Mum's The Word!

When the television began showing images of Gabriel and Marissa together, laughing, arms around each other, looking happy and very young, he realized Olivia had gone still. Picture after picture flashed on the screen, and many of them weren’t paparazzi shots. There were photos taken of them in private at friends’ homes, even a couple when they’d vacationed on a private island in the Caribbean.

Gabriel’s disquiet grew as Olivia’s attention remained glued to the news footage that recapped his turbulent years with Marissa. Naturally the reporters made their relationship sound more dramatic, the end more tragic than it actually had been.

While he watched, Olivia’s private secretary approached her and spoke softly in her ear. She nodded and came to stand before Gabriel.

“My father wishes to speak to me.”

“I’ll walk with you.”

“You should stay and discuss what is to be done now that the story is out.”

Her suggestion made sense, but he wasn’t sure it was good to let her leave without clearing the air. “I’d like a moment alone to speak with you.”

“I have a fitting for my wedding dress at ten. I should be back a little before noon.”

Once again their schedules were keeping them apart. “I have a lunch meeting with my education adviser.”

“Perhaps Stewart and Libby can find us a moment to connect later this afternoon.”

Gabriel wanted to proclaim they should make time, but had no idea what he was committed to for the rest of the afternoon.

“This shouldn’t wait until later. Let’s go to my office and discuss this situation in private.”

“Whatever you wish.”

Disliking the polite calm of her tone, he guided her from the room with a hand at the small of her back. Beneath his palm, her spine maintained a steady inflexibility that marked the change in her mood from their earlier interlude.

As pointless as it was to resent the timing of recent events, Gabriel couldn’t stop himself from wishing he and Olivia had been given a month or two to form a personal connection before their relationship had been tested to this extent. But that wasn’t the case and as he escorted her into his sanctuary and shut the door, he hoped they could weather this storm without sustaining permanent damage.

His office was on the first floor of the palace, not far from the formal reception room. Originally the space had been one of the numerous salons set aside for visiting guests. Five years ago, he’d appropriated it for his own use, tearing down the lavender wallpaper left over from the late 1970s and installing wood paneling and bookshelves that he’d filled with his favorite authors. The room was his sanctuary.

“You’re upset.”

“Just concerned about the twins.” Her quiet voice and dignified demeanor were at odds with the passionate woman who’d melted in his arms a little while ago. Gabriel felt something tighten in his chest. “I think it might be a good idea to have them in the wedding. I thought I would talk to Noelle Dubone. She’s creating my wedding dress and I’m sure she would be happy to design matching flower-girl dresses for Bethany and Karina to wear.”

Gabriel leaned back so he could stare into her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Completely. The world knows they’re here. Hiding them would be a mistake.”

“I agree. I’ll speak with my parents about it.” He could tell that Olivia’s anxiety over the twins’ welfare had been sincere, but surmised more than that was bothering her. “The news coverage about my relationship with Marissa—”

At his slight pause she jumped in. “You looked very happy together.” She seemed to have more to say, but remained silent.

“We had our moments.” Gabriel drew a deep breath. “But much of the time we fought.”

“The paparazzi must not have caught any of those moments on film.”

She sounded neutral enough, but Gabriel sensed she wasn’t as tranquil as she appeared. “We fought in private.” And then made up in spectacular fashion.

His thoughts must have shown on his face because her eyebrows rose.

She moved toward the French doors and looked out. Gabriel stepped to her side. For a moment he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and relive the kisses from earlier. The compulsion to be near her tested his composure.

Her gaze slid in his direction. “Passion can be addictive.”

How would she know that?

He knew of no serious romances in her life. Her private life was without even a whiff of scandal. No boyfriends. No lovers.

“Do you have firsthand knowledge of this fact?” Lord in heaven, he sounded suspicious. And yet, he couldn’t stop himself from probing. “Have you...?” Realizing what he’d almost asked, he stopped speaking.

“Taken a lover?”

