In truth he had no business getting physically involved with someone he’d hired. He certainly didn’t need the queen reminding him of what he’d already been telling himself—keep the relationship with Mrs. Richards professional and enjoy the other women he met when he left the country for business or pleasure.
Too bad for his grandmother that he saw through her machinations and had done so from an early age. She always had another agenda going. Since Teresa’s funeral, she’d been busy preparing the ground with the House of Helvetia. But until Stasi married, she was biding her time before she insisted Alex take Princess Genevieve of Helvetia to wife for the growth and prosperity of the kingdom.
Lines darkened his face. The queen would have to bide away forever because Stasi would be the only one doing the growing for the Constantinides dynasty. He was the firstborn, Heaven had picked him to rule Hellenica. Ring out the bells.
Alex had a different destiny and a new priority that superseded all else. He wanted to help his daughter feel normal, and that meant coaching her. With Dottie’s help, it was already happening. She understood what was going on inside Zoe. Her story about her own stuttering problem had touched him. He admired her strength in overcoming a huge challenge.
His first order of business was to talk to Stasio tonight. His brother needed to come home now! With Alex’s work schedule altered, he could spend the maximum amount of time with Zoe and Dottie throughout the day. It was going to work, even though it meant dealing with his ministers in the early morning hours and late at night when necessary.
Once Stasio was home, Alex would move back to the island of Aurum, where he could divide his attention between helping Zoe and doing the work he’d been overseeing for the country since university. With Dottie installed and a palace staff and security waiting on them, Zoe couldn’t help but make great strides with her speech and he’d convince Dottie she couldn’t leave yet.
LIKE pizza dough being tossed in the air, Dottie’s heart did its own version of a flip when the prince entered her schoolroom a few days later with Zoe. They must have just come from breakfast with the queen. Zoe was dressed in pink play clothes and sneakers.
Dottie hardly recognized Alex. Rather than hand-tooled leather shoes, he’d worn sneakers, too. She was dazzled by his casual attire of jeans and a yellow, open-necked sport shirt. In the vernacular, he was a hunk. When she looked up and saw the smattering of dark hair on his well-defined chest, her mouth went dry and she averted her eyes. Zoe’s daddy was much more man than prince this morning, bringing out longings in her she hadn’t experienced in years.
He’d been coming to their teaching sessions and had cleared his calendar to eat dinner with Zoe. Dottie was moved by his love and concern for his daughter, but she feared for him, too. The prince had the greatest expectations for his child, but he might want too much too soon. That worry had kept her tossing and turning during the night because she wanted to be up to the challenge and help Zoe triumph.
But it wasn’t just that worry. When she’d told Alex she’d had other patients who’d called her mommy, it was a lie. Only one other child had expressed the same wish. It was a little boy who had a difficult, unhappy mother. In truth, Zoe was unique. So was the whole situation.
Normally Dottie’s students came by bus or private car to the institute throughout the day. Living under the palace roof was an entirely different proposition and invited more intimacy. Zoe was a very intelligent child and should have corrected her own behavior by now, but she chose to keep calling Dottie Mommy. Every time Zoe did that, it blurred the lines for Dottie, who in a short time had allowed the little girl to creep into her heart.
To make matters worse, Dottie was also plagued by guilt because she realized she wanted Alex’s approval. That sort of desire bordered on pride. Her aunt had often quoted Gibran. “Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.” If she wanted his approval, then it was a gift she had to earn.
Did she seek it because he was a prince? She hoped not. Otherwise that put her in the category of those people swayed by a person’s station in life. She refused to be a sycophant, the kind of person her aunt had despised. Dottie despised sycophants, too.
“GGGRRRRRR,” she said to Zoe, surprising the little girl, who was a quick study and gggrrrred back perfectly. Alex gave his daughter a hug before they sat down at the table.
“Wonderful, Zoe.” Her gaze flicked to him. “Good morning, Your Highness.” Dottie detected the scent of the soap he’d used in the shower. It was the most marvelous smell, reminding her of mornings when her husband—
But the eyes staring at her across the table were a fiery black, not blue. “Aren’t you going to gggrrr me?
I feel left out.”
Her pulse raced. “Well, we don’t want you to feel like that, do we, Zoe?” The little girl shook her head, causing her shiny brown curls to flounce.
Dottie had a small chalkboard and wrote the word Bee. “Go ahead and pronounce this word for us, Your Highness.” When he did, she said, “Zoe? Did you hear bee?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s all say bee together. One, two three. Bee.” Zoe couldn’t do it, of course. Dottie leaned toward her. “Pretend you’re a tiny goldfish looking for food.” Pressing her lips together she made the beginning of the B sound. “Touch my lips with your index finger.” Her daddy helped her. In the process his fingers brushed against Dottie’s mouth. She could hardly breathe from the sensation of skin against skin.
“Now feel how it sounds when I say it.” Dottie said it a dozen times against Zoe’s finger. She giggled. “That tickled, didn’t it? Now say the same sound against my finger.” She put her finger to Zoe’s lips. After five tries she was making the sound.
“Terrific! Now put your lips to your daddy’s finger and make the same B sound over and over.”
As Zoe complied with every ounce of energy in that cute little body, Alex caught Dottie’s gaze. The softness, the gratitude she saw in his eyes caused her heart to hammer so hard, she feared he could hear it.
“You’re an outstanding pupil, Zoe. Today we’re going to work on the B sound.”
“It’s interesting you’ve brought up the bee,” Alex interjected.
“They make honey,” said Zoe.
“That’s right, Zoe. Did you know that just yesterday I met with one of the ministers and we’re going to establish beekeeping centers on every island in Hellenica.”
“How come?”
“With more bees gathered in hives, we’ll have more honey to sell to people here as well as around the world. It’s an industry I’d like to see flourish. With all the blossoms and thyme that grow here, it will give jobs to people who don’t have one. You know the honey you eat when we’re on Aurum?” She nodded. “It comes from two hives Inez and Ari tend on our property.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “They do? I’ve never seen them.”
“When we go home, we’ll take a look.”
Zoe smiled and gave her father a long hug. As he reciprocated, his gaze met Dottie’s. He’d taken her suggestion to share more with his daughter and it was paying dividends, thrilling her to pieces.
“I’m going to give your daddy a packet of flash cards, Zoe. Everything on it starts with a B. He’ll hold up the card and say the word. Then you say it. If you can make three perfect B sounds, I have a present for you.”
Zoe let out a joyous sound and looked at her daddy with those shiny brown eyes. Dottie sat back in the chair and watched father and