Page 48 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“I can’t speak from personal experience because I’ve never tried it,” Luis admitted. “Although I find it hard to believe that anyone would pay those exorbitant prices unless the formula had a significant effect.”

“If they pay a lot for something, people can fool themselves into believing they look younger. It’s the placebo effect,” Eve said.

Luis made a mental note to have a jar of the expensive cream delivered to Eve the next day.

“We also saw the Calevan dragon research facility,” Grace said. “Those lizards are spectacular. Josh, the reptile guy, was in heaven.”

“Now you have the luck of the dragon for the day,” Luis said.

“I do?” Grace said.

“Encountering a Calevan dragon is supposed to bring you luck,” he explained.

“I’m not sure it counts if you see them in captivity,” Eve said. “Have you run into them in the wild?”

“When I was younger and used to go horseback riding in the mountains. The dragons would sun themselves on the boulders at higher altitudes and flare out their frills if you got too close. It was quite a sight.” Nostalgia swept through Luis at the memories. “Perhaps we could organize a trip into the mountains. Do you ride?”

Grace snorted. “We’re from Iowa. Of course we ride.”

He caught the warning glance Eve cast Grace, but he liked that his daughter spoke to him without constraint. “I haven’t ridden into the mountains in far too long.”

Now he saw sympathy softening Eve’s face. The demands of her life probably kept her from riding much herself.

Another mental note got added to his list.

“What about you?” Grace asked Luis. “What did you do today?”

“Me?” He had not been asked that question in a long time. His family and his staff already knew what he did, since they often were involved. “I attended several meetings, read far too many reports and emails, and videoconferenced with several heads of state. In fact, the highlight of my day was greeting a delegation of brilliant veterinary experts from the United States.”

Grace gave a gurgle of laughter while Eve raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“We may be brilliant, but we’re not quite experts,” Grace said with a grin.

A sense of contentment washed over Luis. To sit like this, being teased by his daughter, was pure bliss. He regretted only that Raul was not part of the family gathering.

He had included Eve in his image of “family.” He tensed and then relaxed again. She was the mother of his daughter. Of course he would bring her into his inner circle.

He let his gaze roam over Eve as she sat in her usual wing chair. She had kicked off her shoes and curled her legs onto the seat of the chair, where he could see that her toenails were painted a vivid red. The sight sent a pleasant sizzle of arousal through him as he pictured her entire body bared above the sexy splash of color.

He watched her hands cup the wineglass as she brought it to her lips, no polish on the short nails. The light stain of wine on her lips and the way her hands cradled the glass sent his imagination into hyperdrive. When his attention drifted down to the swell of her breasts under the smooth green silk, he forced himself to look away.

What was it about this woman that shook his usual iron self-control? Perhaps she had gotten past his defenses because of her relationship with his daughter. Maybe it was because she treated him more as a man than as a king because she wanted Grace to see him that way. That spilled over into their interactions, and he liked it.

Grace cleared her throat. “I need to talk with you about something that you might not like.” She met his gaze with her clear ice-blue eyes. “I want to meet Odette Fontaine.”

With those words, she ripped away all his pleasure in the evening.

Eve saw the flash of anguish in Luis’s eyes and knew it for the pain a parent felt when they couldn’t protect their child from grim reality.

Luis finished his Scotch in one swallow before setting it on the coffee table. “I would like to persuade you to change your mind,” he said. “She is not sane, and she will say anything to cause damage to me. That includes hurting you.”

Grace squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I feel like a puzzle with a piece missing. Now that I know where the piece is, I have to see it, to fit it into my idea of who I am.”

“The piece is warped,” Luis said with an edge in his voice. “It is not truly a part of who you are.”

“Maybe,” Grace said, “but I have the chance to face my birth mother, and I need to take it.”

Luis sighed before he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Of course, hija mía, but it is a delicate matter to arrange, and the timing is crucial.” He sat forward to hold Grace’s gaze. “The reason I know you exist is because Odette threatened to release your story to the media if I didn’t…bend to her wishes. If she discovers that you are here in Caleva with me, and that my paternity has been confirmed, she could still release the story before we are ready.”

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