by Holly Jaymes
“Talk to you soon, I guess,” I told her. She only glanced at me over her shoulder and gave me a smirk.
“I guess you will.”
That was my cue to go, I knew that. I walked to her door but Ava didn’t look up at me, so I just walked out.
Ultimately, I got what I came to her room for today, and that was all that should have mattered. But I knew I wanted more, as much as I tried to hide it even from myself.
Chapter 15
Ava
I’d only been in my room for no more than an hour after Bas dropped that bomb on me, and when I stepped out of my room again, I could see the whole resort was in complete chaos now.
Staff had appeared out of nowhere, people I had no idea existed were lurking around the premises. New and more lavish arrangements needed to be made now that more members of the British royal family were going to make an appearance here.
I could sense the panic in the air as I walked around the corridors.
Sierra found me just as I was walking into the library.
“Ava, I’m so sorry about all this. There’s been a change of plan. Prince Sebastian made a request that we simply couldn’t say no to. I apologize deeply because this will disrupt your stay completely.”
Siera looked so apologetic, and I wanted to put her at ease immediately.
“Yes, I’m aware. Prince…Bas and I have gotten to know each other, and he informed me of the change in plans. I really don’t mind,” I said. Siera was smiling immediately when I said that. I was sure she’d seen us talking together in the dining room, even though she might not have foreseen the full extent of our acquaintance.
“That’s great. It’s great news! I was so worried that you were going to be disappointed and upset with us because of all this dishevel.”
I smiled and shook my head.
“Not at all, in fact, I’m looking forward to meeting them. Bas insisted that I should make their acquaintance. I’m actually quite nervous.”
I knew I had to tell Siera so she would be prepared. After all, the whole staff was going to be aware of the fact that I would be meeting the royal family.
Siera clasped my hands and gave it a squeeze.
“If the Prince is anything to go by, I’m sure they will all be polite and delightful,” she said. But I didn’t expect them to be anything like Bas, and I kept that opinion to myself.
Sierra took my leave soon after and I walked around the rooms and hallways, admiring all the effort that was being put into their arrival. I still couldn’t believe I had actually signed up for this. That I was really going to be introduced to them as Bas’ fiancé.
I could also sense he had a lot riding on this. He was hoping I’d make a good impression on them. What if I didn’t?
No matter how famous I was in Hollywood, I did not belong to his family’s world. I was an American, an actress, just a regular celebrity, while they had hundreds of years of history and tradition behind them. They had the love and loyalty of an entire country. I had no clue what the right manners and etiquette were.
Not only had I signed up to perpetuate a lie, but I might have signed up for something that was going to force me to make a mockery of myself.
That evening, after several hours of being alone with my thoughts, I met Bas in the back gardens of the resort. I was walking around the rose bushes, trying to calm myself when he walked right up to me.
“There you are! My blushing bride to be!”
He looked handsome in his sports jacket and tailored pants, a big wide grin on his face. At least one of us felt confident about this fiasco!
I blushed when he said that.
“What’s the matter?” He asked when he saw the nervous look in my eyes.
“I've met so many high profile people throughout my life, but this seems different. I hope that I don't mess this up,” I said.
Before I knew it, he was placing his hands on my shoulders. He put his big manly warm hands that seemed to make me melt instantly softly and firmly on my shoulder and softly rubbed sending shivers down my spine.
"This might be the best decision I’ve actually ever made! You are the perfect candidate. They are going to love you. You are the embodiment of every character trait a good Princess should have.”
I couldn’t tell if this was just a pep talk or if he actually felt this way about me. If there was one thing I had figured out about Bas, it was that he was an excellent talker. He was very charming, and the reason why he’d gotten away with his playboy ways all these years was because he could talk his way out of everything.
Despite knowing all that, I couldn’t help but feel good when he said those things to me. I was blushing even harder now.
“I’m going to feel so out of place when I meet your family,” I said. Bas shook his head. He went so far as to wrap his arm around my shoulder. Slowly, we began to walk out of the garden.
“I feel out of place amongst them all the time. Who doesn’t? They’re accustomed to that. They won’t hold it against you, trust me. You’re going to do great either way, Ava. I wouldn’t have asked you to help me if I didn’t think you would fit the role,” he said.
I looked at him then, feeling the heavy warmth and power of his arm around me. Bas smiled warmly.
“Now, we should have a quick light dinner, and you should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be grueling, but soon it will all be over,” he said. As his arm slid off my body, I felt an emptiness fill up inside me. I wanted him to keep touching me. I thought about what this would be like if this were real. I was nervous and excited about meeting his family, but also I felt relieved that I could feel safe and protected for a while longer now that I was Bas' "fiance' and all of his staff were protecting me.
Chapter 16
Sebastian
At dinner the previous night, I had tried to fill Ava in on everything she might need to know as far as being introduced to the family was concerned. There wasn’t really much to tell her on a personal level.
