Royals Untamed!. Annie West

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СКАЧАТЬ some air circulate around her, and pulled her red hat from her hair.

      ‘There—that’s much better.’

      ‘It certainly is.’

      He was smiling appreciatively at her and for a second she was unnerved. But, no. There was nothing predatory about her rescuer. He had kind eyes, even if the man exuded sex appeal from twenty paces. If her up-close-and-personal alarm was going off it wasn’t because she was scared—it was because it had been jolted back into life. About time too.

      He nodded slowly. ‘Crowds can be...difficult.’

      It was an odd choice of words, but then again her hesitant French would sound much poorer than his English.

      ‘And you’d know?’ She was curious.

      His face crinkled. It seemed her half-inquisitive, half-sarcastic question was lost on him.

      She held out her hand towards him. ‘Ruby. Ruby Wetherspoon from England.’

      His warm hand closed around hers. ‘Alex,’ he said simply.

      Her eyes glanced up and down his body. White T-shirt, blue jeans and black boots. But the dark wool coat seemed a little strange for a young guy—a little formal.

      ‘Are you from here?’

      The corners of his lips turned upwards. ‘Close enough.’

      Mystery. She liked it. Perfect for New Year’s Eve.

      Under normal circumstances she might have felt a little nervous, a little wary around a mysterious stranger. But Alex didn’t give her those kind of vibes.

      Trust your instincts. That was what her gran had always told her. And she should have. Because if she had she probably wouldn’t have found her boyfriend in bed with her ex-best friend. Truth was, she couldn’t wait to see the end of this stinker of a year.

      She glanced around. For the moment they were the only two people perched on this precarious wall. ‘Well, Alex from “close enough”, where are your friends? Am I about to get trampled and thrown back to the crowd when they all want a place on this wall?’

      She sent a silent prayer upwards. What was the betting they were all gorgeous and female?

      He shrugged. ‘I lost them too. I climbed up here to look for them. Then I decided I liked the view.’

      She turned to face where he was looking. Of course. A perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. For now it had a row of white lights running up the outside of its edges. The sun had set a few hours ago and it stood out like a beacon in the dark sky.

      She’d been so busy fighting her way through the crowd that she hadn’t really had time to stop and take in the sight.

      ‘Wow. I just remembered why I came here,’ she breathed.

      A few people shouldered past beneath them, knocking into her feet, and she wobbled again. His arm rested around her waist to steady her, and he didn’t move it once she’d regained her balance.

      ‘So, why is an English girl in Paris for New Year’s Eve?’

      Why, indeed? She was still asking herself that question. And Mr Gorgeous Mysterious Stranger didn’t really need the whole truth. Maybe just a tiny part.

      ‘Visiting a boyfriend?’ he added.

      It was a loaded question. Was he really testing to see if she was taken?

      She sucked in a deep breath and tried not to let the idiot smile that was whooping and dancing around in her brain actually appear. ‘My flatmate Polly persuaded me it was time to try something new. We usually spend every New Year’s in London. We did try a Scottish lodge once, but that was a disaster. Snowed in with no power and no booze.’

      He was laughing at her now.

      She held out her hands. ‘What girl would say no to Paris on New Year’s? This place is just amazing...’ Her voice tailed off. ‘And, to be honest, I’m not sorry to see this year go.’

      ‘You’ve had a bad year?’

      ‘Somewhere between a wrecking ball and a demolition derby.’

      She could almost see his brain trying to make sense of her words.

      ‘Ahh. You sound sad. But surely not everything about this year can have been bad?’

      Perfect. Her own Pollyanna.

      He was right. Of course he was right. She’d just needed someone to remind her.

      She gave a little nod. ‘Of course not. There have been a few good things. I qualified this year.’

      ‘As what?’

      ‘A speech and language therapist.’

      ‘Well, that sounds great. Congratulations.’

      She nodded. ‘Yeah. Yes, it is.’

      Three years doing a course she’d absolutely loved. Her placements had been fabulous, letting her practice all her skills and making her realise exactly what she wanted to do.

      ‘So why aren’t you jumping for joy? You’ll get to do the job that you want. Some people would give anything for that.’

      His voice sounded a little wistful.

      Wow. She must sound an ungrateful misery-guts. But there was something easy about talking to a perfect stranger. Someone who didn’t know all the people or personalities involved. Someone completely independent.

      ‘I should be. I know. It’s just that I really, really wanted to work in one area. I did two training stints there, but by the time I’d qualified there was only one job and they gave it to someone with more experience.’ She shrugged. It still stung. She’d had her heart set on working there.

      ‘Where was it?’

      ‘In London. A specialist speech and language unit attached to the biggest children’s hospital. I loved it there. The staff were really special and the kids...they just made my heart melt.’

      ‘What kind of things did you do there?’

      He seemed genuinely interested.

      ‘I worked with children with specific language impairment and language disorders. Those kids made progress every day.’ She held up her finger and thumb. ‘Even if it was just in the tiniest way.’ She smiled again, caught up in the memories. ‘I even worked with children with hearing problems. Seeing the look on their faces when they got a cochlear implant and heard for the first time...’ She shook her head. ‘It was magical. It was exactly what I wanted to do.’ She lifted her eyes to meet his. ‘These things stay with you for ever.’

      He was looking at her with such intensity, such sincerity, that it took her breath away. Here, in a city with over two million people, he was looking only at her.

      She couldn’t imagine how СКАЧАТЬ