A Royal Rendezvous?
—L.A. Daily
“He still hasn’t returned my call.”
I shoved my cell phone in my pocket and glared out the car window.
“Samantha, it’s been two hours and he was in surgery.” Chadwick lowered his paper and looked over at me. There was a picture of Cathy on the page he was reading. “I know you’re worried, but give the man a break. He can’t run out of the operating room to talk.”
“I know.” I sighed. “Dad was really snappy this morning. I’m starting to think it’s the medicine.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that can happen with certain prescriptions.” Chadwick folded up the paper. “He will call you. You can’t do anything right now, so focus on why we’re in town.”
“Meetings with politicians.” I leaned back in my seat. “This is going to be awesome.”
“Deep breath. It’s only for an hour and then you get to go home and wear jeans again.”
“And sit through Lilarian lessons.” I picked at my jacket.
“You’ll do great.”
I met with the local council of leaders, listening to what all they did and how they thought I might be able to help. It was an interesting morning and the breakfast was delicious. Simone, the local mayoral figure, kept everyone on track and we actually got a great deal accomplished. When I was leaving, she pulled me to the side to thank me for coming.
“No, I enjoyed seeing how everything works. I know I can’t petition the parliament on behalf of the people yet, but if there are any cases you can think of, let me know. I have time to look into them, even if I can’t do much yet.”
“I like that. You’ll be able to dive right in when the time comes.”
“I like to be prepared.” I shook her hand.
“Wonderful. I hope you don’t mind my bringing this up, but I realize you might not have thought of this.” She took a step closer, still holding my hand. “I know you’ve been worried about how the locals would feel about your coming home and I thought of something that might make you feel better. The royal families that represent the different provinces typically hold open houses or parties for the locals at least once a year. It encourages conversation and makes the villagers feel appreciated. Once you’re reinstated, it might be nice to consider holding one.”
“I’ll look into it. Thank you.”
That afternoon was spent with a nice woman named Mrs. Rewell who refused to speak anything but Lilarian to me. I thought about hiding in the blanket closet but Chadwick kept careful watch. By the time she left I could sing the alphabet easily and count to twenty. I felt like I had run a marathon.
Alex had gone back to the city to work on a few projects that required his attention. He hadn’t wanted to leave until I’d spoken with Dr. Bielefeld, but I insisted. I didn’t want him to put off things that were important just because I was worried.
By the time dark fell, I was in a very bad mood. Not only had the doctor not returned my call, but I couldn’t find my e-reader. When my phone rang, I didn’t even check to see who it was.
“Yeah?” I pulled stuff out of my carry-on bag, hoping I’d stuck the e-reader in there for some reason.
“Hi to you, too.” Alex laughed. “Bad day?”
“Yes. The doctor never called me back and a very nice lady spent three hours refusing to speak any English.” I shook out my jacket, but still no e-reader.
“I’m sorry Dr. Bielefeld didn’t call you back.” The rumble of his voice went a long way to soothing me. “Something important must’ve come up.”
“Probably. I just want to know more about my dad’s scan and medicine.” I sat on my bed and sighed. “Just a frustrating day.”
“I can tell.” He was quiet for a minute. “Did you learn any Lilarian?”
“A little. I guess she’s doing her job.”
“Well, that’s good.” He sounded distracted.
“What’s going on?”
“Eh, it can wait.”
“Oh no. Just get it out of the way.” I leaned back on the bed. Today was not going well.
“I don’t want to upset you.”
“What is it?” My stomach clenched.
“Someone published a picture of me at your house.”
“That’s not so bad.”
“Well, they also titled it Royal Rendezvous.” I could hear the worry in his voice so I tried to curb my immediate response. “Samantha?”
“It’s okay, Alex.” I chewed on my lip.
“I can hear in your voice that it’s not okay.”
“It’s fine.”
“Oh, now I know it’s bad. No matter what language a woman says those two words in, it means bad things.”
I chuckled weakly. “Seriously, it’s okay. I mean, they don’t know anything for sure. Maybe it’ll just blow over.”
