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If she was forced to watch him kiss that other woman, she might just have to jump off board and brave the sharks and jellyfish to swim to shore.
Suck it up, Gemma, you turned him down.
She forced herself to remember that she was the director of her own company, looking after an important client. To convince herself that there were worse things to do than twiddle her thumbs in the lap of luxury on one of the most beautiful harbours in the world on a perfect sunny day. And to remind herself to paste a convincing smile on her face as she did everything in her power to make her client’s day a success.
As she rounded the boardwalk past Luna Park fun fair, she picked up her pace when she noticed the Argus had already docked at Lavender Bay. The charter company called it a ‘gentleman’s cruiser’, and the wooden boat’s vintage lines made it stand out on a harbour dotted with slick, modern watercraft. She didn’t know much about boats, but she liked this one—it looked fabulous, and it had a very well-fitted-out kitchen that was a dream to work in.
The Lavender Bay wharf was on the western side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, virtually in its shadow, with a view right through to the gleaming white sails of the Opera House on the eastern side. The water was unbelievably blue to match the blue sky. The air was tangy with salt. How could she stay down on a day like this? She would make the most of it.
Gemma got her smile ready as she reached the historic old dock. She expected that a crew member would greet her and help her on board. But her heart missed a beat when she saw it was Tristan who stood there. Tristan...in white linen trousers and a white shirt open at the neck to reveal a glimpse of muscular chest, sleeves rolled back to show strong, sinewy forearms. Tristan looking tanned and unbelievably handsome, those blue eyes putting the sky to shame. Her heart seemed almost literally to leap into her throat.
She had never been more attracted to a man.
‘Let me help you,’ he said in his deep, accented voice as he extended a hand to help her across the gangplank.
She looked at his hand for a long moment, not sure what her reaction would be at actually touching him. But she knew she would need help to get across because she felt suddenly shaky and weak at the knees. She swallowed hard against a painful swell of regret.
What an idiot she’d been to say no to him.
* * *
Gemma looked as lovely as he remembered, Tristan thought as he held out his hand to her. Even lovelier—which he hadn’t thought possible. Her auburn hair fell to her shoulders, glinting copper and gold in the sunlight. Her narrow deep blue cut-off pants and blue-and-white-striped top accentuated her curves in a subtle way he appreciated. But her smile was tentative, and she had hesitated before taking his hand and accepting his help to come on board.
‘Gemma, it is so good to see you,’ he said while his heart beat a tattoo of exultation that she had come—and he sent out a prayer that she would forgive him for insisting in such an autocratic manner on her presence.
She had her rules—he had his. His rules decreed that spending time with a girl like Gemma could lead nowhere. But he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. So her rules had had to be bent.
‘The Party Queens motto is No Job Too Big or Too Small,’ Gemma said as she stepped on board. ‘This...this is a very small job.’
He realised he was holding her hand for longer than would be considered polite. That her eyes were flickering away from the intensity of his gaze. But he didn’t want to let go of her hand.
‘Small...but important.’ Incredibly important to him as the clock ticked relentlessly away on his last days of freedom.
She abruptly released her hand from his. Her lush mouth tightened. ‘Is it? Then I hope you’ll be happy with the menu.’
‘Your chef and waiter are already in the kitchen,’ he said. ‘You have created a superb lunch for us.’
‘And your guest for lunch? Is she—?’
At that moment a crew member approached to tell him they were ready to cast off from the dock and start their cruise around the harbour.
Tristan thanked him and turned to Gemma. ‘I’m very much looking forward to this,’ he said. To getting to know her.
‘You couldn’t have a better day for exploring the harbour,’ she said with a wave of her hand that encompassed the impossibly blue waters, the boats trailing frothy white wakes behind them, the blue sky unmarred by clouds.
‘The weather is perfect,’ he said. ‘Did Party Queens organise that for me, too?’
It was a feeble attempt at humour and he knew it. Gemma seemed to know it, too.
But her delightful dimples flirted in her cheeks as she replied, ‘We may have cast a good weather spell or two.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘So you have supernatural powers? The Party Queens continue to surprise me.’
‘I’d be careful who you’re calling a witch,’ she said with a deepening of the dimples. ‘Andie and Eliza might not like it.’
A witch? She had bewitched him, all right. He had never felt such an instant attraction to a woman. Especially one so deeply unsuitable.
