Feeling incredibly lonely once she’d said goodbye to Eliza and put her on the flight back to England, Mac walked along the shoreline of the private royal beach. Shoes in her hands, her bare feet were washed every now and then by the waves which lapped up onto the sand.
Mac sighed. It didn’t matter that she was frequently away on assignment, it was always incredibly hard to say goodbye to her daughter.
Unsurprisingly, her thoughts turned again to Devereaux. Despite her fervent wishes, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
This assignment had forced her to face some of her demons. When she returned to England she wouldn’t refuse male clients anymore, and she’d lower the barrier she’d put in place which kept men miles away from her. She had Dev to thank for making her realise that in focusing all her attention on Eliza and her work, she wasn’t living life to the full. He was also probably correct in saying that her avoidance of forming a relationship wasn’t good for Eliza in the long-term.
Grayson had swept her off her feet and tapped in to the highly sensual side of her nature. When he’d died, she’d buried that side of her with him. She’d been determined not to let it see the light of day because she thought it made her vulnerable to too much heartache and she didn’t believe she could trust her judgement when it came to choosing a partner.
But, if she didn’t acknowledge what amounted to perfectly normal sexual needs, she’d turn into a very uptight, frustrated old woman. That wasn’t the role model she wanted to be for her daughter. Dev had reawakened her sexual side and she was grateful even if she was presently unfulfilled.
The way Dev had disciplined Eliza after her stunt at the media conference also replayed in her mind, reminding her how Eliza would benefit from a constant male influence in her life.
The sun lowered in the sky and the evening light on the Mediterranean Sea was an artist’s delight. Mac walked a little way further up the beach to the dry sand and sat down. She drew her knees up and looped her arms around them as she gazed out on the soothing scene.
Devereaux.
She simply couldn’t put him out of her mind for more than a minute or two. It didn’t matter where she was or what she was doing. Every time she thought of him, a mental debate took place in her head. The negative speakers listed one negative trait after another, and the affirmative voices rebutted each one of their arguments effectively—crying down the negative personality traits which were reported in the newspaper with actual positive traits she’d witnessed.
Remaining convinced there was far more going on than met the eye, the mystery surrounding him continued to needle her.
She wanted to believe that the press reports of his brief sexual liaisons were baseless—that he deliberately cultivated that image for the press. It was ridiculous to think that way solely on the one night she’d seen him arrive back at the palace without a woman in tow. He might’ve been telling the truth that the blonde had been too drunk, so he’d sent her home.
The yearning to give in to her sexual fantasies and know him as a lover was difficult to resist. The only ammunition she had in the war she waged with herself each day was that she didn’t want to compromise her self-respect.
Dev had told her she deserved to be loved and cherished. He was right. Mac wouldn’t settle for a brief liaison where she was just one more in a long line of lovers.
But, his other words haunted her. ‘Unfortunately, I can’t be the man you need right now.’
There’d been regret laced through those words. It made her wonder whether he was hinting that he could be the man she needed one day. Did she simply have to wait? If that were the case, what prevented him from changing right now?
Damn him!
Sitting, watching the golden glow of the sunset on the ocean, and breathing in the salty air, Mac was hit with a truth that couldn’t be ignored.
Devereaux hadn’t just invaded her thoughts, he’d invaded her soul. Being in his arms was like coming together with her other half. When their mouths melded, she felt amazingly whole—like she’d found something she’d not even realised she’d missed.
Despite everything—regardless of the way he irritated and frustrated her beyond belief at times, Mac was undeniably, unstoppably attracted to the man she’d glimpsed behind the mask. She wanted to see more of the man she believed him to be, not just the side of himself he presented to the world. If she only knew what was holding him back, she could help him reach his potential. Maybe she could even fall in love with him.
Oh! Her heart did a tap dance against her ribs.
Falling in love …
Geez! It was the truth.
It’d been less than a fortnight ago when she’d assured herself it wouldn’t happen—that she’d keep those barriers she’d erected around her heart firmly in place. Yet, the man she sensed beneath the suave, experienced playboy could be the one to reach her—could be the one to tear every last one of the barriers down.
