Her Secret Prince (8 page)

“Hang on.” Dee tilted her head, sifting thoughts. “First Ellie pretended I was her daughter. That was really weird. I went along with it.
I mean, you wouldn’t lie about your kid for no reason. And then he said I looked nothing like Oscar and left.”

His frown folded tighter. “Nothing like Oscar.”

“Supposedly nothing like the man who believed Ellie had his child.”

“What was the man like?”

“Let me think.”

Again, he waited, feigning patience. His hands were fists on the tabletop.

“I don’t recall feeling threatened. He didn’t seem
like a thug or brute or anything. Refined, even. But that’s about all I’ve got.” It was a sketchy recount of events that shed no light on the scruples of Jed’s father. She couldn’t disguise the bitterness from her voice as she said, “Sorry you tracked me down for no reason.”

“Dee,” he said instantly, a broken word.

Silence followed, and Dee decided this would require additional coffee. She reached
out to graze a passing waiter’s elbow. “Ardalan, sweetie, would you bring me another latte?”

The waiter paused in his bustle to peer at her accusingly. “Depends on how many you’ve had.”

She pouted a little. “Just two.”

Ardalan shot Jed a glance. “You look new. Three’s her limit, okay?”

Jed smiled and inclined his head. When the waiter left, he asked, “Addicted, are we?”

“Don’t mess with it.
Withdrawals aren’t pretty.”

He laughed softly. Then his humor faded and he leaned forward, folding his arms across the table in front of him. “I think the email is genuinely from my father.”

Dee focused, adjusting her woolen hat. An email from the father he’d never known? The walls of Jed’s existence must be cracking, letting light in. Meeting this man could change his life. Or break it apart.

“Okay.” She thought of a cold night, ten years ago. A man scrutinizing her, searching for family resemblance. “You know despite his convivial tone, he could be dangerous.”

“Yes.”

“He could be after something. Not a happy father and son reunion.”

A large hand swiped over his jaw and she imagined the hushed rasp of regrowth. “I know that, too.”

“Do you want to meet him?”

His hand lowered and
he met her stare, determined. “Yes. I’ve spent my whole life wondering who my father is.”

Slowly, Dee nodded as Ardalan returned with her latte.

“Thanks, honey,” she said, distracted, and he moved on. She drained most of it and put it down with a clink. “When are you going to meet him, then?”

Jed looked uncomfortable and realization crumbled her heart. “Oh. That’s why you haven’t known when
you’re leaving me. Depends on when you arrange to see him, right?”

“Yes. But I was thinking I’d come—”

“Doesn’t matter,” she interrupted sharply. She’d make it easy for him. For her. “I’m going with you anyway.”

His features stiffened.

“I’ll book the tickets now.” She pulled out her phone and opened the browser. “When shall we leave? I could do tomorrow. Let’s try tomorrow.”

“Dee,” he said,
sounding startled. “That place is in Europe.”

“Exciting, right?” She entered Paris in the destination bar and searched for available flights. “Ooh, there’s an overnight flight to Paris tonight. Perfect.”

“You’re not serious.”

“Yeah.” She turned the phone towards him. “See, right here?”

His answering look was flat. “You can’t pick up and leave on a whim. You must have things planned.”

“Sure,
but I’ll make some calls.”

“The ticket prices will be outrageous.”

“Highway robbery.” But she selected two tickets anyway and pressed continue. Return flights could be organized later. “Loading, please wait.”

“You’re booking right now?”

“Sure am.” She shot a glance across the table and encountered his unreadable face. Not to be discouraged, she started typing her details onto the webpage.
“I’m sensing the need for an explanation.” Jed’s name went into the form, guest number two. “I’m going with you because if Oscar is a threat, I’m sure as hell not going to let you meet him alone.” She hesitated over the form and extended the phone towards him. “Personal details, please.”

Reluctantly, he took the phone and filled in the blanks. With payment to go, she tugged out her wallet and
searched for her credit card. Swiftly, Jed plucked the lot from her fingers and replaced it with his own card.

“It doesn’t mat—”

“Don’t argue.” His deepest words yet.

Giving in, Dee entered his details and hit confirm. Then she placed the phone on the table and leaned back with a sigh.

He sat, rigid, clearly struggling with such spontaneity.

She grinned and kicked him lightly under the table.
“We’re going to Paris.”

“Leguarday.”

“Wherever the hell that is,” she said. “Oh my, I’ll get to see châteaux and eat cheese and listen to everyone speaking a beautiful language I learned at school but have since completely forgotten.”

After a moment, a grin overtook him. “I can’t believe you.”

Sometimes, she couldn’t either. Travelling with a man she adored, who no longer adored her back.
Masochism at its finest.

“What are friends for,” she said, “if not travelling across the globe at a moment’s notice?”

She’d done exactly that with Alexia the year before. The result had been her best friend moving to Byron Bay. Possibility wafted coolly down her spine. In the unlikely event that Oscar turned out to be decent, Jed might decide to stay close, making up for a missed childhood.
That’d make two international trips in two years, and two lost companions.

