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And could have kicked herself for letting his angry response get to her. Her brother loved her, but he needed a more mature figure in his life, someone he would respect and listen to.
Shamefaced, he admitted, ‘OK, I was completely out of order and unfair. I’m sorry. But…’ The words trailed away.
‘Anyway, you told Alex you couldn’t go,’ she reminded him.
He sent her a look of mingled exasperation and embarrassment. ‘It’s too good a chance to miss. I can organise it.’
Relieved, she retorted, ‘In that case, you’d be mad not to take Alex up on his offer.’
‘So would you,’ he said.
They measured glances. It looked as though he’d refuse if she did.
Surrendering, Serina shrugged and said lightly, ‘Fair enough. I’ve always wanted to see New Zealand, and it would be a fantastic opportunity to find material for the column.’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, Serina, loosen up a bit! Forget the column and being a big sister—just have a proper holiday. Give Alex Matthews a chance to show you how much easier life can be when you’re not trying so hard to be a role model.’
That hurt, but she smiled and said coolly, ‘Perhaps I might.’
Watching him stride away, she asked herself why she wasn’t exulting that—thanks to Alex’s unexpected offer—things had fallen into place so easily.
Instead, she found Doran’s final comment running around in her mind.
Fun? With Alex Matthews? She looked across to where he stood talking to the royal couple. Her gaze roved his face, unconsciously noting the strong framework, the lean body in superbly tailored evening clothes, the formidable, arrogantly effortless impact of his presence.
Tingles of sensation shortened her breath and hastened her pulse. He impressed her altogether too much, and that could be dangerous.
Of course, on closer acquaintance they might decide they didn’t like each other…
Serina dragged in an unsteady breath, feeling as though she’d been caught up in a storm, tossed and tumbled by strong winds until she didn’t know where she was going. Liking had nothing to do with the stark fact that whenever she saw Alex Matthews—or even thought of him—something shifted in the pit of her stomach and she felt a strange mixture of wariness and elation as her hormones raged out of control.
If she went to New Zealand she suspected she’d be even more vulnerable. Could she subdue this elemental response, leash it so she’d return unscathed after a month of close contact?
Put like that, it sounded idiotically Victorian—just like the mansion Alex lived in.
She didn’t have to go. Doran had clearly decided to take up his offer. She could turn his invitation down, retreat to normality…
And spend the rest of her life wondering if she’d been a complete coward.
Controlling an urge to gnaw her lip indecisively, she greeted an approaching couple with relief. But later in the evening she found herself face to face with someone she’d successfully avoided until then. Superbly dressed, the older woman was still beautiful enough to dazzle.
As she had dazzled Serina’s father.
Her mother’s anguish only too vividly remembered, Serina masked her dislike and contempt with a calm smile as the woman cooed, ‘My dear girl, this must be such a difficult time for you.’ Her words oozing an odious sympathy that clashed with her avid scrutiny, she went on, ‘I do so admire your courage in coming here.’
Serina held onto her temper with a stoic determination she hoped didn’t show in her face. ‘You are too complimentary—I can assure you it took no courage.’
The older woman sighed. ‘Such noble defiance,’ she said patronisingly. ‘So like your dear father—he clung to that magnificent aristocratic pride even when he’d lost everything. One could only admire his spirit in the face of such tragedy, and wish that he had been rewarded for it.’
Furious at the mention of her father, Serina couldn’t trust herself to speak, so raised her brows instead.
The older woman went on, ‘And for you, I hope that soon the pangs of being rejected will ease. A broken heart is—’ She broke off abruptly, her gaze darting behind and above Serina.
The back of Serina’s neck prickled and she had to stop herself from twisting around. She knew who’d come up behind her.
A warm smile pulled up the corners of the older woman’s impossibly lush mouth. ‘Mr Matthews,’ she purred, ‘how lovely to see you.’ Her tone was deep, slightly husky, and somehow she imbued the meaningless words with an undercurrent of sexuality.
A sizzle of emotion tightened Serina’s face, caused by something that came humiliatingly close to jealousy. She half-turned and met Alex’s hard blue gaze. After a second he looked away and greeted the older woman with aloof courtesy.
