“I’d like that.”
Once Felecia left, Alex stood up and smiled down at me. “I hear you have portraits tomorrow afternoon.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Aren’t those normally done in the morning?” Cathy asked.
“I asked them to move it to a later time.” Chadwick chuckled under his breath and I shook my head. “Okay. I begged them to move it to later. I’m not a morning person and didn’t think it would be appropriate for me to be glaring at the camera in each picture.”
“Not a morning person?” Alex asked.
“I can get up and do what I need to do, I just don’t want to talk to anyone while I do it.” I shrugged. “Just takes me a little while to warm up.”
“And a lot of coffee,” Cathy added. “Or so I’ve heard.”
“It’s not a very well-kept secret.” I sighed.
“Speaking of the portraits, you still need to decide if we’re doing them inside or out.” Chadwick raised an eyebrow. “I believe it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.”
“Lilaria has the strangest weather.” I frowned. “I guess we’ll do them inside.”
“What are you wearing?” Cathy asked.
“I’m going with the black dress from the other night.” I caught Alex’s eye. I didn’t want to admit that I had chosen that one because he had said he liked it.
“That dress looks great on you. Have you had any jewelry delivered? It’s customary to wear family jewels.” Cathy watched me thoughtfully.
“The Rousseau family had three tiaras in the royal vault and Samantha prefers to wear her mother’s earrings,” Chadwick supplied. We hadn’t talked about the tiaras, but I had said I wanted to wear Mom’s earrings.
“Would you like to borrow a necklace? I have a few that would look great with that dress.” Cathy pulled a phone out of her pocket and tapped on the screen. “I can have Selene bring them to your room.”
“No, it’s fine. Thank you.” I hadn’t thought about wearing a necklace, but Cathy’s taste and mine differed greatly. I’d rather have something simple and she was all about jewels.
“The offer stands if you change your mind.” Cathy leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “I’ve got to run. I’m signing up for my first semester today.” She practically vibrated eagerness. Sometimes it was easy to forget how young she was. After a quick kiss for her brother, she left in swirl of excitement.
“How are you doing?” Alex asked. He stepped closer, ignoring Chadwick. “You’ve been really busy for just getting here.”
“I’m fine.” I sighed. “Okay. I’m a little overwhelmed, but Chadwick’s keeping me sane.”
My assistant hummed to himself before looking up. “I’m going to run a quick errand—I’ll be right back and then we’ve got to move on to our appointment.”
“Sure.” I frowned as I watched him disappear out the door. He was leaving me alone when we had something to do?
“Samantha?” Alex’s voice drew me back to him. “He’s giving us a few minutes to talk.”
“Oh.” I looked up into his eyes and words left me. Again.
“You say the most profound things.” Alex laughed softly.
“Shut it, Your Highness.” I narrowed my eyes.
“And then when you do find something to say, it’s always so sweet.” Alex reached out and tucked some of my hair behind my ear.
“Why do you do that?” I wanted to hear that he needed to touch me as much as I wanted to touch him. He did something to me that I had never felt before.
He rubbed some of my hair between his fingers. “You know why.”
I stood there, enjoying his nearness. I felt like I was trying to soak him up to get me through the craziness of the rest of the week. “You’re the least normal person I know and yet you’re the only person that makes me feel grounded.”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t understand why you’re so intent on fighting this.”
I’m scared. I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t make my mouth utter the words. How silly would that sound? He’d think I was a child.
He slid his hand over my cheek and I looked up at him with wide eyes. Leaning down he leaned close so that his breath tickled my mouth. “Ask me to kiss you.”
“I can’t.” I wanted him to. I wanted him to kiss me badly. I wanted to not worry and to get lost in the moment. To get lost in him.
“You want me to. I can see it in your eyes.” The rumble of his voice dropped even lower.
His lips were so close to mine I could barely think. I wanted to say something, anything. My heart was screaming for me to beg him to kiss me. And yet my throat was frozen. After a moment he pulled back enough to look at me.
“Tell me when you’re ready, Samantha.”
