“Will I have to do things for the queen?” I knew I had responsibilities to the Rousseau village, but hadn’t thought about much more than that.
“It depends. She tends to pick and choose carefully.” He smiled. “I think it’s reasonable to assume she’ll have some things you’d be perfect for.”
“Hm.” I looked back up at the clouds and wondered if that would change if our relationship did go public. When I thought about all the people who would follow my every move it made me nauseous. Alex was worth it. More than worth it, but it was still something I was going to need to ease into. And there was a big part of me that worried what we had might not last. Then I’d be left to pick up the pieces of my very publicly broken heart.
“You’ve got a while before you have to worry about it. She can’t ask you to take on any official duties until you’ve gone through the reinstatement ceremony.” He squeezed my fingers.
“Good to know.” I started to pull my hand away, but he tightened his grip.
“Samantha, you don’t have to worry about people here. They won’t say anything.” He rolled over to his side and propped his head up. “Most of the employees here are generational. Their families have worked for my family for years. In a lot of ways they’re like extended family.”
I bit my lip and looked up at him. “I’m making this difficult. I know it. But…”
“You’re scared.” He cupped my cheek. “I do understand. I’m willing to wait until you’re ready, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“Doesn’t it bother you?” I frowned. “That people will speculate about us?”
“People always speculate about couples.” He laughed.
“But not on the front page of the papers!”
“That’ll calm down. Eventually they’ll find something else to focus on.” He shrugged.
“I’m just not used to it.” I sighed. “I’ll get there. I promise.”
Slowly, so that I had time to move, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. My body’s response to him was immediate and I forgot about who might be watching. He continued to tease me with feather-soft kisses until I nipped at his bottom lip. That did the trick and he deepened our kiss. I ran my hands through his hair, enjoying how warm it felt on my fingers.
When he finally pulled away, I snuggled close to him and he chuckled. “I should kiss you more often. It makes you much more agreeable.”
“Shut it and cuddle me.”
The rest of the weekend was spent with the birds or learning more about the area. Alex was good at keeping me distracted, but the closer it came to Monday, the more anxious I became.
Chapter Thirty
A Royal Rendezvous?
—L.A. Daily
“He still hasn’t returned my call.”
I shoved my cell phone in my pocket and glared out the car window.
“Samantha, it’s been two hours and he was in surgery.” Chadwick lowered his paper and looked over at me. There was a picture of Cathy on the page he was reading. “I know you’re worried, but give the man a break. He can’t run out of the operating room to talk.”
“I know.” I sighed. “Dad was really snappy this morning. I’m starting to think it’s the medicine.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that can happen with certain prescriptions.” Chadwick folded up the paper. “He will call you. You can’t do anything right now, so focus on why we’re in town.”
“Meetings with politicians.” I leaned back in my seat. “This is going to be awesome.”
“Deep breath. It’s only for an hour and then you get to go home and wear jeans again.”
“And sit through Lilarian lessons.” I picked at my jacket.
“You’ll do great.”
I met with the local council of leaders, listening to what all they did and how they thought I might be able to help. It was an interesting morning and the breakfast was delicious. Simone, the local mayoral figure, kept everyone on track and we actually got a great deal accomplished. When I was leaving, she pulled me to the side to thank me for coming.
“No, I enjoyed seeing how everything works. I know I can’t petition the parliament on behalf of the people yet, but if there are any cases you can think of, let me know. I have time to look into them, even if I can’t do much yet.”
“I like that. You’ll be able to dive right in when the time comes.”
“I like to be prepared.” I shook her hand.
“Wonderful. I hope you don’t mind my bringing this up, but I realize you might not have thought of this.” She took a step closer, still holding my hand. “I know you’ve been worried about how the locals would feel about your coming home and I thought of something that might make you feel better. The royal families that represent the different provinces typically hold open houses or parties for the locals at least once a year. It encourages conversation and makes the villagers feel appreciated. Once you’re reinstated, it might be nice to consider holding one.”
“I’ll look into it. Thank you.”
That afternoon was spent with a nice woman named Mrs. Rewell who refused to speak anything but Lilarian to me. I thought about hiding in the blanket closet but Chadwick kept careful watch. By the time she left I could sing the alphabet easily and count to twenty. I felt like I had run a marathon.
Alex had gone back to the city to work on a few projects that required his attention. He hadn’t wanted to leave until I’d spoken with Dr. Bielefeld, but I insisted. I didn’t want him to put off things that were important just because I was worried.
By the time dark fell, I was in a very bad mood. Not only had the doctor not returned my call, but I couldn’t find my e-reader. When my phone rang, I didn’t even check to see who it was.
“Yeah?” I pulled stuff out of my carry-on bag, hoping I’d stuck the e-reader in there for some reason.
“Hi to you, too.” Alex laughed. “Bad day?”
“Yes. The doctor never called me back and a very nice lady spent three hours refusing to speak any English.” I shook out my jacket, but still no e-reader.
“I’m sorry Dr. Bielefeld didn’t call you back.” The rumble of his voice went a long way to soothing me. “Something important must’ve come up.”
“Probably. I just want to know more about my dad’s scan and medicine.” I sat on my bed and sighed. “Just a frustrating day.”
“I can tell.” He was quiet for a minute. “Did you learn any Lilarian?”
“A little. I guess she’s doing her job.”
“Well, that’s good.” He sounded distracted.
“What’s going on?”
“Eh, it can wait.”
“Oh no. Just get it out of the way.” I leaned back on the bed. Today was not going well.
“I don’t want to upset you.”
“What is it?” My stomach clenched.
“Someone published a picture of me at your house.”
“That’s not so bad.”
“Well, they also titled it Royal Rendezvous.” I could hear the worry in his voice so I tried to curb my immediate response. “Samantha?”