Damn the woman, she was laughing. Oh, not outwardly where he could see her mocking smile and take offense. But inwardly. Her eyes sparkled and her voice had developed a distinct lilt. Had his expression betrayed an unanticipated flare of unfounded jealousy? Or was she reacting to the revelation that for all his sources, he knew nothing about her?

Gabriel turned her to face him, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Have you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “You’ll be my first.”

Desire exploded as she met his gaze. Wild with satisfaction that she would be completely his, Gabriel lost touch with his rational side. Surrendering to the need to kiss her senseless and show her just how addictive passion could be, he cupped her cheek in his palm, slid his other hand around her waist to hold her captive and brought his lips to hers.

He gave her just a taste of his passion, but even that was enough to weaken his restraint. Breathing heavily, he set his forehead against hers and searched her gaze.

“Your only.” He growled the words.

“Of course.”

Her matter-of-fact tone highlighted just how fast he’d let his control slip. His hands fell away, but his palms continued to burn with the heat of her skin. He rubbed them together, determined to banish the lingering sensation.

The need to spend some time alone with her had just grown more urgent. He was concerned that the media storm surrounding the arrival of the twins would make her father consider changing his mind about letting his daughter marry Gabriel. No wedding. No biotech plant on the outskirts of Caron, Sherdana’s capital. Gabriel needed to hedge his bets with Olivia.

As long as she still wanted to marry him, everything would proceed as planned. He just needed to reassure her that marrying him was a good idea. And he knew the best way to convince a woman had nothing at all to do with logic.

Some private time should do the trick, just the two of them. A chance to present her with a small token of his affection. Thus far her engagement ring was the only jewelry he’d given her. He should have had a gift ready to present on her arrival in Sherdana, but he’d been preoccupied. And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t been thinking of Olivia as his future bride, but as a next step in Sherdana’s economic renaissance.

“I’ll arrange for us to have a private dinner in my suite.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Olivia said, her expression unreadable. Gabriel had chosen her partly because of her composure when dealing with reporters and her public persona. Now, he wasn’t happy at not being able to read her.

Shortly after she departed, Gabriel summoned Stewart and had him reschedule his morning appointments so Gabriel could meet with his jeweler. Half an hour later, he entered the reception room where Mr. Sordi waited with two cases of sparkling gems. Despite the wide selection, Gabriel wondered if he’d have trouble selecting the perfect piece for his bride-to-be. In the end, he chose the first bracelet that caught his eye, believing the fanciful design of flowers rendered in diamonds and pink sapphires would please her.

Business concluded, he let Stewart show the jeweler out while Gabriel slipped the bracelet into his office safe. He dashed off a quick note to Olivia, inviting her to dinner, and got one of the maids to deliver it. Then he went off to his lunch meeting with his education adviser, but his thoughts were preoccupied with the evening to come.

* * *

After a short conversation with her father to assure him that she’d already known about the twins and was perfectly happy that they’d come to live with their father, Olivia went to change her clothes, but ended up standing on the stone terrace outside her room, staring at the garden below. The euphoria of those passionate moments in Gabriel’s arms were misty memories.

Olivia’s heart sank to her toes. Caught up in the romance of kissing Gabriel in the beautiful garden, she’d been on the verge of doing things in public she’d never even done in private. While on a subconscious level she’d begun to think in terms of love. In reality she was embarking on an arranged marriage.

Being told Gabriel had loved the mother of his children and being confronted by the hard truth of it were very different animals. The pictures playing across the television screen had complicated her emotions. She’d been besieged by thorny questions.

Had he been thinking of Marissa as he kissed her? Had he been wishing that the woman he’d loved wasn’t dead? Or that her ancestry had permitted them to be married? Marissa had been every man’s fantasy. Vivacious, sexy, breathtakingly beautiful. In her eyes danced promises she might or might not keep. A man could spend a lifetime wondering which way she would go. How could Olivia hope to compete?

She couldn’t.

But she wasn’t marrying Gabriel because he loved her. She was marrying him because as a princess her voice advocating for children would reach further and she could fulfill her dream of becoming a mother. Her children would be the next generation of Alessandros. Still, it hurt to see the way Gabriel had stared at the screen as his former lover’s face was shown in photo after photo. Her heart had ached at the way his expression turn to stone while his eyes looked positively battered.

