Chapter Three
"You missed a spot right there. No, to the left. Wait, just a bit to the right." Princess Serafina studied the fourteen-foot Christmas tree she was in charge of decorating. "Let me think for just a minute."
Graciela, who stood near the top of a twelve-foot ladder, looked down at the youngest Monterran princess. "Serafina, I might never have mentioned this before, but I'm not great with ladders. So the sooner you decide exactly where you'd like this ornament, the happier I'll be."
"Okay. I'm thinking maybe we should take the crystal carousel horse from near the top and move it down to the middle. What do you think, Mr. Ashton?"
"I think that Graciela needs to be rescued." Robert, who'd been standing at the bottom of the ladder, climbed up three steps. "Hand over that poor, unfortunate horse and I'll re-home him."
Graciela glanced down, which she immediately regretted when her stomach dropped. "Robert, shouldn't you be holding the ladder?"
He laughed. "Don't worry, just hand me the horse."
This she happily did, in the hopes that it would mean she'd be off the ladder that much sooner. Not that she wasn't grateful that Robert and Serafina had been keeping her company for the last two days. Although it hadn't been easy, she'd done everything she could to avoid spending time with Alejandro. Unfortunately, this meant missing outings with her friends, but it was the only way she could figure out to protect her heart and preserve her sanity. The fact that she missed him, well, that was something she was going to have to get used to.
"There," Robert said. "Check that horse, Princess, because Graciela and I are taking a break." He stepped down and held onto Graciela's arm as she followed suit.
"Thank you." She smiled her gratitude.
"My pleasure."
"Pardon the interruption," a voice called from just inside the doorway.
Startled, Graciela took a guilty step away from Robert. "Alejandro."
In lieu of an answer, he raised an eyebrow. "Might I have a moment alone with you, Graciela?"
Her mind raced for an excuse to avoid a private encounter, just as her traitorous heart began to race at the sight of him. Thankfully Serafina provided interference. "But, Prince Alejandro, we're decorating the tree," she protested.
Alejandro looked down at her for a long second before he reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and handed it to her. "Fifteen minutes."
That was all it took for the young princess to skip out of the room, the fate of the dangling carousel horse already forgotten.
Graciela met Alejandro's gaze head on. His inscrutable expression she knew well. He was obviously upset. With her. She waited for him to speak first.
But it was Robert who broke through the tense silence. "Good afternoon, Your Highness. Are you here for our little tree trimming party?"
"No. It appears that you have that well in hand, Ashton."
"Call me Robert, please." He winked at Graciela. "It's not very formal where I'm from."
"Napa Valley? Is that correct?" Alejandro folded his arms across his chest.
"Very good, I see you've done your homework."
Graciela looked between the two men. They couldn't be more different. Robert's stance was relaxed, his tone of voice light-hearted. Alejandro, on the other hand, wore a scowl and his words were so clipped they were barely civil. She sighed. "Robert, would you be good enough to excuse us?"
"Of course." He leaned in and brushed a kiss lightly across her cheek. "Find me when you're ready to head into town for lunch." He nodded to Alejandro as he passed him. "Your Highness."
Alejandro's response was nothing more than a guttural sound.
Graciela waited until the door clicked closed before she spoke. "Really, Alejandro? That had to be the most poor display of manners I've ever witnessed. Unless someone back home has died, or the winery has burned down, I can't think what would excuse such a lapse in common courtesy."
Alejandro closed the distance between them, stopping a few short feet in front of her. "I didn't come here for an etiquette lesson."
"Then why did you come?" Graciela stared into his eyes, wishing she would see longing or desire in them, but his emotions were too heavily guarded for even a glimpse into what he was feeling. Standing this close to him, without being able to touch him, or to tell him how she felt about him, was like putting her heart through an old fashioned wringer. It hurt. "What do you want?"
He took a step forward until he was close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. The aroma of his aftershave, a gift she gave him every year at Christmas, stirred an all too familiar longing for his touch.
"I want to-" he hesitated, his eyes never leaving hers. "I want you to-"
Graciela longed to reach out and soothe his brow, to cup his face between her hands and kiss his forehead, anything to remove the anguish she saw in his eyes. But, of course, this was impossible. "What is it that you want from me, Alejandro?"
"I don't know."
His whispered words killed whatever tiny flicker of hope she'd kept alive within her heart. She turned to go but he reached out and held onto her arm.
"Wait."
But she shook her head. "No, Alejandro. I can't wait. Not any longer." And then, before whatever reservoir of strength she'd tapped into ran dry, she walked past him and out of the room. Out of his life.
