“It’s my job.” His hair has grown long over his forehead. I brush it back with my fingertips. “I don’t want to leave tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“I’m not ready for real life yet. I like your family, but I’m not ready for London.”
“We’re not going to London.”
He rolls off me and reaches over to the deck where I have sunscreen set out. He grabs the bottle.
“Roll over, I need to put this on your back.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m not telling you.”
I scowl at him before doing as he asks, turning onto my belly.
“You have rope marks all over your skin. You probably shouldn’t lay out here for hours at a time.”
“I can’t resist it. Please tell me where we’re going.”
“Nope.”
“You know, I can call Christian, and he’ll send someone out here to beat you up.”
“One, I dare him to try. And two, your brother knows where we’re going.”
“Wait. Everyone knows but me?”
“Yes.”
I cradle my face with my arms and sigh in happiness. Sebastian has the best hands. I think I need sunscreen year-round. Every day.
Perhaps several times a day.
All over.
“If you tell me, I’ll give you the blowjob of your life.”
He snickers. “You do that anyway.”
“I’ll pay you a hundred dollars.”
“No.”
I sigh. He’s not going to budge, and I’m suddenly incredibly sleepy. I just start to drift off, enjoying the way he’s rubbing the lotion on my ass when he gives my butt cheek a little slap.
“Get up. We’re going swimming.”
“I’m napping.”
He kisses my cheek, then picks me up and tosses me into the water.
It’s not cold, just shocking. When I surface and push my hair out of my face, Sebastian jumps in after me and tugs me to him.
“That was uncalled for.”
“I disagree. It was definitely called for. I want to swim in the ocean with my wife once more before we leave paradise.”
And just like that, he says sweet things that make me all gooey.
***
We’re in Montana!
I’m dancing in the backseat of our car, being driven through town toward my house on the lake.
“This is the best surprise, ever.” I lean over and kiss Sebastian’s cheek with a loud smack. “Like, in the history of the world.”
“You’re easy to please,” he murmurs, smiling as he watches me in my excitement.
Nick’s driving the car, and Charles is in the passenger seat. There’s a team of security in a car behind us, as well.
“I have no idea where all of you were while we were basking in the Aruba sun, but you all have tanned skin.”
“We were nearby,” Charles assures me. “We’re never far.”
I’m excited to see my house. And my friends. Even though I saw them just a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t get to spend much time with them.
We were kind of busy.
I’ll have to see if we can manage a girls’ night out while I’m in town.
“How long are we here for?”
“We don’t have a set schedule yet,” Sebastian says. “How long would you like to stay?”
“A couple of weeks?”
“We can manage that.”
We zoom past the turn-off to my house.
“Oh, Nick, you missed the turn.”
But Nick doesn’t reply. Sebastian just murmurs, “Be patient, darling.”
“Why are you so mysterious?”
He just smiles, and a few miles past my house, we turn down a driveway.
To a house I recognize.
“Oh, we’re at Max’s house. Are we meeting Jenna and Christian here? Are we having a party?”
“You talk a lot,” Sebastian murmurs as he gets out of the car, then circles around to open my door for me. “Welcome home, Your Royal Highness.”
I frown. “What?”
“I bought it for you, as a wedding gift.” He kisses me lightly. “Welcome home.”
“It’s been a long journey,” Charles says. “Let’s get you inside.”
“You said you liked this house,” Sebastian says as we walk to the ornately carved front door.
“I do. I’m just surprised. You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to,” he says. “And the security has all been taken care of. We have a state-of-the-art tech person who got everything installed. It’s ready to go. The guest house has been converted into security headquarters.”
I’m led into the living room upstairs where the windows are huge, and the view is incredible.
I missed the lake so much.
“Your Royal Highness,” Nick says, catching my attention. “I’d like to introduce you to Liam Cunningham.”
A tall man, similar in stature to Nick, offers me a head bow. “Your Royal Highness.”
“Liam is the new head of security in Montana,” Charles explains. “He’ll be in charge of everything here, including the staff. He’ll be assigned to Sebastian at all times, just as I am whenever we’re in England.”
“You’re not staying?” I ask him.
“I’m needed in London, but I’ll still be with the prince whenever he’s in Europe.”
“And if I may,” Nick says, “I’d like to stay here with you full-time. Liam has plenty on his plate with the prince and running the rest of the team. I’d like to continue as your personal security, no matter where you are.”
“Nick. Don’t you have family in London?”
“No, ma’am.”
I look at Sebastian, who nods. “If it’s okay with Nina, it’s fine with me.”
“Thank you,” I say. “Of course, you can stay.”
“That’s settled then,” Liam says. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. As His Royal Highness said, we are fully staffed, and the technology has been installed and is up and running. This house is newer. It was easy to get everything into place. There will be some rules, however.”
I raise an eyebrow.
Here we go.
“Of course, you can come and go as you please. I just ask that at least one of us be with you at all times.”
I want to reply with something snarky, but Sebastian squeezes my hand.