Disappointment flooded my body. My heart was more than ready, it was my brain that was holding me back.
There was a knock on the door and Chadwick stuck his head in the room. “Ma’am, it’s time.”
“I have to go.” I turned away and walked to the door.
“Samantha?” I stopped and looked over my shoulder. “The ball’s in your court.”
I nodded my head and hoped my face didn’t show my regret.
The New Duchess of Rousseau to Host Nature Show
—Lilarian Prophet
“I’m not wearing that much makeup.” I grabbed a washcloth and rubbed at my cheeks. I looked at Chadwick in the mirror and hissed under my breath. “I look like a prostitute.”
He barked a laugh. “You do not.”
I glared at him in the mirror as I rubbed off an inch of foundation.
“Okay. A very classy one.”
“Damn it. I smeared the eyeliner!” I rubbed at my face harder. “Now I look like a crying prostitute.”
“Stop that! You’re taking off skin.” Chadwick grabbed the towel out of my hand. “Look at me.”
I turned toward him and sat very still while he carefully wiped around my eyes. He picked up something that I couldn’t see. “Close your eyes.”
I sat there patiently while he reapplied the eyeliner. He tsked under his breath while he worked. “The makeup artist I hired had a family emergency.”
“Where did you find her replacement? A brothel?”
“It’s not that bad.”
I peeked one eye open. “Yes it is.”
“Okay. It was pretty bad.” He spun me toward the mirror. “But I fixed it.”
“Why didn’t you just do it in the first place?” I checked my reflection out, feeling much better about the way I looked.
“Bah.” He helped me out of the chair. “Now hurry. We need to pick a diadem for the photos.” He led me into the room where we were doing the shoot. There was a bland-looking background set up in one corner with lights focused directly on it. Off to the side was a table with a large wooden box. Chadwick went straight to the chest, produced a large key, and unlocked the lid. He opened it and stepped back so I could see what was inside.
“These belong to my family?” I ran my fingers gently over the jewel-encrusted tiaras.
“These belong to you.”
There were three in the box, each as beautiful as the next. One had large, clear emeralds set between diamonds. The next one was large and flashy—it would make Cathy proud. The last one was small and had been worked to look like vines. It was simple but breathtaking. It was intricate, but not over-the-top, and I knew it was the one I wanted immediately.
“Do you know anything about them?” I lifted the tiara out of the box and watched as the light played along the jewels.
“I had a feeling that would be the one you chose.” Chadwick took it from my hands and nodded toward the chair. I sat down and let him place it on my head before securing it with a hundred pins. “This one was designed in the seventeen hundreds for the marriage of Duke Rousseau to the Duchess of Minsington.”
Cecil, the photographer, entered the room with a large smile. “Duchess Rousseau, you look lovely.”
“Thank you.” I stood up, trying to ignore the priceless heirloom tucked into my hair. “What would you like me to do?”
“Have a seat right here on the stool. That’s it.” He grabbed a camera from a small worktable. “Now, there are a few basic shots we have to get and then we can try a few different things.”
I let him tell me how to sit, which direction to look, and when to hold my breath. I smiled big, small, with teeth, without teeth. I made serious faces, thoughtful faces. He put a table in front of me and told me to prop my face in my hands. I did as he said and tried to not laugh as images of glamour shots flashed through my mind.
I heard the door open quietly, but I couldn’t tell who it was that had snuck in. The lights focused on me were so bright I couldn’t see much past the table. The shadowy figured moved toward the corner and Chadwick joined whoever it was. I squinted but still couldn’t make the newcomer.
“What kind of face is that?” Alex’s voice rang through the room. I scrunched up my nose, but couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my mouth. I heard the camera clicking, but didn’t care. My heart felt a little lighter.
“This was wonderful, Samantha. I think we have some great images.” Cecil set his camera down and walked toward me.
“Thank you.” I hopped off the stool and shook Cecil’s hand. “I hope some of them are useable.”
