Scandal With a Prince (32 page)

No, it’s not
.
 
Because this time, he was crazy in love.
 
He was older and wiser and knew what that scrap of newspaper meant.
 
And this time, there was a child involved.

The fact she hid such important information indicated issues were far bigger than the two of them.
 
The risks if she didn’t trust him were more grave than heartbreak.
 

His jaw ached, as if resisting what he knew had to be said.
 
“The thing is, Megan, Ariana and her parents trusted my family enough to call and let us know what was happening.
 
To tell us that the media tracked her and that she’d been forced to hide out in a hotel—”

Hands spread, Megan said, “But Stefano, you created the spectacle then.
 
Your parents primed the media.
 
Then, when they were watching, you gave them what they wanted by running across the courtyard half-dressed.
 
You said it yourself: You were young and foolish.
 
But there’s no spectacle now.
 
There was no reason for me to tell you about the photo because it doesn’t matter.”

“There will always be media—”

“Look, your life is what it is.
 
You’re going to get attention no matter what you do.
 
You can’t protect me from that.
 
You can’t even protect yourself from that, not entirely.
 
But whether or not I can live with it is my decision.
 
And that decision has to be based on—”

“There
are
things I can do to protect you.
 
You just have to trust me.
 
That’s what this boils down to.
 
But you don’t.”
 

“I do.”

A sarcastic, barking laugh escaped him.
 
He closed the folder and tapped it on the countertop as he stared at her.
 
“This is what you call trust?
 
Hiding this newspaper photo?
 
Keeping the fact you have a job offer from me?”
 

She probably still didn’t believe he hadn’t put her name onto the shortlist for the conference center position, either.
   

Now it was her turn to look exasperated.
 
“Stefano, I admit it.
 
I didn’t want you to see those, not yet.
 
But
not
because I don’t trust you.
 
I didn’t want them to weigh into our discussion of whether or not we should get married.
 
Marriage shouldn’t be about jobs.
 
Or about what other people might think about our relationship, even if those opinions are broadcast on the evening news.”

“I agree.”
 
So maybe
trust
wasn’t the right word.
 
But there had to be a certain level of openness
.
 
If there wasn’t, it wouldn’t work between them.
 
It was bad enough he feared saying the words
I love you
to Megan might lead her to accuse him once more of saying anything to get his way.

He stared at her for a moment in silence.

After all these weeks, she still didn’t grasp that he’d do anything for her.
 
If she did, she’d have wanted him to know about the job offer, to have him be part of the discussion about what was best for her and Anna, and to ensure that no decision resulted in Megan or Anna being hurt.
 
But she hadn’t given him that benefit, despite the fact he’d done exactly that for her, showing her through his actions how he felt, and giving her all the time in the world to consider his marriage proposal.

He could tell from her body language that she wanted to say yes.

If she did, though, and she couldn’t be open enough to make him part of the decision making where she and Anna were concerned, he could never be a true partner and husband to her.
 
Worse, he couldn’t protect them.
 
One day, they would end up hurt.

From the moment he met Megan, he’d loved her sense of independence.
 
Today, for the first time, he despised it for what that independence meant.
 
No one could be that independent and married to royalty.
 
But if that fierce sense of independence changed…well, she wouldn’t be Megan any longer.

“All right,” he acquiesced.
 
“I suppose I can see things from your point of view.”
 
He set the folder on the counter and pushed it toward her.
 
“You should hang on to this.
 
I’m sorry I intruded.
 
I shouldn’t have.
 
If you wanted to keep this to yourself, that’s your call.”

“Thank you.”
 

He was about to prove to himself he could keep a promise—a promise he’d made in bed, in a hazy post-sex afterglow, but one he’d meant all the same—even if Megan never realized that’s what he was doing.

“On the other subject we were discussing…I know you’re having a hard time telling me what you need to say.
 
So how about if I ease the burden?”
 

Anticipation made her mouth go soft.
 
He took a step back, out of her reach, and squared his shoulders to draw up to his full height.
 

Dear God, this was going to be painful.
 
He allowed a slow, reassuring smile to form.

“Given what Jack Gladwell is offering you, plus the fact it means Anna can stay in her current school, I understand that it’s best if you stay here and take the job at the Grandspire.
 
Not only are the people who work in this building like a family to you, you’ve been incredibly successful here.
 
There’s no reason not to take the next step up the ladder.
 
With Gladwell as a mentor, your potential is limitless.”

“What?”
 
She faltered, then opened her mouth as if to argue.
 

He deliberately ignored her and forged ahead.
 
Only years of training kept his tone upbeat, as if he were speaking to a foreign diplomat over dinner about an upcoming event they both planned to attend.
 
“I’ll endeavor to keep my life as separate from yours as possible to ensure your privacy.
 
That way, you won’t have to worry about more photos like this appearing in the paper.
 
Sound good?”

Her eyes widened, then glimmered with tears.
 
She blinked them back and shook her head.
 
“Stefano, I didn’t mean to—”

“There’s nothing further to discuss where marriage is concerned, so don’t worry about hurting my feelings.
 
