Cat Schield – Mum's The Word!: Royal Heirs Required (страница 21)
“Why are you looking through your papers?”
“I might be mistaken, but I thought I spotted fresh scratches on the lock and wanted to make sure my medical file hadn’t been rifled.” Olivia glanced up when Libby didn’t immediately comment. “What’s wrong?”
“Prince Christian is systematically interviewing the staff about the leaks to the press.”
A chill chased across Olivia’s skin. “He thinks someone inside the palace is providing information?” She remembered the photos of Gabriel and Marissa. Those hadn’t been paparazzi shots. They had been taken among friends.
Olivia touched the lock again, wishing she could determine if the scratches were recent. If someone had gotten their hands on her medical records it could have catastrophic results. “Keep me updated on the investigation,” she said, “and see if you can find a more secure place for these.”
* * *
Gabriel was having a hard time keeping his mind on today’s biotech plant tour. For the past several days he’d been touring manufacturing plants in Switzerland and Belgium in search of other businesses that would be interested in moving their operations to Sherdana. He probably should have sent Christian to do this. His brother had made a significant amount of money investing in up-and-coming technology. Christian would have been interested in the product lines and the way the manufacturing facilities were organized. Gabriel was finding it as dry as overdone toast.
That’s probably how both his brothers felt about what went into the running of the country. These days, they had little in common. It often amazed Gabriel that three people could share a womb for nine months, communicate among themselves in their own language until they were teenagers and participate in a thousand childhood adventures together yet be so completely different in their talents and interests as they entered their twenties.
Nevertheless, this trip couldn’t have come at a better time. The past few nights with Olivia had been some of the most passion-filled of his life. She’d slipped effortlessly beneath his defenses with her eager sensuality and curious nature. He’d become obsessed with the soft drag of her lips across his skin and the wicked suggestions she whispered in his ear as he entered her.
His constant craving for her company warned him he was fast losing touch with why he was marrying her. Cool, sophisticated elegance and a warm heart. Not feverish kisses and blazing orgasms.
Gabriel cleared his throat and tugged at his collar as the head of the factory droned on. He definitely needed some space from her. Unfortunately, the distance wasn’t having the effect he’d hoped for. Being apart was supposed to cool him off. That was what he’d anticipated, but that wasn’t the result.
He daydreamed about her at the oddest moments. Him. Daydreaming. Like some infatuated fool. He’d never expected her to preoccupy him in this way. She was supposed to be a sensible mate, an able partner in governing the country, not a hellcat in bed.
The tattoo drove him crazy. Its placement. Its message.
It awakened him to possibilities. He wanted to throw sensible out the window and take chances. Because of Olivia he wanted to shake up the established way of doing things. She’d awakened his restless spirit that he’d believed he’d conquered after ending things with Marissa.
Every day he was finding out that Olivia was more than he’d expected.
And he’d be a fool not to worry about the power she now had over him. Yet he was helpless to stop what was developing between them. The best he could hope for was to slow things down until he shaped the relationship into something he was comfortable with.
But was
* * *
A few days after Gabriel left on his trip, Olivia was scheduled to have a private lunch with the queen. Ten minutes before the appointment, she slipped pearl earrings into place and stepped in front of the mirror to assess her appearance. She’d chosen a sleeveless pink dress edged in white with a narrow white belt to highlight her waist, and accessorized with a pair of floral pumps. The feminine ensemble required a soft hairstyle so she’d left her hair down and coaxed out the natural wave with a light blowout.
This morning she’d awakened to some discomfort in her lower abdomen and wasn’t feeling on top of her game, but wasn’t about to cancel on the queen.
Drawing a fortifying breath, she entered the private dining room that only the immediate royal family used. Pale blue had been chosen for the chairs as well as the curtains framing the large windows. It was the only splash of color in a room otherwise dominated by white walls and lavish plasterwork painted gold. More intimate than many of the other rooms on the first floor, it nevertheless didn’t allow her to forget that this was a palace.
