Royals Untamed!. Annie West

seemed angry—annoyed that he’d tried to hide her from prying eyes. He’d only been trying to protect her. But her words had practically sent a flare up.

      He wanted to be seen with Ruby. He wanted to tell the world that he was willing to take a chance on where this might go.

      But he was also terrified that harsh treatment by the world’s press would send her running for the hills.

      How on earth was he supposed to know what was right and what was wrong?

      Would he ever be able to fathom the way Ruby’s brain worked?

      Right now it seemed unlikely.

      He glanced at his watch. She hadn’t appeared. He went into his cabin, pulled out his laptop and sat at the table.

      Time. That was what he needed to give her.

      In the meantime, he still had work to do.

      * * *

      Ruby hovered at the glass doors. He was concentrating fiercely on the laptop screen in front of him.

      She’d sat down on the bed for just a minute and ended up sleeping for an hour. When she’d woken she’d been embarrassed. But it had been too late for that, so she’d showered and changed before coming out.

      She’d half expected to find the boat moored back in the harbour, and was pleasantly surprised to find they were still out at sea.

      Here, there was nowhere to run and hide. Here, she would need to talk to Alex.

      She’d changed into a turquoise-blue maxi-dress and flat jewelled sandals and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She wasn’t trying to seduce Alex. She wasn’t trying to entice him away from anything else.

      She was here to have one of the hardest conversations of her life.

      This had all crept up on her. She’d known it was always there—hovering in the background. But things had become crystal-clear to her.

      It was so easy to think that this was about her. About whether she could stand the press attention or not. But it wasn’t really. It was about him. She just had to be brave enough to say the words.

      Her stomach growled loudly and he turned sharply in his chair.

      ‘Ruby.’

      It was more like a grunt than a greeting—not a good start. But it gave her the kick she needed. She took the few steps across the cabin and pulled out the chair opposite him.

      ‘Sorry. I sat down for five minutes and fell asleep.’

      ‘You obviously don’t find my company riveting enough.’

      It was a barb. And she could take it or she could react.

      She leaned over and snapped the laptop shut on his fingers. ‘Got your attention now?’

      He snatched his fingers back and glared at her. ‘I was working.’

      ‘You’re always working.’

      It was as if all the barriers around them had come crashing down. Right now she wasn’t afraid to say anything—and from the looks of it neither was he.

      ‘Make up your mind what you want, Ruby.’

      ‘I can’t. There’s too many variables.’

      No nice words. No beating about the bush. Two people with everything at stake.

      ‘Well, let’s start with the things that can’t change. The non-variables.’

      She leaned over and grabbed a can from the silver bucket, popping the tab and taking a sip. This could take a while.

      ‘Is this like a quiz show, Alex? Do I win something if I get the questions right?’

      Their eyes locked. They both knew exactly what was at stake here. They both knew what the prize was.

      He sucked in a deep breath and held his hand out for the can of cola. It was the first sign that this really was going to be a discussion.

      His voice was low. ‘I’m always going to be the King of Euronia. I’m always going to be father to Annabelle.’

      She nodded. ‘I’ve never questioned those things.’

      He held her gaze. ‘But I’ve never really told you that those are things that I wanted. Not just things that were forced upon me or inherited by birth. When I was young I thought being King would be a whole lot of pressure on my shoulders—with no say in it for me. As I’ve grown older I’ve accepted that not only is this my destiny, it’s something I actually want.’

      She ran her tongue along her lips. Deep down she’d always known this. Even though Alex hadn’t told her who he was when they’d met. This wasn’t just his inherited future. This was a future he was willing to embrace.

      It was a first step. It was the first time he’d actually admitted to her what he wanted in life.

      He leaned back in his chair a little. ‘I went to the US to study and learn business. It was my idea, not my father’s, but he fully supported it. The world is changing constantly—it’s getting smaller—and Euronia needed to move into the twenty-first century.’

      ‘And now?’

      ‘Now I need to use everything that I’ve learned to help my country prosper.’

      ‘So where does that leave us?’

      So many things were sparking in her brain. Did Alex suspect what she was about to say to him?

      ‘How do you feel about me, Ruby?’

      The question blind-sided her. She knew they were having a frank discussion, but she hadn’t expected him just to ask her outright.

      ‘I...’ Her voice tailed off as her brain tried frantically to find the right words.

      He shook his head.

      She hadn’t even answered yet and she’d disappointed him. But how could she tell him how she really felt when they still hadn’t dealt with the heart of the problem? She had to say the words.

      ‘What if Sophia had lived?’

      ‘What?’ He looked confused. Blind-siding worked both ways.

      ‘What if her cancer had been cured and she’d lived—what then?’

      He shook his head. ‘That would never have happened. Sophia’s cancer was already terminal. Nothing was going to change that.’

      ‘But what if it had? Would you still have married her? Still have had Annabelle? Would you have come looking for me at all?’

      Her voice started to shake a little and she took a deep breath. She needed to be calm. She needed to be rational and not blinded by her emotions.

      ‘I need you to be honest with me, Alex. I need you to be honest with yourself.’ This was hurting more than she could ever have imagined. ‘If Sophia was alive today, where would she feature in your life?’

      ‘Don’t paint her as the villain in this piece. You’re angry with me because I married another woman. Just say it.’ He blurted it out straight away.

      ‘You’re right. I was angry. More than that, I was bitterly disappointed—even though I’d no right to be. But I don’t understand. If you’d really wanted to find me you could have. In fact, you did. You sent me those flowers. Why didn’t you just come and see me? Why didn’t you ever jump in your million-pound jet and come and find me?’

      She was sounding desperate and she hated herself for being like that. But if it was going to be all out there—then so be it.

      ‘You didn’t answer my message, Ruby. I left you a message—I got no reply. What was I supposed to do? Search for a woman who didn’t want me to find her? Embarrass myself and put you in vulnerable position?’

      She