The Anti-Cinderella Conquers the World

by Tawdra Kandle

  The royal wedding was only the beginning of my happy ending . . .

  I’m now a full-fledged member of the royal family. That means all my problems are over, doesn’t it?

  Apparently not.

  Even though I’m now a princess-by-marriage and a duchess-by-title, I’m still the same Kyra who’s prone to putting her sneaker-clad foot into her mouth.

  It’s a good thing Nicky loves me. Our work is thriving and our marriage is strong. Together, we can tackle any challenge. But it’s not until our peaceful existence is threatened that I realize how precious it is.

  And they lived happily ever after . . . right?

  The Anti-Cinderella Conquers the World

  Copyright © 2019 by Tawdra Kandle

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Cover designer: Meg Murrey

  Formatting: Champagne Book Design

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Epilogue Part Two

  The Anti-Cinderella Conquers the World Play List

  Acknowledgements

  Notes on Royalty, Titles and Sustainability

  About the Author

  Other Books By Tawdra Kandle

  To Cate

  Your passion for understanding and protecting the world around us

  has inspired so much of this series and these characters,

  and your joy in the beauty of nature and community inspires me every day.

  Congratulations on your college graduation

  which happened in Unity, Maine as I wrote this book.

  I can’t wait to see what comes next.

  With much love, always.

  THERE WAS A SOFT CLICK, rousing me from the deep slumber of an afternoon nap. I stirred in the soft sheets and reached blindly toward the spot where my husband should have been lying next to me.

  It was empty, and my eyes still closed, I frowned.

  “Nicky?” I murmured. “Are you all right”

  His hand brushed over my hair. “How could I be anything else?” The mattress dipped as he slid under the covers with me. “I’m here in this paradise with the most beautiful, fascinating, sexiest woman in the world, who just happens to be my wife. There’s nothing in the universe that could make me anything less than perfectly blissful.”

  Still more than half asleep, I smiled. “Prove it.”

  Nicky chuckled softly. “Again?”

  “Always.” I rolled toward him, opening my arms and snuggling against his solid strength. “Love me, Nicky.”

  He bent his head to kiss me. “Forever.”

  “Do we really have to go back?” I trailed my toes along the rushing surf, one hand still clinging to Nicky’s as we meandered along the shore. “I mean . . . would anyone miss us? Between the two of us, I think we’d have enough money to hide away here for a couple of years, at least.”

  “As if you’re remotely cut out for a life of hedonistic pleasure,” Nicky snorted. “In moderation, you handle it quite well. But if we stayed here forever, within a week, you’d have the locals organizing gardens and farm co-ops, and then you’d set up some experimental fields, just to test the regional produce markets.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I think I could very easily get used to being a lady of leisure, thanks very much. Don’t forget, I’m not Kyra Duncan anymore. Now I’m Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Kendal. I could do all kinds of shit I couldn’t before.”

  My husband began to laugh. “All right, then, Your Royal Highness. Let’s stay here for another two weeks and see how it goes.” There was note in his voice that dared me to call his bluff.

  “Fine. Two weeks will be amazing. I’ll work on my tan, and I’ll read another of those mysteries I’m enjoying so much, and—oh! I almost forgot. I have the company-wide meeting five days after we’re due to be back in London. And there’s the kickoff for the new gardens in Tottenham—the St. Joseph of Cupertino fields are opening early next month.”

  Nicky’s grin stretched over his face. “Uh huh. And this was the woman who thought she could live the idle life here indefinitely?”

  I shot him a withering glare. “That was a mean trick.” Swinging my foot, I sent a little bit of sand in his direction, spraying his legs with the fine white powder. “You know I meant it more as in the spirit of our honeymoon. I know we can’t stay here for the rest of our lives. You, for one, would be letting down the family, and I’d never be responsible for that. Second, I’d feel horrible about not stepping up to do my duty as Her Majesty has asked.”

  “And that’s why you’re the perfect wife.” Nicky spun me until I had no choice but to fall against his chest. “Because you can dream about running away, but you’d never actually do it.”

  “Probably not,” I decided. “I’m not tremendously excited about going back and having to deal with the Palace people and the reporters when we’re in England, but I know it’s my life now, and I’m very okay with that. As long as I’m with you, I can handle anything.”

  “That’s good, because you’re not going anywhere.” He pressed a hard kiss to the top of my head. “I’ve gotten too accustomed to having you at my beck and call.”

  “I’ll always be your beck and call girl.” I snuggled against Nicky’s chest. “And meanwhile, we have another week here. I plan to take full advantage of every opportunity for—what did you call it? Hedonistic pleasures.” Pressing my breasts into the hard planes of his body, I looped my arms around his neck. “You know, like making out in the surf with my husband . . . or laying in the water, kissing passionately like they did in South Pacific.”

