[English] Suddenly Royal

Suddenly Royal
Suddenly Royal Page 20



Kyle sputtered, apparently surprised I had spoken up. Catherine looked at me with something close to jealousy and awe. Alex nudged me gently toward the exit. I left Kyle staring after us while Catherine watched thoughtfully.

Chapter Seventeen

Will America’s Duchess Fit in with the Other Royals?

—Celebrity Talk Magazine

“I apologize for that.” Alex ground his teeth when we were in the hallway.

“Don’t. It’s not your fault.” I was barely paying attention to the direction we went. I was so tired I had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I was also mentally chanting the list of women who had been with Alex, the image of him and Melissa flashing in my head. He stopped at a door and turned the ornate handle.

I stepped inside and looked at the giant bed and lavish furnishings. My bags had been unpacked and nightclothes were laid out on the mattress. I turned to look at Alex.

“Thank you. I guess I’ll see you sometime this week.” I bit my lip. I had no idea what the rest of the week held for me. Much less the rest of my life.

“Are you forgetting something?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your dress.” He nodded toward me. “Or do you think you can manage on your own?”

I frowned. As much as I had complained about having to wear it, I was sort of fond of the dress and didn’t want to rip it. I looked up at him and nodded once before turning around so he could see the zipper. He closed the door behind him and moved toward me. I reached down to undo the belt at my waist but his hands slid around and closed over mine before moving them out of the way so he could do it. Slowly he pulled the belt from the loops and tossed it onto the bed. His fingers tugged the zipper at an almost torturous pace. His knuckles dragged along my spine the whole way and I shivered in response. When he slid the zipper over my bra I took a deep breath, but he never hesitated.

I knew I should stop him once he reached my waist, but I didn’t. I closed my eyes, enjoying the smell of him and the feel of his hands on me. I heard him take a deep breath of his own and he stopped the zipper just above my panties. I could feel his hands shake just before he let go and stepped away.

“I think you can take it from there.” Need mixed with frustration in his voice.

“Thank you for helping.” I took a step forward, clutching my dress to my chest as I turned around.

“How long are we going to play this game?” He was irritated and I didn’t blame him. He wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated.

“I’m not going to be another conquest, Alex. I don’t do one-night stands. I’m not that person.”

“And I’m not looking for a notch in my bedpost.” He took a step toward me.

His words scared me more than if he was just looking for a quick tumble in the sheets. Falling in love with Alex would leave me open to too much hurt. Anything I had with him would be short-lived. He’d eventually have to move on and marry someone who could help him rule a country. I looked around the room, at a loss for words. Refusing to say the words that would reveal my cowardice.

“Samantha, none of those women stayed at the palace.” Alex looked at me with serious eyes. He had taken my silence for something else. “At least they didn’t stay at the palace with me. Tabitha and Adriane have stayed here because they are from noble families. Kyle was just trying to upset you.”

“Alex, I don’t need to know.” I shook my head and grabbed at the excuse he had provided. “Besides. We’re friends. You don’t need to give me the list. I don’t care.” The last sentence sounded forced and desperate.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“I know.” But I wasn’t ready for anything else. Would never be ready for anything with Alex. I knew with just the little that had happened between us it would hurt too much when it fell apart. I had lost so much already and was on the verge of losing my father. Losing my heart would be unbearable. “I feel like my entire world was just shaken by a massive earthquake. I don’t know how anything works or what I’m supposed to do with myself. I can’t fall—” I stopped and swallowed. “I wouldn’t be a good girlfriend right now and I’m not up for *** with no strings. Once my dad gets here I won’t have any time.”

“All good things are worth the work. And what we could have would definitely be good.” He threw my words back at me and I had no response. I just stood there silently as he turned and left.

I let the dress fall to the ground and sat on the bed, staring at the door. My heart was still racing and I felt like kicking something. Mainly myself. And Alex. And Kyle.

Eventually I pulled myself up and got undressed. I checked out the attached bathroom and whistled. There was a huge jetted tub, separate shower, and everything was shiny. Apparently the inside of the palace was much newer than the outside. After sending a text message to Dad and Jess, I went to bed. I had no idea what tomorrow held for me.

Sunlight was streaming in the room and I woke to a knock on my door. I sat straight up and looked around the room in confusion. The knock came again and I slipped out of the blankets and padded to the door. I pulled it open and glared at Chadwick on the other side.

“Good morning, Duchess. I brought you some coffee.” He held a cup out to me that I took without hesitation. It could have been poison, but as long as there was some coffee mixed in I’d die happy. As I drank, he made his way into my room and set up a laptop and notebook on the desk in the corner. “I’ve already ordered another cup for you and can call for food if you’re hungry. I wasn’t sure if you’d want breakfast or lunch.”

“Slower, please.” I looked at him confusion. “Breakfast or lunch?”

“Yes, it’s almost noon.”

The cup stopped halfway to my mouth. “Oh my God. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“There was nothing pressing this morning.” He sat down and went through the drawers until he found a pencil. “I thought you might need the rest. You’ve had a busy week.”

“You could say that.” I sat down in the chair across from the desk.

“I’ve gone through your schedule and set up some of the meetings you’ll need to have in the next few days, including time for you to see some of the country. Alex insisted you get to spend a few days here in the capital before leaving for your estate.” Chadwick sat primly at the desk. “I believe Catherine is hoping to join you as well.”

“Okay.” I pulled my feet up in my seat and finished off my cup. “First, food. Then we start doing what we need to do.”

“Excellent. We’ve already received requests for appearances and you’ve been invited to several dinners here in town. I’ve told them everything was pending approval at this point.”

“Appear where?” I latched onto the thing I thought most important.

“The American embassy has requested you meet with the ambassador. I believe they want to check on you.” He smiled fondly like it was cute. “There was also a request for you make an appearance at a local American school and the local zoological gardens sometime this week.”

“An ambassador, a school, and a zoo.” I thought it over in my head. “I haven’t technically been granted my title back.”

“That’s a formality. Speaking of which, the queen would like to perform the ceremony in two months, unless you have other plans?” His voice rose at the end letting me know it was a question.

“I do believe my calendar is clear.”

“Not exactly, but I understand what you mean. I’ll let the lord chamberlain know.” He smiled at me. “I’ve also spoken to Dr. Bielefeld’s staff and gotten them in contact with your father’s doctors. He should be looking over his paperwork at any minute.”

“Great! Is he here in town?” I sat up and leaned forward.