It wasn’t like I knew them too well myself. We weren’t the kind of family I was aware everybody else had. We didn’t have many fireside warm gatherings and story time while I was growing up.
I could sense Ava was nervous and she was trying her best to keep her chin up. I knew I had dumped a huge responsibility on her shoulders and she was a trooper by seeing this through. I had no idea how I would ever repay her for her kindness. She was yet to ask for anything in return.
Every relationship I ever had before this had always felt like a transaction. I was just waiting for Ava to eventually turn around and tell me she wanted something, but it hadn’t happened yet.
Now it was late morning. I was showered and changed and as ready as I was ever going to be to meet my family. Ivan and Siera had gone to extreme lengths to make arrangements for my family. I knew it was very short notice, but they had been accommodating and made no complaints.
I didn’t bother looking at myself in the mirror before I stepped out of my room. Swiftly I was followed by the four men who were on constant duty. We were all walking down the lobby towards the grand staircase.
Ava was aware of the time of my family’s arrival, and she said she would be ready by then. I took the stairs down hurriedly. Ivan and Sierra were waiting in the lobby, surrounded by their own staff. Everyone looked nervous this morning, but I waved and smiled at them, hoping to put them at ease.
I hated how awkward and cold everyone got the moment my family was involved in anything. I wished I could change that about my life which was another thing I wished was different about me.
I was just about to say something when I caught Siera look past me up the stairs, and she had a bright smile on her face. I turned and saw Ava at the top of the stairs. She was just making her way down, watching her steps carefully as she descended towards us.
She was breathtaking in her beauty. Ava was wearing a sleek navy sleeveless dress which looked smart and casual at the same time. Her shoes were black with short heels, but her long
smooth legs looked endless in that dress. She tied her hair up elegantly in a bun, with some strands falling so delicately around her narrow face.
She had struck the perfect balance. She was understated in her beauty, elegant, and yet looked more than just ordinary.
I couldn’t even smile, I was awestruck by what I saw before me. Was this the woman of my dreams? Ava came up to me, and I stared at her speechlessly.
“Will this do?” she asked like she knew exactly how well she had done. I gulped, trying to find the words.
“Ava…”
My family arrived at that precise moment. My staff, the resort’s staff, everyone was in a flurry. They all rushed out to the driveway as three dark tinted limousines pulled in one after the other.
I looked at Ava, offering to take her hand and we stepped out together to watch the show. My father stepped out of one car, and then helped my aging old aunt out. From the next car, my brother James and his wife Louisa stepped out too. The third car was reserved for the staff.
I was just grateful they hadn’t brought my aunt, The Queen, along for this.
My father, with his one arm supporting his old sister, looked up at me. I slid my hand away from Ava and walked towards him.
“Father!” I said and shook his hand and smiled at my aunt forcibly. Then I turned to James and shook his hand too. Louisa was smirking at me.
“Bas! It’s so good to see you. We were worried you know…” Louisa came in for a hug. She hadn’t grown up in the coldness of my family, so she was the warmest of them all.
“And this must be…” my aunt was saying.
“Ava Morrison!” Louisa gushed, clapping her hands together and stepping up to her.
Ava dropped a quick courtesy. I had no idea she even knew how to do that.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance your Royal Highness,” Ava said to Louisa who beamed at her. She was apparently the only real fan. My brother James was polite to her, and when Ava turned to my father and greeted him, he and his sister seemed to be more busy examining her than welcoming her back.
I stepped forward, quickly placing a hand on Ava’s slender waist to give her some support.
“We should retire for the time being, shouldn’t we, Alfred?” my aunt turned to father, shaking a little. My father just grumped a response.
“I suppose we shall get to know you better at dinner,” my aunt continued. Ava dropped her head and smiled.
“Of course your royal highness, I look forward to it,” she said.
Louisa gave us another big smile before she was quickly led away by James. My brother had barely looked at us. I knew he was just as upset with me as my father was. He was a big ‘traditions’ guy too and wanted me to follow in his footsteps.
The staff all followed them quickly into the building now, with Ivan and Siera fast on their heels. Eventually, it was just Ava and me left lingering behind.
Once they were completely out of sight, Ava broke away from me and waved her hand in front of her face like she was drying her perspiration.
“I thought I was going to pass out!” she exclaimed, and I turned to her with a smile.
“Where did you learn how to do all that? You were amazing!” I said. Ava grinned at me and shrugged.
“I’m good at picking up things I guess,” she replied.
The next hurdle we would have to cross was the actual dinner, and I knew everything hung on that.
Chapter 17
Ava
I thought the initial introduction had gone well, as smoothly as it could go, given that most of Bas’ family still seemed to be mad at him. The least I could do was try and keep things civil between all of them. Bas had already informed me that they would be staying only one night to not arouse suspicion. So it was just this one dinner that I now had the chance to impress them at.