Her father’s mistress cooed, ‘As I was about to tell the Princess, repining is such a waste of time, but I see I have no need to bore her with lessons learnt over a lifetime. Clearly she has already packed away the past and is looking to the future.’
Serina met her smug smile with a stiff movement of her head. ‘So kind of you to take an interest in my life,’ she said, disgust and anger edging her words. How dared the woman insinuate that she was chasing Alex?
Smoothly, Alex said, ‘I’m sure you’ll excuse us, madam. The Grand Duke and Duchess wish to speak to the Princess before they leave.’
As they walked away Serina said stiffly, ‘You didn’t need to rescue me; I can cope.’
‘I’m sure you can,’ he said, a sardonic smile tilting his hard, beautiful mouth, ‘but I dislike vultures on principle. They foul the atmosphere.’
Serina gave a shocked gasp, followed by a choke of laughter. ‘She’s a horrid woman, but that’s really too harsh.’
‘It’s not. You are far too polite.’
A raw note in the words made her look up sharply. After the slightest of pauses he went on, ‘I like that little gurgle of laughter. I don’t think I’ve heard it before.’
‘I don’t do it to order,’ she retorted, furious because she was flushing. What was it about this man that turned her into some witless idiot?
‘Careful,’Alex warned, his voice amused. ‘The mask is slipping.’
Serina faltered. The hand beneath her elbow gripped hard enough to keep her upright, and for a second she wondered if she’d have bruises there tomorrow.
‘The mask?’ she enquired stiffly.
‘The one you wear all the time—the perfect-princess mask that hides the puppet behind,’ he returned with cool insolence, relaxing his grip.
Was that how he saw her—a lifeless thing hiding behind a disguise?
Squelching a foolish stab of pain, she stated, ‘I’m not really a princess—Montevel is now a republic so it’s just another empty title. And surely you must know that nobody is perfect.’
‘So what’s behind that utterly poised, totally collected, exceedingly beautiful face?’
Her startled glance clashed with an assessing scrutiny that sent a shiver scudding down her spine. ‘A very ordinary person,’ she countered, hoping she sounded more composed than she felt.
A very ordinary person still fuming over the exchange with her father’s mistress—and secretly thrilled by Alex’s cool summary of her attributes.
Thankfully they’d reached the royal couple, and Alex drawled, ‘Rosie, Gerd, tell Serina she’ll love New Zealand. I don’t think I’ve entirely convinced her that it’s worth crossing half the world to see.’
The brand-new Grand Duchess smiled up at Serina, her vivid face alight. ‘Of course you’ll love it,’ she said, her pride in her country obvious. ‘It’s the most beautiful country in the world—apart from Carathia. And as a Northlander born and bred, I’m convinced that Northland is the best part of it.’
‘Everyone says it’s glorious,’ Serina said, very aware of Gerd’s speculative glance.
Enthusiastically, Rosie continued, ‘And Haruru is just—magical. Huge and green and with beaches that match anything the Mediterranean offers.’ She and her new husband exchanged an intimate smile that indicated a shared experience.
Serina stifled another pang of envy.
Blandly, Alex said, ‘Gerd, perhaps you can reassure the Princess that she’ll be perfectly safe staying with me.’
Embarrassed by his bluntness, Serina sent him a furious glance and blurted, ‘I didn’t think—’ She caught herself and finished more sedately, ‘Of course I know that!’
Gerd’s brows lifted and the two men exchanged a look, a masculine thrust and parry that made Serina wonder. Although Alex and the Grand Duke didn’t look alike, for a second the resemblance between them outweighed the differences.
Then Gerd said levelly, ‘You can trust Alex.’
‘I’ll second that,’ Rosie said with conviction, adding with a wry laugh, ‘Even when he’s being a pain in the neck—actually, especially when he’s being a pain in the neck—he’s utterly staunch.’
Grabbing at her composure, Serina said, ‘I’m quite sure he is.’ She took in a swift breath and managed to smile. ‘I’m just not accustomed to making such quick decisions.’
They spoke for a few more minutes, then she wished them all happiness, and Alex escorted her back. Halfway across the expanse of floor, he said, ‘So are you coming to New Zealand or not?’
‘Yes,’ she snapped, making up her mind with jarring suddenness.