“I think I have some you’ll enjoy.” Cecil gave a short bow and grabbed his camera off the table before leaving the room excitedly.
I made my way over to Chadwick and Alex. “Well, how’d I do?”
“I think you deserve the night off.” Chadwick smiled at me.
“Excellent!” I rubbed my hands together. “I saw a little bookstore on the ride to the zoo. I think I’ll make a run over there and poke around. I promised I’d send Jess some souvenirs. Oh! I can wear jeans for something like that, right? Please tell me I don’t have to wear another pantsuit. They’re giving me hives.”
“Not so fast.” Alex narrowed his eyes. “You need to have a lesson in Lilarian.”
“You’re going to deny me the chance to wear jeans? I miss them.” I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes.
“You’re getting better at the anime eyes. Have you been practicing with Cathy?” Alex smirked when I frowned. “I rearranged my schedule so I could help you with Lilarian. Besides, I thought you hated to shop.”
“I hate shopping for clothes. Books are something else.” I widened my eyes, empowered by my close freedom. “Come with me. You can teach me Lilarian in the car.”
Alex shook his head. “You’re definitely getting better at that look. Okay. We can practice in the car. I need to buy a gift for someone anyway.”
“Thank you!” I threw my arms around him without thinking. His hands slid around my back with no hesitation and pulled me closer for just a moment.
“Well, I’m going to go unless you need anything else, Samantha?” Chadwick cleared his throat. “Let me help you with the tiara first, though.”
“Of course! You need a night off, too.” I pulled myself away from Alex and smiled at Chadwick. “Sorry, you’ve been just as busy as I’ve been.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He made quick work of the pins holding the tiara in place before locking it back into the wooden box. Chadwick picked up the chest and ducked a small bow. “Good night, Alex. Samantha.”
“Good night, Chadwick.” Alex slapped him on the back as Chadwick made his retreat.
“I’m free!” I smiled up at Alex and did a little dance. “Free!”
“Has this week been that bad?” Alex looked down at me with sad eyes.
“It hasn’t been torture.” I frowned, remembering him telling me that I was a bad liar. “Okay. It wasn’t peeling-your-eyelids-off bad, but I need a break. I need to be Sam, not America’s Duchess or the weird, long-lost cousin.”
“Peel your eyelids off, American duchess, and creepy cousin.” Alex shook his head. “I think I followed that.”
“Why are you here, anyway?” I ran a hand through my hair and found another pin.
“I came to bring you this.” Alex held his hand out, revealing a small black box.
“What is that?” I looked up at him. Jewelry? Why would he give me jewelry?
“I saw this the other day and thought of you.” He held the box out a little farther and I picked it up off his hand gently. “When Cathy offered to lend you a necklace, I decided to get it for you. I know Cathy’s style wouldn’t really fit your personality. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I had planned and wasn’t in time for the shoot.”
I opened the lid slowly, not sure what to expect. I shouldn’t have worried. Inside was a simple gold chain with a bird charm trapped among the links. I pulled it free, careful to not tangle the chain. I looked at it and realized that the charm wasn’t meant to hang at the bottom, but sit along the side of your neck so that it looked like it was in flight.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Would you like to wear it?”
“Yes, please.” I handed him the necklace and turned so that he could put it on me. He took his time, his warm fingers sending goose bumps racing over my skin. When he was done, I peeked in the mirror on the wall. It was dainty and wouldn’t draw a lot of attention, and I absolutely loved it.
“It looks good on you.”
“Thank you.” I met his eyes in the mirror.
“You’re welcome.” He tilted his head to the side, watching my reflection. “Now, go change into the jeans that had you salivating.”
“Yes!” I hurried for the door and hesitated. “Should I meet you out front?”
“Perfect.”
I smiled at him as I made my way through the door. Once inside, I quickly snagged one of the passing maids to help with the zipper and then threw on my favorite pair of jeans. Closing my eyes, I sighed in happiness. It was like slipping into my favorite pj’s after a long day. I dug through my clothes and found my favorite sweater. My warm pea coat, scarf, and boots completed the outfit—I was ready to be me.
