her nails into her palms to keep herself steady. The emotions kept on coming. Seeing the prince cradle his infant so tenderly made her wonder what might have happened if Sam…
No. She wouldn’t go down that road. She wouldn’t let that thought form. She’d avoided it for five years. She could keep it at bay for another five minutes, couldn’t she?
“Since you two are already acquainted,” King Marcus continued, moving to join his family, “I’ll let Lieutenant Coburn fill you in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a grandson to get to know.”
And just like that, Kate found herself face-to-face with the one man she’d believed she’d never see again.
“Hello, Kate.”
His voice strummed over her raw nerves in a melody too haunting to forget. She’d always loved his voice. It didn’t belong here in the sterile efficiency of a hospital. It belonged on a moonlit beach, with the sound of the waves whispering over the sand and the rhythmic smack of naked skin on naked skin….
She tightened her fists, surprised her nails hadn’t yet drawn blood. Her gaze returned to his. “Hello, Sam.”
“You’re looking well.”
“You, too.”
He smiled. “I guess it would be kinda too corny to say long time no see.”
His smile deepened the new lines around his eyes and folded brackets beside his mouth and still made her stomach knot like that of a schoolgirl with her first crush.
Damn him, that hadn’t changed, either. “The king said you would have some questions for me.”
At her brisk tone, his smile dimmed. “That’s right.”
“All I did was recover the baby. I’m not sure I understand how that would involve a Navy SEAL.”
Sam tilted his head toward the door. “I’ll fill you in on the way to the security office.”
She started to move forward when she saw him lift his hand. He was going to touch her. She felt his intent as plainly as if he had spoken aloud.
Sam had always been a toucher. In public it had been a palm on the small of her back, a brush of fingertips over her forearm or an easy drape of his arm over her shoulders. Casual, respectful touches that had kept her body humming with awareness.
And when they were no longer in public, he hadn’t only made her body hum, he’d made it sing.
Kate stepped to the side to avoid his hand and strode out of the examining room. Sam might not have changed, but she had. She was older, wiser and in complete control of her life. She could do this. Yes, she could.
Sam fell into step beside her. “What would you like to know first?”
Where did you go after your letters stopped? Did you ever think of me? Did you ever wonder what would have happened if only circumstances had been different? The questions clamored in her heart, but she asked, “Why are you taking orders from the king of Montebello?”
“I’m working as an adviser. He requested our government to provide someone with my training to help coordinate the efforts of the police and our navy in the search for a murderer.”
“The woman who killed his nephew, Desmond Caruso?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“I saw the artist’s sketch of the suspect in the paper today. It’s logical that the king would ask for high-level help.” She glanced at Sam. “And by someone with your training, you mean counterterrorism, I assume.”
“Right again.”
“Congratulations.”
“Why?”
“If you’re an expert in counterterrorism, then that must mean you’re in SEAL Team Six. Just like you always said you wanted.”
“There were plenty of things that I wanted, Kate.”
She could tell by his tone that he wasn’t referring to his career. But she wasn’t going to talk about this now. It was over. The past was gone, gone, gone. “And you succeeded,” she said, refusing to let the conversation get personal. “But how does all of this involve the prince’s baby?”
“That’s what I’m here to find out.”
They reached a set of swinging doors. Sam stretched his arm past Kate’s shoulder and pushed open the door before she could reach it. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel the warmth of his arm as it passed near her head.
She tried to attribute the shudder to fatigue. “I still don’t understand.”
“I started this assignment today, so there are a lot of details that need filling in, but here’s what I do know. Last year, Prince Lucas was in the States, flying over Colorado, when his plane went down. He was in bad shape for a while, wandered around not knowing who he was. That’s when he met a woman named Jessica Chambers.”
“Jessica. Jessie,” Kate said, remembering the reverent way the prince had said the name. “That would be the baby’s mother.”
“Right. The prince had an affair with Jessica before his duty brought him back to Montebello. Several months later, he found out she died in childbirth. Her, and the baby.”
“They thought the baby died, too?” she asked.
“Yeah. What makes it worse is he hadn’t realized she was carrying his child when he left. No wonder the poor guy is looking like he’s been hit by a truck.”
Kate stumbled.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked, catching her arm.
No, she was not okay. After five years of coping, it seemed as if every painful memory of her past was getting dredged up tonight. She wrenched free of Sam’s touch, her heart pounding as if she were still running. “I’m fine.”
He tilted his head, his gaze more golden than brown as he studied her. “We could grab a coffee before we question the Hanson woman. From the looks of the family reunion back there, the king will probably be busy for a while.”
“No, I’m fine. I just want to get back to…” She frowned, zeroing in on the pronoun he had used. “Before we question her?”
“Considering the way you were in at the start, I figured you’d want to see this through.” He glanced pointedly at his hand and then at the place on her arm where he had touched her. When his eyes met hers once more, his gaze was direct and much too knowing. “You always did like to see neat, clean endings, didn’t you?”
Whether it was an oversight by the renovators or had been left alone deliberately for the psychological effect, the room that served as the security office for the hospital looked as if it belonged in a previous century. One of the walls was bare stone, giving the chamber the chill of a dungeon.
“I want complete immunity. You promise me that, then I’ll answer your questions.”
