Read Online Her Prince's Secret Son by Linda Goodnight - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Goodnight
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on the soft, flower-specked grass. A gold family crest centered the cloth.
“I didn’t look in the basket, but I’m sure it’s wonderful,” she said. “Everything here is.”
“Everything?”
“Well, practically.”
His answer was a twitched eyebrow and a few crinkles at the corners of his eyes.
He was different today. She couldn’t quite put her finger on the change. He hadn’t wanted this outing and yet he seemed to be enjoying himself…as was she, though her uncertain future nagged at the back of her brain like an itch she couldn’t scratch.
According to the physicians, she should rest and recover under their care for two months. Half of that was nearly gone.
A shudder stole through her. One more month before the doctors released her—and then what? Would Aleks agree to let her remain a part of Nico’s life? Or would she be forced back to the lonely life in a bookstore, forever without her son?
The longer she was here, the harder leaving would be. And Nico wasn’t the only reason. As confused and hurt and angry as Aleks could make her, her heart remembered a time of love.
Occasionally she caught glimpses of just plain, wonderful, loving Aleks beneath the princely facade, and hope would rise inside her as powerful as a volcano and just as dangerous. She couldn’t trust herself with this man who’d left her alone without a word at a crucial time. Even if he’d been to war, even if he’d been wounded, he was still a powerful man. If he had intended to return as he claimed, if he had truly cared for her, couldn’t he have sent word?
Sara sighed and opened the lid on the picnic basket. What was the point in rehashing the unchangeable past?
He was a prince. She was no one. Men of his position only played with commoners. They did not marry them.
The truth was as painful as a burn in her chest. Aleks had wanted her body for a while, and that was all. He’d never expected a child to come from their loving.
An insect buzzed her ear. She swatted at it, swatting away the sorrowful thoughts as she kept a watchful eye on Nico. As any small boy would, the little prince wandered around the pretty little meadow, poking at rocks and gathering flowers and weeds into a tight fist. Though he was still far too thin and tired easily, her heart jumped with happiness to see him doing well.
She stretched her arms above her head, feeling only theslight tug of scar tissue at her side, and breathed in the fragrance of sea salt and lush, green meadow. A floral scent she didn’t recognize tickled her nose.
“What is that flower I smell?” she asked.
Aleks eased down onto the blanket and stretched his long legs before him. Sara battled a flash of memory. The two of them, a blanket by a lake, the hot summer night pulsing with the beat of two hearts and a hundred whispered promises.
Promises that had been broken.
Aleks sniffed the air. “Delicate and sweet with a hint of fruit?”
“You sound like a perfumer.”
He chuckled. “Wine connoisseur. The scent comes from the vineyards. Muscato grapes for spumante.”
Another reminder of why she didn’t fit in his world. She wouldn’t know a spumante from a bottle of beer.
“It smells great,” she said, and then felt stupid for the mundane comment.
She bit down on her bottom lip and began to unpack the basket, setting out a stunning array of silver and china and scrumptious foodstuffs. Royalty never skimped. Even something as simple as a picnic was a major production.
The prince said nothing, but he watched her from beneath those enviable black lashes with a pensive expression.
Wondering what went on behind those dark eyes and uncomfortable with the silent stare, Sara threw a napkin at him—a crested cloth napkin in royal blue. “Make yourself useful, Mr. Prince.”
The expression disappeared. He shifted closer. “You always were a demanding woman.”
His easy reference to their past caught her off guard. “Was I?”
“No.” He pulled a bottle of
“I didn’t look in the basket, but I’m sure it’s wonderful,” she said. “Everything here is.”
“Everything?”
“Well, practically.”
His answer was a twitched eyebrow and a few crinkles at the corners of his eyes.
He was different today. She couldn’t quite put her finger on the change. He hadn’t wanted this outing and yet he seemed to be enjoying himself…as was she, though her uncertain future nagged at the back of her brain like an itch she couldn’t scratch.
According to the physicians, she should rest and recover under their care for two months. Half of that was nearly gone.
A shudder stole through her. One more month before the doctors released her—and then what? Would Aleks agree to let her remain a part of Nico’s life? Or would she be forced back to the lonely life in a bookstore, forever without her son?
The longer she was here, the harder leaving would be. And Nico wasn’t the only reason. As confused and hurt and angry as Aleks could make her, her heart remembered a time of love.
Occasionally she caught glimpses of just plain, wonderful, loving Aleks beneath the princely facade, and hope would rise inside her as powerful as a volcano and just as dangerous. She couldn’t trust herself with this man who’d left her alone without a word at a crucial time. Even if he’d been to war, even if he’d been wounded, he was still a powerful man. If he had intended to return as he claimed, if he had truly cared for her, couldn’t he have sent word?
Sara sighed and opened the lid on the picnic basket. What was the point in rehashing the unchangeable past?
He was a prince. She was no one. Men of his position only played with commoners. They did not marry them.
The truth was as painful as a burn in her chest. Aleks had wanted her body for a while, and that was all. He’d never expected a child to come from their loving.
An insect buzzed her ear. She swatted at it, swatting away the sorrowful thoughts as she kept a watchful eye on Nico. As any small boy would, the little prince wandered around the pretty little meadow, poking at rocks and gathering flowers and weeds into a tight fist. Though he was still far too thin and tired easily, her heart jumped with happiness to see him doing well.
She stretched her arms above her head, feeling only theslight tug of scar tissue at her side, and breathed in the fragrance of sea salt and lush, green meadow. A floral scent she didn’t recognize tickled her nose.
“What is that flower I smell?” she asked.
Aleks eased down onto the blanket and stretched his long legs before him. Sara battled a flash of memory. The two of them, a blanket by a lake, the hot summer night pulsing with the beat of two hearts and a hundred whispered promises.
Promises that had been broken.
Aleks sniffed the air. “Delicate and sweet with a hint of fruit?”
“You sound like a perfumer.”
He chuckled. “Wine connoisseur. The scent comes from the vineyards. Muscato grapes for spumante.”
Another reminder of why she didn’t fit in his world. She wouldn’t know a spumante from a bottle of beer.
“It smells great,” she said, and then felt stupid for the mundane comment.
She bit down on her bottom lip and began to unpack the basket, setting out a stunning array of silver and china and scrumptious foodstuffs. Royalty never skimped. Even something as simple as a picnic was a major production.
The prince said nothing, but he watched her from beneath those enviable black lashes with a pensive expression.
Wondering what went on behind those dark eyes and uncomfortable with the silent stare, Sara threw a napkin at him—a crested cloth napkin in royal blue. “Make yourself useful, Mr. Prince.”
The expression disappeared. He shifted closer. “You always were a demanding woman.”
His easy reference to their past caught her off guard. “Was I?”
“No.” He pulled a bottle of
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