“Not yet. He was in Paris for a convention and to see a few patients. He keeps in regular touch with his office though, so we can expect steady updates.” Chadwick smiled a bit mischievously. “Apparently the doctor was excited to help out America’s Duchess.”

“Oh no. Tell me that hasn’t stuck.”

“It certainly has. Catchy, if you think about. There’s a definite fascination with royals in America. Probably because they don’t have any of their own.” Chadwick flipped open his notebook to a different page. “I hope you don’t mind, but I had your luggage inventoried and I believe shopping may be in order. You have several lovely dresses and outfits, but the fact is you’re going to need much more.”

I glared at him and set down my cup. He picked it up and put a coaster underneath. “You inventoried my clothes?”

“Well, yes. That’s part of my job. Helping make sure you have everything you need.” He looked at me with patient eyes. “I know it feels like an intrusion, but try to not look at it like that. Besides, I couldn’t...

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I laughed at him, glad we were getting along so well. It was a bit like having Jess with me. She had texted me to let me know I had been on the news. Apparently my landing had been streamed on live TV in the States. I had been horrified, but she seemed to have loved it. Said it felt like she had been there. My father had another chemo treatment today and I was feeling incredibly guilty for shopping while he went through that torture. Patricia had texted me to let me know he was fine and that they had watched me on the news.

I needed to call Dad soon and made a mental note to try later tonight. I wanted to hear his voice. I had been busy from the moment I set foot here, but I was still more than a little homesick.

Chapter Eighteen

Romantic Dinner or Friendly Get-Together?

—Lisa Talks

Once the sky began to darken, Chadwick started to hurry me along.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Do you want me to get new nightgowns or what? There’s a billion to choose from.”

“Yes. I got down on my knees this morning and prayed you would get rid of those hideous nightshirts, but we’re running out of time, ma’am.” He tapped his watch. “Prince Alex and Princess Catherine will be waiting for you, so just pick something.”

“All right, all right.” I grabbed several different colors of the one I was looking at and headed toward the clerk. “And stop calling me ma’am. You’re older than I am. Just call me Sam.”

“Sam?” He wrinkled his nose at me. “I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just that Sam doesn’t really seem like the name of a duchess.” He looked at my face and backpedaled. “Not that there is anything wrong with Sam. What about Samantha?”

“Fine.” I shrugged. “Anything is better than ma’am.”

“Well, only in private of course. It would be highly inappropriate if I called you that in public.”

I ground my teeth. “Okay.”

“It’s not so bad.” He patted my arm.

The staff hadn’t batted an eye when I’d come through the door, but it made me feel awkward to buy anything like a nightie. What if it ended up on the news? The cameras and news vans had lowered in numbers the longer we shopped, but as soon as I left the store I ran into a crowd of people hollering my name. Chadwick put an arm around me while Becca made a path for us to the car.

I thought we were in the clear as we pulled away from the curb, but cars surrounded us almost immediately.

“What are they doing?” I leaned forward to look out the window. “This is dangerous!” I squeaked when a car swerved close to us around a corner. Our driver slammed the brakes and we skidded, just missing the curb.

“Sit back, Samantha.” Chadwick moved to make sure I was buckled in.

“This is cr—”

A light blue van slammed into the back of our car, making my teeth snap shut. Blood pooled in my mouth from where I nipped my tongue. I covered my lips with my hand and looked around wildly. Camera flashes blinded me as I tried to see just what had happened. A motorcycle stopped in front of our car and the person on the back snapped pictures through the front windshield.

“Are you okay?” Becca turned around in her seat.

“Yeah.” I nodded my head and tried to quell the nausea that was bubbling in my stomach. Adrenaline and anger ran through my body. Balling my hands into fists I glared out the window at the people still busy taking photographs.

“Can you get us out of here?” Chadwick asked.

“As soon as I have an opening.” The driver never took his hands off the steering wheel.

“Should we call the police?” I looked from Becca to Chadwick.

“Best to get out of here fast.” Becca shook her head.

My door handle made a loud noise as someone tried to open the door. I turned to check that it was locked and almost sighed in relief when I realized it was closed for sure. The driver took his foot off the brake and edged forward. I watched as he pushed the bike with the front fender and almost cheered when the motorcycle driver pulled away from us.

Our car shot forward and I felt like celebrating, but I still felt sick. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that someone had hit our car just to get a picture of me.

“It’ll calm down, Samantha. They just don’t know what to make of you.” Chadwick patted my arm.

“Are you kidding? They could have hurt us! They did hurt us! I bit the **** out of my tongue.” I waved my hand in the air. “All that for a picture of me? Me? Why?”

“You’re interesting and they make the most money by selling photos of interesting people.” Chadwick pursed his lips.

“I’m not interesting. I’m the same as every other person. I have to brush my teeth, use the bathroom, and take a bath, same as everyone else.”

“You also just found out that you’re the duchess to a huge estate in a foreign country.” He frowned. “I understand what you’re saying, and they shouldn’t behave the way they are, but it’s because you are interesting. Things will calm down.”

“Please don’t say eventually.” I shook my head. “Everyone keeps telling me that it will calm down eventually, but it just seems to be getting worse.”

“I know.” He frowned and looked out the window as we reached the palace gates.

The car deposited me and my bags at the main door while Chadwick basically pulled me into the palace. That was fine by me. I didn’t want to stay in that car another second.

Catherine and Alex were chatting near the entrance to a room. They were both wearing jeans and I felt incredibly overdressed. This was the first time I had seen Alex in jeans and I had to admit it might be my favorite view of him. His worried gaze found mine immediately.

“Are you okay?” He took a step toward me and stopped.

“Yeah. I’m okay.” I ran a hand through my hair but dropped it when I realized it was shaking. “It was pretty crazy.”

“We heard the bodyguards talking about it. That must’ve been scary.” Catherine shook her head. “I’m so sorry they’re hounding you like this.”

“Maybe when they figure out how boring I am, they’ll leave me alone.” I tried to make a joke, but it sounded a bit too hopeful.

“I’m sure it’s going to calm down.” Alex’s fingers opened and closed by his legs. He looked antsy. In fact he looked as shaken up as I felt.

“You went shopping without me!” Catherine glared at the bags someone carried in. I was grateful the subject change. I didn’t want to think about what had just happened.

“It was Chad’s fault. He made me do it.” I pointed at my assistant, who rolled his eyes at me.

“Trust me, there is still much more to do.” He lifted the bags. “I will take care of these, Samantha. Enjoy your night out with these two.” He gestured with a full hand toward Alex and Catherine. My heart froze. I’d almost forgotten I would have to go back out in that mess. “Don’t let them get you into any trouble, and call me if you need me when you get back.” He winked at me as he turned around so the others couldn’t see.

