“I didn’t meet her, she was asleep.”
It had been just the two of them. For a moment, I pictured them huddled together at a kitchen table, laughing and brushing against each other as they worked in harmony—while their chaperone slumbered obliviously in another room.
Cara bristled at the expression on my face. “Remember, Your Majesty, I was hired to take care of your children. It’s not your job to take care of me. I don’t need your protection.”
I winced, though I didn’t let it show. She couldn’t know how her words affected me. Take care of and protect. That’s what my mother had asked me to do when she’d first told me her friend’s daughter was coming to the US to study. I was supposed to look out for Lisette—yet she’d died on my watch.
Trying to tamp down the memory, I studied the young woman in front of me. She was so energetic. So full-of-life. When had I last felt like that? With Cara, it seemed to be her default state.
Suddenly, my irritation found a new target. “For god’s sake, you’re inside. Why are you still bundled up like you’re about to run the Iditarod?”
“It’s cold in here,” she said, but she did pull off her knitted cap. For a moment, her fair hair floated around her head, buoyed by static electricity. Then she shoved her hat in her coat pocket and ran her fingers through her glossy mane.
How could anyone still be cold while standing in front of a fire? Cara was definitely built for California, not Central Europe. “Do you like whiskey?”
She blinked rapidly, perhaps surprised by my change in topic. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had it much, but it’s my brother-in-law’s favorite drink.”
“Let’s find out. Take a seat.” I jabbed my finger at the sofa, and she hesitated, and then unbuttoned her coat. She smoothed out the red jacket somewhat self-consciously and then laid it over an armchair. Then she sat where I indicated. “And it’ll warm you up.”
She was perching on the edge, and it irritated me that she didn’t lean back and relax. But then I realized she probably couldn’t—her legs weren’t long enough for the deep couch. She seemed to realize that, too, because she scooted herself back and tucked her legs underneath her. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a rose-colored V-neck sweater with a white shell underneath.
I poured two glasses and handed her one, sitting down beside her. “Prost,” I said, using the German word for cheers. We clinked our glasses together and I was pleased she made careful eye contact as she repeated the word. Not many American knew that that was an essential part of the toast.
I downed half my glass, but Cara took a dainty sip of the amber-colored liquid and immediately began coughing. Her face turned red, but to her credit, once she’d recovered, she tilted the glass to her pink lips again.
“What do you think?” I asked when the second round of coughing subsided.
“It certainly does warm you up,” she conceded. “Not sure if I like it though.” She sniffed at the glass. “And by the way, I like cats.”
My eyebrow raised of its own accord as I tried to make sense of her non sequitur.
“Before, you said I looked like I was ready to be part of a dogsled race. But I’m a cat person.”
Bemused by the way her mind worked, I watched her take another cautious sip. Not that I’d thought about it, but she would’ve struck me as a dog person. Cara was open, eager, excitable. Those seemed more like dog qualities than cats.
For a while, we sat quietly, side by side, looking at the hypnotic flames in the hearth. At last, Cara tapped her fingernail against the rim of unfinished glass of whisky. “I think it would almost taste good if I could just stop coughing.”
“Perhaps.”
“I like the initial blast of heat. And the color.” She held her glass up, swirling it around slowly. “It reminds me of your eyes.”
What? I took in a sharp breath. “My eyes are hazel.”
“I know. Usually they look almost green.” She was still looking at the whiskey. “But when we were outside in the sun the other day, I saw some flecks of amber.”
She wasn’t supposed to notice that kind of thing. Just like I wasn’t supposed to notice how lovely she looked tonight with her pale skin still slightly flushed from the cold. Her golden eyelashes framed her wide-set eyes. Her legs were folded up gracefully beneath her, giving her added height.
I liked seeing her at eye-level. Figuratively speaking, no one was at my level around here. The queen was above me and everyone else was supposedly below. It would be nice, just for once, to have an equal. Someone to talk to. Someone to be myself with.
But that wasn’t why she was here, and I needed to remember that. Especially since she was only here for half a year. “About earlier… it’s not that you can’t have friends outside of your working hours, but your job has to come first.”
“It does,” she protested.
“Maybe, but tonight, making my staff stay up late to let you back in, you caused a disruption in everyone’s routine.”
Her eyes suddenly looked ashen. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think of it like that.”
Her sincerity was apparent. “It does take some getting used to. When I was a kid, every year when I’d return here after school was out, it would take a week or two to adjust. This isn’t an easy place to live.”
“No, it isn’t,” she said slowly. “Not for me, and definitely not for Derrick and Elyse.” She paused so long that I was sure she wasn’t going to continue. But then she said, “Maybe not even for you.”
I ignored that last part, but her point about the twins hit a little too close to home. Abruptly, I set down my glass and stood up, going over to my desk. “It just takes a little forethought. This came for you yesterday.” I picked up the small brown box. “If you’d warned Henrik that it was coming, he could’ve let the guards know to expect it.”
I sat down and put the box on the sofa between us.
“It’s open!”
