by Emma Lea
This was why I always kept my mouth shut and didn’t rush into things. Being impulsive only served to get me into more trouble. Frankie was mad at me—although, I still didn’t understand what that was all about—and Dorian was pushing me to reveal my idea when it wasn’t fully formed. I did not want to go to the king with a half-cocked idea. I wanted to show him how it could work with solid evidence. I wanted checks and balances and costs-benefits analysis. I wanted a damned spreadsheet! I wanted all the talking to be done by the numbers, just like I’d always done in the past. But Dorian. Stupid Dorian and the way he looked at Frankie and their easy camaraderie…it derailed me and made me act impulsively and now I could have jeopardized the entire plan.
And Frankie was mad at me.
Frankie didn’t get mad…not at me. We’d never really had a fight, not one where we were genuinely angry at one another. Oh, I knew she didn’t like Clarissa and although Frankie had never said anything, I always sensed disappointment from her, but we never actually fought about it. We argued over stupid stuff like what to watch on television and what music to listen to and other insignificant things, but we’d never been genuinely angry with one another and I didn’t know what had happened between when Dorian dragged me over to speak to the king and now. I knew it was something I did, I just didn’t know what.
Which was another reason I’d never let myself fall for Frankie. The women I dated were as bland as I was. Frankie was as bright and colorful as the burst of bougainvillea blooms cascading over the side of the balcony, and I loved her for it. But how could we be compatible when we were so completely opposite?
The dinner dragged. Frankie talked animatedly with everyone around the table…everyone except me. I was sitting right next to her, and she was ignoring me. I couldn’t ignore her. Not when her bare shoulder brushed against my arm occasionally or the way her perfume drifted on the breeze to envelop me in her scent. I had things I wanted to say to her. I wanted to explain my idea for the village and the distillery. But more than that, I wanted to tell her how I felt about her. How I really felt about her. Frankie might be bright and colorful to my bland beige, but I needed her in my life. I didn’t want this fake engagement to end…no; I did. I wanted the fake bit to end and for it to become real. I wanted Frankie in my life…for as long as we both shall live.
The dishes were cleared away, and I stood, offering my arm to Frankie. I promised her we’d talk, and I was determined for it to happen, even if my entire body was strung tight with anxiety about what she might have to say.
She looked up at me, searching my face for a long time before she placed her hand in mine.
“Lucas? Do you have a moment?” Jamie asked, coming over to where Frankie and I stood, poised to escape the dinner.
“Of course,” I replied, but I didn’t let go of Frankie’s hand.
“I’d really like to hear your ideas,” Jamie said and then smiled at Frankie. “You don’t mind if I steal him away for a bit?”
“No problem,” Frankie replied with a brittle smile.
She pulled her hand from mine and walked away and it felt like she was walking away from more than just dinner.
“Is everything all right?” Jamie asked with a frown.
I exhaled roughly. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.” What else could I say? My fake fiancée is mad at me and I don’t know why? Yeah, I didn’t think Jamie would be very accommodating if I said that.
“Let’s go to my office,” he said, and I followed him back into the palace like I was headed to the gallows.
Chapter 15
Francesca
I didn’t eat breakfast with Lucas the next morning. I couldn’t face him. I’d waited up for him, hoping he would come to me and we could have ‘the talk’ he’d wanted to have, but he never came. Eventually I gave up and crawled into bed. It must not have been all that important for him to just blow me off.
Besides, I didn’t even know if I wanted to hear what he had to say. The night before, when he was kissing me, I thought I knew what I wanted, but after what he said at dinner…I didn’t know anymore.
One of the things I loved about Lucas was that he wasn’t all about money. Yes, he had a lot of it, but he didn’t dedicate his life to getting more of it. He was happy to stick with his mid-level position in the family company and plod along. He didn’t buy expensive toys or throw his money around. He wasn’t the typical trust fund playboy, nor was he a money-focused alpha-hole. He was steady and competent and reliable, and while some people might find that boring, I found it attractive.
But last night…when he talked about reopening the family distillery, it just felt wrong. His family abandoned these people. They fled for their lives, yes, but they also abandoned all the people who relied on them for a steady income. They left people who had spent their entire lives working for the Andino family with nothing. But those people had survived and found a way to make ends meet, and now Lucas wanted to take it away from them. Oh, I believed he thought he was doing the right thing. I knew he would give them jobs and pay them well, but they had created something from nothing and the Andino family were just going to come in and sweep it all away.
It was the first time I’d ever looked at Lucas and seen his family.
And I didn’t like what I saw.
So no, I couldn’t face him this morning. Instead of going to his suite, I headed down to the dining room. The doors opened out onto the balcony and tables lined the perimeter of the room piled high with breakfast foods. I made myself a plate, although I wasn’t all that hungry, I found a seat outside so I could stare out over the ocean and wallow in my misery.
“Ms. Davenport?”
I looked up and shaded my eyes against the morning sun to look at the man who said my name. “Yes?”
“My name is Filipe, I am the king’s personal assistant.”