I stopped at the mirror briefly and checked my hair before running my fingers over the necklace. Smiling, I wrapped the scarf around my neck, turned the lights off, and headed for the front of the palace.
Alex was talking with a blond woman wearing a cocktail dress, her hand laying on his arm. She laughed at something he said and stepped a little closer to him. I looked down for a minute and tried to rein in my jealousy. I had told him I wanted to be friends and I had no right to envy the way she was touching him.
She said something in Lilarian and he chuckled while shaking his head. I couldn’t understand anything they were saying, but thankfully I didn’t hear the word stuffed.
I cleared my throat when I got closer, not wanting it to seem like I was creeping up on them. The woman turned to look at me, her expression open and friendly. I tried to not focus on the fact that her hand was still on his arm.
“You must be Samantha!”
I held out my hand to shake hers and smiled. “That’s me.”
“Samantha, this is Adriane, the Lady Minsington—Daniel’s sister.” I hoped my face didn’t falter as I realized this was one of Alex’s past flames. No wonder she was so comfortable with him.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Alex was just telling me that you were going out to do a little shopping.” She looked over at him. “I offered to let you take my car. I figured it might keep some of the reporters off your tail.”
“Thank you, that’s very generous.”
“You’ve been hounded this week and need a break.” She shook her head. “It’s hard enough for us who are used to it. I can’t imagine what it would feel like being thrown into all this.”
“It’s definitely been an experience.” I buttoned up my coat. “But I’d hate to take your car and leave you stranded.”
“I’m in town for a charity event, so will be staying at the palace. It won’t be a problem at all.” Adriane checked her dainty watch. “In fact, I’m supposed to be meeting with the president of the organization shortly.”
“Would you like to try to duck out?” Alex looked at me, assessing my response to her offer.
“Will you hum the Mission Impossible theme song?” I smirked.
“You two have fun. I’ll chat with you again, Samantha.” Adriane’s eyes slid between me and Alex. She gave me a sly smile before heading down the main hallway.
“So, the palace is like a cross between a Motel 6 and a dorm.” I followed Alex as he led me away from the front door.
“That’s a rather apt description.” He put his hand on my back as we walked through the kitchen.
“So this is where they hide the food.” I looked at the industrial-grade appliances and open pantries. “Now I can get my own midnight snack.”
“They keep ice cream in the third freezer on the right.” Alex winked at me.
“Nice.” We exited a large door, and I whistled when I saw the car.
“Adriane has always had a fondness for fast cars.” Alex clicked the key remote and opened the passenger door.
I slid into the low seat and ran my hands over the leather. “Not exactly low profile.”
“The press will assume it’s just Adriane and she’s not the one they’re after.” Alex revved the engine and I could understand why Adriane loved this car. It was sexy and powerful without feeling too masculine. He moved the car around the palace and toward a rear exit. A guard waved us through the gate and we were off.
“Why don’t we leave through the back gate all the time?”
“If we give them a little of what they want, we can keep a little for ourselves.” He glanced over at me. “When you leave through the main gate for official royal tasks, it keeps them from looking everywhere else.”
“Seems a bit lazy that they didn’t have someone watching the back exit.” I reached up and grabbed the handle above the door as he turned onto an expressway.
“They have people watching, but they can’t see the door we left from.”
“In other words, we really did look like Adriane leaving.”
“Exactly.” He shifted gears and the car rumbled.
“Do you use this trick often?” I was trying to not be bothered by the fact that we were in one of his ex-girlfriend’s cars. I was trying really hard.
“Only when I need to, and I think you really needed a break.”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He smiled at me. “Are you ready for your first real lesson?”
“Just don’t teach me to say something horrible and embarrassing, okay?”
“Never!” He smirked. “Well, not for this event.”
“Great.” I shook my head. He rattled off a song that sounded much like the alphabet song Americans learned in grade school. I tried to follow his lead but tripped up on some of the sounds.
“Do you know any French? That would help. Our languages are closely related.”
