Alexander & Rebecca (Royals of Valleria #1)

by Knightly, Marianne

  Without a second’s hesitation, Marcello shot him in the head, and watched as he fell to the floor, lifeless.

  Rebecca had tensed at the sound of the shot and had fisted her hands in Alex’s shirt. Alex merely held her tighter, and whispered reassuringly to her. “He’s dead, darling. Dead and gone. He’ll never hurt you again. No one will hurt you again.”

  Chapter 19

  Rebecca laid in the hospital bed while the doctor dressed the wounds on her wrists and ankles. It had taken quite a bit of time and baby oil to remove the duct tape but, during the whole procedure, Alex had never left her side.

  She thanked God for saving her, and for bringing Alex, Marcello, and everyone else. The most terrifying experience of her life was finally over, and Alex was safe. Even now, the thought of him in harm’s way brought tears to her eyes.

  “It’s all right, darling,” Alex crooned softly while he stroked her hair. “The doctor’s almost done.”

  She nodded. They had not had a chance to be alone yet, so she had not been able to tell him what she most wanted to say. Hopefully soon.

  “Your parents will be by later,” Alex said, still stroking her hair. “They’re just waiting for the doctor to finish up.”

  “You’re sure they’re fine?” she asked the doctor again.

  The doctor gave her an indulgent smile as she taped the last bandage. “Perfectly so. We’re keeping all of you here overnight just as a precaution, but you should all be fine to go home tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” Rebecca said.

  The doctor gave her hand a squeeze before she said, “Just ring the nurse if you need anything. We’ll be by in about fifteen minutes with something to eat, all right?”

  Rebecca nodded, and the doctor left after noting something on her chart.

  “May I get you anything, darling?” he asked again. He’d had that look of concern in his eyes ever since the ambulance ride to the hospital.

  She took his hand in hers and held it to her cheek in comfort. She wanted to give him a kiss, to reassure him, but her lips felt painfully stripped and even talking was too much at times.

  Emotion overcame Alex. “Rebecca,” he said as tears welled in his eyes. “Oh, God, Rebecca.” He buried his face in her hair and cried. She tried to soothe him, but knew he just needed to let it out.

  After a minute, his tears ebbed and Rebecca gently wiped them away. He kissed her palm as it passed his lips and she smiled lightly.

  “Will you hold me?” she asked. Her heart fell as indecision crossed his face. “You don’t have to be here, Alex, if you don’t want me anymore. I know how it must have looked when you came into that room.”

  “Shhh,” he said and caressed her cheek. If her lips had not been so bruised, he would have kissed the protest away. “You own my heart, my love. That will never change.”

  “Alex.”

  “I’m not finished,” he said softly and slid into the slim bed next to her. His jacket and tie were long gone, and she situated herself in his arms. They were facing each other when he continued. “Whatever happened in that room does not change my feelings for you, not one bit.”

  This time she put her fingers over his lips to stop him. “First, let me just tell you that nothing happened. They both groped me and hit me but they never hurt me any other way.”

  Alex sighed in relief even while anger swum in his eyes. “Thank God. It still wouldn’t have changed my feelings for you. However, if you don’t want me, that’s another story.”

  “I thought about you so much in that room, Alex. I knew he wanted to harm you, and me by proxy. I wanted you to save me, then I wanted you to stay away and stay safe. I knew he wanted to do, well, terrible things to me.”

  His hold tightened around her. “Oh, Alex,” she said as she cupped his face. “The thing I wanted most was to see you and tell you that I love you before I lost the chance to.” Tears welled in both their eyes. “I love you so much, Alex.”

  “Rebecca,” he groaned. “All I want to do is kiss you senseless right now. Rebecca,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “My love.” He kissed her temple. “My life.” He gently kissed her bruised cheek. “My heart.” He kissed both of her eyelids. “Rebecca, will you marry me? Will you be my wife first, and a princess and queen to the country second? May I take care of you and love you, and our children, for the rest of our lives?”

  “Oh, Alex! Yes, yes, yes,” she said as she tightened her grip around him and nuzzled his neck. She so desperately wished she could kiss him.

  A large, shuddering sigh coursed through him. “Thank God. Thank God.”

  She giggled, something she never thought she would do after the day she’d just had. “Were you worried I’d say no?”

  “Terrified,” he admitted, keeping his promise never to lie to her. “After you left the palace this morning without seeing me, I thought you had changed your mind about us.”

  Her pain and mortification at Cat’s words came rushing back and she frowned. “I wasn’t running from you, Alex, not really.”

  “Total honesty,” he reminded her.

  She sighed. “Yes, all right. I left because I overheard you and Catharine talking this morning. I heard her say she doesn’t approve of me.”

  Alex gently stroked her back; he had seen the scratches and cuts there. “She didn’t mean any of it. When she learned you’d been kidnapped, she was distraught at the idea of something happening to you. She loves you.”