“Thanks, Chadwick.”

“We don’t have to go out.” Alex watched me carefully, a small tic running along his jaw.

I thought about it for a minute. I didn’t want to go out. I wanted to curl up somewhere quiet and hide. But I also didn’t want to stop living just because some nutso person wanted my picture.

“I’ll call for extra security,” Cathy offered. “If you want. Or we can try again another day.”

“No. Let’s go.” I was glad my voice sounded so sure, because the rest of me wasn’t. “Mind if I run and change? These shoes are killing me.” My feet were screaming in agony. I’d throw them away if I could forget how much they had cost.

“Of course.” Alex leaned against the wall and tucked his hands into his coat.

“I’ll be quick.” I hurried down the hallway in the direction of my room, only to stop and look around, confused. I looked back behind me and Catherine was smiling. Alex pointed to the right, so I nodded my head and took that hall.

Chadwick was standing at my door and held up one of my new sweaters.

“Be careful tonight.”

“I will.” I blew him a kiss as I took it out of his hand ducked into the room. I changed quickly, pulling my hair down from the clip I had been wearing and grabbing my scarf. I threw my necessities into my pockets and headed back to the others. The entire walk back I chanted in my head: I can do this. I will have fun. I can do this. I will have fun. I didn’t want the media to stop me from seeing my new country.

By the time I got there, my stomach was growling and Catherine laughed. “I think someone needs dinner.”

“I haven’t eaten since noon.” I winced.

“We can fix that. Do you have a preference?” Alex opened the door for us and I shook my head. I noticed there was a second car behind us, containing several bodyguards.

“I’d settle for a peanut...

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“Don’t.” He shook his head. “It’ll never happen again.”

“What was it? The bet?” Cathy looked at me, her large eyes wide with curiosity.

“I beat him at Monopoly.” Alex groaned and leaned back in his seat.

“No way!” Cathy leaned forward. “Did you figure it out? He has to be cheating. There’s no way he’s won that many times otherwise!”

“Maybe the karma gods thought it was time he lost.” I shrugged.

“Karma gods, huh? Well, it’s about time.” Cathy sat back in her seat.

“So, foreign-language teacher. Tell me what this is!” I pointed at the first thing on the menu.

“Well, that is the word for stuffed.” Alex grinned while Cathy laughed.

“Oh.” I looked at the menu and wondered if there were any words that wouldn’t trigger naughty thoughts.

“And I said I’d be your teacher, not your translator.” Alex shook his head.

“Well, you’re not doing such a good job. I’ve been here a day and know nothing. I think I should get the drawing as forfeit.” I narrowed my eyes at him. Luca brought over three glasses of water, wineglasses, and a bottle before quickly departing.

“Drawing? Is that the one I saw on your desk?” Cathy turned toward Alex with a small smile.

“Miss Nosy wanted to know what I was working on, so I made a bet. I won.”

“So she hasn’t seen the picture?” Cathy narrowed her eyes at Alex.

“No. But she does owe me a week of volunteer work for the FBT.”

“Then how did he end up being your Lilarian teacher?” Cathy looked at me, confused.

“It was a long flight. He lost the second game.”

“Ha! Alex, you better start teaching her, or that lovely sketch isn’t going to belong to you anymore.”

“Fine.” He leaned forward and pointed at the menu. “This is the word for stuffed. What do you think would be good stuffed?” His eyes twinkled at me in the candlelight. I could think of something I’d like to stuff, all right. And who I’d like to do the stuffing.

“Chicken? Lamb? Some kind of pasta?” I ignored the innuendo, though it was hard to do.

“Chicken. So, this is the word for chicken, this is stuffed, and see how these words are in the front? They tell you what the chicken is stuffed with. Here.” He turned the menu so that it was facing me. “See if you can figure out any of the other dishes with these words.”

“What is this? Advanced classes? What happened to starting with the alphabet?” I let my eyes run over the menu and tried to pick out words that seemed familiar. There were a few words I remembered from my high school French class.

“Go over there and help her! She’s starving and Luca will be back any minute.” Cathy shoved his shoulder.

He looked at me and I could see the hesitation in his eyes, but he slid out of the booth and in beside me. Leaning close, he pointed out some of the words that would help me most. After a minute I’d found a dish that sounded great and we were ready to order. Luca came over, blocking Alex’s exit from my side of the booth, and started pouring wine.

“This is one of my favorites. A celebration to the duchess coming home!” Luca smiled at me and I lifted my cup before taking a sip. I wasn’t much of a drinker, so had no idea if it was a good vintage or not. It also struck me as odd every time someone welcomed me home. I understood why they said it, but home would always be in the States where I had grown up.

“To the Rousseau family.” Cathy lifted her glass.

“To Samantha.” Alex looked at me over his glass of wine.

The food was delicious and I was completely satisfied by the time Luca brought several bowls of chocolate mousse.

“I don’t have room!” I groaned.

“Make room! You don’t turn down Luca’s mousse. It’s amazing.” Cathy dove into her bowl with relish and I looked at Alex. He had finally relaxed next to me and stayed there through the dinner. His arm lay on the back of the booth and his long legs stretched out under the table.

“Where does she put it all?”

“No idea, but if you want to try it, you better do it before she finishes hers.”

“You only live once, Sam! Try it!” Cathy nudged my bowl with her finger and I realized that was the first time she had called me by my nickname. A little piece of me relaxed and I picked up my spoon.

The dessert melted in my mouth and it was like I had swallowed a little piece of heaven. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the flavors. There was a hint of raspberry from the sauce that made me consider pouring the rest of the bowl in my mouth. Forget the spoon. When I opened my eyes, Cathy was nodding her head in agreement, but Alex was watching my mouth with a stony expression.

“Told you! It’s like crack. Or, I think it’s like crack. What drug is it that only takes one time?” Cathy tilted her head thoughtfully. I was struck in that moment by her youthful eyes and guarded upbringing. No wonder she didn’t see Kyle for what he truly was.

“That would be it.” I took another bite but tried to keep my reaction sedate. “And this is definitely addicting.”

“Don’t tell the head chef at the palace, but his chocolate mousse doesn’t even compare.” Cathy sighed.

“My lips are sealed.”

