The Marcelli Princess

by Susan Mallery

  “No, because that is what you want.” He picked up one of the race cars. “When I was his age, I could already recite the lineage of my family back to the twelfth century.”

  “There’s a party trick.”

  “It is not a trick. It is who we are.”

  “It’s who you are. And Danny’s not you. He’s not even four yet. Give him a break.”

  Rafael appreciated her concern, but he also resented it. How strange. Perhaps if his mother had lived she would have…

  He shook off the thought. “Before I left for school in England, I was already attending meetings of state. I would visit with my father three times a week and listen while he explained what was going on in our country and in the world.”

  “Arranged meetings?” she asked. “What about just hanging out. Playing, having him read you a story?”

  “He is the king. He does not read stories.”

  “Right. Because he has a staff to do that.” She leaned over and put her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

  He stiffened. “Your apology is not required.”

  “I wasn’t apologizing. I was expressing sympathy and compassion. That’s a tough life for any kid. It shouldn’t have been like that.”

  He stood and glared down at her. “It was exactly as it should have been. I am crown prince—”

  She rose, put her hands on his shoulders, and cut him off with a brief kiss. “Get defensive much?” she asked as she drew back. “I know who you are. You’ve lived a life of great privilege and that’s wonderful, but you’ve also paid a price for that. Everyone has trade-offs. Yours were different from most, but they still existed. That’s okay.”

  He hated what she was saying as much as his body wanted to respond to her nearness.

  “I do not need you making excuses for me,” he told her.

  “I’m not. I’m saying that childhood is a tough gig, even for a prince. No kid should have to get dressed up and have an appointment to see a parent. Parents should be the safest place in the world, and so many times they’re not.”

  He didn’t want to think about that—about how his father had been a stranger. There had been other people he could depend on. His uncle Vidal had talked to him about life and been a trusted confidant.

  Mia took his hand and tugged until he sat next to her on the bed. “I have a question.”

  “That is hardly unusual.”

  “True. What would you be or do if you weren’t a prince?”

  He stared at her. “I am a prince.”

  “Yes, we’re all totally clear on that. The flashing neon sign over your head doesn’t let anyone forget. But if you weren’t, what would you be? How would you make a living?”

  “I have never considered such a thing.”

  Except he had…once. Rafael had spent a month his summer before university on the private island of a friend of his father’s. There had been no press, no parties, no public appearances. Just the large house and its staff, along with those people indigenous to the island.

  None of them had cared who he was or where he came from. They lived their lives bound by the seasons, growing crops, marrying, having children, getting old, and then dying.

  “A doctor,” he said without thinking, then wished he hadn’t spoken.

  “Really? An actual medical doctor?”

  He nodded stiffly. “I would take care of people. I would also do research to fight diseases.”

  “You mean help them?” She sounded both intrigued and disbelieving.

  “This conversation has no purpose.”

  “It does for me,” she told him. “I’m still trying to figure you out. I wouldn’t have thought a doctor.”

  It was a moment to push his advantage. He should discuss this more and allow Mia to believe he was everything she wanted. Instead he asked, “And you? When you were a young girl, what did you want to be or do?”

  She laughed. “I wanted to rule the world. Sort of the ultimate imperial queen. It’s been a joke in my family for years. Instead I decided to become a diplomat and along the way ended up, very briefly, being a spy. You know the rest.”

  He touched her cheek. “You would make a very good imperial queen. But why did you become a spy?”

  Her brown eyes darkened. “Someone fooled me. I didn’t want that to ever happen again.”

  Rafael stayed where he was, right next to Mia, but a part of him wanted to pull away. He was there to fool her. Perhaps in the biggest way possible. If there was another way…

  There wasn’t, he reminded himself. This was for a greater good. There was no choice. Funny how early he’d learned that in his life. For him, there never was a choice.

  9

  “I’m loving this,” Katie said as she and Mia walked toward the gazebo behind the wine-tasting room. “I’m semi–mother of the groom. I get all the fun bits and none of the stress.”

  Mia laughed. “Sort of like being the grandparent? Loading the grandkids up on sugar, then sending them home to crash?”

  “Exactly. Amber’s mother is handling the majority of the details and only calls every now and then.”

  Mia raised her eyebrows. “You are so lying. You are desperate to run every minute of the wedding and it’s killing you not to.”

  Katie sighed. “Maybe. Okay, yes. I mean I am a professional party planner. You’d think she’d be impressed by that. But noooo. Every conversation Amber and I have, she’s very determined to make it clear she and her mother are in charge. It’s David’s wedding, too.”

  Mia wasn’t used to hearing her oldest sister whine and was really enjoying the moment. “What does David say?”

  “He’s a typical man. Whatever Amber wants is fine with him.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “It’s not, it’s just…” Katie lowered her voice. “Do you know they actually considered paper napkins. This is a formal sit-down dinner for three hundred and they discussed paper napkins.”

  “Did you run screaming into the night?”

  Katie sighed again. “No. I reminded them that the linens, along with the tables and chairs, were being provided by Marcelli Winery. We have weddings here all the time and like to use our own vendors. Paper napkins. Can you imagine?”