  “But does that mean she approves of me? I’m not sure.”

  “Just talk to her; you’ll see for yourself. Even if she didn’t approve of you, it wouldn’t change my mind.”

  “I want you to know, Alex, that I had already realized I loved you and wanted to be with you before I was kidnapped.”

  “You had?”

  She nodded. “While I was at my parents’ house. I had a long talk with my mother, and she helped me sort out my feelings.”

  “Sort them or decide them?”

  “Sort them, Alex,” she said. “You can ask her yourself, if you like.”

  “I don’t need to. Know that you are it for me, Rebecca Campo, soon to be Rebecca Frances Santoro.”

  “Will that be my formal title, then?”

  “No, that’s just the legal name. Your title is much longer than that.”

  She giggled again. “I can’t wait.”

  “I will also tell you that my parents approve of you, and so does Marcello. They all want to speak with you.”

  “I’m not sure how much talking I’ll be able to do, to be honest,” she said as she gingerly touched her lips.

  “I know, darling,” Alex said and gave her a small smile. To distract her, he said, “You’re coming to our family dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Family dinner?” she asked, slightly terrified.

  “Oh, yes. All of my brothers and sisters will be there. We can formally announce our engagement.”

  Rebecca swallowed. She was worried if the rest of them would think as Catharine had done. However, she decided that if she could survive a kidnapping, she could probably survive dinner with his family.

  “We’ll have to tell my parents first,” she said, slightly worried what they might think, though she knew they would support her, and her decision. “You’ll need to ask my father for permission.”

  “Your parents already approve.”

  Rebecca raised her eyebrows. “Did you somehow contact them in the last few minutes since you asked me?”

  “No,” he said as he kissed her nose. “I already asked your father’s permission for your hand in marriage.”

  “What?” she said as she pushed back slightly, a move Alex did not agree with as he pulled her closer again. “When?”

  “I spoke to them earlier today, after they’d woken up in the hospital. Your father had some very choice words for me.”

  “I’ll bet,” she muttered and decided she would have a conversation with her father later. Privately. “They’ll come to the family di
nner then. They should be there when we announce it to your family.”

  Alex smiled. “A brilliant idea. I’m sure my parents would approve.”

  “What exactly are we approving of?” Gabriel said as he and Genevieve walked into the room. When Rebecca tried to shift away, Alex simply held her close and she was too weak to really fight back. They did shift slightly, so she could face them more directly, with Alex holding her from behind.

  Gabriel walked over and stroked her hair. “Please don’t worry about getting up, my child,” he said and gave her forehead a kiss.

  “Yes, of course, you must relax,” Genevieve said as she gently kissed both of Rebecca’s cheeks. Neither parent seemed upset at the sight of Alex holding her in a hospital bed. “How are you, dear?” Genevieve asked.

  “All right, Your Royal Highnesses,” Rebecca said, unsure of how much to say.

  “No need to be so formal,” Genevieve said as she gently patted Rebecca’s hand. “Really. We’ve just been to see your parents again, and they’ll be over shortly.”

  “I can’t wait to see them, and see for myself they’re fine.”

  “I’m sure they feel the same way, dear,” Genevieve said.

  Gabriel gave Alex a long look. “Have you asked her then?” Gabriel said as he sat down next to Genevieve on the other empty bed in the room.

  “Papa! What if I hadn’t?”

  “Then I would have had the pleasure of seeing you do so myself.”

  Alex shook his head while Genevieve smiled. “Since you have ruined the surprise I planned for tomorrow’s family dinner, allow me to introduce my fiancé, Miss Rebecca Frances Campo.”

  Genevieve clasped her hands together and let out a squeal. “How wonderful! I can hardly wait to start planning the wedding.” At the fear on Rebecca’s face, she added, “Planning with you, of course, dear. I remember how much fun I had planning my wedding,” she said wistfully.

  “And I recall how little fun I had with it, though I enjoyed the end result immensely,” Gabriel said as he stood and walked to the bed. He placed a hand on each of their heads, then leaned down to kiss both of their foreheads. “Be happy, my children, and may God bless you and your lives together.”

  “Amen,” a man said from the doorway.

  “Papa. Mama,” Rebecca said and tried to sit up.

  “Let me just move the back of the bed up, Rebecca, it’ll be easier for you,” Alex said as he shifted away to give her parents more room. They would have time enough together tonight, since Alex was not leaving the hospital until she did.

  Rebecca embraced both of her parents, still in hospital gowns, and they both fussed over her and her injuries. “I’m all right, truly,” Rebecca said, trying to reassure them.

  “Not yet, you’re not,” Ettore said. “But you will be soon enough. So,” he said turning to Alex. “You asked my daughter to marry you, did you?”

