groaned, half laughed. “If you’re only sleeping alone because I told you to, you’re missing the point.”
“Spoken like a woman. Not only does a guy have to do it your way, he has to like doing it your way.”
“So you’re feeling deprived, are you?”
“Only of your company.”
She groaned again. “You are good. Too, too good.”
“Exactly what I keep trying to tell you.”
* * *
Tuesday, her mother invited her to lunch at the palace in the sovereign’s apartment, just the two of them. Alice wondered what she’d done now. But it was lovely anyway to get a little one-on-one time with her mother in the elegant sitting room where Alice and her siblings used to play when they were children.
They chatted about Alice’s plans for the stables and her breeding-and-training program, about how happy Rhia and Marcus were. They laughed over how big Alice’s nieces and nephews were getting. Her mother had six grandchildren now, seven once Rhia’s baby was born. It was hard to believe that Adrienne Bravo-Calabretti was a grandmother so many times over. She remained slim and ageless, her olive skin seeming to glow from within.
“We missed you at Sunday breakfast,” Adrienne said a little too casually when they were sharing a dessert of white-chocolate raspberry-truffle cheesecake.
“I had that thing in Cannes Saturday night.” And then there’d been that long, lovely chat with Noah. It had been after three when they’d said good-night. “I didn’t make it to the stables for my early ride, either. I was...feeling lazy, I guess.”
“Dami got me alone and asked for a word with me,” her mother said softly. “He’s worried about you.”
Alice lost her appetite. She set her half-finished cake down on the coffee table. “I’m going to make a real effort not to roll my eyes right now.”
Her mother’s smile was patient. “Dami loves you. As do I.” Alice kept her mouth shut. She couldn’t help hoping that this wasn’t about Noah after all. Her mother went on, “Your brother is concerned about your relationship with a friend of his.”
So much for her hopes. “Oh, really?” Seriously annoyed and unwilling to make a lot of effort to hide it, she laid on the sarcasm. “Which friend is that?”
“The man from California who bought your stallion Orion. Noah Cordell?”
Alice wanted to grab the small cloisonné vase on the coffee table beside their lunch tray and hurl it at the damask-covered wall. “This isn’t like you, Mother.”
Adrienne had the grace to look chagrined. “You’re right. Your father and I have always tried to stay out of the way, to let our children lead their own lives. But your brother was insistent that I speak with you.”
“And since Glasgow, you don’t trust me.”
Adrienne set down her dessert fork. “That’s not so.”
“I hope not.”
“Please, darling. Don’t be upset with me.”
Alice let out a low sound of real frustration. “I’m not upset with you. Not really. But I think I want to strangle Dami. All of a sudden he’s worried for my...what? My virtue? It’s laughable—besides being more than a little too late.”
“Forgive him. He loves you. And I think he’s finally growing up. He’s changing, starting to think about his life and his future in a serious way, yet not quite sure how to go about making a change.”
“Great. Fabulous. Good for him. But what does that have to do with me?”
“He doesn’t want you getting hurt by a man who’s just like he used to be, a man you met through him.”
“He told me he would mind his own business. Instead, he came crying to you. And he has no right to bad-mouth Noah. Noah’s never done anything Dami hasn’t done. Plus, he and Noah are supposed to be friends.”
Her mother raised a hand. “It was nothing that bad, I promise you, only that Noah Cordell is a heartbreaker. Dami just doesn’t want you to get hurt.”
Alice really did want to break something. “I might have to kill him.
“Spoken like a woman. Not only does a guy have to do it your way, he has to like doing it your way.”
“So you’re feeling deprived, are you?”
“Only of your company.”
She groaned again. “You are good. Too, too good.”
“Exactly what I keep trying to tell you.”
* * *
Tuesday, her mother invited her to lunch at the palace in the sovereign’s apartment, just the two of them. Alice wondered what she’d done now. But it was lovely anyway to get a little one-on-one time with her mother in the elegant sitting room where Alice and her siblings used to play when they were children.
They chatted about Alice’s plans for the stables and her breeding-and-training program, about how happy Rhia and Marcus were. They laughed over how big Alice’s nieces and nephews were getting. Her mother had six grandchildren now, seven once Rhia’s baby was born. It was hard to believe that Adrienne Bravo-Calabretti was a grandmother so many times over. She remained slim and ageless, her olive skin seeming to glow from within.
“We missed you at Sunday breakfast,” Adrienne said a little too casually when they were sharing a dessert of white-chocolate raspberry-truffle cheesecake.
“I had that thing in Cannes Saturday night.” And then there’d been that long, lovely chat with Noah. It had been after three when they’d said good-night. “I didn’t make it to the stables for my early ride, either. I was...feeling lazy, I guess.”
“Dami got me alone and asked for a word with me,” her mother said softly. “He’s worried about you.”
Alice lost her appetite. She set her half-finished cake down on the coffee table. “I’m going to make a real effort not to roll my eyes right now.”
Her mother’s smile was patient. “Dami loves you. As do I.” Alice kept her mouth shut. She couldn’t help hoping that this wasn’t about Noah after all. Her mother went on, “Your brother is concerned about your relationship with a friend of his.”
So much for her hopes. “Oh, really?” Seriously annoyed and unwilling to make a lot of effort to hide it, she laid on the sarcasm. “Which friend is that?”
“The man from California who bought your stallion Orion. Noah Cordell?”
Alice wanted to grab the small cloisonné vase on the coffee table beside their lunch tray and hurl it at the damask-covered wall. “This isn’t like you, Mother.”
Adrienne had the grace to look chagrined. “You’re right. Your father and I have always tried to stay out of the way, to let our children lead their own lives. But your brother was insistent that I speak with you.”
“And since Glasgow, you don’t trust me.”
Adrienne set down her dessert fork. “That’s not so.”
“I hope not.”
“Please, darling. Don’t be upset with me.”
Alice let out a low sound of real frustration. “I’m not upset with you. Not really. But I think I want to strangle Dami. All of a sudden he’s worried for my...what? My virtue? It’s laughable—besides being more than a little too late.”
“Forgive him. He loves you. And I think he’s finally growing up. He’s changing, starting to think about his life and his future in a serious way, yet not quite sure how to go about making a change.”
“Great. Fabulous. Good for him. But what does that have to do with me?”
“He doesn’t want you getting hurt by a man who’s just like he used to be, a man you met through him.”
“He told me he would mind his own business. Instead, he came crying to you. And he has no right to bad-mouth Noah. Noah’s never done anything Dami hasn’t done. Plus, he and Noah are supposed to be friends.”
Her mother raised a hand. “It was nothing that bad, I promise you, only that Noah Cordell is a heartbreaker. Dami just doesn’t want you to get hurt.”
Alice really did want to break something. “I might have to kill him.
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