‘And you?’ In his country’s mythology the most powerful witches had red hair and green eyes. This bewitching Australian had eyes the colour of cinnamon—warm and enticing. ‘Are you a witch, Gemma Harper?’ he asked slowly.
She met his gaze directly as they stood facing each other on the deck, the dock now behind them. ‘I like to think I’m a witch in the kitchen—or it could be that I just have a highly developed intuition for food. But if you want to think I conjured up these blue skies, go right ahead. All part of the service.’
‘So there is no limit to your talents?’ he said.
‘You’re darn right about that,’ she said with an upward tilt of her chin.
For a long moment their eyes met. Her heart-shaped face, so new to him, seemed already familiar—possibly because she had not been out of his thoughts since the moment they’d met. He ached to lift his hand and trace the freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose with his finger, then explore the contours of her mouth, her top lip with its perfect, plump bow. He ached to kiss her.
But there could be no kissing. Not with this girl, who had captured his interest within seconds of meeting her. Not when there were rules and strictures guiding the way he spent his life. When there were new levels of responsibility he had to step up to when he returned home. He was on a deadline—everything would change when he turned thirty, in three months’ time. These next few days in Sydney were the last during which he could call his time his own.
His life had been very different before the accident that had killed his brother. Before the spare had suddenly become the heir. His carefree and some might even say hedonistic life as the second son had been abruptly curtailed.
There had been unsuitable girlfriends—forbidden to him now. He had taken risks on the racing-car circuit and on horseback, had scaled the mountains that towered over Montovia. Now everything he did came under scrutiny. The Crown took priority over everything. Duty had always governed part of his life. Now it was to be his all.
But he had demanded to be allowed to take this vacation—insisted on this last freedom before he had to buckle under to duty. To responsibility. For the love of his country.
His fascination with Gemma Harper was nowhere on the approved official agenda...
‘I’m trying to imagine what other feats of magic you can perform,’ he said, attempting to come to terms with the potent spell she had cast on him. The allure of her lush mouth. The warmth of her eyes. The inexplicable longing for her that had led him to planning this day.
He should not be thinking this way about a commoner.
She bit her lip, took a step back from him. ‘My magic trick is to make sure your lunch date goes smoothly. But I don’t need a fairy’s wand for that.’ Her dimples disappeared. ‘I want everything to be to your satisfaction. Are you happy with the Argus?’
Her voice was suddenly stilted, as if she had extracted the laughter and levity from it. Back to business was the message. And she was right. A business arrangement. That was all there should be between them.
‘It’s a very handsome boat,’ he said. He was used to millionaire’s toys. Took this level of luxury for granted. But that didn’t stop him appreciating it. And he couldn’t put a price on the spectacular view. ‘I’m very happy with it for this purpose.’
‘Good. The Argus is my favourite of any of the boats we’ve worked on,’ she said. ‘I love its wonderful Art Deco style. It’s from another era of graciousness.’
‘Would you like me to show you around?’ he said.
If she said yes, he would make only a cursory inspection of the luxury bedrooms, the grand stateroom. He did not want her to get the wrong idea. Or to torture himself with thoughts of what could never be.
She shook her head. ‘No need. I’m familiar with the layout,’ she said. ‘We held a corporate party here earlier in the spring. I’d like to catch up with my staff now.’
‘Your waiter has already set up for lunch on the deck.’
‘I’d like to see how it looks,’ she said.
She had a large tan leather bag slung over her shoulder. ‘Let me take your bag for you,’ he said.
‘Thank you, but I’m fine,’ she said, clutching on to the strap.
‘I insist,’ he said. The habits of courtliness and chivalry towards women had been bred into him.
She shrugged. ‘Okay.’ Reluctantly, she handed it to him.
The weight of her bag surprised him, and he pretended to stagger on the deck. ‘What have you got in here? An arsenal of wooden spoons?’
Her eyes widened, and she laughed. ‘Of course not.’
‘So I don’t need to seek out my armour?’
It was tempting to tell her about the suits of medieval armour in the castle he called home. As a boy he’d thought everyone had genuine armour to play with—it hadn’t been until he was older that he’d become aware of his uniquely privileged existence. Privileged and restricted.
But he couldn’t reveal his identity to her yet. He wanted another day of just being plain Tristan. Just a guy getting to know a girl.
