“Mom, I’ll see you back at the palace?”
“Of course, dear. Have a good time,” Melinda said, barely glancing in her direction.
Her mom was in heaven, and Olivia vowed to be supportive. She walked beside Quincy as he ambled to a bright red Jeep parked nearby. A few men in dark suits stayed close, and when they got into the Jeep, they jumped into another one behind.
“Your bodyguards?” Olivia asked.
“Unfortunately. Don’t worry, they’re yours now too.” He leaned over to open the glovebox, his hand lingering longer than necessary by her knee. Her breath caught, and she glanced at him. “So no misbehaving, my dear princess.”
“Who would misbehave?” Her words were breathy as he pulled his hand back, brushing her leg before he slipped on his sunglasses and started the car.
Quincy grinned wider as he put it in drive and started down a narrow road into the trees. “It’s been known to happen occasionally. Don’t tell me you don’t like to have fun now and again?”
“Of course I do,” she said, glancing out the open Jeep. Through the trees, she caught glimpses of the ocean and sandy shores, but the view was just a tease. Every winding turn in the road pulled her farther away from it, and she shifted in her seat, trying to see. When they made a left turn, the view disappeared completely. “Damn.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” she muttered and settled back, watching the fauna around her.
The flowers were as large as her head. Violets, pinks, and oranges passed by, close enough for her to reach out and grab one. Maybe she would be able to get her portfolio painted this summer. She’d been on the island for five minutes and was absorbed in the colors around her, like nothing she’d ever seen before. The vast array of shades and hues were new to her, because in Nebraska, everything was wheat and corn, yellow and brown. Dull.
“Have you ever traveled?” he asked. She realized he had no accent. His father did, but not him.
“No… I mean just around the Midwest,” she clarified. “Where’s your accent?”
“Why? Would I be sexier with one?”
Olivia’s mouth fell open for a second until she realized he was joking and laughed with him. “No, just curious.”
“My mother was English, so I was raised a native-speaker. I learned French more as a second language. My accent sort of fell away between the two, I guess. Every now and then it comes out,” he said with a half shrug.
“Like when?”
The Jeep slowed to a stop, idling in the road, waiting for him to choose a left or right turn. Olivia looked both directions before meeting his eyes. He was staring at her.
“Usually when I’m very passionate about something.”
She swallowed hard as he looked away and turned to the right. Olivia was so focused on his face and his words that she hardly noticed when the trees disappeared and the Jeep came to a stop again. The wind blew a bit harder, messing up her hair. He unbuckled and hopped out, nodding to the other direction when she questioned him.
“Look for yourself, princess.”
Olivia turned and gasped. Hands moving on their own, she unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped down from the Jeep, her flats crunching in the stones and sand. They had driven to the top of a cliff that overlooked what must be the entire island. It stretched out before her in beautiful shades of bright cerise and chartreuse, coral and amethyst, and every shade in between. Each house that popped up here and there was colored, standing out from the fauna around it as they led to the heart of the island.
A large stone structure jutted up in the center of the island, but it didn’t look cold. Instead, the stone was sand in color and beautiful as it stood sentient over the city. The building wasn’t terrifyingly large as she’d feared, but it fit the island and blended into the natural beauty as if some giant had built the castle out of sand. She turned a bit and felt her heart leap at the sight. There was the ocean she’d been longing to see, with its white beaches catching each wave. This high up, she could hear them come in one after the other, crashing like thunder in the distance. She could only imagine what it would be like down there, feeling that water wash over her feet and smelling the crisp salt on her skin.
“You like the view?” Olivia jumped. She’d forgotten she was not alone. Quincy stood beside her, hands on his hips. “Have you not seen the ocean before?”
“Not until today. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“Of course. Now then, I’m afraid we must head into the city, but I promise your feet will be in that sand. Come,” he promised and held out his hand. Olivia took it without thinking, and both of them paused. His hand tightened around hers for a breath before he let go and cleared his throat.
They strode back to the Jeep in silence, and Olivia tried to keep her eyes off the man who was going to become her stepbrother.
Chapter 2