You were absolutely right to hesitate when I proposed.
 
I understand that now.”
 
He felt his emotions harden, as if a shard of ice pierced his heart before expanding outward and encasing it.
 
He embraced the sensation.
 
He needed it if he were to ignore the stricken look on her face and get through the next few minutes.
 
“I’m just grateful that you gave me the opportunity to get to know you and Anna better while you considered it.
 
Like you said the morning we had breakfast in the Jardín Alba, you and Anna have built a fantastic life here. You’re an amazing mother.
 
And you’ll be the best possible manager for the Grandspire.
 
They’re lucky to have you.”

He couldn’t change who he was, his nationality, his title, or the family into which he was born.
 
He couldn’t change the media or people’s hunger for gossip.
 
All he could do was choose how to handle the situation.
 
He’d made some terrible mistakes in that regard in the past.
 
Perhaps, in some small way, he was now righting those wrongs.

“You’re misreading the entire situation.”
 
Her voice sounded hollow, as if she knew there was nothing she could do to change his mind but couldn’t let go, either.
 
“And Anna…Anna won’t understand.”

The hitch in her speech made it clear she was the one who didn’t understand.
 
One day, she would.
 
And she’d be grateful he’d made the wise choice.
 
It was the only choice that could keep both her and Anna safe.

He shrugged, as if it weren’t a big deal.
 
“Just tell her the truth, that it’s wiser for you to stay in Barcelona while I stay in Sarcaccia.
 
Let her know I’ll continue to support her with every resource at my disposal—and by that, I mean emotionally as well as financially—and that I’ll visit her here in Barcelona or anywhere else you choose when we both feel it’s safe to do so and can arrange a private location.”
 

He rounded the counter and kissed her forehead, just below a stray tendril of blonde hair, careful not to touch Megan with anything other than a quick press of his lips.
 
“My car’s going to be here any second.
 
Let me know when it’s a good time for me to visit again.
 
And please tell Anna that I love her.”

And I love you.
 
Enough not to tell you, even if I thought you’d believe me.

Megan nodded, but he sensed it more than saw it.
 
He grabbed his bag, then walked to the door without looking at her.
 
It was abrupt, bordering on rude, but he couldn’t let her think anything other than that he was oblivious to her suffering.
 

In truth, he couldn’t bear to see her wounded expression as he left.
 
But damn if he couldn’t keep a promise.

Chapter Twenty-Four

A fly buzzed against the window in front of Stefano, fighting to escape the confines of the palace library.
 
He listened idly to the repeated thunk, thunk, thunk as the creature pummeled itself against the thick glass, unable to comprehend its inability to move out of the cool building and into the brilliant Sarcaccian sunshine.
 

He sympathized.

Stefano leaned back in his leather chair, straightening his legs under the centuries-old desk and yawning deeply.
 
For the last five hours, he’d been reviewing the final plans for the island’s transit system upgrades.
 
It was a revolutionary, detailed system that required his full attention, but at the moment he couldn’t give it.

Megan filled his mind.
 

There’d been no mistaking the confusion and frustration on her face when he accused her of not trusting him after she’d hidden the Grandspire job offer and the gossip page.
 
But then he’d seen another emotion, one she tried to smother when he’d cut off her acceptance of his marriage proposal and claimed he understood her desire not to marry him.

She hadn’t hidden the information because she didn’t trust him.
 
Not really.
 
She’d hidden it because she loved him deeply and couldn’t stand to have him worry.
 
She loved him enough to marry him.

It both warmed and broke his heart.
 

He grimaced as the fly moved lower, then repeated its assault on the window.
 
He’d made the only decision he could under the circumstances.
 
There was nothing to second-guess.
 

He couldn’t bear to see the woman he loved—and he loved her with every cell in his mind and body—at risk, even if she were willing to take that risk.
 
Even if she did eventually learn to share information so he could protect her.
 
He couldn’t bear the haunted look in her eyes if something happened that put Anna in harm’s way.
 
He couldn’t bear the thought of Anna being anything other than the bubbly, brilliant girl she was.
 
But having to watch her every move and utterance the way he had during his own childhood would alter her personality, and not for the better.

He hadn’t thought he was asking Megan to give up her independence.
 
But in asking her to be open with him so he could protect her, that’s exactly what he was doing.
 

The old cliché was agonizingly true: If you love something, set it free.
 
If it comes back to you, it’s yours.
 
But since Megan couldn’t come back to him—not without drastically changing her entire life and that of their daughter—it wasn’t meant to be.
 
Even if she had come to love him.

Insisting that she’d been right to turn down his proposal and stay at the Grandspire was as good a method as any to keep her safe.
 

Problem was, what now?
 
It’d been two weeks since he’d set foot in Barcelona and still he felt unsettled.
 
Restless.
 
Trapped in a life he didn’t want, but needed to live.

He watched the fly circle the spacious room, zooming past the stone fireplace and briefly lighting upon the back of a sofa before it flew in a zigzagged line toward another closed window.