Princess Ever After

TWENTY-FOUR





Seamus peered out his office window down to the street, watching the media flow into the building. He jumped to his phone when it rang.

“Well?” Seamus barked. It was about time Brogan rang up. Incompetent ingrate.

“She took the Oath of the Throne five minutes ago, sir.”

“In the manor chapel?”

“Yes, sir.”

He swore. “Under our noses. How did we not know this?” His invitation omission said more than words.

“The press conference is about to commence.”

“Get down there. See what’s going on.” Seamus rang off, boiling and reeling. Arrogant Burkhardt. No respect. No gratitude. After all Seamus had done for him—saving him out of the mess he’d created with Trude, advising him after he left seminary.

Snatching up his phone again, Seamus rang Morris Alderman over at the LibP. “Morris? Seamus. I’m fine, fine . . . How about helping me take my fight to the next level?”



It was late when they returned to the palace. The press conference went well. Reporters packed the media room and asked cordial questions about Reggie’s life and thoughts on becoming a princess.

She’d anticipated questions about the governor’s petition and braced for wisecracks about being a redneck royal. But Tanner had orchestrated the question-and-answer portion, limiting the time, then escorting Reggie out of the Wettin Manor media room after ten minutes.

And she was grateful.

Once they arrived at Meadowbluff, Jarvis led Reggie and Tanner into the palace parlor, where he’d set an arrangement of flowers, cakes, and two flutes of champagne.

“H–how’d I do?” Reggie faced Tanner, lost in a swirl of emotions.

“Splendid, Regina. Most splendid. The oath ceremony was most moving. Sincere. The presser went well. How do you feel?”

“I feel . . . I don’t know how I feel.” She reached for the nearest chair, her legs suddenly weak. “Different.”

Tanner knelt next to her, touching her chin gently with the tip of his finger. “Give it a moment to sink in, Regina. You don’t have to grasp it all right now.”

He was right. Reggie exhaled, pressing her hand to her middle. “I feel peace.” She peered at Tanner and slipped her hand into his. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Putting up with me. For bringing Susanna into the coffee room. For believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

“I do believe in you, Regina.” His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he stood, releasing her hand. “As for the other thing . . . in the ballroom, I—” “Tanner, there’s a glow in the trees.” Reggie moved around him toward the window and pressed her forehead against the cold pane.

“I don’t see a glow in the trees.” Tanner cupped his hands around his eyes and peered out the window.

“Straight ahead. In the woods.”

Otherwise, the night scene appeared normal. The palace grounds were lit with blue and gold luminaries strategically stationed to paint the palace walls with light. But beyond the palace grounds a silky, twinkling glow bloomed from the heart of the dark forest.

“Where? There’s nothing out there.” Tanner stepped back from the window.

“I’m sure I saw something.” Reggie squinted toward the thin line between light and dark. It must be a reflection. Or some anomaly. “Tanner, is there a celebration because I took the oath?” There it was again, swelling up from the ground, billowing, then fading, but never dying.

“We didn’t want to make a big to-do just yet.” Tanner turned back to the room. “Let the people get used to the idea of a Hessenberg royal. Get through the end of the entail and all. We’ll celebrate in a grand way for your coronation. Regina, remember when you spoke to me of bonds?”

She turned away from the window. “The ones mentioned in the entail.” She tapped the windowpane. “Tanner, seriously, you didn’t see a glow in the woods?”

“Could your father have discovered bearer bonds among your gram’s things? And no, I saw no glow.” He grinned at his rhyme.

“Bonds? Not that I’m aware. All he had of Gram’s was that one box. The one with the fairy tale. Then why do I see a glow? Look, there it is, billowing.” Reggie tapped the top left of the pane. “Like a star fallen to earth.”

Tanner angled left to see beyond the glass. “Maybe it’s your sign. The one you asked of God.” He reached for a napkin and one of the cakes. “What about jewels? Did you ever see a tiara or any diamond necklaces or earrings?”

“Tiara and diamonds. No, never. Gram was very simple. She wore a plain gold wedding band and nothing more. What do you mean bearer bonds?” Reggie joined Tanner by the cakes and champagne, but kept one eye on the window.


