by Merry Farmer
The Journalist’s Prince
Merry Farmer
THE JOURNALIST’S PRINCE
Copyright ©2018 by Merry Farmer
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill (the miracle-worker)
ASIN: B07DF7F52G
Paperback ISBN: 9781983122873
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Contents
You’re Invited to the Royal Wedding!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
About the Author
Acknowledgments
You’re Invited to the Royal Wedding!
The tiny island nation of Aegiria may be Europe's longest-reigning monarchy, but this summer is going to deliver enough excitement to rock their royal world!
Six princes are matched with six entirely unsuitable princesses as they work together to discover who's trying to sabotage The Royal Wedding.
THE BODYGUARD’S PRINCE, by Caroline Lee
THE ROCK STAR’S PRINCE, by Merry Farmer
THE STEPSISTER’S PRINCE, by Caroline Lee
THE PILOT’S PRINCE, by Merry Farmer
THE INTROVERT’S PRINCE, by Caroline Lee
THE JOURNALIST’S PRINCE, by Merry Farmer
1
Prince Johannes Magnusson let out a deep breath of relief and raised a hand to wave to his twin brother, Viggo, who stood on the shore with his new wife, Marcia, and their son. They grew smaller as the royal yacht, where Johan stood, headed out to sea, and Johan couldn’t help but feel like the problems that had been plaguing the royal family all summer were finally shrinking as well.
At last, his mother, Queen Viktoria, was about to wed Dr. William Hayes. After so many attempts to stop the royal couple from marrying—the kidnapping of his brother, Crown Prince Alek, interference at the announcement concert, the sinking of the royal yacht, false claims of Dr. Hayes’s infidelity, and even an attempt on Dr. Hayes’s life that had been foiled only hours ago—everything was done and settled and the wedding could finally take place. Johan had whisked Dr. Hayes—he would never, no matter what the man said, be able to call him “Pops”—aboard the yacht, where his mother, the queen had rushed her fiancé off to get cleaned up so he would be presentable for the ceremony. And now Johan could finally take a breath.
Johan couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so much relief. He waved one last time at his twin on the shore. Thank God Viggo hadn’t come with them on the yacht for the wedding. He and Marcia deserved a break after all they’d been through. They deserved a few seconds of peace and quiet together, even if a few seconds was all they’d get. Viggo deserved all the happiness life could throw at him. Just thinking about it squeezed Johan’s chest with emotion. He cleared his throat, trying to push it away, but it was no use. He’d spent his whole life watching his twin buck the system and struggle, deal with the pain of everything that had happened with Rebecca, and be tagged with the nickname “The Playboy Prince” undeservedly. Every second on the sidelines had hurt Johan in ways he’d kept inside. It was why he toed the line so vigilantly, why he never took any risks. Maybe if he was good and strict enough, he could pass some of the steadiness of his life to his brother through osmosis. If he was perfect, maybe Viggo wouldn’t suffer so much.
Johan shook his head at his overly sentimental thoughts. He needed a nap himself. The previous night had been so crazy and he’d spent so much of it in a state of such heightened worry over Viggo that he’d only been able to catch fifteen-minute snoozes here and there. But there would be time for that later.
Johan turned back toward the happy, chattering people lining the decks, waving at the press and onlookers standing along the shore, waving Aegirian flags and calling out their well-wishes. As soon as the royal yacht reached the point out beyond Solrig Bay in the Baltic Sea, the ceremony would take place. A single, live television stream would be broadcast back to land. Along with everyone watching the ceremony at home, it would be projected on a large screen in the reception hall at the palace, where Aegirian nobility and foreign dignitaries were already assembling. And as soon as the ceremony was done, the yacht would return to shore, and they would all disembark and head up to the palace to join the party.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
Johan perked up even more, turning to face Tracy Minhall as she crossed the deck to join him. His smile widened, and a rush of desire hit him. “I have every reason to be in a good mood,” he told her, sliding an arm around her waist as she reached his side, then turning to join her in waving to the people on shore one last time. “Earl Lindqvist was caught, Viggo’s son was returned, and Dr. Hayes made it to the wedding on time.”
“Thank heavens,” Tracy said with a wry laugh. She knew as well as he did what it meant for the royal family to finally have things settled and moving in a positive direction. Her association with Johan’s family had started when Fuchsia came to perform at the announcement concert. Tracy had been Emma Sands’, aka Fuchsia’s, personal assistant before Emma gave up her rock star identity and moved to Aegiria to date Johan’s older brother, Arne. But since diving into what was turning out to be a successful career as a freelance journalist on Aegirian soil, Tracy had endeared herself to the royals. In more ways than one.
