Wedded for His Royal Duty

by Susan Meier

  He knew that woman was weeping.

  But he also knew he was out. She didn’t need him.

  His chest hurt and he rubbed it, the way he used to when he thought of Nina. Funny, he hadn’t even had an inkling of a memory of her in weeks. Not once.

  Rose peered over at him from the leather couch in the corner. “You okay, sweet pea?”

  He grabbed a breath of air, giving himself a second to make sure he looked and sounded normal. “Yes. I’m fine.”

  The king rose from the oversized chair in front of the TV. “Of course he’s fine. He’s better than fine. He should be proud of himself. His changes to security details and eye for finding the loopholes might have saved Eva’s life.” He glanced at his watch. “Aren’t you scheduled to be on the jet in a few minutes?”

  “Yes.” He was. Though his father had told him he could leave yesterday he hadn’t been able to figure out where to go. This morning, he’d booked the royal family’s jet to take him to the United States. He loved New York, but he wasn’t going there for the restaurants or the shows. He wanted to see Eva’s shelters. It filled him with pain to admit it. But he just couldn’t take the sudden goodbye. Yet he also knew he couldn’t just fly to her country and expect her to see him. He just wanted another day or two to get adjusted to the fact that she was out of his life, and her cats were about as close to her as he would get.

  Then he’d be fine. He’d force himself to be fine.

  He tried a smile, reached way down in his soul until he found the frivolous personality that had served him so well for decades.

  “I haven’t been to the US in a long time. I’m sure Vegas has missed me.”

  Dom slapped his back. “You enjoy yourself.”

  The king snorted. “If you hadn’t earned this, I’d be a bit angry that you booked four weeks. You have duties now. When I told you that you could go I was thinking more like a week.”

  And Alex laughed. Because he knew he was supposed to. “Right. But I’m thinking I earned a little longer. I’ll see you all next month.”

  He headed for the door, but Rose suddenly popped up from the sofa. “I’ll walk you to your apartment.”

  He frowned. He hadn’t needed someone to walk him anywhere in decades. But he didn’t argue. Frivolous Alex rarely argued. “Sure. Great.”

  Their heels clicked on the marble floor of the corridors that took them to the elevator to his wing.

  When the doors closed, Rose faced him. She didn’t say a word. She just stared into his eyes.

  “What?”

  “You miss her.”

  “Of course, I miss her. She’s a good person. She was a good sport about the charade. We spent a lot of time together. And I thought we’d become friends.”

  “Did it irritate you that she didn’t even blink when they asked her if she’d gotten feelings for you?”

  He picked imaginary lint off his jacket sleeve. “No.”

  She caught his hand to stop it. “Oh, sweetie. It’s worse than I thought. You love her.”

  “I loved two women in my life. They both died.” He faked a smile but thinking about them no longer hurt. His mom and Nina felt like part of his distant past with no place in his future except for memories of happy times. But Eva had been in his present for weeks. She had given him more happy times, more fun, more of a sense of purpose than he’d ever had, but he’d known she was going. Hell, he wanted her to go. He wanted her to fulfill her destiny. Yes, he was a bit sad, but he’d visit her shelters, suck it up and move on. Because that’s what he did.

  “Wouldn’t I be a fool to fall for someone I knew would be taken away?”

  To his chagrin, Rose laughed. “Seriously? You think I’m going to buy that. I did not fall off a turnip truck yesterday.”

  “Turnip truck?”

  She batted a hand. “Never mind. It’s a saying we have in Texas. It sort of means I’m too smart to believe what you’re saying. My point is you can kid your dad and maybe even Dom for a while, but I see all the signs.”

  “You see nothing.”

  “Exactly. A guy who’d only been in the charade to do his duty would be preening about his success. You’re too damned quiet.”

  “That doesn’t mean I love her.” He tossed Rose his most charming smile. “I’m not the kind of guy to settle down, remember?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not buying that stupid smile either.”

  “Oh, chill. Being the happy-go-lucky prince is my place.”

  She shook her head. “That’s baloney.”

  “Baloney? A luncheon meat?”

  “Sorry. It’s another thing we say in the US.” She stopped, took his hands and looked into his eyes. “When the chips were down, you stepped in. And for the six weeks Eva was under intense pressure, you supported her.”

  “So?”

  “So you’re different. Very different. You took charge of her protection. Scrutinized her security details. Had a say in every route she took.”

  He said nothing. He knew he was different. They all knew he was different. But he could be responsible Alex in four weeks. Right now, he wanted his time off.

  “You didn’t just love her enough to take care of her; you loved her.”

  When he didn’t reply, she sighed.

  “You can’t tell me you don’t see it.”

  Anger whooshed through him. “All right. I see it! Damn it. But everybody I’ve ever loved has been taken from me. Why in the hell would I deliberately connect with or commit to someone whose very title makes her a target?”

