As clean water washed away the mud, she swayed in his arms and tossed her shoes on the pebbles. He let her foot down and she headed back onto the sand. “Look!”
Anna sounded excited by the pod of dolphins off shore, so much so that she didn’t care about dirty feet.
“Where are you going?”
“Are those dolphins?”
“Yes.” He placed his shoes next to hers, glad they were in a protected bay where no press could take his picture, and straightened hers out too.
Grinning at the dolphins as their pod swam closer, Anna waded into the water without looking back. “Put your shoes down and come splash with me.”
Without a thought to her dress, she waded to her hips like she was a mermaid transfixed by the dolphins.
Anna was breathtaking, forgetting the rules to never be seen as less than proper when outside, though he put his hands in his pockets and followed her into the water. “I need to talk to you though.”
She squealed like she was still a teenager as she pointed toward the pod of dolphins. “In a minute. I just want to enjoy the water… they’re coming closer!”
And just like that silver gray dolphins flew three meters out of the water like they were playing, and one of the dolphins came over to her. She squealed, with her light brown hair tendrils in the water like she was goddess herself and it seemed like he kissed her.
Anna wouldn’t know the legend on this island, as it wasn’t in the school books, but his sisters loved to tease him that one day his future queen would be chosen by the dolphins to rule Avce. He blinked, remembering how his sisters had giggled at him when he was nine years old. He hadn’t believed them—maybe someday he’d tell them about this day.
Anna laughed as the dolphins dove off toward the open sea. Leo reached her side and pressed his hand on her lower back. “They must know you’re one of the good ones, my sweet.”
Her face turned red as she reluctantly left the ocean, looking like an all-natural goddess who didn’t need a drop of makeup or artifice. “Now you’re making me blush. They were beautiful though.”
For the second time they washed the mud off their feet. She carried her shoes without putting them on as she leapt to the dry round stones. He slipped his shoes on. “Come. Let’s go back to the castle. I want to talk.”
She stayed beside him and shrugged. “What’s going on? This sounds more serious than a ride on a horse.”
A vague memory surfaced from a year ago of him waking up in bed, next to some woman and calling Anna on the phone. His cheeks burned. “It was. It is.” Her eyebrows rose as they walked up the steep cobblestone hill. He massaged the back of his skull and said, “I… I don’t how to tell you.”
Again she shrugged as she stayed beside him, the late morning sun warming their skin. “Tell me what? I’ve been handling your problems for a year now.”
His body clenched. This was why even though he wanted to be honest and upfront, he couldn’t talk to her about Francesca yet. Not until he knew Francesca was in fact having his child, despite the condom. Then he’d brief Anna without asking her to solve anything. They continued up the path. “You shouldn’t have to. A man solves his own problems.”
They walked up stone steps that were created a century ago or more and she didn’t miss a beat, staying at his side. “I see. Well, as your secretary, I actually enjoyed a few of the tasks, though paying off Francesca to stay away from your parents was a chore.”
Boom. Without intending to, she’d twisted the knife and he pressed his hand to his heart. He flexed his thumb, unsure exactly what had happened but it seemed important. “How?”
She put her hands in the pockets of her damp dress already drying from the sunshine. “I didn’t feel comfortable negotiating on your behalf and I wasn’t authorized to pay the amount of money demanded. When I came to you, you just okayed the deal without countering and I was confused.”
Leo never should have sent Anna. If he’d ever guessed he’d marry her then he wouldn’t have. He swallowed his pride and tried to picture exactly what she said in his mind. “Why were you confused? It was just a chore.”
She puffed out a breath of air like she didn’t approve. “Francesca had asked for triple the price and you just paid her off without caring about the amount.”
Irresponsibility was clearly a pattern of behavior that needed to end. He admitted, “I don’t remember the specifics.” He’d just wanted the model gone.
She bumped into his side and beamed up at him like she had the secrets of a happy life embedded in her DNA. “It’s because money doesn’t matter to you. You have lots of it. But for the rest of us… money matters a great deal and can often make people do things they wouldn’t want to do.”
He pressed his hand on her hip to stop her as they neared the top of the stone steps. “You never have to worry about money again.”
She laughed like what he said was funny before nodding. “What’s your problem so I can help?”
No. He was more determined now to keep her separate. He leaned forward, kissed her forehead and said, “I’ll figure out what to do and explain soon.”
She didn’t pull away but didn’t wrap her arms around him either. “Whatever you like, Leo.”
He needed to remember this was their honeymoon, and he’d promised to seduce her. He tugged her into a hug as his hands traced her lower back. “What I’d like?”
