It's My Party: A Royal Romantic Comedy (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers Book 3)

by Whitney Dineen

  Brigitte comes down the stairs and offers our mother a small curtsy. “Your Highness,” she says before adding, “I would hug you, but …”

  “I’m covered in vomit?” the queen fills in the blank. “Brigitte, I’m so happy to see you. I understand congratulations are in order.”

  Brigitte looks startled before whispering to Chéri, “You told her already?”

  “When your child looks wrung out before throwing up all over you, it’s a good indication that something’s up.”

  “Couldn’t she just have been sick?” Aubrey wants to know.

  “Not when she’s sneaking into the country to surprise me,” our mother says. “Aubrey, I’m going to go up to your bathroom to clean up. Would you please put some fresh clothes on your bed for me?” Then she looks at Chéri and orders, “Go get yourself cleaned up and meet me back in the living room.”

  After the girls leave to do her bidding, she smiles at me and instructs, “Please go look through Aubrey’s cabinets and see if you can find some crackers for Chéri.” Tears spring to her eye as she adds, “Oh, Geoffrey, I’m so happy to see you. I can’t wait until you come home for good.”

  I watch as she goes up the stairs after my sisters. My family is so big and loud and full of adventures, I really do miss them.

  After locating the requested crackers, I decide to walk next door and look at my house. Like all the homes on the family compound, the grounds are maintained meticulously.

  My new home was built in 1882 by my distant relative, King Arnaud. His mother, Queen Alexandria, moved there after her husband died. While it’s technically three floors, the third is really a large attic space that’s used to store furnishings that are no longer in use.

  Four of my homes in Oregon could fit into Alexandria House with room to spare. I used to ride my bike out here when I was young and sit by the fountain in the front yard of this residence. It has a statue of a young girl holding a parasol. Water shoots out of the tip of her umbrella and rains down around her.

  When my grandmother—who once resided here—wasn’t looking, I’d jump into the fountain and stand next to her. I pretended we were two friends caught in a downpour on our way home from school.

  I laugh at how silly that sounds now. But when I was young, I really liked spending time with this quiet girl in the rain. In retrospect, it was probably because I had four sisters who never stopped talking and it was a real treat to have a female friend who let me get a word in edgewise.

  Out of nowhere, a picture of Claire pops into my mind and I wonder what she’d think of my stone friend with the umbrella. Before going inside, I pick up my phone to call her.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Sharon

  “Well, that was enough to get your blood pumping, huh?” Sharon asks Ruby as she comes out of the kitchen with a feverishly bright smile on her face.

  “Right?” Ruby laughs. “I thought I was the only one that was culinarily challenged.”

  “I’d take offense if it weren’t so darn true. I swear I remember my grandmother telling me to drop the cornbread into the oil from a safe distance.”

  “Did she ever start a kitchen fire?” Ruby asks dubiously.

  “Not that I know of. Again, I’m really sorry about that,” Sharon tells her daughter’s boss.

  “I’m not. I’ve been taking a ribbing for years about my incompetence with food preparation. If anyone dares to say anything now, I’ll simply say that I never started the kitchen on fire until you visited.”

  “Nice,” Sharon laughs. “I’m glad throwing me under the bus will make your life easier.”

  “There was another good thing that came out of it too,” Ruby says.

  “What’s that?”

  “I gave three of the firefighters tickets for tonight’s event.” Ruby rubs her hands together gleefully.

  “Were they all men?”

  “They sure were.”

  “Then we’ll be short one woman,” Sharon says.

  Shaking her head, Ruby replies, “That’s the best part. We’ll have to have Claire sit in.”

  “Ruby Cavanaugh, you are a sneak and I love it!”

  Claire

  Half the kitchen staff is out sick, check. My mom makes a valiant effort to burn the lodge down, check. What else can go wrong? I don’t have to wait long to find out.

  Ruby practically skips into the ballroom and announces, “We’re going to need an extra table, I just added three men to tonight’s event.”

  “Unless you’ve added three women as well, that’s going to totally screw up our numbers. Did you add three women?”

  “Just one,” she tells me with a wink. “You.”

  “Me? I can’t be a guest when I’m running the show,” I say with a good deal of agitation. “Ruby, what are you thinking?”

  “Relax. This isn’t some fancy Hollywood event. I promise that once you get the ball rolling, everything will take care of itself.”

  Anxiety starts to build in my chest like a rhinoceros is lying down on it to take a nap. “Who in the world did you sell tickets to at the last minute?”

  “I didn’t sell them; I gave them away!” Ruby declares excitedly before explaining, “To a few of the firemen who showed up when the alarm was triggered.”

  “You’d already put the fire out by the time they got here,” I reply. “Why would you give away three tickets for doing nothing?”

  “Because they were single and exceptionally good looking. I figured it would be a public service to marry them off to some nice local gals.”

  Dumbfounded, I say nothing about that. “Ruby, I cannot sit in on the event.”

  “You can and you will. Think of it as practice. I know I screwed up trying to set you up with Geoffrey, but there are plenty more fish in the Spartan Sea with your name on them.”

