Something in the Heir (It's Reigning Men Book 1)
Page 22
What’s not to love? Plus she was joining her good friend Larkin, and Larkin’s boyfriend Luca, and she always had fun with the two of them. Talk about opposites attracting: Larkin had been such a quiet little mouse of a woman when they first met, and Luca, well, he’s a prince, a bit of a bon vivant, and used to the limelight. It was lovely that the two of them found each other, albeit after some struggles. Taylor had helped to spruce up Larkin’s appearance a bit, steering her away from the clothing-as-camouflage manner of dress, and Larkin had taken to it with a vengeance, and had now practically achieved Taylor’s level of clothes-craziness.
Luca had invited Taylor to join them and to stay at the palazzo owned by his winemaker cousin whose vineyard supposedly made a one of the most famous wines in Tuscany. Luca had promised her that he was a lot of fun, but really, Taylor wasn’t on the prowl anyhow. She was over dealing with men who were nothing but a pain in her butt, thank you. She was perfectly happy to just go and browse the merchandise without making a purchase. Besides, she didn’t have time for dalliances right now; she had much more important things to do than having to tag-team a long-distance relationship anyhow.
Taylor had recently started a charitable organization called Rags to Riches, to help children who couldn’t afford to buy clothes piece together outfits that would allow them to not feel like such outsiders. Having grown up in a household with a single mother who struggled to pay the bills each month, Taylor knew what it was like to show up to school in the same threadbare outfits all the time: it was demoralizing, and kids loved to taunt the ones who looked like they’d just come in off the streets. If she had a dollar for every time kids called her white trash, she’d have had plenty of money to clothe herself as she was able to now that she had become a famous fashionista. So it was particularly gratifying to be able to help out other children. It might seem like a superficial thing, providing decent clothes to a kid, but having come from those very circumstances of lacking, she totally got what it meant to them and knew that even a little bit of window-dressing could make a difference.
She figured a lot of powerful people with money would be in attendance at this event, and they were her favorite type to strong-arm into making fabulous donations. A Christie Brinkley lookalike, with gentle blond sun-bleached waves and soft blue eyes, the American supermodel was not beyond using her looks and stature to get what she wanted, if it helped others in need. She knew wealthy men in particular would never turn down a gorgeous woman in a slinky evening gown soliciting them for funds. Just as long as they didn’t presume she was soliciting anything else.
After a smooth landing, Taylor was off the plane quickly and through customs in no time at all. As she exited the security area with her luggage, she saw Larkin and Luca practically entwined on a bench near the entryway, oblivious to her existence while they made out like a couple of horny teenagers.
She wheeled her bag up to them and cleared her throat. “Ahem,” she said, crossing her arms and tapping her toe, staring at them both, her brow arched.
Larkin detached quickly and blushed. “Oh, Taylor! So sorry! Luca and I were just, uh, getting re-acquainted after being apart for a few minutes while I ran to the restroom.” She grinned as her boyfriend swiped his finger along her lips to remove some excess saliva. Gross. She stood up and gave Taylor a warm embrace.
“Please,” Taylor said, shaking her head as she hugged her friend. “I’m totally used to PDA when I’m around you two. I would have expected nothing less. I’m just impressed you kept your clothes on.” Larkin gave her a playful smack.
It did make her laugh how Larkin had gone from such a wallflower to apparently a wild ass. It was nice to see her come into her own.
“I was merely expressing my affection for Luca like any true Italian would.”
“Only you’re not Italian.”
“When in Rome then?” she said.
“We’re in Florence, duh,” Taylor said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Luca said, reaching for Larkin’s hand. “Soon she’ll be an official member of the Monaforte royal family. And that means she’ll technically even have some Italian ties, being that my father is one hundred percent hot-blooded Italian. She’ll nearly be Italian herself.” He winked.
“Oh, my God!” Taylor said with a squeal, pulling Larkin into a hug. “You two are getting married? What? When? How? And I won’t ask why, because, well, that’s obvious.” She grabbed her left hand and lifted it up closely to inspect the three-stone crown-set ring with a center ruby surrounded by old European-cut diamonds.
“It’s from Monaforte’s crown jewel collection,” Luca said. “I consulted with my mother before choosing this, which belonged to the only other blond member of the royal family, a very distant great-, great-, great-grandmother or something. Mum thought it would be fitting for Larkin to have this ring.”
“It’s stunning, Larks,” Taylor said, holding her hands up to her face in surprise. “I’m just so overwhelmed about this! But I want to know all of the details!”
“So we just spent a few days in Venice,” she said. “On the last evening, before a breathtaking sunset on the Grand Canal in front of Piazza San Marco, we were being serenaded by our gondolier when Luca got down on one knee and asked for my hand!”
“I can’t even believe it,” Taylor said. “Fairytale perfect. Wow. I’m so glad there are still romantic men in the world. I was starting to think they all died in the Pleistocene era.”
Luca laughed. “Were there humans back then? Or we were still mollusks?”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “I think humans were just getting started then. Nothing personal, but men are still mollusks, if you ask me.”
