by C R Riley
I gasp surprised that Antonio would disappoint all these people. “You weren’t planning on showing up, letting all these supporters of yours down?”
His eyes finally find mine again and the truth behind them lets me know his answer before he actually says it. “Miss Cross, the only matter half this crowd is interested in where I am concerned, is the one I am only offering you. So, letting them down was going to happen whether I showed up or not.
“Now before my mother breaks protocol and scolds the King in front of his guests.” Antonio offers his arm as he smiles down at me with hope. “Shall we?”
I study the arm presented before me and know if I take it, that it is a sign to everyone here that there is something between us. I still don’t know how I feel about all of that so I hesitate.
“You are making me look bad in front of my loyal subjects. It is never a wise idea to make the King give the impression of being weak. I am not above begging Larkin, although I am sure that would only add fire to the flames already pressuring me.” He softly rumbles between clinched teeth that have maintained his smile.
Rolling my neck a few times, I take a cleansing breath, and then place my hand in the bend of his arm. “This isn’t a yes.”
“It’s a maybe.” He pats my hand with his free one. “For now, I will accept that.”
As Antonio begins to escort me towards the head table a middle-aged woman dressed in a beautiful golden gown stands. Once she does the rest of the room joins her.
As soon as we step into the aisle it’s like the wave at a sporting event is started from the back of the room and moves with us as we progress forward. They don’t do a full bow or curtsey, but it is held long enough for us to pass, and done out of respect for the man to my left. I’ve never been around something so refined before, and I feel like I am not at all worthy of being a part of it.
I hear several, Your Majesty’s as we advance forward slowly. They are followed by whispers, questioning who I am and what my status is. Is she a princess from another country? If so which one? Maybe a Madam or Lady from one of the Scandinavian nations since her hair is so light and skin is fair? The closer we get to our destination the louder the murmurs become, until they are all I hear inside my head.
“Are you all right dear?” I hear a voice ask as we approach the main table and start to make our way to our seats.
I agitate my head as I close my eyes, trying my best not to think about the fact that I am standing in front of all these people. What was I thinking? I will never be able to handle all the undertones that are sure to constantly float around us.
There is a reason I never really was able to go on the campaign trail with my father. I couldn’t deal with the anxiety that takes over my body when all eyes are focused on me.
The woman standing next to me reaches out and takes my hand in hers, as she addresses Antonio. “Move things along before your date passes out on you.”
Antonio glances down and takes one look at my freaked-out expression, and then he starts laughing. Laughing. I kid you not.
Therefore, I will not be held responsible for what I do next. His laughing ignites a fire deep down inside of me and I do the only thing I can think of at the moment. I pinch him hard, right there in that tender spot just above his elbow. That’s right buddy, don’t mess with me, I glare at him as I release his arm and reach for my water.
He snags my hand and possesses it while he addresses his guests. “Thank you all for joining me in this celebration of the anniversary when our constitution was established. It was a significant leap of faith King Nicolas took when he followed his heart and the direction, he believed God was leading him. Because of his bravery to give up a portion of his throne, and pass some of his responsibilities over to the people, we are here today stronger for it.
“I am honored to serve my people and offer them the knowledge passed down to me from our previous sovereigns, who were chosen by God and God alone. I will continue to do so until God and God alone, decides that another should take my place. Let us never forget that our true Supreme Leader is the one who created us all. One day we will all join him in his kingdom, but until then we will do our best to serve him here. Shall we bow our heads and ask for his blessing.”
I bow my head and wait for Antonio to say more, except he doesn’t. It’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I realize then that it is like a moment of silence, and we are all expected to offer our own prayers up to the heavens. Oops.
“Amen. Please be seated and enjoy.” Antonio sits down, and afterwards everyone at his table does the same. It isn’t until the head table is all seated that the large group in front of us takes their seats.
“Now if you need a drink you may do so Miss Cross.” He releases my hand. “Are you okay?”
Both my hands are free now. I give them a little jiggle and then reach for my glass so I can take a healthy gulp of my water before I answer him.
“Like you care.” I mutter around the glass as I take another swallow. “I was having a panic attack. I am prone to those when I start getting overwhelmed. And you laughed at me. Laughed at me while I am literally about to pass out and cause one heck of a scene.”
I finish my water and then reach for his. He doesn’t stop me, so I think nothing of it until his mother—I assume the woman next to me is his mother—hands me her glass instead. “Here have mine dear.”
Again, I frown at him as I set his back in the exact spot it was so I can accept hers instead. After I drink half her glass, and feel somewhat like I am gaining a portion of my control back, I really give it to him.
“You were just going to let me drink from your glass, weren’t you? Let me make a complete spectacle of myself and really get them chattering about the pale skinned extremely blonde nitwit seated next to you, who has absolutely no idea what she should and shouldn’t do when in the presences of a king.”