  “You didn’t tell them that we pay our vendor, did you?”

  Katie tucked her hair behind her ears. “I didn’t really see the point. They’re not paying for it.” She stopped and looked at Mia. “Am I being horrible? I know weddings are expensive, and saving money where you can makes sense. But this is for David. I adore him and I want his wedding to be perfect.”

  “It’s okay,” Mia told her, still enjoying the sight of her normally unflappable sister just a little…flapped. “David doesn’t actually care one way or the other about the napkins, but you do. If you can make it happen without upsetting Amber and her mother, then go for it.”

  “I’ve probably put together a hundred and fifty weddings,” Katie muttered. “Why can’t they talk to me?”

  “Because we are the Marcellis and just a little intimidating for regular folks. Plus there’s the whole ‘Amber worrying about David still being in love with me’ thing. That’s got to put a damper on events.”

  Katie laughed. “My God, when did you grow up?”

  “A couple of years ago. It was a Thursday.”

  “Okay, you’re right about all of it. I’m going to have to wait until Valerie and Liana are engaged to plan a wedding for my kids.”

  “You could betroth them now. That should be worthy of a big party.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  They walked out from behind the tasting building and stared at the beautiful white gazebo standing in the middle of a couple of acres of grass and carefully manicured plants before stepping inside.

  “Every time I come here I’m surprised by how beautiful it is,” Katie said wistfully. “I’m glad David’s getting married here where Marcellis have been tying the knot for eighty years.”

  “He�
��s not a Marcelli,” Mia pointed out. “If he had been, I wouldn’t have wanted to marry him.”

  “He’s a Marcelli by love,” Katie said firmly. “Just like Kelly.” There was a momentary pause; then she continued, “Was it just me or is Kelly—”

  “Completely out of control?” Mia asked, finishing her sentence. “It’s not just you. Kelly and I talked a couple of days ago, I guess just before she and Etienne headed out. She said she admires my life. I couldn’t believe it. I’m so not doing anything right.”

  “You are with Danny.”

  “That’s more luck and really great role models. I’m not an intuitive parent. I didn’t think I’d survive that first year when he felt so breakable. Rafael is different. He seems to know exactly how to get right down on Danny’s level and connect. Which is surprising, considering the whole royalty thing. And impressive. He’s imperious about nearly everything but he’ll play in the dirt with his kid. Danny is thrilled and Rafael seems taken with his son.”

  “Rafael is doing it right where it matters. Did you think it would be different?”

  Mia sank onto the floor of the gazebo and rested her forearms on her lap. “I never thought about it. Until he showed up here, I figured he was dead. Now he’s here and so friendly and romantic.”

  Katie sat next to her and bumped her shoulder. “Romantic, huh? Come on…tell your favorite big sister all the details.”

  “He says all the right things,” she admitted. “I know there’s no reason to doubt him. He’s straightforward and affectionate. He’s answered all my questions and he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get back to Calandria.”

  “But?” Katie asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m jaded and cynical, I guess. He’s a prince. How on earth can he marry me? Doesn’t his bride need a pedigree and access to really old jewelry?”

  “Maybe not. The world is different. It’s a new century.”

  “I’d noticed the century part, but Calandria has a monarchy. How different can it be?”

  “What are you afraid of? Why don’t you trust him? Is this because you don’t really know him? Are you getting some signal or warning from your gut? Or is this about your unproven belief that you have lousy taste in men?”

  Mia turned to Katie. “Excuse me? An unproven belief?”

  “You’ve made a couple of bad choices.”

  Mia shook her head. “A bad choice is a guy who cheats on you, not someone who kidnaps the president’s daughter. Ian fooled me completely, and Darcy could have died because of that.” She drew in a deep breath. “It’s not just the bad choice thing. I don’t know Rafael.”

  “But you’re in love with him.”

  “What?”

  Katie patted her arm. “Mia, you’ve been in love with him since you got back five years ago. Having Danny only cemented your feelings. Why else would you have avoided any kind of dating situation for so long?”

  “I’m busy.”

  “Many busy women manage to date. It’s more than that and you know it.”

  “I don’t love him,” Mia said flatly.

  “Fine. You don’t. But you’re also not willing to let anyone else get close to you and there has to be a reason for that. You might want to figure out what it is.”

  Mia nodded. Her sister had a point. About the reason, not the love. No way had she loved Rafael all these years. How crazy was that?

  Katie stood. “All right, we’re here to measure the gazebo. Let’s get to work.”

  Mia eyed her tailored linen slacks and elegant, sleeveless silk blouse, then glanced down at her own T-shirt and cutoffs. “Somehow I missed the ‘dress well’ gene in this family.”

  “It’s summer, you’re off from school. Why would you want to worry about what to wear?”

  “I wouldn’t. I’m just saying, I don’t have a closet full of beautiful clothes like you and Mom and Francesca. Brenna and I are misfits.”

  “You’re individuals.”

