“Look at you!” Mom said. “You’re wasting away.”
“I am not!” I argued, just as my dad pulled me in for a hug.
My sister hung back awkwardly, kicking the ground. She hadn’t spoken to them since before she got on that fateful flight months ago.
“Come here, Jelly Bean,” Dad said, extending one of his arms.
Jo rushed into the embrace and soon all four of us were hugging. It was a nice moment.
Until the first flash.
“We should get to the car,” I said, grabbing my mom’s bag from her. “The press are everywhere these days.”
“I feel like a proper movie star,” Mom said airily.
I laughed. “Come on.”
I led them outside, where a gaggle of press gathered and started shouting questions at us. I ignored them, as I always did, until I realized there was something odd about their questions.
I never heard my name once. It sounded like they were yelling for Joanne.
“Joanne! Are you going to clean up your act?”
“Do you think your behavior is appropriate for future royalty?”
“Are you sorry, Joanne?”
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, tugging my sister beside me.
She was fighting back tears but shook her head. “I don’t know! I haven’t been out since before you guys got engaged. I’ve been spending all my time with Tristan.”
I believed her, since things in Jo’s life had improved dramatically since she made things right with Tristan. She was looking at a new major, and even thinking about transferring to study over here to stay close to me. I imagine it was convenient that she could get Tristan in one fell swoop too, but I didn’t hold it against her. They were perfect together.
“Joanne!”
“Jo!”
“Hey! Party girl! Over here!”
We loaded up into the car and I took the backseat to sit with Jo, signaling our driver to start driving.
“I’m just going to call Alex quickly,” I said, already dialing his number.
He picked up right away. “Hey! Did you get your parents okay?”
“Yep. They’re safely stowed in the car and we’re en route to the hotel,” I confirmed. “Weirdest thing at the airport though... There were all these paparazzi hurling questions at Jo about her partying. Do you know anything about that?”
“Crap,” he muttered. “It’s worse than I thought.”
My heart dropped. “Alex? What’s going on?”
Jo’s eyes widened and she swallowed. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, but I could tell it did little to comfort her.
“A story broke this morning about her ‘wild partying’,” he revealed. “There were pictures of Jo and Teddy doing shots and wearing stupid hats and stuff like that. Everything they said and all the photos they had were from before the engagement, but the press is packaging it as if it’s recent.”
“Shit. What do we do?”
“I’m working on it,” he replied. “I’ve got to go, but I’m glad you got your parents okay. Tell them I look forward to meeting them tomorrow. And tell Jo not to worry, that we’re taking care of it.”
“Okay,” I said, bewildered. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I set the phone down in my lap and faced the expectant faces of my family.
“What did he say?” Jo asked.
Mom frowned. “What’s going on?”
I explained about the bad press, and assured Jo that Alex was handling it. “He’s got people to deal with these kinds of things,” I said. “It’ll blow over.”
Inside, however, I was worried. This was exactly what I was afraid of, but I hadn’t anticipated the press going after my family as well. I needed to see what they said.
I picked my phone up and moved to the corner of the backseat, Googling my sister’s name. Article after article flooded the screen, each one making rude and outlandish statements about my sister’s suitability for the family. They questioned whether she—and by extension, me—were royalty material.
It was worse than that, though. They picked apart everything in my life. These weren’t the polite pieces drawn up in the hours after our announcement that commented on my lack of breeding without disparaging my character. These were attack pieces. Bad ones, too.
Not only had my sister apparently offended the public, but the articles found ways to tear me down too, and there was a unilateral agreement among publications that I wasn’t princess material.
“Sweetie.” My mom’s hand landed over top of my own, dragging my attention away from the screen. “You need to stop worrying so much.”
“Who said I was worrying?”
She smiled knowingly and I sighed, locking my phone and stowing it in my back pocket.
“Tamara, I’m so sorry.”
Jo looked how I felt—distraught.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the option to look how I felt, and I had the talent to make sure I didn’t. I painted on a fake smile and wrapped my arm around my sister’s shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “Alex is figuring out our next move, but at the end of the day the press will forget all about this, like they forget about everything.”
I wasn’t so sure. It was one thing the news moving onto the next juicy topic, but those die-hard royal purists wouldn’t be so easy to convince.
What if this was the end of Alex and I? I wouldn’t blame Jo, even if this windfall did mean I went back to the States empty handed. It wasn’t her fault.
If the worst did happen, I wondered if I would find it satisfying in any way to know that I’d been right all along—that we couldn’t work.
No, I realized. It would be heart-shattering. I squeezed Jo’s shoulder tighter and started telling my parents all the exciting things we had planned for them to celebrate the engagement.
And I hoped—I hoped that the wedding would still happen.
Chapter 30
Tamara
It was one thing Alex telling me he would see me today, but another thing believing it when I hadn’t heard from him since our brief phone call yesterday. I was a mess of nerves and self-doubt. On the outside I kept a veneer of ease and enjoyment, for my sister’s benefit more than anything else, but on the inside my insides felt like they’d been through a blender.
