Free The Future King’s Love-Child by Melanie Milburne Page B

diamond,’ Stefanos went on. ‘There is a private investigating team working on it, as well as Prince Alex, but so far nothing has come to light.’
    Sebastian felt his jaw tighten all over again. He had lain awake half the night, wondering if the diamond would ever be found in time. No matter how discreet the private investigators would be he was under no illusions as to how long it would be before someone suspected something was amissand rumours began to circulate. They had perhaps already begun to do so. Sebastian wanted the start of his rulership of Aristo to be as smooth as possible. He wanted to build the confidence of his people, to show them he was nothing like his autocratic father, but would listen to the various concerns brought to him from the community and act on them promptly and appropriately. He had a vision for Aristo, a vision he had nurtured from when he had first started to realise his destiny. He had been born to rule this island and he would do so with strong but considerate leadership, but unless the Stefani diamond was found, his coronation could not go ahead.
    ‘Keep them on to it,’ he instructed his aide. ‘And make sure they keep their heads down while they are at it.’
    ‘Certainly, Your Highness,’ Stefanos said, and after a pause added, ‘I have just been talking to Demetrius about the orphanage party. The director of the orphanage was delighted with the invitation as you are the first patron to have made such a magnanimous gesture.’
    Sebastian waved away the compliment. ‘They are children, Stefanos,’ he said. ‘Little defenceless children with no one to look out for them. It is the very least I can do.’
    ‘Yes, indeed, Your Highness,’ Stefanos agreed.‘So is the dinner with Cassandra Kyriakis going ahead for Thursday night? I will have to let the chef know.’
    ‘It is going ahead,’ Sebastian said, leaning back in his chair. ‘I want to take her to Kionia for a picnic.’
    Stefanos lifted his brows for a nanosecond. ‘I will see to it immediately,’ he said, and left.
       
    Cassie was hovering near the window when the long, black, sleek car pulled up in front of the flat on Thursday evening. She scooped up her purse and light wrap and made her way outside even before the driver could get to the front door to ring the doorbell.
    The uniformed driver opened the passenger door for her with a blank expression, and she slipped inside, coming face to face with Sebastian, who was sitting on the plush leather seat opposite hers.
    ‘I can see you are in a hurry for our date, agape mou ,’ he observed with a benign smile. ‘How flattering.’
    Cassie rolled her eyes in disdain and shifted her knees so they weren’t brushing against his. ‘That’s not the case at all,’ she said with chilly hauteur. ‘I didn’t want to draw attention to myself or to you. Can you imagine what the neighbours would make of me going off in a limousine?’
    ‘I take your point,’ he said, still smiling. ‘Wouldyou like a drink? I would offer you champagne but you would not drink it, ne? But there is fresh orange juice or mineral water.’
    ‘Orange juice would be lovely… Thank you.’
    Once he had poured her a chilled glass of juice and handed it to her, Cassie settled back in her seat and tried to relax her shoulders. She took a covert look at him over the rim of her frosted glass as she took a small sip of her drink. He was wearing taupe-coloured trousers and a white open-neck shirt, the sleeves rolled up to almost his elbows giving him a handsome-without-really-trying look that was nothing short of heart-stopping. She felt her breath come to a skidding halt in her chest just looking at him. He was cleanly shaven, his curly black hair springy and damp from his recent shower. The citrus-based fragrance of his aftershave drifted towards her and she couldn’t stop the flare of her nostrils to take more of the alluring scent in. How could a man so casually dressed be so