by Leanne Banks
“You want a drink?” he asked.
“It’s been an interesting day,” she said, remembering those hours she’d spent trying to comfort Pippa. “I think I’ll take you up on it.”
“I’ll get a cab.”
Soon enough, they sat in an American-style bar. A waiter quickly served them. Beer for both of them. He lifted his glass and she clinked hers against his. “Cheers,” she said. “Uncle Max times two.”
He shot her a dark look. “Cheers,” he said and drank his beer.
Sophie sipped hers. “Pippa was impressive. I didn’t see Eve, but I’m sure she did quite well. Pippa didn’t even realize she was in labor at first.”
“How can that be?” Max asked. “How can a woman not know she’s in labor?”
“I don’t know,” Sophie said. “But Pippa didn’t. I’m glad her husband showed up.”
“Was she screaming when you were with her?” he asked.
“No,” Sophie said. “She was uncomfortable, but focused.”
“I’ve heard labor is like a kidney stone,” Max said, taking another gulp of beer.
“I wouldn’t know because I’ve had neither a baby nor a kidney stone,” she teased.
“Yeah, well, you’re the perfect girl. No mistakes,” he said and took another swig.
Sophie frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Nothing. Really.” He paused. “Just that some people get their stuff together faster than others.”
“I’m not sure how to take that,” Sophie said. “I’ve always felt I needed to have my stuff together. There was no backup plan for me.”
“Yeah, I know that,” Max said. “Other people with no backup plan don’t do nearly as well as you do.”
“You haven’t done too poorly yourself,” she said, lifting her beer mug to him.
“Maybe,” he said and took another long swig of beer. “Maybe.”
A flash of the memory of Max’s mouth against hers slid through Sophie’s mind. Her body immediately responded. Heat scored through her. She took a long gulp of beer even though she didn’t like it much. She prayed it would cool her off, inside and out.
“This royal stuff sucks,” Max murmured.
“It could be worse,” Sophie said. “What if you were the father-to-be?” she asked.
“Never gonna happen,” he said. “I’m too careful.”
“Hmm,” she said.
“What does that mean?”
“Never could be a long time,” she said. “You’re pretty good with kids considering you’re saying you’ll never have any.”
“Between my genes and upbringing, I don’t think I’m cut out for getting myself in a family way.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said. Sophie was growing tired of trying to prove to Max that he could fall in love and it would be okay. She still believed he could fall in love, but more than ever, she was starting to believe that she wasn’t the woman who could make him fall.
* * *
The next morning, Sophie returned to work. Even though things between them had been easy last night, she was still nervous. She hoped she wouldn’t feel awkward or get distracted by her attraction to him.
As he placed a mug of coffee on her desk, she noticed his hand, that same strong hand that had held her against him. She couldn’t stop herself from lifting her gaze to his face, his lips, his eyes. Darn, she thought. He was clearly fine and had wiped the memory of kissing her from his mind. Must be nice, she thought with a frown.
“G’mornin’,” he said in his sexy rumble.
She barely resisted scowling. “Good morning,” she said. “How are you?”
“The question is how are you?” he asked.
“Fine, thank you. Ready to get to work,” she said.
“Okay,” he said and went to his desk. He picked up the Nerf ball they often tossed between each other when they were discussing a problem. “Bad news. I just lost one of my backhoe operators. And the back hoe itself is broken.” He tossed her the Nerf ball.
She caught it. “Well, you need another backhoe. We can take care of that easily enough with your influence. And in terms of the backhoe operator, maybe I could learn.”
Max frowned at her and lifted his hands for her to send him the Nerf ball. She tossed it.
“You’re recovering from a concussion and—”
“I’m recovered,” she interrupted.
“You don’t have the ball,” Max said.
She scowled at him.
“You’re recovering from a concussion. I don’t want you putting yourself at risk,” he said.
She waved her fingers at herself for him to send her the Nerf ball. He did, although she could tell it was tossed reluctantly. “I’ve never had an automobile accident. I highly doubt I would have a backhoe accident. You need to remember that the scooter ran into me at a stoplight. I was not at fault.”
He gave her the sign for her to send the ball to him. She did, reluctantly.
“It doesn’t matter that you weren’t at fault. You were hurt. I’m not willing to risk that again.”
She was torn between his protectiveness and his crankiness. She lifted her hands and caught the ball. “If I were a guy, you wouldn’t be acting like this,” she said.
He met her gaze for a long moment.
The door to the trailer burst open and Terri strode inside. “I hear you need a backhoe operator. I can drive any piece of construction equipment you give me. And my husband, Bob, is loving the beach.”
Sophie couldn’t help smiling at Terri’s arrival. She rose and flew toward the woman to give her a big hug.
Terri hugged her back. “How’s everything?”
“Same as always,” Sophie said brightly.
Terri rolled her eyes. “Well, dang,” she said. “Maybe we can do something about...”
“Not everything is same as always,” Max said. “Sophie was in a bad accident last week and was hospitalized.”
“What?” Terri asked, her eyes growing wide with concern.