***
"What on earth is the matter with you, Alejandro?" Lemon Beauchamp, Prince Dante's fiancée, set her coffee mug down with a decided thump. "You've been stalking around the palace like a tortured soul ever since you arrived. Unless you're rehearsing for a live version of 'Beauty and the Beast' and you're getting into character, I'd like to know what's wrong."
Alejandro resisted the urge to scowl, knowing that one of his other friends would call him out on it. He looked from Nico to Kat, to Dante and then back at Lemon. "I don't know what you're talking about."
A howl of laughter escaped Dante's lips. "Seriously, man?"
This time, Alejandro didn't bother to hide his vexation. He pushed away his coffee mug and stood. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be in the west tower sharpening my claws."
Prince Nico joined in Dante and Lemon's laughter. But Kat, who sat next to him, reached up and laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Don't go, Alejandro. We just want to know if we can help with whatever's wrong."
Defeated, deflated, Alejandro sank back into his chair. "I don't know what's the matter with me."
"Might it have something to do with the fact that we haven't seen almost anything of Graciela this trip?" Lemon asked. Although she was far more forthright than Kat by nature, she too appeared concerned. "What's going on?"
"A lover's spat?" Dante asked.
"We're not lovers," Alejandro all but growled. He heard how churlish he sounded, which wasn't at all fair to his friends. He knew that. Their only crime was expressing concern for him. Hardly a punishable offense.
"Maybe that's the problem," Nico said, his expression thoughtful. "That you're not lovers, I mean. Isn't it about time that you and Graciela stopped playing this game?"
"What game?" Alejandro glanced around the table, startled by the looks he was getting. "No, really, I don't know what you're talking about."
Lemon leaned forward. "Let me help clarify things for you, then. I speak for all of us when I say that the attraction between you and Graciela is patently obvious."
"Well, she's an incredibly beautiful woman. Any man would be attracted to her."
"That's not what Lemon's talking about," Kat said, her voice soft. "You love Graciela."
Alejandro was too stunned to immediately reply. He looked at each of his friends in turn but it wasn't their faces he was seeing. Instead, a montage of the years he'd spent with Graciela played before his eyes. There had been such good times, he could see the sparkle in her eyes when they'd laughed together. There'd been sad times too, the image of himself at his father's funeral materialized in his mind. Graciela had quietly stood by his side throughout the memorial service, the funeral, and the ensuing days when his heart had ached. She'd been there. For him. She'd asked nothing in return. And, as much as the realization pained him, nothing was all he'd given her.
"I love her."
"Are you asking us or telling us?" Lemon demanded.
"I'm telling you that I love Graciela. I think I have for a very long time."
Kat's eyes were moist but her smile was wide. "It's wonderful to hear you say it."
"How could I have been so blind?" For years now, his brother Luis had told him that he believed Graciela was the perfect woman for him. But he'd refused to entertain the thought.
Nico reached over and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "What matters now is what you do with the knowledge."
Alejandro got to his feet but then sat right back down when a horrible thought struck him. "What if she doesn't care about me?"
Kat's laughter was not unkind. "Trust me, I don't think that's something you need to worry about. She's stood by your side all these years, hasn't she?"
That thought gave him heart. "You're right. It's not too late." But then a flash of their earlier conversation came back to him. 'No, Alejandro, I can't wait. Not any longer.' The hurt in her eyes had been clear for him to see. Even if he'd been blind to his own feelings, he wasn't to hers. But maybe it wasn't too late.
"I have to go to her."
"Hold on, Alejandro. Where do you think you're going?" Lemon asked.
"To find Graciela." He'd wasted enough time.
"What do you think this is? A romance novel? You're going to rush to Graciela's side and profess that you suddenly realize that you love her?" She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"I don't understand." He looked to Dante. "Can you translate?"
"Sit down." Dante waited until Alejandro did as he bid before he continued. "I think what my lovely fiancée is trying to say, is that if Graciela has been going out of her way to avoid you on this visit, it must mean she's hurt, and possibly vulnerable. Rushing to her side and pouring out how you feel might make you feel better, but what about how she feels?" He leaned forward and looked at his fiancée. "How did I do?"
Lemon beamed. "I couldn't have said it better."
Alejandro turned to Nico, a man with a big heart and a level head. "What do I do?"
"You woo her. Gently and patiently. You put her feelings first," he replied.
A stab of shame ran through Alejandro as he realized he didn't know how to accomplish this. But for Graciela, he would find a way.