  I don’t try to fight her anymore. What’s the point? Ruby is like my mom; once her mind is made up, you’d have an easier time bench pressing a whale than making her see reason.

  “What about the food for the event?”

  “We’ve decided to do buffet stations so that everything can be put out ahead of time. That ought to make things easier. Also, it turns out one of the servers has some catering experience and is going to help out in the kitchen tonight.” She smiles brightly before declaring, “We’re going to have a great night!”

  My phone starts to ring, and while I really don’t have time to talk to anyone, I still look to see who it is. It’s Geoffrey. “Ruby, I need to take this. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Take your time, Claire, and keep breathing,” she tells me.

  I hurry across the room for some privacy before picking up and announcing, “I cannot believe you left town at a time like this!”

  “What’s going on?”

  “My mom tried to burn down the lodge, four of the kitchen staff are out sick, and Ruby just added three more men to the event which totally messes with my system. Tonight is going to be a disaster,” I predict.

  “Who’s out sick?”

  After I give him the lowdown, he says, “I have hors d’oeuvres in the freezer for an emergency like this. There are several dozen salmon cakes, tempura shrimp, and Cajun meatballs. As far as desserts go, you should whip up a couple batches of your brownies. You can set up a dessert bar and use those as the base for a build-your-own sundae.”

  “That’s actually a great idea.” As much as I want to be mad at Geoffrey for not being here, his words calm me. “How are things going in Malquar?” I ask.

  “Things are good. Great, really. I’m checking out my cottage now.”

  Two things. I know Geoffrey is moving home, but does he have to sound so darn happy about it? And why do I feel such a hole in my heart that he’s leaving? We’re barely friends.

  For some reason, I feel the need to tell him, “Ruby asked me to fill in as one of the singles tonight. Apparently, our new guests are firemen.” I hope Geoffrey�
�s seen those hot firemen calendars.

  “Oh. Well, huh.” His reaction is just what I was looking for. Put that in your pipe. After a long pause, he finally asks, “Are you looking forward to it?”

  “You bet I am! I might as well get to know some of the local men if I’m going to live here. I don’t want to be by myself forever.”

  “I didn’t think you were looking to date anyone so soon after your breakup.” He’s gone from sounding jealous to mad in one sentence.

  “I think it was you who wasn’t looking for anything serious. Because you were moving, remember?” Then I tell him, “I don’t remember saying that I wasn’t in the market for a relationship.”

  “I need to go,” he says. “I hope everything works out well tonight.” He hangs up before I have a chance to respond.

  While I’d never tell my mom or Ruby this, making Geoffrey jealous causes a giddy elation to blossom in me that I haven’t felt since beating Christina Carpenter for class president in the fifth grade.

  I know nothing can happen between us, but it’s nice feeling like I’m in the driver’s seat for a change. Why not look for a new boyfriend here in Spartan? I’m suddenly looking forward to having my pick of men. So long as they know I’m not a “hookup” gal, I might get myself a few dates out of tonight.

  With a new spring in my step, I do a final run-through. I tell Ruby about the secret stash of hors d’oeuvres before going home to get ready for tonight. I’m going to take extra pains to make sure I sparkle, and I’m going to make sure I get some pictures for evidence.

  Not only will it be nice to include photos in one or two on our social media posts, but I might send a few to Geoffrey so he knows how well everything went.

  Chapter Thirty

  The Queen

  “We’re going to be grandparents!” Charlotte tells her husband over tea in his office.

  “I don’t know what to say.” He stares at his wife in disbelief.

  “You need to say you’re excited. Our first grandbaby deserves that much.”

  “Of course, I’m excited, Lotte. I’m thrilled, but we’re going to have to scramble to throw a wedding before the country finds out.”

  “Chéri doesn’t want to get married.”

  “I don’t understand that girl. She’s allowed to wed; she and Brigitte have been together for years. Why won’t she at least make it legal before bringing a child into the world?”

  “She doesn’t feel the need. She says that her and Brigitte’s commitment ‘transcends the power of paper.’” She raises her fingers to make air quotes.

  “I swear on my crown, Chéri decided to be our daughter so we could pay back some karmic penalty from another life.”

  “Why, because she’s gay?” Charlotte asks, appalled.

  “You know I don’t care about that. It’s because she fights us on everything. She didn’t want to learn to play the piano like the other children, she wanted to play the drums. Instead of taking traditional ballroom dancing—that is the backbone entertainment for most of our social events—she learned how to break dance. It’s just one thing after another with that girl.”

  “Not only is she smart and full of opinions, but she’s also courageous and unique,” Charlotte declares. “While she has definitely been a handful, she’s also the kind of person who’s going to change the world. I’m proud she’s our daughter.”

  The king gestures for his wife to come over and sit on his lap. When she does, he holds her close and says, “I’m proud of her too. But thank goodness our other children are willing to play by the rule book because I’m not sure I could handle two kids who were such renegades.”

  “You’re thinking about Geoffrey, aren’t you?”

  “I am. I thought we might have a fight on our hands regarding his coming home, but thank goodness he’s going to honor our agreement. It’ll be nice to have all of our children on the same continent again.”