He gave her two thumbs up. “Thanks for that vote of confidence.”
“Aww, poor Taylor has plenty of reason to be sour on men,” Larkin said, squeezing her friend’s hand. “What’s it been, like five guys in a row who ended up only wanting to be with you because you’re a model? And when they found out you actually did things with your life other than look beautiful and decorate their arms, then they walked away? I think the problem is you’ve got to find the right man, and not the Troglodytes you’ve been dating.”
“Yeah, no more men who want to drag me by the hair back to the cave so that I can prepare a fat brontosaurus steak for him.”
“I don’t know about you but all this talk of prehistory is making me hungry,” Luca said, rubbing his stomach. “In fact, a good, bloody Florentine steak sounds awesome.”
“I’m with you,” Taylor said. “I had just enough champagne on the plane to remind me I haven’t eaten since my measly croissant at breakfast.”
“Perfect,” Larkin said. “We’ve got reservations for dinner in Florence, and we’ll drive down to Sandro’s afterwards.”
Taylor scrunched her nose. “Speaking of Troglodytes. I know you guys want to fix me up but really, I am so not interested.”
“Oh, stop,” Larkin said, waving her hand dismissively. “He’s a really sweet guy once you get to know him. I thought he was a jerk at first too but really, I think you’ll like him.”
“Wow. There’s a ringing endorsement,” Taylor said, arching her brow. “At any rate, you’re sure it’s okay with me tagging along? I mean I’m happy to come to this big fête, but I don’t want to be an imposition.”
“First off, you, my dear, would never be an imposition,” Luca said. “Secondly, my cousin Alessandro won’t even know you’re there, the place is that big. It’s a palace, literally. A gigantic Renaissance palazzo. It could be days until he knows if any of us are there. Plus I’m sure he’s going to be at the new building overseeing the finishing touches anyhow. So no worries.”
Taylor shrugged. “Okay, if you’re sure. I’d just hate to have the man be mad that I’m invading his space.”
Luca shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “Besides, he’s always had a thing for models.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. Yet one more reason she would have exactly nothing to do
with that man.
~*~
Red Hot Romeo
Available now for free download!
All books by Jenny Gardiner:
Contemporary Romances Available from Jenny Gardiner
It’s Reigning Men series:
Books 1 – 3 Bundle: – Something in the Heir; Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow; Bad to the Throne
Book 1: Something in the Heir
Book 2: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
Book 3: Bad to the Throne
Book 4: Love is in the Heir
Book 5: Shame of Thrones
Book 6: Throne for a Loop
Book 7: It’s Getting Hot in Heir
Book 8: A Court Gesture
The Royal Romeos series
Book 1: Red-Hot Romeo
Book 2: Black Sheep Romeo
Book 3: Red Carpet Romeo
Book 4: Blue Collar Romeo
Book 5: Silver Spoon Romeo
Book 6: Blue-Blooded Romeo
Book 7: Big O Romeo
The Falling for Mr. Wrong series:
Book 1: Falling for Mr. Wrong
Book 2: Falling for Mr. Maybe
Book 3: Falling for No Way in Hell
Book 4: Falling for Mr. Sometimes
Book 5: Falling for Mr. Right
Other Contemporary Romances:
Accidentally on Purpose
Compromising Positions
Single Titles:
Slim to None
Anywhere but Here
Sleeping with Ward Cleaver
Where the Heart Is
Memoir:
Bite Me: A Parrot, A Family and a Whole Lot of Flesh Wounds
Essay Anthology:
Naked Man on Main Street
Thank you again for your ongoing support!
Jenny Gardiner
About the Author
Jenny Gardiner is the author of #1 Kindle Bestseller Slim to None and the award-winning novel Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. Her latest works are the It’s Reigning Men series, the Royal Romeos series and her new Falling for Mr. Wrong series. She also published the memoir Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me, now re-titled Bite Me: a Parrot, a Family and a Whole Lot of Flesh Wounds; the novels Anywhere but Here; Where the Heart Is; the essay collection Naked Man on Main Street, and Accidentally on Purpose and Compromising Positions (writing as Erin Delany); and is a contributor to the humorous dog anthology I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship.
Her work has been found in Ladies Home Journal, the Washington Post, Marie-Claire.com, and on NPR’s Day to Day. She was also a columnist for Charlottesville’s Daily Progress for over a decade, and is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Virginia Film Festival.
She has worked as a professional photographer, an orthodontic assistant (learning quite readily that she was not cut out for a career in polyester), a waitress (probably her highest-paying job), a TV reporter, a pre-obituary writer, as well as a publicist to a United States Senator (where she first learned to write fiction). She's photographed Prince Charles (and her assistant husband got him to chuckle!), Elizabeth Taylor, and the president of Uganda. She and her family and menagerie of pets now live a less exotic life in Virginia.
Visit Jenny at her website and sign up for her newsletter, her blog, or find her on Facebook and Twitter. And every blue moon she’ll post adorable pictures of her pets on Instagram as @thejennygardiner.