The Tycoon Takes a Wife / His Royal Prize

He shifted uncomfortably. Couldn’t he just give her a résumé?”I finished my dissertation.”

“You completed your PhD? I’m impressed.”

He winced. He hadn’t shared that with her to wow her. He preferred not to talk about himself at all.”I enjoy the subject matter.” He shrugged offhandedly.”I had the luxury of not worrying about school loans.”

“But you were also in Spain in a more official capacity?”

“Yes, I was.” What did she hope to accomplish by grilling him?

“Why did you keep it a secret?”

Was this a trap?”I didn’t keep anything a secret.”

He just didn’t feel the need to relay everything to everyone.

“You’re playing with words.” She leaned closer, her shower-fresh scent, the tropical perfume of her shampoo, teasing him.”You can’t blame me for making assumptions when you won’t share. Well, tell me now. What else were you doing there?”

To hell with figuring out motives or playing games. He had her here. Talking to him. Not running. If he had to scavenge chitchat to make headway with her, then fine. Might as well dish up some information about his past.”When I turned eighteen, I decided I didn’t want to live off my family. While I was in college, I started flipping houses.”

“You worked construction in college?” She set aside the quilt and reached for her coffee.

Good. He had her relaxing bit by bit.”Is there something wrong with that?”

She paused midsip.”Of course not. I just … Okay, I made assumptions about your college years.”

“I didn’t have time for the frat-boy scene, princess.” He’d worked his ass off, and considered the time well spent as it gave him real-world experience once he’d graduated.”So I flipped houses, made investments then took things to another level by underwriting renovations of historic manor homes and castles. I made more investments.” He shrugged.”And here I am.”

“What about your family’s influence in world politics? What about your inheritance?”

Some of the women in his life had been sorely disappointed to hear about his lack of interest in being a part of the political world his family inhabited.”What about it?”

“Do you just leave the money sitting around?”

“Hell, no. I invest it. I expect to leave more for my kids.”

“You want children?” She averted her eyes, setting her mug down.

“Damn straight, I do. A half dozen or so.”

She pushed to her feet abruptly, backing away, nearly stumbling over her bare feet. Eloisa grabbed the chair for balance.”I need to finish getting ready for work.”

What the hell had caused her quick turnaround? He’d been sure he was making headway and suddenly she was checking her watch, shoving on her shoes and scooping up her purse.

Maybe he’d hit a snag there by pushing too hard, too fast. But he wasn’t one to admit defeat. It was all about building on the progress he’d made, one brick at a time. He watched her rush around the town house, gathering herself on her way out the door. And as she turned to wave goodbye, he realized.

She’d put on lip gloss.

He thought back to the evening before. She’d been stunning, silhouetted against the waterside, wind rippling her dress and lifting her hair. She had an unstated style and innate grace that proclaimed her timeless beauty regardless of what she wore.

And he was damn sure she hadn’t worn makeup last night or a year ago. Yet for some reason, she’d slicked on gloss today. Sure, it was a minor detail, but he found himself curious about every detail surrounding the woman he’d married.

They’d made a decent start in getting to know each other better today. Although they’d mostly talked about his job. And now that he thought about it, he didn’t know much about her career since she’d transitioned from being a student.

If he wanted to get closer to Eloisa, perhaps it was time to learn a little more about her workplace.

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