As we were finishing up, there was a commotion at the door. I looked over the booth to see Luca talking angrily to a man at another table. The man tried to calm him down but eventually stood up and pointed a camera at our table. A large chef and waiter joined Luca as they tried to push the man out the front door. Luca was hollering in Lilarian, but from his tone I could tell it wasn’t very pleasant. Becca and Duvall showed up at the table, blocking our view of the scene. Or, more importantly, blocking the camera’s view of us.

I tried to calm my racing heart. There were a lot of people in the little restaurant who wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me. I just couldn’t believe the trouble the photographers were going through for a picture.

“Oh, poor Luca.” Cathy sighed and set down her spoon.

“Duvall, make sure we take care of that man’s dinner. I don’t want Luca losing money just because someone was trying to take our picture.” Alex leaned toward the people standing outside our booth.

“Of course, sir.”

“Why are they so focused on us? Is it like this all the time?” I frowned at them. What had I gotten into that I couldn’t go enjoy dinner with friends?

“I haven’t seen them this rabid since…” Cathy trailed off at a quick look from Alex. “I’m sure it’ll calm down, Sam. They just want pictures of the new duchess.”

“Did they do this with the other guy? The duke that was reinstated?” I had feeling what she had been about to reference.

“No.” Alex shook his head. “But you’re younger, so they feel like you’re more interesting.”

“Not to mention beautiful.” Cathy smiled at me. “All that dark hair and your dark eyes.”

“That too, of course.” Alex gave me a small smile.

“There’s also a lot of press about you and Alex. They love to drum up romance stories.” Cathy leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table. “They’d just love it if you two were an item.”

“We’re friends,” Alex and I said in unison. I chuckled weakly.

“Of course you are.” Cathy sat back in the booth with innocent eyes.

I felt queasy and I wasn’t sure if it was from all the food or the reminder of what life would be like if I did give in to Alex. We ended up leaving through the back door. There were too many people out front for us to be able to reach the cars. Luca had boxed up some of his chocolate mousse for us to take and apologized that our dessert had been interrupted.

“That wasn’t your fault!” I shook my head.

“I should have realized he was paparazzi.” Luca said the word like it was an insult.

“Thank you for watching out for us.” Alex followed his words with a few in Lilarian, which seemed to make Luca happy. We left, getting in the cars and zipping out into the streets.

We drove around for a little while, Alex and Cathy giving instructions to the driver so that I could see a bit more of the city. We never stopped and got out, but I didn’t complain. It was cold and I was tired. Not to mention, I didn’t want to deal with the press again. When we got back to the palace, I took my little box of chocolate mousse and dragged my sorry tail inside.

“Do you remember how to get to your room?” Cathy asked, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Alex can you show you. His room is down that way too.”

“I’m heading to bed anyway. I have to be up early tomorrow for a meeting.” Alex kissed Cathy’s cheek.

“Thanks for showing me around,” I said to Cathy.

“No problem. When things calm down we’ll do some more.” Cathy reached out and hugged me. “It’s nice to have another girl here.”

“Looks like...

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“I get it, Samantha. I do. And we’re heading out to your family estate at the end of the week.” Chadwick frowned. “But the reality is that this is your life.”

I set my muffin down and looked away out the window. He was right, but that didn’t make all this craziness any better.

“I’m scheduling only the important things. I’ve turned down a hundred meetings.” He looked sad, so I tried to smile. I felt a little guilty for being so difficult. “That’s just pathetic.”

“I’m trying here.” I gave up and glared at him instead.

“That’s better. I like it when you’re all saucy.” He winked at me before going back to his paper.

By the time I finished my muffin and coffee, we were moving out of my room and toward the car. Chadwick went over the schedule for the day and he gave me a quick rundown of the people I’d be meeting.

“So, the zoo keeper that requested me to come out is American?” I smiled at the man who opened the door. Becca was standing next to the car, talking to one of the other suits.

“Yes. He is relatively new to the position.” Chadwick held my purse while I climbed into the car. “I think he’s excited you’re a wildlife biologist and I thought you might prefer this to the luncheon planning the garden fund-raiser.”

“Nailed it.”

“Of course.” He flipped through the paperwork while I tried to ignore the cars that followed us as soon as we pulled out of the gate.

The zoo was a little ways out of the city center and I really enjoyed getting to see some of the scenery. It was a heavily forested area with a lot of hills. As we exited the highway, I could see the sign for the zoological gardens, thankfully written in English as well as Lilarian. I really needed to spend more time learning the language, but I would probably try to find a real teacher. I still hadn’t figured out what it was that Alex had whispered in my ear. I had tried online translators, but I must not be spelling it right, because all I ever got was gibberish. Something about a hamster—and I was pretty sure he hadn’t been talking about a hamster.

We pulled right up to the gate and were ushered through after a few pictures were taken in front of the signs. It was a pretty zoo: lots of plants, trees, and decent-sized enclosures. An attractive man a few years older than me met us just inside. He walked straight up to me and held out his hand.

“Duchess, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jeremy.”

“Nice to meet you, Jeremy. Thank you for inviting me out here.” I shook his hand and noted the calluses. He wasn’t someone to sit back and let everyone else do all the work.

“Thank you for coming! We’re honored that you accepted our invitation. I know you haven’t been in the country very long.” He motioned for us to walk, so I fell in step beside him. My detail kept a close proximity, but I did my best to ignore them.

“Not very long.” I nodded my head. “But I have a weakness for animals.”

“I was hoping so.” He smiled at me and I realized he would likely be someone that would have made my heart flutter before Alex. My stomach clenched. Before Alex.

“So, why did you invite me out here?” I bit my lip. I wasn’t very good at doing the political dance around things.

“Straightforward. I like that.” He touched my shoulder, leading me toward an aviary. “A few reasons, actually. One, I figured you would enjoy seeing the zoo since you’re a wildlife biologist. Two, I was hoping to meet America’s Duchess.” He winked at me and I felt my face heat. I really hated being called that.

We walked through the large aviary while he pointed out some of the species they had managed to obtain. It was an impressive enclosure with a large array of birds that I hadn’t seen in person before. I stopped to admire one of the waterfalls in the habitat and he stopped with me. There was a tile mosaic at the bottom that glistened under the water.

“I designed the enclosure when I first arrived about three years ago.”

I didn’t blame him for being proud—it was a beautiful and efficient building. “I like the way you have the feed dishes dispersed. Very natural-looking.”

“Thank you.” He held his hand out to help me from my kneeling position by the water. “I spent a lot of time studying some of the ones in the larger zoos. I really wanted people to feel like they were observing the birds out in the wild. This design is what got me my position.”