  Geoffrey

  Aubrey has done a wonderful job decorating my house. In addition to using many of the antiques that have been stored in the attic, she’s added some new pieces that bring the whole feel of the house into the twenty-first century. Not only that, but she’s had my bedroom at the palace packed up and moved into the master bedroom here.

  Touring my new home is like being in a parallel universe. Everything feels familiar and right, while still being slightly off. I tell myself that once I’m here for good, I’ll settle in and the memory of who I have been will fade away.

  As I tour my house, I look for anything painted hot pink—like Alistair warned me about—but come up empty handed. Thank goodness. After checking out the two main floors, I go out back and stare into the small reflecting pond.

  I begin to think of the wonderful dinner parties I could throw. I know that once I start entertaining here, I’ll be expected to be part of the gathering and not cooking the meals. I find the thought more than a little depressing.

  I hear my sisters before they arrive on the back patio. My god, those girls can talk.

  Chéri says, “I always feel so much better after throwing up. I feel bad about puking on Mom though.”

  “Chéri, the more you do stuff like that, the better I look in our parents’ eyes. Try to see if you can throw up on Dad tonight too, will you?” Aubrey teases.

  “What a thing to say! What could the royals possibly be giving you a hard time about?” Chéri asks her.

  “It’s not so much a hard time, as they always have ideas for me.” She mimics, “Aubrey, why don’t you host the women’s riding club’s benefit luncheon? Aubrey, why don’t you invite the Smitherfields’ son to dinner on Sunday? Aubrey, let’s get together and discuss what you can do to raise money for the church’s mission fund.”

  “It’s your own fault,” Chéri tells her. “You stayed at home; you’ve never worked outside of the family. You’re living the life you signed up for.”

  “I suppose,” Aubrey answers. “But if you and Geoffrey had stayed home and done the same, there wouldn’t be as much on my plate. But no, you had to go and work for a living.”

  “You can’t expect us to make the same decisions you did just to make your life easier. Plus, Saint Geoffrey is moving home so you can share your royal burdens and quit complaining.”

  “I can hear you!” I yell out to them.

  “So?” Chéri replies. “You’re acting like a saint and you know it. You were the first one to break free of all of this pomp and circumstance and now you’re coming back like a lamb to slaughter.”

  “You make it sound so appealing,” I say sarcastically. “Listen, Chéri, I came all the way home to help you face Mom and Dad, the least you could do is be nice to me.”

  “Another saintly move!” she declares before throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly. “I just want you and Aubrey to be happy and sometimes I think you take family obligation to the extreme. That’s all.”

  “Yes, well, I’ve lived my own life for the last decade, and, while I’ve greatly enjoyed it, I’m ready to come home.”

  “Liar,” Chéri accuses. “You like to visit home; you’ve never even lived here as an adult.”

  “I did grow up here,” I remind her.

  “And you moved away as soon as you could,” she retaliates.

  “Back off, Chéri. I’m happy about my decision. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “Fine, but instead of biting my head off, promise me that you’re not just coming back because of that agreement the royals made you sign.”

  Instead of answering her, I turn to Aubrey. “Why don’t we auction off a dinner party that I cook, and you host for one of your charities? I bet we could raise a fortune.”

  “Could you imagine?” Aubrey claps her hands excitedly. “Mom and Dad couldn’t complain about you cooking if you were doing it for the church orphan fund.” She throws her arms around me and adds, “Thank you for coming home.”

  I see Chéri roll her eyes, but I
ignore her. I ask my sisters, “Do you want to walk up to the palace or drive?”

  Aubrey answers, “I want to drive. What do you want to do?”

  “I want to walk, which means I’ll take off and meet you all up there in an hour. I want to re-familiarize myself.”

  “Put some galoshes on or your feet will be soaked by the time you get there,” Chéri says.

  “Listen to you, sounding like a mother already,” I tease her. Back inside the house I find the requisite footwear in the mudroom. The same assortment can be found in every building on the property. It rains a lot here and my family is notorious for roaming the land no matter the weather. They also like to drag people along with them, hence all the extra pairs.

  I slide into a pair of ducks and throw on a raincoat. I don’t bother with an umbrella. No one in Oregon ever uses them and I’ve gotten used to their ways.

  It’s only a mile up to the palace, so I figure I can get there, stop by the stable, and still have time to visit the kitchen.

  My favorite person there is Lizette. She’s worked for us ever since I was a young child and is single handedly responsible for my love of cooking. With seven kids in our family, I felt the need for some time away that my siblings weren’t part of. Cooking with Lizette was my refuge.

  It feels good to be walking around the grounds and getting a feel for life back in Malquar.

  Out of nowhere the thought of Claire and three good-looking firemen jumps into the forefront of my brain and I start to feel my mood slip.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Sharon

  “Talk to me about Grandma’s fried cornbread recipe,” Sharon says to her sister Tooty. “Didn’t she say to make sure you dropped the batter from a safe distance?”

  “No. She said to make sure you didn’t drop it from too far away or you’d start a fire.”

  With her foot balanced on the bathroom counter, Sharon paints a final swipe of Pimento nail polish on her big toe. “I don’t remember it like that at all.”