The Paternity Proposition(43)

"We must talk," he said later, when they were dressed and walking back to his car. "There is something I haven't told you."

Phoebe didn't like the sound of that. She shivered, as if the sun had disappeared behind a cloud. Was he going to tell her that their time together was over?

"I don't want to talk," she said quickly. "I'm leaving in a few days. Can't we keep these happy memories alive until then?"

He sighed. "Phoebe, I do not mean to frighten you. I am not trying to end our relationship-I simply seek to change it. But before I do that, I must tell you the truth about myself."

She climbed into the car. Where before her flesh had tingled with anticipation, now her skin simply felt cold. She wanted to wrap herself in the blanket Mazin had brought. Except it carried the sweet fragrance of their lovemaking, and if she inhaled that, she would cry. She was determined that regardless of what Mazin said, she would not cry. She would be strong and mature and brave. She owed that to herself, if not to him.

She waited until he slid behind the wheel, then stared straight out the front windshield.

"You're married."

He turned to stare at her. "I told you, my wife died six years ago. I have not remarried. For a time I had thought I would take another wife, but finding someone seemed an impossible task. I gave up the idea."

He started the engine. "I am doing this badly. Perhaps rather than telling you, I should show you. I want-" He hesitated. "Most women would be pleased, but I am not sure of your reaction."

If he was trying to make her feel better, he was doing a lousy job. Phoebe bit her bottom lip as he drove them toward the coast road, and then headed north. Part of her wanted to hear what he had to say, because if he told her to her face that their relationship was over, then eventually she would be able to stop loving him. At least, that would be her plan. But if she ran away, she might never get over him. Although the thought of disappearing back into her hotel and not coming out until it was time for her flight had a certain appeal.

She was lost in her thoughts and didn't notice they'd begun to drive up to the top of the island until she recognized the road to the palace. Her throat tightened, making it impossible to swallow.

"Mazin, why are we here?"

He didn't say anything. Her mind began to race, and not in a good way. Various possibilities occurred to her and she wasn't sure she liked any one of them.

Instead of stopping in front of the palace, he kept driving down a road that led to a large building. One he'd pointed out to her before. The private residence of the prince.

Her entire world shifted slightly. Her brain froze, her heart stopped beating for a second, then began again but this time at a thunderous pace. And before either of them could speak, a small child broke through a grove and ran toward the car.

Mazin slowed, then pulled to the edge of the road. When he parked, Dabir ran to her side of the car and pulled open her door.

"Did you ask her? Did she say yes?"

"Dabir, we have discussed nothing," Mazin growled, although his son didn't seem the least bit impressed by his temper. "We need more time."

"But you've had all morning," the boy complained. "Did you tell her that I think she's pretty? Did you tell her about being a princess?"

"Dabir!"

Mazin's voice echoed through the trees. Dabir squeaked, then grinned. "Say yes, Miss Carson. Please?" he pleaded, then took one look at his father and headed back the way he'd come. The sound of his laughter drifted to them.

Phoebe didn't know what to say or what to think. She felt as if she'd fallen into an alternative universe.

"M-Mazin?"

He sighed. "This is not what I had planned. We are sitting in a car. It is not romantic." He released his seat belt and angled toward her. "Phoebe, what I have not told you is that I am more than a minister in the Lucia-Serrat government. I am Crown Prince Nasri Mazin. I rule this island. The house before us is my home. My sons are princes."

She blinked several times. C-crown p-prince Nasri Mazin? Even her thoughts stuttered. "No," she whispered. "You can't be."

He shrugged. "Yet I am."

She stared at his familiar face, at the dark eyes and firm mouth. The mouth she'd kissed and that had kissed her back in many very intimate places. Heat flared on her cheeks. "But I've seen you naked!"

He grinned. "Yes. As I have seen you."

She didn't want to think about that. "I don't understand. If you're really a prince, why didn't you tell me? And why did you want to be with me?"

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "When I met you at the airport, I had recently returned from an extended journey. In the back of my mind had been the thought that I should find a wife. I did not expect to marry for love, but I thought I would find a woman with whom I could enjoy life. But that was not to be. The women I met bored me. I grew tired of them wanting me for my position or my money. I came home weary and discouraged."                       
       
           



       

He shrugged. "Then I saw a pretty young woman walk into the duty-free shop. She looked fresh and charming and very unlike the other women I'd been seeing. I followed her on an impulse. That same impulse caused me to speak with her. She had no idea who I was. At first I thought her innocence was a game, but in time I discovered it was as genuine as the young woman herself. I was intrigued."

She still wasn't thinking straight. In fact, she wasn't thinking at all. "But, Mazin … " She swallowed. "I mean, Prince Nasri-" She squeezed her eyes shut. This couldn't be happening to her.

A prince? She'd fallen in love with a prince? Which meant any teeny, tiny hopes she'd had about a happily ever after had just disappeared like so much smoke.

"Phoebe, do not look so sad."

She opened her eyes and stared at him. "I'm not. I feel foolish, which is different. I should have guessed."

"I went to great pains to see that you did not. I arranged our travels in advance, making sure there wouldn't be anyone around."

And here she'd just thought it was the slow season. She'd been a fool. "I guess no one is going to believe me if I try to tell them this when I get back home."

"Ayanna would have believed," he said softly.

She nodded. Ayanna would have understood everything, she thought with a sigh. Because the same sort of thing had happened to her aunt. And Ayanna had spent the rest of her life loving the one man she could never have.

Pain tightened her chest, making it difficult to breathe. "You should, ah, probably take me back to the hotel now," she murmured.

"But I have not answered your second question."

She wasn't sure how much longer she could sit there without crying. "W-what question is that?"

"You asked to know why I wanted to be with you."

Oh. She didn't think she wanted to hear that answer. It couldn't be good. Or at least not good enough.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "You enchanted me. I do not get the opportunity to meet many people without them knowing I am Prince Nasri of Lucia-Serrat. With you, I could be myself. When you told me about your aunt's list of places to go, I decided to show them to you. I wanted to spend time with you. To get to know you."

That wasn't so bad. She forced herself to smile. "I appreciate all you've done. You were very kind."

He shook her gently. "Do you think kindness was my sole purpose?"

Why was he asking such hard questions? "I thought, maybe, after a while, you might want to seduce me."

Mazin groaned, then leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. "Yes, I wanted you in my bed, but it was more than that," he said between kisses. "I wanted to be with you. I could not forget you. You became very important to me. I did not plan for you to meet my son, but that turned out to be most fortuitous. Dabir thinks you are very lovely and that you would make an excellent mother."

If the world had tilted before, it positively spun now, swooping and zooming around her until she found it impossible to keep her balance. Her fingers shook as she unfastened her seat belt, then stumbled out of the car. She was going to faint. Worse, she thought she might be sick.

Mazin … make that Prince Nasri … hurried around the car to stand next to her. "Phoebe? What's wrong?"

"You want me to take Nana's place?"

No. That wasn't possible. She couldn't stay here and take care of Mazin's child, all the while watching him with other women. She would be destroyed. Even if her heart weren't a consideration, she had her own dreams and they didn't involve her staying on Lucia-Serrat as a nanny.

Suddenly he was in front of her, grabbing her by her upper arms and shaking her gently. "Is that what you believe?" He stared at her face, then shook his head and pulled her close. "Don't you know I love you, you little fool? What did you think? That I wanted to hire you as a caretaker to my child? I have that for Dabir already. What I do not have is a mother for him and a wife for myself. I do not have a woman to love-someone to love me in return."

She stepped back and looked at him. His words filled her brain, but she couldn't grasp them. "I don't understand."