Page 27 of Royal Caleva: Luis

Eve wrapped her arms around her daughter and dropped a kiss on her silky hair before she gave Grace a squeeze and eased away. Despite the nerves, excitement sparkled in her daughter’s light blue eyes.

Reassured, Eve stepped back and swept her gaze around the living room. A small plate of Iowan pickle wraps and another of miniature Iowa ham balls sat on the coffee table. To make the king feel at home, she had raided the only gourmet food store in Ames for a bowl of Spanish olives, a wedge of Manchego cheese, and some crusty sliced bread. Looking at her basic offerings, she wondered if she should have bought more of everything.

She had to stop herself from wiping her damp palms on her dress, because that would definitely spot the silk. Instead, she shifted a throw pillow by an inch and surreptitiously dried her sweaty hands on the cotton fabric.

“This is really crazy, isn’t it?” Grace said, fidgeting with her necklace again.

“It sure is, but we can handle it.” Grace’s anxiety counteracted Eve’s because she had to be strong for her child.

“We can handle anything together.” Her daughter’s voice held a conviction that made Eve want to weep.

She tried to will it to be true.

Grace looked at her watch just as the old wooden wall clock began to chime seven. On the third peal, the doorbell rang.

Eve lifted her eyebrows in a question. Grace took a deep breath and nodded. Together, they walked into the front hall. Eve stepped forward to swing the door open.

The evening sunbeams slanting across the porch painted Luis in a glow of gold, warming the silver in his hair and softening the aristocratic angles of his jaw and cheekbones while it lit up his ice-blue eyes. The same light gilded his navy blazer, blue shirt, and gray trousers along with the huge vase of lavender-colored blossoms he held.

He smiled, and she felt the power of it blaze through her body.

“Eve, it is so lovely of you to welcome me to your home,” he said.

“It’s my pleasure.” That was all she could manage.

He held out the vase. “I brought flowers from Caleva. Our vaho hibiscus are known for their fragrance.”

He had brought them all the way from his country. For his daughter. “They’re beautiful.” Eve accepted the flowers, their exotic scent enveloping her, and stepped back. “Please come in.”

Luis strode through the door, politely stopping only a few feet inside while his gaze swept past her, seeking Grace.

Eve put the flowers on the hall table and moved to stand beside her daughter. “Grace, this is Luis. Your father.”

Luis felt Eve’s last two words vibrate in his soul as he drank in the beautiful young woman who stood before him. My daughter. He wanted to shout with joy. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. He wanted to sweep her away to Caleva to live in his palace so he could know and love her as he did Raul.

He held out his hand. “It is my greatest happiness to meet you at last.”

“I’m glad to meet you too.” Her grip held a strength that surprised him. He covered the top of her small, firm hand with his left, savoring this first tactile connection between them.

He stood still, feeling her gaze as it roamed over his face. Her shoulders were stiff with wariness, but she left her hand in his double clasp, the warmth of her skin radiating against his. The angles of her jaw, cheekbones, and brows were his and Raul’s, but somehow made strikingly feminine. Only the russet of her hair spoke of Odette.

“What should I call you?” she asked with the same Midwestern accent as her mother’s.

“You may call me whatever feels most comfortable to you at this moment,” he said, releasing her hand. “Raul calls me Pater because I insisted that he study Latin.”

A faint smile tugged up the corners of her mouth. “I took Latin because I’m terrible at speaking foreign languages. For now, would Luis be all right?”

“Of course.” A pang of disappointment jarred him, even though he could not expect her to call him Father in any language yet.

“Come in and get comfortable,” Eve said, waving toward an archway that led to a cozy living room. “Would you like red wine, Scotch, or water?”

She had obviously checked with Mikel about what Luis usually drank. “Wine, thank you.”

Eve walked to a console table that held bottles and glasses. For a moment, his attention was distracted by the way her dress touched the curves of her body, promising sensual beauty underneath.

But his focus swung back to his daughter. Once again, they simply looked at each other as they stood among the homey furniture. He read a fierce intelligence in her eyes, as well as pride in the upward tilt of her chin.

He did not need the proof of the DNA test. He felt their bond in his heart.

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