clasped his hands behind his neck and began to pace. “I’ve been in treacherous military situations less harrowing than this.”
Elena pushed out of the chair and approached him. “Settle down, Adan, and hold your baby.”
He looked as though he might be afraid to touch him. “I have to prepare for my duties today, but I will return to check on him before I depart for the base.”
And with that, he rushed away, leaving Piper alone with the former nanny.
“Well, I suppose I should put this little one to bed for a nap,” Elena said, breaking the awkward silence.
Piper approached her and held out her arms. “May I?”
“Of course.”
After Elena handed her Sam, Piper kissed his cheek before carefully lowering him to the crib. She continued to study Sam’s sweet face slack with sleep, his tiny lips forming a rosebud. He’d grown so much in only a matter of days, and in only a few weeks, she would say goodbye to him—and his father—for good. “He’s such a beautiful little boy.”
The woman came to her side and rested her slender hands on the top of the railing. “Yes, he is, as his father was at that age.”
She saw the chance to learn more about Adan from one of the biggest influences in his life and took it. “Was Adan a good baby?”
“Yes. He was very little trouble, until he turned two, and then he became quite the terror. He climbed everything available to him, and I didn’t dare turn my back for more than a second or he would have dismantled something. I would try to scold him over his bad behavior, and then he would give me that charming smile, and all was forgiven.”
Piper could absolutely relate to that. “He was lucky to have you after losing his mother.”
Some unnamed emotion passed over Elena’s careworn face. “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to raise him. All the brothers, for that matter.”
Time to broach the subject of the paternal presence. “Was the king involved in his upbringing?”
Elena turned and crossed the room to reclaim the rocker, looking as if all the energy had left her. “He did the best that he could under the circumstance. Losing his wife proved to be devastating to him, yet he had no choice but to postpone his grief in order to serve his country.”
Piper took the light blue club chair next to Elena. “Adan has intimated the king was a strict disciplinarian.”
“He could be,” she said. “He wanted his sons to be strong, independent men, despite their wealth and their station. Some might say he was too strict at times.”
“Would you say that?”
“Perhaps, but it was not my place to interfere.”
“I would think you had every right to state your opinion in light of your relationship.”
Elena stiffened and appeared quite stunned by the statement. “Has Adan spoken to you about myself and the king?”
Piper smelled a scandal brewing. “Not at all. I only meant that since you were in charge of the children, you should have had some say in how they were treated.”
Elena relaxed somewhat, settled back against the rocker and set it in motion. “The king was stern, but fair.”
“I’m not sure how fair it was for Adan when he shipped him off to boarding school at such a young age.” And she’d probably just overstepped her bounds by at least a mile.
“He did so to protect him.”
The defensiveness in her tone did not deter Piper. “Protect him from what?”
Elena tightened her grip on the chair’s arms. “I have already said too much.”
Not by a long shot, as far as she was concerned. “Look, I don’t know what you know, and frankly I don’t have to know it. But Adan deserves the truth.”
“It would be too painful for him, and would serve no purpose at this point in time.”
She wasn’t getting through to the woman, which meant she would have to play the guilt card. “Have you ever asked Adan if he would prefer to be kept in the dark? I personally think he wouldn’t.”
“And you, Ms. McAdams, have not known him all that long.”
Touché. “True, but we have spoken at length about his father. Even though he’s reluctant to admit it, Adan has a lot of emotional scars, thanks to the king’s careless disregard for his youngest son’s needs.”
She saw the first real hint of anger in Elena’s topaz eyes. “Aahil...the king loved Adan. He gave him the very best of everything money could buy, and the opportunity to do what he loved the most. Fly jets.”
A perfect lead-in to confront the crux of the matter, yet asking hard questions could be to her detriment. But if Adan could finally put his concerns to rest, it would be worth the risk. “I personally believe he failed to give Adan the one thing he needed most, and that would be a father who paid more attention to him, instead of shipping him far from his home. For that reason, Adan honestly believes the king isn’t his biological father.”
Elena glanced away, a very telling sign she could be skirting facts. “That is a wrongful assumption.”
Piper wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “Are you being absolutely honest with me, Elena? And before you speak, keep in mind Adan deserves to know so he could put that part of his past to rest.”
“I swear on my papa’s grave that the king was very much Adan’s biological father.”
Even though Elena sounded resolute, Piper couldn’t quite help but believe the woman still had something to hide. “Then you need to tell him that, Elena. And you’ll have to work hard to convince him, because he’s certain something isn’t right when it comes to his heritage.”
Elena gave her a surprisingly meaningful look. “Do you care for Adan, Ms. McAdams?”
It was her turn to be shocked. “It’s Piper, and yes, as one would care for a very good friend.” Now she was the one hiding the truth.
“Then I suggest you not worry about things that do not concern you for Adan’s sake.”
Piper’s frustration began to build. “But in some ways they do concern me. I want to see Adan happy and at peace. He can’t do that when he knows full well people are protecting secrets from the past. And no offense, but I believe you’re bent on protecting the king and his secrets.”
“Are you not protecting Adan and Samuel by masquerading as his wife?”
She had her there. “That’s true, but this pretense isn’t causing either one of them pain.”
“Give it time, Piper,” Elena said in a gentler tone. “I can see in Adan’s eyes that he cares for you, as well. Perhaps much more than he realizes at this point. But when the fantasy ends and you leave him, reality will be a bitter pill for both of you to swallow.