“It might.”
“I think I’m going to call it an early night.” I closed my eyes.
“Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Good night.”
The next morning my phone rang during breakfast and I almost dropped it in my rush to answer.
“Hello?”
“May I speak with Duchess Rousseau?” An accented voice asked politely.
“This is Samantha.”
“Ah, this is Dr. Bielefeld. I apologize for not returning your call yesterday. I had an emergency pop up.”
“That’s understandable. I just had a few questions about my father. He said that his scan hadn’t shown any changes and he was taking new medicines.” I got up and walked outside. “He seems pretty miserable.”
“Yes, I have his file here. Mr. Thompson’s scan didn’t show much change, so after speaking with his physician in the States we decided to try a medicine that is a lot more powerful. He’s likely experiencing some side effects.”
“What kind of side effects?”
“Nausea and insomnia are the most common, but he may also experience a change in mood and temperament.”
“I believe he’s dealing with all of those.” I sat down on the steps leading from the kitchen door to the yard. “Is this medicine necessary?”
“Duchess, I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t believe so.”
“Doctor, how bad is this? I thought he was doing better.”
“Cancer often leaves us scratching our heads, but we’re doing everything we can. Once Mr. Thompson is up to traveling, I’ll be making a trip to Rousseau to examine him personally.”
“I’m really worried.” I said the words quietly. “I thought he was doing better and this is a bit of a blow.”
“Samantha, I can only tell you so much. Your father’s cancer was never an easy case because it went so long without detection. At this point, we just need to try to keep it from spreading.”
“I understand.” I gripped the phone tightly. “Will we be able to get him over here soon?”
“I’m supposed to have a phone conference with his doctors tomorrow. I’ll let you know if there is anything I can tell you.”
“Thank you.”
I sat there on the steps and looked out over the yard. The main reason I had decided to come out here and accept my title was so I could get healthcare for my father. Now I was over here and he’s too sick to travel. I leaned forward, rested my elbows on my knees, and took a deep breath. I was here now and there were some things that had turned out pretty good. I’d made some friends. Cathy was the little sister I never had and it felt as if Chadwick had always been a fixture in my life. And then there was Alex.
Alex was by far the best part of all this mess. Even with all the media and scary pressure of what it meant to be in a relationship with a prince, he was worth it. In the middle of all this mess, he made me feel normal. We spoke every day and I missed him while he was gone. I missed him a lot. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and tucked my phone in my pants. There was no going back at this point. The scariest part was that I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
Mrs. Rewell spent the majority of the rest of the week working on my lessons. By Friday I could manage most of the phrases I would need for the ceremony. There had been speculation about me and Alex, but no one brought it up. In fact, the last time I’d seen a picture of Alex in the paper, the reporter had been speculating that Alex was secretly dating Adriane again. It had hurt, but I knew better than to give it any credit. Alex had attended a charity event that Adriane had set up, but had asked me to come with him. In fact, he asked me to go to every event he attended. I was the one who kept saying no. I just wasn’t ready to deal with the media explosion that would happen when it was official. I refused to look at the papers after that and even Chadwick had stopped reading them when I was around.
When Alex came that weekend, he didn’t bring up that I had turned down his invitations. Instead we spent time in his giant tub and relaxed. Well, relaxed some. I really liked his tub and not just because of the jets, though those were nice.
“You know, when you picture having sex in a bathtub, it always seems romantic and erotic, but then when you actually attempt it, there’s nowhere to put your legs. And you slosh water over the top.” I crawled onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Is that so?” He ran his wet hands up over my back.
“Mmmhmm.” I tilted my head back while he trailed kisses over my collarbone and down to my breasts. “Not this one though.”
“Why is that?” His words were muffled because he was paying so much attention to my nipple.
“Because it’s so—” He gripped my thighs and lifted me so I could slide down over his thick shaft.
“So what?” His teeth caught my earlobe and tugged gently.
“Big.” I moaned as he shifted under me.
