The picture had been on the front page of USA Today, with a line about the president enjoying a family outing on his birthday. Who knew the newspaper’s distribution went all the way to Calandria?

“Yes, well, that just sort of happened. The president’s daughter was threatened and she came here to hide out. She and Joe fell in love. When they got married, we all became relatives.”

She shook her head. If Rafael had seen that picture, he’d also seen Danny.

“What have you been doing?” he asked. “I know you left the agency. You would not have had your picture in the paper if you had not.”

“What? Oh, right. No press photos of operatives. I quit as soon as I got back to the States. After you died, after I thought you died, I couldn’t do it anymore. I came home and tried to make peace with everything.”

“Did you?”

No. She’d fallen apart-a new experience for her. She’d grown up confident and ready to rule the world. But something had happened in the short weeks she’d spent pretending to be an American looking for adventure.

“I thought you were the bad guy,” she told him, still furious that she’d been lied to. “I thought I was betraying my country by falling for you.”

He stepped toward her. “Mia, do not distress yourself.”

What was she supposed to do? Be happy? “If I can’t believe who you were, how can I believe who you are?”

“Perhaps you don’t have to. Perhaps we could start at the beginning. Meet now.” He held out his right hand. “Good morning. I am Rafael, Crown Prince of Calandria. And you are?”

She sighed. “Sorry, no. That isn’t going to work. We can’t just start over. There’s too much messy past between us. Too many years.”

“So I should not have come? You are not happy to see me?”

“I’m…” Annoyed, confused, furious, shocked. “I’m not really a morning person.”

“Of course. You want me to leave.”

He turned, as if prepared to walk to his limo and disappear from her life. Only she wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.