She stared at him, mouth slightly open, then looked away. “Why are you asking me these silly questions? I’ve lived here a long time. With you.”
Her gaze—innocent yet needy—ate into him. She stroked the sofa arm with her fingers and his skin tingled in response. She seemed to have lost her memory, and, in its absence, assumed they were a couple.
Jake sucked in a long breath. They’d never had any kind of flirtation, even a playful one. She always seemed so businesslike and uninterested in such trivial matters. He’d never really looked at her that way, either. Much simpler to keep business and pleasure separate, especially when a really good assistant was so hard to find and keep.
Right now he was seeing a different aspect of Andi—alarming, and intriguing.
She rose and walked a few steps to his sofa, then sank down next to him. Her warm thigh settled against his, causing his skin to sizzle even through their layers of clothing. He stiffened. Was it fair to offer a man this kind of temptation?
At least it was keeping her awake.
Her fingers reached up to his black bow tie and tugged at one end. The knot came apart and the silk ribbons fell to his starched shirtfront.
“Much better.” She giggled again, then pulled the tie out from his collar and undid the top button of his shirt. Jake watched, barely breathing, trying to suppress the heaving tide of arousal surging inside him.
After all, it would be rude to push her away, wouldn’t it? Especially in her delicate and mysterious condition.
When her fingers roamed into his hair, causing his groin to ache uncomfortably, he had to take action. He stood up rapidly. “The doctor will be here any minute. Can I get you a glass of water?”
“I’m not thirsty.” Her hurt look sent a pang to his heart.
“Still, it’s good to keep hydrated.” He busied himself with filling a glass at the bar, and took care not to accidentally brush her fingertips as he handed it to her. Her cheeks and lips were flushed with pink, which made her look aroused and appealing at the same time.
She took the glass and sipped cautiously. Then looked up at him with a slight frown. “I do feel odd.”
Jake let out a sigh of relief. This seemed more like the real Andi than the one spouting loopy epithets. “You’ll probably feel better in the morning, but it can’t hurt to have the doctor take a look.”
Alarm filled him as tears welled in her eyes. “It’s just so strange not being able to remember anything. How could I not even know my own name?” A fat tear rolled down her soft cheek.
Disturbing that he now knew how soft her cheek was.
“Your name is Andi Blake.”
“Andi.” She said it softly. Then frowned again. “Is that short for something?”
Jake froze. Was it? He had no idea. He didn’t remember ever calling her anything else, but it had been six long years since he’d seen her résumé and frankly he couldn’t remember the details. “Nope. Just Andi. It’s a pretty name.”
He regretted the lame comment, something you might say to a six-year-old. But then he didn’t have experience in dealing with amnesiacs, so maybe it wasn’t all that inappropriate.
“Oh.” She seemed to mull that over. She wiped her eyes. “At least I know my own name now.” Then she bit her lip. “Though it doesn’t sound at all familiar.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “What if my memory doesn’t come back?”
“Don’t worry about that, I’m sure—” A knock on the door announced the arrival of the doctor, and Jake released a sigh of relief. “Please send him in.”
Andi’s tearful trembling subsided as the doctor checked her over, peering into her eyes with a light, checking her pulse and breathing, and taking her temperature.
As the local doctor, he’d been to the palace before and knew Andi. She showed no sign of recognizing or remembering him. His questions revealed that while she remembered general concepts, like how to tie a knot, she recalled nothing about her own life.
“Andi, would you excuse us a moment?” The doctor ushered Jake out into the hallway. “Is she exhibiting mood changes?”
“Big time. She’s not like herself at all. She seemed happy—silly even—when I first found her. Just now she was crying. I think the reality of what’s going on is setting in.”
“Sounds like a pretty textbook case of temporary memory loss, if there is such a thing.” The older man snapped his briefcase closed. “Lots of emotion. Mood swings. Loss of long-term memory. I’ve never seen it before, myself, but in most cases the memory eventually starts to come back.”
“When? How long will she be like this?”
The doctor gave a Ruthenian shrug. “Could be days, could be weeks. There’s a slim possibility she won’t ever recall everything. She’s certainly had a good bump to her head, but no signs of concussion or other injury. Do you have any idea what happened?”
Jake shook his head. “I found her out dancing on the lawn. I didn’t see anything happen at all.”
“Make sure she gets plenty of sleep, and encourage her with questions to bring back her memory.” The doctor hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. “Call me anytime, of course.”
“Thanks.” Jake frowned. “Can we keep this amnesia thing between us? I think Andi would be embarrassed if people knew what was going on. She’s a very private person.”
The doctor’s brow furrowed even more than usual. “Of course.” Your Highness. The unspoken words hovered in the air. Jake sensed slight disapproval at his request for secrecy, but he knew the physician would honor it. “Please keep me posted on her progress.”
Jake went back into his suite and locked the door. Andi was sitting on the sofa and her mood seemed to have brightened. Her tears were gone, and a smile hovered in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Will I live?”
“Without a doubt. It’s late. How about some sleep?”
“I’m not at all sleepy.” She draped herself over the sofa, eyes heavy-lidded with desire. “I’d rather play.”
Jake’s eyes widened. Could this really be the same Andi he’d worked with all these years? It was shocking to imagine that this flirtatious person had been lurking inside her the whole time. Unless it was just a mood swing caused by her condition.
She rose from the sofa and swept toward him, then threw her arms around his waist. “I do love you.”
Gulp. Jake patted her cautiously on the back. This could last for days. Or weeks. Or longer.
His skin tingled as her lips pressed against his cheek. “I’m so glad we’re together.” Her soft breath heated his skin as she breathed the words in his ear.
And this was the woman who’d announced, only a few hours before, that she was leaving for good, that night.
At least that was off the agenda for now.
His phone rang and he tensed. What now? “Excuse me.” He extricated himself from her embrace and pulled it from his pocket.
A glance at the number revealed the caller was Maxi. She’d formed a new habit of calling him at bizarre times like the crack of dawn or during his morning workout. This call in the wee hours was a new and even more unappealing attempt to monopolize his time.
Still, maybe there was some kind of emergency.
“Hi, Maxi.”
“Jake, are you