Courting His Royal Highness (7 page)

Chloe couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never seen so much food. Scrumptious smells filled the room, and her stomach rumbled. She’d forgotten to eat breakfast. She’d been so worried about the meeting.

“Would you and Max do the honors of cutting the cake?” asked Antonia.

A waiter handed Max a silver knife just as a gigantic sheet cake appeared, carried by four waiters. The cake was white, but the letters spelling out the show’s name were a brilliant royal purple.

A champagne glass materialized in Chloe’s hand. She was so astonished by all the grandeur, she nearly fainted. Her fingers trembled on the elegant stem. It was not made of cheap plastic—it was actually real glass or crystal. She couldn’t tell which, but it was definitely not one of the dollar cups she bought on New Year’s Eve for the lame party she and Julia hosted every year.

Max smiled at her. She couldn’t help but smile back.

“Shall we?” he asked, nodding his head towards the massive cake. It practically covered the entire table.

She couldn’t speak. She nodded and rested her hand over his. His skin was warm, and the pads of her fingers slid softly in the valleys between his knuckles.

“To Prince Max and Miss Chloe,” toasted Lester, “who will make
Courting His Royal Highness
the most popular reality show in history.”

A chorus of cheers erupted around the conference room. Everyone raised glasses in the air. Chloe didn’t have time to be nervous, although it did seem like a lot of pressure to put on two people.

Max lowered the knife. Chloe’s forefinger covered his as the blade sank into the butter-cream frosting.

She shivered as Max leaned close. His breath tickled her neck.

“Are you ready for an adventure, my Queen Mab?” he whispered.

Her eyes locked with his. “I’m ready,” she whispered back.

His lips were so close. She’d only have to move a few inches to kiss him—and she wanted to. She had wanted to kiss him since the moment he walked into the room.

Max’s glass clinked against hers. “To us,” he murmured.

“To us,” she repeated, mesmerized by the deep blue of his eyes.

Her heart trembled.

Realization dawned on her.

She was falling for him. Hard. So very hard.

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The incredulous look on Julia Montgomery’s face was almost comical.

“I can’t believe it!”

Chloe winced. The cat was out of the bag: she had let everything slip to her best friend and roommate. Julia knew about the show, about her starring role, and that it involved one of the most sought-after hunks in the world, the Prince of Romalia.

“I can’t believe it!”

“You already said that.” Chloe pointed out the obvious as she threw open her closet doors. She reached in and blindly pulled out an armful of clothing.

Julia flung herself across Chloe’s bed. “Wow. I just can’t believe it.”

“You’re starting to sound like a broken record.”

“But it’s so amazing.” Julia sighed.

Chloe tossed the clothes on the bed. “I shouldn’t have told you. Nobody is supposed to know. You have to promise me you won’t tell a soul.”

Julia nodded. “I promise.”

Chloe didn’t believe her. She loved her friend, but Julia couldn’t keep a secret. It was her only fault. Chloe sat down on the bed and grabbed Julia’s hands. “I mean it, Jules. You can’t tell anyone. My career may depend on it.”

“I cross my heart,” vowed Julia.

“Why don’t I believe you? Why do I think the moment my back is turned, you’ll call up everyone we know and blab to them about my new job and the prince?”

Julia’s blue eyes grew huge. Chloe had always envied Julia’s eyes—but then, she envied many things about Julia. Jules was gorgeous. Blonde. Leggy. Perfect. She looked fabulous in a two-piece swimsuit. She fit the stereotype of a California girl. Except she wasn’t from California. She was from Wisconsin. A Badger fan, a Packer fan, and a lover of cheese—all kinds.

“I’m a vault,” Julia promised. “I won’t say a word. I promise. I know how much this means to you.”

Chloe gazed into her friend’s eyes for a long time. Though she saw honesty and determination shining in the very blue depths, her heart sank. She knew her friend too well. She could only hope that for once Julia would understand the importance of the situation and not spill the beans.

“Thanks, Jules.”

“I’d do anything for you. You know that, don’t you?”

Chloe impulsively hugged her. “I know. It’s just that this job is so important to me. It’s EVE’s top secret, and no one is supposed to know about it, at least not yet. If word gets out—”

“I promise, Chloe. I’ll make you proud. I won’t tell anyone your secret.”