  We’d enjoyed a screening of the classic film a few nights before, and the love scenes had made an impression on me.

  “Hey, when I suggested that sort of thing, you told me that—uh, ‘beach lovin’ was out of the question. You said that the risk of sand in sensitive spots would make it—I believe you referred to it as ‘unpleasant.’” He smirked, remembering.

  “That’s true, I did. And then you said we could have the best of both worlds if we made love on the lounge chair, but you got so involved in demonstrating what we might do out there that we never actually made it to the beach itself.”

  “We didn’t, did we?” Nicky rubbed one gentle hand down my back until his fingers teased the edge of my bat
hing suit bottoms. “Then maybe we need to test out my theory. There’s a lounge chair in the secluded part of the beach, you know. The section where no one’s allowed to go except the two of us.”

  Desire buzzed through my veins and pulsed in some very specific places—namely, between my legs. “I might know the spot you’re talking about.”

  His fingers dipped lower to pinch my bottom. “Race you there. If you get to the chair before me, you get the first orgasm.”

  I frowned. “That’s not fair. Your legs are longer than mine, and you’re a faster runner.”

  “I’ll give you a head-start, darling.” His voice was deep with want. “Believe me, I have a vested interest in letting you win.”

  “But maybe I don’t want you to let me win.” I pretended to sulk for a moment, just long enough to disentangle myself from his arms. Once I was free of his embrace, I took off, racing at top speed toward the cottage that had been our hideaway and love shack for the past three weeks, sending sand flying in my wake.

  “You little vixen!” I heard Nicky’s laugh-filled accusation behind me, but I didn’t stop running. It was marvelous, this freedom to be myself, to be crazy and wild and stupid in love with the man I’d just married.

  And when that man caught me and swung me up into his arms, I knew that I’d never been happier in all of my life.

  Wasn’t that the point of the fairy tale? We were living happily ever after, and nothing in the world would ever change that.

  “DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY absolute favorite part of the day is?”

  My husband came to stand in the doorway of the bathroom we shared, smirking at me as I eased off my heels and slithered out of my dress.

  “The moment when we’re back together again after being apart at our respective engagements and/or work all day long? When you see your beloved, very sexy husband and remember how incredibly fortunate you are to be married to him?”

  I nibbled at the corner of my lip, appreciating the way Nicky’s shirt clung to his muscular shoulders. He had it unbuttoned already, pulled out of the waistband of his dress pants, and it hung open, revealing tantalizing glimpses of his chiseled chest and flat stomach. The path of light hair that led downward distracted me from what I’d been saying.

  “Uh, yes. That is my very favorite part of the day. The high point is definitely being reunited with you, my love.” I waited a beat. “Do you know what my second favorite part of every day is?”

  Nicky laughed. “Tell me, darling.”

  I reached back to unhook my bra, sighing happily as I let it drop. “The moment I can take off my clothes. Especially my stockings and my bra. Ahhhhh . . .”

  “Funny, that’s a particular favorite of mine, too.” He stepped into the bathroom and slid his arms around my middle, making me shiver at both his cold hands and the way his fingers trailed lower, skimming just over the elastic of my panties. “When I can see what you’ve been hiding beneath all those annoying layers of clothes, I’m a happy man.”

  Nuzzling his neck, I sighed happily. This really was my favorite part of the day, the moment when we could stop being the Duke and Duchess, the prince and the princess, and just be Nicky and Ky. I sank into my husband’s embrace, letting my body relax against his solid, dependable and very sexy strength. My mind wandered, drowsily enjoying the feeling of his touch as his hands brushed over my curves.

  When I giggled, he drew back a little, smiling down at me. “Did I find a new ticklish spot?”

  “No.” I linked my hands behind his neck. “I was just thinking about the questions we’re asked in interviews. ‘Your Royal Highness, what’s your favorite part of being a Duchess?’ And I’m imagining the expression on the faces of the Palace press staff if I answered truthfully.” Putting on a phony accent, I half-closed my eyes and affected a demeanor of cultivated boredom. “‘Oh, my dear, my favorite part is when I take off my bra, and my husband gropes me in our bathroom.’”

  Nicky laughed. “Once upon a time, I might have dared you to do that, but now I know better.” Reaching around my waist, he gave my backside a swift and teasing smack. “You might actually do it, just to get a reaction.” Dropping a kiss on my temple, he took a step back and shrugged off his shirt.

  “Hey, I know better than that. I behave myself almost all the time these days.” I reached for my robe. “Some people might even say I’m positively boring now.”

