I sigh and look down at my half-eaten sandwich. I’m not hungry—the adrenaline rush of the past few hours has taken away any appetite I might have had, even though it’s way past dinner time. I chuck the thing into the wastebasket and stand, brushing the crumbs from my shirt.

He thinks I’m playing along with him, but what I’m concerned about is his head—people don’t lose consciousness for more than half an hour without some reason. He could very well have a brain injury, and I have no way of knowing because of the lack of equipment in this clinic. Keeping him talking seems like the best thing to do, considering he won’t go to the hospital and I don’t have any way to get him there even if he hadn’t refused. If his valet is smart, he’ll come back here with the car. And I’m still holding out hope that when Matthias makes his call to Montovia, Leo’s father will insist he’s examined by someone who can actually do something for him. Leo was so adamant about not going to Santa Rosa that the only thing I can do now is sit here with him and wait.

And I don’t like the quiver I’m feeling in my stomach, waiting for him to lose consciousness again so I can get him to the hospital with no argument this time. It’s hotter than hell in here, but I’m feeling a shudder of uneasiness in my spine, and it has nothing to do with him having his shirt off. I’ve dealt with difficult patients—and parents of patients—before. People who think they know better. But those people were all at least close enough to a real hospital to have been able to get help when the worst happened. Or in a place that at least has ambulances. Raul should be back with my car soon—and we’re going to have to rush to get Leo the help he’ll need if what I’m suspecting comes about.

I let out another long breath, trying to cover up the unease I’m feeling, and I shake my head at him. “I wouldn’t think someone like you would need someone like me to shower him with compliments.”

He grins. “Come now, Elle, everyone enjoys a compliment. And I’m merely asking if you can’t see at least something redeeming about me.”

“I already told you. You have great taste in clothes.” Heat rises in my cheeks at saying even that—especially thinking about how he looked in his shirt yesterday. The one I’m pretty sure he paid some tailor a huge chunk of money to custom make for his body. His very, very nice body—

“That is hardly a personal compliment, Elle.” His voice snaps me out of my momentary daydream.

I shake my head to myself again and try to gulp down whatever the hell that was—the stupid attraction to him I can’t seem to shake no matter what I do. But I can’t do this now. I need to be on high alert, at least until Raul returns with the car. There is no time to fantasize about his body or what I would very much like him to be doing to me with it.

Shit. I have to stop that.

“I like your accent.” I tilt my head and smile again. “Happy?”

He chuckles and shoves the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. He’s eyeing the jar of peanut butter and I’m pretty sure he’s considering making himself another sandwich.

I grab the jar along with the bread and make a beeline for the counter across the room, putting it out of his reach. It’s not like I’m trying to be mean or anything, but I’ve seen what happens to people after head injuries, and I’m almost kicking myself for letting him eat in the first place. And not only because of the head injury—there’s a pretty good chance he could have some internal bleeding under the bruising I see starting to form on his chest and abdomen.

I walk back over to the gurney opposite him and sit back down to face him.

He tilts his head, confused. “Am I under a dietary restriction now, too, Doctor?”

“I…” I pause, unsure I should be telling him my suspicions. “I—”

He interrupts. “I realize your American peanut butter may not be the best choice if one is attempting to watch his caloric intake, but I hardly think we should be worrying about that today, should we?” He smiles and blinks a few times.

It’s so hard not to bend to his charms. Something about his formal manner combined with the accent is just so disarming. If he weren’t here in Rio de Campo for the reasons he is, I would have agreed to every suggestion he’s made to me over the past few days. And as much as I hate to admit it, I have no doubt I would have enjoyed an affair with him immensely—even if it was only a one-time or short-term thing.

I can’t believe I’m even thinking that. Two days ago, I had all but sworn off men. Today, though…

No. I remind myself he isn’t here to enjoy himself like one of the adventure tourists who stay at Owen’s resort. He’s here to check on his family’s clinic and to help the new doctor get his bearings. The new doctor who should be here tomorrow or the next day. My replacement—and there’s no doubt that once I’m gone, Leo will have forgotten all about me. I have nothing to offer him—I’m not the kind of woman he sees in his real life. The only reason he’s even speaking to me now is because of his duty to his family—and because I’m the only doctor within forty miles of this place.

But he is nice to look at. And there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasizing…

I blink a few times, breaking myself out of the seemingly constant daydream state I’m finding myself in when I’m around Leo. I clear my throat. “It’s not your caloric intake I’m worried about. You’ve had a serious head injury and I don’t want to clean up the mess when you vomit.”

The smile falls from his face. “As I said, Doctor, I can assure you I am fine. I’ve suffered far greater injuries—”

“With a thirty-minute loss of consciousness? I seriously doubt it, Your Highness.” Tears sting at my eyes saying the words, but I blink them back, hoping he didn’t notice. My voice drops to something barely above a whisper. “You could die. You really, really need to go to the hospital.”

His lips part as though he’s about to speak, but he says nothing. He reaches over to me, taking my hand in his. “You care.”

I tear my hand away from his, trying very hard to ignore the bolt of electricity racing up my arm at his touch. My heart is pounding in my chest. “Of course I care. I thought we established that. I care about all my patients, you included.”

He nods. “I see.”

“Do you? Do you see?” The filter between my mouth and brain seems to have evaporated. “Because I’m pretty sure you don’t see anything but a diversion for your boredom. I don’t think you see anything but my tits and my ass and I certainly don’t think you see anything even remotely—”

“Elle.” He shakes his head. “You don’t know me. You think you do—everyone thinks they do. Even my family thinks…” His voice trails off and his eyes move to a point beyond my shoulder before his gaze snaps back to mine. “I don’t see you as a diversion. I might have at first, but I don’t any longer.”