“I’d appreciate it,” whispered Chloe as she hugged Julia tighter. She was hopeful, but she doubted Julia would keep her word. Julia was a loveable and loyal friend, but a blabbermouth all the same.

“Chloe, it’s going to be so hard not to tell anyone,” Julia whined softly. “This is big stuff. I mean HUGE. You’re going to be a star. It’s so exciting. And you get to spend time alone with the world’s yummiest bachelor.”

Chloe glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She groaned. There wasn’t much time—the limo was picking her up in ten minutes. She untangled herself from Julia and jumped off the bed.

“You’ll watch Domino?”

Julia hauled the purring black and white cat into her lap, gently scratching the feline behind the ears. “Of course. You know I love this old thing.” The cat’s purring increased in speed and volume, appreciative of her affectionate fingers.

Chloe paused a moment to drop a kiss on the cat’s pink nose. She would miss her 16-year-old pet. She’d adopted him from a pet shelter her first week in California because of overwhelming loneliness. He’d been her loyal companion ever since. Domino slept with her every night, curled up in a purring, contented mass near her head.

Julia leaned back on the multitude of pillows stacked up against the headboard, which was actually an old antique door she and Chloe had found one weekend at a flea market. They loved shopping flea markets and spent many hours searching for unique treasures. “So, tell me about him.”

“I don’t have time.” Chloe flipped up the bed skirt and fumbled blindly under the bed for her suitcases. She crowed in triumph as she pulled forth the first navy blue piece.

“Come on. You can’t tell me this news and then leave without filling me in on all the delicious details.”

Chloe struggled to find a second piece to her matched set. She stretched out on her belly and shoved her arm as far as it would go into the lint-filled mystery world under her bed. “Gotcha,” she exclaimed as her fingers curled around the handle.

“Come on. Details. I want details. I’m your best friend; therefore, I’m entitled to know everything.”

“Who says?” Chloe asked. She stood up and brushed off her jeans, lint and dust and who-knows-what fluttering off and drifting soundlessly to the floor. “Gross. We really have to clean more around this place.”

“It’s a rule.”

“I’ve never heard of that rule.”

“It isn’t written down.”

Chloe placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“It’s an unspoken rule that exists between best friends.”

Chloe wasn’t about to tell Julia the rest of the story: that Prince Maximilian was the man at the Roosevelt Hotel. That bit of news would put Julia into overdrive. She’d really demand details. And Chloe wasn’t prepared to give them to her. First, she wanted to hide her feelings about Max for as long as possible. It wouldn’t take long for Julia to figure out he’d won her heart. Second, there was something so incredibly sacred about that night. Sure, the sex had been fantastic—but it was more than that. So much more. And Chloe couldn’t even begin to explain what that was.

“Spill. Now.”

Chloe tossed up her hands. “There’s nothing to tell. Can’t this wait? I’ll have so much more to tell you when I get back.”

Julia blanched. “But that’s almost two months away. I can’t possibly wait that long.”

“He’s fabulous. Hot. Sexy. Charming. Perfectly adorable,” she finally confessed. She walked over to her dresser, another old battered flea market find with rusted knobs and peeling blue paint, and pulled out a handful of colored Victoria’s Secret panties. “Are you satisfied now?”

“Hardly,” Julia snorted. “I think there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“I’m not lying to you, Jules.”

“Okay, maybe not lying, but you’re keeping something from me. That’s not fair.”

Chloe flipped open one of the suitcases. “I promise to tell you everything and anything when I get back.” She tossed in the underwear and walked across the room to grab matching bras—she hated wearing underwear and bras that didn’t match. “But I don’t have time now.”

Julia snapped her fingers. “I know what you’re not telling me.”

Chloe threw the tangle of bras in with the panties. She paused in her packing to stare at her friend. “What?”

“You aren’t the hostess. You’re one of the girls he gets to choose from,” Julia said excitedly, as if she had just solved some great mystery.

“Way to go, Nancy Drew,” Chloe muttered sarcastically.

“Damn. Not true?”

She slammed her suitcase shut, zipped it, and secured it with the miniature lock. Then she tied a bright green ribbon around the handle. “Nope. Sorry. I don’t get a chance at becoming the next Queen of Romalia.”

“That blows.”

Chloe smiled. “I’d rather be the hostess. Royalty is for the birds. I don’t think this guy can pick out a tube of toothpaste on his own. He’s got to have approval for everything.” She stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Not the type of life for you or me.”

