Read Online Crown Prince's Chosen Bride by Kandy Shepherd - Free Book Online

on her creamy skin. ‘If that’s what you want...’
    â€˜It is what I want,’ he said, unable to keep the huskiness from his voice. There was so much more he wanted from her, but it was impossible for him to admit to the desire she was arousing in him.
    â€˜Okay,’ she said. ‘I was always interested in food. My mother wasn’t really into cooking and was delighted to let me take over the kitchen whenever I wanted.’ She helped herself to some grapes, snipping them from the bunch with a tiny pair of silver scissors.
    â€˜So you decided to make a career of it?’ It wouldn’t be an easy life, he imagined. Hard physical work, as well as particular skills required and—
    He completely lost his train of thought. Instead he watched, spellbound, as Gemma popped the fat, purple grapes one by one into her luscious mouth.
    Inwardly, he groaned. This was almost unbearable.
    â€˜Actually, I was all set to be a nutritionist,’ she said, seemingly unaware of the torment she was putting him through by the simple act of eating some fruit. ‘I started a degree at the University of Newcastle, which is north of Sydney. I stayed up there during the vacations and—’
    â€˜Why was that? I went to university in England but came home for at least part of every vacation.’
    He’d loved the freedom of living in another country, but home had always been a draw card for him—the security and continuity of the castle, the knowledge of his place in the hierarchy of his country. His parents, who were father and mother to him before they were king and queen.
    Gemma pulled a face—which, far from contorting her features, made her look cute. Had she cast a spell on him?
    â€˜Your home might have been more...welcoming than mine,’ she said.
    A shadow darkened her warm brown eyes at what was obviously an unpleasant memory. It made him sad for her. His memories of childhood and adolescence were happy. Life at the castle as the ‘spare’ had been fun—he had had a freedom never granted to his brother. A freedom sorely lost to him now—except for this trip. There had always been some tension between his father and mother, but it had been kept distanced from him. It hadn’t been until he’d grown up that he’d discovered the cause of that tension—and why both his parents were so unhappy.
    â€˜You were not welcome in your own home?’ he asked.
    â€˜My mother was always welcoming. My stepfather less so.’
    â€˜Was he...abusive?’ Tristan tensed, and his hands tightened into fists at the thought of anyone hurting her.
    She shook her head. The sunshine slanting in through the windows picked up amber highlights and copper glints in her hair as it fell around her face. He wanted to reach out and stroke it, see if it felt as fiery as it looked.
    â€˜Nothing like that,’ she said. ‘And he wasn’t unkind—just indifferent. He didn’t want children, but he fell in love with my mother when I was a little kid and I came as part of the package deal.’
    â€˜A “package deal”? That seems a harsh way to describe a child.’
    Again he felt a surge of protectiveness for her. It was a feeling new to him—this desire to enfold her in safety and shield her from any harm the world might hurl at her. A girl he had known for only a matter of days...
    Her shrug of one slender shoulder was obviously an effort to appear nonchalant about an old hurt, but it was not completely successful. ‘He couldn’t have one without the other. Apparently he wanted my mother badly—she’s very beautiful.’
    â€˜As is her daughter.’ He searched her face. It was disconcerting, the way she seemed to grow lovelier by the minute.
    â€˜Thank you.’ She flushed again. ‘My mother always told me I had to be grateful to my stepfather for looking after us. Huh. Even when I was little I looked after