Suddenly Olivia wasn’t sure she could do this. Sucking in a sharp breath, she glanced down at her engagement ring. Sunlight fell across her hand, lighting up the large center diamond like the fireworks at a centennial celebration. She’d come to Sherdana to marry a prince, not a man, but after tasting passion and realizing she wanted more, she didn’t think she could settle for marrying a man with a past that still haunted him.

A man still in love with the mother of his illegitimate twin girls.

Maybe this marriage wasn’t meant to be.

But so much was riding on it. So many people were counting on the jobs her father’s company would bring to Sherdana. And the wedding was less than a month away. She had a fitting for her dress in less than an hour. Olivia stared at the slim gold watch on her arm, her mother’s watch.

A short time later, Olivia stepped out of the car that had driven her and Libby to the small dress shop in Sherdana’s historic city center. She’d pushed aside her heavy heart, averse to dwelling on something over which she had no control. She was her father’s daughter. Raised as a pragmatist, she knew it was impractical to indulge in pretty dreams of falling in love with her prince and living happily ever after.

The shop door chimed as Olivia entered. Wide windows provided a great deal of light in the small but elegant reception room. The walls had been painted pale champagne to complement the marble floors. There was a gold damask-covered sofa flanked by matching chairs in the front room. The glass-topped coffee table held a portfolio of Noelle Dubone’s previous work. Some of her more famous clients were not featured in the book, but on the walls. Stars, models, heiresses, all wearing Noelle’s gorgeous gowns.

Almost before the door shut behind them, Noelle was on hand to greet her. The designer offered Olivia a warm smile and a firm handshake.

“Lady Darcy, how delightful to see you again.”

Noelle had a lilting Italian accent. Although Sherdana shared borders with both France and Italy, it had chosen Italian as its official national language. With her dark hair and walnut-colored eyes, Noelle’s lineage could have gone back to either country, but from earlier conversations Olivia knew the designer’s ancestry could be traced back to the 1500s. Noelle might not be one of Sherdana’s nobility, but the church kept excellent records.

“It’s good to see you, as well,” Olivia said, warming to the willowy designer all over again. Choosing to have a dress made by Noelle had been easy in so many ways. Although her London friends had counseled Olivia to go with a more famous designer and have an extravagant gown made, Olivia had decided she much preferred Noelle’s artistry. Plus Noelle was Sherdanian. It made political sense for Olivia to show her support of the country where she would soon be a princess, especially taking into consideration how hard-hit Sherdana’s economy had been in the past few years.

“I have your dress waiting in here.” Noelle showed Olivia into a dressing room.

For her more famous clients, Noelle often traveled for fittings. She would have brought the dress to the palace if Olivia had requested. But Olivia liked the shop’s cozy feel and wasn’t eager to entertain anyone’s opinion but her own.

The dress awaiting her was as beautiful as she remembered from the sketches. It had stood out among the half dozen Noelle had shown her six months ago; in fact, the rendering had taken her breath away.

With the help of Noelle’s assistants, Olivia donned the dress. Facing the three-way mirror, she stared at her reflection, and was overcome with emotion. It was perfect.

From the bodice to her thighs, the dress hugged the lean curves of her body. Just above her knees it flared into a full skirt with a short train. Made of silk organza, embroidered with feathery scrolls over white silk, the gown’s beauty lay in its play of simple lines and rich fabrics. Although Noelle had designed the dress to be strapless, Olivia had requested some sort of small sleeve and the designer had created the illusion of cap sleeves by placing two one-inch straps on either shoulder.

“What are planning to do for a veil?” Noelle asked.

“The queen is lending me the tiara she wore on her wedding day,” Olivia said. “I’m not sure I want to use a veil with it.”

“Good. When I designed the dress, I didn’t picture it with a veil.” Noelle stepped back to admire her handiwork. “You have lost a little weight since we measured you. The waist needs to be taken in a little.”

