The Keys' Prince (The Royal Heirs) (3 page)

Stella stopped midway across the pedestrian walkway leading across St. Armand’s circle, which could very well get them both killed. Not that Dario hadn’t been warned that she wasn’t any safer of a bet now than she’d been two decades ago. Luckily for both of them, these days she could handle herself well in a crisis.

Now that he’d played his hand, Stella wasn’t sure how to respond. She certainly knew how it felt to be put on the spot about who you are, so she tried to stay grounded and think through the best way to handle his acknowledgement.

The dashingly debonair rake joining her for an afternoon mocha wasn’t Dario Adonis. Well, he was. But he was also Konstantinos Dario Adonis Magnus IV—the Prince of Kristianico, next in line to succeed his father, King Adonis III. He was also the man who Stella was once engaged to marry.

Given the fact that he still hadn’t admitted that he knew exactly who she was, he obviously at this point didn’t want either one of them to totally come clean.

She could deal with that. Well, she had to, didn’t she? They were in the middle of a crosswalk in broad daylight, which wasn’t the time or place for the kind of discussion they needed to have. So, for now, she’d keep his secret safe with hers.

“So what brings you to Sarasota?” She asked, trying to lighten the mood, although she was very curious to see how he’d handle that question.

“Just trying to get a little R & R. I think that’s what you call it, right?”

“Indeed it is,” she said, noting that he’d definitely practiced that answer. “Well...you’ve definitely come to the right place.”

Dario opened the door to Java Love and followed her inside.

“Thank you,” she said smiling and looking directly into his eyes, hoping that would help ease their mutual angst. It had always worked for them in the past. They’d always been able to take comfort in each others’ eyes.

She felt bad for him. She really did. She of all people knew how it felt to hide from destiny and how precious it was when you’d finally done it, even if temporarily. He knew though, like she did, that someday, sooner rather than later, it would catch up with them. Maybe today was their someday.

“The usual, Stella?” Tatyana, Java Love’s owner asked. “And one or two today?”

“Two please...with almo
nd milk,” she said.

“And you’re the espresso king, right?” Tatyana asked Dario.

Good thing Stella wasn’t already sipping on her mocha or she’d have choked.

Little did Tatyana know how close to the truth she really was.

C
HAPTER THREE

“You must be reall
y thirsty,” Dario said and laughed, trying to pull off a good-natured tease, not sure how convincing he’d be considering the lump in his throat and the wild beats of his heart.

Laughing
was better than focusing on Tatyana’s comment or contemplating what he should say or do now that he’d finally caught up with Stella after so many years. His stomach muscles hadn’t relaxed since his eyes had met hers after picking up her phone. Hell, his entire body was in hyper-drive.

Stella’s eyes, the blues and greens of the sea, had always been his undoing and always would be. Every time he looked at her, he felt as if he were home. It was the same feeling now that it had been all of those years ago. Time simply couldn’t change the connection they’d forever share.

Her short, platinum blonde hair and her ultra-fit figure had kept him from immediately recognizing her. But he liked the changes she’d made. Her new hairstyle really captured her zest for life. He’d give anything to run his fingers through all of the feathery, spiked edges. And he’d love to see it fanned out on his pillow behind her lovely, heart-shaped face while he was on top of her in his bed.

His groin tightened, along with the organ attached to it. That line of thinking would do nothing to cool him off.

Stella had always been beautiful. But over the years they’d been apart, she’d substantially upped the ante. He’d always loved her plentiful curves, but he could also get quite comfortable with her new, toned and svelte figure.

If it was his regimen to guess, she must be working her ass off—with both a personal trainer and a yogi. Or maybe instead of the trainer, she was back into the contemporary dance she used to enjoy. Whichever the combo, it looked good on her.

She had to be at least forty pounds lighter than she’d been the last time he’d seen her, and she was definitely thinner than she’d appeared in the latest round of gossip rags his assistant had shown him. He sure hoped she didn’t plan on cutting more weight. He liked all of her curves and the healthy glow radiating from every part of her.

“I could probably finish two mochas by myself. But one is for my Auntie Elo. Whenever I leave the shop, she covers for me,” Stella said and sighed while sliding a straw into the mocha reserved for Elo.

If Dario wasn’t mistaken, Stella was just as glad as he was to be changing the subject.

Watching her handle that straw was about to undo him. He shook his head and reached for his espresso, realizing he’d have been much better off with an iced down version.

“I’m looking forward to meeting your Auntie Elo and seeing your shop,” Dario said grabbing a couple of napkins.

Seeing the incredulous look on Stella’s face, he almost laughed out loud. She was well aware that he not only knew Elo, he knew her quite well. As ludicrous as the game they were playing was, it was turning out to be kind of fun.

“Good. If it’s okay with you then, we’ll take our drinks back to Neptune’s Treasures so she isn’t on her own much longer. Hard telling what she’s done while I’m gone.”

“You don’t trust her?” Dario asked, unable to mask his concern. In their worlds, nothing was more important than being able to trust the people closest to them. Elo had always been in Stella’s small, select inner circle. And at one time, she was in his too. He sure hoped nothing had changed that. He’d always gotten a kick out of the quirky crazy lady and knew that she was the only family Stella had left.

“Oh no. Nothing like that,” Stella said and laughed. “Auntie Elo is fantastic help. And I trust her with my life. It’s just that she tends to get into mischief. She’s almost seventy-five now, but based on her behavior, you’d never know it.”

Dario laughed and shook his head.

“It sounds like you two together are still—,” he said, thankfully catching himself from openly revealing their past connection when they were surrounded by the Java Love’s customers, “problematic.”