I expected another disaster any moment now. If there wasn’t one on the horizon, wouldn’t Alex have called me already? I didn’t know how his family reacted to our announcement except that they didn’t take it as well as mine, so was his silence a damning sign of them withdrawing their support?
“More jam?”
My mom’s polite offer tore me from my thoughts and I nodded. “Thank you.”
Across from me, Tristan and Jo were each tucking into their lunches of gigantic roast beef sandwiches and a mountain of fries. All I could bring myself to eat was a measly scone, and even that didn’t hold much appeal. My stomach was in knots.
“This hotel is amazing,” Dad commented, chewing his salad. I winced and hoped he wouldn’t talk with his mouth full when and if he ate with the king.
Tristan brightened and swallowed hastily. “It has a vibrant history, too,” he said. “The original owners catered to the criminal elite. Lots of hidden passageways and trap doors, that kind of thing.”
Jo stared at Tristan adoringly. I was amazed when he first met my parents and managed to charm them within moments. I thought for sure my mom would hold out, considering he was one of the reasons Jo hadn’t run back home with her tail between her legs at the first sign of trouble, but a little flattery and she was eating out of his hand.
I just hoped things went as well when they met Alex. If they met Alex. I couldn’t move the niggling feeling of doubt in my gut that told me something bad was on the horizon. I checked my phone for the fourth time since we sat down. Nothing.
I loaded jam onto my scone and took a big bite.
“Was the room okay?” I asked, forc
ing my way into the conversation.
Mom’s eyes lit up. “Oh, sweetheart. The room was far from okay. It’s got an Olympic sized bathtub and the fluffiest towels you’ve ever seen.” Her smile fell into concern. “You didn’t have to get us such a grand room. You know your father and I would just as happily stay in a Motel 6.”
“Luckily for you they don’t have those here,” chirped Jo. “Plus, she’s the star of a TV show and marrying a prince. Let her spoil you a little.”
I chuckled. “She’s got a point.”
Jo laughed and was about to say something else when her eyes landed on something behind me. I turned my head and my heart did a somersault.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Alexander announced, stepping up to my chair and resting his hands on my shoulder.
“You must be Alexander!” Mom shot up from her chair. “You’re so much more handsome in person.”
I stood and introduced Alex to my parents, cringing when my Mom tackled him in a hug. He didn’t seem to mind, at least. They chatted amiably for a couple minutes, with Alex asking polite questions about their stay and how they were enjoying the country. He didn’t say a word to me. Barely even looked at me.
“Will you stay for lunch?” Mom asked, resting a hand on his bicep. I hoped to god she wouldn’t squeeze. That was the last thing I needed.
“Actually, I was wondering if I could steal your daughter away.” He glanced at me with a smile, but it was gone too soon. Alex returned his gaze to my mom. “I’d like to meet you all for dinner, though, if I may.”
“You may certainly,” Mom clucked, giggling like a schoolgirl. “And she’s yours now so I wouldn’t call it stealing.”
Ugh, Mom. Could she be any more cringey? Couldn’t she see that I was going through a crisis?
Alex was angry at me. He had to be. He was doing his best not to show it, since it was his first time meeting my parents and all, but why else would he be so distant? I hadn’t heard from him all day, and now he was pulling me off somewhere private to break the news that I just wasn’t up to snuff.
Whatever he and his advisors had been discussing regarding the amount of negative press I attracted must not have worked out well for me. They’d told him the hard truth—that he’d made a mistake in asking me to marry him.
Alex put a hand on my waist. “Do you need to grab anything?”
I shook my head and grabbed my purse and the cardigan dangling over the back of my chair. “Nope. I’m ready to go.”
He led me away without another word, waving goodbye at my family. I swallowed hard.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
Alex didn’t answer.
Yep, this was it. we were done. I would be on the next flight back to the States, probably signing dozens of legal documents meant to muzzle me from talking about my time as the prince’s one time paramour.
Alex’s SUV was parked just out front, and the valet watching it nodded to Alex as he opened my door. I slid in and Alex took the driver’s seat. I looked hopefully in the back for Hank, but he wasn’t there—further evidence that whatever we were going to do today wouldn’t be fun.
“Alex.” My accelerated heartbeat made me jump when a car cut us off. I closed my eyes and took a breath.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Oh, so you’re acknowledging that I exist now.”
His lips ticked into a slight smile but otherwise Alex kept his eyes on the road and his mouth shut. I sat back in my seat and folded my arms.
“Where are we going?” I tried again.
Alex reached to the console and flicked on the radio. I groaned. I could’ve told him how I felt, how anxiety was burning a deep pit of angst inside of me and I thought I might vomit at every moment. I could have told him how terrified I was to lose him.
In the end, however, I sat back and watched the world fly by the window. I was too scared to say anything because wherever we were going, I didn’t want to spend the entire drive crying. I would have enough time for that when we got there.
