Royal Target

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “And now you’re here at my invitation to attend the gala.”

  “One question though,” Janessa began. “What happens when the women you were really dating see our story in print? Won’t they challenge our story?”

  Garrett shook his head. “I never dated anyone more than a couple of times while I was in the States.”

  “Too many girls impressed with your title?” Janessa asked.

  “Something like that,” Garrett acknowledged, relaxing enough to smile. “What about you? Any old boyfriends I need to know about?”

  Janessa shook her head. “Apparently I was holding out for you.”

  “That’s good to know.” Garrett’s eyes sparkled mischievously as the car came to a stop and the door opened. He stepped out and turned to help Janessa out of the car. He reached for her hand, a little surprised by how natural the gesture felt. Her hand was warm and smooth, and he kept it in his as they crossed the sidewalk to the restaurant.

  He noticed the spree of cameras flashing behind them, and he expected that by the time they finished their lunch, the number of reporters outside would double. He had been honest with Janessa about his recent dating expeditions. Most of his socializing during law school had centered around study groups and public functions. Only when protocol demanded it did he bother to mess with individual entanglements. He supposed he could consider this date a result of protocol, but he had to admit that he had been looking forward to this outing all day.

  The maitre d’ showed them to a table overlooking the sea. Garrett glanced out the window, appreciating the view of the crisp blue sky over equally blue water. A white sailboat crossed into his view as he took his seat across from Janessa. He wondered how she had remained single for so long. Clearly she was attractive, but beyond that was her intelligence, sense of humor, and, if he wasn’t mistaken, a healthy sense of adventure. Not an easy combination to resist. Then he qualified that thought. Those wouldn’t be easy attributes for him to resist, but some men he knew would find them a little intimidating.

  A waiter took their drink order and then left them to study their menus. Garrett glanced at his, deciding quickly what he would order. When he looked at Janessa, he saw her ignoring her menu and instead staring out over the water.

  “I can’t get over the view.” Janessa pulled her eyes from the Mediterranean to look at him. “This is the most beautiful place on earth.”

  Garrett smiled. “I have often thought so myself.”

  Over lunch, conversation flowed easily enough that no one near them would have guessed that they had met just weeks before. Garrett considered broaching the subject of religion, but when the waiter arrived to refill their drinks, he decided that topic would have to wait until the conversation could be just between the two of them.

  After they finished their meal, they walked hand in hand through the main shopping district. A window display caught Janessa’s eye, and she pointed with her free hand.

  “Do you mind if we go inside?” She motioned to an elegant white afghan in the window. “My sister’s baby is due next month.”

  “Of course.” Garrett pulled the door open, trying to recall the details about her family. “You have five siblings?”

  “Yes. I’m the oldest.” Janessa nodded. She moved to a display of beautifully crocheted blankets, turning when the shopkeeper approached. Garrett noted the surprise and awe in the shopkeeper’s expression as he greeted them.

  “Good afternoon.” He bowed to Garrett before turning to Janessa. “May I help you with something?”

  “I was just admiring the workmanship,” Janessa told him. “Are these all handmade?”

  The man beamed with pride. “Yes, my wife makes them.”

  “She’s very talented.” Janessa fingered a delicately crocheted afghan in pure white. “My sister would love this. I’ll take this one.”

  As Janessa moved to the cash register to pay, Garrett stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder as he addressed the shopkeeper. “Please have it delivered to the chateau, and put it on my account.”

  “Of course, Your Highness.”

  Janessa started to insist on paying herself, but when she noticed Garrett’s stern look she turned instead to thank the shopkeeper and then let Garrett guide her out of the store. As soon as the door closed behind them, she looked up at him. “Why didn’t you let me pay?”

  “It wouldn’t look right,” Garrett told her.

  “Oh.” Janessa narrowed her eyes, considering. Then, with a shrug, she fell into step beside him as they started down the sidewalk. “I’ll have to pay you back later then.”

  “It’s not necessary,” Garrett said in an offhanded tone.

  “Yes, it is,” Janessa insisted.

  He didn’t respond, instead slowing when they approached the jeweler. “Perhaps we should stop in here,” Garrett suggested. “After all, we’ll need to shop for a ring at some point in the near future.”

  “I guess I never thought about that,” Janessa told him. She glanced at the reporters hovering down the street and noted the position of Garrett’s security. “Though it would make an interesting story—Prince Garrett ring shopping.”

  “That’s true,” Garrett agreed as he ushered her inside. He called the jeweler by name, having frequented his store many times before. Of course, most of his previous visits had been at the request of his mother. “Davide, may I introduce you to Janessa Rogers.”

  “So pleased to meet you, signorina,” Davide greeted her. “What may I interest you in today?”

  “We need an engagement ring, Davide,” Garrett told him, lowering his voice as he added, “A ring fit for a princess.”

  Davide’s eyes widened, first with surprise and then with excitement. “Congratulations! Oh, I am so happy for you, Your Highness, signorina.”

