To Marry a Prince

by A. C. Arthur

  Roland nodded his approval, his hands falling to his sides as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone.

  “Sam, you find out what you can from Malayka herself. I know you don’t like her but she’s more likely to let something slip to a woman, than to me or Roland. I want to know everything she does. Everything her staff is doing. The hair stylist, the makeup artist, and—” Kris paused and gritted his teeth. “The stylist. I want to know their every move.”

  * * *

  Landry breathed a sigh of relief and slapped a hand to her chest as she flattened her back against the door and saw that the sound was her cell phone, vibrating across the coffee table. She’d left it there yesterday when she’d gone to the pool to meet with Malayka. After talking to Kelli for an hour about how business was going back in Los Angeles, it needed to be charged. Her plan had been to return to her room to shower and dress for dinner as soon as the meeting was finished, so Landry hadn’t been afraid of missing anything important.

  Apparently, since the sun was now peeking through the open blinds in the bedroom casting hazy rays of light into the sitting area where she stood, her plans for last night had changed and now she had missed something.

  Heading over to the table, she picked up the phone, removed the charging cord and opened the screen. Her mother had called several times, leaving voice and text messages, the latest one being just a few minutes ago. Landry immediately dialed her mother’s number.

  “I would say I’m glad I’m not dead, but that might sound too morbid,” Astelle said the moment she picked up on her end.

  Landry resisted the urge to frown and instead gave a cheery, “Hi, Mama.”

  “I’ve been calling you since last night,” her mother continued. “Just because you’re thousands of miles away, in the middle of some ocean, doesn’t mean you cannot answer the phone. Or return a phone call in a timely fashion. I mean, really, Landry, there could have been an emergency.”

  And from that sentence alone Landry realized that there wasn’t and she took a seat on the couch. “The battery in my phone died, so I didn’t even see that you’d called until just now.”

  Her mother was technology challenged, so Landry knew that talking about her phone would get Astelle to take the conversation in another direction.

  “Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the Singles’ Social at the church,” she said.

  Landry laid her head back on the chair and dropped an arm over her forehead. Was her mother really calling her about church events when, as Astelle had so sweetly put it, she was thousands of miles away in the middle of some ocean?

  Astelle continued, “Your father and I were talking yesterday morning and we thought it would be perfect if you could attend. Now, it’s Saturday night and before you say it, I know that’s tomorrow. But you should be able to get those fancy royal people to send you home on a plane so that you can attend. Paula said they probably have their own private jet. More than one actually. Anyway, don’t worry about what to wear, I called Kelli and she can get you something from your studio.”

  It was official, her mother had finally completely lost her mind. Landry berated herself for thinking negatively about her mother. Especially since the scare she’d received concerning her parents before she’d left the States had almost been a deal breaker for her taking this job. Her father had been rushed to the hospital the day after Malayka offered Landry this position. The chest pains he’d been having were concerning enough to have him set up with cardiologists and other specialists within the week. Landry decided that night at the hospital that she would stay in LA. Her father had told her she would do no such thing.

  Landry shook her head to clear that memory from her mind. Her mother had already said this wasn’t an emergency call so there was no need to think back on that horrible time. Besides, Astelle had just gone quiet which meant she was now waiting for Landry’s response.

  “I cannot attend the event, Mama,” Landry said after taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “I’m working here on Grand Serenity Island. The job isn’t over until mid-December, after the royal wedding.”

  “Well, you don’t work on weekends, do you?” her mother asked.

  “Yes, I do.”

  Astelle huffed. “You shouldn’t work yourself so hard, Landry. You’re only given one life—you need to take the time to actually live it.”

  “I am living my life, Mama. I started this business because it was my dream. It’s everything to me and I plan to work as hard as I can to make the best of it,” she replied.

  “There’s more to life than work... Like socializing and giving yourself the chance to meet the right man,” Astelle said.

  Landry sighed inwardly wondering if her mother would ever talk about anything other than her finding a man and settling down.

  “My job actually entails a lot of socializing,” she rebutted.

  “Oh really? Have you been going to fancy parties or exploring that lovely island with anyone in particular?”

  She’d walked right into that one.

  “The royal family has been very hospitable. The princess gave me a personal tour.”

  “That’s nice. I hope you were respectful.”

  “I was, Mama.”

  “And who else? Didn’t you say there was a prince?”

  Landry rolled her eyes. Her mother couldn’t remember how to install an app on her phone, but she wouldn’t dare forget any mention of an eligible bachelor.

  “There are two princes, Roland and Kristian. I’ve met both of them and they’ve been very pleasant as well,” Landry informed her mother.

  “Any sparks there? Between you and the princes?”

  “Really, Mama. In one breath you want me to come home to attend a church social full of bachelors and in the next you ask if I’m flirting with not one, but both princes.” Landry had to chuckle at that herself.

