were so many reasons why she shouldn’t have done it. When she actually let herself dwell on the possible results that could apply, her heart nearly stopped. Here she was, playing with fire again. The last thing in the world she needed was a man hanging around, making her crazy. What was wrong with her? Just that morning she’d tried to avoid speaking to him. Now she was preparing to practically live with him! She had to be crazy.
She knew Gino would be furious. “You’re not like a regular person,” he would fume. “You can’t risk things like this with a stranger.”
Gino was one of her very best friends and had been for years. In the past she’d always thought his watchfulness a bit touching. Now she began to realize it was becoming patronizing and overbearing. As sure as could be, he would make plans to sleep on her couch to protect her. She’d better think fast to be prepared with reasons why that would be impossible. She didn’t want him there— and she wasn’t going to think about why that might be.
Still, she knew he was probably right. She did need protection—from herself.
That thought made her laugh, and she knew it wasn’t really true. No, she wasn’t yet that crazy. But she had to admit she was intrigued with Adam.
When she’d told Adam she’d never been in love, she’d been telling the honest truth. Growing up, she’d had the same hopes and dreams as all girls had, but that had always been tempered by the knowledge that she couldn’t expect to have the same sort of life her friends had. She was different.
Her mother and grandmother, when they were alive, had both agreed that she was different, but they’d emphasized the fact that she was special, not strange. She’d always known she had an exceptional talent for music. It came naturally. Her grandmother had been a soloist in the Nirolian National Choir when she was young and her mother had worked as a music archivist for years. She’d always known, one way or another, music would be her life.
And that had given her the strength to shy away from romance all these years. When her grandmother urged her to date one of the many young men who pursued her, she would laugh and shake her head. “The man for me will be unique,” she would say. “I’ll know him when I hear his voice.”
Was she dreaming or merely making excuses to fend off the advice? As she looked back now that young woman seemed utterly naïve. What did she think—her ideal man would walk into her life and she would know it by the sound of his voice? That was indeed dreaming.
She hadn’t liked the sound of Adam’s voice at first. She’d thought he sounded conceited and arrogant, and she’d hated the way he talked to his son. Now that she knew him better, she’d modified her judgement. But he still was nowhere near being that wonder man she’d thought she was waiting for.
Still, she had to admit he was stirring feelings in her she hadn’t known she had. When she’d touched his face, she’d felt a sense of wonder she’d never felt before. She wanted to touch him again.
And she wanted him to touch her. And that was where the danger lay. Just thinking about it made her gasp. She was going to have to be very careful.
Especially since, much as he appealed to her on a personal level, she was having doubts about his mission here. She was beginning to wonder if she could really get behind the effort to make him King. She loved her island home and she wanted a good king. And preferably one who loved Niroli, too. She was noticing more and more evidence that Adam might not be that person.
His attitude was very disturbing. At first, she’d noticed him take a crack at her homeland here and there, but she’d attributed that to his generally cynical outlook. It wasn’t until he’d been just about to leave for the palace that she’d found him saying things that had really set her back on her heels. Had he really meant them? And could she overlook his attitude?
CHAPTER FIVE
ELENA and Adam had been in the little house and he’d been searching through his luggage for a tie.
“Seems an odd thing to wear on Niroli,” she said with a laugh.
“I know. Most disappointing.” He must have found one because she heard him place himself in front of the mirror and begin working with something. “But I was warned it would be wise to wear one, and, until I have the crown in my hot little hands, I figure I’ll be better off taking their hints seriously.”
“That would seem wise,” she murmured.
“I’m hoping to get to meet the old man tonight,” he added.
“The old man?” His tone horrified her and she turned slowly toward him. “Are you talking about the king? Your grandfather?”
“That’s the one.”
She frowned, genuinely disturbed by this way of speaking about her monarch. “Don’t you think you should have a little more respect?”
“For whom?” he shot back bitterly. “For the man who banished my mother from the kingdom so that he would never have to acknowledge me? The man who now finds he needs me after all, so is ready to throw blossoms at my feet? That’s the man I’m supposed to respect?”
“Yes. If you can’t respect the man himself, at least respect his position. He’s our King!”
“Not for much longer,” he muttered. “Then I guess you’ll be telling people to respect me, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
He laughed and chucked her under the chin. “You’re cute as a button, Elena, but you’re wrong.”
And that was where things had stood as he’d left for the palace.
Once he’d gone, Elena had stewed over what he’d told her for awhile, and then she’d called Susan Nablus, an old friend of her mother’s and an expert on Nirolian history. If anyone could give her the straight scoop on what had happened around the time of Adam’s conception, she could. Susan had just come in from shopping, but she was delighted to hear from Elena and she promptly sat down and offered to answer any questions her old friend’s daughter might have.
“Adam Ryder, you say. So that’s his name. Well, I had heard rumors that the powers that be at the palace were considering him, since they’ve run through all the more direct contenders and come up empty.”
“As Antonio’s son, I’d say he’s pretty directly related,” Elena protested.
“Yes, dear, but he’s illegitimate. And his mother has no standing.”
“I guess that is the point,” Elena conceded.
“I never met Adam, but I did meet his mother when she was here. My, it was over thirty years ago, wasn’t it? I believe her name was Stephanie. She was quite beautiful, one of those socialites with the good cheekbones who become supermodels for a few years, appear on the covers of all the magazines, then fade from sight—like those beautiful confections that melt away in the heat of the sun. My impression was that she was just one of those sweet, pretty girls who get passed around by playboys. She came to Niroli for a fashion shoot. It was just a couple of years after that horrible kidnapping where one of the prince’s twins was snatched. They said Antonio had been a perfect husband before that happened. Well, losing one of your babies is enough to unhinge anyone, I suppose.
“At