Olivia turned sideways to peer at the way the short train looked behind her. “I will try not to gain before the wedding.”

For the next hour, Noelle and her staff worked on minor alterations to the fit. While Olivia thought the dress fit well enough that she could have worn it as is, Noelle was obviously a perfectionist.

“I have another project that I’d like to talk to you about,” Olivia said as Noelle handed off the dress to her assistant.

Ever since arriving, she’d been thinking about including the twins in the wedding. While Gabriel seemed okay with the idea, she wasn’t sure how his family would react, but after this morning’s media coverage of the girls’ arrival at the palace, hiding them from public scrutiny would be impossible and counterproductive.

“Come into my office,” Noelle said. “Tell me what you have in mind.”

Sipping the coffee Noelle’s assistant had provided, Olivia contemplated the best way to begin, then decided to just dive in.

“Did you happen to see the news this morning?”

“About Prince Gabriel’s daughters?” Noelle pressed her lips together. “The royal family hasn’t given them much fodder for stories in the last few years. I’m afraid the level of coverage on this particular item so close to your wedding is just too huge for them to use restraint.”

“Dealing with the media comes with the territory,” Olivia said. “You’d know that.”

Noelle looked startled for a second. “I only design for the stars,” she demurred. “I’m not one of them myself.”

“You are making a name for yourself. Don’t be surprised when you become as big a story as your clients.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen. I like my quiet little life.” Noelle’s gaze touched a silver frame on her desk. It held the photo of a small dark-haired boy. The angle didn’t offer a very good view of his face, but Olivia could tell from Noelle’s expression that he was very special to her.

“Is he your son?”

“Yes. Marc. He was two in that picture. The same age as the prince’s daughters.”

Olivia felt a clenching low in her abdomen. A cry from her empty womb. “He’s beautiful. How old is he now?”

“Almost four.”

Olivia didn’t ask about the boy’s father. She knew Noelle wasn’t currently married and wasn’t sure if the question would arouse difficult memories.

“I would like to include Prince Gabriel’s daughters in the wedding and want you to make dresses for them.”

“I’ll work on some sketches and send them over to the palace. Did you have a color in mind?”

“White with pale yellow sashes. To match Princess Ariana’s gown.” The color suited the dark-haired princess and would her nieces, as well.

“I’ll get to work immediately.”

At the sound of a light knock, both women looked toward the door. Noelle’s assistant hovered on the threshold.

“I just wanted to let you know that there are media outside.”

Although the announcement of her engagement to Gabriel had briefly made Olivia newsworthy in England, the future princess of a small country hadn’t interested the British press for long.

In Sherdana, however, it was a different story. She’d found the citizens were very curious about her. When she’d visited three months ago, she’d been besieged by requests for interviews and followed wherever she went. Numerous public appearances had filled her daily schedule from ribbon-cutting ceremonies to attending sessions of parliament.

But when Olivia emerged into Noelle’s reception room, she understood the assistant’s concern. At least a hundred people crowded the streets, most of them armed with cameras. Surely not all these people were reporters. David, her driver, and Antonio, the enormous man Gabriel had assigned to accompany her whenever she was out in public, had called in five others from palace security to create a corridor of safety between the front door of the wedding shop and the car.

Olivia shot Libby a look. “I think life as I knew it has come to an end.” Then she turned to Noelle. “Thank you for everything. The dress is perfect.”

“You’re welcome.”

Squaring her shoulders, Olivia put on her public face and stepped toward the front door. Noelle held it open for her with a whispered, “Bon courage.”

“Olivia, how are you dealing with the discovery of the prince’s illegitimate children?”

“Lady Darcy, can you tell us if the wedding is still on?”

“How do you feel about raising another woman’s children?”

“Do you think the prince would have married Marissa if he’d been able?”

The questions rained down on Olivia as she headed for the car, smiling and waving as she walked, but responding to none. She slipped each query into its own special cubbyhole for later retrieval and didn’t realize she was holding her breath until the car had pulled away from the curb. Libby watched her in concern.

“I’m fine.”

