“My birthday is coming up,” he muttered, as if that tidbit just hit him. Luc’s brows drew together as he laced his fingers over his abdomen. “Are you saying I’m not entitled to the throne if we aren’t married by then?”
This was the tricky part. “You aren’t crowned until you’re married.”
“That’s ridiculous.” He laughed. “I’ll change that law, first thing. What if my son doesn’t want to marry? Who says you have to be married by thirty-five?”
Kate smiled. “That’s exactly what you said before you fell. You were dead set on having that law rewritten.”
His eyes held hers another moment, but before she could go on, he said, “I had a dream last night. It was real. I know it was a memory, but I can’t figure it out.”
Kate’s heart beat faster in her chest. Was their time over? Was the beautiful fantasy they’d been living about to come to a crashing halt?
“What was the dream?” she asked, gripping her arms with anticipation.
“I had a dream you were pregnant. That image in my head has hit more than once.” His eyes drilled into her. “Why would I keep dreaming that, Kate?”
“Did you see me in the dream?” she asked, knowing she was treading on very shaky ground.
He shook his head. “No. I had my hands on your bare stomach and I was so happy. Nervous, but excited.”
“I’ve never been pregnant,” she told him softly. “Do you think maybe you’re just thinking ahead?”
Kate glanced away, unable to look him in the eyes and see him struggle with this entire situation. Why couldn’t this be real? He’d told her more than once that he loved her, but that was just what he thought he was supposed to say...wasn’t it? Still, what if he was speaking from his heart? What if that fall had actually pulled out his true feelings? But even if she stood a chance with the man she’d fallen in love with, Kate had lied and deceived him. He would never forgive her.
She just wanted today, just one more night with him. She was being selfish, yes, but she couldn’t let go just yet. Not when everything right at this moment was beautiful and perfect.
“Do you want children?” he asked. “I assume we’ve discussed this.”
Kate pushed herself off the door frame and smoothed her hair back from her face. “I do want kids. It’s always been my dream to have a husband who loves me and a houseful of children.”
He offered her a wide, sexy smile. “We will have the most beautiful children.”
Oh, when he said things like that she wanted to get swept away and believe every word. Yet again, Luc had been weaved so tightly into this web of lies she’d inadvertently created. Her heart had been in the right place. She only hoped Luc saw that once all was said and done.
“I think any child with the Silva genes would be beautiful,” she countered. “Even though you’re an only child, your father has a long line of exotic beauties on his side. Your mother is a natural beauty, as well.”
Luc tossed his sheet aside and came to his feet. Padding across the floor wearing only a tattoo and a grin, he kept his gaze on hers.
“As much as I’d love to work on those babies, I think I’d like to do something that will help get my memory back sooner rather than later.”
Kate forced her gaze up... Well, she made it to his chest and figured that was a good compromise. “What’s that?”
“Maybe we should tackle that work schedule you’d mentioned.” His smile kicked up higher on one side of that kissable mouth. “You know, before we got sidetracked with being naked.”
Kate laughed. “Yes. Work. That’s where we need to focus.”
Finally. Something they could do that actually needed to be done. She could breathe a bit now.
“I’ll go get my laptop,” she told him. “I’ve got a spreadsheet there of your tentative schedule, and I have a speech written out for you that you need to look over.”
As she started to walk by, he reached out, snaking an arm around her waist. “You write my speeches?”
“For the past year I have.”
His eyes roamed over her face, settled on her lips, then came back up to meet her gaze. “You really are perfect for me.”
Kate swallowed. “Better put some clothes on. You can’t work in your birthday suit.”
His laughter followed her from the room, mocking her. She wasn’t perfect for him. She wanted to be. Oh, mercy, how she wanted to be. She’d give him everything, but this dream romance was about to come to an end. His memories were coming back a little each day. Time was not on her side.
Maybe by focusing on work, he’d start to piece more things together. Perhaps then she wouldn’t have to worry about saying anything. Honestly, she didn’t know what scenario would be worse, her telling him the truth or him figuring it out on his own.
Was she a coward for not wanting to tell him? Absolutely. Not only did she not want to see that hurt—and quite possibly hatred—in his eyes, she didn’t want that confrontation. There were no right words to say, no good way to come out and tell him he’d been living a complete lie for these past few days.
The end result would be the same, though, no matter how he found out. He would be disgusted with her. Suddenly, losing her job, or even her parents’ positions, wasn’t the main problem. After this time away from their ordinary lives, she couldn’t imagine life without Luc.
And every bit of this scenario made her seem foolish, selfish and desperate.
When had she become that woman? When had she become the woman Luc had actually been engaged to? Because Kate was no better than his lying, scheming ex.
* * *
Luc glanced over Kate’s shoulder as she sat in a patio chair with her laptop on the mosaic-tiled table. They’d opted to work outside to enjoy the bright sunshine and soft ocean breeze.
Resting his hands on the back of the chair, Luc leaned in to read over the tentative spreadsheet, but he was finding it impossible to focus. Kate’s floral scent kept hitting him with each passing drift of wind.
“I can move these engagements around,” Kate told him, pointing to the two green lines on the screen. “Both appointments are flexible. I scheduled them like this because I thought it would save time.”
“Fine. You know more about this than I do,” he told her.
She shifted, peeking at him over her shoulder. “I know about scheduling, but this is your life, Luc. Give me some input here. I can add or take away time. Usually, when you don’t want to stay at an event too long, I make an excuse and cut the time back.”
His brows quirked. “Seriously?”
“Well, yeah. How else would you escape and still look like the charming prince?” She laughed.
“Wow, you really do everything for me.” With a sigh, he straightened. “What you have works for me. You’ve done this for a year, so you obviously know what you’re talking about.”
Kate turned fully in her chair and narrowed her eyes. “That’s the Luc I used to work with. You never wanted to help with the schedule. You always trusted me to make it work.”
Another flash of Kate in a snug suit, black this time, filled his mind. A dark-haired woman stood next to her. Luc closed his eyes, wanting to hold on to the image, needing to see who it was. Who was this woman?
Alana.
The image was gone as fast as it entered his mind, but he had a name.
“Luc?”
He opened his eyes, meeting Kate’s worried gaze. She’d come to her feet and stood directly in front of him.
“Who’s Alana?” he asked.
Kate jerked as if he’d slapped her. “Do you remember her?”
“I had a flash of you and her talking, but I couldn’t tell what you guys were saying. It’s like a damn movie that plays in my head with no sound.”
He raked a hand down his face, meeting her eyes once more. “Who is she?” he repeated.
“She was a woman you used to date.”
Luc tried to remember more, but nothing came to mind. Only that the woman’s name stirred emotions of anger and hurt within him.
“Were we serious?” he asked.
Kate crossed her arms and nodded. “You were.”
She was really sticking to the doctor’s orders and not feeding him anything more than he was asking. Damn it, he wished she’d just tell him.
Pacing across the patio, Luc came to a stop at the edge by the infinity pool and stared out at the ocean. With the world at his back, he wished he could turn away from his problems so easily.
Alana Ferella. The name slid easily into his mind as he watched the waves roll onto the shore. His heart hardened, though. What kind of relationship had they had together? Obviously, not a compatible one or he’d still be with her. Something akin to rage settled in him. She hadn’t been a nice woman, that much he knew.
He didn’t want to keep asking Kate about an ex-girlfriend, and most likely Alana didn’t matter, anyway. He just wished he could remember more about Kate, more about the plans they’d made.
“Are we getting married soon?” he asked, turning back to face her.
She blinked a few times, as if his question had thrown her off. Hell, it probably had. He’d just gone from quizzing her on his ex to discussing their own nuptials.