The rest of our conversation consisted of nothing more than the sound of our lovemaking. His growls of desire answered my moans of pleasure. When we finally fell over the edge, it was a blinding sensation that left me gasping.
Later that night we collapsed in his bed, the sheets tangled around our legs.
“Are you staying?” His fingers ran over the skin of my back and I sighed in contentment.
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation to the reply.
“Then I’ll stay as long as you want.” I pressed a kiss to his jaw and snuggled closer. The nights I spent with Alex were always the best and sleep came easily. Being with him quieted my anxiety and the constant worry. I almost didn’t hear what he said next.
“Forever.” He mumbled the word against my hair. “Stay forever.”
My heart did a little dance and I smiled as I cuddled even closer to him. Alex had wiggled his way into my heart despite my best efforts, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Who would have guessed that the day he blocked my way into the library, he’d also changed the entire course of my life?
The following week was much the same. No news about Dad, but he did seem to be adjusting to the medicine. He wasn’t as grumpy and Patricia said he was finally keeping food down. Dr. Bielefeld hadn’t called me with any more information, but his assistant had sent me a package of potential treatments to look over. I also spent a lot of time with Simone. We went over cases from local families who had issues with land or tax problems, and I wrote my first check for charity after seeing a home destroyed by fire. I had folders full of notes and names. Chadwick and I spent several evenings researching computer programs that were easy and efficient to use. I needed a filing system and while I preferred to take notes by hand, I wasn’t fond of the idea of having eight hundred file cabinets.
I found that I actually enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of my new job. It was work, but it gave me something constructive to do. The brightest spot of the week was Jess’s call to tell me Bert had proposed. My heart had felt much lighter after listening to her squealing. When I told her she should wait to go dress shopping until she came to visit, I thought my eardrums would explode. Not only was she excited about shopping in Europe, she immediately assumed it meant I was going too. I didn’t have the heart to tell her no, so I decided I’d just suck it up and look for a dress with her.
It wasn’t until Friday arrived that I started to feel blue. I’d stayed so busy I’d managed to not worry too much. Unfortunately, Chadwick was pretty strict about keeping my weekends free. He felt I deserved time off just like everyone else. Normally that would be a great thing, but Alex had called to let me know he couldn’t come back this time. He was attending a formal dinner at the palace and wouldn’t have time to make it here and back.
“Why don’t you go do something? Call Cathy.” Chadwick looked at me over lunch. “You need to think about something else.”
“Are you sick of me?” Not that I’d fault him for it. I was being grumpy. I stood up and put my plate in the sink. Margie was getting used to the idea of us eating in the kitchen and I was getting used to her cooking everything.
“I’m sick of you looking so frustrated.” He threw his napkin on the counter. “Your dad wants you to stay here, but you feel like you should go to him. You miss Alex but don’t want anyone to know you’re together. It’s like you’re trying to torture yourself.”
“I am not!” Margie tsked under her breath while she wrapped up the leftovers and I frowned. “You think I’m being stupid, too?”
“Of course I don’t think you’re being stupid. I think you’re afraid to see the good.” She set the plate she was holding in the refrigerator.
“What do you mean?”
“The man you love loves you just as much.” Her back was to me, so she didn’t see the look on my face.
“Close your mouth, Samantha.” Chadwick rolled his eyes. “You’re the only person who doesn’t realize you’re in love with him.”
“How would you know I was in love before I did?” I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Because we’re not the ones living it. It’s easier to see when you’re not wrapped up in it yourself.”
“Speaking of being wrapped up in things. How are you and Daniel?”
“Nice subject change. And we’re okay. His sister, Adriane, is helping with his parents.” He leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think he understood how much it upset me until I set an ultimatum.”
“So you’re working things out?”
“We’re trying. Instead of talking about it, he’s actually taken steps.” He smiled. “Alex told him that the crown stood behind him and they wouldn’t put up with any prejudice.”
I smiled. Alex and I had talked about the predicament Daniel was in with his family. It made me happy to know that he had made an official move to back his friend.
