yes. Do you know him?”

      “No. But you seem to.” Gino didn’t sound pleased. “Is he a friend of yours?”

      “I met him yesterday at the ruins.”

      “Did you?” Gino cleared his throat thoughtfully. “You don’t realize who he is, do you?”

      She went very still. “No. Tell me.”

      He patted her hand as though she needed consoling.

      “You’re not keeping up with the local news, my sweet. He’s the latest candidate they’ve brought in to audition for the job of King of Niroli. He’s the illegitimate son of the late crown prince, Antonio.”

      CHAPTER THREE

      ELENA gasped. Adam was Crown Prince Antonio’s son? Such a possibility hadn’t entered her mind. And he’d seemed like—what? Not an everyday, average guy. Not that. She’d sensed something edgier, more dangerous about him from the first. But hardly royal.

      Still, why not? He had the insolence for royalty. No wonder she’d been instinctively wary of him from the beginning. The illegitimate son of Antonio. She could hardly believe it.

      “He didn’t let on?” Gino asked.

      “He gave no hint that I was aware of.”

      “Hmm. Maybe he thinks he’s going incognito for now.” Gino grimaced. “Well, be careful, darling. Royalty aren’t like you and me. Even when they’re illegitimate.” He rose. “I’ve got to see a man about a painting. I’ll stop by and see you later.”

      She nodded. “Don’t forget about tonight,” she reminded him, thinking of the small gathering of friends she was having that evening.

      He bent to kiss her cheek. “I won’t let you down,” he said affectionately, then hurried off.

      His words echoed in her mind and she shook her head to rid herself of them. She seemed, suddenly, to be clinging to any hint of protection as though she was expecting a major assault on her peace of mind very soon. This was no good and it wasn’t like her. Ever since she’d been very young she’d worked hard at being self-sufficient. The temptation was to relax and let others take care of her. It came with the territory and she had a very big excuse for doing exactly that. But she knew she would lose all self respect if she let that happen.

      Still, this news that Adam was Antonio’s son was disturbing. Of all people for her to have run

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