  Rose’s features softened. “You’re afraid.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course, it does when your fear is unfounded. Your father told me Lieutenant Carver told him you were the most naturally gifted strategist he’d ever seen. You could spot a hole in a security detail that looked airtight. You came up with some of their best strategies.” She nudged his arm. “Did you ever stop to think that makes you perfect for her? She’s a tiny woman with a big future, and she leaned on you and you were there for her. Now she’s a tiny woman with a big future who has no one.”

  He sucked in a long breath. “All of this is pointless. While she was here, she thought she loved me. Now that she’s home, I’m barely a footnote in a press conference.”

  To his surprise, Rose laughed. “She’s a future queen. She will never let herself look weak in public. But don’t forget, you let her walk away.”

  He drew in a breath as an avalanche of thoughts tumbled down on him. She didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. She would be a strong ruler. And she did love him. “She does love me.”

  Rose smiled. “Yeah. She does. And she needs you.”

  He pulled his fingers through his hair. “I should have admitted my feelings when her dad returned.”

  Rose batted a hand. “No. You shouldn’t have. You needed to think it through. Plus, you don’t want your declaration of love to be public. You want this to be private. This time, you’re not two royals fulfilling the terms of a treaty. She is a woman and you are the man who loves her. This needs to be done privately. It has to be done correctly.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  IT TOOK TWO weeks for the furor over the assassination plot to die down. Another week for Grennady’s royal family to be seen in public, proving the threat had been neutralized and they were back in control. Week four, Eva’s dad sent her to the US, to her projects—as he called them. She might be next in line to the throne but he was king now. He wanted it to look like things were back to normal.

  So she left. Though she would be briefed every morning, via video call, so she could take over in a moment’s notice if need be, she would essentially be going back to living her life the way she had pre-threat. Pre-Alex.

  She could think about hi
m now without getting tears in her eyes. She hadn’t told her mom. She hadn’t told her friends. She hadn’t told anyone that she loved him, that she’d fallen for a charade because that wasn’t what future queens did.

  Future queens were always strong.

  But in America, where everyone knew who she was, but no one cared, she could be whatever she wanted. She could have a few glasses of wine with friends who let her be her. She could go to nightclubs. She could browse bookstores. She could stay in her apartment twenty-four-seven. Whatever she needed, she could do. Even if she wanted to sit in Central Park and cry, the new bodyguards assigned to her were sworn to secrecy.

  She drove her nondescript little car up to a shelter she’d created in a New York City borough and parked. Her bodyguards in the SUV parked across the street. She’d decided to live her life exactly as she always had pre-threat. Instead of her new detail of bodyguards driving her, she’d taken a page from Alex’s book and had them drive behind her. Always there but out of the way.

  Thinking of Alex made her close her eyes and draw a long, deep breath. Her six weeks with him had been the most intense, yet somehow fun weeks of her life. Of course, he’d impacted her. Of course, she’d remember things.

  But eventually the memories would fade. That’s what she had to cling to.

  She stepped out of the car and walked to the old building that had once been a florist shop. When she opened the door, two tabbies and a tortoiseshell cat raced over. They wrapped around her ankles, not trying to get out, but looking for love.

  She picked up the tortoiseshell. “Hey, Sophie. Still here I see.” The cat nuzzled her face. Basking in the warmth of the cat’s affection, the first hint of normalcy returned.

  Angela, the shelter manager, raced out from the back room and over to Eva. “Oh, my God! I thought that was your voice.” She hugged her fiercely, squishing the tortie between them, then she pulled back and looked Eva in the eye. “Someone tried to kill you?”

  Eva laughed. After four weeks, it was possible to laugh about a plot that had been foiled. She scratched behind Sophia’s ears. “There was a plot but we stopped it.”

  “With the help of another royal family. And a fake wedding where you looked gorgeous, by the way.” She sighed eloquently. “So dreamy.”

  She wasn’t surprised the entire story had reached the US. Royal gossip was royal gossip. Everybody loved it. But she couldn’t think of the Sancho family or the wedding without getting a ping of pain in her heart. And it was time to move on.

  “Dreamy is in the eye of the beholder.”

  “So what was he like? The prince?”

  “He was doing his duty.” And she wasn’t quite as ready to talk about this as she had thought. She smiled. “So what’s going on here?”

  Angela walked behind the counter. “I’d rather hear about the prince, but if you insist on talking shop, you’re the boss.” She lifted some papers from beside the cash register. “We were able to stave off creditors until you got some money to us.”

  “I’m so sorry that I forgot you.”

  “If my calculations are correct, the slip was right before your wedding.” She laughed gaily. “I still can’t believe you got married.”

  “Fake married,” she reminded Angela. “What else?”

  “Same old. Same old,” Angela said, then she brightened. “But we did get a new volunteer.”

  “Really?”

  Angela leaned across the counter and whispered, “He’s gorgeous.”

  “Gorgeous doesn’t matter. Ability with cats does. And why are you whispering?”

  “He’s here. In the back. Doing chores.”

  “Oh.”

  Angela bounced from behind the counter. “Wanna meet him?”

  “Sure. Why not?” There was no time like the present to get herself back into the swing of things. And the biggest part of her job was making sure every volunteer knew exactly what they were doing. And loved cats.