Bas had mentioned he had no expectations from me. Just as long as his family didn’t recoil in horror, he was sure that my presence in his life was going to buy him at least a few more weeks till he could come up with a plan. The ultimate goal for him was to not be forced into a marriage.
Getting dressed for that evening proved more difficult than I thought it would be. I was even more self-conscious now of what I was going to wear. Now that Bas thought I did an excellent job of first impressions, I wanted to keep impressing him. I wanted him to keep looking at me in that special secret way he did.
I hadn’t come prepared to meet royalty, so I knew I would have to make do with what I had.
The best outfit I could think of was a simple beige cocktail dress that fit my body perfectly. It traveled all the way down my knees several inches which was just the sort of thing I guessed the British royal family would approve of. I kept my hair up neatly like I did for the morning greeting and I went with a more natural toned nude makeup too.
Bas said he would pick me up from my room and just as promised, he showed up at my door at precisely seven.
He looked dashing in a suit with a navy tie. I couldn’t get that image out of my mind now, of his body moving over mine, his cock pumping in and out of me in those woods or us laying beside each other, our bare arms touching. It was hard to believe that was just yesterday morning and now here we were fully dressed, and he was escorting me to go meet relatives of the Queen of England!
We were at the door of the parlor room which had been organized for cocktails first. Some people were running around us, trying to keep everything in order, but as we walked down to the parlor; I felt like I was the only woman in the world because he had his eyes on me.
“You look beautiful, Ava. As always,” he whispered in my ear as one of the uniformed men at the door opened it for us and then announced our names.
As much as I had prepared myself for this moment, no preparation would have been enough. I had Bas’ arm for support, but it still felt like I could fall any moment. I was giddy with excitement and nervousness. No matter how many flashing cameras I had faced in my lifetime, nothing had felt this nerve-wracking before as facing these four people who were staring gravely at me now.
I dropped my knees in courtesy and Louisa smiled warmly at me.
“Have a seat, Ms. Morrison,” Bas’ aunt, Katherine, said in a shrill voice. I knew Bas, and I would have to part now. It would be more appropriate if the two of us sat separately from each other.
I took the chair beside Katherine and Alfred, while Bas sat beside his brother and Louisa on the other side.
Moira and Alfred were staring at me like they had no qualms about making me nervous.
“So, we are told you are an actress of some kind,” Moira began, and I sat with my ankles crossed and my hands clasped tightly together, on the edge of my chair.
“She is a child actor icon, aunt,” Louisa came to my rescue while I blushed deeply.
“A child actor? You were in the movies as a child? Was that something your parents approved of?” Moira continued, looking slightly horrified now.
“My father wanted it for me, my mother not so much,” I replied in a confident voice. I watched as Moira threw her brother a cold quizzical look.
“And what about your education?” Alfred spoke up now. It was the first time I was really hearing Bas’ father’s voice.
“I tried going to school like a normal child but it was difficult, so I was homeschooled.”
More horrified looks were exchanged.
“But I graduated. I went to college too,” I said, and Moira looked me up and down once again like I didn’t appear to be college educated to her.
“Any place we might have heard of?” Alfred asked, and I glanced at Bas, he didn’t look happy. I could see his anger rising with the questions his family was throwing at me and especially their tone.
“Yale. I studied history on a scholarship,” I replied, and that surprised them a little bit. It usually surprised everyone, nobody seemed to have expected that from me.
“And then you returned to acting again?” Moira continued.
&n
bsp; “For a short time, but I’m currently on a break, a sort of hiatus for the past five years. I’m not certain if I will go back to Hollywood eventually or not,” I said, and Moira sat back in her chair.
“And why is that, my dear?” she asked, her voice softening a little. I could sense that the decision of approving me lay mostly on her.
“Surely that is personal, aunt, and not a topic to be discussed with the first ten minutes of meeting someone!” Bas interjected in a loud throaty voice. Moira threw him a threatening look.
“We have very little time here, Sebastian!”
“We must make a decision tonight so we can discuss it with the rest of the family upon our arrival home,” Alfred added.
“A decision? Like permission? You think I’m actually going to wait around for your permission to marry someone?” Bas stood up with a jerk from his chair. I could see now how easily his family was able to get to him.
I just wanted him to calm down and not ruin this for himself.
“I feel like I have other skills besides acting which I want to hone,” I interrupted the heady air of a riot in the room. They all looked at me again, and I smiled, turning to Moira again.
“I want to work towards female empowerment in the workplace, and I think I can put my fame to good use there,” I said. “I’m not yet certain how to do it exactly, but that is something I feel strongly about.”
Bas was still fuming, but I’d managed to turn the attention back to me thankfully.
“I’ve watched your interviews and the speech you delivered at the UNICEF General Summit last year. You were truly inspirational.” Louisa was kind to me, and I smiled at he Moira and Alfred were now looking at me like there might be something of interest in me after all.
Bas slowly sat back down on his chair again.
“So, you are interested in that type of work, is it?” Moira asked, and I turned to her, trying to remain as graceful as I could.