‘Of course you don’t need armour. Besides, I wasn’t actually going to hit you with that wooden spoon, you know.’
‘You had me worried back in that kitchen,’ he teased. He was getting used to speaking English again, relaxing into the flow of words.
‘I don’t believe that for a second,’ she said. ‘You’re so much bigger than me, and—’
‘And what?’
‘I...I trusted that you wouldn’t hurt me.’
He had to clear his throat. ‘I would never hurt you,’ he said. And yet he wasn’t being honest with her. Inadvertently, he could hurt her. But it would not be by intent. This was just one day.
‘So what’s really in the bag?’ he asked.
‘It’s only bits and pieces of my favourite kitchen equipment—just in case I might need them.’
‘Just in case the chef can’t do his job?’ he asked.
‘You did want me here to supervise,’ she said, her laughter gone as he reminded her of why she thought she was on board. ‘And supervise I need to. Please. I have to see where we will be serving lunch.’
There was a formal dining area inside the cabin, but Tristan was glad Party Queens had chosen to serve lunch at an informal area with the best view at the fore of the boat. Under shelter from the sun and protected from the breeze. The very professional waiter had already set an elegant table with linen mats, large white plates and gleaming silver.
Gemma nodded in approval when she saw it. Then straightened a piece of cutlery into perfect alignment with another without seeming to be aware she was doing it.
‘Our staff have done their usual good job,’ she said. ‘We’ll drop anchor at Store Beach at lunchtime. That will be very romantic.’
She stressed the final word with a tight twist of her lips that surprised him.
‘I don’t know where Store Beach is, but I’m looking forward to seeing it,’ he said.
‘It’s near Manly, which is a beachside suburb—the start of our wonderful northern beaches. Store Beach is a secluded beach accessible only from the water. I’m sure you and your...uh...date will like it.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘In the meantime, it’s only ten o’clock. We can set up for morning tea or coffee now, if you’d like?’
‘Coffee would be good,’ he said. Sydney had surprised him in many ways—not least of which was with its excellent European-style coffee.
Gemma gave the table setting another tweak and then stepped away from it. ‘All that’s now lacking is your guest. Are we picking her up from another wharf, or is she already on board?’
‘She’s already on board,’ he said.
‘Oh...’ she said. ‘Is she—?’ She turned to look towards the passageway that led to the living area and bedrooms.
‘She’s not down there,’ he said.
‘Then where—?’
He sought the correct words. ‘She...she’s right here,’ he said.
‘I don’t see anyone.’ She frowned. ‘I don’t get it.’
He cleared his throat. ‘You are my guest for lunch, Gemma.’
She stilled. For a long moment she didn’t say anything. Tristan shifted from foot to foot. He couldn’t tell if she was pleased or annoyed.
‘Me?’ she said finally, in a voice laced with disbelief.
‘You said there was a rule about you not spending time outside of work with clients. So I arranged to have time with you while you were officially at work.’
Her shoulders were held hunched and high. ‘You...you tricked me. I don’t like being tricked.’
‘You could call it that—and I apologise for the deception. But there didn’t seem to be another way. I had to see you again, Gemma.’
She took a deep intake of breath. ‘Why didn’t you just ask me?’
‘Would you have said “yes”?’
She bowed her head. ‘Perhaps not.’
‘I will ask you now. Will you be my guest for lunch on board the Argus?’
She looked down at the deck.
He reached out his hand and tilted her chin upwards so she faced him. ‘Please?’
He could see the emotions dancing across her face. Astonishment. A hint of anger. And could that be relief?
Her shoulders relaxed, and her dimples made a brief appearance in the smoothness of her cheeks. ‘I guess as you have me trapped on board I have no choice but to say “yes”.’
‘Trapped? I don’t wish you to feel trapped...’ He didn’t want to seem arrogant and domineering—job descriptions that came with the role of crown prince. His brother had fulfilled them impeccably. They sat uncomfortably with Tristan. ‘Gemma, if this is unacceptable to you, I’ll ask the captain to turn back to Lavender Bay. You can get off. Is that what you want?’
She shook her head. ‘No. That’s not what I want. I...I want to be here with you. In fact, I can’t tell you how happy I am there’s no other woman. I might have been tempted to throw her overboard.’
Her peal of laughter that followed was delightful, and it made him smile in response.