“We’ll discuss the rest as we go,” Liam continues. “I’m available 24/7. My apartment is in the guest house.”
“Thank you,” I say at last and then turn to Sebastian. “Thank you so much for this. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” he says.
“And you bought it furnished.”
“Max left everything, yes, and it’s fine for now, but I’m sure you’ll want to change everything. You can do it room by room, or in one big swoop, it doesn’t matter to me.”
“This is going to be a lot of work.”
“I’m happy to hire someone if you’d rather not—”
“Oh, no. This is all me. I’m so excited to dig into it. Thank you.” I leap into his arms and glance around, pleased to see that the men have all discreetly left the room. I kiss Sebastian hard. “This is the best present anyone has ever given me.”
“I’m glad.” He hugs me tight. “I was worried you’d be angry. That you’d want to choose it yourself.”
“I did. I told you I liked it. But, I also don’t want to sell my other place, Sebastian. I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m being stubborn.”
“It doesn’t,” he assures me. “Like I said before, you can do whatever you like with it. Perhaps you could ask Jenna if she’d be willing to manage it as a rental for you.”
“That’s actually a really good idea. There’s no way the security team would approve it for family when they visit.”
“It would be unlikely,” he agrees. “They’d just run into the same security concerns.”
/>
I nod, thinking it over. “I guess using it as an income property is a smart way to go for now. I’ll call Jenna about it later. Do they know we’ve arrived?”
“I texted your brother when we landed,” he confirms. “They’re coming over later for dinner.”
“Perfect.”
I’m exhausted. When we landed, I wanted nothing more than a nap and maybe a snack. But now, my adrenaline is up, and I want to research all of the different ways I can decorate this gorgeous house.
“I should give you a tour of our new house,” I say. “I just realized you’ve never been here.”
“I’m all yours, darling.”
“Wait until you see the movie theater. We’ll have to have sex in there later. I’ve always wanted to have sex in a theater, I don’t know why.”
“You’re a bit of an exhibitionist.”
“Nah, I just like movies.”
Chapter Fifteen
Sebastian
“WHEN DO THEY eat? Have coffee? You know, be normal people?” Nina’s eyes are narrowed thoughtfully as she blows on her hot coffee and then takes a sip.
“Who?”
“The security guys,” she says. We’re sitting in Drips & Sips, enjoying some morning coffee and conversation. We haven’t even been in town for twenty-four hours, but we’ve managed to see family and visit her favorite coffee shop already.
She’s glowing.
“They eat and drink coffee when they aren’t on duty,” I reply.
“But they’re always on duty.”
“Not always. There is downtime.” I reach over and hold her hand. She’s watching the ladies manning the espresso machine, and the people coming and going.
“I’m buying two of these Drips & Sips mugs while we’re here to take back to London,” she says. “And, am I mistaken, or did I see a For Sale sign in the window?”
“I saw it, too,” I reply.
“Okay, we have two egg and bacon sandwiches.” The server puts our food in front of us and smiles. “What else can I get you?”
“This looks great,” Nina says. “But can I ask a question?”
“Sure.”
“Why is Anna selling this place?”
“Oh, she wants to move to California to be closer to her grandkids. I’m Aspen. Just let me know if I can get you anything else.”
She bustles away, and Nina frowns.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want someone to come in here, buy the place, and change everything. Drips & Sips is one of the best parts of the town.” She takes a bite of her breakfast, then wipes her mouth. “I’m buying it.”
“We should discuss this. It’s not exactly convenient to own a business.”
“Am I not allowed to?”
I frown. “Of course, you’re allowed to.”
“Well, I can hire a manager, and I won’t have to be hands-on. I can just make sure that it stays the way it is now.”
She walks to the front of the store, takes a picture of the sign, and then returns to the table.
“I think you just about gave Nick a heart attack just now,” I say, watching as Nick’s eyes narrow on Nina. “When you made a run for the door, I thought he was going to run after you.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry, Nick.”
He nods once, and Nina returns to the task at hand.
She dials a number and presses her phone to her ear.
“Hello, is this Jillian King? Are you the realtor for the Drips & Sips listing? Excellent. I’d like to buy it.” She deflates. “You’re kidding. When?”
“It sold already?”
She nods. “Yes, put me down as a secondary buyer in case the other one falls through. My name is Nina Wolfe.”
“Nina Wakefield,” I remind her.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Nina Wakefield. I just got married, and I’m still getting used to the name change.”
She flashes me an apologetic smile.
I’ll remind her exactly who she belongs to when we get home.
“Yes, that Nina Wakefield. Oh, thank you so much. Okay, if it goes back on the market, please let me know. Have a good day.”
She hangs up with a deep sigh.
“Well, damn it.”
“Did she say who bought it?”
“No, she probably can’t do that. She just said it sold this morning. I’m just one day too late. But I’m officially the backup buyer if the sale falls through.”
“Maybe the new owner doesn’t have any plans to change anything.”
“I hope not.” She sips her coffee. “What should we do today?”
“I’m with you. What would you like to do?”
