He shook his head. "But Amy-"
"It's okay," she interrupted. One day he might love her—so long as he was okay marrying her knowing how she felt about him. It was enough for now.
He took his hand back. "It's my turn to talk."
True. She stilled and nodded. "Oh, fair enough. I'm listening."
He opened his mouth to speak, but the door behind him flew open. Her mother and sister's voice filled the air, but it was Evie who made it by her bedside first. "Hello? The nurse said Amy was awake and we could sneak in."
Lucio stepped away from the bed. "Come in."
Evie moved the chair so their mom could sit while Evie took a corner of the bed. "Oh Amy, you look pretty beat up."
Her sister’s slightly cold hands checked her sore cheek. She certainly felt like she’d survived a disaster. The dirt must have scraped against her everywhere. Amy let out a sigh realizing even when worried, Evie looked like a model. Amy tried to ignore the comparison and smiled. "Thanks, sis. I feel that."
Evie gave her a small smile. "Your wedding is probably delayed?"
Her mother then added, "I'd say three months minimum if you want to walk down the aisle, but all that matters right now is your health."
Three months felt like forever. She didn't want to wait that long, not now. She turned to Lucio but he inched toward the door. "Lucio, where are you going?"
He returned to her bedside and gazed at her. "I'm going to call my mother while you speak to your family. I'll be back in five minutes."
"Hurry." She saw the white hall and a straight line of rectangular lights and his tall muscular backside as he turned.
He waved and winked at her over his shoulder. "Always."
She couldn’t wait to marry Lucio now that he knew how she felt and hadn’t reacted negatively. One day he might love her too and she could wait for it. Patience was a virtue she had long developed and he was worth it.
20
Lucio took a seat in one of the plastic chairs in the empty waiting room and tried to get a little comfortable. It didn't work, so he stood and paced toward the end of the room. Outside the window to the left he noticed that the press brightened the evening sky with all their lights pointed toward the door.
They'd be waiting for either him or one of his family members to exit the hospital, but guards kept a semblance of order. He stepped away from the glass to ensure no one saw him and dug his phone from his back pocket. He sank back in the plastic seat and called his brother.
"This is Marco."
Lucio spoke without introduction. "I need you to get a full background check on Suzie Oster. She was part of Amy's kidnapping and lived upstairs from her in London."
"Her friend?" Marco repeated.
"Yeah." None of them had seen the American as a threat but clearly they needed to implement reports on every guest that stayed at the palace, even supposed friends.
Marco returned after a pause. "On it. I'll get Babik to run her car plates."
"She would have had to rent one at the airport rather than take our car—I know I sent a limo." Lucio stared at the doors that led back to Amy's room. She looked like a half-done mummy from one of those horror movies with those casts of hers on one half of her body, when she used to look like an angel and it was still his fault. She hadn't deserved this.
The vision of Amy jumping for her freedom left his entire body cold. Her friend Suzie needed to be found. Now. "She's probably left the country. Also, Amy said she can only identify four men so we’ll have to prove the five are working in a conspiracy."
"We'll find out what happened." Marco’s tone held a note of sympathy. "And don’t worry about the case now. We’ve got this."
Lucio leaned forward in the hard plastic chair. There was much he needed to discover and fast. "Amy shared that Suzie said she was paid. The five men don't have money in their accounts and even Edvard's father paid for that report with cash above his income level. We're not seeing who is paying for all this chaos."
Marco made a noise with his throat that sounded like he agreed but he said, "Let me patch Antonio in. One second."
The phone clicked and Lucio understood he was being placed in the family three-way. Antonio joined and said, "Lucio. Sophia's parents have been petitioning for the release of their daughter."
Lucio straightened. Sophia Venko’s royal family had money but no power. "You think this has to do with Sophia?"
Antonio said, "It's a theory. She went through a lot to depose us. Maybe her family is behind it, with the cash."