I take a breath, because I spat that all out in one before I continue. “I bet you even find this amusing, don’t you? Me just babbling like the village idiot, unable to stop herself from continuing because she has no control over her mouth when she gets nervous. My mother used to try and stop me when I got like this by encouraging me to eat or drink, but it never worked. I would just keep going until I ran out of things to say, or my father finally stood up and escorted me out of the room so I could say everything I needed to get out of my overflowing very crowed mind. I think this one time I went on for a whole hour, mumbling all through dinner under my breath. My friend Randal recorded me once during one of my rants and then made watch it after I finished so I could appreciate it from a different point of view. All that did was set me off again and had him rolling on the floor while I expressed all my thoughts about what he had done. My mother said it has to do with the fact that my mind was damaged by all the drugs my birth mother took when she was pregnant with me. Said that it damaged a section of my brain that tells me to shut up and not just spit out every word I am thinking. She always thought I’d outgrow it, but I guess she was wrong. Seems like it has returned in full force and all because this really hotter than hot man, that I believe I met once when he was a teenager at an Inauguration Ball, the only one I ever attended. It’s all because he has this crazy idea that I am someone he thinks he wants to get to know, and has drawn me so far out of my comfort zone, I guess all those crazy defense mechanisms I developed as a young child have kick back in. You should probably just ask me to leave, so that you don’t have to sit here and listen to me go on and on about absolutely nothing and everything. Because unless you can figure out a way to get me to stop, I don’t think I will …”
Antonio grabs my face with both of his hands and plants his lips over my rapidly moving ones.
Oh yeah, that defiantly shuts me up almost instantly as it completely turns my mind to mush.
Chapter 9
Antonio
As soon as we sat down it was like this switch got stuck inside of Larkin’s brain. I have never seen a woman chatter so muc
h in my entire life. She wasn’t speaking loudly; therefore, I wasn’t really worried about anyone really hearing her gibberish.
I endeavor to follow her line of thought, however honestly it is all over the place and makes absolutely no sense. I think she mentions something about being a nitwit, or was it the village idiot. She is neither of those things by the way. Not even close. I believe I also hear her admit her mother did her best to break her from going off like this when she was younger but unsuccessful at it. Discusses a friend named Randal who filmed her so she could see how adorable she is, except that only sent her into another rampage. Then she moves on to something about drugs and a birth mother messing her brain up, as if that explains all this babbling, which I suppose makes sense.
What catches my attention most is when she mentions something about meeting me when I was a teenager. I attend one Inaugural Ball with my father when I was sixteen and my parents were in the middle of a very long trying divorce. My father had decided that it was time for me to accompany him on one of his public relations trips so I could be introduced properly to the world.
I hated every second of that weeklong trip with one exception. Our last stop was the Inaugural Ball in the United States. I was there to meet a few prospective future queens. Several leaders from around the world happened to be present and had their daughters with them. I had to endure giggly girls who thought I was so cute and wanted me to sneak off with them.
It wasn’t until I stepped outside to escape a very persistent princess, spotted this blonde girl pacing the garden, that I started thinking things were looking up. I watched her from a distance for a while. Listened to her talk softly to herself, using her hands and face to express those thoughts escaping out of her mouth. After about fifteen minutes of non-stop chatter, she took a deep breath and plopped her weary body down onto a bench. Which is when I saw the perfect opportunity to determine if I could get her to talk to me.
She was younger than me, probably closer to Esteban’s age, thirteen maybe fourteen. It wasn’t like I was there to do anything more than just talk, so that really didn’t matter to me. The closer I got, I realized I was in way over my head if I believed she would look twice at me. Even at thirteen Larkin was a sight to take in.
So, I did what any young man would do and ask if I could sit next to her. When she spat out it’s a free country and then attempted to correct her outburst, I was captivated. No one talked to me so blatantly and I liked that she didn’t seem to care that I might be someone of importance. And when I caught her sniffing me, I found that I wanted her to remember my scent, in case we ever ran into each other when she was older. Then when she nearly slid off the bench after getting a good look at me—my ego may have burst, I can’t be sure—and I had to reach out and touch her, it was then I thought now this girl just might do.
Unfortunately, our time was cut short when my father came looking for me, because some lame highborn was asking her father about me again. For that reason, I had to leave before I even caught her name. As we were walking away my father strictly forbade me from associating with the American girl.
I didn’t think all that by the way while Larkin was letting her mind dump out the overload coming from her mouth. There is no way I had time to think about it, but I thought maybe you’d like to know that I caught what she said and later recalled the moment. Which I guess could be why I finally seize her face when she says something about sending her away because she doesn’t think she can stop. That is unless I can come up with some way to stop her.
There is only one action I can think of that might work.
I have been thinking about kissing those soft lips since the plane. Nearly got my chance in her office yesterday, except she had stopped me before I reached my destination. This time however I know I will be successful when I go for it.
I didn’t warn her, I just grabbed that stunning face of hers with both my hands and then kiss those moving lips once and for all. She stops talking immediately, thank God, which allows me to kiss her properly. Making it so that I was able to give her a lingering appropriate embrace, only making me want more. Larkin is definitely a sweet piece of candy I want to spend more time sampling.
