He was probably wondering why she lived in such an exclusive neighborhood. Apparently she wasn’t the only one in the dark. He didn’t recognize her even though her face had been plastered on every glamour magazine as well as television promos for a number of years.
She gave the driver directions to her family’s chalet. When they reached the gate to the exclusive community, she put her window down and assured the guard that it was okay to let them through.
“I’ve never been to this part of Mont Coeur,” Max said. “I’ve always preferred to have my accommodations close to the slopes.”
As they passed the large and impressive chalets, she noticed that most displayed Christmas decorations. Some sported a door wreath while others had a bit more. Normally their chalet was the most festive of them all—but not this year. Her father had always taken care of the outside decorations. However, this year Noemi had done it by herself and the twinkling lights weren’t quite as spectacular as prior years.
Her palms grew damp as her heart raced. She couldn’t relax, not with Max next to her. She didn’t know what made her more nervous—the fact that they’d spent the night together or the fact that the man she’d slept with was royalty. When Maria heard this, she was never going to believe it.
He longed to kiss her berry red lips.
The memory of their sweetness taunted him.
Max gave himself a mental jerk. Now that he’d found Noemi again, the last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. What were the chances of them running into each other again?
Slim.
Had she figured out his true identity and planned this reunion? Not possible. He hadn’t decided on coming to Mont Coeur until last night. Even then, he’d only told his trusted staff.
Max gazed over at Noemi. Her posture was stiff and she kept her face turned away. He wondered if the source of her discomfort was from their collision, the run-in with the fans, learning he was a prince or all of the above.
Normally learning that he was the crown prince had women falling all over him. But Noemi had pulled away. In fact, if she sat any closer to her door, she’d fall out. Most interesting. He’d thought they’d both enjoyed their time together.
But it wasn’t too late. He still had a chance to find out if there was truly a spark between them.
When the SUV pulled to a stop in front of a luxurious chalet, Noemi said a quick thank-you followed by goodbye. It’d be so easy to just let her go. He’d still have his good memories, but he’d never know what had been real and what had been part of his wishful imagination.
As he watched her head for the front steps, he told his security team to wait for him. He hopped out into the snowy driveway and followed her.
“Noemi, wait.”
For a moment, he didn’t think she was going to stop. Her hand reached for the doorknob, but then she hesitated. She turned to him but didn’t say anything. Her gaze didn’t quite meet his. She stood there waiting for him to have his say.
“You didn’t even tell me your last name. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.” When she sent him a puzzled look, he added, “Letting you get away without knowing your name.”
“Oh. It’s Noemi Cattaneo.”
“Your name. It sounds familiar.”
“You’ve probably heard of our family business. Cattaneo Jewels.”
Of course, he’d heard of them. Who hadn’t?
“Your family’s business has the distinction of handling some of the world’s finest and rarest jewels.”
“Have you done business with us?”
“Not me personally, but my family has.” He was getting off point. “Anyway, I wanted to say...” his Adam’s apple bobbed “...I’m sorry. I’ve handled this all wrong.”
“It’s not your fault that people recognized you.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Not that. I’m sorry for before, when I insisted that we keep things casual and not exchange phone numbers.” He stepped closer to her. “I’ve been thinking of you—”
“Don’t.” She shook her head. “I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity. I—I just handled things poorly before. And I want to apologize.”
Her gaze momentarily widened but then she glanced away. “We did the right thing. Our lives are too diverse. I mean you...you have a country to run. And I am... I mean, I have things to do.”
He’d never witnessed Noemi nervous before, not that they’d spent a lot of time together. But in the time he’d known her, she’d come across as confident and fun. The Noemi standing before him was different and he wanted to know what had changed her. Why did she avoid looking at him directly?
He is a prince?
How is that possible?
Noemi had so many conflicting emotions flooding her body that she didn’t know what to say to him. Part of her longed to fall into his arms and pick up where they’d left off before. But logic told her to tread carefully. Max was a very powerful man. There was no way she was going to blurt out that she was pregnant with his baby. Finding out that he was royalty changed everything. She needed time to think.
“Have dinner with me?” His voice stirred her from her thoughts.
She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
The hopeful look on his face faded. “Was our time together that forgettable?”
“It definitely wasn’t forgettable.” The words were out her mouth before she realized she was revealing too much. She’d barely been able to think of anything else these past few weeks since learning she was pregnant.
That wasn’t exactly true. She’d thought a lot about him ever since they parted—even before she’d learned she was pregnant. She would wonder what he was doing and who he was doing it with. And she wondered if he ever stopped to think about her.
“That’s good to hear,” he said. “So we’ll do dinner.”
She recalled the mass of people waiting for him outside the ski shop. She couldn’t even imagine the spectacle they’d make by having dinner in public. It would be an utter zoo.
Though it pained her to say, she uttered, “We can’t.”
“Sure we can.” He smiled like he had all the answers to their problems.
Again, she shook her head. “Everyone knows you’re here at the resort. They’ll all be on the lookout for you.”
“And you don’t want to be photographed with a prince?”
She glanced away and shrugged. The ramifications of the photo would be catastrophic once her pregnancy became known. Until she had a plan for this baby, she didn’t want to make any more mistakes, especially where the public was concerned.
He laughed. “Do you know how refreshing you are?”
He was amused? Her lips pressed together into a firm line. She didn’t know what there was to be smiling about, but then again, he didn’t know about the baby.
She lifted her chin. “I don’t care to be laughed at.”
“I’m not laughing at you.” His amusement faded. “I think you’re amazing.” As though her lack of response went unnoticed, he said, “Most women I’ve met would fall over themselves to have dinner with me. But not you. Which makes me that much more determined to see you again. In fact, I’m not leaving here until you agree to have dinner—no strings attached.”
“Not