“So, are you pushing me out of the house so you can go see your boyfriend?” I raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“I certainly wouldn’t complain…”
“Okay. I’ll call Cathy. She’s been bugging me nonstop to go out with her.” I didn’t want to go to the clubs, but I had told her I would and this gave me an excuse to see Alex as well.
President Gregory Visits Lilaria
—Lilarian Daily
Cathy was waiting for me at the palace. When I got there, she grabbed my garment bag out of my hands and made a beeline for the guest room that I’d used last time. I’d shooed Chadwick away, promising I would be fine.
I wanted to surprise Alex, so hadn’t told him I was coming. He should still be in a meeting, but I was hoping that I’d be able to drag him with us later. Even if there wasn’t going to be any PDA, I’d at least like to spend the time with him. The door to his room was open as I walked down the hallway and I hurried my steps. His meeting must’ve finished early.
He was sitting at his desk with his laptop open and a stack of papers. I watched him for a minute, enjoying his look of concentration before I knocked on the doorframe.
“Samantha?” He stood up and crossed the room in quick strides.
“Hey.” I stepped into his room and pushed the door shut.
He wrapped his arms around me immediately and I sighed into his kiss. It had been a long week without him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I promised Cathy I’d go out with her and figured that I’d get to surprise you and make her happy at the same time.” I ran a hand over his cheek and the five-o’clock shadow there.
“You came to the palace to see me?” He tilted my chin up. “I know you don’t want to go to the club.”
“I missed you.” It was the truth. The club had been an excuse to come be with him.
“I missed you, too.” He leaned down and kissed me once more. “But it’s a lot harder to keep secrets here.”
“We’ll just have to be careful.” I stepped away from him. “Besides, I’m not going to be sitting around waiting on you. I have to go to the club tonight.” I tried to look excited. “In fact, your sister is probably in my room right now going through the stuff I packed.”
“You’re going tonight?” He glanced down at his watch. “I have to finish up some paperwork, but maybe I can catch up.”
“I think it’s supposed to be a girls’ night out.” I laughed.
“Well, I’ll come over and tell you bye before you leave.” He grimaced. “I really do have a lot of paperwork to catch up on.”
“Sounds good. Now I need to go before she decides my clothes aren’t good enough.”
“Go.” He swatted my ass as I turned around and I looked at him, shocked. He chuckled and winked at me. “Don’t be surprised if I sneak in your room later tonight.”
“I’m counting on it.”
I’d been right. Cathy was going through my clothes, but she hadn’t tried to find something else for me to wear. In fact, she was so in love with the dress I’d brought, she was looking up the designer on my laptop.
“Well, help yourself.” I teased. The dress was risqué, but the high heels I brought to wear with it made me the most nervous.
“Who picked that out?”
“Why do you assume someone else picked it out?” She just stared at me. “Jess.”
“That’s your friend who just got engaged?” She tapped her chin. “She has a good eye. Is she going to do her dress shopping when she visits?”
“Yep. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you come with us.” In fact, Jess would think it was a hoot to have a princess helping her decide.
“That sounds like fun!” Cathy was already dressed for the night. Her long hair was pulled up and she was wearing a sexy, but appropriate, short blue dress. “Get ready! We don’t want the VIP section to fill up before we get there.”
“I thought it was better to make an entrance.” I grabbed the dress from the hanger and slid it on. Once I had wiggled it into place, I touched up my makeup and went out to get my shoes.
“Oh, we’ll be making an entrance.” She whistled.
I pulled on the heels and looked at myself in the full-length mirror. You could see the necklace Alex had given me though the slit in the front. I ran my fingers through my hair so it had that tousled look and turned toward her for inspection.
“Do I pass?”
“I’d say so.” She nodded in approval. “But we need to test it out first.”
Grabbing my hand, she pulled me down the hall to Alex’s room. He was back at his desk working when she barged in with me in tow.
Alex looked up and froze. His eyes ran over me hungrily. “When are you leaving?”