A throat clears behind me. I know it is my brother Esteban attempting to let me know we are really drawing attention now. Therefore, I pull back, bringing her forehead to my lips, holding it there while I catch my breath. Once I am sure I can speak without sounding like someone on the verge, I decide to see if she has recovered yet.
“So how was that Miss Cross? Did I come up with a way to calm the nerves?” A slight shake of her head has me pulling back so I can gaze down at her. “Do we need step outside for a minute so you can get some air?”
“No.” Larkin whispers and blinks slowly. “You kissed me. You kissed me in front of all these people and you want to know if I feel calm. Have you lost your mind Antonio?”
I smile at the sound of my proper name being used so openly amongst a crowd that wouldn’t dare. To them I have always been a member of the Royal family, the Heir Apparent, who would one day accept his place on the throne. So, I have always been addressed as Your Highness, Prince, Sir, Your Majesty or King. I was only Antonio when the members of my family decided to use my name without adding a title. Even the women I dated never felt comfortable enough to get that personal with me.
My brother leans around me and decides to answer her question. “You are suggesting that he had a mind to lose love. Antonio as the precious heir was taught to take first and ask permission to do so later. I’m Esteban by the way and you must be Larkin. Isabel has chattered about you non-stop. It’s nice to finally appreciate what all the fuss was about.”
Larkin gets a little color in her face as she extends her hand. “Pleased to meet you Prince Esteban. I hope I addressed you properly.”
I want to correct her when she lifts her hand, as if to shake his. It is an unwritten rule that states, unless a hand is offered to you, then one should keep his/her hand where it is. Offering a Royal your hand is expressing you believe you are equal or above them, it just shouldn’t be done.
My brother doesn’t even hesitate. He seizes Larkin’s hand and brings it to his lips. “The pleasure is all my Miss Cross. You did just fine and you also have my permission to call me Esteban, lets drop the formalities. After all you are seated at the family table are you not?”
“Oh no. I couldn’t possibly disrespect your family like that.” She informs my brother while shaking her head frantically.
“Are you refuting my request? Dime con quién andas, y te diré quién eres. Tell me who you hang out with and I will tell you who you are.” My brother releases her hand and gestures to all those who are seated at the curved table where we are seated. “A donde fueres, haz lo que vieres.”
Our food was delivered sometime during Larkin’s outburst, so I motion for her eat. I am pleased to discover that my guests broke protocol and didn’t wait for me to get started. I make the assumption that was my mother’s doing. She most likely began eating when she realized I was entranced by the woman seated next to me, showed them it was fine to go ahead and enjoy this great food.
Larkin glances down as if to just realize what I did. She picks up her spoon and takes a sip of her soup. After she has finished about half of it, she wipes her mouth off with her napkin and glimpse over at my brother.
“I have no idea what that means. I hate to admit this, but I failed Spanish in high school. I was an awful student. Unless it had something to do with art or music I couldn’t focus long enough to follow. My mother and father gave up on expecting me to be on the honor roll or even follow in their footsteps. Both of them by the way are doctors, or at least they both were at one time. My mother is a pediatric surgeon, so she works long hard hours. My father started off as an ER doctor and spent twelve years there before changing career paths after my birth mother overdosed in his ER. That’s when he decided that our foster care system was failing so many children like me, who spent the first
eighteen months of my life in and out of their home. That day he called my social worker to report what had happened and then made it very clear to her that he was taking custody of me, permanently. Rang my mother to let her know he was quitting his job for two reasons. One was because he knew I would require one parent to see over my care until I was caught up with my peers. The other because he decided it was time for him to take a stand and find out what he could do about changing things. By the time I was three he had successfully caught me up to my peers, or at least had me hitting the milestones, and won a seat in the State Senate. Seven years later he won his seat as a United States Senator and has been one ever since. So, as you can imagine they had to learn to accept that not every child was a prodigy, and sometime getting a C in Math was something to celebrate. It wasn’t until college, when I met someone who introduced me to architecture, that I discovered when something inspired me, I could actually pull off A’s and B’s in subjects other than art and music. Which means you are going to have to explain to me what you said, because I have been sitting here racking my brain. Struggling to decide if I should admit my flaws or just pretend, I am equally as smart as the rest of you. I decided to ask because my mother always said that if you don’t understand something never be afraid to ask, otherwise you will never learn anything.” She finally stops speaking so she can take a drink of her water.
I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to kiss her again to get her to stop. Honestly, I was looking forward to it, although I’m not sure she would have appreciated the action again right now. So instead I let her continue.
This time I was able to follow her easily, because she wasn’t rambling like before. It was done at a nice leisurely pace. While I get the impression she is still very nervous, case in point, I also can see she is relaxing some now and I like that.
I would love to reach over and hold her hand, except I am right-handed, so that isn’t possible at the moment. Instead I shift my foot towards her and stop once my leg is firmly pressed against hers.