  “Yes, sir,” Alex said, suddenly afraid the man might rescind his approval.

  “You said ‘yes’?” Ettore asked Rebecca, who nodded with a smile. “Then we’ve got something else to celebrate today,” he said drawing in his baby girl for a hug. Ettore hoped Rebecca would not notice him trembling from the sight of his daughter bandaged and bruised.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Campo,” Alex began. “We’re having a family dinner tomorrow night, where we’ll be announcing the engagement to the family. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

  “Of course,” Gabriel said. “You must come if you’re feeling well enough.”

  “We’d be very honored,” Francine said, slightly terrified at the prospect of dinner with twelve members of the royal family. But, she thought as she glanced at Rebecca, she supposed they were now part of the family, too.

  “It’s settled, then,” Genevieve said.

  “When do you intend to announce it?” Gabriel asked.

  “Day after next,” Alex said. “After the family knows.”

  “I’ll draft the press release myself, if that suits you,” Gabriel said.

  Alex smiled. An announcement like this coming directly from the king’s office, rather than his own, would solidify the royal approval of his choice in bride. “It suits perfectly, thank you.”

  As conversations sprung out around the room, Francine used the noise as an opportunity to whisper to her daughter. “Are you really all right?”

  Rebecca nodded. “There’s still a lot of pain, but I’ll heal. I’m more terrified that in two days I won’t be ‘Rebecca’ anymore; I’ll be a future princess and queen instead.”

  “Oh, my dear girl,” Francine said as she gingerly hugged her daughter. “You’ll always be ‘Rebecca’. Don’t ever forget that. No matter title they stick on your name, it’s still you, and that’s a wonderful thing.”

  Chapter 20

  Alex woke the next day to find himself alone on the hospital bed. After a moment of sheer panic, he heard the water running in the bathroom and relaxed.

  “Rebecca?”

  “I’ll be out in a minute,” a hoarse, muffled voice replied.

  “Do you need any help?” he asked as he stood just outside the door.

  Rebecca stepped out a moment later and Alex felt his heart clench when he saw the purpling bruises marring her cheeks. “I’m not an invalid, Alex,” she said as she caressed Alex’s cheek for a long moment. “I won’t break.”

  Alex nodded and Rebecca started to shuffle towards the bed again. She may not be broken, but apparently her ankles still hurt enough to make walking difficult. Alex scooped her up in his arms.

  “What are you doing?” Rebecca said with a smile.

  “Helping you. I intend to do it for the rest of our lives, so you’d better get used to it.”

  A ridiculous grin spread across her face, the grin of a woman in love. “Can’t wait.”

  “Me, either,” he said as he placed her gently on the bed and kissed her forehead; he missed kissing her lips. “I’ll be right back. Do you need anything?”

  “I’d love something to eat and maybe some coffee.” She winced. “I’ll probably have to have both through a straw I suppose.”

  “Then we’ll get you the best smoothie money can buy, full of caffeine.”

  “Thanks, Alex,” she said as she gripped his hand.

  He brought it to his lips for a kiss. “Be back in a few minutes.”

  He left the room, and paused just outside to lean against the wall. He raked his hands over his face and through his hair. He knew he must look a mess right now; certainly nothing like a prince should.

  The few nurses and staff working in this part of the hospital were chatting quietly at the nurses’ station nearby, and security was present wherever he looked. Marcello had upped the security, particularly now that Rebecca was to be princess and, one day, queen.

  A wave of love and possession crashed through him. She would finally be his, forever, just as he would be hers.

  Alex sent off a quick message on his phone as he started walking towards the hospital staff, signaling to the doctor he needed to speak with her.

  “How is the patient this morning? I’ll do a quick checkup in a few minutes,” the doctor said.

  “She seems okay. Still having trouble walking, but she’s hungry. I’ve ordered a smoothie for her, if you have no objections.”

  “Sounds perfect. Her lips may take up to a week to heal, though sometimes it takes only a few days. Keep applying the medicated lip balm, and it should work quickly enough. Did she have any more nightmares? The nurses didn’t indicate any.”

  “No,” Alex said as a shudder ran through him. He could still feel her trembling in his arms as she relived the horror of being kidnapped and almost assaulted. He did not think that he would ever forget the tears she had shed in her sleep because of it. “The sleep medication you gave her last night did the trick, and she seemed okay this morning.”

  “Well, I’ll give her some to take with her, just in case. My recommendation is that she speak to someone, a trained therapist
, to help her through it.”

  Alex nodded. “If you’ll send me a list of names you recommend, I’ll have them vetted and talk it over with Rebecca.”

  The doctor gave him a curious look. “And how are you feeling this morning?”

  “Me? Perfectly well,” Alex said, a little affronted.

  The doctor laughed. “You don’t need to look so angry at the question. You didn’t get much sleep either, did you?”