Gino looked at Adam but he didn’t look pleased. “What’s he doing here?”
Elena threw up her hands. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
Adam had no problem providing an answer. “Right now I’m trying to get Elena to rent out her little guest house to me.”
Gino’s brows drew together menacingly. “Well, she’s not going to do that.”
Adam raised an eyebrow as a counter-measure. “Isn’t she?” he said quietly.
“No. Of course not. She can’t have you here.”
Elena turned, listening intently, her lips pressed tightly together.
“She won’t do it,” Gino went on confidently. “She doesn’t need you. Look, we know who you are.”
“Do you?”
“You’re Adam Ryder. You’ve got ties to the royal family.”
“You got me there. Not that it’s anything to brag about.”
“What? Our royal family isn’t good enough for you?”
The man was obviously ready to take anything he said as an affront. Adam smiled. “It’s a complicated situation,” he said calmly.
“Well, Elena doesn’t need that sort of complication in her life.”
Gino was glaring in a way that said he was used to being able to intimidate, but Adam held his gaze with a cool response in his own.
“I have no intention of complicating Elena’s life.”
“But you didn’t tell her who you were right away, did you? You were trying to keep it a secret. You’re not an honest man.”
Elena’s head rose at that and she stepped between them. “Gino, that’s enough. This is my decision, not yours.”
Gino’s anger made him reckless. “Elena, sometimes you just have to admit you could use some help.”
“Gino!”
He grabbed her hands and gazed down at her earnestly. “Look, I know you just lost half your income and you’re frantic to figure out how to replace it. Especially as you are trying to find a way to pay for attending that music program in New York.”
“That’s right,” she said tartly. “So you should understand.”
“But, darling, this is not the way to do it,” he said, pleading with her and at the same time making it clear that he expected her to do exactly what he suggested. “We’ll find a better way. I’ll sell a painting. Just give it some time.”
Adam waited quietly through this exchange. He’d seen her face while Gino was spouting off orders and he allowed himself a small smile. She didn’t like being told what to do, and she really didn’t like being told she needed someone to take care of her. There was still a chance here. All he had to do was wait Gino out and then play his cards right. He was a negotiation pro from way back. He knew how to do this.
“Elena, listen to reason. You can’t do it.” Gino looked as though he were about to stamp his foot.
But Elena was having none of it. She held her chin high and looked rebellious. “I’ll make that decision on my own.”
Gino gave an exasperated sigh and turned toward the door. “I’ve got no more time for chit-chat,” he said, sounding more than annoyed. “I’m due at the spa. I promised Natalia I’d give her some help decorating. She’s completely redoing some of the exercise rooms.” He glared back at Adam, his look purposefully ominous. “I’ll have to deal with all this later, including you,” he said in menacing tones.
And he was out the door.
Adam turned to grin at Elena. He knew she couldn’t see it, but she would surely hear it in his voice.
“When he says “deal with all this later”, what exactly is he talking about?” he asked her, tongue in cheek.
“Oh, pay him no mind,” she said in exasperation. “Gino has a flair for the dramatic. He’s mostly talk.”
“‘Mostly’, huh? It’s that little margin of doubt that tends to give one pause. The unknown factor is always the deadly one. So, just the same, I guess I’ll keep my guard up.”
He wasn’t really rattled by Gino’s implied threat. He’d faced down bigger men than Elena’s friend. Still, it didn’t hurt to add a little fuel to her resentment for being treated like someone who needed managing.
And he’d certainly taken in all that talk about how desperately she needed funds right now. He knew the feeling—though his financial needs were in a different league. Still, he had plenty of spare cash for the small needs of life.
It was on the tip of his tongue to promise her all the things he could do for her as King, but he stopped himself just in time. He had to be smart about this. The more he analyzed things, the more he realized she would hate something like that. He might as well just lay low. If he played his cards right, she would succumb in the end.
“How much?”
She stopped her pacing and inclined her head, looking like a swan considering possibilities. “How much what?”
“How much do you want to rent the room out? Here’s what I was thinking.” He named a price that made her gasp. “That’s twice what I’m paying at the Ritz.”
“For my crummy little room?” she cried.
He shrugged. “Well, you’ll also have to let me have the run of your house. After all, there’s no bathroom out there. And most of all …” he managed to add a note of tragic regret “.most of all, no kitchen.”
She shook her head and threw out her hands. A half-smile was playing at the corners of her mouth. “You long for a kitchen of your own, do you?” she murmured.
He smiled and nodded. “It’s handy for late night snacks.”
She repeated the sum in her head in wonder. Why, if he stayed long enough, she could pay her airfare to New York. Her shoulders sagged and a deep sigh went through her body. There had been a time when she’d considered herself a hard-headed realist. Now she was becoming a greedy little dreamer instead. Was she going to hate herself in the morning?
“You’re just like the serpent in the garden, aren’t you?”
His head went back. He wasn’t sure he liked her choice of analogy. “What are you talking about?”
“Temptation. You’re holding out a big fat juicy red apple my way.”
He supposed she was right. Still, it seemed an odd way of putting it … for her. “What do you care what color it is?” he asked softly.
“Oh, there’s a difference. Believe me. I can feel it.” She nodded. “It’s big and it’s red and it’s delicious. Will I break down and take
