Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family #1)- Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,11

assess and assist my nieces.” Another angry swirl of his scotch. “And besides, my brothers and sister are here in the palace all day long. My nieces know that they can talk to any of us whenever they need to.”

She smiled gently, her anger dissipating as she finally understood what was happening in this household. “Your Highness, your nieces have no idea how to talk to you. And as far as I can tell, your brothers and sister aren’t around. I haven’t seen them at…” she paused. “Wait. No, that’s not true. Your brothers are the two behemoths that confronted me upon my arrival.”

“Yes. That was Gaelen.”

Harper tilted her head slightly. “Why did he say something about how my presence was going to be good or something along those lines?”

She sat through a long perusal, feeling as if his eyes touched on each of her facial features. “What did he say?”

There was a slight smile that hovered on his face. Hmmm…not really a smile. It was more like a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth that caused her to assume that he was possibly laughing at her.

Harper shifted in the leather chair, and ignored his amusement. “Whatever. I don’t really care,” she lied. “Your nieces need their uncles and aunt with them as often as possible right now. What’s more, those girls need to understand that it’s okay to grieve. To feel their very natural sadness. They are hiding their confusing emotions away because you aren’t showing any emotions. They look to you and your brothers and sister for cues as to how they should behave. Children learn faster when their role models teach them.”

His amusement fled and those hazel eyes closed off. Harper sensed an exhausted resignation in the angle of his head as well as the tension in his shoulders. “I’m not their role model. I’m only their uncle.”

Harper wanted to laugh, but she understood that this man was…tired? Yes. Grieving? Most definitely. And very stoic, hiding all of those “rubbish” emotions away so that the world perceived him as strong and confident.

“You’re not only their role model anymore, Your Highness,” she asserted firmly. “You are now their only father figure. From what I’ve grasped around the palace in a short period of time, you’re the head of everything here. You’re the leader, not just of the country, but of your family.” She leaned forward, looking pensively into the amber liquid swirling in her glass so she missed the man’s glance at the dark shadow of her chest. When she looked back up at him, she realized that he was sitting very still.

“I’m guessing this isn’t the assessment you were hoping for?” she offered gently.

He shook his head and took a long sip of his scotch. He was silent for a long moment and Harper knew that he was weighing her assessment, trying to evaluate the legitimacy of her words. He took another sip of his scotch, looking down at the remaining liquid before finally looking up at her.

“I trust that you will tell me the truth, without regard for my preferences.” There was another long pause, and then he said, “So, you’re saying the girls need better role models.”

Harper pulled back, shaking her head, maintaining her patience in the face of his efforts to simplify her words. “No. The girls have perfectly adequate role models. You, Your Highness. The girls need hugs and kisses. They need affection. They need to talk to you.”

Those hazel eyes flared with fury and impatience. “That’s the whole problem!” he snapped. “They aren’t speaking.”

She leaned forward again, feeling a breakthrough coming. Instead of imitating his tone, she softened her voice. “Although I don’t know the whole story, I think they aren’t talking because you aren’t talking.” She paused for a moment to let that sink in before she continued. “Remember, they are emulating you.”

His head jerked back, as if she’d slapped him. “I speak to them,” he argued forcefully.

She smiled gently again. “Yes. I know that you visit them each day and discuss their school progress with their tutor. But are you talking to them about your feelings or theirs? They are little girls, Your Highness. They don’t understand what happened to their lives all those months ago. One moment, they were excitedly waiting for their parents to return home, probably saving up all of the wonderful things they wanted to tell them, eager for their smiles, attention, and approval. The next moment, their safe little world was devastated by