“I took a couple of classes in high school.” I frowned. I tried again, this time keeping in mind the French I had learned years ago. It went a little smoother.
“Much better.” He sang it again and then waited for me to follow suit. After the third time I was fighting the giggles. The prince of Lilaria was teaching me the alphabet. “What’s so funny?”
“Just this. You. Teaching me the alphabet.”
“You have to start somewhere.”
“True. Okay. How about some numbers and then key phrases? Like ‘where is the bathroom.’” Just in case I needed to puke before the ceremony.
“I’m the teacher here,” he protested. “And I think we should try some numbers and then key phrases.”
“By all means, teach on.”
We made the drive, him correcting my pronunciation and me laughing at his frustration. The drive came to an end all too soon.
An American-style Night on the Town?
—Paris Observateur
It didn’t take long to get to the little bookshop. Apparently Alex had found out from Chadwick which one I was talking about. He got out of the car and opened the door for me, which I was starting to get used to. A bell chimed when we entered the store and I took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of all the books. I might love my e-reader, but I’d never pass up the chance to browse real books.
The woman behind the counter greeted us in Lilarian before doing a double take. She dipped a quick curtsy and I tried to not be disappointed that even after our sneaky exit, I was still Duchess Rousseau.
“Your Highness. Duchess Rousseau.” She gave us a small smile. “Can I help you with something?”
“Samantha wanted to find some gifts for friends back home.”
“I saw your store while I was out earlier today and wanted to come back.” I looked around the open area we were standing in. There were rooms and hallways that appeared to go farther back into the building. “I’ve always had a difficult time turning away from a bookstore.”
“We’re happy to have you.” She motioned toward the bookshelves. “We have a large selection of books, new and used. Many are in English. There are rooms toward the back with older books. We also have an assortment of the more standard souvenirs, including some pottery my sister makes.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at her and headed for the books. I ran my hands over the spines. She had a lot of the most recent best sellers. I stopped on a copy that had a Signed sticker and pulled it off the shelf. It was the UK version of Fall Guy by Liz Reinhardt. I tucked it under my arm and kept looking. Jess would love this one. We’d read the American version months ago. I browsed the shelves a little more and found an interesting book titled Inhale, Exhale by Sarah Ross. I grabbed that one for myself. It was set in the States and looked like it would be pretty steamy.
I left that room and wandered down the little hall and peeked into some of the doorways. A room with old, leather-bound books drew me in like a moth to flame. I took a deep breath, enjoying the musty smell of the old pages. Alex followed me into the room and drifted down one of the aisles to the side. I stopped to stare at some of the names on the spines. I didn’t recognize all the authors, but I hesitated when I hit the A section. I scanned the books carefully, looking for one name in particular.
When my eyes landed on Austen I gulped and carefully pulled the volume off the shelf. Gently I opened the book and checked the publication date. Eighteen thirty-three. It wasn’t a first edition, but that was okay. There wasn’t a price tag, which was intimidating, but I couldn’t walk away from the book.
“What is it?” Alex looked over my shoulder.
“Pride and Prejudice.”
“What year?” He looked over my shoulder at the title page. “First edition?”
“No.” I closed the cover carefully. “But my mother always wanted an old copy of Pride and Prejudice. It was her favorite book.”
“We could keep looking. Maybe the owner has one, or knows of someone that does.”
“I need to ask how much this is—there isn’t a price tag.” I turned the book over and then checked over the binding. “I only checked out of habit. I’ve never seen one this old. Mom would have gone gaga.”
“Then get it.” Alex moved so he was leaning against the bookshelf.
“It’s probably very expensive.” I bit my lip.
“Get it anyway.” Alex shook his head. “You should do something nice for yourself.”
“Buying an ice cream cone or new shoes would be doing something nice for myself. This book probably costs more than some people spend on groceries for a year.”
“If you don’t buy that book, I will.” He stood up straight and held out his hand.
“What? I don’t need you to buy it for me.” I pulled the book against my chest.