“Oh, hi. I can’t believe we haven’t met yet, but then I suppose I don’t spend much time in the palace. So, what can I do for you?”
“You had an appointment this morning—”
“Oh, my god! What’s the time? Did I miss it?”
“Um, no. It’s only just gone eight. No, the reason I sought you out was because the king needs to postpone…”
“Oh,” I said, dropping my hand and turning back to my breakfast. “Of course. I understand.”
“Yes, he’s very excited to hear Lord Lucas’ plans in full so he was hoping to reschedule with you.”
“Sure, why not,” I replied with just the tiniest bit of snark. “Why don’t you just let me know when the king can fit me into his busy schedule and I’ll rearrange my entire life around it.”
“Perfect,” Filipe said. “I’ll be in touch.”
Either the man did not get sarcasm or he didn’t care. I slumped in my chair. I shouldn’t have snapped, but I’d woken up in a foul mood—correction, I’d gone to sleep in a foul mood—and having this meeting postponed for Lucas’ money-grabbing plan just rubbed me the wrong way. How was I supposed to finish my research if I couldn’t speak to the king?
“Hey,” Sophia said as she slid into the chair beside me. “I don’t normally see you at breakfast. Everything okay?”
I sighed. “Yeah.”
“You and Lord Lucas looked a bit tense last night. Not trouble in paradise, I hope?”
“Ugh, don’t call him that,” I said.
“What?” she asked with a laugh. “Lord Lucas?”
“Yes, that,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “It just sounds weird, especially coming from you who, I think, outranks him.”
Sophia shrugged. “I think we’re all just kind of working out where we all fit and what to call each other. None of us grew up with titles, except the queen, and the king of course, but even he didn’t go by his actual title for a decade.”
“Did you and your family stay on the island?” I asked. “Oh, that’s probably an insensitive question—”
Sophia waved her hand, brushing the question aside. “No, it’s okay. I kno
w you’re doing research and you want to hear all the gory details. The truth is, my family didn’t live on the island. My father was part of the embassy in Greece. I grew up there with only the occasional visit to Kalopsia. When the troubles started and they shut the embassy down, we went to France.”
“So you never lived here on Kalopsia at all?”
Sophia shook her head. “My grandparents did, but me, no. I have fond memories of summer visits, but…” she shrugged. “I was surprised to hear from the king. My father is a business consultant now and my parents still live in France with my little brother and sister. They’re ecstatic to have me part of the royal court.”
“But what about you? Is this something you wanted?”
“To be completely honest, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was doing an arts degree with no idea of what I would do with it when I finished.”
“There you are.”
Sophia rolled her eyes and turned her back to the newcomer. I looked up and smirked at Dorian. “You were looking for me?”
Lucas
I didn’t sleep well. Jamie kept me late asking a million questions about my idea and then when he finally let me go, it was too late to have that conversation with Frankie. I stood outside the door of her suite like a creeper for who knows how long. I wanted to knock. I wanted to wake her up and tell her how I felt about her. I wanted to explain to her about the distillery and the plans and everything I’d talked to the king about. But I couldn’t. I used the excuse that it was too late and that she would already be asleep, but the truth was, I was a coward. She’d been angry at me and I was afraid of facing that anger. There was also the small—not so small—problem of my feelings for her and the genuine fear that she didn’t return them. I thought I was ready to open up about them. I’d certainly been ready yesterday afternoon, but now I knew it was just the raïda talking.
And if I had any doubt Frankie was still mad at me, then her not showing up for breakfast crushed it. I’d even psyched myself up into maybe telling her what was in my heart. I had definitely intended to feel her out about the subject and if she seemed conducive to it, then I would have said something. I absolutely would have…maybe…if she gave me all the right signals.
Yeah, she gave me a signal all right. Not coming to my suite for breakfast was a big, glaring, red flashing light of a signal.
I didn’t even bother to eat. I just sipped my tea and read the news on my iPad. The day was bright and clear and warm, but I hardly noticed any of it. It was the very first time since we’d arrived on Kalopsia that the view from my terrace hadn’t brightened my mood. In fact, the longer I sat out there, alone, the worse my mood got.
“This is stupid,” I said to myself, setting down my mug and frowning at the ocean. “I should just go and talk to her. I’m sitting here brooding and questioning everything I said and did last night and instead, I should be talking to her and finding out what is really going on.”
“Are you talking to me, sir?” Maddox asked, stepping out onto the balcony.
“No,” I said with a shake of my head, “but, don’t you happen to know were Frankie is?”
“I believe she is in the dining room,” Maddox replied.
“Thank you,” I said, tossing my napkin on the table and standing to my feet. I was almost at the door when I heard Maddox clear his throat. I turned slowly. “Yes?”
He looked me up and down and I tilted my head to see I was still wearing my robe and slippers.
“Right,” I said, changing direction and heading for the ensuite to shower and dress.
Finally ready, I practically raced through the palace to the dining room, hoping I hadn’t missed Frankie. I slowed when I reached the final corridor and tried to compose myself. I wouldn’t do myself any favors by racing in there all disheveled and out of breath.
