The Prince's Safari Temptation, page 16
She just hoped Dante still believed that Sierra might be the path to that happiness for him. After the way she’d reacted to him at the wedding, she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d hopped on his jet and returned to Nocera already. Dante wasn’t the type of man who swallowed his pride at all let alone twice. Was it at all possible he might do so for her?
Only one way to find out.
The words echoed through her head. She couldn’t even be sure if it was her own voice she heard. Or if it was Rula’s.
* * *
His secretary phoned him bright and early the next morning. Dante wasn’t surprised. He’d been expecting the man’s reaction to the email he’d sent last night.
“Am I to understand, Your Highness, that you would like this visit scheduled as early as next week?”
“That’s correct. If the sultan and his daughter are available, please clear my schedule so that I may fly out as soon as they’re ready to receive me.” Dante had no doubt they would indeed be available. The sultan had been trying to get his daughter to meet him for the better part of a year now. Dante figured they were a good start on his fiancée-finding mission. A logical and thought-out approach to what needed to be done. He should have done it months ago, had just been putting off the inevitable.
“That would mean you’re canceling some very important meetings, Your Highness. Are you sure?”
Dante pinched the bridge of his nose. He really needed his agenda to move forward before he had a chance to change his mind. “Yes, I’m certain, Duvall. This takes precedence over everything else.”
“Consider it done.”
Good. That was one check mark off the to-do list. Dante thanked the man then ended the call. Now he had to get ready for a long day of travel. It had been nice seeing Nantu and Kaliha and meeting their daughter and her husband last night. But in all other respects, this trip had been a waste of his precious time.
Not to mention the blow he’d taken to his pride. And his heart.
Served him right for going against everything he believed in and taking a chance.
Dante had just stepped out of the shower and toweled off when the knock sounded on his hotel room door. Throwing on a pair of sports shorts, he ran to answer. Room service was early by an entire hour.
But it wasn’t a hotel employee across the threshold when he flung the door open.
“Sierra?”
She smiled at him shyly. “Good morning, Dante. Hope I’m not intruding.”
What in the world was she doing here? After what she’d said last night and the way she’d hightailed it away from him, she was the last person he’d been expecting to see.
Just when he’d thought he had his future figured out, when he’d finally made the decision to get past this stage in his life and had finally acted on it, here she was at his door. Would he ever understand women? This one in particular vexed him like no other.
“How did you know which hotel I’d be at?”
She ducked her head. “I called your mother.”
He almost laughed at how childlike that sounded. But the situation was too serious for laughter. Even now, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked. Her hair was wet, her cheeks glowing from the exertion of rushing uptown. Her lips were swollen and red, as if she’d been chewing on them in concentration. He knew from their days on safari that she only did that when she was sketching. It took every ounce of will he had not to reach for her and take those plump lips with his own, taste her the way he’d imagined doing for these past few weeks.
Then he took a closer look at her face. Her eyes were red, framed in dark shadow. It looked as if she might have been crying.
The thought that he might have caused those tears sent self-reproach shooting through him like lightning. For that alone, he supposed he would hear her out.
But it had to end there. His heart couldn’t take much more.
* * *
Sierra half expected to have the door shut in her face when Dante opened it. For a horrifying moment, he looked as if he wanted to do just that. Right before he gave her a resigned sigh and crossed his arms over his bare chest.
Why did it have to be bare? Getting through what she planned was going to be difficult enough without the distraction of Dante’s naked upper body in her line of sight. His hair still glistened wet. She must have rushed him from the shower. He hadn’t toweled off completely, and moisture still clung to the muscled skin of his arms and torso. For a second she lost her train of thought. She also forgot the start of the speech she’d rehearsed all the way over here. Maybe she could ask him to go put a shirt on so that her brain could start functioning again.
“You called my mother to find out where I was?”
She could only nod.
“Why? What exactly are you doing here, Sierra?” he asked, not even bothering to invite her in. Sierra swallowed past her trepidation and forced herself to continue. She had to go through with this or she’d wonder for the rest of her life exactly what she’d thrown away so carelessly.
She held up the sketchbook she’d carried all the way up here from her apartment. “I wanted to get your opinion on something. If you have a minute.”
Dante hesitated, his eyes skeptical as they glanced at the book in her hand then back to her face. He repeated the cycle twice more before he spoke. “I suppose I have a few minutes. Come in.” He might have uttered the invitation, but Dante made no effort to move to let her inside.
Sierra stepped past him and into the room, brushing against his naked skin. Electricity shot through her core at the contact.
So not the time.
The man was not going to make things easy for her. Not that she could really blame him.
The room was dark, the blinds and curtains still drawn. His laptop screen lit up a small square in the corner. Paperwork was strewn about the floor. She knew Dante to be much tidier than the appearance of this room indicated. But what really alarmed her was the smattering of broken glass and mirror in front of the fireplace mantel.