Lapis lazuli eyes held hers for a tense moment before Alex nodded. ‘You’ll enjoy it—and think of the columns you’ll be able to source. I’m leaving at ten tomorrow morning, so I’ll see you get a wake-up call in time.’
Serina’s fingers trembled as she fastened her seat belt. She’d used cosmetics to hide the toll a sleepless night had taken on her face, but nothing could smooth away the turmoil of thoughts and emotions knotting her stomach.
The previous night, raw from her encounter with her father’s mistress and Doran’s words, it had been easy to be defiant, but once the ball was over and Rosie and Gerd had been farewelled in showers of rose petals, she’d gone to her room wondering why on earth she’d let her dislike of the woman manoeuvre her into a decision she might come to regret.
And there had been a couple of shocks since then, the first when Alex had told her that Doran had left for Vanuatu halfway through the night.
‘Why?’ she demanded in the car that was taking her and Alex to the airport.
‘When I contacted my friends last night they told me they were already there, and almost ready to leave for the diving sites, so I got Doran to organise his own journey. He managed to talk himself onto several flights that will get him there within their deadline.’
She gave him a look of astonishment mingled with indignation. Doran had always relied on her to organise any travel arrangements. And who was paying his fare? A sick apprehension clutched at her.
As though he could read her mind, Alex said blandly, ‘Don’t worry about finances. Doran and I worked it out between us.’
‘How?’ she demanded.
‘He’s going to spend his holidays for the next year working for me,’ Alex told her calmly.
‘Working for you?’ This time she felt a mixture of bewilderment and relief. If Doran was working for Alex he wouldn’t have time to sit in front of a computer dreaming up fairy-tale fantasies of derring-do that might—but probably wouldn’t—earn him a fortune.
‘There’s always something to be done in an organisation like mine,’ Alex told her.
She eyed him sharply. ‘Why are you doing this for him?’
‘He was desperate to get to Vanuatu, and this seemed the best way to achieve that.’
‘It’s very kind of you,’ she said with reserve.
‘I’m not particularly kind,’ he corrected her, ‘but I don’t like to make an offer and then have to retract it. This way he’ll get the holiday he wants, and he’ll also see a bit of the world. As for working for me—I assume he’s going to have to earn his living?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then the experience will give him an idea of how the corporate and business worlds are organised.’
Serina had barely digested this when she discovered that Gerd’s brother Kelt and his family weren’t travelling with them.
Surprised anew, she said, ‘I thought—somehow I assumed they were going home with us—with you.’
He shook his head. ‘They’re flying to Moraze to spend some time with his in-laws.’
She’d watched Alex with his cousin’s small children, surprised and rather touched by their patent pleasure in his company. And his obvious affection for them hinted at a softer side to the man.
She’d looked forward to seeing more of them. But she and Alex would be alone—or as alone as anyone could be on a plane that boasted more flight crew than passengers.
A rebellious excitement welled up, so keen she could feel it thrilling through every cell. She, Serina Montevel, who’d never done a reckless thing in her life, was heading for a holiday on the other side of the world with a man she found wildly attractive.
Although attractive was far too pallid and emotionless a word. A sensible woman would have refused his invitation—would have kept on saying no until Alex decided she was more bother than she was worth…
Serina realised she was exceedingly glad that she wasn’t that sensible woman.
Alex broke into her scattered thoughts with a question. ‘Are you a nervous flier?’
‘No,’ she told him decisively, adding, ‘This is all new to me. I’ve never been in a private jet before.’
A black brow climbed. ‘You surprise me.’
‘Why?’
He leaned back and regarded her with enigmatic eyes. ‘I had the impression you spent a lot of time jetting around the royal circuit.’
‘Usually I drive,’ she told him evenly. Sometimes she used trains. It irritated her—no, it hurt—that he should despise her without bothering to take the trouble of finding out anything about her.
She went on, ‘And I’ve never crossed the world before. Is jet lag as bad as they say?’
‘Some people find it very difficult to deal with. I don’t.’
‘Ah, an iron man,’ she said sweetly.
His smile was swift and unexpected, sending a reckless shiver of pleasure through Serina.
‘Did I sound smug?’ he asked. ‘I’m fortunate, but I do take precautions.’
‘Such as?’
‘I always change my watch to the time of my destination.’ He extended an arm to show her.
