Leo took her hand off the side and motioned for her to rub up and down the mane while he said, “This is how you pet a horse.”
The horse snorted in pleasure.
Well, if the horse liked her, hopefully Lady wouldn’t buck and throw her off. She laughed. “Today I’ve petted a horse and a dolphin. I think I like being a princess.”
Leo handed her some apple slices and she offered them to the horse, her palm open and flat like he showed her.
Lady’s tongue was wet but the horse ate every morsel.
Leo led her to a sink near the door to wash their hands and offered her soap. “You must be hungry.”
Her stomach grumbled as if he’d given a royal command. She shook her head, and then nodded which she knew made no sense at all. “Yes. I haven’t eaten anything. This morning I just had coffee.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and said, “Come.”
Her heart skipped, but she walked beside him.
If this was a taste of what being his woman was like, she ached to know the rest. She walked into the sunlight and onto another path lined with a flower she didn’t know. The castle was behind them. “Where are we going?”
He gave her an “I planned everything” smile like the time in the office he’d handed her chocolates in a red box for her birthday. “We’re having a picnic.”
Until yesterday she was the one he’d called to handle whatever arrangement he needed taken care of.
This made her sad and her skin grew cold despite the heat of the day. “When did you do that?”
He led her off the path, toward a grassy hill. “I can arrange things on my own, you know.”
Leo stood behind her and put both his hands on her hips to direct her attention toward a shaded spot with a plaid blanket and a picnic basket.
This was like a fairy tale. She motioned with her head for them to go that direction. “I see that here. Who are you discussing these surprises with?”
He didn’t bother moving his hands and stayed behind her. “I’m not giving you clues to my seduction.”
Interesting. This was clearly a new Leo to Anna, or maybe this was the Leo all the models knew. Her heart raced knowing she was in his thoughts and plans. “I see. This is part of it?”
They sat on the blanket and he opened the basket, saying, “Wine, strawberries, various sandwiches and crackers are the ways to your heart.”
Almost. She laughed, pleased. “You forgot the cookies.”
With a twinkle in his eye he reached back into the basket and showed the dessert--cookies.
Someone on the staff knew her taste. Maybe they’d asked her grandmother? Leo teased, “Did I?”
A huge smile grew on her face. Leo was trying to make her happy. “I stand corrected.”
He poured two glasses of wine. “Now, let’s enjoy the afternoon and sunset.”
The rolling green hill overlooked the blue ocean. She sipped the sweet white wine and watched the yachts and sailboats that bobbed in the distance. “This is lovely. I asked this before but you didn’t answer. I hope it’s not a state secret, but when was the last time you came to South Castle?”
His knee gently pressed against hers and she turned toward him as he said, “For my sister’s wedding to a Greek billionaire.”
A wedding here would be private and not like that blur of a spectacle she’d just lived through. With both his sisters married and out of the country, it was just he and his parents in Avce.
According to the newspapers, both his sisters had taken their time and planned weddings to men they must love. Anna refused to ask that, not yet. “It must have been beautiful.”
“Katherine wanted the privacy of the ocean. Aurelia chose the mountain castle for hers. One day one of our sons will bring his future wife here.”
She almost choked on her wine and her eyes widened. “One of our sons? How many do you want?”
