Maybe she wasn’t as bad as he originally thought. She seemed different tonight, warmer and more genuine. But if that were the case, he couldn’t understand her icy facade earlier.
Not that he should be thinking about his brother’s fiancée at all.
Alejandro sat on the floor and used a laser pointer to play with the kitten. This was the same room he’d had as a teenager, though the furniture had been replaced, the floors refinished and the walls painted. The decor wasn’t the only change. Back when he’d been a teenager, a guard had always been stationed outside the back door that led to the beach path to keep him from running away. Not that a guard had been able to stop him. At least his father hadn’t posted anyone there tonight.
The kitten sprinted across the hardwood floor after the red dot, pawing and pouncing until he plopped onto a hand-woven rug and purred. His eyes closed.
As Alejandro moved from the floor to a chair, a flash of blue passed outside the window. The same blue as Julianna’s gown.
He stood to get a better look.
Silky fabric and blond hair billowed behind her as she hurried down the path leading to the beach, making her look almost ethereal with the starry night sky as her backdrop.
Not his type, Alejandro reminded himself.
He glanced at the clock. Eleven o’clock. A little late to go beachcombing. Not that what she did was any of his business.
But no one seemed to be with her. Not Enrique. Not her bodyguard.
That didn’t sit well with Alejandro.
She shouldn’t be alone. It was dark. She could lose her way.
On a lighted path, an inner voice mocked.
Something could happen to her. Alejandro ignored the fact that he could find his brother and send him after Julianna.
Alejandro stepped outside onto the patio. The tile was hard beneath his bare feet. Planters full of fragrant flowers lined the edge. Lanterns hung from tall wrought-iron poles.
Maybe Julianna wanted a closer look at the water, or to dance on the beach under the moonlight … or skinny-dip.
As his blood surged at the thought, he quickened his pace. Now that he would like to see. Ice princess or not.
The lighted path stopped at the beach. Alejandro’s bare feet sunk into the fine sand. Thanks to the moonlight, he saw Julianna standing at the water’s edge holding her high heels in one hand. The hem of her gown dragged on the sand. Wind ruffled her hair and the fabric of her dress. Waves crashed against the shore, the water drawing closer to her. She didn’t move.
Mesmerized by the sea or thinking? About him?
He scoffed at the stupid thought. She would be thinking about Enrique. Her fiancé. Alejandro should leave her alone.
Yet he remained rooted in place, content to watch her.
Being here had nothing to do with the way her dress clung to her curves or the slit that provided him with a glimpse of her long, smooth legs. He was here for her protection. Even though this strip of white sand was private, reachable only from the palace or by water. He didn’t see any boats offshore, only silver moonlight reflecting off the crescents of waves.
Still he stood captivated by the woman in front of him. The individual, not incarnations of women she would become. Future sister-in-law, mother of his nieces and nephews, queen.
He longed to go to her, pull her into an embrace, taste her sweet lips and feel her lush curves pressed against him.
What the hell was he thinking?
Disgusted with the fantasy playing in his mind, Alejandro turned to leave. Julianna moved in his peripheral vision. He looked back. She sat on the sand, resting her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook as if she were crying.
A sob smacked into him. His gut clenched.
The instinct to bolt was strong. Tears made him uncomfortable. He’d been in enough short-term relationships to know crying women were to be avoided at all costs. He never knew what to say and feared making a situation worse.
Yet he walked toward her anyway as if pulled by an invisible line. Compelled by something he couldn’t explain. “Julianna.”
She didn’t look up. “Go away, please.”
Her voice sounded raw, yet she was polite, always the proper princess. He saw her behavior wasn’t an act like his brother’s. His respect inched up for her. “I’m not going away.”
“I’ll pretend you aren’t here then.”
“It won’t be the first time that’s happened.” He plopped onto the sand next to her. “I’ve been becalmed many times. Having the boat bob like a cork while waiting for wind to return used to drive me crazy, but I’ve learned to enjoy the downtime.”
She remained silent.
As waves broke against the shore, Alejandro studied the stars in the sky. He drew pictures in the sand. A boat. A crab. A heart. He wiped them away with the side of his hand.
Julianna raised her head. “You’re still here.”
“Yes.” Tears streaked her cheeks. The sadness in her swollen eyes reignited his desire to take her in his arms and kiss her until she smiled. “I may have some of the same stubborn streak shared by other members of my family.”
She sniffled.
He wished he had a tissue for her. One of those handkerchiefs his brother and father carried in their pockets would come in handy. “When you’re ready to talk …”
A new round of tears streamed down her face. She looked devastated, as if someone she loved had died.
Her vulnerability clawed at his heart, made him feel useless, worthless. He couldn’t sit here and do nothing.
Alejandro turned toward Julianna and lifted her onto his lap.
She gasped. Stiffened.
A mistake, probably, but he’d deal with that later. He needed to help Julianna.
The moment he wrapped his arms around her something seemed to release inside her. She sagged against him, rested her head on his shoulder and cried. He rubbed her back with his hand, the same way his mother used to do whenever he’d been hurt by something Enrique did or his father had said.
Julianna’s tears didn’t stop, but that didn’t bother Alejandro. She felt so perfect nestled against him. Her sweet scent enveloped him. He would have preferred to be in this position under different circumstances, but he knew that wasn’t possible. She had a fiancé—what she needed tonight was a friend.
He could be a friend. That was all he could ever be to her.
Her tears slowed. Her breathing became less ragged.
“Thank you,” Julianna
