I laughed but I knew it sounded forced. “Sorry, didn’t get much sleep last night.”
It was more like the past week. I was tired and jittery and had never been so stressed in my life.
I hadn’t been myself ever since I proposed to Grace. She was happy, and I loved that I made her feel that way. But it made it that much harder to tell her the truth.
Would she still want me when she found out about me being the future Prince of Cambria? I’d explain I was planning to abdicate. Maybe that would help. Or it might make it worse.
Who knew falling in love could be so stressful?
We lived a blissful life of work and play and lots and lots of sex. But no one was watching. No one was keeping tabs on where we went and what we said.
I felt a comforting hand on mine. “Don’t worry, dear. Love conquers all as they say.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Why would you say that?”
A knowing grin appeared on her lips. “In my experience, if a man as handsome as yourself has trouble sleeping, it usually involves a woman.”
She was right about the woman but very wrong about love. Even if love conquered all, as the saying went, it would be no match for a crown.
I nodded at the woman and told her I would give her a few minutes with her menu before I returned to take her order.
Glancing around, I was thankful that Grace was in the back and not out front helping. Every time she was around, I seemed to either drop plates or spill something. When she looked at me, I knew she was reconsidering my promotion as a waiter.
I wondered if she was reconsidering my proposal, too?
Making my way behind the counter, I kept busy by making a fresh pot of coffee. I smiled as I remembered when I first came into this diner a month and a half ago, never having touched a coffee machine in my life.
And here I was, brewing coffee like a master. This was the reason I took a break from being a royal to begin with. To understand the everyday things people did and what life was really like for a person who didn’t grow up in a castle.
What I hadn’t expected was to fall in love, not just with the new life, but with Grace. She was beautiful, and I noticed that when I first met her. Getting to know her made me realize she was more captivating than any blue-blood my parents expected me to marry.
“What are you so down about? Your shift ends in an hour,” Liza said as she placed a ticket on the turnstile and turned it toward the kitchen.
“Just tired. That’s all,” I lied.
She turned to me, tucking her pencil behind her ear and blond waves. Leaning against the counter, she said with a wink, “I bet you’re tired.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “What does that mean?”
Rolling her hazel eyes, she explained, “Everyone here knows you two are together. You and the boss.”
Were we that obvious? Even the woman in the booth knew my problems were with a woman.
It must be me. I thought Grace and I were doing a good job keeping our relationship secret, but I must be doing something that gave it away.
Grace wasn’t sure how the staff at the diner would react and since her brother was still vacationing, she wanted to tell him first. That last thing I wanted was for our relationship to leak to the press. If just one person recognized me and they discovered I was with Grace, the diner would turn to chaos.
Thankfully, everything had been quiet. Which was due to no one being suspicious of me. Our relationship turned more eyes in my direction and put me at risk.
Should I lie to Liza? The way she smiled at me, I doubted she’d believe it.
I was sick of lying. “How did you know?”
Liza snorted. “I see the way you look at her. Since you’ve been here, you haven’t been able to take your eyes off Grace. And she’s been looking at you the same way over the past few weeks.”
“Oh.”
“Plus, the door to her office was cracked open yesterday and I saw you two making out in there.”
I made a mental note to double-check that all doors were closed if Grace and I were alone together.
I was about to change the subject and bring up her favorite subject—wine—when the bell above the front door jingled.
Turning, I saw someone who caused my heart to pick up speed and not in a good way. Tiber walked in the door.
“Oh, he’s hot. I’ll make sure he gets a seat.” Liza smiled and started to head toward the front door.
“No. I, uh . . . I know him. Let me seat him.”
She thinned her lips but nodded. “Fine, but seat him in my station. Is he single?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll be sure to leave a napkin with my number on it.” She winked before she grabbed a plate that the cook had put up on the pass window.
Tiber stood there with his eyes glued to me. I took a deep breath and made my way over. He most likely brought bad news. My time here was up and there was no getting out of it this time. But even if that turned out to be true, it was nice to see my old friend.
“Tiber. Would you like a seat?”
“There’s no time. I need to speak with you privately.”
That was it. My fairy-tale life was about to end. I nodded and directed Tiber back to the changing area across from Grace’s office. I took one last look at Grace’s door before I steeled myself for what Tiber would tell me.
Once we were in the small room, I shut and locked the door.
“I thought you were in Dallas,” I said before turning to face my friend.
“I was but I took a flight to warm you.”
I knew it. Word got out that I was hiding in a diner in Chicago. It struck me as funny that the place wasn’t filled with reporters. Perhaps Tiber worked his magic and was keeping them at bay until he could let me know.
“If I am honest, Tiber, I’m surprised I’ve been able to get away with it for this long.”
“That’s not why I’m here, Your Highness. It’s about your father.”
It was worse than I suspected. My parents found out. I feared what would await me if I should return to Cambria. Despite wishing to abdicate so I could live with Grace forever, I wanted my parents to meet Grace.
“How did he find out about Grace?”
Tiber’s brow wrinkled. “Grace? Who’s Grace?”
