Royal's Wedding Secret (9 page)

Sooner than Marnie would have thought possible she had drifted off to sleep, and when she dreamed, she dreamed of a large house that she had never been in before, and Philip and Victoria there to make her happy.

*

Long after Marnie fell asleep, Philip found that he lay awake. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had just had overwhelmingly passionate sex with the mother of his child, the woman that fascinated him and compelled him like no other. Now she slept in his arms as if the past six years were nothing more than a dark dream without her.

Still …

She had called him a friend, one that she cared about very much, but still just a friend. He wondered what would happen to that friend when she got busy. When she wanted go out, when she met someone who could be more than a friend to her.

He flinched at the thought. Philip knew that Marnie was a passionate, beautiful woman, one who drew the eye no matter where she was and who had always made a room more lively simply by walking into it.

If he was honest with himself, he was also part of the problem. His situation had not changed since they broke up. He was still the Prince of Navarra. He couldn't offer her the marriage she deserved, not even with Victoria in the picture.

Philip had always been a man of action. When he saw something that he wanted, he took it, but in this case, what he wanted wasn't there for the taking.

Almost as if in response to his distracted thoughts, his phone chimed. When he glanced at it, he realized it was his mother. To his surprise, there was a picture attached to her message. He squinted to see it in the dark, but when he opened it up, his eyes widened.

Someone had apparently recognized him at the zoo. The picture showed him and Marnie and Victoria, all wearing the clothes that they had worn today. Marnie had her hand threaded through his arm while Victoria had hopped up on his back to get a better view of the sloths. Just seeing the picture made him smile, but then he remembered what it represented.

What are you doing? Who is this woman and her child? The journalist who sent us this picture wanted to give us first crack at it before he sold it to the tabloids. If he has caught you, someone else will as well. Philip, this is no laughing matter. What have you done?

As frustrating and infuriating as his parents sometimes were, in this matter, his mother was correct. She was right, that it would only be a matter of time before someone broke the news, and then Marnie and Victoria's lives would be put under a microscope. If they didn't have the protection that he did, they would be simply overwhelmed. He thought of Marnie shouting down a paparazzo, which gave him a quick smile, but he thought of Victoria, quiet Victoria, who might never have another quiet walk to school.

The plan came together quickly. He was a man of means, and right now, he was willing to let his money work for him. He went out into the living room, making a few calls, soothing a few egos, and taking care of things the best way he knew how.

When he climbed into bed forty minutes later, Marnie murmured a soft question about where he had been.

"Making plans," he murmured, dropping a kiss on her head. "Go back to sleep, there's going to be a surprise for you in the morning, one that I think you will adore."

Marnie, who had never really been awake in the first place, murmured something that sounded like assent, turning over to go back to sleep.

Philip knew that he had done all he could, but still sleep eluded him. He would do anything he could to keep Marnie and Victoria by his side. They were a family. They were his family. He finally drifted off to sleep sometime around dawn, his thoughts full of impossible dreams.

CHAPTER FIVE

Marnie was surprised to find her bed empty and voices coming from the kitchen. Curious and perhaps a little alarmed, she slipped on her nightgown and padded down the hall to find out what was going on.

Philip was cooking at the stove, and Marnie took a moment to think about how handsome he looked wearing only his jeans from the day before and a T-shirt. His hair was adorably rumpled, and she resisted the urge to make it worse by running her fingers through it.

Victoria sat with her feet tangled in the rungs of a kitchen chair, watching Philip expectantly.

"Now, my own mother would never let me have this all that often. She said it was too rich for little boys. I'm not certain why a poached egg would be so much richer than a scrambled one, but it really only made the egg seem like more of a treat."

He turned back around, and Marnie watched unheeded from the hallway as he propped an egg on one of Victoria's tea set cups.

"How do I eat it?" Victoria asked dubiously, and Philip pulled a knife from the dish drainer.