“Mission accomplished.” I smiled at him. I was wondering how he had managed to be in charge of so much at such a young age.

“Lilaria has a long relationship with birds, and I was very excited to receive a spot at this zoo. I feel that I can do a lot of good for our avian friends here.” He led us through the exit door and into a small schoolhouse setting. There were models of birds, a poster listing extinct species, and a wall with windows into a nursery type of room where tiny birds hopped around and chirped loudly. There were TVs along the top of the room, showing footage of birds in flight, raptors chasing ever-changing clouds made up of thousands of sparrows. It was an impressive educational tool and obviously directed at getting people interested in birds—especially children.

“The Future Bird Trust helped pay for this building.” Jeremy put his hands on his h*ps and looked around the room. “There is a heavy emphasis on education.”

“That’s excellent. We need to teach children why it’s so important to preserve what we have.” I watched some of the hatchlings with a smile. I missed the birds.

“It is important, but I feel like we should also reach out to the adults in charge of things now. Otherwise, there won’t be as many birds when the children grow up.” Jeremy stood next to me and stared into the nursery. “I’d like to start a promotion that targets adults.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I have several ideas, including setting up falconry classes and holding events for parties, wedding receptions, and conventions here at the zoo. A set fee would go to the care of the animals, but it would also give us a chance to introduce large and sometimes influential groups to the birds.” He leaned against the glass and looked at me. “I’d also like to run advertisements in the papers and with the news stations. There is a community-sponsored channel that is willing to do a series on birds with the zoo.”

“Those are all ideas that could work.” I tilted my head in thought. “I’d also say to not underestimate the amount of power a well-educated child has on their parent. I’ve seen a lot of families take up recycling because their children insisted.”

“Oh, we’ll keep the programs we have in place, but I’d like to target the immediate threat directly.” He moved a little closer toward me and I found myself stepping backward to put space between us.

I nodded my head and moved farther away, walking around the little room, taking in the posters and little odds and ends that had been strewn about the room. Becca was watching me closely and had taken a closer spot to where I was standing. I knew she could tell that I had become uncomfortable. Chadwick was checking his watch and raised an eyebrow in my direction.

“May I call you Samantha?” Jeremy followed close behind me and I had to keep from rubbing at my skin. He seemed nice and he was bright, but I had a feeling that he didn’t see me as a human or even as a biologist—he saw me as a means to an end.

“Sure.” I didn’t look at him, instead I motioned toward Chadwick. “Look at this, Chadwick. This is an article my advisor was cre***ed in.”

“Oh? That’s interesting.” Chadwick flipped through the periodical. “He must be very good at his job.”

“Yes. He’s one of the best.”

“I heard you studied with Dr. Geller.” Jeremy looked over Chadwick’s shoulder. Suddenly I had a feeling the periodical had been placed there just for my benefit.

“Yes, I was very lucky.”

“You must have hated giving up that spot.” Jeremy shook his head. “I know how much work goes into that stuff.”

“Yes, it hurt, but I hope to resume my studies in the future.”

“Well, if you’d like to work with the birds here, we’d be happy to have you.” Jeremy sat on the bookshelf next to me and crossed his arms. “We’re always in need of knowledgeable volunteers. And it might be nice for you to get your hands dirty again.”

I laughed. It was true that I would probably enjoy working here, but the fact was I’d also be under constant scrutiny. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m sure I’ll have a chance to be hands-on once on my property.”

“Will they let a duchess do any work?” Jeremy laughed. “Lilarians take their royals very seriously.”

Chadwick glared over at Jeremy. Even though I was American I could see why that statement would bother those born here. It was in his tone that he didn’t think that much of the royals in general.

“I know that Prince Alex does a lot of hands-on work...

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“Ah, don’t focus on all the bad. Think about it! You’re going to have a baby elephant named after you!”

I laughed. “Yeah. She was adorable.”

“A cute little thing is what he said.”

“Shut it, Chad.”

“I hate it when you call me that.” He frowned at me.

“Good.”

Chapter Twenty

Already Stepping into the Shoes of Her Royal Family

—Lilarian Daily Gazette

The next two days were full of similar events. People eager to meet me and then turn around and ask for money. I even spoke with Dr. Beilefeld, which had been the most important thing to happen since my arrival. He seemed genuinely interested in my father’s case.

Even with the little breaks Chadwick had planned into my schedule, it was exhausting and I was on the verge of a temper tantrum when my phone rang. When I checked my screen I sighed in relief. It was my dad and I quickly answered.

“Hey! How are you?”

“Good. You’re on the news every day. Looks like they’re keeping you busy.” His voice went a long way toward calming my frayed nerves.

Chadwick stood up from his seat at my desk and pointed to his watch before exiting the room.

“Something like that.”

“Well, the doctor said I could leave after my next scan as long as everything comes back okay. I only have one more week of chemo.”

“That’s great! I can’t wait to see you.” I smiled. “Has Patricia given you an answer about coming?”

“Yep. She said I couldn’t shake her just by moving to another country.” He laughed. “She’s boxing up stuff right now. Won’t let me help. Stubborn woman.”

“I heard that!” Patricia’s voice squeaked through the tiny speaker on my phone.

“Tell her I’m hiring movers! She doesn’t need to do that.”

“She knows. It’s like she’s got a compulsion.”

“Well, keep her from doing any lifting.”

“Right. Like that woman has ever listened to me.” I could hear Patricia laugh in the background. He was right.

“Okay. Well, how are you feeling? What did the doctor say?”

“I have another scan after the chemo is finished.” He never hesitated talking about it all. He was very no-nonsense. “But we’re hopeful that it will have helped.”

“Let me know as soon as you have the results. I wish I could be there with you.”

“Nah. It’s fine!” Dad laughed. “I’m a big boy, Sam. You don’t need to hold my hand.”

“I know.” My voice cracked. “I need you to hold mine.”

“You okay?” Dad’s voice softened. “You sound tired.”

“I am. It’s just really different here. I feel like everyone wants something from me.” Even my new friends. Chadwick wanted me to find my groove, Cathy wanted me to be her best friend, and Alex… I hadn’t seen Alex in days.

“You take care of yourself. You can’t help anyone else if you don’t start with you.”

“You’re right.” I sighed. “I miss home.”

“It’ll get better.”

“I know.” Chadwick knocked on my door and I sighed. “I have to go, the warden says my time’s up.”

He laughed. “Love you, baby. Call me when you have some time.”

“I will. Love you too.” I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Time to go play tea party.

I grabbed the jacket for my dress and went out into the hall. “I’m ready.”

