Twice Upon a Time (6 page)

‘Owww,’ he muttered. ‘
Porca troia
.’

He felt one of the plants prick his bottom through his pants, and another rip through the fine cotton shirt and slice the skin on his back.

He lay still for a moment, hoping she hadn’t heard him. When he sat up he saw her face peering at him over the cliff edge.

‘Are you all right?’ she asked, her expression somehow both concerned and amused. Her sunglasses were pushed up on the top of her head and the paintbrush was at peculiar angle. She had eyes like a movie star and a jaw like a queen and a smile that made him feel like he was the most special person in the world.

‘I’m Cinda,’ she said in a gorgeously husky, Australian-accented voice. ‘A friend of Ludo’s.’

And Gus realised, with just one look from the girl on the cliff, that he had fallen in something far worse than some prickly plants.

6

Cinda had climbed down the cliff face as soon as she was settled at the villa.

While Jonas was happy to swan about the villa like some sort of designer diva, Cinda made her way towards the view. She scrambled down the cliffs, finding the perfect spot to take it in.

There was no doubt that Ludo’s family was extremely wealthy. Even more so than she had initially thought. But the views were priceless. She’d never seen water so turquoise, cliffs so white or a landscape so rugged. Tufts of grasses and shrubbery lined the cliffs, a contrast to the manicured gardens of the villa.

She was in another world, sitting on her rock and painting, when she heard the swearing in Italian.

That was how she met Ludo’s twin.

They were identical in every way except their hairstyles – Gus’s being shorter than Ludo’s – and the way they made their first impressions.

While Ludo was the mayor of having fun, and full of charm and warmth, his brother was rude from the moment they met, even when he was still bum-down in the cactus.

‘I’m okay,’ he said after she introduced herself and climbed up to help him up.

‘You don’t look it,’ she said, laughing. She offered a hand but he shook his head and stood up, gingerly touching his back.

Cinda looked at the tear on his shirt, the blood seeping through a nasty cut.

‘You’ll need to get that cleaned up.’

‘Thanks for that,’ he snapped.

Cinda didn’t say anything, giving him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t always so horrible. He had just embarrassed himself by falling over, after all.

She stood, her hands clasped in front of her, watching him try and turn to see the cut on his back, but he winced in pain.

‘Can I help?’

‘No,’ he said too quickly. She stepped back. His energy was forceful, almost too powerful. She wouldn’t want to get on this guy’s bad side – assuming he wasn’t all bad.

No, she preferred guys like Ludo. Beautiful dreamers like she was.

Her time with Ludo by the pool on the yacht had been flirtatious but he hadn’t made a move on her. She’d been both intrigued and disappointed by that.

And later that night, he had again been the complete gentleman, walking her to her rooms and kissing her on each cheek before saying goodnight. But he had lingered near her afterward, and she had tilted her head a little, the way Jonas told her to, so she could look overwhelmed and turned on at the same time.

It wasn’t an easy look to perfect. When she had tried it in the mirror before dinner she thought she had looked deranged, even though Jonas insisted it was spot-on.

She watched as Ludo’s brother adjusted his shirt and his dignity and, with a slight nod, he turned and walked away, limping slightly.

She started to laugh then. ‘Wait,’ she cried.

He stopped as she ran towards him. ‘Your bum is covered in prickles,’ she chuckled and, before she really thought about what she was doing, she was picking them out of the back of his pants.

‘What are you doing?’ he spun around to face her, his face scarlet.

‘Taking the prickles out of your arse,’ she said, doing the prissy face that always made Jonas laugh.

‘You do not touch a member of the royal family without permission,’ he hissed at her.

‘Royal family?’ She looked at him in disbelief. ‘Jeez, you’re a bit in love with yourself.’

‘No, I am not. I am the heir to the Sardinian throne and it will serve you to remember that I cannot allow just anyone to remove the thorns from my bottom.’

Cinda tried not to laugh but found she couldn’t help it. ‘So who does it, then?’ she asked.

‘Who does what?’ he demanded, his confused face turning a vibrant shade of puce.

‘Who removes the thorns from your butt? Because it seems like you have a massive one up there right now.’

He turned and walked away with whatever shred of nobility he had left.

Cinda watched him disappear back up the garden to the house, the reality of what he had told her sinking in.

He was a prince. Which meant Ludo was a prince. Which meant she and Jonas were staying with
royalty
. Which meant . . . Cinda’s brain ran on as she climbed down the cliff again, grabbing her things and heading back up, not even pausing to dust the dirt from her shorts.

She almost ran to the villa, where she saw Jonas still sitting by the pool, this time reading Italian
Vogue
.

‘Look at this,’ he said, seeing her approach. ‘I asked if there were any magazines I could read and they came back with French, American and Italian
Vogue
, all new issues.’

‘They’re royalty,’ Cinda whispered, perching on the end of the sunlounge.

‘I know. Some people prefer
Elle
or
Harper’s Bazaar
, but I agree
Vogue
is top of the heap.’

‘Not the magazines, Ludo and his brother,’ she hissed. ‘They’re the
princes
of
Sardinia
,’ said Cinda, poking Jonas in the leg with her fingernail.

‘Oww, what?’

Before Cinda could explain more, Ludo’s brother walked out onto the terrace. He had changed his clothes.

‘Hello,’ she said. How were you supposed to greet a prince? ‘Um, this is Jonas,’ she continued. She realised she didn’t actually know the brother’s name.