“You look lovely,” the queen said as she breezed into the room. She wore a classic suit of dusty lavender and a stunning choker of pale round Tahitian pearls. Noticing Olivia’s interest, she touched the necklace. “An anniversary gift from the king,” the queen explained, her smile both fond and sensual.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Matteo has exceptionally good taste.”
The queen gestured toward the dining table, capable of seating twelve, but set for two. As the two women sat down, a maid set a glass of soda on the table before the queen.
“Diet cola,” she, sipping the fizzy drink with pleasure. “I got a taste for it when we visited the States two decades ago. It’s my indulgence.”
Olivia nodded in understanding. She wasn’t much of a soda drinker herself, but she understood how someone could come to crave a particular item. Like a tall, bronze-eyed prince for example.
The servers placed plates of salad in front of the two women and the queen launched a barrage of questions to determine what Olivia knew about Sherdana’s current political climate and their economic issues. Although Olivia had been expecting to discuss the wedding preparations, she was just as happy to share what she knew about the country she would soon call her own.
“Does my son know how bright you are?” the queen asked, her expression thoughtful as the maids cleared the main course and served dessert. She frowned at the plate in front of her and sighed. “Oh, dear. The chef is experimenting again.”
Olivia stared at the oddest fruit she’d ever seen. About the size of her fist with a leathery hot-pink skin, it had been sliced in half to reveal white flesh dotted with tiny black seeds. A hollow had been carved out of the center and filled with yogurt and sliced strawberries.
“Dragon fruit,” the queen explained. “And from what I understand quite delicious.”
Olivia took her first bite and was surprised at the wonderfully sweet flavor. It had a texture like a kiwi with the seeds adding a little crunch to each bite.
“You look pale.” The queen pointed at Olivia with her spoon. “I expect you’ll get more rest with my son away.”
Olivia’s entire body flushed hot. The queen had just insinuated that she knew where Gabriel had been spending his nights.
“Oh, don’t look so mortified,” the queen continued. “You are to be married and my son was determined to have a short engagement. Besides, there are no secrets in the palace.”
“No, I suppose there are not.” Olivia knew better than to think her nights with Gabriel were something between just the two of them. She’d grown up surrounded by servants who knew most everything about her daily habits.
“How are the twins’ dresses coming for the wedding?” The queen had taken a few days to approve the idea of Bethany and Karina being a part of the ceremony, but Gabriel had at last persuaded her.
“They should be finished later this week. The lace Noelle has chosen is beautiful. I think you’ll be pleased.”
“Noelle is very talented. You will all look beautiful.” The queen nodded in satisfaction. “I must say, you’ve accepted this situation with Gabriel’s children much better than most women would in your position.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone not adoring those precious two,” Olivia admitted, but she understood what the queen was getting at. “I love children. Helping to make their lives better is the foundation for all my charity work. I would be a wretched person and a hypocrite if I turned my back on Bethany and Karina because of who their mother was.” And what Marissa had meant to Gabriel.
“They certainly have taken to you,” the queen said. “And you seem to have everything it takes to be an excellent mother.”
“Thank you.”
The queen’s praise should have allowed Olivia to relax, but the tick of her biological clock sounded loud in her ears.
“How was the trip?” Christian asked as he and Gabriel crossed the tarmac toward the waiting limo. “I hope you brought me a present.”
“Naturally.” Gabriel hoisted his briefcase and deposited it in his brother’s hands. “It’s filled with all sort of things I’m sure you’ll find vastly interesting.”
“Unlike you?”
“Technology is more your and Nic’s thing.” Gabriel was aware that the trip had been less productive than he’d hoped. Mostly because he’d had a hard time concentrating. Thoughts of Olivia had intruded with a frequency he’d found troubling. “You probably should have gone instead of me, but it was something I needed to do. I want to encourage more technology firms to move to Sherdana. The best way for me to do that is to speak to companies that might be looking at expansion.”