“Now,” Cathy responded. “I just wanted you to know what you would be missing out on.”
“Oh, I’m not going to be missing out on anything.” He leaned back in his chair, his eyes locked on me. “I’ll meet you there.”
“I thought you had paperwork.” I smirked.
“There’s no way you’re going without me in that dress.”
“Then you better hurry up.” Cathy grabbed my hand again and pulled me toward the door. “We’ll see you there.”
I rolled my eyes at her. She was a handful and I’d agreed to go out with her. There was a limo out front instead of one of the normal cars. Becca was present as usual and I knew better than to complain. There was no way we would be able to go to such a public place without a guard.
“You’ll love this place. The lounge is above the main floor, but there is plenty of dancing room. And the owner is more than happy to help us if we need to sneak out.”
“Why would we need help sneaking out?”
“If the press gets too rowdy. Not that I think we’ll have any issues.” Cathy smiled. “This is going to be fun! I never liked Tabitha and now that she and Kyle are together, it’s miserable.”
“What happened? Kyle seemed to have his sights set on you.”
“I told him no.” She sighed. “The serious no. Not the flirty one.”
I wasn’t sure if I was following her, but I let her keep talking.
“So he moved on?”
“In about two point one seconds. He told me to make a decision, I did, and he left with Tabitha.” She looked down at her nails. “I wish it didn’t bother me so much.”
“He was your friend.” I shrugged. “It may have been based on the wrong stuff, but he was the person you spent time with and now he’s gone. That makes sense.”
“You’re right. I’ve been trying to figure out why I’ve been upset. I mean, I never wanted more than friendship. I’m not sure I even wanted that much with him.”
“You just wanted a friend.” I sighed. “I get that.”
We pulled up in front of the club and my heart raced at the sight of all the people. A bouncer opened the door and helped us out. There was no waiting in line, no showing ID or paying a cover charge. We were allowed right in and a hostess took us up to the VIP lounge.
The club was nice, but underneath all the shiny surfaces was the same thing you find in every club. Loud music, alcohol, and people needing to let off steam. It wasn’t that I was against any of those things, but when you put them together, it often had ugly results. Like waking up next to Jabba the Hutt kind of results. Or being groped by a man wearing a bow tie and lavender slacks. Not that either had happened to me. Okay, bow-tie-loving groper had happened, but I’d never drank enough to mistake Jabba the Hutt for Brad Pitt.
The VIP box was full. Kyle was busy making out with a redhead I assumed was Tabitha and several other people were dancing in the middle of the room. Becca had followed us up the stairs but stopped just inside the door.
“What do you want to drink?” Cathy pulled me to the bar.
“Cosmo.” I didn’t plan on doing anything but sipping the drink.
Cathy ordered our drinks and then pulled two chairs together. She introduced me to the people closest to us, always careful to use my full title. I was called the American duchess more times than I could count. At first the music had been annoying, but I was getting used to it.
Cathy had been pulled out on the floor by one of the guys she’d introduced and his friend asked me if I wanted to dance.
“I think I’m going to sit this one out.” I smiled and then looked away, hoping he would go. Instead he pulled up the seat next to me.
“How are you enjoying Lilaria?” He leaned close and I realized he was trying to look down my dress.
“It’s great. I love all the purple trees and pink leaves.”
“Yeah.” He was so focused on my cleavage he hadn’t heard a word I said.
“What’s your name again?” I leaned away from him a little more.
“Gregory.” He licked his lips and edged forward. “I’m the Baron of Dushner.”
“That’s nice.” I looked away from him and wondered if this guy was for real.
“You should come out some time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I kept my response short, hoping he would catch a clue.
“Would you like another drink?”
“No, I’d rather not.”
“If you’re worried about getting home, you could stay at my apartment here in the city.” He looked down my dress again and I felt my temper snap. I’d been polite Samantha the entire time I’d been in Lilaria, but this asshat was pushing the wrong buttons.
“Eyes up here, buddy.”
“You don’t wear a dress like that unless you want to be looked at.” He reached out and ran a finger over my knee.
