Christian dropped onto the mattress and reached for her. “We could go for an encore.”
Laughing, Noelle batted his hands away from her breast and thigh before snuggling against his left side and dropping her head onto his chest. His fingers traced soothing patterns on her hip as they lay together in silence.
It was hard to be this close to such a superb example of masculinity and not let herself go exploring. He sighed as she traced his collarbone and worked her way across his pectoral muscles. Glancing at his face, she noted his thick lashes lying against his cheeks. This gave her the chance to survey the right side of his upper body, where the worst of the scars were gathered. Moving with care, she grazed the tips of her fingers over the damaged flesh. Christian flinched.
She jerked her hand away. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” His chest expanded as he sucked in a ragged breath. He stared at the ceiling, gold eyes dull. “The scars are ugly.” His voice rang with self-disgust.
Noelle doubted many people saw this darker side of Christian. In public he exuded capability and confidence that she knew took a great deal of energy to maintain. Only with those he truly trusted could he let down his guard. Noelle had been happy to lend him what strength she could.
“You got them rescuing Talia after Andre lost control of his car,” she reminded him. “They’re your badge of courage.”
“You know what happened?” His muscles tensed. “How? That was never public knowledge.”
“You forget that I spent a great deal of time with Olivia in the days leading up to her wedding. For some reason she wanted to impress upon me what a brave, honorable man you were.” Noelle suspected the princess had known Marc was Christian’s son for some time. She kissed his damaged shoulder and felt a shudder rage through his body. “I don’t understand why you kept the truth about the accident a secret. You were a hero.”
He shook his head. “I blame myself for the crash. If I hadn’t been chasing after Andre’s car, he never would have driven so recklessly and lost control.”
He’d raced into the night after Talia, his ex-lover, abandoning Noelle at a party to do so. Getting ready for the party that night, slipping on the bracelet Christian had given her for her birthday, she’d been giddy with anticipation of their first public appearance as a couple. But after that night, it was a long, long time before she was happy again.
Noelle wasn’t sure why she’d picked the evening of her engagement to dredge up the past. Maybe her subconscious wanted to remind her that Christian held too much power over her happiness. Message received. This was going to be a marriage built on respect and passion. Friendship and sex. No reason she needed to yield her heart and risk being hurt again.
Christian’s long fingers swept into her hair as he brought his lips to hers for a long, searing kiss. Noelle melted beneath his hot mouth and caressing hands. As her blood raced through her veins and pooled in her loins, she smiled. Her body she could give him without reservation.
She would be his wife, his princess and the mother of his children. Noelle hoped it would be enough.
Ten
Noelle sat on her office sofa, her bare feet tucked beneath her, and tapped her pencil against the sketchbook on her lap. The enormous diamond on her left hand felt awkward and strange. She caught herself staring at it a dozen times in the past hour as her mind struggled to assimilate the dramatic changes taking place. She was engaged to a prince. And not just any prince, but the prince of her dreams. It didn’t seem possible.
Of course, it wasn’t a fairy-tale engagement. Last night she’d been the one to suggest that they marry. She had merely formalized what Christian had already proposed, but it wasn’t as if he’d dropped to one knee and pledged his undying love. At least he’d been ready with a ring.
She spun the diamond so it wasn’t visible and turned her attention back to the sketchbook. To no avail. In two hours she and Christian would be breaking the news to his family. She’d already told her mother, but Marc didn’t yet know. He’d woken before dawn with a stomachache and she’d kept him home from school. With him sick it hadn’t seemed the best time to divulge that she and Christian were getting married, despite the fact that he and his father were getting along very well these days.
Her cell phone buzzed, and Noelle abandoned her work with a relieved sigh. The number on the screen caused a spike in her pulse. She sat up straight and slipped her shoes back on.
“Noelle Dubone,” she said in a crisp voice, wondering if it was good or bad news to hear back so soon on a business venture.
“Noelle, it’s Victor. I hope I’m reaching you at a good time.”
“Yes. Fine.” She sounded a trifle breathless and told herself to calm down. “How are you?”
“Good. Good. I’m calling to let you know that I just spoke with Jim Shae, and he is very interested in backing you with a ready-to-wear line of bridal fashions here in the States.”
Victor Chamberlain was a friend of Geoff’s who she’d met in London several years ago. An American businessman whose daughter had been looking for something fresh and unique in a wedding dress, he’d become Noelle’s first big client. Last February during New York Fashion Week, he’d introduced her to several venture capitalists and suggested she should consider expanding into ready-to-wear.
Creating one-of-a kind wedding dresses was vastly different from mass-producing an entire collection, so she’d teamed up with Victor to create a business plan that he’d pitched to investors.
“That’s wonderful news.” With joy dancing across her nerve endings, it took a few seconds for reality to strike.
What was she thinking? She was engaged to a Sherdanian prince and needed to start planning now in order to make a royal wedding happen by Christmas. Keeping up with her current clients would be stressful enough. She didn’t have time to start a new business venture.
“Can you be in New York next week? Jim would like to meet with you and discuss details.”
Next week? Noelle worried her lower lip as she went to check her schedule. “How many days would I need to be there?”
Victor hesitated before answering. “At least three. Besides Jim, I want to set up meetings with buyers from the top bridal shops and media interviews. You should start planning for New York Fashion Week in February. You’ll need a terrific venue. I know someone who can help with that.”
“Three days...” Noelle’s mind worked furiously.
Perhaps she and Christian should postpone the announcement of their engagement until after her New York trip. With a start she realized there was no question in her mind that she intended to embark on this business venture. Was splitting her attention between Sherdana and New York a wise move at the beginning of her marriage? On the other hand, did Christian plan to stop all business travel? Not likely.
“Let me know as soon as possible when you’ll be flying in,” Victor continued.
“I’ll make all my arrangements and be in touch later today.”
First of all, she needed to tell Christian what had just happened. But as she scrolled through her contacts for his number, she faltered. How would he view her decision to jump into a major business venture without talking to him about it first? He should be happy for her. But would he question her priorities? Her commitment to this marriage?
Or was she the one questioning her commitment?
Noelle sank into her office chair and stared out the window overlooking the alley behind her salon. In two hours she would be announcing her intention to marry Christian. She spun the ring on her finger. Once word got out, she’d better be ready to go forward. Not only would a broken engagement create a scandal the country didn’t need, but her actions would confuse Marc and set a bad example for him.
Conflict churned Noelle’s insides. Christian deserved to be a full-time father to Marc, and that would be better accomplished if Noelle honored her engagement and married Christian. Marc benefited. Christian benefited. The country benefited. Three wins. Noelle didn’t have to feel guilty about focusing on her business instead of playing the part of dutiful wife. Christian was getting the heir he wanted.
Despite arriving at a reasonable conclusion, Noelle wasn’t convinced Christian would agree. She keyed his number and heard the call going through.
“Noelle.” He purred in her ear. “I was just thinking about you.”