“Ever hear of Blakely Oil?”

“Um, yes. I’m from Florida, not east outer Mars. One of my clients at Backlund invested in Blakely Oil. Made a killing.” The little chocolate cakes looked yummy. Reggie reached for a napkin, then chose a cake. She wasn’t all that hungry but she felt she should celebrate today in some way. Like with chocolate.

“The old man, Sir Blakely, came to see me Monday. His company was doing an audit and came across an escrow account that has never been touched. The money is tied to bearer bonds, and he believes the bonds were purchased by Prince Francis.”

“Why does he think that?”

“Because his grandfather, founder of Blakely Oil, was chums with your great-great-great-uncle. Old Man Blakely is pretty sure this escrow money belongs to you, the heir of Prince Francis.”

“But I don’t have any bearer bonds.” On the edge of the window, the glow bloomed again, causing a swirling anticipation in Reggie’s gut. She shoved the last of her cake in her mouth. “I’m going out there.”

“Out where?” Tanner tossed his napkin to the table and heeled after her as she fired out of the parlor.

“Out there.” She pointed in the direction of the glow. “Treasure hunting.” Down the hall, through the kitchen, and out the back door, her boots thudding, her skirt swaying, Reggie wondered if she finally had her sign.



Tanner ducked under a branch as he chased Regina through the blackness toward . . . nothing.

Until now, he’d found Regina sane and strong, a spark of life, reasonable, educated, and uncompromisingly beautiful. At least in his eyes. But this? Seeing a light that was not there . . . running through a pitch-black forest on a cold night was lunacy.

Was that rain he sensed in the wind?

Tanner had caught just Regina as she fired out the kitchen door, making her pause long enough for Jarvis to get a couple of torches.

“Regina, this is ludicrous.” Tanner yelped when his hair caught in a low-swung limb.

“Are you okay?” She ran back to him, breathless, her burnished tresses blustering about her face.

Tanner aimed his torchlight at his own head. “I’m caught.” He inhaled and jerked free, wincing. “That branch robbed me of my hair.”

“Simmer down, Samson. I think you can carry on.”

“Har-har. You’re such a funny woman.”

She shined her light on him. “Sorry, but you scared the wits out of me. You scream like a girl.” She whirled around, pressing forward through the darkness.

“Excuse me, I do not scream like a girl.” He intoned her accent. “I have a very manly scream.” He belted out his best scream just to prove it.

“Yeah, but that’s not what I heard, Tanner.”

“Must have been the wind . . . distorting my voice.” He fixed his torchlight on the path ahead, then up at the trees. “Regina, we should go back. It’s going to rain.”

“Tanner, you really don’t see anything? Glowing about right over there?” She fired her beam through the trees on her right.

“No, love, I don’t. I’m sorry.”

“Then why do I?”

He sighed, then laughed. “Maybe it’s the sign you asked from God.”

“Yeah, maybe. Or . . . a television or film studio making a movie? Or some weird glow from a river or stream?”

“There’s no television or film studio out there, and the stream runs south of here.”

She fell against the nearest tree. “Why give me a sign after I’ve taken the oath? I needed it before.”

“Who knows the Lord’s mysterious ways?” Tanner settled against the tree, next to Regina.

“Your dad did a good job at the oath ceremony,” she said, low and soft, more to herself than Tanner.

“He did.” Tanner raised his torch to the trees. Did he feel raindrops?

“You still at odds with him?”

“We’re never at odds, Regina. We simply don’t see things the same.”

“What did he say about your tryst with Trude?”

“Not ‘Well done, my boy,’ I’ll grant you.”

“Ah, so that’s it.” She stopped hacking through the brush. “You’re at odds over what happened with Trude.”

“We’re not at odds.” Tanner exhaled, rubbed his new bald spot on top of his head. “I was following in his footsteps to serve in the church, but I resigned my spot at the seminary when Trude told me she was pregnant.”

“I’m sure that was a hard conversation.”