I heard Frankie’s laugh—there was no mistaking it. I smiled, her laugh always made me smile. It was loud and unrestrained and delightful, and I loved the sound of it. My smile dropped when I entered the dining room and saw Frankie sitting at a table on the terrace with Dorian, her head tipped back as she laughed, her hair shiny in the sunlight.
That guy.
That flipping guy.
I should have marched over there and staked my claim like I’d done the night before, but…well, I still didn’t know what exactly it was that upset Frankie at dinner. Was it because I acted proprietarily over her? Was it because I tried to assert my dominance over Dorian? I’d never acted like that before and maybe she didn’t appreciate my behavior.
I headed toward the buffet instead. I still wasn’t hungry, but what other reason did I have for being in the dining room if not for breakfast?
I snuck a look in Frankie’s direction and my gut clenched uncomfortably. Dorian and Frankie looked good together. The guy looked like he just stepped out of some fashion magazine but not as a model, although he was good-looking enough to be one. No, he looked like the guy a fashion magazine would interview as one of the hottest billionaires under thirty or something equally ridiculous. He was exactly the kind of guy Frankie needed in her life. He was bold and outspoken and could match Frankie in wits and confidence. I hated him.
“Good morning, Lord Lucas,” a voice said, and I turned toward the sound.
“Um, good morning…?”
“Sophia,” she said, filling in the blank with a smile. “Sophia Dellis. I’m one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting.”
“Oh right, of course,” I said.
I’d seen Sophia every night at dinner, but I hadn’t ever spoken to her or really taken any notice of her. My eyes had only ever been for Frankie.
Sophia smiled at me. “How are you enjoying your time on Kalopsia?”
“It’s good,” I replied and then frowned in concentration. “Dellis? Did you say your last name was Dellis?”
Sophia nodded.
“As in Ambassador Dellis?”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Yes. He’s my father.”
“Ah, that’s why we haven’t met before,” I said. “I kind of recognize the others from the years before, but I could never place you.”
She smiled sadly. “No, I spent most of my time in Greece. I only summered here with my grandparents.”
“So how are you finding being here full time? It must be a bit of a change for you.”
She took a deep breath and her eyes went to the view framed perfectly by the open doors leading out to the terrace. “I’ve been in France since…well, since. I barely remember Kalopsia but now I’m here…I really love it.”
She looked back at me with such a beatific smile that I couldn’t help returning it. We—all of us, not just Sophia and me—all shared a weird history that in some ways bonded us together. We hadn’t had the same experiences, but we all had that one event that separated the ‘before’ from the ‘after.’
“So are you planning on staying here?”
She beamed a mega-watt smile at me. “Oh, absolutely,” she said. “Aren’t you?”
I found myself nodding but not able to say the words. I hadn’t come here intending to stay, but the longer I was here, the more I could see myself living here and being a part of this new world.
Francesca
I knew the moment Lucas walked into the dining room. I don’t know how I knew, but I did. The atmosphere changed or my body somehow recognized him before I even saw him.
I tried to concentrate on the joke Dorian was telling me. None of the others probably even knew that he liked to tell jokes, but for some reason his guard lowered around me and I saw a side of him the others didn’t. I thought it was because he saw me as non-threatening. All the others had some kind of stake in the royal court and there was jockeying for position and posturing like roosters…or wolves. I’d seen the way the others circled each other, sizing one another up to see whether they were friend or foe, finding the pecking order. Even Lucas did it to some extent. He wasn’t as obvious as Dorian, that was for sure. And it was only that I�
�d known Lucas for such a long time that I could see the change in his behavior. Lucas wasn’t the alpha, he didn’t want to be the alpha, but that didn’t mean he could just let the others sort it out amongst themselves. No, he needed to know what his position was in the pack and until all those positions were assigned, there would always be a tension in the group.
Lucas had challenged Dorian last night, in his own way. And Dorian challenged him back and won, asserting his dominance. Which was probably why Dorian was sitting at breakfast with me pretending to not have a care in the world when we both knew Lucas was in the dining room. Human behavior was fascinating.
I was waiting for Lucas to approach me. He wouldn’t outright ask why I was here and not having breakfast with him, but I was sure he would at least approach the table. When he didn’t, I turned to see where he was. Talking to Sophia. Smiling at her.
Something hideous rose inside me. I liked Sophia. In fact, I thought we could be friends, but right in that moment, I wanted to scratch her eyes out.
“I wouldn’t worry about Sophia,” Dorian said, reading my mind. “Little Lord Lucas has eyes for no one but you.”
“I’m not worried,” I said, flashing the insanely ridiculous engagement ring I was wearing. “I got the boy. And don’t call him that.”
“What?” Dorian asked, raising his eyebrows. “Lord Lucas?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. Don’t call him little Lord Lucas or I might start calling you little Lord Dorian.”
“There is nothing little about me,” Dorian replied with a lewd wink.