“I’m fine,” Sophie said.
“So she says,” Max said.
“I am fine,” Sophie insisted.
Terri looked from Max to Sophie. “Okeydoke. Whatever you say. I’m here for the backhoe job.” She shot Sophie a sideways glance.
Sophie took a deep breath. She didn’t like where this was headed. She was happy to see Terri, but suspected the woman would start giving her advice about romance. Sophie was also feeling a bit claustrophobic being in the same trailer with Max. She was way too aware of his every move. She was going to have to figure out a way around this. “Welcome back,” she said to Terri then turned to Max. “Just so you know, I plan on leaving by 6:00 p.m. for the next couple of days.”
He nodded. “Good. I want you to take care of yourself. Leave earlier if that’s what you need.”
* * *
Sophie set her cell phone alarm for 6:00 p.m. and forced herself to rise from her desk chair. In the past, she would have stayed late into the evening because she loved being around Max. After that blasted kiss, she was feeling too aware of him. What made it worse was he’d clearly dismissed the incident with no problem at all.
Sophie dashed from the trailer and took a deep breath. As soon as she slid into her car, she felt a sliver of relief. The tension she felt from sharing the same space with him eased. Thank goodness. Sophie took another few breaths and started the car.
Arriving home too early to her apartment, she flittered and fluttered throughout the small space. Her cell phone rang and she picked up.
“Miss Sophie Taylor, this is Senior Aide Giorno from the Devereaux palace. You are invited to a reception celebrating the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Stefan and Princess E
ve’s new child and the child of Her Highness Princess Phillipa and her husband, Nic Lafitte.”
“Wonderful. Name the date,” she said.
“Saturday at three o’clock,” the palace aide said.
“Thank you very much. I’ll be there,” Sophie said.
“Very well. We look forward to your presence,” the palace rep said. “Good evening.”
Sophie took a long draw from her glass of water. Good for her. She’d taken care of Saturday. She only needed to avoid Max for three more days.
Chapter Five
Finally, Saturday arrived.
Sophie couldn’t remember a time in her life when three days had seemed to pass so slowly. Friday night had been the toughest. She would be the last to admit it, but by 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday she’d been tired. A small meal and a little boring television and she’d been more than ready for sleep. On Friday evening, however, she was jittery. And bored. Television sucked. She ended up trying to do some work on her laptop, but thoughts of Max relentlessly crept into her thoughts. Finally her mind gave up and when she awakened on Saturday, she was ready for an outing. She was very excited at the prospect of seeing the new babies and honored that she’d been asked to attend.
Sophie took a taxi to the palace and was immediately escorted to a ballroom. She heard babies crying as she entered. “Good lungs,” she said.
The escort chuckled. “Excellent attitude.”
A huge line formed to meet the new royal babies. Sophie hated the idea of being one more person to add to the marathon of greetings the royal couples faced, but like everyone else in line, she couldn’t wait to see the new babies. After she’d stood in line several moments, she felt a nudge. She glanced up to Max’s face.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“You’re butting,” she said bluntly.
“Give me a break. I can’t imagine waiting in a mile-long line to meet a screaming baby,” he said.
“Then why are you here?”
He shrugged. “Seemed the right thing to do.”
She met his gaze. “You’re such a faker,” she said.
His eyes widened. “What?”
“You want to see those babies. You can deny it all you want, but you do,” she said. “You actually like babies. You actually like your new relatives.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Okay, I like them, but that’s all.”
“Hmm,” she said and turned away from him.
A few seconds of silence passed. “So, what have you been doing after six o’clock?” he asked.
“Enjoying life,” she said.
“You haven’t been bored out of your mind?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she lied.
She was saved from a cross-examination when a woman approached them. “Miss Sophie Taylor and Mr. Maxwell Carter. You’ve been requested to come to the front of the receiving line.”
Max muttered under his breath. Sophie elbowed him. They were led first to Pippa holding her baby as she stood with her husband.
Sophie gave a quick curtsey.
“Stop that,” Pippa said. “You helped me while I was in labor. This my husband, Nic Lafitte.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lafitte,” Sophie said. “Amelie is beautiful.”
Max frowned at her. “How do you know the baby’s name?”
“Pippa and I chatted the night I stayed at the palace,” Sophie said and smiled at the baby, who was sleeping. “So precious.”
“Yes. She is,” Nic Lafitte said. “Thank you for helping my wife until I arrived.”
“My pleasure,” Sophie said.
“And it’s good to see the newest member of the Devereauxes again,” Nic said.
“My last name is Carter,” Max said grudgingly.
Nic nodded. “Good to see you again, Max Carter. I hear you’re doing some good work on the roads on the north end of the island. I hope to take advantage of the improvements once they’re complete.”
“It will be much nicer for both the people who live there and for visitors. I had toyed with working on the alternate dirt road that some of the locals use, but I don’t think we’ll have time.”
As Nic and Max continued their discussion about road construction, Pippa leaned toward Sophie. “Watch out for Bridget,” she whispered.
“Why?” Sophie asked.
“She’s got an idea for you.”
