“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 with you. Sometimes very important people would come in the nursery to see you and you’d just yawn and go to sleep as if you were horribly bored.”
At that comment the three of them laughed hard. Dottie realized it provided a release from the tension built up over the last week.
From the corner of her eye she happened to spot Hector, who stood several feet away. He was clearing his throat to get their attention. How long had he been in the room listening?
“Your Highness? The queen has sent for you.”
“Is it a medical emergency?”
“No.”
“Then I’m afraid she’ll have to wait until tonight. After this lesson I’m taking Zoe and Mrs. Richards out on the boat,” he said emphasizing the B. “We’ll work on her B sounds while we enjoy a light buffet on board, won’t we, Zoe?” He smiled at his daughter who nodded, still gripping her baby tightly. “But don’t worry. I’ll be back in time to say good-night to her.”
“Very well, Your Highness.”
Dottie had to swallow the gasp that almost escaped her throat. Lines bracketed Hector’s mouth. She looked at the floor. It really was funny. Alex had a quick, brilliant mind and a surprising imp inside him that made it hard for her to hold back her laughter, but she didn’t dare laugh in front of Hector.
After Hector left, Dottie brought out a box containing tubes of blue beads, so Zoe and Alex could make a bracelet together. They counted the beads as they did so, and Dottie was pleased to note that Zoe’s B sounds were really coming along.
Satisfied with that much progress, Dottie cleaned everything up. “That’s the end of our lesson for today.” She got up from the chair, suddenly wishing she weren’t wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a cartoon bunny on the front. She’d hoped Zoe would ask her about it and they could practice saying the famous rabbit’s name. But it was Alex who’d stared at it several times this morning, causing sensual waves to ripple through her.
He swept Zoe in his arms. “I’m very proud of you. Now let’s show Dot around the island on the sailboat.”