An Officer and a Princess (11 page)

Was Rebecca right? Did Adam love her? Or, was Rebecca so deeply in love with Nicholas she saw love where there was none?

Isabel once again looked at Adam only to find his gaze locked on hers. In a single split second of their eye contact, she saw his love shining there and she knew there was only one thing to do…follow her heart.

 

Adam had watched Isabel talking with Sebastian Lansbury and he'd been shocked at the wave of
jealousy that tore through him. On some level he recognized that they made an attractive couple…Lansbury with his cool blond looks and Isabel with her smoldering dark sensuality.

He tried not to remember how she'd felt in his arms on the mornings when they'd awakened with their bodies tangled together. He didn't want to remember the passion…the desire in the kisses they'd shared, the white heat of want that had marked their days and nights together.

And he sure as heck didn't want to think about how difficult it was going to be to work with her and not remember the intimacy they'd shared in their pretend marriage.

What he needed to do was get out of here, go someplace where he wouldn't catch sight of her, wouldn't have to watch her talking to, perhaps dancing with, Sebastian Lansbury.

He'd just about made it to the door of the ballroom when she materialized in front of him. She looked like a burst of spring in the emerald dress that perfectly matched her eyes. And instantly he could smell the sweet fragrance of her, the scent that shot a wave of longing through him.

“Lieutenant Commander Sinclair,” she said in greeting.

“Your Highness.” He bowed, stiffly formal and suddenly on edge. She had that look in her
eyes…the excited, agitated look that always spelled trouble.

“It's been a wonderful day, hasn't it?” she asked.

He nodded. “It's always nice when there's a happy ending.”

Her gaze held his for a long moment. “Would you dance with me, Adam?”

He wanted to say no. He didn't want to put himself through the ordeal of one last opportunity to hold her close, to feel her warmth against him, to look into those lovely eyes.

He wanted to say no. But he couldn't.

With resignation, he took her in his arms and together they moved across the dance floor to the slow rhythm of the music.

For Adam it was heaven, to have her in his arms once again. As always, he marveled at how neatly their bodies fit together, how absolutely right she felt next to him.

They had danced for only a few moments when she tilted her head back to look at him. “I've missed you, Adam,” she said softly.

“Don't, Isabel,” he replied painfully.

“Don't what? Don't tell you I missed you? Don't tell you I love you? If I don't tell you, I might explode.”

“Isabel, you are a princess,” he protested, her words piercing him right to his very soul.

“I am,” she agreed solemnly. “And you are the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“I have nothing to give you.”

She smiled, that beautiful smile that swept warmth across him, through him. “If you give me your love, then it's enough.”

How easy it would be to fall into her words, to drown in the sweet light of her eyes. How easy it would be to follow his desire, his heart, knowing the path would lead him to her.

“It's not as simple as that,” he said.

“But it is. If you love me as much as I love you, then it really is that simple. Tell me, Adam. Do you love me?” She caught her lower lip in her teeth, her body vibrating with tension.

He wished he could lie. It would be so much easier on them both if he could simply tell her he didn't love her. But he couldn't form the words to deny what was in his heart. His mouth positively refused to negate his love for her.

“I do,” the words slipped out with a sigh. “I do love you, Isabel.” Once begun, his confession continued to seep out of him. “I loved you when you were a raw recruit under my command. I loved you when you left my command and took the position in the Ministry of Defense. There are days I feel as if I have spent a lifetime loving you.”

With each word he spoke the sparkle in her eyes grew brighter until they were impossibly lit. “But,
Isabel…that doesn't change who you are…who I am. You must adhere to your father's wishes, and now the wishes of your brother.”

Isabel nodded. “You're right.” She stopped dancing and grabbed his hand. “Come with me,” she said and began to tug him toward the raised platform where King Nicholas and Queen Rebecca and King Michael and Queen Josephine were seated.

“What are you doing?” he asked, vaguely aware that Isabel's entire family were on or around the platform.

He saw Marcus Kent with his arm around the very pregnant Princess Dominique. Jake Stanbury was talking to his wife, Rowena, their love for one another apparent in their body language. Ben Lockhart and Meagan Moore were also nearby and Adam knew it wouldn't be long before the two of them were happily married.

The king's kidnapping had accomplished one thing, it had made the people close to the king find love…just as Adam had found love with Isabel. But Adam was simply an officer in the Royal Edenbourg Navy, not the kind of stuff King Michael would want for his daughter, not the kind of royal blood King Nicholas would want for his sister.

“Just stand right here,” Isabel said as they stopped just in front of the platform. She released his hold on her hand and he watched curiously as
she stepped forward, plucked a flower from one of the nearby lavish arrangements, then returned to where Adam stood.

“What are you doing?” he asked under his breath, aware that the music had stopped and she had drawn the attention of the people in the ballroom.

“This is an ancient custom,” she explained. She kissed the flower, then tucked it behind Adam's ear. Adam looked at her in confusion, only to see her watching her father and brother.

He followed her gaze, and watched as first King Nicholas, then King Michael nodded and smiled. The crowded ballroom erupted in cheers.

“What's going on?” he asked in bewilderment.

Isabel smiled. “My father and the new King of Edenbourg have just blessed our official betrothal.”

Before Adam could reply, King Nicholas stood. “May this union be blessed with many heirs,” he said. Again the crowd cheered, the orchestra began a joyous tune and Adam stared at Isabel in shocked surprise.