  “That’s very polite. My point is, I’m not really princess material.”

  Katie frowned. “What? You’d marry him except you don’t know what to wear? I’m going to guess that all princesses have a live-in stylist to worry about that sort of thing for them. Mia, this is a really big decision. Make it for the right reasons.”

  “I know. I will. Part of me wants it to be like it was before. When he was Diego.” She bit her lower lip. “Well, not the illegal stuff, but how it was just us and we were nearly regular people.”

  “You’d like Rafael better if he wasn’t a prince?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Sorry. Princely comes with the guy. You’re stuck.” Katie pulled a tape measure out of her purse. “It’s not exactly ruling the world, but it’s being in charge of a small country. That should count.”

  Mia grinned. “That’s true. I’ll bet I could even ask Rafael to get my picture on money. Wouldn’t that be thrilling?”

  “My sister—the five-dollar bill. We’d all be so proud.”

  Mia reached for the tape measure. “So what kind of flowers are they talking about?”

  Katie sighed heavily. “Daisies. Lots and lots of daisies.”

  * * *

  Mia listened to the mantel clock chime midnight. The house was quiet and she guessed that everyone was asleep. As she should be. But no matter how tired she felt physically, she couldn’t seem to shut down her mind.

  It whirled and swirled and dipped, jumping from past to present, while completely ignoring the future because that was just too big to deal with right now. Which led her to one glaringly obvious conclusion.

  The most logical solution to all her problems was to refuse Rafael’s proposal and work out an agreement whereby they had some kind of shared custody. Maybe Danny could summer in Calandria and learn all his princely duties while spending his school year here, living like a normal child.

  Except she had a feeling that normal wasn’t possible. Not after the world found out that little Danny Marcelli was really the heir to the Calandrian throne.

  Security wasn’t a problem. Sam, Francesca’s husband, was an expert, and Joe had plenty of experience dealing with Darcy’s welfare. But what about school? Could Danny really go to the elementary school down the road and be a regular child? Was Mia kidding herself? And if Danny really was going to rule Calandria someday, shouldn’t he grow up there? Which meant what? That she would move there with him?

  And if she did move there with him, what would she do with her life? She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to practice law. So then what? Being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t really her style. Would she just live in the shadows while Danny became a prince and Rafael married an appropriate future queen?

  Thinking about him marrying someone else gave her a tight feeling in her stomach, which she hated, because it was a definite tally in the yes column of Katie’s theory.

  “I don’t love him,” Mia said out loud. What kind of idiot stayed in love with a dead man for five years?

  So if she didn’t love him, wasn’t not marrying him the right thing to do?

  She heard footsteps in the hallway. The door pushed open and Rafael stepped into the quiet of the library.

  “You hide here,” he said as he approached.

  “I think of it more as a retreat.”

  She curled up in a corner of the sofa. He settled in the middle and angled toward her.

  “I have news,” he said, handing her an envelope. “It arrived today, but I wished to deliver it to you privately. A most difficult thing in this household.”

  She took the paper. “We are a crowd,” she said as she glanced at the return address and saw it was a medical lab. “The DNA results?”

  He nodded.

  She gave back the envelope. “I already know the results.”

  “As do I. Daniel is my son.”

  Hardly news to her, but still, hearing him say the words made her tense a little. As if the situation had just gotten more serious.

  “You’l
l have to tell your father,” she said. “I’m not sure he’ll be pleased.”

  “He wants a grandchild and an heir for me. He will come around much quicker than Grandma Tessa. She still resists me.”

  Mia laughed. “You’re winning her over. Tonight at dinner she offered you seconds without you having to ask. That’s progress. I’m not sure your father will be as easy as you think. This can’t be what he had planned for your future.”

  Rafael shrugged. “He will adjust. At least he’ll stop parading potential brides in front of me.”

  “He really does that?”

  “It is not a marriage mart, but yes, women are brought to different events and I meet them.” He smiled at her. “So far I have found it very easy to resist their charms.”

  “I can relate. If my grandpa Lorenzo had thought he could have gotten away with arranging marriages for his granddaughters, he would have done it in a heartbeat.”

  “Would you have said yes?” he asked.

  She drew her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Not my style.”

  “Because you are too independent.”

  “It’s more than that. I loved my grandfather, but he would have made the best match for the vineyard, not the best match for me. Isn’t that what the king is doing to you? Parading around the grand duchess of Whosits because her father owns shipping rights to Finland or whatever? Does he actually care if you fall in love?”

  “Is love so very important?”

  “Hello? We’re talking about living with someone the rest of your life. I suppose if the castle is big enough, you could have separate wings. Is that what you want? The right marriage for Calandria rather than the right marriage for you?”

  “I think I can make them the same thing,” he told her, his blue eyes claiming hers.

  There was a not-so-subtle message there, she thought, not sure if she should lean in and say yes or bolt for freedom.

  “I don’t even know any good princess jokes,” she said at last.

  “You don’t have to. The rules can be learned, Mia. But not the heart of a person. That is more complicated.”

  “What do you know about my heart?” she asked.