‘We’ve met,’ he said, flashing a small smile at Jonas. He turned back to Cinda. ‘My friends call me Gus but you can call me Prince Augustus.’

His point was clear and Cinda turned red. He obviously wasn’t intending to become friends with her and Jonas. In fact, Cinda was getting the impression he was going to do the opposite.

‘Prince Augustus!’ exclaimed Jonas archly, obviously surprised by this revelation. ‘The brother formerly known as Gus. How about we compromise and call you Prince Gus?’

Cinda stifled a smile. Knowing that Jonas’s back was up made her feel better somehow. She wasn’t imagining Gus’s bad attitude.

Ludo came out of the villa and beamed at them all, as though some sort of cold war hadn’t just been declared.

His brother needs a serious dose of whatever Ludo takes
, Cinda thought as she saw Gus glare at his brother.

‘Your brother was just telling us he usually goes by Prince Augustus,’ said Jonas pointedly to Ludo.

‘He’s just Gus,’ laughed Ludo, although Cinda noticed he did have the decency to look a little caught out. ‘Like I am just Ludo. No-one pays any attention to that royal rubbish nowadays.’ Ludo stripped off his shirt and stood on the edge of the pool in his white-and-blue checked swimming shorts.

Cinda felt her eyes drawn to his bare chest. His body was gorgeous. Brown and toned, but not like he spent every day at the gym in front of the mirror.

‘Check it out,’ whistled Jonas under his breath, peering at Ludo over the top of his sunglasses.

Ludo dived in and splashed at Cinda and Jonas. ‘Come on in, the water’s fine!’ he called.

Cinda, hot and sweaty from her time clambering up and down the cliff, stood up and took off her tank top and shorts, revealing her black bathing suit underneath. She tried not to notice all the eyes on her.

‘Look at you, girl,’ said Jonas with a wink, turning back to his magazine as though an afternoon beside a royal pool was nothing remarkable.

Gus stood by the pool, his scowl becoming darker as Cinda strutted past him with extra attitude to compensate for feeling so totally out of her league. She was close to the pool when she felt her foot slide from beneath her on the wet tiles, and she grabbed the nearest thing – Gus.

In the split second before they crashed into the water, she felt his hand on her waist and she grabbed his muscled arm to steady herself.

They rose to the surface, spluttering and gasping for air.

‘What the hell?’ cried Gus as he swam in neat strong strokes to the edge of the pool.

‘Sorry,’ Cinda gasped feebly, also swimming to the side to catch her breath. She couldn’t decide if she was more mortified or angry.
God, the brother is rude
, she thought. So much for Prince Charming – Prince Arsehole was more like it.

Ludo swam to her side. ‘Are you all right?’ Ludo asked, his handsome face concerned and amused.

‘I give you both a ten for flair, but a low three for entry into the water,’ cackled Jonas from the side of the pool.

Gus pulled himself out the water and stepped out of his sodden loafers, staring down at Cinda.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, and she was so surprised by his question, she just looked up at him.

‘Well? Are you all right?’ he asked again, his voice strained.

She nodded.

‘Good,’ he said, and he padded inside, leaving a trail of water behind him.

‘I’m such an idiot,’ groaned Cinda, turning to Ludo. ‘I’m really sorry. I couldn’t have made a worse impression.’

Ludo reached over and touched her face, taking her chin in his hand.

‘Don’t worry about him, he’s just angry because I have friends and he doesn’t. He’s like an old man already; don’t even think about him.’

But Cinda couldn’t think of anything else. She had never been looked at like that before, as though she was worthless, a hassle to be removed.

He judged her before he knew her, and she hated him for that. But then, the moment before they fell into the water, with his hand on her waist, she had seen something else flicker in the eyes of the future king. But she couldn’t for the life of her say what it was.

7

‘Why are you being so rude to my friends?’ demanded Ludo when he went inside a few minutes later to find his brother.

It had been a short dip, since Cinda was clearly distracted and upset by the fall with Gus.

Gus, having changed clothes yet again, sat in the sitting room, looking at his phone. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he said, not looking up.

‘You can be such a snobbish prick sometimes,’ said Ludo.

Gus finally looked at his brother. ‘And you can be a dimwitted idiot. Do you think those people actually like you for being you? They’re here to suck money and good times from you, like most of your other “friends”.’

‘Fuck you,’ said Ludo, striding out of the room. He was shitty with his brother, and if he was honest with himself it was because a small part of him wondered if what Gus had said was true. Why else would he consistently not tell new friends who he was?

He paused outside Cinda’s rooms and then knocked. She opened the door wearing a long dress and huge hoop earrings, her hair in two plaits. She looked like a beautiful peasant girl. He was incredibly turned on and wondered if he should kiss her, but she turned before he could reach her.

‘I was just coming to check that you’re okay,’ he said. ‘Gus can be unpleasant sometimes.’

‘Sometimes?’ she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

‘He didn’t used to be like that, not when we were younger,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Power changes people.’

‘Hmm,’ said Cinda noncommittally.

He watched her as she sat down on the floor and looked up at him. He knew she was different; this time he was sure. If only Gus could see what she was really like.

On the floor surrounding her was a series of charcoal sketches, most of them of nudes. He walked over and looked down at them. ‘These are wonderful,’ he said honestly, picking up a sketch of a male nude and looking at it more closely.

‘They’re okay,’ she said, screwing up her face as she stared down at them. ‘I’m not great at bodies yet but I‘m trying. I always get nervous when I work in front of others, so painting subjects ends up being a problem.’