That’d be right.

“Friends.” Jed regarded her, solemn. “So, we’re good?”

Dee hid her angst beneath a bright smile. She even sent him a light little wink.

“We’re good.”

*

From: Jed Brown

02-04-2015 (1 minute ago)

To: Oscar M

Subject: Re: Gambit

Hello Oscar,

I’m unconvinced, but let’s meet. I’ll be in Leguarday in two days. You choose where we meet, and when. I’ll choose whether I sit down and listen.

Jed

Across the world,
in a stone castle surrounded by the curling fist of winter sleet, a father wept with joy.

‡

“I
’ll have to
take my laptop. I’m on a deadline.”

Jed sat on the couch while Dee bustled. It was an artless process—pack whatever occurred to her in the moment. He found simple pleasure in watching. No stress involved. No lists. Just plucking objects from around the apartment, like
good apples off a tree, until she eventually filled the bag.

“Toothbrush,” she said next, and headed for the bathroom. She emerged with a toiletries case, heavy weight jacket, and her passport. “Oh, I should tell Pearl.” With that, she headed out into the hall. Within minutes, she was back, making space for a foldup umbrella. Preparing to travel with him, for him, with less than twelve hours’
notice. Regardless of the deadline she had for her next script. Humming under her breath, like it was no big deal.

It was a big deal to him.

Dee was one of a kind. She took life in her stride. Forgave easily, but not foolishly. Chose humor over darkness, but when ill moods struck, she embraced the storm and then let it pass.

She was a strong friend. A best friend.

She’d make an honest lover.
Daring. Passionate.

With a swell in his chest, he watched her move to the desk, finger in the air, and pull a small notebook from the drawer. She crisscrossed about until the carry-on luggage was full, zipped, and standing next to his duffel bag by the door. No fuss. She packed like someone who knew true valuables were few and far between and couldn’t be contained in a bag.

She packed like him.

“Okay.” She nudged her glasses up the bridge of her nose and checked the time. “I’ll change clothes and we’ll be good to roll.”

The swell grew bigger, doubling over, as she closed the bedroom door behind her. He stared at the wooden crate shelving, muscles tense. He always strove to be a gentleman. Respectful of pace, holding back until his partner was ready. It was a small struggle, but he’d
never lost.

This morning had been a close call.

She’d come so near. On the tops of her toes and still only as tall as his shoulder. Her breath had nudged his face, unsteady and fresh as mint, as she’d concentrated on his cheek. The lush push of her breasts had raised a fever in his blood. The thick cotton of her dressing gown had folded loosely over her chest, strung together with a single knot.
One swipe of his hands could have banished it to the floor. All too readily could he imagine the naked rush, their heated coupling pushing deep into the blankets. The bed had been right beside them. Empty like an upturned palm asking, why not?

Honesty was why not. Dee deserved to know why he’d knocked on her door. She didn’t deserve to be seduced into thinking it was to rekindle their adolescent
romance. That had never been a part of the plan. A hope, yes, jammed between his crossed fingers, but not the plan. He’d needed to explain the email first. Ask what she remembered. Any other order and she’d be within her rights to think he’d been happy getting some action on the side.

He’d been honest at breakfast.

Now he was free to act on the tension tugging like a beast inside him.

Dee emerged
in red tights, wearing a stretchy, snug black dress. Yesterday’s scarf had made a return, along with the chunky black boots. Several necklaces scattered pendants over her chest. A fedora crowned her dark hair.

“I am le ready,” she announced.

“
Je suis prêt,
” he corrected, standing.

Her head tilted as she picked up her handbag. “You might come in handy.”

He smiled.

“Okay.” Turning on the spot,
she pointed a circle around her apartment. “And I think that’s everything.” She passed behind the couch and took the handle of her carry on. “Let’s go meet this dad of yours.”

Her selfless support amazed him. Jed came to stand behind her. “Dee,” he murmured, taking her hand. Warm and soft, her fingers curled through his as she turned to face him, brows high in surprise. “You’re attracted to me.”

A guard rose across her face. “Me and the rest of the planet. It’s okay. I’m dealing with it.”

“How?”

She looked wary. “Suppression.”

He shifted closer. Need clawed him with nails straight from fire. She’d been bold once, spreading her thighs around him and asking for love. It was clear she still yearned for love, and for the tight push of his body in hers. She planned on fighting those urges
in order to be around him, because apparently some of him was better than none. Jed didn’t subscribe to that theory.

He wanted all of Dee.

Firmly, he said, “That won’t work.”

“It will.” Her blue stare sharpened. “I’m coming with you, Jed.”

“I know that.” His fingers brushed over the inside of her wrist and she shivered. “I’m saying don’t suppress it.”

She blinked. “But, you don’t—”

“I do.”
He tipped the brim of her hat higher, opening her face to him. Blue eyes, full lips, and a cute round chin. A face he’d never forgotten and never intended to miss again. “Hand them over. Every desire you’ve got. I want them all.”

*