He wasn’t usually so attuned to the subtleties of life, especially where women were concerned. He worked in an industry that was rife with beautiful females, and many of them were readily available to an attractive man in his position. There was a temptation in that environment to use women like disposable toys. He’d been guilty of it a time or two himself.
But he’d known right away that Elena could never be a part of something so banal. And it wasn’t just because she was blind. There was more, an innocence to her, a purity of spirit that he knew he didn’t have the right to sully. She was sacrosanct. And for once in his life, he was going to honor that. Too bad he couldn’t think of any straightforward way to let her know that she didn’t have anything to worry about on that score.
“You’re not giving my idea a fair chance,” he told her. “We can make it work.” He shrugged, knowing he wasn’t being very persuasive but not sure how he could do better. “Think it over for awhile. Go over all the ramifications. Don’t let your first impulse rule your head. Take some time and—”
“I don’t need time to know that having you here just won’t work,” she said firmly. “You … you …”
When she couldn’t come up with the words, he tried to help. “I what? Bother you in some way?”
Her cheeks reddened so quickly, it was obvious she’d already been thinking along those lines.
“Okay, I promise to try hard not to bother you. In any way. We’ll be out there in the little house, quiet as mice. You’ll hardly know we’re there.”
He knew he was blowing smoke and so did she. She didn’t even bother arguing his points, turning on him with a new tact instead.
“Are you doing this just because you think the hotel is angry with you over the wedding-cake incident? I’m sure the money you gave them has gone a long way toward clearing that up. If you just go back and—”
“It’s not really that,” he told her earnestly. “That’s only part of it. There’s a lot more.” He hesitated. It was probably time to come clean. Maybe past time. “I … well, I really haven’t told you everything …”
“About how you’re supposed to be interviewing to become the next King of Niroli?” she interjected quickly, thinking he would never get to the crux of the matter if she waited for his halting explanation. And she needed this cleared up right away. He couldn’t stay here!
“So what? If you don’t like the hotel, why don’t you just go stay at the palace? I would have thought that would be where you would want to be anyway.”
“Not hardly,” he said, studying her with surprise. How had she figured out that he was in line for the crown? The news must be more widely known than he’d realized. And that was not good. It only emphasized how important it was for him to hide out someplace like this.
“How did you know?” he asked her curiously.
“Gino told me.”
“Ah, the ubiquitous Gino.” He was rapidly developing a firm dislike for the man. “He gets around a lot, doesn’t he?”
“Gino is one of my best friends,” she insisted sharply. “He knows more about what’s going on around town than most people do.”
“Good for him,” he replied dryly. “Then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pass this on to him, but, as far as the palace goes, I’m in the bargaining phase right now. I don’t want to stay there because I need distance and a way to make them wonder if I’m really interested. You understand negotiation, don’t you?”
“You mean manipulation, don’t you?” she shot back, beginning to pace on the Persian carpet.
He grinned. “Okay. I’ll accept that word. But you can see why I don’t want to stay where the palace bureaucrats can keep tabs on me twenty-four hours a day.”
“Then try another hotel.”
“I don’t want a hotel. The press has already been nosing around. All I need is for the local paparazzi to start peeking in my window. I have to stay someplace where nobody knows my name.”
She stopped before him, almost pleading. “Adam, it’s a small island. You can’t hide here like you can in a big city.”
“I can lay low for a little while. Put off the inevitable. I’ll pay you well for the place.”
“Oh!” She went back to pacing. She didn’t want him here. She couldn’t have him here. She’d never wanted him in her house in the first place. And now he wanted to stay!
No. It was impossible. He was too big, too loud, too overwhelming. It had been bad enough having him hanging around all afternoon. She’d been on edge, unable to really relax. She couldn’t be like that for days at a time. This was her space. She didn’t want him in it.
The front door banged and Adam spun in surprise. A tall man with a hard, wiry build was coming into the house. Handsome in a self-conscious way, he looked tough and a bit petulant.
“Hello,” he said to Elena. “I just dropped by to let you know Devon and Martha can come tonight after all.”
“Oh, good,” she said distractedly, then waved a hand in Adam’s general direction. “Gino, meet Adam Ryder.”
Adam rose from the piano bench, ready to shake hands, but Elena’s friend didn’t seem to be in a handshaking mood.
“Oh.” Gino looked at Adam but he didn’t look pleased. “What’s he doing here?”
Elena threw up her hands. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
Adam had no problem providing an answer. “Right now I’m trying to get Elena to rent out her little guest house to me.”
Gino’s brows drew together menacingly. “Well, she’s not going to do that.”
Adam raised an eyebrow as a counter-measure. “Isn’t she?” he said quietly.
“No. Of course not. She can’t have you here.”
Elena turned, listening intently, her lips pressed tightly together.
“She won’t do it,” Gino went on confidently. “She doesn’t need you. Look, we know who you are.”
“Do you?”
“You’re Adam Ryder. You’ve got ties to the royal family.”
“You got me there. Not that it’s anything to brag about.”
“What? Our royal family isn’t good enough for you?”
The man was obviously ready to take anything he said as an affront. Adam smiled. “It’s a complicated situation,” he said calmly.
“Well, Elena doesn’t need that sort of complication in her life.”
Gino was glaring in a way that said he was used to being able to intimidate, but Adam held his gaze with a cool response in his own.
“I have no intention of complicating Elena’s life.”
“But you didn’t tell her who you were right away, did you? You were trying to keep it a secret. You’re not an honest man.”
Elena’s head rose at that and she stepped between them. “Gino, that’s enough. This is my decision, not yours.”
Gino’s anger made him reckless. “Elena, sometimes you just have to admit you could use some help.”
“Gino!”
He grabbed her hands and gazed down at her earnestly. “Look, I know you just lost half your income and you’re frantic to figure out how to replace it. Especially