With one smooth move, he removed the top of the egg, leaving the rest for her to eat with a small spoon. Victoria took a tiny bite, and as Marnie watched, she smiled.

"Thank you, Philip," she said, and Philip beamed as if someone had handed him the keys to a brand new sports car.

"Think you can make up a few more of those for me?" Marnie asked, coming into the kitchen. Philip smiled at her as well.

"I think I can do that. Sit down, and I'll take care of it."

Still sleepy and slightly deliciously sore from the night that they had spent together, Marnie sat down at her humble little kitchen table and watched as the Prince of Navarra poached two perfect eggs in their shells for her. He came to sit down with two eggs of his own, as well as apple slices that he set on each of their plates.

"How come Philip's still here?" asked Victoria.

"We had a sleepover, like the one you had with Shelley, remember?" supplied Marnie. She had found it was best in general to simply answer the questions that were asked rather than trying to add more information that might merely confuse the issue.

An older child might have demanded more information, but Victoria looked content with that explanation.

"Are you staying longer today, Philip?" she asked practically. "When I was at Shelley's house, we got up early to do pictures, but we couldn't finish because I had go to home so soon."

"Actually, that's a very good question," Philip said, turning to Marnie. "Do you two have any plans for today?"

Marnie blinked. "Not really. Nothing that can't be put off. I was thinking about taking us to the library, but our books aren't due for a bit. Otherwise, we were just going to do some chores and have a lazy day …"

Philip nodded. "Then do you mind if I take over for the day? I … may have made some plans."

Marnie wondered if she should be more nervous or irritated about that idea. She had always prided herself on being extremely independent, very much her own woman and dedicated to the idea of making sure that no one told her what to do. However, when Philip said that he had some other ideas, she was more than happy to let him take over.

"Sure," she said finally. "If these plans take a while and you're still around, we can do dinner at that one Greek place we wanted to try."

Philip grinned, and she wondered how such a simple thing could feel as if the sun had come out after a storm.

"Thank you," he said. "I think you'll like what I have in store …"

The morning progressed quietly, with Marnie and Philip taking turns in the shower before Marnie helped Victoria with hers.

She was just helping Victoria get dressed when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Philip called. "Come out when you can …"

Funny,
Marnie thought. She wondered what kind of surprise Philip had in store for them.

"Mama, who is it?" asked Victoria, holding her hand a little tighter.

Marnie glanced down. Victoria could sometimes be a little nervous about the people who came into their space. Right now, she looked calm enough, but there was definitely a nervousness to her that meant that it might be easy for her to lapse into a breakdown.

"Well, I'm not sure, sweetie, but it's someone that Philip likes and trusts. Let's take his word for it and assume that it's someone nice, okay?"

Victoria looked a little calmer at the idea, and Marnie was able to get her dressed in her favorite blue T-shirt and shorts in just a matter of minutes. When they came out to the living room, Marnie was startled to see that it was a woman with what looked like a small rack of dresses there, all sized for a girl Victoria's age.

"Is this the sweetheart?" the woman beamed. "Come on over here, sweetie, and we'll get you fixed right up."

Victoria looked up at her mother nervously, and Marnie looked at Philip. "What's going on?" she asked with a frown.

"Well, we're going off for an expedition today, so I thought that it would be good to have Victoria nicely dressed."

Marnie started to say that there was nothing wrong with Victoria's clothing, but she thought that might sound rude.

"All right. Victoria, why don't you go with the nice lady with the clothes. If you don't like something, you don't have to wear it, okay?"

Victoria nodded and approached the woman reluctantly while Marnie turned to Philip, lowering her voice. "What's going on? I'm going to point out that you're wearing last night's clothes, and all I've got are professional ones. If we're going to some place that requires something a little more fancy …"

Philip waved her fears away, and she remembered all over again how much trouble money could smooth over.

"I'm having some clothing sent over," he said airily. "And someone is coming with garments for you as well, don't worry. I have everything arranged."

