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 daughter at work. Zoe had great incentive to do her best for the man she idolized. The prince took his part seriously and proceeded with care. She marveled to watch them drawing closer together through these teaching moments, forging closer bonds now that he was starting to ease up on his work for the monarchy.
“Bravo!” she said when he’d gone through the pack of thirty. “You said five B‘s clearly. Do you want your present now or after your lesson?”
Zoe concentrated for a minute. “Now.”
Alex laughed that deep male laugh. It resonated through Dottie to parts she’d forgotten were there. Reaching in the bag in the corner, she pulled out one of several gifts she’d brought for rewards. But this one was especially vital because Zoe had been working hard so far and needed a lot of reinforcement.
Dottie handed her the soft, foot-long baby. “This is Baby Betty. She has a bottle, a blanket and a bear.”
“Oh—” Zoe cried. Her eyes lit up. She cradled it in her arms, just like a mother. “Thank you, Mommy.”
The word slipped out again. Dottie couldn’t look at Alex. His daughter had said it again. These days it was coming with more frequency. The moment had become an emotional one for Dottie, who had to fight her own pain over past memories that had been resurrected by being around her new student.
“I’m not your mommy, Zoe. She’s in heaven. You know that, don’t you.”
She finally nodded. “I wish you were my mommy.”
“But since I’m not, will you please call me Dot?”
“Yes.”
“Good girl. Guess what? Now that you’ve fed Betty, you have to burp her.” Puzzled, Zoe looked up at her. “When a baby drinks milk from a bottle, it drinks in air, too. So you have to pat her back. Then the air will come out and she won’t have a tummyache. Your mommy used to pat your back like that when you were a baby, didn’t she, Your Highness?”
Dottie had thrown the ball in his court, not knowing what had gone on in their marriage. He’d never discussed his private personal life or asked Dottie about hers.
“Indeed, she did. We took turns walking the floor