“Who said I was going to give it to you?” He smiled and took a step toward me. “Maybe I have secret love for Fitzwilliam Darcy. We do share a name. I also need to get a gift for someone who would love it.”
“If I can’t have it, no one can.” I narrowed my eyes in mock threat.
“Is that so?”
“You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.” I backed into the bookshelf behind me.
“Maybe I just need to distract you long enough to steal it.” He put a hand on the shelf by my head.
“And how do you plan on doing that?” I licked my lips.
“I have a few ideas.” He moved his other hand, caging me in, and leaned down.
I clutched the books to my chest and my heart beat against them like a drum. Alex brought his mouth close to mine but stopped a centimeter away. I inhaled his scent and fought my urge to close the distance. Slowly he moved his mouth to my cheek, close enough that I could feel his breath wash across my skin. His journey continued down my jaw and to my neck. My head tilted of its own accord, letting him have better access. One of his hands moved from near my head to just beside my waist, the sleeve of his jacket brushing against my arm.
As he moved from my right side to the left, I tilted my head again, my body alive with anticipation. I wanted him to kiss me. Needed his kiss, and I was near my breaking point—no more waiting. His other hand slid down from the shelf and closed on my waist while he took a step closer, pressing his body against mine. He brought his head back up and looked into my eyes.
“I want to kiss you, Samantha.” He took a deep breath and moved a little closer. “But I’m not going to kiss you again until you ask me to.”
“What?” I jerked my head back at the same time he pulled the book from my arms. “Hey!”
I made a grab for the book but he held it above his head. Embarrassment and anger flared through my system. He had gotten me all worked up just to steal my book? The book I wanted so badly?
“You jerk!” I grabbed at his arm and tried to pull it down, but he was too strong.
“You can tempt me all you want, crawl all over me, but I meant what I said. I won’t kiss you again until you ask me to.” His eyes sparkled with his own frustration. “I’ve made it clear what I want. You need to decide.”
I stopped and looked at him. “You were right. This is difficult.”
“And I plan on doing my very best to get what I want.”
“C’mon. Let me get the book.” I changed the subject. The truth was, what I wanted was quickly outweighing my concerns.
“Nah uh. I got it fair and square. I was looking for a gift for a friend.”
“Fair and square? You stole it out of my hands.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He smiled with pride.
“Fine.” I still had my other two books, so I hadn’t lost everything. I marched out of the back room and to the counter to pay for my selections.
The shop owner asked how I was enjoying Lilaria and if I’d read any of Reinhardt’s or Ross’s books before. We chatted about the author and then I moved so Alex could buy his book. When she announced the total, my eyes almost popped out of my head.
“Thank you. I have a friend who will really enjoy this.” Alex calmly handed over a credit card and smiled when she handed him his bag.
“My pleasure, Your Highness. I hope you both enjoy the rest of your night.” She dipped a quick curtsy as we left.
“Where to now?” Alex opened my door.
“I don’t know. I didn’t even think we’d be able to come here without being followed.” I set my package in my lap while he took his seat. “What is there to do for fun around here?”
“There’s the movies.”
“Too many people.” I shook my head.
“Then I guess the clubs are out.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Definitely.” I frowned. “What about a museum?”
“Too late. Most of them are closed by now.” He narrowed his eyes. “We could go to the zoo.”
“No, thank you.” The thought of running into Jeremy made me cringe.
“That’s right, you’ve already been. There was a very nice picture of you and Jeremy in the paper saying you’re going to work together.”
“What? I didn’t see that and—wait a minute. Are you jealous?” I twisted in my seat to look at Alex. It was sad but the thought brought a little bubble of excitement in my chest. “Nice segue there with the whole zoo option.”
“Should I be jealous?” He turned away from me and started the car. “You have made it very clear that you want someone normal, to be out of the spotlight. And Jeremy would love nothing more than to have a royal girlfriend.”
“Hey! First of all, I don’t want anything to do with Jeremy.” I didn’t mention that he’d made passes at me. “Second of all, we’re in your ex’s car, which is a really weird place to be having this conversation. And thirdly, I don’t want someone normal, I want to be normal. To be just me. Not America’s Duchess. Just Sam.”