  Astelle did not think it was funny. “That’s not what I said. I simply asked if there were any sparks there, and I didn’t mean with both of them. I was asking if there were sparks with either one.”

  “No,” she replied, quickly.

  Too quickly.

  “Oh?” Astelle immediately perked up.

  “Mama, I really have to get going. I’ll call you Sunday night when you’re back from church,” Landry told her, praying she could get off the phone without giving away the fact that there were not only sparks between her and one of the princes, but that she’d actually just come from his bed.

  “I see, well that’s fine. You go on and get your work done. I suppose the sooner the job is finished the sooner you’ll return home. If that’s still the plan. So I’ll just tell your father you won’t be attending the social and we’ll talk to you later. Bye now, and you take care of yourself down there,” Astelle said.

  “You and Daddy take care too,” Landry said. “I love you both.”

  “We love you too, baby. Go on now, don’t be late for what you have to get done. And be nice to everyone there, especially him.”

  Astelle hung up before Landry could ask her mother who “him” was. Landry was left to stare at her cell phone replaying their conversation in her mind.

  If that’s still the plan, Astelle had said. Be nice...to him.

  Landry shook her head and fell back against the chair. Now her mother was thinking she had something going on with someone down here. That was just great. No, it wasn’t. Her mother was wrong. Or was she?

  She was wearing the clothes she’d had on yesterday, including the shirt with its elastic collar stretched out because Kris had decided to push the shirt down her body, instead of pulling it over her head. Her legs were still a little weak from the multiple times they’d made love throughout the night. Her hair was most likely a matted mess and her lips still tingled from the memory of his kisses.

  W
as there something going on between her and Kristian?

  Now probably wasn’t the greatest time to ask that question.

  Chapter 10

  “We’ll have extended security for the Ambassador’s Ball next weekend,” Rafe said in response to Malayka’s inquiry.

  Kris had heard her question, every one of them since they’d sat down to dinner almost twenty minutes ago. In the last three weeks since the accident, Malayka had been very concerned about Rafe’s safety. They all were. The difference was that Kris and his siblings were taking care of matters on their own. They weren’t discussing this situation at the family dinner table and acting as if someone were going to break into the palace at any moment and shoot Rafe while he sat at the head of the table.

  Glad that his father had answered her question, Kris finished his dessert and signaled to a staff member that he was ready for another glass of wine. Normally, he drank coffee after dinner, reserving the wine or anything stronger for when he was alone in his rooms. Tonight, he needed wine immediately.

  It had been a long day, one where he’d tried to convince himself that these past weeks spent with Landry in his bed weren’t such a bad idea. Since the first night that they were together Kris would either seek her out at the pool after dinner or send her a message that they were to meet in his rooms. They never spoke of any specifics to their newfound arrangement, nor did they look any further into the future than the next night that they could be in each other’s arms.

  This was a first for Kris, a clandestine affair, which seemed more like something Roland would do. He wasn’t proud of it and yet, there was a big part of him that hated each morning when Landry would wake early and sneak out of his room. It made sense that she leave before the staff began moving around and could possibly witness her departure. Still, he hadn’t been able to let go of the emptiness he’d felt each day when she was gone.

  Luckily, or perhaps not, his daily schedule remained full, so it had been unusual for him to have the time to think about the situation with Landry throughout the day. Today, however, was different.

  He had meetings throughout the day. The bank, the rescheduled meeting with Quirio about the massive resort he planned to build on the opposite side of the island and then the Skype conference call with the security guy Roland recommended. To tell the truth, if it weren’t for Quirio’s grand plans and the boost in tourism it would afford the island, Kris would say that all of his meetings had been a disaster.

  Gerard Yiker was the former CIA agent who had connections all over the world. He seemed to be an astute man with no real allegiance to any country at this point in his life. He knew things and he knew how to barter them to people who required his intel. Kris did not want to bargain with the guy. He, his father and Rafe’s father had sworn to never negotiate with terrorists. Now, Yiker might not be a terrorist in the simplest form of the word but the guy was definitely an extortionist. Which had Kris thinking he might just have someone else in mind who could help them.

  After touring the site where Quirio wanted to build the resort, Tajeo had driven Kris directly to the bank for his meetings there. Those meetings had run longer than anticipated and instead of returning to the palace for his Skype call, Kris was forced to use his office there. It was just after the call wherein he’d informed Yiker that he would get back to him with a final answer about whether or not they would be using his services, that Kris noticed something wrong.

  His office was located in the very back of the two-story building that housed the bank. The building was constructed with reinforced steel beams and triple-thick concrete. The windows were a bulletproof Plexiglas and there was an intricate alarm system on all the doors. That did not include the mechanisms designed to keep the main vault safe, or the secondary underground vault that no one but Kris, Rafe and the bank manager knew about. Every door inside the building required a key card to enter and thermal scanners were activated each time a person entered through the front and only entrance.

