Page 30 of The Prodigal Prince

Mac motioned toward the living area. “Have a seat. I had no particular beverage in mind.” He headed for the kitchenette. “I’ll be right back.

A moment later, they were seated in the big chair, looking out the open doors toward the sun as it set into the ocean.

“It’s beautiful. I can see why you’d want to live here.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.

The decision to rest his cheek against the top of her head also wasn’t a conscious one. “That’s not the only reason, though it is beautiful. So are the Ozarks, in a different way. Here, I also have my sister, Gabe, their kids. Other people I’ve known my entire life. I’ve missed it here. Not just since the move to Missouri, but even before that, while at university.”

“Did you ever finish your degree? You disappeared before you finished, didn’t you?” The lack of censure in her voice surprised him.

“I did. I was almost done. I did the rest via email and video chats.” He’d been fortunate in that sense.

“What did you miss most about Islas del Sargasso? Something here in Ancora or something somewhere else?”

Mac turned the question over in his head before answering. “Both. I’ve missed the people the most. Not the adulation that tends to come with my titles, but when I have a chance to get to genuinely know some of them. Maybe at a sporting event or charity dinner. That’s what I’ve missed most. The people.”

Fiona shifted until he could look down into her eyes. “That’s not what I would have expected you to say.”

He reached out with his free hand and brushed a bit of hair back off her face. “It’s the truth.”

Her face was so close to his. All he’d have to do was move a couple of inches, and he could kiss her.

And how he wanted to kiss her.

But he wouldn’t unless it seemed obvious she wanted him to.

Then he realized he didn’t need to worry about it.

She kissed him.

9

For the rest of her life, Fiona wouldn’t know what possessed her to kiss Mac.

For the rest of her life, Fiona knew she wouldn’t regret it.

It had been a very long time since she really kissed someone. She’d almost forgotten what it could be like when there weren’t cameras recording your every move.

It had also been a very long time since she let herself get carried away by a kiss.

Fiona wasn’t going to start now.

Before the thought could fully form in her kiss-addled head, Mac had already started to slow the kiss down until it came to a stop, and he rested his forehead against hers.

Fiona struggled to think clearly. “I don’t know what came over me,” she whispered. “That wasn’t part of my plan.” A wry chuckle escaped before she could stop it. “I didn’t have a plan.”

“I suspected as much.”

Mac wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side. Was that a kiss against her hair?

“I don’t know if I want to move here, Mac. My whole life is in Serenity Landing. My friends, my job, my home. Everything Gray has ever known is there. I don’t know that I want to uproot all of that.” She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. “And I don’t know that I’d want to split time, with school and everything. Kindergarten is coming up.”

“I can understand that. I haven’t thought it all through yet, either. I didn’t think Esme would have anything of this magnitude for me to do. I’m not sure she’ll still want me to once I tell her the truth.”

She felt him suck in a breath.

“My biological father held her at gunpoint. Literally, from what I understand. Not just his men, but him. Will she want me around? I’m not her sibling, not even her half-sibling. Even if she accepts me as her brother, since I’m not related biologically, would she want me to stay involved with the Games?”

“You have to talk to her,” Fiona told him gently. “She deserves to know the truth before this goes any further. I’m sure she can understand why you disappeared, but now that you’re back in her life, if you don’t tell her, she’ll likely feel betrayed.”

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