The Heir_Billionaire Royal

by Sophia Summers

  He turned from them and saw a few more to his left. Had they discovered him? He panicked for a moment, but Julian shook his head. “Your new fans, apparently.”

  A touch of relief eased his panic, but still, so many images or videos of him anywhere could not help him hide.

  Therese must have picked up on his concern. She stepped between him and Julian and ran a hand up his chest. “Are you looking for someplace quieter?” Her eyes filled with suggestion.

  He searched the crowd. Jo and Kevin sat at the edge, deep in conversation, holding hands. “Yes. Do you know a place?”

  She pulled on his hand and led him away.

  9

  Jo told herself she was happy Kevin had come. That his support meant everything to her when she had so much to worry about. He walked her back to her boat. She refused to look at Nick’s as she passed. Did she see fogged up windows? The image of him dancing with Therese, of all people—Therese—scarred her brain. She didn’t think she could ever look at him the same way.

  Kevin talked to her about this improvement or that along the docks. Every time he passed something that could use some elbow grease, as he called it, he made mention. She had stopped mentally chronically them.

  When they got to her boat, she knew she had to invite him in, but she didn’t want to. The inside of her boat felt like it belonged to Nick.

  He stopped her before they could board. “Look, Jo, I’m tired. Do you mind if I just head to my hotel? We can pick up tomorrow?”

  “Sure. I’m tired too. Let’s go over the books.”

  He waved his hand. “OK.” He leaned in and touched his lips to hers, then turned to walk away without another word.

  Was this how they always behaved? Had they become so accustomed to each other there was no excitement?

  Thinking of Nick and his lips so close to her own, the feeling didn’t even compare.

  She knew it was unfair to compare Kevin to the incredibly hot summer-only friend fling she had going on.

  Especially when that fling had his hands all over Therese. She gripped the handrails tighter than usual as she headed toward the door to enter the cabin on her boat.

  She didn’t know anything about Nick.

  Before entering her boat, she changed her mind, turned around and walked back to her car. She would go sleep at her house tonight. Even though hospice was there, she wanted to be home, wanted to see her dad.

  When she awoke in the morning, her father and his nurse were already up.

  “Jo is here.” Her father must have seen her car or perhaps seen her in her room. He sounded lucid. She scrambled to run a toothbrush over her teeth and headed for the stairs.

  “That’s nice.”

  “She’s got a new boyfriend.”

  “Does she?”

  “I like him better than that other guy. I couldn’t ever remember his name even before the dementia hit me.” He chuckled.

  Jo loved her dad. He even joked about his condition. She hurried into the kitchen. “Good morning.”

  “I told you she was here.”

  Jo came around and kissed his cheek. “I came in last night.” She nodded to the nurse. “I can take things from here for a couple hours.”

  “I’ll be in my room if you need anything.” She stepped out of the room with a smile on her face.

  “How did you know I was home?”

  “I heard you come in last night. Not even late, must have been a slow night at the Rumble.”

  She laughed with him. How fun that he seemed completely normal right in that moment. “It was actually a crazy night. Everyone was out. But Kevin showed up.”

  “Ah, and there stopped the fun.”

  “Dad, why don’t you like him?”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t like him. You and I both know he’s not one for fun. He’s wonderfully responsible though. Perhaps I should thank him for your exceptional GPA these last couple years.” He winked.

  “Dad!” But she knew he was kidding. “He also cares. He showed up to help me at the marina and—”

  “Oh? And what does that nice Nick think of him?”

  She remembered their brief introduction and frowned. “I’m not sure. I don’t think he was too impressed, but Kevin wasn’t very friendly to him.”

  Her dad chuckled. “I imagine not.”

  “Anyway, Kevin may come pick me up a little later. We’ll go run some errands and things this afternoon. Would you like to see him?”

  Her father shrugged and for a moment, she thought she’d lost him again. But instead, he looked back at her. “How bad is it? When I forget?”

  She swallowed the immediate lump that filled her throat. “Not too bad.”

  Her father’s eyes held pain, reading through her lie. “Tell me.”

  “It really is not so bad. You are still the kind, wonderful man I’ve always known, just confused. Sometimes you don’t know me. You forget things we are doing. You…” She swallowed. “You miss Mom all over again as if she just died yesterday. That’s the hardest part.”

  His face pinched and he reached for her hand. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his frail form. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “I love you too, Jo. And just in case I don’t remember to tell you some other time, I really like that Nick fellow too. You seemed more like yourself, the little girl I raised, when he was here.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. I’m glad you could meet him.” She wouldn’t tell her father how she planned to avoid him or how awkward it would be when she finally did run into him.

  A loud knock and the sound of their doorbell interrupted their embrace and startled her father. He became concerned. “Who is that? Are you expecting anyone?”

  “No. Daddy. I’ll find out.”

  “Don’t go. What if it’s dangerous?” His face took on new lines and widened, crazed eyes.

  His confusion and fear always rattled her as well. “OK, I’ll stay.”

  The door opened and the nurse said, “I’ll tell them you are here.”

  When she came in, her father said, “Who are you?”