“Are you ready for your mom’s wedding?” she asked, leaning one hip against the deck’s railing and sending Johan a flirty smile.
“More than ready,” Johan replied. “I can’t believe it’s finally going to happen.”
“Neither can I,” Tracy agreed, one eyebrow raised teasingly.
Johan studied her, joy filling him at the sight. Tracy was easily the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. She wasn’t a movie star or supermodel type, but her inquisitiveness and intelligence shone through in her large, brown eyes. He loved her vivacity and her open nature. They were what attracted him to her when they first met. Her cheeks were sun-kissed, and her lips a delicate shade of pink. He remembered how they tasted and wanted to sample that sweetness again. But in the chaos of the wedding preparations, he hadn’t yet mentioned to his family how close he and Tracy had gotten over the past few weeks. Smack in the middle of the wedding wasn’t the time to make any sort of announcements of his own, though.
He brushed his fingers across Tracy’s cheek, tucking a stray hair that had come loose in the breeze behind her ear. “Enjoy this moment of peace now,” he said. “As soon as we get back to the reception on shore, it’s going to be pandemonium.”
She laughed. “I’m ready for it. I’m the only journalist allowed to cov
er the ceremony itself, remember? I have a feeling my colleagues will be swamping me at the first chance they get.”
Johan straightened. “Do you need to get ready? Prep the camera and all?”
“Probably,” she sighed. “Though I wish I could stay here with you.”
“No you don’t.” He pushed away from the rail and headed slowly into the cabin and the stairs that would take him to the upper deck. “I’m the one who has to break the news to Mother that Viggo isn’t going to be here for the wedding.”
Tracy made a sympathetic face. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
They reached the stairs as more people headed inside from the decks. Johan craned his neck for a quick look around to see if they were being watched. When he determined they weren’t, he planted a quick peck on Tracy’s lips. Then, like a schoolboy who had just stolen a kiss, he dashed up the stairs in search of his mother.
But when he found the queen—looking beautiful in her sea-foam green pant-suit, accessorized with just a few royal jewels to give the outfit a more formal flare—she wasn’t waving to the crowds on shore or fawning over Dr. Hayes, like he expected. Instead, she seemed downright agitated.
“Is something wrong, Mother?” he asked, picking up his pace to reach her.
“No,” she answered slowly, glancing every which way. “Have you seen your Aunt Marina?”
“I haven’t,” Johan confessed. He hadn’t seen her since the night before, when she’d been pulled aside and questioned about William and Stefan’s whereabouts when they’d gone missing, but he wasn’t about to tell his mother that. Instead, he rested a hand on the small of his mother’s back and led her to one side of the upper deck. “But speaking of people who aren’t here, Viggo didn’t come aboard with the rest of us.”
His mother stopped her searching and focused on him. “He didn’t?”
“No,” Johan said in as reassuring a way as he could.
She let out a breath. “William told me briefly what happened and Viggo’s part in rescuing him.”
“I think he and Marcia could use a break,” Johan finished the thought.
“True.” She gave him a weak smile. “I will forever be in your brother’s debt. And yours as well, Johan. I just wish….” Her words trailed off, and she resumed searching. “Where is Marina?”
“She’s got to be here somewhere,” Johan said, following his mother as she headed for the stairs. It seemed odd that she was only slightly concerned about Viggo, but apparently worrying about her sister came first in her mind. “I’ll help you find her.”
“Thank you, darling.”
They made it two more steps toward the stairs before Dr. Hayes marched in from the stern deck and said, “She’s not out there. Not on any of the decks below this one either.”
His mother changed direction to intercept Dr. Hayes. “Where could she be?”
“If she’s on the yacht, it’ll only take a few minutes to find her,” Johan said.
It would only take a few minutes to determine that she wasn’t there as well. After a quick sweep of all decks, a visit to the bridge, and knocking on the door of every head, they came up empty-handed. Under normal circumstances, Johan would have shrugged it off, but Marina had more to do with the trouble the wedding had had than anyone other than Earl Lindqvist.
As a last resort, Johan pulled out his cell phone and dialed Viggo.
“Hey,” Viggo answered in a surprised voice. “Everything all right?”
“Maybe,” Johan said. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing out over the side of the yacht toward the shore as if he could make eye contact with his brother across the distance. “I hate to bother you guys when you’re getting rest, but have you seen Aunt Marina on shore?”
“No,” Viggo answered. Johan could practically see his frown. “She’s not on the yacht?”
“Nope.”
“That’s odd. We’ll look for her here.”
“You don’t have to do that, bro,” Johan stopped him. “You guys rest. We’ll handle this.”
“I’ll keep my eyes peeled,” Viggo said. “And I’ll call you if I see her.”