“Yes,” I said gruffly. “This is the royal palace of Falkenberg, not a Holiday Inn. All incoming packages are examined at the guard station. And the time you spend browsing online for Playwriting for Dummies is time you’re not focusing on the children.”
“It’s not—”
“Whatever it is, it’s taking time away from the twins.” I reached in the open box and pushed aside the packing paper, pulling out a thick white paperback with a brightly colored cover. For a moment, I just stared at it.
Shit.
With a sigh, I held the book out to her. “This is for Derrick, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She took the Field Guide to Birds of Central Europe out of my hands. “It took forever to get here.”
“Most things do.” I balanced one elbow on the armrest and rubbed my eyes, feeling like a jerk. “You don’t have to buy things like that for the twins. If there’s anything they need, just let Gretchen or Henrik know.”
“I don’t mind,” she said in a small voice. “I just figured Derrick would want to know the English names for the different kinds of birds up on the roof.”
Every word she said was making me feel like an even bigger moron. “He talks about it nonstop now that his secret is out.”
“He could watch them for hours. We go up to the rooftop at least once a day. Elyse even came one time.”
Unbeknownst to Cara or the children, I’d had my maintenance staff thoroughly check the route they used to get up there. And once a day, someone went up to inspect the area and make sure there wasn’t anything unsafe. “Thank you for getting this book for him.”
“You’re welcome.” Cara’s voice was somewhat formal. I didn’t blame her after the way I’d acted.
Nevertheless, the silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable. Cara declined my offer of more whiskey but seemed content to stare into the fire by my side.
At last, she unfolded her legs and slid to the edge of the cushion. “I should probably—”
“I wanted to tell you something,” I said, interrupting her.
&nb
sp; She turned to me with questioning eyes.
“Some friends of mine are coming on Tuesday. An old college buddy from the US and his wife.”
“That’s good you’ll get to see them.”
I nodded. “I’m looking forward to it. Blake and Penny have two kids. The girl is four or five, and the little boy just turned one. In the afternoon, perhaps you could plan a playdate for them with the twins.”
“I think they’d like that, Nico.”
I couldn’t help the small smile that rose to my lips. In spite of my somewhat less than gallant behavior with Cara tonight, it seemed a good sign that she was still calling me by my first name. “Then after the kids eat, we’ll have a more formal meal.”
She nodded. “I’ll keep them out of your way.”
My brows drew together as I stared at her. Her blue eyes looked impossibly huge in the firelight. “No… I mean, I’d like you to join us for dinner.”
The slow smile on her face denoted both surprise and pleasure. “I… I’d like that. Thank you.”
“It’ll give you a chance to talk with your compatriots.” I stood up and held my hand out to her.
She took it, rising gracefully to her feet. “Yes, it will.”
I handed her the coat and book, and showed her to the front door of my office. “Do you know how to get back to your room from here?”
“Of course,” she said, her voice more confident than the expression on her face.
“Good.” She turned to the right and I subtly tilted my head in the other direction.
Cara smiled up at me as she swung around. “Good night, Nico.”
“Good night, Cara.”
As she walked away, I watched to make sure she turned the correct way at the end of the long hallway.
At least I told myself that’s why I watched until she was out of sight.
14
Cara
“I can’t believe I’m in a real castle,” Penny said. We were sitting in the playroom watching Elyse and Derrick play with her daughter, Zoe. Blake was with Nico in his office supposedly working, but Penny had remarked that they’d probably spend as much time reminiscing as they did talking business.
I laughed, bouncing her son, Christopher, on my knee. The little guy was only a year old but had a great smile and a tawny brown hair that almost reached his shoulders. “That’s how I feel every morning when I wake up.”
“It must’ve taken some getting used to. How long have you been here?”
“A little over a month.”
“And how’s it going?” Penny’s smile was kind as she looked over at me. She reminded me a little of my sister, and it made me miss Autumn even more.
“Pretty good. I’ve stopped getting lost—mostly. But the rest… well, it hasn’t been easy.”
With a practiced hand, Penny reached over to wipe the baby’s mouth. I loved holding the snuggly little guy, but it was fine by me if she wanted to be on drool patrol. “You’re a nanny for a single dad who’s also a prince. I would imagine that ‘easy’ is the last thing it would be.”
“Yeah… I just thought that by now, at least the kids and I would have a better relationship.” Christopher was fussing, so I turned him around. That way he could watch the older kids play—plus I could snake my arms around his belly and cuddle him.
“I’m sure it takes time.” Penny’s voice was sympathetic. “My little man certainly seems to have taken a liking to you.”
I kissed the baby on the top of his sweet-smelling head. “I love kids. I guess I just always thought that they’d love me back.”
“They’ve had a rough time of it.”
“Did you visit with them much when they lived in the US?”
“From time to time. Blake and Nico saw each other fairly frequently, but occasionally we did family things together. The twins were loud, then. Rambunctious. Elyse was always giggling about something, and Derrick loved to make us all laugh.”
Still cuddling the adorable baby, I watched the older kids playing. Derrick had originally tried to interest the toddler in a coloring book, but he’d given up when Christopher showed no interest. Now Derrick was listening as Elyse read a book to four-and-a-half-year-old Zoe. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, but as I explained to Penny, I’d never seen the twins do anything that could be described as rambunctious.