Theories may or may not be true in the end. Right now, they needed facts, not opinions. Lucio redirected his brother to ensure they were all on the same page. "I want to investigate Suzie and her banking information. We'll need warrants and the use of treaties to gather all the information."
"I'm on it," Marco said. "Mother just came in."
Lucio imagined that they must be in the war room. His mother's voice was calm as she asked, "How's Amy?"
"Awake. Smiling." In love with Lucio though he kept that to himself. "Her mother said the wedding will have to be a minimum of three months to let her heal enough to walk."
His mother made the hmm sound. Then she spoke like the Queen she was. "This means we'll have to invite worldwide royalty and despite what you hoped, this will be more formal. Your wedding will be complete with the weeklong celebration, Lucio."
The whirlwind of procedure he’d intended to avoid was now becoming a reality. None of that mattered, but he brushed off his mother's comments. "I need to discuss this with Amy, but I wanted to warn you."
His mother paid him no mind. "I'll start drafting the formal invitations to show her when we bring her to the palace."
"Mom, I have to go." If he stayed on the phone with them, it would be hours until the report on Suzie arrived. Right now, he needed to see Amy again.
He hung up after goodbye and brushed any wrinkles his pant legs might show. He must always be royal and put together. Once he placed his phone in his back pocket, he reentered the hospital hall. No one looked at him while he made his way to Amy's room.
Amy's parents and Evie were all laughing with her. It was clear the family had patched up their differences. Amy turned toward him and met his gaze. She smiled at him. "How was your mother?"
"She's happy you’re awake, but she's drawing up invitations for royal dignitaries for a formal royal wedding in a few months."
A huge grin grew on Amy's mother’s face. "Wait. Does that mean we invite the Queen of England?"
He nodded and crossed his arms. Did she have something against the queen? The last thing he needed was to argue with Amy’s mother. "Is that a problem?"
"No." She smiled wider and he dropped his arms to his sides. "I'd be thrilled, though Lucio, what matters the most to me is that you and Amy are happy."
Evie rose to her feet, and took Michael’s arm. "On that note, we'll leave you two alone and head back to the palace."
"Thanks." Lucio walked all four of them toward the door.
Amy stayed silent as he said goodbye to them.
The second the door closed, she held out her hand for his. "Lucio, what's going on? You look so serious. I'm okay with planning a formal wedding as long as I can walk down the aisle to you."
"Amy, we need to talk." He repositioned the seat next to her, and then clasped her warm palm.
She pushed a button so her bed went higher and he had a clearer vision of her pretty brown eyes. "I'm here."
She’d been so brave sharing her feelings that he wanted to be frank with her. "When I couldn't find you and then when I did find you, I could hardly breathe. I need you to believe me that you're the only woman in the world I want to marry."
She gave him a small nod and continued with her beaming, beautiful smile. "I understand and I'm happy. I love you."
"I love you too."
Amy blinked with disbelief. "You can't."
He stood and leaned over her until he found a way to sit next to her on the bed. She needed
to believe him. He met her gaze. "It's the truth, Amy Fields. I don't lie. I never lied. When I first met you again I was happy to see that you were the one the computer said was my match."
Her eyes stayed wide and full of questions. "Computer? I just don’t understand it. There must be a person who believes in love if their program put us together."
"I don’t know who runs the IT department." Lucio swallowed and let his heart choose his words. "I had Antonio's IT department run a report to find me the woman I was to marry. It came back as you. Whenever I even thought about Evie, you were the next image I saw. In my head, I remembered a skinny girl with glasses, but when I found you again, I realized why it was your face and not your sister's that I remembered with vivid colors. I must have loved you as a boy but I didn't recognize the feelings."
"This is impossible." She let his hand go, but her face returned to its normal color.
He traced the bridge of her slim nose. She truly was beautiful. "It's not. I need you, Amy Fields, and I love you."
"I love you too." She placed her hand on his knuckles. "And I believe you. I was just shocked because I’ve longed to hear those words from you."