“The woman I intend to marry,” I said, throwing my arms in the air.
“You are engaged? This is the first I am hearing of it. When I left Cali this morning, she never mentioned it.”
If it wasn’t about Grace, then why was Tiber warning me about my father?
“I’m confused, Tiber. I thought you were here because you found out I proposed to Grace, the owner of the diner. I gave her the Chillingham ruby ring.”
His eyes grew wide as he sucked in air. “The ring. You gave her the ring? But . . . but, she just . . . Does she know? Does that woman understand all that lay with the ring? All the responsibility and history that comes with it?”
I frowned. “No. But I was planning to tell her. Soon.”
“But she understands that you are the Duke of Iornlea and the future Prince of Cambria. Right?”
I didn’t answer him. It wasn’t that I was being childish. I just couldn’t come up with the words that didn’t make me sound like an imbecile.
“I take that as a no, Your Highness.”
“It’s not as if I will never tell her. I’ve been meaning to do it for the past week since we’ve been engaged, but I can’t seem to find the right words or time or, uh . . . courage.”
For the first time in our friendship, Tiber looked at me with shame. “What happened to you, Nico? Why would you need courage to tell this woman who you are? If this woman loves you enough to marry you, then she will accept you, title and all.”
He was right. But it wasn’t about that.
“But I lied to her, Tiber. I told her that I loved her, and I lied as my family ring slid onto her finger.”
NINETEEN
&nbs
p; Grace
Just One of the Guys
“Grace Aster. Grace Jensen-Aster. Grace Jensen-Hawthorne-Aster. Wow, that’s a lot of names.” I worked on my signature like a silly schoolgirl with a crush.
Because I did have a crush. A super love crush with my real life fiancé. I didn’t care that I sounded like a lovesick idiot. Never in my life had I been this happy and I was going to soak it up. Marinate in my own sticky sweet passion.
The past two weeks had been wonderful. I never realized I could be this happy. It wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t want perfection. I only wanted Nico.
It concerned me that when I brought up his past, to learn more about him, he’d change the subject. And by change the subject, I mean he would go down on me and cause me to have multiple orgasms.
I understood that what had happened in his country was a touchy subject, but we were going to be husband and wife, he should trust me enough to confide in me. Perhaps that took time.
I wished my brother was back from vacation so I could ask him. He could give me advice about when to expect Nico to open up. I hoped once Alex found out we were engaged, he’d be more accepting of Nico.
There was a knock at the door. I grabbed a folder from my desk and hid the paper I was doodling on under it.
“Come in.”
The door opened and to my surprise, it was Morgana.
“Oh, hey, what are you doing here? Taking a break from work?”
She bit her lip and nodded, pointing to the chair on the other side of my desk.
“Yeah, have a seat.” I waved at the chair that I finally got back from the front of the diner.
She was unusually quiet. That was the thing about Morgana—you could always count on her to fill the room with conversation. Sometimes she shared too much, but she meant well.
Morgana sat and glanced around my office as she continued to gnaw on her lip.
“Is there something you came for?”
My ears burned as to why she came here. I was concerned something bad had happened. Was Henrik hurt? My crush on him ended long ago, but I still liked the guy. I never would want him hurt.
“Is Nico here?”
I nodded. “Yes. His shift ends in a half hour, why?”
Suddenly, it hit me. She found out about our engagement. I raised my hand to my forehead. Shit. Why else would she be asking about Nico? Now she felt obligated to tell my brother. After all, he’s married to her best friend.
“Please don’t, Morgana. He’s my brother and I should tell him myself.”
“I said Nico, not Alex. There’s something I need to tell you about Nico . . .”
I sighed and began to rub my temples. I loved Nico, but his life was filled with complication. It seemed like something came up every way we turned. Something dealing with his country or his family or him thinking he recognized someone and he had to hide.
“I know, Morgana. Why do you think I have him working here? It’s definitely not for his serving skills,” I said with a chuckle.
Her shoulders slumped as she said, “Oh, thank God. I thought I was going to have to be the one to tell you. When Aria kept mentioning how much Nico seemed to bother Alex and then made a random comment about how he wished Nico would go back to Cambria, it bothered me.”
“Tell me about it. I have no idea why my brother hates him so much.”
“That’s not what bothered me, because I know why he doesn’t like Nico.”
“Because he’s not a great worker?” I asked as I pondered the idea in my head for a few weeks.
It wasn’t like him to loathe someone right away, but perhaps Morgana knew something I didn’t.
“Maybe, but I think it has something to do with you. Nico likes you and your brother hates that.”
I shook my head. “That can’t be true. My brother isn’t barbaric like that.”
Morgana snorted. “Oh, Grace, all men are barbaric like that. Some are just better at hiding it than others. But how Alex glares at Nico, it’s obvious. And what makes it worse is that you like Nico. Am I right?”
Wait . . . If she’s asking me if I like Nico then she couldn’t know about our engagement.
“Um, yes . . . I love him.”
Morgana’s eyes widened. “Did something happen? Oh my God!” She leaned closer and I worried she might fall off her chair. “Did you two have sex?”