“Me?” Sophie asked, feeling an odd mix of caution and curiosity. “I can’t imagine...”
“You don’t have to imagine. Bridget will do it for you,” Pippa warned. “Good luck.”
Seconds later the aide led Sophie and Max to the front of the long line to meet Stefan and Eve’s baby. Their baby boy was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Sophie smiled. “He’s gorgeous.”
“Healthy,” Max said.
Stefan grimaced. “You are both too polite. Our son has colic,” he said.
“Poor guy has a constant tummy ache,” Eve said, looking worn out.
“You’re due a break after your challenging pregnancy,” Sophie said. “Make sure you call in your nanny so you can rest.”
“Thank you,” Stefan agreed. “Eve needs her rest.”
“But he is beautiful,” Sophie said of the red-faced, screaming baby. “I bet he will be a delight in three months or less.”
“We can only hope.” Eve leaned toward Sophie. “Pippa’s baby is so mild.”
“You and Stefan have strong personalities. Did you expect anything different?” Sophie asked.
Eve shot her a tired smile. “Good point.”
Sophie hesitated for a second then shrugged off her wariness. “You’ve probably tried all the usual tricks, but would you mind if I held him for a moment?”
Both Stefan and Eve looked at her in surprise. It was clear that Eve was suffering from a new mother’s desperation. She nodded and gingerly handed her baby to Sophie. “Of course, if you can help him...”
Sophie held the small, warm little baby against her and walked a few steps away while Max chatted with Stefan and Eve. His body was stiff with discomfort. “All those gas bubbles hurt,” she murmured and began to massage the baby’s back. “So much easier back in the old days getting your food from Mom in the womb. You didn’t have to work for it then, did you, sweetie?” she said as she continued to massage his back.
Stefan Jr. let out a gigantic burp, then another. “There you go,” she praised him. “I bet you’ll be much happier now.” She returned the relaxed infant to Eve.
“A back massage?” Eve said in disbelief. “I would have never thought of that.”
Sophie nodded. “I babysat infants a lot when I was in high school and early college. If you think about it, it makes sense. A back massage makes adults feel good too. And of course, now that the air is gone, he’ll probably want to feed again.”
“Well, thank you for the tip. I hope we can repeat it when necessary,” Eve said.
Sophie smiled and felt a whirl of motion beside her. “Bridget,” she said as soon as she recognized the princess. She began to curtsey and Bridget waved the gesture aside.
“Not necessary.” She waved at Max. “Please let me borrow your lovely Sophie,” she said and drew Sophie away. “I have a favor to ask. There’s a special dinner honoring our historical awareness and we’re a little light on special guests. I was hoping you could join us.”
Sophie blinked then cleared her throat. “That’s very nice, but I wouldn’t call myself special.”
“Oh, but you are,” Bridget said. “We love Americans. Please say yes.”
“Uh, I guess,” Sophie said warily.
“Perfect,” Bridget said. “And I’ve already arranged an escort for you—”
“E
scort?” Sophie echoed.
“He’s lovely. One of Stefan’s economic advisors. David Rinaldo.”
“An economic advisor,” Sophie repeated.
“I know it sounds boring, but he’s part Italian, so he can’t be all bad. Italian men are the best,” Bridget said.
“Then why did you marry an American?” Sophie asked.
Bridget rolled her eyes. “Totally unplanned, but it was fate.”
Seconds later two young boys scrambled through the crowd and latched themselves on to Bridget’s legs. “Well, hello, my darlings. How did you get loose from your father?”
“Mama,” one of the boys said.
“Cookie?” the other asked hopefully.
“Excuse me,” she said to Sophie and smiled at the boys, gently stroking their hair back from their foreheads. “I definitely think you should have a cookie, but you must let go of my legs or I can’t walk to the table to get them for you.”
The twins immediately released their death grip on Bridget’s legs. She glanced at Sophie. “Boys, I’d like you to say hello to Miss Sophie.”
“Hello, Mizz Sophie,” they chorused, though Sophie could tell that they were preoccupied with the idea of a cookie.
Sophie bent down and shook each of their hands. “So nice to meet you both.” Then she stood and met Bridget’s gaze. “I think you have a promise to keep.”
“Of course I do,” she said and extended her hands to the young twins. “Come along now. I’ll be in touch,” she said over her shoulder. “So will David Rinaldo. Don’t forget the name.”
“Who’s David Rinaldo?” Max asked from behind her.
Sophie felt her face heat with self-consciousness. “One of Stefan’s economic advisors. I don’t know much about him. The boys were determined to get cookies.”
Max lifted his eyebrows. “Are there cookies?”
Sophie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The same distraction technique that worked on toddler boys worked on a thirty-year-old male? “That’s what I hear,” she said. “Maybe at that table. There seems to be a crowd.”
Max caught her hand, taking her by surprise. “Let’s go. Everyone feels happier after they eat a cookie.”
* * *
The following day, Sophie received a call from David Rinaldo asking her to meet him for a drink after work. “I must go,” she told Max as she shut down her laptop.