Julia gaped at her. “You’ve got to be kidding. I’d kill to be a princess. It’d be so cool. All that money and fame and—”

“The grass is always greener on the other side,” Chloe interrupted as she quickly folded a few skirts and shirts, stuffing them into the second suitcase. She grabbed a few pairs of shoes from the floor of her closet.

“Ah, come off it, Chloe. I know you better than you think. You’d love to be a princess, too. Every woman would. That’s why we’re so fascinated with royalty. We all want to be Cinderella.”

“Yeah, look where it got Princess Diana.”

“Okay, that’s an exception.”

“Princess Grace.”

Julia stuck out her tongue. “You’re morbid.”

“Being royal does not guarantee happiness.”

“But it does guarantee a few things.”

Chloe groaned at Julia’s dreamy sigh. “Enough. I’m not going to be a princess, and neither are you. We’ll be lucky if we can pay next month’s rent.”

Julia grinned. “I’m relying on you. I shouldn’t have to work after this gig of yours. We’ll be set. You’ll be famous, and I’ll be your assistant.”

Chloe reached into the closet and grabbed the carry-on that matched her luggage set. “Don’t you want more than that?” Chloe asked as she ducked into the bathroom to pack a few necessities. Julia dreamed of being a model. Her idol was the ageless American beauty Christie Brinkley.

“Don’t forget protection,” Julia called.

Chloe stuck out her head and glared at Julia. “Very funny,” she said, ducking back into the tiny bathroom the two of them shared. It connected their bedrooms.

“Well, you never know. Imagine getting laid by a prince.”

Chloe walked out of the bathroom and shook a hairbrush at her best friend. “Believe me, I’m not getting anything for the next few weeks. I’m going to work my ass off, and hopefully I’ll get noticed and be hired by a soap opera or sitcom or something.”

“What about movies?”

“I’m not aiming that high yet. One step at a time,” she said, tossing the hairbrush into her luggage. “I have to get through this first.”

Julia grabbed her hand. “You won’t forget about little old me, will you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you make it big—and I know you will—you won’t forget me, find a new BFF?”

“Of course not. How can you think such a thing?”

Julia shrugged. It broke Chloe’s heart to see the tears shimmering in her blue eyes. She pulled her into a suffocating hug and kissed the top of her loyal friend’s head.

“You’re my best friend. I’ll never ever forget you. Remember, we’re going to live in a huge mansion someday and have fabulous parties and drink champagne and eat the most expensive chocolate we can find and have endless walk-in closets.”

Julia giggled. “Sounds great.”

It did sound great. They had fantasized about it since the day they met eight years ago at an audition for a shampoo commercial. Neither got the job, but it’d been the start of an incredible friendship.

“And I’m relying on you to slap me silly if I ever get too big-headed for my britches.” Chloe pulled away and checked the time again. Yikes. Her time was up. The limo was probably waiting for her on the street outside their apartment. She bolted off the bed. “I’ve gotta go, Jules. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

Julia grabbed one of the overstuffed suitcases. “You need to learn how to pack.” She moaned as she lifted the navy piece and carried it out the door. “Ever heard of less is more?”

“I hardly had time to pack as perfectly as you do.”

Julia’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “I’m going to miss you. How am I ever going to survive without you?”

Chloe patted her shoulder. “I’m not going away forever, silly girl.” She slipped her carry-on over one shoulder and hoisted the largest suitcase with a grunt. “Ugh. This is horrible. I really need to get better luggage, the type with wheels.”

Julia was struggling to carry her piece of luggage down the stairs. “Is there anything breakable in here?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” She glanced over the railing. “No one below.” She gave it a hard shove.

“Julia!” cried out Chloe as the bag catapulted down the stairs to the floor below.

“Well, you said nothing was breakable,” Julia called over her shoulder.

“I still don’t appreciate my luggage being thrown like that,” Chloe mumbled.

By the time she reached the first floor, she wished she’d tossed her bag down the stairs too. Her arms ached. Her back was killing her. Her hands throbbed. She had packed too much. But she was going to be gone for almost two months. How did a person pack for that? Her longest vacation had been ten days to Disney World. And after those ten days, she couldn’t wait to get home to her own room, away from her annoying siblings and grumpy parents. Okay, she’d loved the Magic Kingdom and the castle, but family vacations were overrated. Really.