“Good. The queen has a very strict schedule.”

“I know.”

“How’s your dad?” Chadwick led me through the hallways. I still got turned around in the palace.

“One more week of chemo and then he has another cat scan. If everything checks out, he’ll be here next month.”

“Excellent! I checked out the fishing at your house and it’s supposed to be good. Stanley even has a chair picked out for him. Said it’s the most comfortable.”

“Stanley… How does he seem about the whole new royal coming to the house thing?” I watched Chadwick out the corner of my eye.

“He seems excited, to be honest. I’m sure you guys will have to get used to each other, but he seems happy about having someone live in the manor house.” Chadwick glanced at his paperwork. “He is having everything freshened up for your arrival.”

“He doesn’t need to do that. I can clean up or fix anything when I get home.”

“Samantha, you’re homecoming is a very big deal. He will make sure everything is just right.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. It didn’t take long until we were at the doors for the queen’s parlor. The man standing there nodded to me to make sure I was ready before knocking softly and waiting for a response. I followed him into the room before stopping to curtsy.

“Your Majesty.” The footman bowed. “The Duchess of Rousseau.”

“Samantha, so glad you could have lunch with us.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Your Highness.” I smiled at the queen and at the people behind her. Cathy, Alex, and Rose were all standing, waiting on me to join them. I hoped my eyes hadn’t lingered on Alex for too long, but his were locked on me the same way.

“Not at all. You’ve been busy and we thought it might be nice to have a quiet lunch.” She motioned for me to take the open chair next to Alex. He held the seat out for me and I managed to slide under the table with no problems. I was getting better at this manners stuff.

“How are you?” Rose asked.

“Good. Trying to find my footing.”

“Samantha, how have you found Lilaria?” The queen smiled at me over the flowers in the center of the table. I’m not sure why, but Felecia made me nervous in a way that Alex and Cathy didn’t.

“It’s lovely, but I hope I get to see more of it soon.” I put the napkin in my lap and tried to calm my nerves.

“Eager to get to your estate?” Felecia took a sip from her water glass.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“It’s beautiful out there. The D’Lynsal property runs adjacent to the stream on the backside. I used to fish there with my father.” Felecia looked over at Alex. “Do you still go out that way? I know you used to fly birds back there.”

“Yes, it’s a good area to hunt.” He looked over at me. “Don’t forget you said you’d join me sometime.” Was he flirting with me in front of everyone?

“I didn’t realize your property ran alongside mine.” I looked at Alex while the staff placed salads on the table.

“You should have studied your map a little better.” He laughed.

“I would if my teacher would ever get around to helping me decipher Lilarian.” I gave him a pointed look before taking a bite of my salad.

“I’ll send you some homework.”

“Alex, you still haven’t taught her anything else?” Cathy was watching us carefully. “So, the only words she knows in Lilarian are chicken and stuffed?”

I heard Rose snort but she quickly turned it into a sneeze. Felecia looked like she was trying not to laugh.

“I need to know more than that?” I winked at Cathy.

“It will certainly make your reinstatement ceremony more interesting if that’s all you know.” She giggled.

“Would certainly be entertaining,” the queen offered. “Alex, if you’ve promised to help her with her Lilarian, you need to do it. What is on your schedule for the next few weeks?”

“FBT work, a trip to the mines, the normal stuff.” Alex wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Actually, Samantha is going to be doing some work with the FBT. I could help with her Lilarian then.”

“That’s perfect.” Felecia nodded her head like she was confirming an order.

“I really need to get to my property.” I tried to not sound annoyed. When was I ever going to get to see my new home?

“We’re going this weekend,” Alex said. “I won’t need any help with the FBT for at least another week.”

“Oh, are you going with her to Rousseau?” Felecia looked up, interested.

“Yes.” He didn’t offer an explanation and the queen’s thoughtful gaze turned to me.

“Let me know if you need to rearrange your schedule, Alex.” Felecia smiled before looking down at her plate. That was the first time I felt like she was working something and I couldn’t help but wonder what.

“That’s great, Alex. I’m sure Samantha will appreciate having a friend along for the ride,” Cathy interjected.

“A friend will be appreciated amongst all this change,” Rose said primly.

“You have had to adjust to a lot this week,” Felecia said. “I think you’ve done wonderfully.”

“Thank you. I have to admit that I’m flying by the seat of my pants.” A woman cleared the plates. I was starting to understand why Alex loved hamburgers...

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“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.

Chapter Twenty-One

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...

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“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 ***y 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.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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 e***ion, 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 e***ion?”

“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...

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“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.

Chapter Twenty-Three

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.

“I just told you!”

“You think your father would want you to miss out on something—someone—that would love you because of him? All this change, it’s scary. I get that. But it can be good, too. You don’t see it because you’re living it, but to those of us watching, it’s obvious that you were meant for this job, for this life.”

I chewed on my lip while I pondered what she was saying. “That’s pretty deep for an eighteen-year-old.”

“I might have...

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“Alex is going, too?”

“Yes.” I took a deep breath. I hadn’t seen him since our trip to the bookstore. It felt like ages and I was eager but also nervous to see him again.

“Lighten up, Sam.” She pushed my shoulder. “I expect an invitation to dinner soon.”

“Pizza party at my place.”

“Sounds perfect.” She hugged me quickly. “I’ve got to run.”

“See you soon.”

I spent the rest of the afternoon going through my e-mails. I was almost through with the list of unread messages when a new one popped in. When I saw the return address I grinned. It was from Bert, probably telling me about something silly Jess had done. I clicked on the icon and almost screamed when I saw the attached pictures.

From: BERT

To: "Sam Rousseau"

Subject: Important Question!!

Sam,

I was going to ask you to come with me to look, but since you’re all the way in Lilaria I’m sending you pictures. She’ll kick my ass if I pick the wrong one. What do you think?

Bert

I looked over the picture of rings and chewed on my lip. I was so happy for Jess, but also sad that I wouldn’t be there to listen to her squealing. I looked over the choices carefully, trying to pick out what Jess would and wouldn’t like. I debated for a minute over a couple of settings before responding.

From: Sam Rousseau

To: "BERT"

Subject: RE: Important Question!!

Bert,

It has to be the round-cut; they have the most facets so sparkle the most. And we know how much Jess loves to sparkle!

Congrats! Really happy for you guys.

Sam

I hit the send button and sat there staring at my computer monitor. I wasn’t there, but I had still been able to help Bert. I sent a quick e-mail to Dad with pictures I had snapped with my phone. Looking through the snapshots made me realize how much of the city I had seen. Cathy was right. I needed to stop focusing on the parts that made me miserable and enjoy the good things that came with this new life.