He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips again. She tasted sweet and better than any candy or pastry. He carefully adjusted his weight on the mattress of the narrow hospital bed. "Good. Now that you understand how I feel, I want to tell you we're working on finding Suzie. Did you ever suspect her of being an anarchist?"
"No." She tugged on his hand. "I don't care about any of that. I just want you to kiss me."
"That I can do." His lips curved into a smile. Together they would be unstoppable. He'd ensure the threat was gone and soon they'd be man and wife. His life would be complete the day they said I do.
21
Trapped in the hospital bed, Amy stared out the window. The morning light was disturbed with camera flashes, so she knew Lucio must have returned. Her heart sped up. She needed to get out of here. Now. At least in the palace, she'd be less surrounded by reporters with long cameras trying to get pictures of her.
She tried to move, but the cast kept her immobile. Finally, the door opened and Lucio walked in with a wheelchair, the nurse and another woman who looked like she worked for the hospital, but Amy hadn't met her. She kept her gaze on Lucio's strong shoulders. "Are you busting me out of here?"
He nodded while the woman took the wheelchair from him. He then walked with the nurse who pressed buttons on her bed to get her to sit straight while Lucio said, "The palace has doctors on staff, where I’m sure you would be more comfortable. Suzie has been stopped in Italy. Marco is there, representing our nation's interest."
The woman who seemed like a nurse but didn’t wear the uniform, and the hospital nurse, helped Amy out of the bed and placed her in the chair. "She would stop in Venice, but I don't care about her. I'd love to get out of here and go home."
Lucio helped them adjust her, but knelt beside her good side. "We both need your leg to heal, so you have to be careful."
The nurse secured her cast in an elevated position. Amy tried to pretend she was fine, and kept her gaze on Lucio. "There is less danger of someone snapping my picture when I try to hobble to the bathroom."
Lucio stood without laughing. "Technically, they'd want your picture there too, but we have private property to protect you."
"Are you stalling?" She motioned toward the door. "I'm looking forward to this royal bath where I can keep the cast dry but soak."
"We're waiting for clearance," Lucio told her once the nurse left.
Lucio motioned toward the other woman who seemed poised and ready to help. "Amy, this is your paramedic, Nancy, from the night we found you. Nancy will be driving us to the palace."
Amy's eyes widened slightly. No wonder Lucio seemed like he knew her. If she could, she'd get up and shake hands, but instead she motioned with her head. "Nice to meet you."
The woman curtsied toward her, like she was important, and kept her head down. "Nice to see you awake this time, Your Highness."
"No, I'm not that, not yet." Hopefully nothing else went wrong because she’d loved Lucio all her life. She coughed and finished, "I'm still Miss Fields."
The nurse returned and gave them the thumbs up sign. "We're ready, Your Highness."
Lucio walked beside her while Nancy pushed. "Until our wedding you are now the Lady-in-Waiting to Her Royal Highness, Queen Anna Camilla."
A title of sorts? Seriously? Amy's lips pursed as she tried to imagine anyone taking her seriously with such a title. "When did that happen?"
Finally, they were at the elevator and he pressed the button. She was almost out of here. "When Mother started writing invitations and wanted to elevate your status."
They boarded and the doors closed. A formal wedding with the royal treatment sounded like a strange foreign concept where she'd have a lot of work in planning. "Ohh." The elevator went down. "Will your mother be waiting to discuss wedding details right away?"
"No. I won’t let her walk over you, Amy." They made it to their floor and the lobby seemed clear of people. "However, your parents are giddy at the invitation list." "I can imagine," she said dryly.
No one was going to walk over her again, especially her parents. Her wedding would have her own choices in it. They walked toward the door fast and the nurse gave someone a sign. Outside, the ambulance was parked so close to the door that she couldn't see beyond it. Nancy wheeled her up without a problem. "We're here."
"Thank you, Nancy." The paramedic secured Amy's chair so it wouldn’t move.