  Garrett put his hand on Janessa’s waist and guided her to a seat while Davide bustled to gather a selection of diamond rings. What had sounded like a simple venture turned out to be a major production. Davide felt that anything less than five carats was unacceptable, and Janessa thought

  that her hands weren’t suited for such a large stone. Garrett settled the matter by choosing a simple, square-cut stone, larger than Janessa would choose for herself but small enough to suit her slight build.

  Once the selection was finally made, Garrett stood and instructed Davide to have the ring sized and delivered to him at the chateau. As soon as they were outside, Janessa leaned close and whispered, “The stone really is too big.”

  “It suited you,” Garrett said with sincerity.

  She looked surprised. “Thank you.”

  “Come. Let’s take a walk on the beach.” Garrett led her to an opening in the seawall. He smiled when she instinctively toed off her shoes and carried them in her hand.

  “I don’t know how you managed to stay away for so long,” Janessa told him as they approached the surf. “Not having this view after growing up with it must have made law school that much more difficult.”

  “Actually, a local artist painted a scene not unlike this one—just a small landscape of the view from my window at the palace. My father commissioned it as a gift for me right before I began my service with our Navy.” Garrett hesitated a moment as he reached down and picked up a seashell from the sand. “Like you, he must have thought that this view was something difficult to live without.”

  “Even though I didn’t grow up here, I know I’ll miss it when the time comes for me to leave.” Janessa stared out over the water. Her hair caught in the wind, and for a moment Garrett saw in her face a vulnerability he hadn’t noticed before. She stirred in him a desire to protect, in spite of the fact that she was here to protect him.

  He brushed a strand of hair from her face and then took both her hands in his. “Would it be terribly forward of me to kiss you right now?”

  Both of her elegant eyebrows lifted as she answered his question with one of her own. “Does the prince often kiss women in public?”

  “
Princes rarely have private moments.”

  “That may be true, but in this case, the only reason you want to kiss me is for your public.”

  “You’re mistaken.” Garrett stepped closer. “The press has nothing to do with why I want to kiss you.”

  Her eyes clouded with confusion as he took another step toward her. He had intended to keep the kiss brief, but as he pulled her closer, this thought was quickly dismissed. In that moment, he forgot the reporters and cameras and the reasons Janessa was here. Instead he thought only of her.

  He drew back, even more confused by his emerging feelings now that he knew how she felt in his arms.

  Her eyes were wary, guarded. “I don’t understand you.”

  “That makes two of us,” Garrett managed. “Come on. We should get back.”

  Chapter 10

  Janessa leaned back against the kitchen counter as she watched Patrice kneading some kind of dough. She suspected that if she wasn’t careful, she wasn’t going to fit into her evening gowns for long. She said as much to Patrice and was rewarded with her laughter.

  After poking around the chateau for the past few days, Janessa had concluded that, as was the case in many homes, the kitchen was the center of activity as well as the best place to pick up on the latest gossip. Patrice provided a wealth of information about the caterers and the typical guests for the gala. Many of the kitchen staff also provided gossip of a more personal nature.

  She was pleased to see that the vices typically found among staff members seemed to be limited here, particularly those that would concern her the most—excessive drinking and gambling. From what she had ascertained in her first few days at the chateau, the staff was loyal and well chosen.

  After snitching a croissant from a basket on the counter, Janessa headed outside and waited on the terrace. She only had to wait for a few minutes before Levi arrived under the pretense of checking the surveillance cameras.

  “How is everything going so far?” Janessa asked as she kept her gaze on the gardens.

  “I think we’ve identified the trouble spots. I’ll slip my report under your door after the maid finishes in your room.”

  “Great,” she said as he moved to check on the nearest security camera. “I actually have some ideas about the naval base I want to work on today.”

  “Good luck,” Levi said as he started toward the next camera. “The sooner that gets resolved, the easier it’s going to be for all of us.”

  With a nod, she turned and moved back inside.

  * * *

  “Politics,” Janessa muttered under her breath. Her conversation with the aide to the US ambassador to Meridia had been less than useful. She had spent hours trying to get through to the embassy, and once she was finally successful she wondered why she had even bothered.

  Her suggestion for the US Navy to request access to Meridia’s naval base in Bellamo was such an obvious solution she was surprised no one had pursued it earlier. Meridia didn’t want to give up more of its pristine coastline to development, and the United States wanted a base in the strategic location Meridia could give it. After seeing the size of Meridia’s naval base, Janessa was certain that the needs of the US could be accommodated by using a portion of the existing base.

  The completion time would be significantly shorter than if they opted for new construction, and sharing a base would alleviate the high threat of terrorism within Meridia that much sooner. Even the environmental groups who were lobbying against the base would likely be satisfied with this solution.

  Unfortunately, the Navy’s proposal was for a new base, and the ambassador’s aide was unwilling to consider any other possibilities. Clearly, the military was not yet privy to the capabilities of the Meridian naval base, or someone would have already explored this option.

  Janessa paced across her sitting room, working off her excess anger. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that she was as annoyed at the situation with Garrett as she was at the ambassador’s aide. Unfortunately, she was inherently honest.

