herself in that moment. The candlelight flickering in his eyes was intoxicating. She could barely think, barely breathe when he touched her like that.
“Will you…” He hesitated. “…help me become the kind of king Alma deserves?”
Gabriel watched as Serafia’s expression collapsed for a moment in disappointment before she pulled herself back together. He couldn’t understand why he saw those emotions in her dark eyes. He thought she would be excited that he wanted to step up and be a better person for the job. Wasn’t that what she’d just lectured him about?
Then he looked down at her hand clutched in his own, here in the candlelight, on the dark, secluded patio, and realized he had a pretty solid seduction in progress without even trying. That might be the problem. He’d been too distracted by their conversation to realize it.
He had to admit he was pleased to know she responded to him. In the back of his mind, he’d considered Serafia unobtainable, a childhood fantasy. The moment she’d turned to look at him tonight, he felt his heart stutter in his chest as if he’d been shocked by a defibrillator. Her stunning red silk gown, rubies and diamonds dangling at her throat and ears, crimson lipstick against the flawless gold of her skin…it was as though she’d walked out of a magazine spread and onto his patio.
She was poised, elegant and untouchable. And bold. With a razor-sharp tongue, she’d cut him down to size, sending a surprising surge of desire through him instead of anger. She didn’t care that he was the crown prince; she was going to tell it the way it was. With everything ahead of him, he was beginning to think he needed a woman like that in his life. Gabriel was already surrounded by too many yes-men or needling family members.
Serafia was a firecracker—beautiful, alluring and capable of burning him. A woman like that didn’t exist in real life, and if she did, she wouldn’t want anything to do with a man like Gabriel. Or so he’d always thought. The disappointment in her dark eyes led him to believe that perhaps he was wrong about that.
He wasn’t entirely sure that a haircut and a new suit would make him a better king, but he was willing to give it a try. It certainly couldn’t hurt. Working with a professional image consultant would get his father and Juan Carlos off his back. And if nothing else, it would keep this beautiful, sexy woman from disappearing from his life for at least two more weeks. It sounded like a win-win for Gabriel.
“A makeover?” she said after the initial shock seemed to fade from her face. She pulled her fingers from his grasp and rubbed her hands together for a moment as if to erase his touch. Serafia didn’t seem to think his plan was the perfect solution he’d envisioned. “For you?”
“Why not? That’s what you do, right?”
Her nose wrinkled and her brow furrowed. “I teach teenage girls how to walk in high heels and behave themselves in various social situations.”
“How is what I’m proposing any different? Obviously I don’t need the lesson on heels, but I’m about to face a lot of new social situations. With the way my family has been nagging at me, there seem to be a lot of land mines ahead of me. I could use help on how I should dress and what I should say. And I think you’re the right person for the job.”
Serafia’s dark eyes widened and she sputtered for a moment as she struggled for words to argue with him. “I thought you didn’t want a makeover,” she said at last.
Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t want my family to force me into one. There’s a difference. But you’ve convinced me that it’s needed if I’m going to be the kind of king Alma needs.”
“I don’t know, Gabriel.” She turned back to the gardens, avoiding his gaze. She seemed very hesitant to agree to it and he wasn’t sure why. She’d pretty much dressed him down and chastised him for being a self-centered brat. Her words were bold and passionate. But then, when he asked for her help, she didn’t want to be the one to change him. He didn’t get it. Was he a lost cause?
“Come on, Serafia. It’s perfect. I need a makeover, but I don’t want everyone to know it. You’re a friend of the family, so no one will think twice of you traveling with me or being seen with me. No one outside of the family even needs to know why you’re here. We can come up with some cover story. I’ve got a week to prepare before I leave for Alma and another week of welcome activities once I arrive before things start to settle down. I’m not sure I can get through all that without help. Without your help.”
“I can’t just drop everything and run to your side, Gabriel.”
“I’ll pay you double.”
She turned back to him, a crimson frown lining her face. Even that didn’t make her classic features unattractive. “I don’t need the money. I have plenty of that. I don’t even have to work, but I was tired of sitting around with my own thoughts.”
He wasn’t sure what kind of thoughts would haunt a young, successful woman like Serafia, but he didn’t feel that he should ask. “Donate it all to charity, then. I don’t care. It’s good for your business.”
“How? I’d be doing this in secret. That won’t earn me any exposure for my company.”
“Not directly, but having you by my side in all the pictures will get your name in the papers. After you’re seen with royalty, maybe your services will be more in demand because you have connections.”
Serafia sighed. She was losing this battle and she knew it.
Gabriel looked at her, suppressing a smile as he prepared to turn her own argument against her and end the fight. “If for no other reason, do it for the people of Alma. You yourself just said how much these people have suffered. Do your part and help me be the best king I can possibly be.”
She tensed up and started biting her lower lip. Picking up her wineglass, she took a sip and looked out at the moon hovering over the tree line. At last, her head dropped in defeat. The long, graceful line of her neck was exposed by the one-shoulder cut of her gown and the style of her hair. The dark, thick strands were twisted up into an elegant chignon, leaving her flawless, honey-colored skin exposed.
He wanted to press a kiss to the back of her neck and wrap his arms around her waist to comfort her. His lips tingled as he imagined doing just that, but he knew that would be pushing his luck. If she agreed to work with him over the next few weeks, there might be time for kisses and caresses later. It couldn’t take every hour of the day to make him suitable. But if she left now, he’d never have the chance.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out and nodded. “Okay. We start tomorrow morning. I will be here at nine for breakfast and we’ll begin with table manners.”
“Nine?” He winced. Most Saturday mornings, he didn’t crawl out of bed until closer to noon. Of course, he wouldn’t be closing down the bars tonight. If he left the family compound, they’d likely release the hounds to track him down.
“Yes,” she replied, her voice taking the same tone as the nuns had used when he was in Catholic school. Serafia didn’t look a thing like Sister Mary Katherine, but she had the same focused expression on her face as she looked him over. The former supermodel had faded away and he was left in the presence of his new image consultant.
“Modern