“Excruciating. I’d failed him, the family, God. Believe it or not, Seamus Fitzsimmons came along and sort of rescued me. Set me on to law school. Kept the scandal of the archbishop’s son having children out of wedlock from the press.”

“And look where you are now, Tanner. The Minister of Culture.”

“The irony is not lost on me. The Minister of Culture instead of a minister of the gospel.”

“Hey, my pastor back home is always preaching that we don’t have to be in full-time ministry to share the good news.”

“Perhaps, but the Lord can find a better candidate than me to share his news.”

“And he could find a better candidate than me for princess, but here I am.” She shrugged. “What’re you going to do?”

“You are the perfect princess.” The wind shuffled through the branches, and in the distance an owl’s hoot celebrated the night. “The Lord knew what he was doing.”

“I see, but with you he’s all wet and out of touch.”

“Let’s just say God and I have a deal. I leave him alone and he returns the favor.”

“How refreshing. You get to stay in your pain and shame.”

“Regina, don’t try sarcastic trickery with me.” He raised his torch to her face. “And don’t try to tell me tales of God’s grace and goodness or how I can return to a relationship with him. Can we go? I’m cold and hungry.”

“You do realize this prison you’re in is self-imposed?”

Blimey. “God disciplines a man, or the man disciplines himself. I chose the latter.”

“Too bad,”—she started around him—“because God would’ve been kinder, more generous, and definitely more loving.”

“Never mind,” he said. How did she sneak into his heart and find all of his secrets? “What’s going on with your glow?”

Regina pushed away from the tree and stepped through a bit of brush and brambles, stirring a dewy scent from the earth’s floor. “Gone. I can’t see it anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Regina. Maybe if I hadn’t stopped to talk. . .”

“You really do love playing the martyr, don’t you? Taking the blame for everything isn’t going to make God or your dad or your girls love you any more. Or less.” She ducked past him, the scent of her hair blending with the raw fragrance of forest.

Her pointed words blew hard against his carefully constructed emotional barriers and shook his resolve to view the world his way.

A low, threatening thunder rumbled above the treetops and the dewy, cold breeze kicked up, tugging weak leaves from their limbs. Lightning flickered from the east to west.

“Was that it?” Regina turned back. “Lightning? The glow was lightning?”

“Couldn’t have been. Because I saw the lightning.” Tanner reached for her arm, and when she looked at him, his heart sank further into love.

“Tanner, I just want you to know—”

“I love you, Regina. I have to say it. I love you madly.”

“Love me?” The wind swooped down from the treetops and swirled between them.

“I’m sorry the timing is all wrong. But I love you. If I don’t tell you now my heart will burst. I don’t care if you return my feelings.”

Her soft laugh drummed against his pulsing heart. “I think I love you back. It’s just happening so fast. Everything is happening so fast.”

The wind shifted again, bringing the first drops of rain. “Regina,”—Tanner brushed her wild, beautiful red tresses out of her eyes and pulled her into his arms—“Just hearing you feel the same is enough for now. Ah, you’re shivering. The wind is a bit chilled.”

“It’s not the wind, Tanner.” She giggled and trembled as she brushed her hands over his chest. “You make me nervous.”

“Because I love you?” He raised her chin. “And want to kiss you?”

“Yes, and I’m scared to death. Falling in love and becoming a princess all in one fell swoop.”

He smoothed his hands over her hair and down her back. “Then we’ll wait. Take things at thirty miles per hour.”

“But it’s a dark and stormy night. The wind is blustery, we’re about to get soaked, and all I can think about is that scene in Sweet Home Alabama where Melanie kisses Jake in the rain . . .” She roped her arms around his neck. “Tanner Burkhardt, if you don’t kiss me . . .”

“While you’re thinking of Melanie and Jake? Whoever they are . . .”

She rose up on her toes and pressed her forehead to his. “I’m not thinking of anyone but you on this stormy, romantic night. Can’t you feel my heart beating?”


“Not for the horse race going on in my own chest.” He fell against the tree, drawing her to him. “I do love you, Regina. Most ardently.”

“I love you back, Tanner. Most ardently.”

