lifted his hand from her shoulder and waved it towards the window. ‘I’ve not been a very good host. Let me show you a little of Euronia.’ He looked down at her sandals. ‘How do you feel about a walk?’
Her sandals were pretty, but flat and comfortable. Her curiosity had definitely flared. ‘I feel fine about a walk.’
‘Then let’s go.’
‘Don’t you need to let your security team know first, Alex?’
He smiled again and shook his head. ‘You know, you’re the only person that actually calls me that.’
‘What?’
‘Alex. No one else calls me that.’
She shook her head in disbelief. ‘What on earth do they call you?’
He shrugged. ‘Prince Regent or Your Majesty. If it’s someone I’ve known a long time they might call me Alexander.’
A different world.
She stepped right up to him, her nose only inches away from his. ‘But I know you as Alex. Always have. Always will.’
He smiled and gestured for her to follow him, and led her down a huge array of corridors and out through one of the back doors of the castle.
The gardens were beautiful—colourful and perfectly groomed. She recognised the marble fountain from an old black and white picture she had seen of Alex and his future wife as children.
They walked across the immaculate expanse of green lawn towards the city. It was officially the smallest city in the world—not much bigger than an average town. But it had grown exponentially as the economy of Euronia had grown.
‘Did you play in these gardens when you were a child?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. There’s a secret maze in the forest over there. And my father ordered a tree house to be built and it took the carpenter nearly a whole year.’ He gave a little sigh. ‘Annabelle is still a little young to play in it. I don’t even think she’ll like it.’
‘Haven’t you ever shown it to her?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ve been too focused on other things when it comes to Annabelle. We haven’t got around to anything like that.’
Ruby nodded and bit her tongue. It was important that she find out about the relationship between Alex and his daughter. It wouldn’t do well for her to criticise, but she could already imagine the kind of recommendations she might make.
‘Well, if you show it to me some time maybe I can give you some suggestions on how to make it more appealing to a little girl.’
He gave a little nod as they approached a gate in the high walls. Alex keyed in a code and the door swung open.
‘Won’t that set off alarms everywhere?’
‘No. It’s my code. They’ll know it’s me that’s opened the door.’
The back entrance opened directly on to the sea cliffs. The breeze was startlingly stiff and she shivered. She should have brought a cardigan, but the light summer breezes on the castle balcony had been pleasing.
Her bright pink dress whipped around in the wind and Alex pulled off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. The first thing she noticed was the smell of his aftershave as she slid her arms into the jacket and pulled it around her.
‘Do you do this often?’
‘Of course.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Do you think I spend all my time holed up in the castle?’
‘I have no idea, Alex. I have no idea what you do at all.’
She heard him suck in a breath. She wasn’t trying to bring up the past, but if she wanted to help Annabelle she had to have a good idea about the environment in which she lived.
The walk into the centre of the city was pleasant. It was less than a mile and they browsed at the shop windows, with several of the shopkeepers coming out to speak to them. One gave Alex some cheese, another some ham wrapped in paper.
‘Your favourite,’ he said with a smile.
The clothing and jewellery shops were spectacular. No prices in any window. Ruby could only imagine how much things actually cost around here.
She was surprised at how relaxed everything was. The palace was much more formal. People nodded to Alex in the street, but no one seemed in awe of him.
They’d reached the casino in the middle of the city. ‘Would you like to sample some of the best cake in Euronia?’ he asked.
‘Is it better than the cake in Paris?’
Their eyes met. It was a moment. A second for them both to remember that night ten years ago in Paris. Both of them were smiling, as if it were an automatic reaction to the memory.
He leaned forward a little, the heat from his body emanating towards her. ‘The cake in Paris won’t even come close to the cake in Euronia.’
She lifted her head. They were so close. ‘Is that a promise?’
He slid his hand around her back and pulled out a chair for her. ‘Absolutely.’
The café Alex had chosen was opposite the casino. She’d seen pictures of the place on the internet. Just about every visitor who came to Euronia visited this café and watched the coming and goings at the casino.
‘Aren’t you worried you’ll get harassed here?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s Sunday. No cruise ships moor at Euronia on a Sunday and no bus tours run. Today’s the best day for me to take a walk around.’
The owner of the café appeared and nodded at Alex. ‘The usual coffee and cake, Your Highness?’ Alex nodded. ‘And for the beautiful lady?’
‘You should go and look in the glass cabinet. The cakes are amazing.’
Ruby stood up and walked over to the cabinet, spending a few minutes talking to the café owner before finally settling on a strawberry and cream sponge.
It was surreal. Sitting in the warm sunshine of Euronia with Alex.
These were the kind of things that had drifted into her imagination in the early days. Fanciful thoughts of what might have been.
Alex seemed happy here—more relaxed than he was in the palace, which was strange, as that was his home.
He drank his steaming coffee and devoured a piece of chocolate cake as soon as it appeared. He held out his fork towards her. ‘Try some.’
She hesitated, then leaned forward, opening her mouth. ‘Mmm, it’s delicious. You’re right. The cakes here are nicer than in Paris.’
He licked some chocolate from his lips and nodded towards her strawberry and cream sponge. ‘What? All of them?’
She