  After being in his office for over an hour it was only when Kris had stood to leave that he noticed the plant on the floor near the window. Dirt had spilled out but the bright-colored flower was still rooted in the pot. Wondering why the cleaning staff hadn’t taken care of this, he’d walked over to inspect the plant himself. As he knelt down he realized he could hear noise from the street. Between the windows and the extra-thick walls, outdoor sounds had never been able to be heard inside the building. Looking up, Kris realized why that wasn’t true today. The window was open.

  He stood slowly and reached into his back pocket for his cell phone.

  “We’ve got a problem at the bank,” he spoke into the phone as soon as he received an answer.

  It hadn’t taken long to get Salvin Gathersburgh, the chief guard from the palace, and Tajeo there to survey the scene. Kris had been thoroughly surprised to see Roland walk in as well.

  “My text stated that everything was fine,” Kris had said to his brother the minute he walked into the office.

  Roland frowned. “Your text stated you thought someone had broken into the bank, but that everything was fine. Who says that?”

  His brother was already walking toward the window, looking at the plant on the floor and then up to the open window.

  “Was anything missing from in here?” Roland had asked Kris.

  Kris shook his head. “Nothing. I’ve checked twice. I have a safe over here beneath this portrait. It wasn’t disturbed. Contents are still there.”

  “We should check for any type of listening devices and get fingerprints,” Salvin told them. “Probably better if we call the police commander over to have a look too.”

  “No,” Roland and Kris had said simultaneously.

  “Let’s keep this under wraps for now. The citizens are still reeling from the accident. We don’t need to cause any more panic by making them think that something illicit is going on,” Kris stated, even though he was already feeling like they had a major problem.

  So hours later, by the time he’d entered the dining room, Kris was in a less than festive mood. In fact, he’d really considered not attending the dinner at all, which would not go over well. Besides, the more he’d thought about skipping, the more he wanted to go, just to see Landry.

  “I’m not sure it would look good to have too many guards standing out in the crowds. As you know I’ve contacted some of my press connections in the States. The first official event of the soon-to-be princess is a big deal for them,” Malayka was saying.

  Kris knew that if he looked over at her she’d have that gleaming smile she wore especially for the reporters.

  “We should continue to use the same discretion with the press as we’ve done in the past,” Sam stated. “I think it would be a good idea if we combine our list of media connections and have all of them vetted according to our usual standards.”

  “So you want me to run everything I do by you first? That doesn’t sound correct. The chain of command...”

  “The chain of command does not shift until you are married,” Kris interrupted Malayka. “Until that time we have protocols in place and we will continue to use them.”

  When she dropped her fork to her plate and made a hissing sound, Rafe spoke up. “He’s right. Now is not the time to change how we operate here. If you anticipate any extra press attending the event you need to provide their names and contact information to Sam. She knows what to do,” he told her. “Actually, now would probably be a great time for her to show you everything she does.”

  Kris watched as his father extended his arm closing the distance between himself and Malayka by touching her hand. Malayka had been frowning—no, actually she’d been scowling at Sam—but as soon as Rafe touched her hand, her facial features softened and she sighed.

  “I guess you’re right,” she replied.

  “Maybe we should cancel the
ball,” Roland spoke up then.

  “What? No! Now that is just too much. Tell him, Rafe,” Malayka protested.

  “In light of the accident and what happened—” Roland started before Kris interrupted.

  “We are a united front. We do not flinch,” Kris stated evenly.

  He did not look at Roland as he spoke, or his father, but instead found himself staring directly at Landry.

  She’d been toying with the whipped cream atop the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake they’d been served for dessert. Not eating it, just moving it around in a swirling motion that was turning it into a sopping white glob. She also appeared to be listening and Kris found it interesting that he wanted to know what she thought. Did she hate hearing these private family discussions? Was she as annoyed at Malayka’s continuous talk about the princess-to-be as he was? Did she wonder why it all mattered?

  Kris did. He wondered and he tried to keep it all in perspective. It was his job, after all.

  “I’m not saying that this isn’t serious,” he continued, shifting his gaze to his brother. “We need to be on guard.”

  “What? Why?” Malayka asked and drew questioning looks from Sam, Roland and Kris. “Igor didn’t check the brakes on the car. That wasn’t a malicious attack. Why do we need to up the security and check out everyone we talk to like they’re some type of government spy? And the Ambassador’s Ball is a tradition. Right? We can’t just stop traditions because of a car accident that didn’t even kill anybody.”

  She was right, the car accident hadn’t killed anyone. But it was meant to, and Kris wasn’t totally certain what the break-in at the bank meant. To him, those were very good reasons to be on guard.

  “The precautions are warranted, regardless of how harmless you believe the car accident was,” Kris told her.

  “Enough!” Rafe intervened. “I want to see the three of you in my office first thing tomorrow morning. Come, Malayka, we’re retiring for the night.”