His lowered his lips to hers, brushing over them with a light, feathery touch. She smiled, her breath warm on his face. “Tickles.”

“Yeah, tickles . . .” Tanner circled his arms tighter as she wound her fingers into his hair, making her his with the passion of his kiss, a fire igniting in his heart, burning away every hindrance to love.



She was melting, floating, drowning in the taste of him. Warm, masculine, sweet. Her senses tingled with awakening love, breaking free from fear. And she was never going back.

This moment was worth the wait. “I love you,” she whispered as his kiss faded.

“I love you too.” Tanner raised his head for a quick breath, then kissed her cheek, her nose, her forehead.

She nestled against his chest, inhaling the scent of the rain, filling her entire being with the pure pleasure of the moment.

“That was fun.” She rose up and tipped his head toward hers, kissing him, her lips already at home on his.

Tanner’s embrace locked her against him so she couldn’t tell if she stood on her own strength or his.

As their kiss lingered, another splatter of rain soaked through the back of her dress and the cold wind whistled about her legs. Nevertheless she was warmed by the fire of his touch.

When he lifted his head, Tanner picked her up and whirled her around, laughing, nuzzling her neck. Reggie joined his joy just as the heavens broke open, rain pouring from the clouds.

“We’re getting drenched.” Tanner set her down and held the sides of her head, brushing back her wet hair. “I love you, Regina, and we’ll take this as fast or as slow as you want.”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again and again. “I can do this anytime I want?”

“Anytime you want. It is my pleasure to serve the Princess of Hessenberg.” He stepped back, hand to his chest, and took a sweeping bow, making her laugh as the rain fell faster.

“I love you, Tanner. I never thought I’d fall in love so fast, but I do. I really do.”

He kissed her, whispering in her ear. “I loved you the moment I saw you.” Then he cupped her hand in his and together they darted out of the woods, running across the lawn, screaming and shouting.

At the palace, the kitchen door stood open with Jarvis’s silhouette in the door frame.

“Your Majesty.” He stood aside as Reggie ran into the warmth and the sweet cinnamon fragrance of the kitchen. “You’ll catch your death . . .”

Serena waited with two towels. “I’ve a fire in the parlor. Chef made tea and cakes.”

“Can we have hot chocolate?” Reggie took the towel her lady’s maid offered, holding it to her chest. “I love hot chocolate on a cold fall night.”

“Certainly,” Jarvis said, giving Tanner a look. What were you doing out there with her?

“I saw a light, Jarvis,” Reggie answered the man’s expression, defending her man. Her man. She had a man. “In the forest, but I don’t know, maybe it was nothing. Tanner said he didn’t see anything.” She laughed. Ha, ha, I’m so weird, right?

In truth, she wondered if Jarvis would ask about what had to be her goofy expression and why she couldn’t stop smiling.

“Probably lightning, Your Majesty,” he said, shifting his glance between Reggie and Tanner.

“You know, that’s what I said. Lightning.”

Tanner remained quiet, drying his hair, wiping down his arms. “Regina, you should get out of those wet clothes.”

“What about you? You’re soaked. Let’s go sit by the fire.”

Tanner cut a side glance toward Jarvis. “It’s late. I think I’ll head on to my flat. Work comes early.”

“Right. Okay.” Her heart plummeted faster than she could catch it. “I’ll see you out.”

Reggie walked with him to the main foyer, her hand brushing his, sending crazy sensations all through her. She wanted to curl up with him by the fire and talk about life, and kissing, life and more kissing. Her heart was alive. Her eyes were opened. The whole world glowed with a glow she’d never noticed before. She wanted to love more, give more, serve more . . .

Tanner paused at the door and gave her a curt bow. “We are being watched,” he whispered.

“Why can’t we just tell him?” Reggie motioned toward the corner from where Jarvis probably hovered.

“Do you really want to tell him?” His smile was intimate, only for her. “I like this between us for now.”

“I’m in love. I want to shout it from the palace rooftops.”

He sighed, pressing his hand over his middle. “Me too, but maybe we should keep this between us until we finish this business with the entail and Seamus, and I get through my negotiations with Trude and the girls.”

