evening purse and went back to where Alex Hunter was waiting for her, a tiny, moth-like fluttery sensation in the middle of her stomach at the thought of being alone with him for the rest of the evening.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘I’VE changed my mind,’ Alex said, getting up from the chair as she came back to the kitchen. ‘You’re not an elf or a pixie—you’re a princess.’
Amelia knew her cheeks were glowing but there was nothing she could do to disguise it. ‘It’s a beautiful dress,’ she said softly. ‘Anyone would look like a princess in it.’
‘Do you think you should leave your father a note in case he gets back before you do?’ he asked.
She nodded and, quickly scribbling a message on the back of the note her father had left, she propped it up against his mug again.
Alex escorted her out to the car, shooing the hens away from her as they went. ‘Make way for Her Royal Highness Princess Amelia,’ he said. ‘Come on, ladies, be off with you.’
Amelia giggled as the hens scuttled off with ruffled feathers. ‘They’re not all ladies,’ she said, pointing to the proudly strutting rooster amongst them.
‘Sorry, mate,’ he addressed the rooster. ‘I didn’t see you there.’ He turned back to Amelia and grinned cheekily. ‘What a life he must have, all those ladies to himself with no competition.’
Amelia felt her cheeks grow warm as she thought about how many women had flown in and out of his life. His playboy lifestyle afforded him numerous opportunities to flit from one relationship to the other, and with his easy charm and unmistakable sexual potency she began to realise she was in very real danger of joining their number.
Alex tipped up her chin with one hand while he used the other to graze his knuckles over the bright pool of colour on her cheek. ‘Do you know you’re the first woman I’ve been able to make blush in years?’
She looked into his dark eyes, her pulse beginning to race as his knuckles caressed her again. Her heart felt as if it were growing in size, her legs as if they had been disconnected from the bones that were supposed to hold them upright.
‘I—I’m not used to this sort of thing,’ she said, her tongue sneaking out to unconsciously moisten her mouth.
‘What sort of thing?’
‘Flirting, joking, dating…that sort of thing.’
He looked puzzled for a moment. ‘How old are you?’
Her cheeks fired up again. ‘Thirty.’
‘Then you really have to make up for lost time,’ he said, and, stepping away from her, opened the car door. ‘I’ve got a whole six years on you.’
Amelia waited until they were on their way before speaking again. ‘I suppose you are very experienced in the ways of the world and find me something of a novelty.’ She hadn’t really intended to sound quite so priggish but it was too late to take the words back now.
‘To tell you the truth I find you delightfully refreshing,’ he said, sending her a quick glance, the white slash of his smile devastatingly attractive against the olive tone of his skin.
‘But you’re laughing at me all the same. I can tell.’
‘That chip on your shoulder will ruin that dress by stretching it all out of shape,’ he warned her playfully.
‘I haven’t got a chip on my shoulder.’
Alex flicked another glance her way and skilfully redirected the conversation. ‘You have two brothers, right? What do they do for a living?’
She let out a little sigh. ‘Rico, my older brother, recently lost his job at one of the vineyards. He hasn’t had a lot of luck with steady employment. Silvio, my younger brother, has been even worse. He’s been restless most of his life, flitting from one thing to another. He’s employed down at the main port but he doesn’t really talk about what it is he actually does.’
‘I guess that puts an extra strain on you,’ he said.
‘It does.’ She looked down at her hands in her lap. ‘I’ve had to take up some extra work…at the palace.’
She felt his gaze swing her way. ‘Doing what?’ he asked.
‘Nursing the king two nights a week.’
‘So what’s the old guy like?’ he asked.
‘His bodyguards don’t really encourage conversation with him,’ she said. ‘Besides, I prefer to play a low profile.’
‘Because of your family’s history?’
‘That and…other things,’ she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously.
‘You’re not intimidated by all that monarchy stuff, are you?’ he asked, swinging another quick glance in her direction.
She met his eyes briefly. ‘So you’re not a monarchist yourself?’
He gave a little noncommittal shrug. ‘It’s an ongoing debate in Australia about whether we should become a republic. I haven’t really made up my mind. Too busy saving lives I guess.’
‘Your work is very demanding,’ she said, releasing a tiny breath to counteract the effect of his close proximity. ‘It’s a wonder you had the time to come over here to help our people.’
‘When I received a royal summons I was a bit intrigued, I can tell you,’ he said. ‘I had heard about the island before but, while it was somewhere on my list of must-see places, I wouldn’t have come right now, but my parents were keen for me to do it.’ He sent a quick smile her way and added, ‘I guess they want to dine out on it a bit. “Have we told you about our son who mixes with Italian royalty?” That sort of thing goes down a treat at a dinner party.’
‘But you’re not fazed by it all—or, if you are, you’re not showing it,’ she surmised.
‘I’m a doctor, Amelia. My first priority is to heal the sick and if I can do that in a way that helps the underprivileged then I’m more than happy. Don’t get me wrong, I come from a wealthy background which has given me some wonderful privileges, but my parents have always encouraged both Megan and I to give something back to the community and not just our neighbourhood one.’
‘Your family sounds wonderfully supportive,’ Amelia said, thinking sadly of all she had missed out on in hers.
‘They are. I am very lucky.’
‘How old is your sister?’ she asked after a little silence.
‘She’s twenty-five.’
‘That’s quite an age gap between you—eleven years,’ she observed.
‘I know, but it was a long time after my adoption papers were processed before they could adopt another child,’ he said.
Amelia swung her gaze to look at him