  The nurse chuckled. “It’s all right, Mr. Finley. I’m just your nurse. I’m here to help you in case you become confused or forget things. Like right now. Are you feeling a little bit confused?”

  Jo marveled at how good she was with him.

  The nurse pulled out a picture. “See. Here’s a photo of you and me? See how you are smiling? We are friends.”

  He studied it and seemed to calm.

  Jo squeezed his hand and then went into the living room, trying not to burst into tears. The sudden back and forth, her father’s fear—he had always been the strong one.

  Kevin stood when she entered. “Hello.”

  Relieved, she ran to him. “I’m so glad you are here.”

  His arms immediately encircled her. “Whoa. What’s wrong, baby?”

  “It’s Daddy. I’m OK, it’s just…hard sometimes.”

  Kevin’s hands rubbed her back in comforting circles, and she melted into him. Everything would be all right. He would fix it.

  “He’s too much of a burden on you, Jo.”

  What? She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one else heard. “No. No, he’s not.

  He’s my father. He will never be a burden.”

  “You’re not a nurse.” Kevin stepped back and placed his hands at the sides of her face. “I know you love him, but it won’t make a difference to him if you’re here or not. You’re in way over your head with this.”

  She shook her head. He didn’t understand. “He has hospice care, twenty-four hours.”

  He took her hand and led her to the couch. “You can be here with him, of course. But at some point, it won’t matter if you come or not. Might want to start preparing for that.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. She tried to fight it. But what he said was too hard, too hurtful. Even if it was true, it was her worst dread, the thing she most wanted to postpone. How could he be so callous about it?


  She allowed him to pull her back into his arms, but she kept her face turned away, silent.

  Kevin did not notice. “Let’s catch a show, dinner, something fun.”

  She stepped back, surprised. “Right now?”

  “Well sure. You look like you could use a break, and I don’t have work or anything hanging over me. It would be nice to just be able to relax with you for a change.”

  She moved closer. “You are so right. It’s been too long. I forget what it’s like to not have a million things to do.” She rushed to grab her things, turned off her phone and put it in her purse. She needed this. Fun with Kevin. And she didn’t want anything to disrupt her night.

  When she re-entered the room, Kevin was frowning into his phone, but he turned it off and pocketed it. Then he reached for her hand. “You ready?” His eyes held a spark of adventure she hadn’t seen in a long time.

  “Yes!”

  As her hand swung in his, a tiny part of her determined to have more fun than Nick, especially after seeing him with Therese.

  10

  Nico awoke with a headache to his father’s voice. “Wake up, son.”

  He lifted his eyebrows, but the lids just wouldn’t rise. “Whaaat,” he grumbled.

  Julian whispered, “He insisted. Here. Take your iPad and talk to His Majesty.”

  Nico squinted one eye open. Julian was pantomiming something. He studied him in gathering annoyance, a sharp ache piercing the left side of his brain. At last Julian scribbled and held up a piece of paper that read, “Pretty blonde?” and pointed all over the boat, raising his shoulders.

  Nico snorted and shook his head, but the effort rattled his brain and it started to hurt on the other side as well. At length he turned to the image on his iPad. “Hello, Father.”

  “Glad to see you awake. Son, we need to talk.”

  “So I gathered.”

  Julian arrived with a tall glass of water, and Nick downed it in one gulp.

  “We found the photographer who captured you and Angelika on your yacht.”

  Niko opened both eyes and sat up in his bed.

  His father held up a picture of a twenty-something male. “Angelika hired him.”

  “I knew it.” Frustration brewed closer to the surface. Why had he not seen through that woman?

  “She seems bent on finding you. She’s hired private investigators.”

  A sliver of concern twitched. He enjoyed the freedom here where no one knew him. If the news from his country caught up with him, there would be nowhere he could hide without their constant barrage. He told himself it had nothing to do with Jo, and brought back the memory of her kiss with Kevin, grimacing.

  “What is it, son? Late night?”

  “You could say that.” Therese had gone home after a couple drinks in his boat. It was clear what she wanted, and he would have enjoyed her company last month, but he couldn’t stomach her or the thought of yet another meaningless evening. Instead, he had spent the rest of the later hours of the night drinking alone.

  His father cleared his throat. “There’s more.”

  “I’m still here.”

  “We need to talk about your coronation.”

  His suspicions heightened. “So soon? It’s years off I would imagine, or are you looking to retire?” His playful jab fell on a solemn expression. “What is it, Father? Are you unwell?”

  The man who had always been his greatest example and strength leaned back in his deep leather chair and picked up the picture of his family, running his finger down the image. Nico began to feel real concern while he waited for his father to answer.

  “The doctors are unsure as of yet, but we are doing tests.”

  “What kind of tests? Father, what is going on?”

  “Just some suspicious lumps, some tumors they hope are benign, usually are. But it has made me think we need to take precautions, be ready in case the inevitable happens earlier than anyone expects.”

  “Father, you are as healthy as any man.”

  “Yes, but regardless, we are moving up the timeline on most of your preparations. And we need to discuss Monique.”