“You’re not just anything.” His voice rose a little and he snapped his mouth shut for a minute. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the city. “You’re not just anything. Even ‘just Sam’ is something special.”
I looked at him as my heart slammed in my chest. I wanted to say something, anything, but my mouth was frozen. Fear ran through my body and my mind wrestled with my heart. I wanted Alex. I was scared of what that would mean, where it would lead.
I opened my mouth and shut it. I opened my mouth again and closed it. Neither of us said anything else, just rode in silence. I had no idea where we were going, but I didn’t ask. Alex eventually pulled into a small restaurant that wasn’t too busy.
“Let’s grab some dinner.” He got out of the car and walked around to my side. I climbed out and followed him inside. Everything was in Lilarian: the sign, the menu, the words on what I thought were ketchup packets.
The man behind the counter said something friendly to Alex and then to me. We had covered basic greetings in the car, so I tried to say, “Nice to meet you.” The man chuckled and his smile grew.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he responded in English.
Alex looked at me and shook his head. “We might need to hire a professional. You just said, ‘Nice to leave you.’”
“I’m sorry.” I grimaced.
“They’re very close words.” The man motioned toward the back of the place. “Have a seat. I’ll bring you some drinks.”
“Thank you.”
Alex picked a booth in the back and pulled his jacket off. I set mine next to me in the booth and tried to not fidget in my seat. Alex passed one of the menus to me.
“Thank goodness there are pictures.” I stared at the images in relief.
“I wouldn’t let you order something nasty.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Well, not too nasty.” He laughed and it eased some of the tension gripping my shoulders.
“So, this is the burger joint Cathy was talking about?” I let my gaze drift over the pictures and tried to pick apart some of the descriptions. “Laitu?”
“Lettuce.” He set his menu down. “And yes, this is the best burger in Lilaria. I thought maybe after this week you could do with some familiar food.”
I smiled because he was right. We ordered our food and went back to working on my Lilarian. I was seriously lacking in the language department.
“I feel like I’m trying to cram before a final.”
“Cram?” He raised an eyebrow.
“You know, pull an all-nighter studying. Cram in as much information as possible before the big test.” The waiter deposited our food and whisked off to another table.
“Ah.” He picked up some fries.
“I’m really unprepared.”
“I think we need back up.” He frowned. “If we had more time, you’d pick it up just fine, but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone with more practice helping you.”
“What about the bargain? I won!”
“I’ll still help.”
“Oh, no. You’re not getting out that easy. I want the picture.”
“You don’t even know what I was working on.” He laughed.
“Doesn’t matter. A bet’s a bet.”
“Okay.” He took a sip from his water.
“Okay?” I frowned. “Just like that?”
“You’re right. I can’t hold up my end of the bargain, so I have to do something else.” He polished off the rest of his burger while I watched him.
“All right.” I took another bite of my food and thought about it. “What is it of?”
“You’ll see.”
“You’re frustrating.”
“I warned you.”
I rolled my eyes. He had said I’d either end up hating him if I didn’t end up in his bed.
People at the restaurant had started to recognize who we were and had turned to look at us. Alex threw some money on the table and stood up. He pulled his jacket on and held his hand out to help me stand up.
“Time to get out of here.”
We took a scenic route around the city and Alex pointed out some of the places we hadn’t seen the other night. After a while we ended up back at the palace. The guard nodded us through the gate and Alex parked back by the kitchen while I tried to guess what he had been sketching.
“It’s a bird.”
“No.” He shook his head.
“A plane?”
“Not a plane and not Superman either.” He held the kitchen door open for me.
“Kyle with devil horns?”
He laughed. “Now that would have been a good idea.”
We made our way through the kitchen and to my room and I looked down the hallway. “Maybe we should go get the drawing now so you don’t try to back out.”
“Are you trying to find a way in my room?” Alex asked.
