Royal Affairs

She turned her back toward him without hesitation. Her skin felt like satin and he loved rubbing the cream over her. The legitimate excuse to touch her made him wish he didn’t have to stop. Summoning all the self-control he could muster, he handed her the tube so she could do the rest herself.

“Thank you,” she said in a shaky voice. “Now it’s my turn to put some on you, although you’re already tanned.”

He longed to feel her hands on him. His pulse throbbed as he felt her spread the cream over his shoulders and back. After putting the tube on the railing, she jumped in the shallow water and shrieked with joy.

“Oh, Antonio— This is divine!” She splashed the water with her hands and laughed in delight before lying back while her legs did the work of keeping her afloat.

One look at her and he couldn’t reach her soon enough. Bathtub was right. The temperature here stayed around eighty day and night. He swam up next to her, infected by her sounds of excitement. With the Polynesian music filling the air, they were like children who’d discovered the fount of pure pleasure.

Together they moved out deeper into the blue lagoon. He swam under and around her. The glimpses of her exquisitely molded body set his heart pounding.

“Look at that darling little sea turtle!”

Spectacular as it was, he would rather look at her. As they trod water, they caught sight of other types of small fish including a clown fish with orange and white stripes. One discovery turned into another. They played and darted through the water for several hours, concocting silly games to identify the fish they saw. Her prowess as a swimmer was going to make this the adventure of a lifetime.

Since there was no one else around, Antonio felt as if they were the last two people on earth...or the first. Adam and Eve?

He loved the idea of it, loved being with her like this where her guard was down. Her sense of fun was already making this trip unforgettable. “What do you say we go back and drink something icy cold while we sunbathe on the lounge chairs?”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll race you back.”

Together they did the crawl. He slowed his pace to stay even with her. When they reached the platform he climbed up first, then helped her. She put on her beach robe and headed for one of the loungers.

“I’ll order some drinks and be right back.”

“No alcohol for me. Even a little wine can give me a headache.”

“Did you suffer from one on our wedding night?”

“No, because I only sipped a little, but I know to be careful.”

That was something he didn’t know. He rarely drank himself and was pleased to learn she didn’t care about it. His parents constantly overindulged.

A few minutes later and Manu appeared with two frosted glasses of juice topped with a flower.

“I could get used to this in a hurry,” Christina commented after they’d given him their order for dinner and were alone again. Antonio handed her some of the brochures from the table in the living room. He looked over one, but would study the rest of them later. Right now he was content to study her and look at the white clouds moving slowly across the sky.

He finished his drink. “It’ll be several hours before dinner, but it’s already late in the day. How would you like to go exploring in the powerboat? We’ll follow the directions in that brochure and make our plans for tomorrow.”

“That’s exactly what I want to do. While we were descending in the plane, I longed to spend more time just to get acquainted with this glorious place.”

A few minutes later they undid the ropes and Antonio idled them out into the lagoon. He reached into one of the lockers. “Here—put this lifesaving belt on.” He handed it to her.

“But the water isn’t that deep.”

“It doesn’t matter. If we got into trouble, you’d be glad of it.”

“I’ll wear it if you wear one too.”

“Nag, nag.” But he smiled as he put one on.

“Now that I think about it, can you imagine the media storm if we had an accident and word got out that the future king and queen of Halencia had almost drowned because they hadn’t been wearing preservers? People would wonder what kind of ruler they had.”

He chuckled. “Point taken. It would never do.”

Off Point Matira they came across a group of huge manta rays. There were spotted and gray rays. Antonio swam near their boat while they watched in fascination.

“We should be marine biologists,” she exclaimed. “Just think, we could come out to places like this and spend all day long for weeks on end.”

Antonio nodded. “Being out here, you can understand the appeal for that kind of work. Are you interested in watching the locals feed the sharks? We’re not far from there.”

“I guess it’s safe or they wouldn’t advertise it, but I think I’ll want to stay in the boat.”

He drove them to the spot where the local divers stood chest deep in the water. Four-and five-foot sharks circled around them to get their food.

