let you marry a commoner.’
‘I don’t want to marry some prince or other they’ve chosen for me. I want you,’ she said.
‘The papers brought out all the stuff about me being a refugee.’
She spread her hands. ‘So? Dragan, it wasn’t your fault there was a war. And you have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing! You had a horrible time that wasn’t of your making, but you came through it. You’ve worked hard and you’ve made something of yourself. You haven’t just taken and taken—you’ve given back. You’re a good man. And that’s exactly what I told my mother. That you’re kind and compassionate, that you’re a brilliant doctor, that you’re clever—for goodness’ sake, you were going to study law and you speak more languages than I do! I told her that every day is better for me now when I wake up because I know you’ll be there. I love you, Dragan.’
She paused and looked straight at him.
He knew what she was waiting for. And how he wanted to tell her that he loved her all the way back. That, yes, he felt hurt and angry and betrayed that she’d kept the truth from him, but they’d work it out together because he loved her.
But he had to do the right thing. Which meant denying it.
‘I can’t forgive you for keeping me in the dark—for agreeing to marry me when you know it can’t happen.’
‘Yes, it can.’
How? They were worlds apart. And Melinda was destined to rule her country. ‘Marry me, and you’ll cut yourself off from your family.’
She raked a hand through her hair. ‘Dragan, I know family’s important to you. I know you miss yours. And if mine were even the slightest bit how you described yours to me, there wouldn’t be a problem. But they’re not. And I’ve barely been back to Contarini since I came to England to study veterinary science. My parents didn’t even come to my graduation. That’s how close we are. So cutting myself off…’ She shrugged. ‘There’s nothing to cut off. My sister’s the only one I’m close to, and I don’t really fit into her social circle either.’ There was the tiniest sparkle in her eye. ‘Though she liked your picture in the paper. And she told me to follow my heart.’
Follow your heart. Good advice. Except…sometimes you had to put your duty first. Melinda’s father was ill and needed to retire. Her family needed her—and in his eyes family should always come first. He knew she was planning to put him before her duty—which was wrong, wrong, wrong. Whereas if she thought there was nothing for her here, it might make it easier for her to leave. To go back and do the right thing.
For her sake, he was going to have to say something that hurt him bone-deep. ‘We’re not getting married,’ he said. ‘It’s over.’
Her eyes widened. ‘No. You don’t mean that. Please, Dragan. Tell me you don’t mean it.’
‘I can’t marry someone who doesn’t trust me. Someone I don’t trust any more.’
‘But, Drag—’
‘It’s over,’ he said, not looking into her eyes because he didn’t trust himself not to crumble. ‘I’m sorry. You’d better leave through the back door—there are paparazzi out the front.’
She stared at him for a long, long moment.
Then she left the room. Closed the French doors behind her.
And Dragan discovered that the pain he’d known as a teenager, when he’d lost his family, had just come back. With a vengeance.
CHAPTER NINE
YEARS of training let Melinda walk down the little alley at the back of Dragan’s house and through to the other side of Harbour Road with her back straight and her expression neutral. Even though she wanted to bawl her eyes out, she made absolutely sure that the paparazzi couldn’t detect her thoughts—no way was she going to let them have a picture they could use with a speculative caption.
But the second she was back in her flat with the door closed behind her, she slid down the wall to the floor, drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms tightly round herself.
It was all over.
Dragan had called off the wedding.
Now he knew who she was, he didn’t want to know—her worst nightmare had just come true.
As she’d told him, if you were royal and you made a mistake, it would be all over the papers. Talked about. And just when people had started to forget, the whole thing would suddenly blow up again. It would go on and on and on.
She could see the headlines now. DR LOVE-AK DUMPS PRINCESS
About the only people who’d be pleased about it were her parents.
But it didn’t change things. Even if Dragan didn’t want her, she still had a life here in Cornwall. And she wasn’t going back to rule Contarini.
‘Backbone,’ she reminded herself. ‘Keep it straight.’ Like a princess. And she was well aware of the irony.
She picked up the phone and dialled her boss. This was another call that was way overdue. Someone else she’d lied to by omission. ‘George? It’s Melinda.’
‘How are you, love?’ he asked.
My heart’s just cracked right down the middle. ‘I’m fine,’ she lied. How could he be so nice to her when she’d behaved so badly? ‘And, George, I’m really sorry that you’ve had a hard time from the press.’
He laughed. ‘Once they realised that the only time I’d talk to them was with my arm up a cow’s backside and plenty of manure around, it rather put them off.’
‘Even so. I’m sorry. I really should have told you who I was. As my boss, you had a right to know.’
‘You had your reasons.’
She had.
Her boss was a damn sight more understanding about it than the love of her life had been. But, please, don’t let this princess business have wrecked her job, the way it had wrecked her relationship with Dragan. Dragan hadn’t even been able to look at her; he’d never be able to forgive her for hiding the truth from him. For not trusting him when she should have done. ‘Do I still have a job?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘Of course you do. Being a princess doesn’t get you out of your job without at least a month’s notice, you know.’
His tone was light and teasing, but she could hear the warmth and concern in his voice and it hurt. Because right now she felt so alone. So isolated. So empty.
‘Then I can come back to the surgery tomorrow morning?’
‘Bright and early, usual time,’ he said. ‘You’ll be pleased to know Cassidy’s ready to go home tomorrow and he’s back on his usual diet. We had a bit of a scare with him while you were away, but Jake sorted us out. He’s a good contact to have for exotics. Well done, you.’
‘I
