Page 29 of Incognito (Royally Reckless #1)
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“ W hat is troubling you?”
Dante turned from the parapet, not in the mood to have this conversation with his mother.
Then again, he wasn’t in the mood for much these days.
“Nothing,” he said, knowing she wouldn’t leave it alone.
Elena Andretti, Queen of Calida, didn’t disappoint.
“Ever since you returned from Melbourne yesterday, you look like the sky is going to fall in.” Elena pulled a face. “Or worse, that I’m going to announce your betrothal in your first week home.”
She crossed the ancient stone balcony and took hold of his hand, her grip as strong as ever despite her age. “Please, give your old mother some credit.” She smiled. “ I’m going to wait until next week at least.”
He usually laughed at his mother’s feeble jokes. Today, he couldn’t even muster a half-hearted chuckle.
Elena frowned at his lack of a response. “What happened? Is your distress because of a woman?”
“It was nothing.” He shook his head, hating how insignificant that sounded.
Nothing… delusional.
Natasha had been the woman with the potential to rock his world and in many ways she had, yet no matter which way he looked at it, their relationship had been a sham. He’d seen the proof with his own eyes, no matter her denial.
“If you don’t tell me what’s going on, Dante, Gina will.”
His mother released his hand and turned away, leaning on the parapet and taking in the view he’d just been staring at without seeing.
“I never tire of this view,” she said, with a soft sigh. “ The unique colour of the ocean, the fishing boats, the white-washed houses, the mountains. We’re blessed, Dante, to rule such beauty. It is a gift from God and we can never take it for granted. You know that, don’t you?”
Dante propped on the parapet next to her, knowing this would be yet another variation on her usual ‘you are a man with responsibilities’ speech, the same speech he’d heard in a thousand different ways since he’d been able to walk and talk.
“I don’t need a lecture, Mother.”
She turned to face him with a surprising turn of speed for a woman who used an ornate cane to get anywhere these days, her gait usually a slow, regal shuffle.
“You need something to snap you out of this lethargy.” She tsk-tsked. “It won’t do for people to see you like this.”
“It’s jet-lag, that is all.”
Though he knew that excuse would soon wear thin. He knew his lack of sleep on the long flight home and since his arrival had nothing to do with a haywire body-clock and everything to do with a stunning brunette he couldn’t get out of his mind.
“Well, see that you get enough rest. We’re entertaining several prominent families over the next few evenings starting tomorrow. You need to be at your best.”
Dante stifled a grimace, deciphering his mother’s code. ‘Entertaining prominent families’ meant she’d chosen a selection of prospective brides and he’d be expected to make a decision before the week ended.
An appalling old tradition at the best of times, but now, with his head still spinning with memories of Natasha and his heart mending from his foolishness, he couldn’t summon enthusiasm to get out of bed let alone entertain his future wife.
“It is your duty, Dante.”
With those ominous words ringing in his ears, he watched his mother walk away, an old lady in tailored finery but an old lady nonetheless.
He knew about duty.
He’d been born to it, raised to it.
He didn’t have a choice.
But what if there was more to life?
He’d never questioned his birthright and even while envying Gina her freedom to marry whomever she chose and live wherever took her fancy, he’d always known where his duty lay.
Meeting Natasha had changed all that.
For the first time in his life, he’d known what it felt like to belong and it had nothing to do with location or possessions or home.
Instead, it had everything to do with being with the right person, the type of person who made you laugh and smile and want to be a better man.
Unfortunately for him, he’d felt all that and more in less than a week of knowing Natasha, a woman who belonged to another.
However, one thing still niggled: her visit to his hotel and the motivation behind her passionate outburst.
He’d analysed it, considered it from every angle, and it didn’t make sense.
She had no reason to visit him and accuse him of lying about leaving, even less reason to discuss the connection they’d shared. Her bluntness had surprised him, caught him off-guard, but he’d quickly dismissed the whole thing as a desperate attempt on her part to get him involved in her hotel’s publicity again.
However, she hadn’t mentioned any of that apart from calling him out for reneging, and when he’d lost his cool at the end about seeing her with her ex, the devastation in her eyes had nearly killed him. He’s glimpsed raw, savage pain before she’d run away, her sobs tearing at his soul.
He’d almost run after her before his damned pride kicked in.
She’d made her choice, who was he to interfere in her life? If anyone knew what that was like, he did.
His whole life had been open to scrutiny, available for anybody and everybody to run interference. He’d accepted it a long time ago but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He respected Natasha’s freedom of choice, almost envied it, even if the thought of her with her ex made him want to jump off the castle’s highest tower.
Why visit him in his new hotel?
It all came back to the same question, reverberating around his head until he could quite happily thump it against the ancient stone parapet just to clear it.
She hadn’t acted like a woman trying to suck up to him for business sake. In fact, the longer he pondered her motivation, the harder he found it to shake off the conviction that she’d acted like a woman who cared about him.
Ridiculous. Wishful thinking. He needed to forget her. He had a life of responsibility ahead of him, a life as a husband, a life as a king.
Starting tomorrow, he’d take the first step in doing the right thing, the honourable thing, the type of sacrifice expected of a ruler.
He would choose a suitable bride and make the most of it, just like leaders of Calida had done for centuries before him.
Starting tomorrow…
For today, he would purge his mind of Natasha’s memory as best he could. And pray that his future bride sparked as much passion, as much interest, as she had.