“If that’s what I was looking for, I’d just drag you into my room.” I bit my lip. His eyes focused on my mouth and I thought about asking him. Asking him to kiss me. Asking him to come into my room. Asking him to let me get lost in him.
“You’ll have to wait. I sent it out to have it framed.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize it was something you wanted to keep.” I looked away from him. “You don’t have to give it to me if it means something to you.”
“I want you to have it.”
I touched the necklace and looked up at him. “Thank you for tonight. It’s the first time I’ve felt like myself since I got here.”
“Be you, Samantha. No one can ask for more than that.”
I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. I lingered for a moment, breathing in his smell before turning and going into my room.
When I closed my door, I leaned against it and took a deep breath. I was in trouble.
Is Your Man a Prince?
—The Jolene Waters Show
The next couple of days were a blur, except for the angry meeting with Duvall where I was told not to duck my security detail again. Becca had not been a happy camper either. I’d had to explain that going out to the bookstore hadn’t seemed like a thing I would need security for, but they only seemed slightly mollified. The only bright spots were the lunches I had with Cathy at a small table tucked away in the kitchen. She gave me the gossip about some of the royals and local celebrities. She was also full of information on the upcoming events and charities.
“What about politics? I know Royals don’t vote or run for office, but is there anything I need to be on the lookout for?”
“Mainly you want to do the political dance if you’re ever on the spot. Vague answers, smiles, and hoping for the best stuff. Anything else can come back to bite you in the arse.” Cathy took a bite of her sandwich.
“So what is our job exactly?” I sipped at the soda I had found in a pantry.
“We host dignitaries, advise parliament, lead charities, and see to our own lands. When something tragic happens in our districts, it’s our job to try to help. Sometimes that’s with money, other times it can be with connections or a simple friendly hand.” She stopped and thought for a minute. “Actually, we’re really busy. It probably feels like you’re doing a bunch of things that don’t matter right now, but you can’t think of it that way. Think of it as networking. You’re building a base of people who might be able to assist you in the future. “
“And in turn I need to help them in some way.” I thought about it. “Oh, man, Cathy. This is such a bad job for me. I’m terrible at keeping my opinions to myself. I’m likely to piss someone off and not on accident. It’s a miracle that I’ve gotten through this week without doing it.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re American and they expect you to be curt and adorable.”
“Uh, that’s offensive.” I shook my head. “There are a lot of Americans that would go out of their way to not insult anyone. I’m just not one of them.”
“Exactly. And people like it. They think it’s refreshing.”
I snorted and almost dribbled soda out of my mouth. “Refreshing. Right.”
“Seriously. I heard you shot down Jeremy and he still wanted you to do his show.” She waved her chip in the air. “He thought it was great that you were so transparent and upfront. No tiptoeing around stuff.”
“Jeremy is a weird guy and I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a spork than be the host of a television show.”
“A spork?” Her mouth twitched.
“Weird little spoon that thinks it’s a fork.”
“You’re kind of crazy.” She smiled. “I can see why Alex is so smitten.”
“Excuse me?” I looked around to see if anyone was listening, but the closest person was washing dishes on the other side of the room.
“C’mon. I’m not blind, Sam.”
“We’re just friends.” I looked down at my food.
“Why?” She pushed my plate with her finger so that I’d look up.
“What?”
“Why are you just friends? You’re wearing the necklace he gave you, he hovers around you like a mommy bear, and the chemistry is disgustingly obvious.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is it because of Melissa? You have to know how much that hurt Alex.”
“No, it’s not that.” I frowned. “There’s just so much going on and I don’t think I can handle a relationship on top of it all.”
“So, it’s because of your father?”
“No. Yes. Partly. It’s everything. I’m trying to learn how to do all this.” I motioned around the kitchen. “Plus, I’m leaving soon and Dad will be here. He’s going to need me.”
“Is that all of it?” She leveled her gaze on mine and I squirmed.
“Did you take classes as a child on how to get what you want?”
“Don’t change the subject, Samantha. What is this really about?” She leaned forward.