“That’s scary to me,” Christina said. “I’ve changed my mind about being a biologist.”

“Instead you’d rather be in Kenya where you can be dragged off by a lion.”

“No—” She grinned at him.

For their last destination they took off and headed for the coral garden, an underwater park southwest of Bora Bora Island. For an hour they were spellbound by the amount of colorful fish and coral. Like an excited child she squealed over the varieties.

“I’m going to take a quick dip before we head back.”

Antonio couldn’t have stopped her. She was too anxious to get closer. Off came her belt and she lowered herself in the water. The sight of her going underwater made him nervous. He watched her like a hawk. To his relief she came back up a few minutes later, but she looked distressed.

“I stepped on something, but I don’t know what.”

Diavolo. “Does it sting?”

“No. It’s just kind of sore on the pad of my foot.”

Antonio leaned over and helped her into the boat. He set her down on the banquette so he could inspect it. “You made contact with a sea urchin, but luckily I only see two spines.” Thank heaven. “They’ll need to come out. Keep your leg on the banquette and I’ll get us back home.” He wrapped the life belt around her, kissed her lips and got behind the wheel.

“Do you think it’s serious?”

“No. I once got a whole foot full of them, but I was fine. Still, we’ll ask the doctor to check you.”

“Oh no—I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Accidents can happen anytime in the water, as you reminded me.”

The sky was darkening fast. He was glad when they reached their island. After tying up the boat, he undid the life belts and carried her from the deck into their bedroom.

After setting her down on top of the bed, he phoned Manu and asked for a doctor to come. “I’ll get you some ibuprofen after we’ve talked to the doctor.”

“Will you carry me to the bathroom? I need to get out of my suit and into a robe.”

“Of course.” He lifted her in his arms once more and let her hang on to him while he reached for her robe hanging on the door. “Can I help you?”

“I’ll be all right.” He waited until she said she was ready, and then he carried her back to the bed. In another moment he heard Manu’s voice coming from the main entrance. “The doctor is here.”

“Will you show him into the bedroom, Manu?”

Within seconds the two men came in. “Princess Christina? This is Dr. Ulani.”

He brought his bag with him. “Thank you for coming, Doctor. As you can see, my wife stepped on a sea urchin. She’s in pain.”

“Hush, Antonio. It’s not that bad at all. More of a discomfort.”

The native doctor smiled. “Accidents like this happen every day, even to someone like Your Highness. Let me check your foot. I’ll try not to add to your pain.”

Antonio placed a chair for him to sit while he worked on her. Relieved as he was that she was getting medical attention, it suddenly hit him how frightened he’d been when she first surfaced. In very little time she’d become so important to him that he couldn’t bear the thought of anything truly serious being wrong with her.

The doctor opened his bag and proceeded to get rid of the two spines. He put ointment on the sores and a dressing. “You’ll be fine tomorrow. Just make sure you wear some kind of shoe in the water if you’re not snorkeling with fins. I’ll give you a tablet for you to sleep that will kill the pain. Tomorrow if you’re still too sore, take some ibuprofen.”

“Thank you so much. It feels better already.”

“It’s a privilege to help you, Princess.” When he’d finished, he stood up. “Take care, now.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Antonio muttered. He shouldn’t have let her slip into the water like that. The action had caught him off guard.

“Here’s the pill. Tomorrow you can take off the dressing.”

Antonio walked him out to the living room. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am you came.”

“It is my pleasure to wait on the future king and queen of Halencia. Our people are aware of your presence here and they are delighted. Don’t hesitate to get hold of me through Manu if you are alarmed by anything.”

Manu stood by. “You want your dinner in the bedroom, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Thank you. Will you bring a glass of water so she can take her medicine?”

He nodded and hurried to the kitchen. Antonio headed back to the bedroom. “Christina? It’s my fault you got hurt this evening.”

“Nonsense. I wasn’t thinking. When I saw those fish, I just had to get in closer.”

“Please tell me you’ll give me a heads-up next time before you do a disappearing act.”