I amused myself on the drive by trying to guess where Prince Alexander would take a girl to break up with her. A morbid pastime, I know, but it was oddly calming.
Until we turned into the drive for Springfield Manor.
“Alex...” I glanced over at him, panicked. This was exactly the kind of place I could picture the prince delivering such a blow.
“Tamara...”
Even freaking out as I was, I still felt irritation slither under my skin. I tightened my jaw and stared straight ahead. Right, if he didn’t want to talk, then I didn’t want to talk.
Alex parked in front of the door. There were no other cars in the lot at least, no witnesses.
“Come on.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and slipped outside. I huffed a sigh and followed.
Alex walked around my side of the car and took my hand. I looked up at him uncertainly but he merely began to lead me around the side of the house. I couldn’t tell whether it was a good sign or not.
“I’ve never been able to get down with the whole strong silent type thing,” I said. “It’s something I associate with serial killers and mobsters.”
Alex chuckled. “Maybe I’m trying something new.”
“Wish you wouldn’t.”
The back lawn spilled ahead of us and my heart began to slow. The garden bloomed with every color of the rainbow, and sunlight gilded the leaves of the overhanging trees, where great tits frolicked and sang.
“What do you think?” Alex asked finally.
I raised my brows and looked up at him. Was he feeling okay?
“What do I think of the estate?” I asked. “It’s my favorite place in the world. You know that.”
Alex turned to me, skin practically sparkling in the light. “What do you think of our home?”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“So eloquent. You simply must write poetry.” His lips drew back in a dazzling smile.
“Alex!” I smacked him on the arm. “Don’t be a jerk. My nerves are shot enough as it is!”
He laughed, a throaty, full-bodied laugh, and bundled me against his chest.
“I’m sorry, Kitty Kat.” His words vibrated through my cheek and I closed my eyes and smiled. “I knew if I said it was a surprise you’d punch me in the throat. I thought saying nothing at all was better.”
Relief poured through every bone in my body. I felt like sobbing.
“I thought you were going to break up with me,” I admitted in a small voice. It sounded ridiculous out loud.
Alex pulled back and stared down at me, concern knitting his eyebrows. “You thought I was going to...what? Why would I do that?”
I looked down but Alex held my chin and forced me to look at him. The depth of warmth in his eyes made my heart flip in the first happy way all day.
“All the bad press stuff,” I admitted, feeling as childish as I sounded.
He leaned in and brushed his mouth over mine. “That’s exactly why I brought you here today.” His breath tickled my lips. “To our home.”
“That’s the second time you’ve said that.” I searched his eyes. “Do you mean that we live here now?”
Alex nodded and stood to his full height, gazing out at the sun-soaked lawn. “We don’t have to live here full-time if we don’t want to, but I wanted this place and all of its happy memories to be our refuge.”
He looked down at me with a tender expression. “I know things have been crazy. They’re probably going to be crazy for a while. But every time you feel overwhelmed, I want you to think about us stargazing in our backyard, or drinking tea in the conservatory while we listen to the rain play a symphony on the glass, and I want you to remember that it’s not always going to be so crazy.” His thumb glided over my cheek. “I love you, Tamara. I love you and I want to be with you, and that’s that.”
I jumped onto my toes and kissed him. A flood of emotion passed between us as our mouths danced, our bodies pressed. I didn’t realize I was crying until the
first tear skidded down my cheek.
Alex wiped it away. “I have something to show you.”
“Something else? Is it my birthday or something?”
He laughed and took me by the hand, leading me into the house via the conservatory and threading his way through the rooms until we reached the carved double doors to the ballroom.
Our ballroom, I realized. I never thought I would have a ballroom.
Alex pushed the doors open, and I jolted to a stop, puzzled and alarmed. The walls were plastered with pictures and white and black rectangular shapes, which I soon recognized as newspaper and magazine clippings. Alex tugged my hand but I halted.
“Is this some sort of facing your fears thing?” I asked. “If so, I’d like to go back to the part where we were having a nice time on the lawn.”
Alex chuckled and tugged me inside. “Go look.” He pushed me toward the nearest wall I reluctantly approached.
MEET THE NEW PRINCESS, the article said. SEE WHY SHE’S TAKING THE ROYAL WORLD BY STORM.
I skimmed over the article, and quickly realized that the theme of Alex’s display had nothing to do with facing my fears. I moved to the next article, then the next. The hundreds of clippings coating the walls, taken from publications all over the world, were all positive. Not a single one found a nasty thing to say.
I spun in a circle, taking in the room and Alex’s hard work. “Alex...”
“See, I’m not the only one who thinks we’re perfect for each other.” He gestured around the room. “All these people believe in us. Do you?”
Tears welled in my eyes and I nodded. “I do.”
And, for the first time, I felt one hundred percent confident that our fairytale would have a happy ending.
Chapter 31
Alexander
“We should get a swing,” Tamara said, leaning her head against my shoulder.
Stranded Page 149