“Did you have some kind of accident?”
“Something like that,” Dante answered. “I tried to clean it up...” He trailed off. It was then that Sierra noticed the bandage on his hand.
He didn’t give her a chance to ask about it. “Let’s get this started then, shall we. I have a jet to catch.”
Right. He was a busy man. And she was about to turn his life upside down. Hopefully.
“Sure thing.” She walked over to the mahogany table in the center of the room and laid her sketchbook flat. A professional one this time, large with high quality drafting paper. Much different from the mini pocket-size ones she’d been sketching on back in Africa. This particular drawing deserved no less. She opened it up to the middle page.
Dante moved next to her to take a look. He stared at it blankly.
“What do you think?” she asked after several moments of silence.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he released a long sigh. Sierra knew she was testing his patience. But this was the only way she could think of to say what she had to say without chickening out.
“I think it’s a wedding dress,” Dante finally answered after several more awkward beats. “For a bride.”
She nodded. “That’s right, it is.”
“And?”
“Do you like it?”
He shrugged noncommittally. “It looks like a dress. With a long skirt. And a veil. Definitely a wedding dress.”
She had to chuckle at that. “We’ve established that.”
He turned away from the table to face her. “Why are you showing it to me? I’m not exactly an expert on women’s fashion. Let alone wedding dresses. Or any dresses for that matter.”
She swallowed. This was so much harder than she’d even imagined it would be. “Well, the truth is, neither am I.”
He gave a brisk shake of his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand. You design clothes for a living.”
“Yes, but wedding attire is an entirely different industry. I design for the runway, or for magazine shoots.”
“Yet you drew this.” He pointed to the open book.
“I did, yes.”
He gave an exasperated shrug. “Do you want me to say I’m impressed. Yes, you’re very talented. You didn’t have to come all the way up here to hear me say that. I’ve said it several times over before now.”
Sierra pulled out the nearest chair and sat down before her knees gave out.
“The thing is, I was hoping to wear something like this myself. But only if you like it. I think it might look pretty flattering. It’s exactly the kind of dress I’d hope to wear on my wedding day.”
His brow furrowed and he stared at her for so long that Sierra figured he really wasn’t getting what she was trying to say. Then she watched as a glimmer of understanding flashed over his face.
His jaw dropped and he rubbed an open palm down his face.
“Sierra, just to be clear, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
She nodded, determined to take the chance she’d come here to take, no matter the consequences. “I’m saying that I love you. That I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember knowing you. And I wish I’d admitted it sooner.” To herself and to him.
Dante squeezed his eyes shut, remained silent for so long that Sierra felt a trickle of apprehension run along her spine. Had she made a colossal mistake?
No. No mistake. Whatever Dante’s reaction to her declaration, she’d had to get out in the open her true feelings for this man. It was beyond time.
Finally, when he opened his eyes to look at her again, she knew she’d had nothing to be apprehensive about. A wealth of emotion darkened their depths, his features awash with tenderness. No man had ever looked at her that way. No one had. What a fool she’d been not to have seen it earlier—this man loved her! She should have seen it in his eyes, in the way he’d held her, in every word he’d spoken to her throughout the years. He proclaimed it out loud with his next words. “You have to know that I love you too. I always have, Sisi.”
A torrent of affection flooded her system at his words. She’d only just sat down, but her jubilation had her jumping right back up again. “I guess women don’t typically drop to one knee, but I will if you want.” To his clear astonishment, she began to lower herself before Dante grabbed her by the wrist to lift her back up.
“Sierra, what are you doing?”
She grinned at him. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m proposing.”
Her breath caught in her throat at the expression that fell over his face at her words.
“Dante Angilera, please do me the honor of making me your wife. I’m going to need some help with the whole future queen thing, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes—”
Her words were interrupted when Dante cut her off by taking her upper arms and yanking her to him. Then his lips were on hers in a deep, crushing kiss. Sierra’s arms flew around his neck, his damp skin wetting the front of her shirt. He cupped her behind, lifted her up onto the table in front of them and continued to kiss her some more.
When he finally let her go, Sierra didn’t think she’d ever be able to catch her breath. It caught once more at the look on Dante’s face. An ocean of emotion swam behind his eyes. “The wife part was all I needed to hear. And you would look amazing in any dress. Even a knee-length canvas tunic.” Pulling her against him again, he delved into her mouth once more for a deep, mind-blowing kiss that melted her heart and her soul. When they finally parted, Sierra wasn’t entirely sure she was back on earth and not on some heavenly plane where all her fantasies had just come true.
It took several long moments before she could speak again. “I take it that’s a yes.”
Dante didn’t need any words when he answered her.