His mermaid was resting against the headboard with a sore foot. “I’m sorry to be the one at fault for not having the sense to get in the water prepared. But, Antonio, you don’t have to try to be perfect with someone as imperfect as I am. I did a stupid thing, but the situation really is funny, don’t you think? Your parents planning for every contingency to bring us joy? And I blew it. At least for tonight. Now you have to give me my medicine and be stuck with your ball and chain until morning.”

“Don’t say that! Not ever! I don’t feel that way about you and never could. Promise me!” He sounded truly upset.

“I promise,” she said as Manu appeared with their dinner. Antonio thanked him and put the tray of food on the side of the bed next to her. He handed her the glass of water and the pill. “Take this first.”

After she did his bidding, he sat in the chair the doctor had used and they ate their dinner. He heard her sigh.

“It’s another beautiful night, so balmy. I’d wanted to go walking on the beach with you.”

“We’ll do that tomorrow night. For now, you need to try and fall asleep.”

“You won’t leave me?” Her eyes beseeched him.

“As if I would,” he murmured, experiencing a hard tug of emotion. It came to him that his new wife had become of vital importance to him. “I’ll join you as soon as I change out of my swimming suit.”

“Good. Don’t be long.”

Christina, Christina.

He put the tray on the table and went into the bathroom to change. After putting on a robe, he turned out the lights, then got into bed beside her. The pill must have been powerful, because her eyelids were drooping. Antonio rolled her into him and she let out a deep sigh. Soon she was asleep. Before long, oblivion took over.

Around six in the morning he felt the bed move. She’d gotten up to use the bathroom.

He eyed her through sleep-filled eyes. When she returned he said, “How’s the pain?”

“There’s hardly any at all. I can walk fine as long as I’m careful.”

“That’s wonderful news. Come back to bed and rest that foot some more. It’s still early.”

CHAPTER SIX

CHRISTINA EYED HER HUSBAND, who’d kept a vigil over her all night. She got back in bed, lying on her side so she could watch him sleep. He was such a gorgeous man. Dawn was sneaking into the bedroom with the morning breeze. Through the open windows she could see the unique shape of the mountains on Bora Bora. If she could be anywhere in the world, she wanted to be right here with the man she’d married.

When next she came awake, she found herself the object of Antonio’s blue gaze. She propped her head up with her hand. “How long have you been awake?”

“Long enough to watch my lovely wife. You’ve been sleeping so peacefully.”

Without hesitation he leaned over to kiss her. “Good morning, esposa mia. I dreamed about kissing you all night long.”

“I had the same dream.”

Before she could blink he put his arm around her and kissed her deeply, not letting her go until she had to breathe.

He sighed. “I needed that.”

“I’m pretty sure you need something else after taking care of me all night. I’ll ring Manu to bring our breakfast tray.” She reached for the phone and put in their order. After hanging up, she turned to her husband.

“How did you know?”

“That you’re starving?” she quipped. “I’m hungry too.”

He raised himself up and leaned over her. “You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you? I could eat you up.”

But at that moment Manu appeared at the door. “Shall I put your breakfast on the table?”

“No, Manu,” Antonio said. “I think we’ll have it right here in bed.”

The other man smiled and set it on the end of the bed before making a discreet departure.

She smiled at her husband. “We’re spoiled rotten. You know that.”

He moved to put the tray between them. Christina propped her head with a couple of pillows and bit into a croissant. “If the famous French impressionist Gauguin were here to paint us, he’d entitle it Petit Déjeuner au Lit Tahitien.”

His lips twitched. “Breakfast in a Tahitian bed is far too mundane. I think a more appropriate title would be Le Mari Amoureux.”

The Amorous Husband? Christina laughed to cover the quiver that ran through her. She’d forgotten he’d attended a French/Swiss boarding school too and was fluent in French besides Halencian, Italian, English and Spanish.

“What do you want to do today?”

“I’m up for anything.”

“Honestly?”

“My foot doesn’t hurt and I don’t want us to miss out on anything while we’re here. We don’t have that much time before we have to go back.”