I nodded.
She jumped up squealing and ran over to my side of the desk. I stood and Morgana pulled me into a suffocating hug.
“Finally. Aria and I had hoped you two would hook up. But that does create a bigger problem. But hey, at least you can say you bagged a prince.”
I pulled out of the hug and gazed up at Morgana, uncertain if she was losing her mind. “Bagged a prince? What are you talking about?”
“But you said you knew and that’s why he’s working here. I don’t know why the Prince of Cambria would want to work in a diner in Chicago, but who am I to question royalty.”
“But I’d seen pictures of the royal family of Cambria. And, yes, Nico does look a little like the prince, but it isn’t him. Besides, he’s married and has two kids—a little boy and girl.”
“Remember, I said it bothered me when Alex commented he wanted Nico to go back to Cambria? That’s how I found out he was the prince or, the future prince. His father is actually the prince, but he’s giving up his crown on January first. Then Nico becomes the prince. It had been in the news last month. I didn’t pay too much attention because I was busy with work. But when I talked to Aria on the phone last night when she called to fill me in on her vacation, that’s when I heard Alex in the background saying that about Nico and Cambria. After I got off the phone, I looked up Cambria and the Chicago Tribune popped up with a picture of Nico and his sister. The article was titled, The Royal Family of Cambria Comes to Call.”
“No, that can’t be right. I’m engaged to the man.” I held up my hand to show off the ring. “He would have told me about that.”
Bile rose up my throat as Morgana pawed my hand to inspect the ring. She made more excitedly happy sounds and she almost pulled the thing off my hand.
But I saw the picture of the royal family when I first looked it up over a month ago. My mind thought back to when I saw the image online. It seemed normal, but a few people in the background of the photo looked a little dated. As if their hair and makeup were from years ago. I hadn’t thought much of it as it’s another country. I assumed their style was different.
Nico told me he was defecting. How can a prince defect? That’s not something they could do, was it?
Before I could tug my hand back from Morgana there was a knock at the door. I never had time to respond before it opened.
In walked a man in a suit with a coiled wire coming from his ear down into the collar of his shirt.
“Clear, Your Highness,” he said in a thick accent.
“Who do you think—” I said before my words stuck in my throat.
In walked the Princess of Cambria. There was no mistaking it. She was the woman I saw in the photo I looked up online. She was older with a few more wrinkles. Perhaps that photograph had been taken a decade or two ago.
“I don’t see my son. Where is Nicolas?”
I wanted to speak but for some reason words were not coming out of my mouth. She was a real-life princess and she was standing in my office.
I had met some wealthy people before and been to a few swanky restaurants—all due to my brother—but I had never expected to meet royalty.
Glancing over at Morgana, I hoped she would know what to do. Thankfully, she was here to guide me as my brain was currently out of service.
Morgana bowed and said, “Your Majesty. It is an honor to meet you.”
As much as I knew I should bow, my body wouldn’t perform. I couldn’t move and wondered if I might need a doctor. It turned out I didn’t need medical attention, just an elbow in my side—more specifically, Morgana’s elbow.
I bowed or curtsied or what
ever my body was doing at the moment. “Your Majesty. Yes, uh . . . what she said.”
That didn’t come out right. I grimaced at my word garbage response and prayed that the princess was too well-mannered to comment.
“I asked about my son. Now, please, tell me where I might find him.”
I side-eyed Morgana. She was still bowing so I remained hunched over, too. I guess we had to wait for the princess to tell us to rise.
“Nico is your son?” I asked.
“Yes, and why are you two still bowing? Do rise for fear you may become sick.”
Morgana was telling the truth. I gazed at the ring Nico gave me and in that moment, I knew it was real. I wasn’t just wearing a family heirloom; I was wearing a priceless family heirloom. The kind of thing that eventually ended up in museums.
And when I looked up, I saw him. The man who gave me the ring. My fiancé. Who, as I just discovered, was also the future Prince of Cambria.
I needed to sit. But I knew enough about royalty to realize you never sat until the royal sat.
Maybe I could faint. I don’t think she’d mind if my body collapsed due to shock.
“That is our ring,” the princess said and turned to address her son. “Nicolas, you gave this woman our family ring? That ring is intended for your future bride.”
Nico stood tall and clasped his hands behind his back. “I know, Mother. Grace has agreed to marry me.”
“But you can’t. She’s American. I forbid it.”
It was at that moment that my body gave me the sweet relief I had been craving. The room went dark and I assumed I fainted. Truthfully, I had no idea what had happened. I could be dead, which would be a relief, too. If I woke, then I’d know I didn’t die.
Better yet, I might wake to discover this was all just a crazy dream.
TWENTY
Nico
Say Anything
This was a nightmare.
I pushed past my mother and ran to Grace. She was on the floor next to Morgana. We both crouched beside her hoping she’d wake. The room was too small for all of us behind Grace’s desk.
Sliding my arms under her back and knees, I lifted Grace. “The desk. Clear it.” I nodded to Morgana.
Royal Disgrace (Cake Love Book 5) Page 11