I decided to relax the rest of the night. Chadwick was so busy he hadn’t scheduled me anything after lunch. It was like coming home and having no homework. I made use of the big tub and finished the book I had started on the plane. In fact, I was so engrossed in the book that the water chilled and I had to get out. It was the most peaceful night I had spent in Lilaria and I was grateful for it. I had needed to recharge my batteries. I felt like I had been handing out little pieces of myself to everyone I met and took pictures with. After a while I had begun to feel like a shell of the person I was and having the night off was working wonders.

I fell asleep with the e-reader on my chest and didn’t move the entire night.

Chapter Twenty-Four

America’s Duchess Finally Goes Home

—California Travel Agents’ Association

The next morning was a blur of activity. For the first time since I met Chadwick, he looked flustered. I dutifully wore the dress he had left in my closet and checked the guest room for anything I might have accidently left behind. I packed up my laptop and stuck my e-reader in my bag to carry in the car. It would be a two-hour drive—nothing too long, but not a trip around the corner.

I finished up my breakfast while looking through the local papers. Thankfully some of them were in English. Unfortunately, my picture was on the front page of most of them.

“How can they do this? They just publish whatever they want without checking facts.” I held up the one I was reading. “I’m not pining away for some lover back home.” I set that paper down and picked up the next one. “I’m also not suffering from an eating disorder. Look at this! This one says I refuse to eat and the queen is worried. This other paper has a picture of me stuffing a burger in my mouth and calls me an American slob. Which is it? Am I anorexic or a fatty?”

“Best advice you will ever receive is to not read the papers.” Chadwick opened my closet.

“This is crazy! They just post whatever will sell.” I growled and threw the papers in the trash can next to the desk. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure we haven’t left anything.” He opened the drawers of the nightstand.

“I already checked.” I shook my head. “Are you okay? You seem flustered.”

“I’m fine.” His snappy tone made my eyebrows rise. “No. I’m not. I had a fight last night with my… friend. I apologize. I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“We don’t have time.” He sighed. “Are you ready? I believe I saw Alex leaving his mother’s sitting room.”

“Sure.” I pulled my coat on and grabbed my bag. “Chadwick, would you be interested in making this a permanent job? Work for me? I know you’ve been living here, so if you have a life out here and aren’t interested in moving, I get that.” I wrapped my scarf around my neck. “I really would understand, but I’ve gotten used to your brand of nagging.”

“You’re so darling. How could I resist?” Chadwick said.

“So, that’s a yes?”

“I’ve already packed.” He opened the door for me and we made our way to the main entrance.

“What if I hadn’t asked you?”

“It’s my job to be prepared for everything.” He looked down at his clipboard and a terrible thought came to me.

“That’s not why you fought with your friend is it?” He didn’t look up from his notes. “Chadwick, don’t move out there for me. I mean, I want you to move out there for me, but I don’t want you to leave something good behind.”

“I’m happy with my decision, but thank you.” He smiled at me. “Besides, I think we make a good team.”

“I think so, too.” I frowned as we walked a ways. “Maybe… maybe your friend could come with you. I wouldn’t mind, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s incredibly kind of you, but that’s not an option.”

“Oh.” I hated to see my peppy assistant so despondent. “Well, if that changes, the option is open.”

“I appreciate that.” He smiled at me but still looked sad.

“So long as I don’t find you in your underwear drinking milk out of the carton in the middle of the night.”

“What if I pour it in a cup first?” Chadwick was starting to loosen up and I was relieved.

“That’s mildly better. How about we agree on at least pajama pants or a robe with the glass of milk?”

“You do realize that there is an entire suite for me?” He looked over at me with a smile. “I believe in the States they are referred to as a ‘mother-in-law suite.’”

“Still. You might run out of milk and try to swipe mine.”

“Then I believe that’s an acceptable deal as long as it applies to you as well.”

“Hey, it’s my house.” I laughed. “No promises.”

We waited at the entrance for Alex and his assistant. I’d seen him a few times with Alex, an older gentleman who was very proper. While we killed time, I studied the paintings hanging in the entranceway. There was some beautiful work and some of them even looked vaguely familiar.

“Yes, yes. Tell them that I’ll be out there next week.” Alex’s voice reached my ears and my heart thumped. I was starting to feel like a schoolgirl. “I have some things to take care of at D’Lynsal and then I will go to Paris.” I turned to look at him and he smiled. His eyes ran over me like a man in the desert looking at a glass of water. My heart rate sped up and I watched as he made his way to me. He quickly hung up and stuck the phone in his suit pocket. “Are you ready to see your home?”

“Very.” I didn’t even have a joke. I was more than ready to see my place, to find my groove. Not to mention, as usual, the sight of Alex had erased the majority of my vocabulary.

“Then let’s go. Ned, I’ll be riding with the duchess.”

“Of course, sir.” The older man nodded his head.

Alex and I took the second car in the line; the first car was the escort that seemed to go with us everywhere. Chadwick winked at me as he took a spot in the back seat of the front vehicle.

We left with little fanfare except for the ever-present reporters and their cameras. “There are more of them today.”

“You’re going home.” Alex looked over at me. “They’re documenting history.”

“And here I was excited to get somewhere I could drink milk out of the carton while wearing my underwear.”

“You drink milk out of the carton while in your underwear?” Alex laughed.

“You’ve never done that? Gotten up in the middle of the night and wanted a snack?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t bother to put on my underwear.” He watched my face as his words sank in.

“What do you… oh.” I frowned. “Wouldn’t that be cold?”

“It’s not so bad when you have someone warm to get back...

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“Relax,” Alex whispered in my ear. “Just keep it simple and be yourself.”

“Thanks.” He let go of my hand and took his seat while I was left to face the crowd. I had no way of judging how many people were actually standing in the village center watching me, but it felt like I was giving a State of the Union address. I squeezed the paper in my hand, the one I couldn’t remember anything from, and gave the crowd a smile.

“People use the word honored in award speeches, they talk about how grateful they are and humbled. Well, I’m not sure how to catalog today, but it feels as though I’ve won an award and I am all of those things: honored by your reception, humbled to be a part of such a wonderful legacy, and grateful that Her Majesty sent His Highness to find me.” I paused, trying to remember what else I was supposed to say, and was surprised by the applause. I looked over the crowd, stunned. “I’m going to keep this short because I hate to keep you all out in the cold—you might turn into Popsicles.” There were chuckles from the crowd. “Thank you so much for coming out here to meet me. I look forward to learning more about each and every one of you.” Very carefully, I said the words for “thank you” in Lilarian and silently prayed that I got it correct.