  Since their kiss on the beach, she had barely seen him except at official functions. They had made sure members of the staff saw them together periodically, but in all settings they kept their conversation free of personal topics and their physical contact to a minimum. It wasn’t until Garrett wasn’t around that Janessa realized how much she missed his companionship. Silly, she thought to herself. She barely knew the man! But she couldn’t deny that she had sensed a connection between them. She had imagined that he had felt it too, but now she wasn’t sure what to think.

  She wondered if their date would be easier to forget had it not been documented in the newspapers and magazines. Martino had provided her with all of the latest, including photos of them leaving the jeweler’s and kissing on the beach. Janessa looked down at that picture now. The kiss should have been innocent, just a tool to convince the world that she had a right to be here. If only she hadn’t felt anything.

  With a shake of her head, she reminded herself that Garrett was simply playing a role to keep his family safe. No matter how nice he was, he was a prince and by default was probably very experienced in the romance department, no matter how he might try to deny it. She couldn’t let herself get distracted by the illusion that he might really be romantically interested in her. Even if he was interested, any kind of relationship would be impossible. Besides the fact that she and Garrett came from different worlds, he wasn’t LDS.

  She ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach, instead concentrating once again on the naval base. Unwilling to give up, Janessa pulled out her laptop and drafted a letter to the director of Central Intelligence. Hopefully he would understand the benefits of her suggestion and present her idea to the Navy.

  After writing and rewriting her proposal, Janessa carefully prepared the diplomatic pouch and set it on her dresser. She moved to the French doors leading to the balcony, surprised that after half a week in Meridia the view could still captivate her. Through all of her travels, she had never known that a single place could hold so much beauty.

  The farm in Iowa where she had grown up had always held a peaceful, quiet beauty for Janessa—green fields of new crops, horses and livestock grazing near the barn. Yet, she had always known that she was destined to leave there to find her own place. As she looked at the scene below, she wondered if she could find a place to call her own with a view such as this.

  * * *

  Her gown was black tonight, accented simply with a strand of pearls. Garrett watched Janessa enter the parlor, annoyed at himself for wanting to ignore his guests so that he could be with her. She saw him staring, gave him a brief nod, and then smiled at the defense attaché to the Italian ambassador.

  For the most part, Garrett had managed to avoid Janessa for the past three days. They had to keep up appearances, certainly, but otherwise he hadn’t sought her out since they had returned from their date and she had insisted on paying him back for the blanket. He had tried to tell her to keep her money, and he still wasn’t sure why she was being so stubborn about the whole thing. After all, it wasn’t like his family couldn’t afford it.

  The day after their date, he had been in meetings for hours on end as he tried to acclimate back to the duties expected of him. In his free moments, he had tried to analyze exactly what was going on between him and Janessa. The kiss on the beach had been impulsive, and it had rocked him to the core. He had liked Janessa from the first time they met and had found her attractive, but kissing her had opened the door to a level of interest that took him by surprise. Now he wasn’t quite sure what to do with the feelings she stirred in him.

  Perhaps it wouldn’t be so difficult if he didn’t want the permanence that marriage and a family of his own would bring him. Too easily, he could imagine Janessa in that picture, and he was concerned that he already thought of her far too often each day. After all, he had only met her a few weeks earlier.

  Garrett watched Janessa work the room for nearly ten minutes befor
e he excused himself and crossed to her. As much for show as for his own pleasure, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I need a little fresh air.” Garrett reached for her hand and led her through the terrace doors before she had a chance to answer.

  As soon as they were outside, Janessa spoke. “You’re neglecting your guests. That’s not like you.”

  “Are you sure?” Garrett asked, leading her down the terrace steps toward the garden. “Maybe I’m not a very good host.”

  “I find that unlikely,” Janessa stated. She glanced around to make sure they were alone and then asked, “Have you heard anything new about the bombing?”

  “Nothing.” Garrett shook his head. “The latest report said that a few shadows on the surveillance tape have helped pin down the time the bomb was planted, but no one has taken credit for it.”

  “I’m sure something will turn up eventually.” She turned to admire a cluster of blue dawn flowers. “The gardens here are so beautiful.”

  A smile crossed his face. “No matter where we go, you find something to compliment.”

  She shrugged and stopped beside a vine bursting with red blooms. “It’s hard not to here.”

  “I agree.” Garrett was struck once again by how he relaxed almost instantly in Janessa’s presence. He felt he could simply be himself with her. He started to move closer, but Janessa stepped back.

  “Please don’t.” Her voice was calm but had a slight waver to it. “I have a job to do, and neither of us can afford any distractions right now.”

  “That may be, but I’ve missed talking to you the last few days.”

  Janessa studied him for a moment, her eyes wary. “I think you know that nothing can develop between us.”

  “Maybe it already has,” Garrett said as a servant stepped out onto the terrace to announce dinner. “We’ll talk about this later when we can really be alone.”

  He guided her back into the parlor, pleased that she allowed him to escort her to the dining room where many of their guests were already waiting. Though she wasn’t seated next to him, she was close enough for Garrett to hear pieces of her conversation with the ambassador’s aide and the defense attaché. He could have sworn he heard something about a secret vacation spot in Italy and then pieces of a lighthearted disagreement on where to find the best chocolate in Europe. A few minutes later, Garrett noticed Janessa sharing confidences with the defense attaché’s wife.