Suddenly Royal (26 page)

“
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 there are lots of girls.” I frowned, thinking of her mother, aunt, and the women I’d seen working earlier that day.

“
It’s not the same thing.” Cathy looked at me with shimmery eyes. I handed her my mousse and she instantly brightened up. “You don’t want it?”

“
Nah. Your puppy-dog eyes just broke my heart a little. Take it.”

“
Thanks!” Cathy took off in a flash and I stood there with my mouth open.

“
C’mon.” Alex chuckled beside me. He placed his hand on my back and I almost sighed with relief. Just a few days ago I had thought it was silly when he did it, now I had come to look forward to it. “You better build up a tolerance to Cathy’s anime eyes or you’ll never get another dessert.”

“
Ha! They did look like a pathetic anime waif. She’s got it down pat.”

“
You have no idea. She has four dogs and two cats. Dad couldn’t tell her no. They’re all incredibly old now and the staff is always having to clean up behind them.” Alex chuckled.

“
She must’ve been very young when you lost him.” I watched him out of the corner of my eye. We hadn’t talked about it, but I knew that the king had died from an aneurysm almost ten years ago.

“
She was, but Mother has made sure she never felt neglected.”

We turned onto the hallway my room was on and I stopped at my door. I pulled the key out of my pocket and played with it for a minute. “Thanks for taking me out to see a bit of the city.”

“
You’re welcome. It was nice to get to relax.” Alex smiled at me. “I don’t get to spend as much time with Cathy as I used to.”

“
She’s great.” I bit my lip. I was making small talk because I didn’t want to say good night yet. And I sucked at it.

“
We can do it again sometime.” He was watching me closely.

“
That would be fun.” I sighed. “I really suck at this.”

“
At what, exactly?” He smiled his devil smile.

“
This whole small-talk thing. I’m not good at it.” I motioned between us. “But I want to be. I don’t want stuff to be weird between us.”

“
I think you’re doing just fine. I don’t seem to recall you having a hard time in Minnesota.”

“
I’m out of my element here. And I tend to blab whatever I’m thinking when I’m nervous.”

“
I’ve noticed.” Alex lowered his voice. “It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite things about you.”

“
Why is that?”

“
Because when you blab whatever you’re thinking, I find out you’re thinking about me.”

“
You get all that from me being worried about small talk?” I shot him a skeptical look.

“
You don’t worry about it with anyone but me.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Good night, Samantha.”

“
Good night, Alex.”

In my room one of the new nightgowns was laid out with a robe. I looked at it for a minute before picking it up. I stuck it in the top drawer next to my big T-shirts and grabbed a tank top and pair of shorts instead. On my desk was a stack of papers, including a schedule for the next day. I had to okay shots that the royal photographer had taken, sign a form detailing how much it would cost to fly my father over, and there was paperwork from my college to terminate my classes.

I glanced at the pictures and initialed the paper, agreed to whatever it cost to get my father over safely, and stared at the paperwork from school. It was all so bland and boring; nothing in the wording pointed out how I was giving up a lifelong ambition or how much I already missed my birds. I squeezed the pen in my hand and flipped through the pages again. There were no personal notes, nothing telling me they cared that I’d left the program. Just a blank line waiting for my signature.

I signed my dreams away with angry strokes. Throwing the pen down, I got up and went to sleep with tears in my eyes.

Getting Frisky at the Zoo

—
The Daily Gossip

The next morning I put on slacks and a nice shirt. Breakfast was brought up early and Chadwick wasn’t far behind. He came in carrying a newspaper and clipboard. He sat down with me while I ate and looked through notes for the day.

“
I’ve barely set foot in this country and people are asking me for interviews and to come to openings.” I set the newspaper down and took another sip of my coffee. “I’m used to cutting up mice and tracking birds. Shaking hands and taking pictures with strangers is not something I’m accustomed to.”

“
That can’t be true.” Chadwick looked at me over his paper. “I’m sure you shook people’s hands in America. You’re not completely uncivilized over there.”

I threw one of the raisins from my muffin at him and laughed when he blocked it with the paper. “You know what I mean. I’m just ready to go see my house and learn more about the area I’m going to be spending my time in. I feel like I’m winging everything. I don’t like that.”

“
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.