THE day had arrived for Josiah to go home with his new family. And while Pippa was thrilled for the child, she was saddened. Perhaps somehow he’d become a touchstone for Zander once she knew about their special connection. Or maybe it was just that the idea of losing him filled her with sadness since she knew she’d miss him terribly.
Which made her wonder if that was how Zander was feeling about her leaving. Was it possible that she made him feel that joyful? If she were to be honest with herself, she’d have to admit the converse: that Zander had taken up a huge chunk or real estate in her heart. No matter how many hours she toiled by day, by night she was left alone with her thoughts and more often than not they were filled with Zander.
Naturally her thoughts went to their time in the mountains, just the two of them, no outside interference. And the way he made her feel, both inside and out. She hadn’t been with many men in her life, and none of them could arouse such passion in her as that man, and merely thinking about him got her pulse racing and her breath staggered.
But Andi was nothing if not pragmatic. She had boiled her life down to the basics, and the way she lived wasn’t particularly compatible with the way he lived. It’s not as if she could just drop in and out of his life. He had a royal schedule, for goodness’ sake. Andi wasn’t a royal-schedule kinda gal. She liked coming and going at will and following which way the wind blew. Although blowing into Zander was sounding more and more appealing the longer she was away from him.
Josiah came running toward Andi, who had been lost in her own thoughts.
“Miss Andi, I have a present for you,” he said, beaming. He held in his hand a small photograph and a newspaper article, which he slipped into the palm of her hand.
Andi lifted it up to look at it and gasped. “Zander!”
Josiah nodded. “Yes, this is my prince,” he said. “It’s a story in the paper about all the help he’s given to us.”
Andi read the headline out loud. “Prince of Hearts Cares for Our Children.”
The article went on to discuss the millions of Kenyan shillings he’d donated to various organizations just in that country. She was beginning to wonder if this was a vast conspiracy to persuade her to return to him. How else could all these signs keep pointing toward Monaforte?
She handed the article back to Josiah, who shook his head.
“No, Miss Andi, this is for you. I want you to have this so you will know who my prince is,” he said. “Because you are my princess.”
Tears welled in Andi’s eyes. “Oh, sweetie, this is a special treasure of yours. I’m so thankful that you’d want to share it with me, but I want you to hold it close to your heart. And I’ll still be your princess. Deal?”
Josiah nodded and the two shook hands.
“I guess it’s almost time to say good-bye,” Andi said. “Although I know I’ll see you around because you’ll still attend school with us, won’t you?”
He smiled. “I’m going home, but I won’t be far.”
Home. What a marvelous concept that must mean so much more to a small child like him who’d never had a home to return to.
Andi thought about her home: of course she could always go home to Vegas, but it didn’t feel at all like home to her anymore. Sure, she’d visit her mother there. But she was no longer planted. She was scattered to the wind like dandelion fluff. She wondered what it would feel like to plant roots. If she did that, where would she go? The obvious place right now would be Monaforte. There was someone there who felt as much like home as she could imagine. But what if things didn’t work out there? The media would have a field day digging up her past, and God, they’d figure out she’d been fired from her job for taking pictures of Zander naked. They’d probably think she was one of those wallpaper wenches who sought him out. How embarrassing that would be when nothing could be further from the truth.
Just then a lovely couple walked up the stone path to where she stood with Josiah.
“Josiah, are you ready?” the woman said, her warm brown eyes illuminated by her smile.
Introductions were made, and it was time to bid farewell to her little friend. She bent down to be eye level with him and held his face between her hands.
“Josiah, I’m so happy for you. You have two wonderful parents who can take care of you and love you forever and ever,” she said. “You deserve this happiness.”
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. “I love you, Princess Andi.”
Andrea smiled. Oddly enough, it didn’t sound too terrible like that.