EPILOGUE
GALEN ADDED ANOTHER layer of color to Sierra’s lower lip, then pulled back. The smile she flashed in the mirror above her head was one of sheer joy. Sierra felt pretty joyful herself. She was living a true fairy tale. About to marry a crown prince. Her prince. More importantly, she was about to marry the man she’d always been in love with.
Next to them, Tracey clasped her hands against her chest, a lace veil draped over her forearm. The moment brought forth a wave of déjà vu. The last time Sierra was in this chair with these two women seemed a lifetime ago.
And now her new life was about to start.
She would do her best to not take a single moment of it for granted. Closing her eyes, she gave a silent nod to Rula. Her deceased friend had played a major role in the path that had led Sierra to this joyous moment. Not only through her journal of letters but also during her years of friendship.
“You look beautiful, Sierra,” Galen said, giving her shoulder a squeeze and pulling her out of her contemplations.
“Absolutely lovely,” Tracey agreed.
“I think it’s obligatory to say that to the bride,” Sierra said. “Plus a lot of it is your handiwork.”
Galen waved her hand dismissively. “Nonsense. We’re saying it because it’s true. But I will take the compliment about my skills.”
“As well you should,” Sierra told her, gently standing up to avoid wrinkling the body of her bridal gown.
“Now, let’s get this skirt and the veil on you,” Tracey said, stepping forward with the items in question. “It’s almost time.”
Sierra didn’t need the reminder; the butterflies in her stomach were doing that well enough. She was only slightly more nervous than the last time she’d been prepped by these ladies. She would never have guessed that morning of the news conference that the trip to Valhali would lead her here, about to finally tie herself to the only man she’d ever loved.
She couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with him.
Tracey helped her slip the skirt and train of the gown on her then gently placed the tiara and veil combination atop her head. Galen made a few adjustments to her hair.
“You’re ready,” both women declared in unison.
Sierra took a fortifying breath then followed them to the door, around the porch to the back of the Melekhanna lodge where her father waited to walk her down the aisle. Her mother was in the front row of the audience chairs in front of the dais, probably on her third package of tissues. Both her parents had been beyond surprised at the announcement that she’d be marrying Dante. As was most of the world.
“The Ever Grieving Prince finally discovers new love!” read one headline.
The others were rather similar.
Little did anyone know their love wasn’t new by any means. They’d just needed to find what was right there under their noses.
Sierra’s father beamed at her when she made it to his side. He gave her a small peck on the cheek then led her down the steps, and onto the wooden pathway leading to the dais. Audible gasps sounded from the guests in attendance, which included a large number of fellow Nocerians, including Dante’s mother and his father, who’d finally been given the medical clearance to resume travel, as well as so many dear friends she and Dante had made here in Valhali—Banti and his family, Nantu and Kaliha...even Tiejo had taken leave from his veterinary duties to be here. And no small amount of international press and photographers were hovering on the outer perimeter.
But Sierra hardly registered any of it. Her gaze was focused on the man standing waiting for her on the dais. Dante looked so handsome she thought she might forget to breathe. In his ceremonial royal dress, he looked every inch a regal leader who would be crowned king one day. More importantly, as far as Sierra was concerned, he would soon be her husband.
* * *
Dante couldn’t believe his good fortune as he watched Sierra walking toward him. His soon to be wife. He’d be hard-pressed to find the words to describe her. A vision. It was the only description that came to mind. So much time wasted. He should have admitted years ago that she was always the only woman for him.
But the only thing he wanted to focus on right now was the joy of this day. Even nature seemed to be helping them to celebrate. The setting sun cast a burst of color in the sky above them. The hum of the cicadas seemed to rise and fall in tempo, almost as if performing a tune in their honor. Or maybe he was simply being fanciful because he was simply so happy.
There was no other location better for their wedding day. Valhali was where they’d both found the courage to finally acknowledge their true feelings and stop resisting the mutual pull of their love.
As a bonus, the publicity would serve as a further boost for NEWEF. Maman was very pleased about that. Not to mention the romantic setting with such stunning views as a backdrop.
Once they’d said their vows and bowed to the applause from the audience, Dante led her to the head table to await the festivities.
The dancers from their first night here appeared and began a ceremonial matrimony dance in their honor. Dante took advantage of the diverted attention to focus on his beautiful bride. Splaying his hand on her lower back, he turned her toward him and pulled her closer. Her response was immediate. She lifted her chin and met his lips for a soul-shattering kiss that had his insides turning to lava. When he finally managed to begrudgingly pull away, he didn’t think he could bear the loss.
Sierra gave him a knowing look, the desire in her eyes matching his own.
Pretty soon, several of their guests had joined the dancers on the floor. Just as he and Sierra had on that night many months ago.
“I’m so grateful that so many friends and loved ones are able to be here to celebrate with us,” Sierra said.
Dante nodded. “Me too. Father seems to be back to his old energetic ways. One of his doctors speculated that our wedding gave him a positive boost toward recovery.”
