“I trust that you will tell me the truth, without regard for my preferences.” There was another long pause, and then he said, “So, you’re saying the girls need better role models.”
Harper pulled back, shaking her head, maintaining her patience in the face of his efforts to simplify her words. “No. The girls have perfectly adequate role models. You, Your Highness. The girls need hugs and kisses. They need affection. They need to talk to you.”
Those hazel eyes flared with fury and impatience. “That’s the whole problem!” he snapped. “They aren’t speaking.”
She leaned forward again, feeling a breakthrough coming. Instead of imitating his tone, she softened her voice. “Although I don’t know the whole story, I think they aren’t talking because you aren’t talking.” She paused for a moment to let that sink in before she continued. “Remember, they are emulating you.”
His head jerked back, as if she’d slapped him. “I speak to them,” he argued forcefully.
She smiled gently again. “Yes. I know that you visit them each day and discuss their school progress with their tutor. But are you talking to them about your feelings or theirs? They are little girls, Your Highness. They don’t understand what happened to their lives all those months ago. One moment, they were excitedly waiting for their parents to return home, probably saving up all of the wonderful things they wanted to tell them, eager for their smiles, attention, and approval. The next moment, their safe little world was devastated by the news that their parents had died.” She sighed. “It doesn’t matter how bad a parent might be, kids look to their parents for approval and understanding of how to make their way in the world. When parents die, children don’t know what to do, how to move forward. They are scared and confused, not sure where their lives will go, where they will sleep, who will take care of them. They need a strong role model to help them understand.”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I don’t speak about my feelings, Doctor Ross.”
Harper stood up and set her untouched glass down on the table. “Then your nieces will continue to flounder, trying to figure out on their own how to deal with the emotions that are roiling inside of them. It will take a long time for them to trust the world, if ever. Because they won’t understand the world anymore. They are pretending that they aren’t sad because you don’t appear to be sad. But deep down inside, those little girls are crying and painfully confused. What’s worse, they can’t trust something they don’t understand.”
“They will grow to be strong leaders,” he snapped, standing as well and glaring down at her.
Harper refused to be intimidated. Sure, she might be attracted to him, but she could ignore that sensation. Right now, with him being such an arrogant jerk, it was easy.
Nodding her head, she pretended to give him the respect his title demanded. “Good night, Your Highness. I’ve given you my advice. Since you disagree with my assessment, I’ll head home in the morning.”
With that, she carefully placed her glass on the table beside the leather chair and quietly left the room. Yes, she’d leave here tomorrow. But her heart would ache for those little girls who would grow up not understanding how to handle their emotions. Any time something happened to them, they would rebel and lash out at the world and it would be tragic. They could easily end up being those girls that show up on the tabloids partying with random men and getting into legal troubles as they struggle to grasp appropriate ways to cope.
It would be hard for them and for the family.
Her heart ached for what they would go through, but since she had only met two…wait, there had been that other giant that had confronted her in the parking lot. Had he been the third brother?
Most likely. So she’d met three of the girls’ uncles. Which begged the question, where was the aunt? Was she mean and horrible? Or was she one of those partying princesses?
Harper hoped that wasn’t the case. She wanted to believe that even the extremely wealthy in this world could learn to love and be loved, to explore their emotions in a healthy way.
But she’d seen it too often. This family was in some pretty major trouble.
Chapter 4
“What in the world?”
Harper stared at the enormous man with the two little girls, one sitting on each leg and with a thick, muscular arm around each of their backs to support their slim bodies.
She was so stunned at the image of Amit holding his nieces that it took his rich, deep voice to break through her surprise.
“I remember one time when your momma tried to climb a tree in Kenya. We were traveling through the country on an official visit with your grandparents at the time. She wanted to pretend to be a giraffe.” He paused as if remembering and Harper’s heart ached with a strange sensation as she watched the powerful man cuddle the girls. “We all thought she was lost,” he explained. “My parents, your grandparents, were organizing a search party and warning your mother’s security team that they were all fired because your momma was lost. A few minutes later, your mother strolls casually into the dining room, covered in scrapes and bruises because she fell out of the tree, completely oblivious to the chaos her disappearance had created. She looked around, casual and curious, and asked why everyone was so angry.”
Harper watched as one of the girls, she wasn’t sure if it was Ellora or Elsa, leaned her head against his broad chest. The small child still didn’t speak, but the tiny show of affection was perfect! It was a breakthrough, although the girls still weren’t speaking.
“Can either of you tell me a story about your mother that you remember?”
Harper noticed that he didn’t ask about their father, which was telling. But still, this was progress.
The girls were silent. Amit didn’t admonish them for not offering a story. Instead, he hugged them more tightly. It was exactly what the girls needed.
“That’s okay,” he said, his rough, husky voice full of the approval that they craved. “You probably don’t remember any stories. So, I’ll tell you the stories I remember. Will that be okay?”
Both girls nodded, which was another massive breakthrough!
Harper turned and slipped silently out of the nursery, not wanting to disturb the tender moment. She’d never felt her heart ache like this when any of her other patients had a breakthrough! She angrily swiped the tears from her cheek as she stomped towards his office. She needed to talk with him, but didn’t want to do it just now. She needed a bit more time to recover, to find her equilibrium again. After that sweet, tender moment with his nieces, and the fact that he had clearly listened to her last night, her opinion had softened.
With a smile, she walked towards his office and waited. When he finally came around the corner, Harper stood up and smiled, folding her hands in front of her.
“Doctor Ross,” he grumbled, his eyes moving up and down over her figure. He didn’t pause as he walked into his office, but nor did he close the door. Harper stood there for a moment, wondering if she should go in or just…leave.
She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and followed Amit into the office.
“Close the door,” he snapped.