  Nico almost tossed the iPad to the other side of the bed, so abrupt and charged his feelings were about this topic. “Father, I will not submit to this farce of a relationship.”

  “I won’t force the issue, but you could at least date the girl. You date anyone else who smiles at you.”

  Nico winced, and his father grinned. “Son, it’s OK, I did my own philandering, so to speak.”

  Nico groaned. “Philandering?”

  “But you are getting older now, and I’m, well, I might not be around as long as we think, and so all I’m saying is, start to date girls of quality. Spend time with the ones you could see yourself with long term. Like Monique.” He smiled. “I love you, Nico. You will be ten times the monarch I have been, once you settle in.” He reached his hand out. “It’s time.”

  Nico nodded and then held his head. “OK, Father. I’ll try.” He had already headed in that direction, he realized. Something about this town, revamping a store—really, it was Jo. He wanted to impress Jo, live up to her perceived expectations.

  “When will you have definitive answers about these tests?”

  “A couple weeks. In the meantime, stay out of the cameras, away from crowds. Just live quietly. Turn a profit on this store, and wait out the storm.”

  Nico nodded, said goodbye to his father and then mulled over his words. He was not ready to lose the giant of a man in his life, nor was he ready to become that man for everyone else. A deep fear grew inside, and he regretted anew his late night imbibing. He could have tackled this morning’s news with much more confidence if he had a clear mind.

  He pulled a new T-shirt over his head and wanted nothing more than to see Jo. Something about her presence in his life helped him find the man inside he wanted to be.

  He pulled out his phone. It was already two in the afternoon. What a waste of a day. And he called her. The phone rang five times, then switched to voicemail. He left a message asking her to call.

  Then he headed off the boat in the direction of his store.

  A huge noise came from that direction, like a crowd of people had gathered. As he approached, their shouts became intelligible. “Prince Nico!”

  Dread filled him. The news had found his store. He looked around at the quiet docks. But not his boat. He dove back inside—it was only a matter of time—grabbed a baseball cap and sunglasses and a drab jacket. He considered taking the boat out and hiding across the bay, but he had leased the slip and boat in a different name from the store. He might be OK for a few days more. Instead, he headed down the dock to the Sonhadora.

  He pounded on Jo’s door to her boat. Maybe she had slept there last night. Sierra stuck a groggy face out her window. “Jo slept at home.”

  He waved at her and ran down the docks.

  He used the back alley and gave a wide berth around his store before hopping in his car in the public parking lot. His heart pounded. He dreaded the moment the papparazi would catch up to him—and he knew they would.

  He had to get to Jo before she saw the evening news.

  11

  Jo and Kevin finished the movie, the latest superhero show, and she tried to enjoy it. She held Kevin’s hand, ate popcorn, teased him, joked, flirted. Everything she would have done with Nick.

  Then they went to her favorite childhood ice cream shop. She ordered pistachio.

  “What? Why not the praline? I thought that was the only ice cream in your repertoire.”

  She smiled. “This is my dad’s favorite.”

  He frowned but said nothing.

  They sat in the corner, and Jo let the memories wash over her. Ice cream after games, for family outings, and even that one time no one asked her to prom. A closeness to her dad filled her and she was grateful. “Thank you, Kevin. This is special. So many memories of my dad in here.”

  His frown deepened.

  “What?
”

  He fidgeted with his napkin. “I already said how I feel about this situation. It’s too early to talk about it.”

  “Too early?”

  “I just know eventually you are going to need to make some tough decisions. And waxing nostalgic about the past won’t help you get there.”

  Her insides stuttered. “Are you so unfeeling? Can you not see how that comment would be hurtful?”

  “See, it is too soon. I’m sorry I said anything.” He looked into her eyes, and she saw sincerity there, but knowing he meant was he said didn’t temper his comments. “I worry for you, Jo. And what about your fellowship? Look, I’m glad you can be here for your dad, but we’ve worked too hard for you to just give it all away for a few months’ time that he won’t even remember.”

  Hurt, then enraged, she stood. “How can you say that, how can you even feel that? Every day he has lucid moments. What if I miss them? I want to be here for him, so he never has to wonder, to think….” She couldn’t finish, her tears welling up. The words, so he never thinks I abandoned him shouted in her brain.

  She turned from him.

  “Jo.”

  She shook her head. “Of course I see what you are saying. It’s all so logical, but so sterile.”

  “Someone has to take the distant approach so that we maintain a certain level of rationality.”

  “Don’t you feel anything Kevin? Can you not see how…” She couldn’t finish. And she knew this moment was coming. How could she spend so much time away and not even miss him? “We’re over.” Then she faced him. “I just don’t think that what we have is what I need right now.” Nick’s strong embrace, his caring, his jokes with her dad, their almost kiss flooded her mind. “I have to go.”

  She raced from the ice cream store and headed for Sweet Treats. With any luck Nick would be there. The sound of a crowd reached her while she was still three streets over. Curious, trepidation shuddering through her, she stepped around the last street corner.

  A massive group of people crowded the front of Sweet Treats. Cameras flashed and people chanted, “Prince Nico!”

  Curiosity piqued, she stepped closer.