People stood up and clapped. I should have felt proud, but I just felt silly—like they were humoring me. I stepped away from the microphone and let Simone shake my hand. She turned toward the crowd, still holding my hand and motioned to me again while the crowd cheered. Not sure what to do, I waved with my free hand and smiled. When she let go, I moved to where the others had stood. They shook my hand like they hadn’t already been introduced to me and told me how happy they were that I was back. It was very surreal and I didn’t really understand why they were so excited. I was starting to think I never would understand.

People stopped me just off the stage. There was a lot of handshaking and smiling. So many names and faces I would never be able to keep up with. Through it all, Alex stayed by my side. He was a living, breathing wall of support. Every person that he spoke to felt at ease; the women swooned and the men felt important. By the time we got back in the car, I felt like I had seen a whole new side to Alex.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He settled into his seat and raised an eyebrow at me.

“Thinking.”

“About how incredibly ***y I am?” He turned to look at me with a smirk.

“How do you have room in your head for anything other than your ego?” I laughed. “And no, I was thinking that you make a really great prince.”

“Why is that?”

“You put people at ease and they still respect you.” I smiled. “You’re a natural.”

“I’ve had years of practice. You didn’t do so bad yourself.” He pulled at my coat pocket and retrieved the speech Chadwick had written. “Was that really what Chadwick told you to say?”

“I couldn’t remember it.” I winced.

“So you winged that?” Alex whistled in appreciation as he unfolded the paper. “Wow, this wasn’t bad either, but I think you nailed it.” He read over the paper quickly.

“It may have been the shortest speech in history.” I looked out the window as the car finally began to move.

“It was exactly what you needed to say.” He folded the paper and stuck it back in my pocket. “It’s exactly what the crowd wanted.”

“Thanks.” I met his eyes and bit my lip. Would it be wrong to take what I wanted? Would it be worth it if I let myself give in? The more time I spent with him, the harder it was to fight my attraction to him.

“You’re welcome.”

Surprisingly there were no cars following us except for our own detail as we drove through the winding roads. When we came to a thin driveway with a gated entrance, the first car pulled in and the driver punched a code into the small keypad. I craned my neck to try to see the house through the trees, but they were too dense.

I sat up in my seat and leaned forward as we pulled through the gate. Seeing this house in person would clinch the whole deal for me—it was where I thought I’d finally be able to understand my place in this weird direction my life had taken. The trees cleared and I was rewarded with a breathtaking sight. The house wasn’t really a house. With the stone walls it looked more like a castle.

A short burst of laughter exited my mouth. I had seen pictures, but they hadn’t done it justice. There was a large staircase that led up to a massive door with elegant statues and stonework on either side. There was a small garden in the center of the circular driveway, a light frosting of snow sitting on top of the sculpted bushes.

“It’s something out of a fairy tale.”

“Welcome home, Samantha.” Alex’s warm voice drew my attention from the house. His eyes were warm and there was a soft smile pulling at his lips.

“Thank you.” I whispered the words. I meant for everything—for coming with me, for not running away every time I pushed, and for being my friend when I needed one.

He reached out and wrapped his fingers around mine before lifting my hand to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss on my knuckles. There were no words, no explanations, but they weren’t needed. He had said he wouldn’t kiss me until I asked, but this didn’t count. It was less than the kiss I had wanted in the bookstore, but more than I could ask for right now.

He got out of the car and walked around to open my door. I stepped onto my family land for the first time while Alex stood next to me. It felt right for him to be here. A shiver ran over my body as my eyes drank in the surroundings. A long time ago, my ancestors had lived here. Not many people could trace their family as far as the queen had done for me.

The front door opened and a man stood at the top of the stairs. He was tall with a friendly face and silver hair. I took the stairs carefully, Alex a step behind me. The man at the door bowed and I held my hand out.

“Duchess Rousseau, it’s a pleasure.” The man shook my hand briskly. “I’m Stanley Wes***.” He motioned to the open front door. “Welcome home.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Our Very Own Royal Upgrades Homes

—College Daily

The inside was much more spacious than I would have thought. Two women stood just inside and curtsied when I entered the house. Stanley introduced them as his wife, who was the cook, and a slight woman named Jeanette, who was the housekeeper.

I took the time to talk with them each, but I was itching to run through the rooms. The furnishings were elegant, but nothing too grand. It felt like an ideal French chateau. After depositing our coats, Stanley led Alex and me through the rooms. He took the time to point out important furniture pieces and rooms that were used for something special.

“Two years ago we decided to upgrade the kitchens and bathrooms. The queen felt like it was a worthwhile expense and now I know why. She must have been close to finding you.” Stanley showed me the lovely kitchen, large enough to make food for a big party, but nothing like the industrial kitchen of the palace. “Margie has really enjoyed the changes.”

“It’s beautiful.” I liked the counters and soft colors of the walls. “I don’t think I would have picked anything different.”

“I’ll have to tell Margie. She worried that you wouldn’t like the things she chose and wouldn’t feel at home.”

“No, I love it.”

“I’m glad.” Stanley ushered us through the formal dining room, sitting parlor, and the more relaxed living room. As he led us up the stairs, he looked over his shoulder at me. “I’m afraid that we kept most of the renovations and upgrades to the main levels. We felt that if any of the family came home they would want to have a say in their bedrooms. There are eight bedrooms total, six bathrooms on the top level, and two bathrooms on the bottom level.”

At the top of the stairs was a landing with a desk and two hallways that ran in opposite directions.

“The right wing is typically used for the family, while the left wing is used for guests.” He started down the right hall. “There are four bedrooms on either side, and four bathrooms on the family wing. The one on the end will be yours.”

He led me straight to the last room down the right-hand hallway and opened the double doors. The room was beautiful. While the furniture was on the older side, it had a more antique feel rather than being outdated. The ornate furnishings and decorations were balanced by a simple, white bedspread and gauzy curtains. This room spanned the entire wing, which meant there were plenty of windows and natural light. The detailing along the walls and ceiling was beautiful. I looked around, trying to believe that it belonged to me.

“What do you think?” Alex asked from his vantage point in the doorway. He was leaning against the wall, his hands tucked in his pockets as he watched me.

“It’s beautiful.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe it’s mine.”

“We did update the master bath, of course, and the mattresses.” Stanley...