“I don’t want to go back.”

Her pulse raced. “Neither do I.”

“What do you say we take out the kayak and just paddle around for fun?”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll get my suit on and wear a T-shirt so I don’t pick up any more sun on my shoulders.” With a kiss to his jaw, she slid out of bed. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He’d been worried about that. The need to touch her was growing. A bad case of sunburn could make her feel miserable for several days. Relieved that her foot was healing well, he got excited to think about spending another glorious day with her. It was pure selfishness on his part to want her able to do everything with him waking or sleeping.

There was only one bed, but a number of couches. He had no intention of sleeping on a couch or a sun lounger tonight. He wanted his wife in that oversize bed clinging to him while the scented breeze from Bora Bora wafted through their bedroom.

“Antonio? I’m ready when you are.”

He looked up to see her standing there with a white T-shirt pulled over her suit. “I’m glad you’re wearing your tennis shoes.”

There was no doubt his bride had one of the most beautiful faces and bodies he’d ever seen, starting with her glorious hair. She’d fastened it on top with a clip. He wanted to reach up and pull her down to him, but right now it was important they keep having fun while breaking down walls.

Levering himself out of bed, he hurried to the bathroom to put on his trunks. Then he joined her at the edge of the platform. The Sevylor inflatable plastic kayak had been secured to the post with cords. Once they were undone he reached down to hand her a belt life preserver. While she put hers on, he fastened his.

“I’ll go first.” After getting in the front seat, he held out his hands to her and eased her into the backseat.

“Ooh—” She laughed. “It’s tippy. I’m used to a canoe.”

“You’ll soon get the hang of it.”

They unloosened their oars and started paddling. He led them around in circles to get her used to the motion. Over his shoulder he said, “According to the brochure, there’s no surf here because of the reef across the lagoon. When you’re ready, we’ll head out to that other island in the distance.”

“I can see you’re an old pro at this.”

“During my boarding school days in Lausanne, some friends that my parents didn’t approve of flew home with me on breaks. We’d go kayaking around Halencia on weekends. But as you know, the Mediterranean can be choppy when the wind comes up. This lagoon is like glass in comparison.”

They started paddling together and headed out. “I wonder if I ever saw you out there during the few times I came home from boarding school.”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing myself. Do you believe in destiny, Christina?”

“To be honest, until I received the phone call from you that we were really getting married, I believed that I was meant to—” She broke off abruptly. “Oh, it doesn’t matter what I believed.”

He stopped paddling and turned to look at her. “Tell me. I want to know.”

She shook her head. “If I told you, you’d see me as a pitiful creature who feels sorry for herself.”

“You’re anything but pitiful. I want to know what you were going to say.”

Christina rested her oar. She cast her gaze toward Bora Bora. “My parents didn’t want me, Antonio. They really didn’t. The only genuine love I felt came from my great-aunt Sofia, but I wasn’t her daughter and didn’t see her very often.

“I believed it was my lot always to live on the outside of their lives. This became evident when they didn’t put up a fuss about my working in Africa. I was crushed when they sounded happy about my doing charity work there. They didn’t miss me, not at all. Marusha’s parents have been more like parents to me than anyone.”

Her suffering had to be infinite. “That’s tragic about your parents.”

“I was afraid you’d say that, but I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. They were warmer to me at the wedding, especially Mother. You asked for the truth and I’ve told you. As for believing in destiny, despite my pain, I was happy with my life in Africa and decided I’d probably live there forever. The ability to help other people brought me a lot of peace I hadn’t known before.”

“Until I turned your world upside down,” he bit out in self-deprecation.

“It wasn’t just you, Antonio. Elena had already become family to me. When she got into real trouble, I felt her pain. Like you, she led a life of isolation being royal. I can understand why she took up with guys from my world. In your own way, you and Elena have led a life of loneliness. It’s a strange world you two inhabit and always will be. But I was lucky enough to be the friend Elena let in. If I could have had a sister, I would have wanted her.”