I sit there, silent. All I can do is blink—I’m being a bitch. I’m acting like every other judgmental person out there. I’m the same as the people who read the tabloids and think they know celebrities because of how their escapades are reported. My eyebrows draw together and I let out a heavy breath. “I’m...sorry. I’m really sorry.”

His eyes narrow for a split second before he nods, but he doesn’t say anything.

I remember how I need to keep him talking—I’m still afraid he could slip into a coma at any second. “Tell me about your life then.”

He lifts a brow and looks at me. He rubs a hand across his jaw. “What exactly is it you want to know, Doctor?”

I fold my hands on my lap—trying to appear at least as though I’m not trying to dig for personal details. “Tell me about what you do in Montovia.”

His smile is forced and I’m not sure how to read his expression. It almost seems like he’s uncomfortable talking about it. “I actually spend very little time in Montovia anymore.” He shrugs. “I spend the majority of my time traveling. Seeing the world and such.”

I nod. “And what will you do when you’re done with that? What does a prince do when he settles down?” I smile. “It’s not like you can go work at the mall or something.”

He lets out a short breath, something less than a chuckle. “No, I suppose I can’t, not that I would want to.” He stares at me. “I suppose I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Because your brother—he’s the crown prince, right? He’ll be king—”

“I’m the second in line for the throne at the present moment. I still must learn the duties…” His voice trails off and he shakes his head, his gaze drifting to the floor. He’s silent for a second before he looks back at me. “I’m next in line for the crown until my brother has a child. And I’m certain that once he finds a wife, conceiving will be his only priority.”

There’s something in his voice—something almost sad, but that isn’t quite it. He’s wistful, for sure, but I can’t quite put my finger on what’s going on, especially when he talks about his brother. “So what do the non-crown princes do?”

The look on his face is all too serious. “Ribbon cuttings. Ceremonial events. The occasional parade.” His mouth twists around on itself. “Nothing of any great importance—”

His words are interrupted by a loud crack and I know immediately what is happening. I walk over to the cupboard and start pulling supplies out of the cupboard. I set a box on the counter and walk over to the window, closing it with a loud thud.

“Doctor, it is almost unbearably warm in here. I don’t suppose we might leave the window open?” His smile hasn’t returned, and after what he’s just said, I have my doubts that it will.

The crack sounds again, followed by a loud boom. I meet Leo’s gaze and point to the ceiling. “It’s going to rain.”

“Rain sounds positively delightful in this heat, though. If we couldn’t just—”

I interrupt with a shake of my head. “I don’t think you understand, Leo. When it rains here, it doesn’t just rain.”

He smiles. “You called me by my name. I don’t think you’ve called me by my name since I’ve arrived.”

I blink at him a few times—trying not to react—before I walk back over to the box on the counter. I pull out the candles and other supplies we’ll need. But I don’t acknowledge what he said—or what it means. I’m not sure I even know.

I glance over at him, meeting his gaze before turning back to the emergency supplies. “Most of the time we lose power when it rains, especially when the storms happen at night. We’ll probably get our electricity back in the morning, and if we don’t, we have a small generator…” I stop talking when I realize I’m babbling.

“Elle.”

I turn to face him. “Your Highness.”

He grins. “I like it much better when you call me Leo.”

I roll my eyes before I turn back to the supplies. And before he sees the grin that has appeared on my lips.

“Perhaps we should go out into the rain for a time? As I said, a rain shower sounds delightful—”

I interrupt, turning back to him. “They have wet t-shirt contests at the bar on Tuesday nights, Your Highness. You’re welcome to peruse the female form in all its glory then.”

The grin returns to his face. “Well. I hadn’t even thought of seeing you in a wet shirt, but now that you mention it…”

I have to bite the insides of my cheeks to keep myself from smiling, too. “You. Are. Insufferable.”

“As you’ve previously stated.” His eyes are shining with delight—something has happened between us. Something small, but significant. He’s starting to melt me the tiniest bit, and even though I’m not sure I like how he’s starting to break down my walls, there’s something good about it. Something right.

It’s scary as fuck for me to even think about. But it makes my heart flutter in my chest all the same.

He looks at me for a long time before he stands—I’m pretty sure he’s going to try to pin me against the wall or something again. And I don’t think I’d even mind this time.

But he stands for only a second before dropping back onto the bed. He pauses for a moment while he sits there and rubs his head. “Doctor. I seem to be feeling a bit dizzy.” He looks up at me, and the grin has disappeared from his lips. “Though I’ll admit I suspect it may be because I’m picturing you in a wet shirt.”

“Lie down.” I use the same tone I used with Matthias earlier—the I mean business and don’t argue with me voice. “Now.”

He kicks his legs up onto the gurney and I walk over to him quickly, grabbing the pillow from the other bed before I put it under his knees.

“The problem does not seem to be with my legs, Doctor. The problem…” He closes his eyes and his voice trails off.

“Wake up, Leo.” I sit on the edge of his bed, giving his shoulder a shake. I lean over him, my face close to his. “Open your eyes.”

He doesn’t move. I bend down, tilting my head to see if I can hear him breathing. But he’s motionless and I can’t even feel his breath on my face.

My breath hitches in my chest, and I begin to tremble. I need to move quickly—I need to try to resuscitate him.

I switch myself into doctor-mode again, but not before a thought floats through my mind.

I need to save him so we can both have our happily ever after.

Before I can even chastise myself for the thought, his eyes flutter open and he blinks several times, the grin returning to his lips. His arms slide around my waist before I realize he’s conned me.

He grins. “Ah, this is much more comfortable.”

* * *