“Thanks.” Johan ended the call, slipped his phone into his pocket, and stood where he was, frowning. An uneasy feeling crept up his spine. He needed to get moving, to do something to solve the problem.
“What’s that look for?” Tracy asked as Johan made his way back to the main deck, where the wedding was soon to take place.
“My Aunt Marina isn’t here,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
Tracy blinked. “She isn’t?” Her expression quickly turned suspicious. “She’s not still trying to stop the wedding, is she?”
“I don’t think so,” Johan answered slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “She and Mother patched things up last week. She’s been on her best behavior since then. And now that we know Earl Lindqvist was behind the kidnappings and the rest….” He let his sentence fade off. In fact, the more he thought about it, the less he was sure that everything had been wrapped up with a bow just because Lindqvist had been caught. Things still didn’t sit right. The fact that Marina wasn’t there reignited the embers of concern that had just about died down.
“She’s not here,” his mother lamented from where she and Dr. Hayes stood, near the spot where the ceremony was to take place. Dr. Hayes had his arm around her and wore a sympathetic expression, but his mother didn’t look like she would be easily comforted. “My sister isn’t here. I can’t get married without my sister by my side. Especially not now.”
“She wasn’t upstairs talking to the captain?” the cameraman who would be filming the wedding said as he popped up from behind his equipment.
“No,” Johan answered. He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, Mother. The rest of us are here, though.”
“Are we ready to begin?” The cameraman asked, glancing from the queen to Johan to Alek and the rest of the family as they made their way onto the main deck, as if looking for who was in charge.
Marina was the wedding planner. Without her, Johan didn’t know who was in charge either.
“Where do you want us, Mother?” Arne asked, letting go of Emma’s hand and heading toward the canopy that had been set up for the ceremony.
“I want you looking for your Aunt Marina,” the queen said. Dr. Hayes held her hand with what looked like his version of reassuring firmness, but her expression only grew more worried. “I’m not getting married without my sister by my side.”
“Mother,” Alek said with an impatient frown, moving to stand by her side. “Do you really want to delay marrying the man of your dreams because your sister isn’t here?”
“Yes,” the queen snapped back, an incredulous look in her eyes.
“Why don’t we go sit down somewhere quiet for a minute to think about this,” Dr. Hayes said, gently ushering the queen to a bench in the shade of the open cabin.
Johan watched them until they were seated, then gestured to his brothers. They gathered on the deck outside, Tracy following.
“Do you know something we don’t?” Alek asked him as soon as they all had their heads together.
“You all know why Dr. Hayes was so late getting here, right?” Johan began, glancing anxiously over his shoulder to his mother. She was distressed enough over Marina. He didn’t want to make it worse by blabbing all the details of Dr. Hayes’s ordeal. Those details were his to share with her if and when he chose.
His brothers nodded.
“Lindqvist was arrested,” Arne said. “And that he confessed to trying to stop the wedding.”
“But Aunt Marina also confessed to trying to stop the wedding,” Mack pointed out.
“Aunt Marina confessed to setting Gloria and Dr. Hayes up,” Johan said, “and to cutting the power during the concert, but not the rest of it.”
“So was she lying about what she admitted to or lying about the kidnappings and the sinking?” Mack asked.
“She didn’t sound like she was lying when she c
onfessed,” Tracy said. “I don’t know the woman very well, but could she be in cahoots with Lindqvist somehow?”
Johan shook his head, as did the rest of his brothers. “Aunt Marina hates Lindqvist,” Johan said. “They were romantically involved a while back, and apparently they had a bad break-up.”
“I don’t think she’d give him the time of day now,” Arne said. “You saw the look on her face a few hours ago when we told her he’d been arrested.”
“Then it doesn’t make sense,” Tracy said. She wrinkled her brow in frustration. “Why would she cover for a man she can’t stand?”
“Why would she claim she wants her sister to be happy, then not show up to her wedding?” Alek asked.
“Do you think she really is just off sulking somewhere?” Kristoff asked.
“Or is there more going on with Aunt Marina and Lindqvist than we know about?” Mack followed.
Johan shrugged. “I’ve got as many questions as you do. But if she’s still involved in trying to stop the wedding, it would explain why she isn’t here.”
“Do you really think it could be as simple as sour grapes?” Tracy asked. “That she doesn’t want to be a part of a wedding that she couldn’t stop?”
“She and Mother made up, though,” Arne argued. “They’re on good terms. Why would she suddenly decide to stay home and pout if everything between her and Mother has been sorted?”
Johan clenched his jaw and frowned at his brother. Arne and Marina had always been closer than the rest of them, but it grated on him that Arne would stick up for her when the evidence kept pointing back to her.