“You look...unhappy.”

“I’m just tired. The twins slept in my bed and I wasn’t able to get comfortable on the couch. That’s all.”

The excuse pacified her secretary and gave Olivia the space to sort through the highs and lows of the last twenty-four hours. While she wasn’t naive enough to think that Gabriel was marrying her for anything other than business, Olivia had hoped that he’d grow fond of her. But while they’d kissed in the garden, she’d let herself believe that their future could be filled with passion and romance.

The photos of him with Marissa that the media had broadcast this morning had been a wake-up call. That was love. Olivia stared out the window at the old town slipping past.

She needed time to adjust to sharing him with a ghost.

Five

When Olivia returned to her room after the fitting, she discovered an invitation and a small, slender box wrapped in ribbon. Heart pounding, she opened the envelope and recognized Gabriel’s strong handwriting.

A quiet dinner, just the two of them. In his suite. She clutched the stationery to her chest and breathed deep to calm her sudden attack of nerves. Except for the brief time last night and this morning, they hadn’t been alone together. Did he intend to seduce her? Olivia certainly hoped so, but what did she wear to her deflowering? Something demure that matched her level of experience in all things sexual? Something that bared her skin and invited his touch?

Her fears that he didn’t find her attractive had melted beneath the heat of this morning’s kiss. But he was accustomed to women with far more experience than she possessed. Apprehension made her nerves buzz like a swarm of angry hornets.

Leaving her worries to sort themselves out, she tugged at the ribbon holding the box closed. The pale blue silk fell away. Her fingers brushed the hinged lid as she savored the anticipation of her first gift from Gabriel. From the box’s shape, she knew it was a bracelet.

Olivia took a deep breath and opened the lid. Lying on a bed of black velvet was a stunning free-form emerald an inch and a half wide and almost two inches long that dominated the design. The rest of the band was diamonds, set in a diamond-shaped pattern. Bold and contemporary, it wasn’t the sort of thing she’d wear, being a little too trendy, but she couldn’t fault Gabriel’s taste.

Ignoring a pang of disappointment that he’d chosen something so not her taste, she draped the wide cuff over her wrist. As she admired the sparkle, she couldn’t shake a nagging sense of familiarity. It was a unique piece, something one-of-a-kind, yet she was certain she’d seen it before. But where? The answer eluded her and she set aside her musings as Libby arrived and helped Olivia decide on the perfect outfit to highlight Gabriel’s extravagant gift.

Around midafternoon she went up to the nursery and found the twins eager to visit the stables. But she listened with only half her attention as Bethany chattered on the short walk to the stables. Olivia was having a hard time thinking about anything except her dinner with Gabriel and the hope that they could forget all about Marissa and begin their lives together. Comparing herself to Gabriel’s former lover would only lead to trouble down the road. She’d be smarter to put that energy into keeping Gabriel’s mind fixed on the present.

While a pair of grooms took Bethany and Karina to look at the ponies their father had ordered to be delivered to the stable, Olivia drifted along the barn’s center aisle, stroking a soft nose here and there, lost in a pleasant daydream. The soothing sounds of the barn wrapped her in a cocoon of stillness that allowed her ample privacy to relive the moments in the garden that morning.

Her blood heated and slowed, flowing into the sensitive area between her thighs that Gabriel’s fervent kiss had awakened earlier. She leaned her back against a stall and closed her eyes to better relive the delicious caress of his hands against her back and hips. Her breasts had ached for his possession. She’d never felt anything like the powerful craving his kiss aroused. She’d been seconds away from begging him to touch her everywhere. He’d been her master. Her teacher. And she, a very willing student.

The memories disturbed the smooth rhythm of her breathing. How was it possible that just thinking of Gabriel aroused her?

“Are you okay?”

Olivia’s eyes snapped open. A groom peered at her, concern in his brown eyes.

She offered a weak smile, feeling heat in her cheeks, put there by her sensual daydreams. Had she really been standing in the middle of a barn, imagining how it would feel to have Gabriel’s large, strong hands roaming over her bare skin?