  “No one who knows you would ever dare to utter those words, sweetheart.” Nicky winked at me and unhooked his pants.

  I leaned against the sink, taking in the show. There wasn’t a much better view in the world than my hot husband, stripping. When he noticed me watching him, Nicky rolled his eyes.

  “Must you ogle me that way? I feel so cheap.”

  I leered, wagging my eyebrows. “Baby, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Shake that money maker for me.”

  Balling up his clothes, he tossed the bundle into the hamper. “Nice talk, Duchess. And you think you’re positively boring now, huh?”

  “I didn’t say I think I am. I just said some might say that.” I turned toward the sink, grabbing an elastic band to gather my hair into a sloppy ponytail as I prepared to wash my face. “Speaking of not being boring . . . what were you and your grandfather up to tonight after dinner?”

  “Up to? We weren’t up to anything.” His bland tone made me immediately suspicious.

  “You had your heads together for almost an hour when we were all in the sitting room.” The family—as in the Royal Family—had gathered tonight to celebrate Alexandra’s birthday. While I’d learned that usually, the small, private family parties for Nicky and his siblings took place at their parents’ apartment here in Kensington Palace, tonight the Queen had hosted us at Buckingham Palace, as her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was feeling slightly under the weather.

  At least that had been the official word. I’d noticed that the Duke had seemed pretty sprightly for a man of his advanced age. Still, I knew that everyone was especially protective of the health and welfare of both Granny and Grandpa, better known to the world as the Queen and the Duke.

  Now, Nicky shrugged. “Yes, we were discussing a few things.” His lips pinched for a moment, which I knew was his tell. There was something on his mind, and he wasn’t sure whether or not he was ready to share it with me.

  “You might as well come clean now. I’m going to find out sooner or later.” I twisted the faucet to turn on the water and began lathering my face. “It’s only a matter of time.”

  “I don’t have secrets from you, darling.” A slight twitch in the corner of his eye gave lie to that statement, and I frowned. But before I could build up to a good strong worry, he went on.

  “Grandpa was telling me that his cousin—our cousin, I guess, but someone from his side of the family in particular—is selling his estate. He thought it might be something we’d be interested in seeing.”

  I didn’t answer right away, taking the time first to splash handfuls of water over my face, rinsing off the cleanser.

  “Why would we be interested in that? We have a home. It’s right here.” I patted the edge of the sink. “I love our cottage.”

  “So do I, but the fact of the matter is that now we’re married. We’re expected to move on, sooner rather than later.” Nicky pulled an old T-shirt over his head. “Grandpa and Granny would like this cottage to be available for Daisy. They’d feel better with her living at Kensington Palace, instead of that mess that she calls her flat.”

  I shook my head. “Daisy doesn’t want to move, and I happen to know that she especially doesn’t want to move into KP. She’s made that clear more than once.”

  Nicky snorted. “What my little sister wants and what she should do are usually two very different things. In the end, it doesn’t matter. She’s been given years of freedom, and now it’s time for her to take a little more responsibility in life.”

  “Huh.” Patting my face dry, I reached for my moisturizer. “Well, let’s put that whole issue aside�
��because in the end, what we think doesn’t matter. It’s all up to Daisy. What made your grandfather think we might be interested in some estate? If we’re getting kicked out of our cottage, why wouldn’t we just find another place in London?”

  I hadn’t explored much of the UK in the eighteen months or so that I’d lived here. Every now and then, Nicky and I had an engagement that required us to take the train a little further afield than Greater London, and we’d attended a couple of parties in the country, but that was the extent of my experience with the English countryside.

  On the other hand, we had spent two weeks at Balmoral this past summer after our honeymoon, and I’d fallen in love with the rugged Scottish land. The Queen, aware of my love for all things historical and botanical, had taken me on several tromps through the estate, pointing out spots of significance and tolerating my raptures over thistles and vegetation. Still, I was happy to enjoy that part of the world during the Royal Family’s seasonal sojourns there. I didn’t have any desire to buy a house and move to Scotland . . . or anywhere else that wasn’t London.

  “First of all, we’re not getting kicked out of the cottage. I always understood that this was a temporary home until I married and started my own family.”

  “Mmmmm.” I was noncommittal, although I had to admit that Nicky had alluded to this fact several times in the past. I’d just chosen to ignore it.

  “Second, we’ll still keep a place here in London. It’d be impossible not to have a base here.”

  “Here? As in Kensington Palace?” The residence I’d once seen as almost a prison had morphed into a sanctuary, one I wasn’t yet prepared to abandon.

  “Possibly. There are other options, but it’s likely that an apartment will come available here, and we’ll take it.” Nicky patted my shoulder as he moved behind me to stand next to the sink.