“The dress isn’t for you.” I slapped his hand away. “And unless you want broken fingers, you better keep your hands to yourself.”
“I’m just trying to get to know the new duchess.” He raised an eyebrow. “Or are you only interested in princes?”
“I’m interested in men.” I stood up. “Not slugs.”
I looked around for Cathy but didn’t see her anywhere. Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the bar. If nothing else I could order a soda or bottled water until she showed back up. My phone vibrated in the tiny purse I was carrying and I pulled it out, thinking it might be her.
“Where are you?”
“Sam?” Patricia’s voice made me freeze in place.
“Hey. It’s me. I’m sorry I thought you were someone else.” I put a finger in my other ear. “Are you okay?”
“Can you talk?” She sounded tired.
“Hold on.” I looked around for somewhere quiet but didn’t see anything. Becca wasn’t standing at the stairs, so couldn’t ask her either. I took the steps down and found a bathroom where the music was much more muted. “I can hear you now. What’s wrong?”
“It’s your dad, sweetheart.” I knew it was bad for her to be calling me, but my heart still stopped.
“What’s happened?” My throat tightened. “Is he—”
“No! No, but it’s not good.” I could hear the strain in her voice. “It’s worse than we knew.”
“I don’t understand. Where is he?” Panic filled my chest and I saw one of the girls look at me in the mirror.
“Sam, I didn’t know it was this bad. He never let us go in with him to the appointments, remember?” Her voice choked up and she took a minute before continuing. “He’s at the hospital. I couldn’t wake him up.”
“He’s dying?” My voice came out on a sob and I covered my mouth with my free hand. I was standing in the bathroom at a club while my father was dying in a hospital.
“Yes, baby. I think he knew but didn’t want us to worry.”
“He knew and didn’t tell us?” I whispered the words. “Why would he do that?”
“I can only guess he didn’t want us to spend all our time focused on him.”
“I’m coming. I’ll have to get a flight, but I’ll leave as soon as I can.” I dragged the back of my hand across my nose and the girl that had looked at me handed me some tissue. I mumbled a thank-you as she left but wasn’t really paying attention. I needed to go.
“Okay.” She sniffed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I just didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, Patricia. I’ll call you soon.” I hung up the phone and took a couple of deep breaths. It didn’t help. The tears running down my cheeks wouldn’t stop. How had I not known it was this bad? Why did I leave him?
I turned on the sink and splashed water over my face. I needed to get out of here—needed to get to the airport. Rubbing my shaking, wet hands on my dress, I left the bathroom and shoved my way through the crowd. Someone elbowed me and I tripped but got right back up and kept going. The bouncer at the door said something, but I didn’t hear him. There was too much noise in the club. Too much noise in my head.
I practically fell out the door and into the line of people waiting outside. Our car was gone of course, so I looked for a cab. Reporters had gathered outside, the bright flashes of their cameras blinding me as I tried to decide which way to go.
“Samantha! Duchess Rousseau!”
“Rousseau! Look here!”
“Are you upset? Did someone do something?”
“Samantha!”
“Where’s Alex?”
“Where’s Cathy?”
“What happened?”
“Look here!”
“Sam!”
I shoved through the people and tried to put some distance between myself and the reporters, but they kept pace. One of them reached out and grabbed my shoulder. I shrugged him off and kept walking. I had no idea where I was or where I was going. The farther I got from the club, the more my fear fed my anger.
“Tell us what happened!”
“Leave me alone!” I glared at the reporters, but they continued to snap pictures, not caring how upset I was.
“Why are you crying?”
“Samantha! Sam!”
The guy who had grabbed my shoulder reached out and tugged on my purse while pointing a camera in my face. Something inside of me snapped and fury raced down my spine. Turning around, I shoved the camera out of his hand and kicked him in the nuts as hard as I could. He went down with a groan and I turned back around and started walking away. My entire body was shaking and I couldn’t stop.
“Samantha! Why did you do that?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you miss home?”