thigh against hers and most of all, this inane desire she had to fling herself into his arms and have him hold and protect her and love her. Why then was she being so stubborn when it would have been much easier to accept his proposal? Then everyone would be happy. But, what about a year from now, or five years? They could end up hating each other.
As they turned into the palace grounds on their return, Jack took advantage of Francesca’s distraction as she discussed some estate matters with Hubert.
He leaned toward her and whispered, “I’ve been trying to grab the opportunity of telling you how beautiful you look.”
She desperately wanted to stay calm but the color rose beneath her skin at his compliment. “Thank you,” she said, lowering her head.
“You’re like a fairy tale princess set against the backdrop of her magical palace.”
She daren’t look up, knowing her emotions would be reflected in her eyes.
“Thank you again, but I’m still not going to marry you,” she said quietly, glad that at last she was in control and could talk calmly about his proposal, while on the previous night she had lost it completely.
“I don’t know why you’re flirting with me,” she added, glancing across at Francesca who was still deeply immersed in her conversation with Hubert.
“I won’t rest until I have you in my bed, Lara. You started this little game and the more elusive you are, the more determined I am to have you. Whether that involves marriage or not, I really don’t care.”
She did look at him this time. She couldn’t help it. Was he teasing her? Sure enough, his eyes were alight with devilment as he flashed a cheeky grin. Not to be out done, she murmured, “You could have had me. I was all yours without you giving up your precious freedom to marry me. But, you’ve left it too late. Although my parents have betrayed me by trying to sell me off, I can cope with their attitude. While I may not agree, I understand why they’re doing it. But you, Jack, you want to marry me for all the wrong reasons.”
“What are the two of you whispering about?”
“Lara was saying she would like to sit next to me at dinner, ma’am,” he replied, digging her in the ribs.
Expelling a deep breath into the cold air, she retaliated. “I was actually saying you will want me to sit next to Prince Michael and Jack will need to sit between my great aunts.” She turned to Jack and gave a dazzling smile. “You’ll love the aunts. They are both over eighty and quite eccentric. Unfortunately, their English isn’t too good but they adore handsome young men. They will positively drool over you.”
He returned her smile and touched her nose with one gloved finger. “Touché, princess,” he said, and once again her heart beat crazily as his eyes flirted with her.
“I can assure you both I can manage the seating arrangements very well on my own.” Francesca gave her own quiet smile and then continued her conversation with Hubert.
~ * ~
He aimed his cue and parted the rack of billiard balls with a loud crack wishing Michael’s head was at the end of the cue.
“Good start, Jack.” The king was in an affable mood following, what was to Jack, a long and laborious dinner. Johann had insisted the men retire to the games room with their ports and coffee and he and Carl had challenged Jack and Michael to a game of billiards.
I need this like a hole in the head. Jack shot a couple of balls into the pockets and wished he was anywhere else but here. He wasn’t sure he could cope with any more royal functions and he certainly couldn’t cope with another evening of Michael pawing Lara as if he owned her.
Missing the next shot, he shrugged and leaned against a chair making room for Carl to move to the table. It was odd that Carl was here for a start. He was supposed to have left for Monaco that morning but had changed his mind and attended the dinner to welcome Michael and the aunts.
I wonder if his mum and dad had a go at him.He was certainly subdued during the meal but so was Lara. Something was really wrong with her. She was pale and sort of shell-shocked. Also, Francesca had placed her next to bloody Prince Charming instead of me while I had to put up with Francesca