“It’s okay, Alex.” I chewed on my lip.
“I can hear in your voice that it’s not okay.”
“It’s fine.”
“Oh, now I know it’s bad. No matter what language a woman says those two words in, it means bad things.”
I chuckled weakly. “Seriously, it’s okay. I mean, they don’t know anything for sure. Maybe it’ll just blow over.”
“It might.”
“I think I’m going to call it an early night.” I closed my eyes.
“Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Good night.”
The next morning my phone rang during breakfast and I almost dropped it in my rush to answer.
“Hello?”
“May I speak with Duchess Rousseau?” An accented voice asked politely.
“This is Samantha.”
“Ah, this is Dr. Bielefeld. I apologize for not returning your call yesterday. I had an emergency pop up.”
“That’s understandable. I just had a few questions about my father. He said that his scan hadn’t shown any changes and he was taking new medicines.” I got up and walked outside. “He seems pretty miserable.”
“Yes, I have his file here. Mr. Thompson’s scan didn’t show much change, so after speaking with his physician in the States we decided to try a medicine that is a lot more powerful. He’s likely experiencing some side effects.”
“What kind of side effects?”
“Nausea and insomnia are the most common, but he may also experience a change in mood and temperament.”
“I believe he’s dealing with all of those.” I sat down on the steps leading from the kitchen door to the yard. “Is this medicine necessary?”
“Duchess, I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t believe so.”
“Doctor, how bad is this? I thought he was doing better.”
“Cancer often leaves us scratching our heads, but we’re doing everything we can. Once Mr. Thompson is up to traveling, I’ll be making a trip to Rousseau to examine him personally.”
“I’m really worried.” I said the words quietly. “I thought he was doing better and this is a bit of a blow.”
“Samantha, I can only tell you so much. Your father’s cancer was never an easy case because it went so long without detection. At this point, we just need to try to keep it from spreading.”
“I understand.” I gripped the phone tightly. “Will we be able to get him over here soon?”
“I’m supposed to have a phone conference with his doctors tomorrow. I’ll let you know if there is anything I can tell you.”
“Thank you.”
I sat there on the steps and looked out over the yard. The main reason I had decided to come out here and accept my title was so I could get healthcare for my father. Now I was over here and he’s too sick to travel. I leaned forward, rested my elbows on my knees, and took a deep breath. I was here now and there were some things that had turned out pretty good. I’d made some friends. Cathy was the little sister I never had and it felt as if Chadwick had always been a fixture in my life. And then there was Alex.
Alex was by far the best part of all this mess. Even with all the media and scary pressure of what it meant to be in a relationship with a prince, he was worth it. In the middle of all this mess, he made me feel normal. We spoke every day and I missed him while he was gone. I missed him a lot. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and tucked my phone in my pants. There was no going back at this point. The scariest part was that I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
Mrs. Rewell spent the majority of the rest of the week working on my lessons. By Friday I could manage most of the phrases I would need for the ceremony. There had been speculation about me and Alex, but no one brought it up. In fact, the last time I’d seen a picture of Alex in the paper, the reporter had been speculating that Alex was secretly dating Adriane again. It had hurt, but I knew better than to give it any credit. Alex had attended a charity event that Adriane had set up, but had asked me to come with him. In fact, he asked me to go to every event he attended. I was the one who kept saying no. I just wasn’t ready to deal with the media explosion that would happen when it was official. I refused to look at the papers after that and even Chadwick had stopped reading them when I was around.
When Alex came that weekend, he didn’t bring up that I had turned down his invitations. Instead we spent time in his giant tub and relaxed. Well, relaxed some. I really liked his tub and not just because of the jets, though those were nice.
“You know, when you picture hav**g s*x in a bathtub, it always seems romantic and erotic, but then when you actually attempt it, there’s nowhere to put your legs. And you slosh water over the top.” I crawled onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Is that so?” He ran his wet hands up over my back.
“Mmmhmm.” I tilted my head back while he trailed kisses over my collarbone and down to my br**sts. “Not this one though.”
“Why is that?” His words were muffled because he was paying so much attention to my nipple.
“Because it’s so—” He gripped my thighs and lifted me so I could slide down over his thick shaft.
“So what?” His teeth caught my earlobe and tugged gently.
“Big.” I moaned as he shifted under me.
The rest of our conversation consisted of nothing more than the sound of our lovemaking. His growls of desire answered my moans of pleasure. When we finally fell over the edge, it was a blinding sensation that left me gasping.
Later that night we collapsed in his bed, the sheets tangled around our legs.
“Are you staying?” His fingers ran over the skin of my back and I sighed in contentment.
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation to the reply.
“Then I’ll stay as long as you want.” I pressed a kiss to his jaw and snuggled closer. The nights I spent with Alex were always the best and sleep came easily. Being with him quieted my anxiety and the constant worry. I almost didn’t hear what he said next.
“Forever.” He mumbled the word against my hair. “Stay forever.”
My heart did a little dance and I smiled as I cuddled even closer to him. Alex had wiggled his way into my heart despite my best efforts, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Who would have guessed that the day he blocked my way into the library, he’d also changed the entire course of my life?
The following week was much the same. No news about Dad, but he did seem to be adjusting to the medicine. He wasn’t as grumpy and Patricia said he was finally keeping food down. Dr. Bielefeld hadn’t called me with any more information, but his assistant had sent me a package of potential treatments to look over. I also spent a lot of time with Simone. We went over cases from local families who had issues with land or tax problems, and I wrote my first check for charity after seeing a home destroyed by fire. I had folders full of notes and names. Chadwick and I spent several evenings researching computer programs that were easy and efficient to use. I needed a filing system and while I preferred to take notes by hand, I wasn’t fond of the idea of having eight hundred file cabinets.