Mac closed her eyes and absorbed the truth of her feelings for Devereaux. Each breath became a little shallower.
What on earth was she going to do? Could she ignore her feelings for him and embark on a relationship with someone else in the hope that she’d forget about him—that she’d be just as absorbed by a different man? Or … should she try to get him to build something more serious from the attraction between them?
She was an image consultant, for heaven’s sake. Her job was fixing people’s public image and she was doing a cracker job so far with Devereaux. She sensed there was a conflict within him between the playboy and the more serious, sensitive prince who missed his sister and cared about the people around him. If she tried … if she committed to trying to bring out the best in him, surely she had the skills to succeed?
Hope bubbled through her veins.
You know he desires you. You have the skills to build on that desire and turn it into something deeper provided he truly does respect and admire you. The question is, do you have the courage?
‘Hi there!’
Mac looked to her left and recognised the beautiful, blonde woman instantly. She sprang to her feet. ‘Your Majesty!’ Unsure of royal protocol, she gave an awkward curtsey to the Queen of Rhajia.
‘Ah, even though I’m heavily pregnant and feel like if I fell here on the sand I’d be mistaken for a beached whale, you still recognise me!’ Sabihah laughed. ‘I’m not sure it’s a compliment!’
Wow! This woman who poked fun at herself was a Queen?
Queen Sabihah stopped right in front of Mac and held out her hand. ‘Please, no curtsies, and call me Sabihah—or, if you like, my more Anglicised name, Sabrina.’
Mac warmed to the woman immediately and took her hand. ‘Thank you. I’m Mackenzie. I’m actually joining you and Prince Khalid tonight as King Gabriel’s guest.’
‘Ah! Of course. I heard Khalid talking to Gabriel about you.’ Her features formed a grimace. ‘How’s your project going?’
Mac laughed. ‘He’s not so bad.’
‘Of course he’s not.’ The Queen chuckled. ‘Actually, I’m very fond of Dev, and Khalid is too. I didn’t know him before his sister Eden died, and from what I’ve heard, he changed a lot after her death.’
‘He wasn’t always a party-going playboy?’
‘Oh, Khalid and Gabe talk about his life at Oxford and I can tell he was always a bit of a rogue, but I get the impression he took life more seriously back then.’ She gestured towards the sand. ‘Do you mind if I sit and join you for awhile?’
‘Please do.’
Even though she was well advanced in her pregnancy, Sabihah somehow managed to sit down on the sand with a degree of grace. ‘Oh, that’s better. My legs were getting tired after walking in the sand. When it’s time to leave, I might need you to give me a hand getting back up, if you don’t mind?’
‘Of course I’ll help you.’ Mac sank back down into the cool, soft sand beside the Queen.
‘Are you getting along okay with Dev?’
How did she answer truthfully but diplomatically? ‘He was fairly resistant to any of my suggestions to start with, but I’ve survived almost two weeks and he’s become more accommodating.’
Sabihah smiled. ‘That’s good to hear. He loves his sailing.’ She shifted a little. ‘I’m told he obtained excellent results at university. I’d think he’d find the planning stimulating after such a long period of intellectual inactivity.’
‘Maybe if he used his degrees he’d have less time and energy to party!’ The judgemental statement escaped before she could sensor her thoughts. The thing was that Dev was employing his brain in some capacity if those spreadsheets she’d seen were anything to go by.
Sabihah was thoughtful as she looked at the waves rolling in to shore. ‘Khalid tells me Dev wanted to set up his own business, but the royal advisers here blocked it. Apparently they didn’t feel working for a living was good for royal image!’
Really? He’d wanted to use his degrees? That was interesting.
If he was working as part of Ploutos Corporation, maybe he needed to be secretive about it so the palace didn’t frown on his activities and pressure him to stop? Mac turned the information over in her mind. It seemed plausible, and she felt lighter—as though one big piece of the jigsaw puzzle had just fallen into place.
‘It’s only since Eden’s death that he’s been out every night and earned his less complimentary reputation,’ Sabihah continued.
People reacted differently to tragedy in their lives. Mac would’ve thought Dev was too strong to lose direction, but then, she’d been wrong about him before. ‘How did Eden die?’