A few minutes later, Nancy was in the driver’s seat and they took off. Lucio stayed beside her and held her hand. They slowed down and Amy wished she could turn and see the palace, but she was strapped in place.
The ambulance stopped and Nancy reappeared to unlock her. Lucio waited until the doors were opened and Nancy wheeled her downstairs. The second she saw the green lawn, it felt like a weight lifted off her shoulders. She was safe here at her new home.
Lucio traced her arm and shoulder. "Are you ready for me to wheel you?"
A huge smile grew on her face. Everything was going to be great. Lucio and she were together and her bones would heal. He wheeled her up the newly installed ramp over the stairs and headed toward his mother and brother though his mother was on her phone, a few steps away. Amy reached behind her to brush his arm. "Lucio, your brother, Antonio, looks serious."
He stopped them when they reached his family. "What's going on?"
Antonio crossed his arms. "We have news about Sophia and Suzie."
"You do?" Amy worried when she noticed how dark Lucio's expression became. Antonio nodded. "Suzie is her half-sister. Her father asked his younger daughter to help secure the release of Sophia."
"Now that's a motive for interfering," Lucio said.
Amy shook her head. "But I couldn't have been used to get her sister back."
"Why not?" Lucio explained, "You'd have been traded for her release and Suzie understood that."
Traded? She sucked in her breath. Seriously, she'd never thought about that. Suzie hadn't mentioned it in the car either, but maybe that was the plan. "Where is Suzie now?"
"She's being extradited here, to Avce," Antonio said. "She'll join her sister in waiting for a fair trial."
Lucio's face seemed so stiff and serious. She patted his hand and positioned her chair to see him easier. "So no more anarchist uprising in your country—that’s good, right?"
Lucio's gaze met hers and his strong shoulders seemed to carry the world. "Our country, Amy. And you are correct, there is no one else with plans to use our country’s over-throw to get their own kingdom back. So let's get you upstairs."
His mother walked over to join them as she'd been standing to the side, on the phone. Amy lowered her head. "Your Highness, I'm sorry I cannot bow at the moment."
The queen huffed. "Bowing isn't necessary. We're to be family and, Amy, we discussed you calling me Anna."
"Fair enough, Anna." Amy smiled at all of the Aussa family. "When Suzie is brought to Avce, I'd like to see her."
Lucio stared at her with a blank expression. "Why?"
She needed to stand up for herself, even if that meant from a sitting position in her wheelchair "She told me not to marry you. I want her to see me holding your hand. I don't appreciate being kidnapped and I want to know why she thought to use me."
"That is perfectly reasonable, son." Anna stared at Lucio too.
His chin lowered. "As long as you stay next to me."
"Always, though I'll be happy when I can walk again. This whole pushing me around thing will get tedious, fast." She didn’t want to be a burden.
"Let's get you inside." Lucio placed his hands on the back of her seat.
Anna stepped in front of them and pointed. Lucio turned her around and they all saw the black town car that came through the gates. "No, wait. It seems Marco is returning right now from Italy. There is his car. He might have Suzie with him."
Lucio leaned closer to her ear. "Are you ready for this, Amy? You don’t have to do it."
"Absolutely. Hold my hand." She held out her free hand for him to come and stand beside her.
He took it and they waited on the step. Marco came out then pulled Suzie from the rear passenger seat, handcuffed. Suzie struggled, then stopped when she saw Amy. "Amy, please tell this man I never hurt you physically and that I didn't throw you out of the car."
Two soldiers went to join Marco.
In a second, they'd be gone.
Amy spoke in a loud, empowering voice. "No, you didn't let me out of the car so I had to jump to my freedom. I'll be testifying at your trial everything you said."
The soldiers took custody of her, but Suzie pulled against their grasp and stared at her. "Remember, I also said you were my friend."
A laugh formed in her throat. This was a joke. It had to be. She swallowed the sound. "Friends don't try to stop weddings or ruin each other's chance at happiness by kidnapping them."
Suzie had tears in her eyes as she was dragged away. "You're right. I'm sorry."
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