“What have you done?” he asked.

She raised her chin, a stubborn light adorning her gorgeous eyes. “I did what I had to do to get what I want.” Again she took his hand and led him off the dance floor and out the door that led to the veranda.

Once there, she looked at him, her heart in her
eyes. “I let you go years ago because of duty. I knew you'd never allow yourself to love me as long as you had no closure where your father was concerned, so I hired those investigators to help you in your search for the truth.”

Her eyes darkened. “I thought when I brought you that news, it would free your heart for me.”

He touched the side of her face with his fingertips. “And I shoved you unceremoniously out the door.”

She nodded. “I thought for sure there was no chance for us after that, that you didn't love me the same way I loved you.”

“I needed some time alone, to say a final goodbye to my father,” he explained. “And I still believed your father would dictate the man you would marry, and he would be of royal blood with titles and riches to match.” He looked at her curiously. “How did you know your brother and your father would approve of me?”

“I wasn't worried about Nicholas. Nicholas performed the same ceremony with Rebecca and I knew Nicholas knows the value of true love.”

“What about your father?”

“When I realized my father was stepping down from the throne to spend more time with my mother, I knew he wouldn't be a problem. He, too, has become aware of the treasure of love and fam
ily.” She stepped closer to him. “So, are you mad at me? Do you want to be engaged to me?”

“No.”

Her eyes widened and a tiny gasp escaped from her lips.

He smiled and gathered her into his arms. “I don't want to be engaged to you, Princess Isabel. I want to be married to you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Oh, Adam.” Her eyes grew luminous with tears of happiness and when she raised her lips to his, he didn't hesitate.

He kissed her with fiery passion, with all the love and desire that burned inside of him for her. She returned the kiss with a fire and heat all her own.

“I hope you're agreeable to a short engagement,” he said half-breathless when their kiss finally ended.

“A very short engagement,” she replied. She grinned. “I guess this means Bella and Adam's divorce is off.”

“Bella and Adam are going to be married for years to come,” he replied. “They are going to have a houseful of children, a life filled with dreams and hearts filled with love.”

“I love you, Lieutenant Commander,” she said as her arms curled around his neck.

“And I love you, Princess,” Adam replied, then he captured her lips once again, sealing the future in a kiss of everlasting love.

K
ing Nicholas moved quietly through the darkened, silent chapel, a wiggling LeAnn in one arm, a flashlight in the other. Although he was exhausted, the excitement of the day still filled him with adrenaline.

When Isabel's and Adam's wedding had finally ended, he'd gone into the nursery to check on his baby girl. He'd expected to find her sound asleep, but she'd greeted him with giggles and the wide-eyed expression of a little girl not close to slumber.

He'd picked her up and cuddled her close, then had decided to take her with him. Behind the altar, he went down the stairs that led to the catacombs beneath the city.

The flashlight easily lit the narrow corridor he
followed and as he walked, LeAnn giggled at the dancing shadows they made on the walls.

He hugged her closer, loving the scent of sweet little girl, of his daughter. She was the child of his heart, born from the tremendous love Nicholas felt for LeAnn's mother. He had seen that same love pass between Isabel and Adam as they took their vows earlier that day. Isabel's face glowed and her perfectly fitted bridal gown made her look more like a princess than ever before.

He'd gone only a little ways when he stopped in front of an ornate fresco. The vivid colors had faded over time, but even the passing of centuries couldn't diminish the power and mastery of the work.

Nicholas looked down at the new ring that adorned his right hand. It was a large ring with an intricate center stone. The king's ring. His father had passed it to him the same afternoon when he'd passed him the reins of the country, before the coronation had begun.

It took him only a moment to locate the slight depression in the stone that his father had described to him. He pressed the front of his ring into the depression. Awe swept through him as the stone swung backward to reveal a secret chamber.

The Chamber of Riches.

How ironic it was that his father had been held only a hundred feet or so from here. The kidnappers
had no idea how close they were to discovering the secret location of the Chamber of Riches.

Nicholas reached along the wall and found the switch that shot life into dozens of battery-powered lights. The room lit with a brilliance heightened only by the riches it contained.

As Nicholas stepped through the doorway, the stone slid silently back into place, closing him inside and hiding the room from anyone who might wander into the catacomb's corridor.

LeAnn reached for a jeweled tiara, then for a glittering ruby-encrusted set of candlesticks.

“Isn't it beautiful, LeAnn?” Nicholas said to his daughter. “And if your mother and I have our way, this will all be yours to keep for the future of Edenbourg.”

LeAnn clapped her hands, as if she understood his words. He smiled as she wriggled her body and yawned. He lifted her so that her soft, downy head rested on his shoulder. “And I hope that when the day comes that this is yours, you'll understand that the real treasure of life can't be found in a hidden room or a Chamber of Riches.”

Nicholas thought of Rebecca, his beautiful wife, the keeper of his dreams and the queen of his heart. He patted his daughter's little back. “I hope when the time comes you'll be wise enough to know that the real treasure can only be found in your heart and that treasure is love.”

He opened the door of the Chamber of Riches and shut off the lights. As he walked back up the stairs to the chapel, he prayed that he would be a good king, but mostly he gave thanks for knowing that he had become a wealthy man the day he'd met his wife. Rebecca and LeAnn were all the treasure he needed.