‘Tragically.’ Sabihah sighed and sadness filled her eyes before she continued. ‘I didn’t ever get the chance to meet her, but Khalid has spoken often of Gabe’s sister. She was volunteering at a drug rehabilitation centre in Paris, and was murdered.’
‘Oh, my God! I had no idea.’
‘Eden had always championed the underprivileged—the strugglers. She was patroness of a number of charities, but the last thing that absorbed her interest before her death was the realisation that the drug trade was beginning to flourish in Santaliana.
‘She wanted to establish a drug rehabilitation facility here in the capital. Wanting to research well, she travelled to France to tour some of that nation’s finest centres. It was while she was there, working alongside volunteers with some of the drug addicts, that she discovered one patient’s secret stash of drugs. Instead of reporting it to the management straight away, she confronted the patient first.
‘It turned out the patient was not only a user, but a supplier to many of the other addicts at the centre. She alerted management and they were about to boot him out and hand him over to the police. The guy didn’t hang around waiting to be arrested, but he hung around waiting for Eden. He took exception to her interference and concealed himself in the female staff locker room, knowing he’d be able to attack her there as her bodyguards waited outside.’
Mac closed her eyes and her heart cracked open for Devereaux.
A seagull squawked overhead and its cry was mournful—as if it, too, was saddened to learn of another de la Croix tragedy. Dev and Gabe may have been born to great privilege, status and wealth, but they’d suffered unbearable loss in their lives.
‘I’ve already gathered the prince and Eden were extremely close.’ It was more of an acknowledgement to herself than a question for the Queen. If he loved his sister so much, didn’t that confirm he was capable of love?
A thought flashed through her head like a neon sign in Vegas. What if Dev was like Mac? What if when he’d lost someone he’d loved that he’d fortified his heart against the emotion? Her blood pounded through each pulse point. If she understood Dev, maybe she had the key to unlocking his heart?
Sabihah scooped up a handful of sand and let it trickle through her fingers. Mac was only half listening to her when Rhajia’s Queen said, ‘From what I’ve been told, Eden was like mother and sister rolled into one for Dev.’
Mac said lightly, ‘Well, I’ve got my work cut out for me. He’s cooperating with me in planning the yacht racing series but he’s still making the newspaper each morning with his wild partying.’
‘You’d think the paparazzi would give up following him around and people would be sick of reading about his exploits.’ Sabihah shook her head and pushed her feet into the sand, partially obscuring them. ‘The story’s been the same every day—just a different venue and a different woman. You can’t tell me that sells newspapers.’
‘I guess when you’re a single, good-looking man with wealth and a royal title, you make the news regardless of what you do.’
Sabihah shot her a sharp look. ‘My husband was a renowned playboy before we met, so I guess there’s hope for Devereaux.’
‘I hope so.’
‘Hm.’ Sabihah looked at her intently. ‘Well, I hope he’ll get over this dreadful phase soon and settle down. There’s so much more to Devereaux. It’d be such a shame if he goes into his next decade of life in the same aimless way.’
Another person who believed in his potential! Mac found that she loved Sabihah for it. Mac resolved not to give up on him. She’d push him a little more each day and help the man who lay beneath emerge from the protective chrysalis he seemed to have cocooned himself in.
Devereaux had said he desired her, admired and respected her. Weren’t they a good place from which a more solid relationship could grow?
A warning bell shrieked at her as her internal voice demanded she proceed with extreme caution. You’re trying to redeem him. Haven’t you tried that once before with a renowned playboy and failed?
The battle raged on within her as she prepared for dinner. The irrepressible woman within who thrived on a challenge rose to the surface as Mac selected her outfit.
Damn Devereaux. She was going to capitalise on his desire for her. In her mind, she wasn’t anywhere near as good-looking as the women he was photographed with night after night, but there was still no denying his desire for her. Hopefully he’d feast his eyes on her over dinner and not even taste what he ate this evening.
After having felt adrift this afternoon when she’d farewelled Eliza, Mackenzie now had a definite sense of purpose. She was going to reach Devereaux and help him become all he could be in every aspect of his life.