“You’re very perceptive, Christina. I originally went to San Francisco to learn business. It was there I worked with normal people. Zach became a true friend and I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want to go home. My parents’ lifestyle was a personal embarrassment to me. But when I heard of the trouble Elena was in, I couldn’t turn my back on her. Forgive me for using you.”

“By phoning you, I used you too,” Christina came back. “Did you really have a choice to do anything but try to draw the paparazzi’s attention away from her? I was the perfect person to help. After all, we were an unlikely threesome, yet no one knew me or knew about me. What I want to know is, why didn’t you break off our engagement a few years later and ask the woman you loved to marry you?”

His jaw hardened. “I wouldn’t have done that to you.”

“You see what I mean?”

Her sad smile pierced him.

“You tried to be like everyone else, but in the end, the prince in you dominated your will. The princess in Elena let you fall on your sword because you were both born to royalty and knew your duty. She wanted you to be king one day.

“Before I phoned you, did you know she wanted to admit everything to the police and take the blame so there’d be no reflection on you or your family? But I wouldn’t let her. I told her I was going to phone you because I knew you could fix things and you found a way.”

“Which involved you.” His voice throbbed. His emotions hovered near the surface. “Let me ask you a question. Why didn’t you tell me to go to hell when I called you to give you the wedding date? You would have had every right.”

She breathed in deeply. “Because your royal dust had blown on me years before. I’m not a Halencian for nothing. My country means everything to me. The engagement we entered into was very bizarre, but it made a strange kind of sense. In fact, the only kind of sense that would satisfy the people.

“I’m positive it would have been hard for them to accept your marriage to a woman from a different nationality as you pointed out. But if you’d wanted it badly enough, you could have made it happen.”

He eyed her for a moment. “When it came down to it, I didn’t want her badly enough to break my commitment to you.”

“Thank you for saying that. I want you to know I’m not sorry, Antonio.”

His heart skipped a beat. “Do you honestly mean it? Even though it meant ending an important relationship with the doctor you met in Kenya?”

“It wasn’t that important. I didn’t want to break my commitment to you either. You and Elena have trod a treacherous path all your lives. You always will because you were born to the House of L’Accardi.

“Elena and I were friends from the age of fifteen. I knew her sorrows. She bore mine. Her greatest fear was that you might end up living in California one day and giving up the throne so she would have to be queen. That was one of her greatest nightmares.”

Good heavens. So much had gone on that he hadn’t known about behind the scenes because of his selfishness in pursuing his own dream. “I didn’t realize...”

“How could you if she never said anything? At our reception, Elena acted so happy we got married that she could hardly contain herself.” Even though there was still something she seemed to be holding back.

“Her happiness went much deeper than that because it meant she wasn’t going to lose the best friend she’s ever had.”

Christina flashed a full, radiant smile at him, stunning him. “Now she’s got both of us and our threesome can go on forever.”

Forever.

* * *

Antonio turned around and started paddling again. There’d been a time when the thought of being married forever stuck in his throat. But no longer. When they returned to the hut, Manu had served their dinner on the deck.

“Tonight you are eating freshly caught mahimahi with coconut rice and mango salsa.”

“It looks fantastic, Manu.”

After he left them alone Christina said, “They’ve gone all out for us. Now I know the true meaning of being treated like a king.”

His blue eyes glinted with amusement as they sat down to eat.

Christina took her first bite. “The fish is out of this world.”

“This is Bora Bora mahimahi,” he quipped. “We won’t be getting anything this good in Halencia. If I could put off the coronation for a while, I’d like us to stay here for a month at least! I’m thinking our first-year anniversary. What do you say?”

“But we’ll fly commercial. And we’ll stay in a little bungalow over the water and play tourist like everyone else.”

“And climb the mountain and scuba dive. Have you ever been?”

“No.”

“Then you’ve got to take lessons. I’ll go with you.”

“You mean you’ll take time out of your busy day?”

“You’ll need a buddy. I don’t want anyone else buddying up with my wife.”

The possessive tone in his voice thrilled her.