“Hopefully they’ll get to back to that point. They’ve been through a lot.”
“I know.” I sighed, wondering if I should bring up my background. But Penny was very easy to talk to. “I lost my mom to cancer when I was eleven. I can’t imagine how horrible and confusing it must be for children even younger.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Penny said with genuine sympathy in her eyes. “I’m sure it helps the twins that you know how it feels. And that wasn’t even the only life-changing event they experienced. The US was their home for five years. The day after the accident, Nico put them on an airplane and brought them back here. In one twenty-four-hour period, everything they knew changed. That would be a lot for a grown-up to handle, let alone young kids.”
An almost physical ache formed in my stomach at Penny’s words. More than anything, I wanted to go hug Derrick and Elyse right this second, but I knew they wouldn’t welcome that. “I didn’t realize it all happened that fast.”
Penny lowered her voice though the children weren’t paying us any attention. “It was a shock to us all, but I think Nico couldn’t stay in the US a single minute longer. I don’t blame him… it was an awful time.”
I hesitated. I’d purposefully avoided reading much about that period in Nico’s life both to respect his privacy and also because it was such a painful topic. “It was a boating accident, right?”
“Yes.” Penny sighed. “And Nico was there. Blake says he blames himself.”
The ache in my stomach turned into a twisting pain. All three of them, Nico, Derrick, and Elyse had lived through something awful. As much as I wanted to help them, I wasn’t sure if I could.
My voice lowered as I tried to explain it to Penny. “I honestly don’t know if I’m making things better or worse. Sometimes I say the wrong thing with Nico, and he gets all distant, and I feel terrible. With Derrick I’ve made a little progress. Not a ton, but he’s opened up to me somewhat. But with Elyse, I have no clue. She doesn’t seem to want or need me.”
“I wish I had an answer for you, but there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Maybe because children are such individuals. Take this little guy, for example.” She held out her hand and Christopher pressed his little fingers against hers. “He’s about as different as you can get from how Zoe was at his age. His sleeping patterns are the polar opposite, he’s a terribly picky eater where she wasn’t at all—even the way he cries isn’t the same. I guess each child has different needs, different ways of doing things.”
She looked up at the children. Elyse had Zoe by the hand and was leading her over to a shelf of toys. Derrick remained behind, reading a book in a bean bag chair. “Even though they’re twins, I would imagine you need a unique approach with each of them.”
“Yes, I do. It took me a while to figure that out. They seem like such a unit.”
“It’s good they have each other. But they are individuals—they were even as little kids. I guess it’s just a matter of figuring out what each one needs, both in general and from you.”
“I’m working on it.” Christopher started crying, so I begrudgingly handed him back. “I’ve got a long way to go, but so far Derrick has been easier to figure out than Elyse.”
“Well, men can be simple creatures,” Penny said with a laugh. “Well, simpler. Take my sweet boy, for instance. He’s hungry.” Without missing a beat, she shifted his position, raised her shirt, and offered him a breast.
“I wish it were that easy to make Derrick and Elyse happy. Wait, I didn’t mean I want to nurse them or anything like that—”
Penny laughed. “I know what you meant. What are they doing now?”
>
Elyse had her hands held out in front of her, a thin belt stretched between them. “She’s pretending that she’s shooting a bow and arrow. That belt is the string of the bow, and she’s showing Zoe how to pull it back before firing.”
“Wow… you got all that from the fact that she’s holding a belt? Maybe you understand her better than you thought.”
“I wish I did,” I said with a rueful shake of my head. “I only know because we watched Brave last week, and Elyse was quite taken with it.” Now she wanted to watch it every time we were in the playroom.
“Which one is that?”
“The one set in Scotland. The princess has long, curly red hair and uses a bow and arrow.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that one. Zoe hasn’t seen it, but she seems to be hero-worshipping Elyse, so she won’t mind playing along.”
“She’s a cutie.”
“She sure is. And she’s got Blake wrapped around her little finger. If she said she wanted a bow and arrow, he’d probably hire an Olympic-level archery coach for her.”
Aww, that was sweet. “You’ve got a wonderful family.”
“Thanks,” she said. “It hasn’t always been easy, but now I can’t imagine my life any other way.”
I was about to ask what she meant, but the baby started crying.
“I’m going to get Christopher ready for his nap. Blake’ll want some time to play with him before dinner, so I need to put him down soon.”
“Sure,” I said. “Do you want me to show you to your room?” Gretchen had gone all out, setting up a crib, changing table, and enough toys for a dozen children for the Hollisters’ overnight visit.
“Thanks, but I know where to find it.”
Ugh, it didn’t seem fair. Penny had been here less than a day and already she knew her way around the castle better than me.
“Do you mind keeping an eye on Zoe?”
“Of course not.”
After she left, I stayed where I was, thinking about all that Derrick and Elyse had been through. No wonder they were hard to reach.
Dashing: A Royal Cinderella Billionaire Story Page 10
