“But she has been,” Josie said, looking down unhappily at her empty plate. “She was going to tell your brother everything. To be honest, at any price. But he never gave her the chance. He deserted her without a word. And he left her to the wolves. Alone, and in charge of a twelve-year-old child.” She lifted her gaze. “My sister has been punished. Believe me.”
As he stared at her, his angry gaze slowly softened. “You alone are innocent in all this. I will bring her back to you. I swear it.”
She gave an awkward laugh. “Stop it, will you? Stop being so—”
“You’d better not say nice,” he threatened her.
She took a deep breath. “Just stop reminding me!”
“Of what?”
She spread her arms helplessly. “That you’re a handsome, charming prince, and I—” She stopped.
“And you what?”
She blurted out, “I’m a total idiot who can’t even remember to pack underwear!”
Oh, now she’d really done it. She wished she could clap a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. His eyes widened as he sucked in his breath.
“Are you telling me,” he said in a low voice, “that right now, you’re not wearing any underwear?”
Miserably, she shook her head, hating herself for blurting out every thought. Why, oh why, had she ever mentioned underwear? Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut?
His blue eyes moved slowly over her curves in the tight white dress. A muscle tightened in his jaw. “I see.” He turned away, his jaw clenched. “We’ll have to buy you some. After the wedding.”
His voice was ice-cold. She’d offended him, she thought sadly. She buttered a delicious crusty roll, then slowly ate it as she tried to think of a way to change the subject. “Your Highness...”
He snorted. “I thought you said it was a worthless title.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Since when?”
She tried to grin. “Since I’m about to be a princess?”#p#分页标题#e#
“Just call me by my first name.”
She hesitated... “Um, I’d rather not, actually. It just feels a little too personal right now. With you being so irritated...”
“I’m not irritated,” he bit out.
“Your Highness...”
“Kasimir,” he ordered.
She swallowed, looking away. But he waited. Taking a deep breath, she finally turned back to face him and whispered, “Kasimir.”
Just his name on her lips felt very erotic, the K hard against her teeth, the A parting her lips, the S vibrating, sibilant against her skin as the M-I-R ended on her lips like a kiss.
He looked at her in the Hawaiian sunlight.
“Yes,” he said softly. “Like that.”
She swallowed, feeling out of her depth, drowning. “I like your name,” she blurted out nervously. “It’s an old Slavic name, isn’t it? A warrior’s name. ‘Destroyer of the Peace.’” She was chattering, something she often did when she was nervous. “Very different from the meaning of your brother’s...” Uh-oh. That topic wouldn’t end well. She closed her mouth with a snap. “Sorry,” she said weakly. “Never mind.”
“Fascinating.” His body was very still on the other side of the table, his voice cold again. “Go on. Tell me more.”
She shrugged. “I’ve worked as a housekeeper for hotels for years, since I turned eighteen, and I listen to audio books from the library while I clean. It’s amazing what you can learn,” she mumbled. She gave him a bright smile. “Like about...um...botany, for instance. Did you know that there are only three types of orchid native to Hawaii? Everyone always thinks tons of orchids grow here in the rain forest, while the truth is that another place I once lived, Nevada, which is nothing but dry desert, has twelve different wild orchids in two distinct varieties. There was this, um, flower that...”
But Kasimir hadn’t moved. He sat across from her beneath the hot Hawaiian sunshine, his arms folded as the water’s reflection from the pool left patterns of light on his black suit. “You were telling me about the meaning of my brother’s name.”
She gulped. There was no help for it. “Vladimir. Well. Some people think it means ‘He on the Side of Peace,’ but most of the etymology seems to indicate the root mir is older still, from the Gothic, meaning ‘Great in His Power.’ And Vladimir is...” She hesitated.
Kasimir’s eyes were hard now. She took a deep breath.
“‘The Master of All,’” she whispered.
Hands clenched at his sides, Kasimir rose to his feet. Frightened by the fierce look in his eyes, she involuntarily shrank back in her chair. His hands abruptly relaxed.