Another woman might have been delighted. Marnie knew that she should have been. She had just been thinking a short while ago about how good it felt to have Philip take over some things. However, she hadn't expected to feel so nervous when he took them over to this extent.

Most of the time, it was easy to forget that Philip was a prince. He was surprisingly humble, he was grateful when she did things for him, and he was remarkably down to earth. His sudden importation of clothes for her and Victoria felt like she was getting a glimpse into the world that he normally lived in, and it was a strange and unfamiliar place.

Victoria was debating over a dress in blue or green with gentle encouragement from the woman, when there was another knock at the door.

This time it was Marnie's turn, and she blinked at the broad selection.

"With your dark hair and pale skin, you can wear almost anything," the new woman said. Her name was Bree, and she was intent on dressing Marnie to the nines, complete with shoes and bag. Marnie shot a desperate look at Philip, but at the moment, Philip looked too pleased with himself to register any concern. Marnie told herself that she was likely being silly, and she gave herself over to Bree.

At the end of it, Victoria was wearing a blue dress in the softest Egyptian cotton. It looked simple, but simply from the way it looked and moved, Marnie could tell it was extremely expensive.

"Is this mine to keep?" she asked hesitantly.

Marnie started to tell her that it was a loan when Philip nodded.

"It definitely is," he said with a broad grin. "Twirl for us, you look so lovely today …"

With a soft giggle, Victoria twirled, and Marnie fought down her reservations. Her daughter was happy, and that was what mattered.

For herself, Bree insisted that a light, short dress dyed a variety of shades of gray and blue was the best option. When she glanced at herself in the mirror, she was startled to see how well it suited her coloration and how blue it made her eyes.

"Perfect, just perfect for you," cooed Bree.

When Philip came out of the bedroom, dressed neatly in a charcoal suit that likely cost more than six months of her rent, he whistled at her with appreciation. "You look amazing," he said, coming to plant a kiss on her cheek.

Marnie glanced at Victoria, who was playing with her tablet and didn't seem to notice. "Thank you, but maybe keep a lid on things? Victoria …"

Philip looked a little chagrined, but nodded. "Right. But if we're all ready, we can head out now."

"Plans?" asked Victoria, who had seemed to regain her equilibrium.

"Yes," he said encouragingly. "Lots of them!"

The first place that he took them was to an exclusive spa in downtown Manhattan. Victoria was enthralled by the enclosed atrium playground and took off without a moment's look back, while Marnie was ushered into a gorgeous little room where soft music was being played.

Right before they took her away, she glanced at Philip, who was looking over some treatments they had offered him.

"Did I get dressed up just to get scrubbed down?" she asked half desperately, and he grinned.

"Trust me, you'll love this."

She did. There had never been that much time for pampering in her life. At the nameless expensive spa, she was massaged and then taken for a manicure and pedicure as someone covered her face with a seaweed mask. When she was done, some hours later, she was as relaxed as she ever had been. When she came down to the lobby, Philip was looking similarly relaxed, and Victoria was chattering at him happily about what she had done in the playground.

"Can we come back soon?" she asked. "I want to play in the fairy house some more!"

Just as Marnie was telling her that this was a treat, Philip nodded. "We can come back whenever we'd like," Philip said, "but right now, there are some other things for us to do …"

That was just the start of it. Philip took them to a ballet school where a stern teacher evaluated Victoria and taught her a few basic steps, and then a charter school where Victoria was introduced to art of all different types. Just when they were getting tired, Philip whisked them off to a traditional Russian tea room where they were served by a smiling woman with a strong accent and even stronger black tea. Philip showed Victoria how to drink it with jam, which made her smile.

Throughout the day, Marnie bit her tongue. Half the time, she was adoring the sight of her daughter learning and growing so much in front of her very eyes. The other half of the time, she kept wondering what in the world she could do to keep this up. Throughout the day, she also realized that Philip was telling more often than he was asking, something that was slowly but surely raising her hackles in a way that was hard to define.