“Well, I’ve been here plenty, but never when the weather is good enough to hike in Glacier National Park. Let’s do that.”
I clear my throat. “You want to go hiking.”
“Sure. There’s no cell service up there. It’s a nice day. We can be up and back before dinner.”
“You want us to go hike through the woods on purpose.”
She laughs. “Yes. You’re a manly man. You ski and do all kinds of things.”
“I do,” I agree. “I’m just shocked that you want to.”
“I’m a mysterious woman.” She winks at me, shamelessly flirting. “What do you say?”
“Let’s go.”
Once we’re home and the security team has been briefed, Nina and I change into our hiking clothes. She had the rest of her things brought over from the other house last night. She’s wearing hiking shorts, a tank top, sunglasses, and a hat.
If I didn’t know it was her, I wouldn’t recognize her.
“I’ll be right behind you,” I assure her.
“I’ll go put some snacks and water bottles in my backpack.”
She hurries out of the bedroom, and I finish getting dressed, then follow the voices to the kitchen.
Nick, Liam, and Nina all stop talking and stare at me.
“What?”
“If I might say,” Liam says with a grin, “you can’t wear that.”
“Why ever not?” I stare down at my khaki pants, green polo shirt, and loafers. “This is as casual as I have with me.”
“I have things you can wear,” Liam replies. “I’ll be right back.”
“We’re fine here,” Nick says with a nod as Liam hurries to his apartment not even fifty yards away. “I’m sorry, sir, I should have known you didn’t have the proper gear with you.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Nina says. “I should have known. I didn’t think about it.”
“It’s fine. I’ll borrow Liam’s things today and make sure to have my closet filled with outdoor gear now that I know my wife is an outdoor enthusiast.”
“I mean, I could go once or twice a year. It’s not like we’re training to climb Everest or anything.”
“That’s a relief,” Nick says with a sigh. “Because a casual hike I can do, but Everest is a bit outside my comfort zone.”
We’re laughing when Liam returns with his clothes. “These are all brand new,” he says. “You can keep them if you like.”
“I’ll pay you for them,” I reply with a nod. “Thank you.”
“I checked your shoes on my way out, and I have shoes for you, too,” Liam says. “They’re not new, but they’ll work for today.”
“I appreciate it. I’ll buy some new trainers this week. I’ll just go change and be right back.”
***
The best I can tell, we’re about three-quarters of our way to the body of water called Avalanche Lake that Nina wanted to hike to. It’s just the four of us, and so far, we haven’t been recognized once.
Granted, it’s not typical for royalty to be in Montana, and I can’t imagine most people would expect to see us hiking a trail in Glacier National Park. So, no one is looking for us.
And on top of that, we’re all dressed similarly in hiking clothes, with backpacks and hats. Sunglasses.
It’s the best disguise I’ve seen, and it’s a fabulous success.
/>
“We should be close,” Nina mutters, breathing hard. “And I need to get back into shape. This is ridiculous.”
“We’re at a higher elevation,” Nick reminds her. “It’s going to be more challenging until you get used to it.”
“You’re not breathing hard,” she says. “In fact, all three of you are breathing like we’re just taking a little jaunt in the pasture.”
“It’s not a competition,” I remind her and earn a glare in return. “I saw that through your sunnies, darling.”
She just smirks, and then we follow the trail through some bushes. Suddenly, before us, is possibly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
“Wow,” Nina says, stopping to pull off her backpack. The lake is before us, snuggled up against a wall of a mountain, with several enormous waterfalls that fall to the lake below.
“This is brilliant,” I agree. “Well worth the hike to get here.”
“I’m going to dip my toes in,” Nina announces. Nick starts to disagree, but I shake my head.
“There’s no one here,” I say softly. “And we’re all nearby.”
Liam nods in agreement, and we watch as Nina strips out of her socks and shoes and then wades to her knees in the water.
“It’s cold,” she cries. “So freaking cold.”
“It’s glacier run-off,” Liam says. “It never warms up.”
“Fascinating.” I follow her lead, taking off my trainers and socks and following her into the water. “Oh, it takes your breath away, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah, but it’s warming up now. Or I’m getting used to it. Or my legs are going to fall off.”
“We can’t have that, darling.” I lean in to whisper in her ear. “I quite enjoy having these legs on my shoulders while I do wicked things to you.”
“I quite enjoy that myself,” she says, trying to mimic my accent.
“You sound Australian,” I say with a laugh. “Not British.”
“I’ll get it down eventually.” She shrugs a shoulder and climbs onto a boulder that’s completely surrounded by shallow water. “Let’s sit up here and have lunch. Except our lunch is in my backpack onshore.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I fetch her pack and walk back out to the boulder, climb up, and sit next to her. “Don’t look now, but the others are eating, too.”
“Seriously?” She whips her head around and grins when she sees Nick and Liam biting into sandwiches. “I packed the food for them and told them they’d better eat it because we’re hiking and burning too many calories to be stoic and strong.”
Enchanting Sebastian Page 13