  She set Sophie on the floor and motioned for Angela to lead the way to the curtain that separated the storeroom floor from the back room.

  As they walked the twenty feet, she said, “There is one thing I need to tell you before we meet this guy.”

  Angela nodded.

  “The threat on my life, the palace intrigue, the fake marriage, all the drama, sort of reminded everybody that I’m the heir to our throne.” She didn’t tell Angela the part about her father seeing her only as a placeholder. No need for that to be public. “So I’ll be attending more functions in Grennady than I used to be. I won’t be spending as much time in America as I have in the past.”

  Angela stopped walking. “Really?”

  “Yeah. But it’s okay. Until I’m actually crowned queen, I’ll be learning the ropes, spending time with my dad, going to parliament. I can still visit.”

  Angela laughed. “Okay.”

  “But my stays will be more like visits than me being manager. That means you’ll be handling things now. Maybe even coordinating between shelters. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to handle it all yet.”

  Angela laughed. “Is there a raise with this promotion?”

  Eva smiled. “Yes. I really appreciate you.”

  They reached the curtain, which Angela whipped to the side so they could enter. Cat beds lined the floors, along with climbing poles. And cats. At least thirty of them sat, stood or slept somewhere.

  And in the center was the new guy, sweeping up.

  She couldn’t tell if he was gorgeous from the back, but he certainly was tall and built...

  Her heart thumped. All the blood seemed to drain from her body. OMG.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Broom in hand, Alex turned. “I’m sweeping up.”

  She wanted to kill him and hug him simultaneously. In his jeans and long-sleeve T-shirt he looked more like a biker than a prince. But he was a prince. A playboy. Somebody who did his duty then disappeared.

  “Don’t you have a blackjack game somewhere?”

  He leaned the broom against the wall. “It’s not as much fun as it used to be. You ruined it.”

  She gaped at him as he walked closer. “I ruined it?”

  “Yes. I used to be able to play for hours. Now it seems boring without your silly comments.”

  She laughed. This was her Alex. Her chest loosened. But that only made seeing him all the more difficult. If he expected her to be his friend, she didn’t know what she’d do, how she’d handle it. She was barely getting over him as it was. Seeing him every day? It would kill her. “Seriously. What are you doing here?”

  “Helping you.”

  She frowned as he took the final two steps that put him directly in front of her.

  “I was also waiting for you to be done with your official business so we could have a proper romance.”

  Angie leaned toward Eva and whispered, “You know this guy?”

  “He’s the prince I fake married.”

  Angie’s eyes widened.

  “Well, not really,” Alex said. “The marriage was very real. Millions watched it on TV.”

  Wide-eyed, Angie nodded. “I got up at four so I could see it.” Her gaze drifted to Alex. “But you look really different without the red jacket and all those medals.”

  Alex paid no attention to Angie. “We can’t divorce. You’ll lose your crown. And you haven’t filed for an annulment.”

  Eva stared at him. “I thought you were filing.”

  “I’m not the one who needs an annulment.”

  Her heart thumped again. What did that mean? “So we’re still married?”

  “Exactly.”

  Alex faced Angie. “Would you give us a minute?”

  Shaking with awe, Angela said, “Sure.” But she backed out of the room as
if she didn’t want to take her eyes off Alex.

  And who could blame her. He was every inch a rebel prince.

  But that was the problem, wasn’t it?

  She stepped back, away from him. “Did you come here to tell me you wanted me to file for the annulment?”

  “I told you. I’m here to help you.”

  She sniffed and looked away. He’d hurt her once because she hadn’t guarded her heart. She wouldn’t be so foolish again.

  “Well, sweep up cat fur to your heart’s delight. We certainly need the assistance.”

  She turned away, but he caught her wrist, spun her around and planted his lips on hers.

  The kiss was warm and sweet with just a hint of desperation and for a second her heart opened up to the possibility that he didn’t just love her, too, he was willing to admit it.

  She pulled back, studied his dark wonderful eyes. Her heart actually hurt when she whispered, “What are you doing?”

  “Showing you that I’m willing to do whatever needs to be done for you.”

  “Because?”

  “Because I love you.”

  Her heart stuttered. “And?”

  He frowned. “And? You didn’t used to be this slow. I don’t want the annulment. I want you.”

  Her heart about melted at that, but there was so much more to this than just not getting a divorce. “My life is constantly in danger, remember? You’ve lost enough people. You weren’t going to be so foolish as to fall in love again.”

  “About that. Rose reminded me that I’ve said one or two really stupid things in our time together.” He slid his arms around her waist, tugged her to him and kissed her again. One of those soul-melting kisses that weakened her knees and made her want to curl against him and purr.

  But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She had to get what she needed from him.

  She straightened. “I don’t want your fun and games. I want to know this is real. I want somebody to love me.”

  “I want days like the one we spent at the country house. I want to do things like make pancakes, and just be normal. Add a few kids in there and I think it could be downright wonderful.”