Stella and Auntie Elo had always had been a handful, especially when they were sharing the same space. Dario was glad that hadn’t changed. He’d always laughed more when those two were around than he ever did in anyone else’s company.

“I’m not sure that’s a compliment, Your Hi-”

Lucky for both of them, Stella caught herself before addressing him by title. Dario wasn’t sure which of their faces was feeling the most heat. He was burning up, and judging by the ruby flush rising from her jaw line, she was too.

“Actually, it is a compliment,” he said, willing to say about anything to smooth over her slip before it made either one of them more uncomfortable than they already were. “These days, I’m all for finding the humor in life.”

And that was the truth. His life as a royal was, at times, every bit as awful as Stella’s life as an heiress. There wasn’t much fun to be had when your bodyguards, press officers, personal assistants, stylists, housekeepers and gardeners were your best friends—and many times, your only friends.

Dario knew he was lucky to have such wonderful people in his life and genuinely loved them all. But at the end of their shifts, they went home to their families, leaving him alone inside the massive walls of his castle.

Speaking of bodyguards, he’d thought he’d spotted one or perhaps two of Stella’s protection team, but that was it. No one he recognized from her past security details, but he knew security personnel when he saw them. They must be as good as his were at keeping themselves at all times both present and invisible.

“If it’s humor you want, then Auntie Elo is your gal,” Stella said.

They could sure use a few laughs, Dario thought. He’d take humor over another broken heart any day.

With their beverages in hand, he followed Stella out of Java Love and walked in companionable silence around the circle to Neptune’s Treasures.

They arrived at the shop to find the ‘Closed’ sign swinging from its hook on the wood-framed, glass door.

What’s up with that, he wondered, adrenaline quickly rushing from the pit of his stomach to every well-trained, defensive muscle in his body.

Stella tried the handle, but it was locked.

This can’t be good, he thought. All kinds of alarm bells went off in his head, making his heart pound hard against his chest.

Stella reached into her tote bag, found her keys and unlocked the door.

“Something’s not right,” she said, looking at him, the fear in her eyes ready to make him choose the flight option, scoop her into his arms and head as far away from her shop as they could get before he could arrange to rendezvous with their security teams.

They barely made it underneath the glass balls hanging from the ceiling on the other side of the door when Auntie Elo had them in her sights. She hustled toward them, showing not a single sign of the mischief Dario had grown to expect from her. Rather, she looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but Stella’s shop.

“We’ve got company,” she said with a tone that further curled Dario’s already tightly-wound stomach. “They’re waiting for you in the storage room, Stella.”

Stella swallowed a massive swig of her mocha and then took a deep breath.

“Is everything okay?” Dario asked, wrapping his palm around her elbow and pulling her close to his side. Obviously nothing was okay, but he’d learned a long time ago that Stella was a woman who preferred to handle her own problems, unless she asked for help. And the chance of her asking had always been less than the chance that hell would freeze over and then some.

“No, it’s not. But I can handle it. I always do,” Stella said, sounding much more confident than Dario knew she felt. The surge of confidence she’d summoned from deep within may be pulsing through her veins but her eyes told a completely different story.

“Who’s waiting for you? Are they here to harm you? I have men...I mean,” Dario cleared his throat. “I can protect you.”

“They’re not here to physically harm me. At least I don’t think so. Let’s just say that these men think they can put enough pressure on me that eventually I’ll cave to their wishes.”

“Who’re they? And what wishes? What kinds of pressure?” Dario asked, although he was pretty sure he knew who she was talking about.

He may not have seen Stella for the last quarter of a century, but he’d read everything he could about her, and he knew from the continuing press coverage that she was still dealing with the men her father had hired to manage her massive inheritance. Evidently, that part of her life hadn’t changed.

The Rat Pack—the name Stella had given to the three men involved—had to be the problem. Stella just couldn’t escape their reach. Dario should know. He’d tried to help her get rid of them years ago.

“There are a lot of demands on Stella, as you know,” Auntie Elo cut in, coming to stand between Stella and Dario. She put her arms around both of them as if trying to surround them in a protective cocoon. “She hasn’t had it easy since her father passed. But then you know that already, don’t you, Prince Adonis? It’s nice to have you back in Stella’s life, by the way. She probably hasn’t told you that yet, but I’m not as shy about my feelings as she is.”

Stella rolled her eyes at Auntie Elo’s bravado, but her shoulders did relax and her breathing steadied.

Dario appreciated that Elo’s mischief helped ease Stella’s fears. He had to hand it to Auntie Elo. She was a smooth operator. And he definitely approved of how protective she was of Stella. But at seventy-five and with Stella’s wealth and the dangers that caused, they had no business making themselves this vulnerable.

Like or not, he’d be talking to Stella about this ridiculous set-up. And no, she wouldn’t like it at all. But too bad. He’d stayed quiet once, per her wishes, and watched her get hurt. He wasn’t about to do it again.

“I’ll tell you what, Dario, why don’t you wait here with Auntie Elo while I entertain my guests?” Stella suggested, her tone indicating her decision was made.

“I’m not letting you go back there alone. Are you nuts?” Dario asked.

“I’ve been called that on occasion. And actually much worse,” Stella said.

Despite her attempt at humor, her voice was strained.

“Your hands are shaking,” Auntie Elo said, covering Stella’s hands with her own.

“I mean it,” Dario said. “You are not facing these people alone. Whoever they are. Although, let me just say that, I’m willing to bet I know exactly who you’re dealing with.”

“C’mon, Dario, you and I are never really alone, are we?” Stella asked, choosing to ignore his intimate knowledge of her problems.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” he said, searching her eyes, hoping she’d stop this stupid charade once and for all and invite him back into her world.