“What?” His words stung, piercing her joy. “That was me a few days ago. Now you want to back off?”

“That’s not what I said. I just don’t want a horde of people knowing. I like keeping our feelings to ourselves. You’ve got enough controversy ahead of you without adding a romance with the opportunistic Minister of Culture.”

“Opportunistic? That’s what they’ll call you?” She folded her arms, but really she wanted to sit and cry. “Are you?”

“Blimey, Regina, no.” He tugged open the door. “I love you, and nothing is going to change that fact. But if we want a chance at this relationship, I think we best keep it quiet for now.”

Her disappointment clouded her reasoning, but she understood, even felt the sincerity of his heart. Nonetheless, it ticked her off. “So now I can’t kiss you whenever I want?” She reached for his collar, releasing the heady scent of his wet skin.

“When we’re alone, kiss me all you want.” He swallowed his passion. “This might be close to impossible to keep quiet, Regina, but don’t you want to give us a chance to know each other without the press or the staff looking in?”

“I suppose so.” She stepped toward him, brushing her hand over his chest. “Will you always be the reasonable one?”

“Trust me, this does not feel reasonable to me.” He traced his finger along the base of her chin. “But I’ve watched enough—”

“Miss, miss,”—Reggie jumped away from Tanner’s warm touch, turning to see Serena coming toward her with hand extended, holding Reggie’s phone—“you’ve received several calls while I fixed the fire, so I answered this one.”

“Thank you, Serena.” Reggie took her phone. “Hello?”

“Reg, it’s me, Al. How are you?”

“Al, hey, I’m fine.” The sound of his voice made her weepy for home. “So, what’s going on?” She sat on the bottom step of the wide, gilded staircase. “Did we get the Duesenberg?”

Tanner leaned against the door, arms folded, waiting and watching.

“No, no, Reg.” His guttural laugh buzzed in her belly. “We didn’t get the Duesenberg.”

“Really? Rats. He said no? Why?”

“Reg, I told him no. And by the way, I sent the Vet home with Urban.”

“You what?” She jerked to her feet, stumbling down the bottom step.

“I wanted to tell you all of this in person, but I saw on the news you took some kind of oath . . . So you’re the Princess of Hessenberg? I’m proud, Reg, right proud.”

“Al, forget the news. Why’d you send the Corvette home? What’s going on?”

“I’m closing the shop, Reg.”

“Closing the shop? No, no, no.” She paced the wide width of the foyer. “You can’t just close the shop. I’m part owner and, Al, I want the shop open.”

“Reg, sweet girl, look around. You’re living in a palace. You’re a royal princess.”

“Temporary, Al.” She flung her arm out to her side, a creeping fear slinking up her legs and into her heart, warping her reasoning. “Temporary.”

“How can you be a temporary princess?”

“Because I’ll be back in a month. Six weeks tops. Don’t think I left you high and dry. Listen, you call Urban and tell him to bring back the Vet. Gee, Al, what were you thinking? Urban will ruin that beautiful car.”

“Reg, listen. I know this is a bit of a shock, and not what we planned when we threw in together to open this place, but—”

“Al, you can’t close the shop.” Reggie pressed her hand to her throbbing forehead. “You can’t.” Everything can’t change at once. It can’t.

“Al Jr. and his wife are moving to Texas in a few weeks, and Miriam wants to help them drive out.”

“That’s great, Al. Good for AJ and Lily. Give them my love. Wally and Rafe can watch the shop. You know Rafe’s dying to be in charge. You go on to Texas. Shoot, I might just make it back home by then anyway. ‘And in for Al Love, Reggie Beswick. Ding.’ ” Reggie tapped an invisible boxing bell.

“Reggie—”

“Al, forget it. I know what you’re doing, giving me an out, but I went into business with you fair and square. I’m not letting you give up our dream.”


“Don’t look now, Reg, but the dream has changed.”

“I’m coming home. You stay put.” She raced up the stairs two at a time, barely aware of Tanner’s heavy footsteps resounding behind her. “See you tomorrow, Al. See you tomorrow.”