by Holly Rayner
Perhaps he had been a fool to embark on this quest.
The waiter peeked into the room and stepped inside.
“Is anything wrong, sir?” he asked.
Matteo was unsure how to answer. When he didn’t, the waiter’s brow furrowed.
“If anything’s off with the dessert, we can certainly remake it.”
Matteo shook his head.
“Oh, it’s nothing to do with that. Though I find myself without an appetite at the moment. Could you please wrap this up?”
The young man glanced around, clearly looking for Ashley.
“Has the young lady departed for the evening?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Matteo mumbled.
The man set to piling up the dessert plates and cast Matteo a sympathetic glance.
“We see a lot of engagements in here, but just as many breakups. You’d be surprised how many women say no when they get asked,” he said, clearly assuming that Matteo and Ashley had been a couple.
Perhaps that was a far better explanation than the truth. Matteo scooped up the adoption paperwork and slid it back into his bag.
“Yes, well. I’m sure we’ll be able to find our way through it.”
“That’s the spirit, sir. I’m sure you will,” the waiter said, just before disappearing back behind the door. He came back shortly after with a large bill and several warm boxes of food. Matteo paid for the meal and gave the man a generous tip for his time, then grabbed the food and headed out, alone.
When he stepped outside, the cool air sent a shiver down his back. He remembered a place he had seen on his walk with Ashley, and he jumped into his car and headed in that direction as he silently hoped she’d gotten home without being too cold.
Matteo parked a few blocks away from the place, not wanting to seem pretentious in his expensive car. He took the dessert and walked over to a small red brick building with a sign out front that read: Anne Elizabeth House for Homeless Families
A young woman sat on the porch reading a book, a thick blanket spread over her lap. When Matteo approached, her wary gaze landed on him, and he held up his hand.
“I promise, I’m here for good reason. Do you take food donations? This food is fresh, and it would be a shame to go to waste.”
The woman eyed the bag, and when she saw the name on it, her eyes widened.
“That’s from the most expensive joint in town,” she said.
Matteo shrugged.
“Would you like it?” he asked.
After a moment, as she considered whether or not to trust him, she nodded.
“What’s in it?” she asked.
“Seafood,” he said. “Of varying kinds.”
“I haven’t had seafood since I was a kid,” she said, wistful.
“Well I hope you enjoy it. Please share it with whomever you wish,” he said.
He turned and headed back in the direction of his car, glad that their meal would be enjoyed by someone. As a boy, his father had tried to teach him the value in caring for others, especially the most vulnerable, but he’d hardly cared to listen. As king, he saw immediately the suffering of others, and knew it was his job in one way or another to alleviate it.
Sometimes one meal, one kindness, made all the difference. At least, Matteo hoped that it did.
He slid back into his car and turned on the heat as he headed back in the direction of his temporary lodgings. The meal delivery was a distraction, he knew, from thinking about what he should do about Ashley and David. He didn’t want to think about how he’d completely botched it, or that is was very likely he would never get to see the boy again, if Ashley believed that he would be stolen from her.
Matteo pulled into the small driveway of the B&B and quietly entered the front lobby. Gen was there, as ever, tending to her ledgers. When she glanced up, she lifted one eyebrow.
“Doesn’t look like it ended well, then,” she observed.
He could have contradicted her, but that would have been dishonest. He’d had enough dishonesty in his life.
“No, it didn’t. Good night, Gen,” he said.
“Hey, chin up. Long-distance romances never work out in the long run, anyway,” she said.
It was almost enough to make him laugh. Everyone assumed he was a jilted lover, when romance had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Well, not nothing. The feelings Matteo had for Ashley couldn’t be explained, because he had never felt anything like that for anyone before. Besides, that only complicated the fact that Ashley was the guardian of his son, and that made her relationship to him something different entirely.
Didn’t it?
Matteo opened his door and made quick work of undressing before falling into bed, face forward. He had two options. He could accept defeat and go home, or he could do everything in his power to be a part of his son’s life and make Ashley see that he was, in fact, on their side.
Matteo pulled out his phone, rolled over, and started texting.
He was many things, but he was no quitter.
Chapter 12
Ashley
“Mom! Mommy! Mom!”
Ashley cracked open an eye and glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning, and David’s alarm had just beeped. Instead of leaving his room on his own, he opted to call for his mother every morning, so she could come and get him.
Usually, Ashley was already awake and enjoying a quiet cup of coffee. She’d always been an early riser, and she particularly loved watching the sunrise over the distant, glistening waters of the ocean. From the front porch she had just enough of a view to be able to see it.
The past few days, she’d missed every one.
“Mom!” David called. He then proceeded to sing a song, loudly.
“Okay, I’m coming,” Ashley mumbled as she sat up and stretched. She kicked off her comforter and padded over to David’s room, opening the door.
He grinned up at her from his bed.
“I was calling for you,” he said.
“Yes, I heard. You know you can leave the room once the alarm beeps, right? You don’t need me to come get you. You know how to turn on the TV and everything.”
“But I love you,” David said.
Who was she to argue with that?
She sat on his bed and ran her fingers through his hair. When he gazed up at her, her heart sank.
There was no denying it, now that she knew. David had Matteo’s stunning green eyes. In fact, they were so alike that she was surprised she hadn’t noticed it before, but then, how could she? She never would have expected that David’s birth father would arrive out of nowhere and ask for a relationship with her son.
Or that he was also European royalty.
“Mommy, what’s wrong? You’re frowning,” David said.
Ashley checked herself and pasted on a reassuring smile.
“I’m just waking up, sweetie. Do you want some scrambled eggs?” she asked.
“With cheese. And sausage!” he said.
With that, he launched out of his bed and darted in the direction of the bathroom. Ashley allowed herself a moment to sit and reflect before getting on with the day.
Three days had passed since her dinner with Matteo. He’d texted her several times, trying to explain himself, trying to clarify. Ashley had been so afraid of his intentions that she hadn’t bothered responding, but she did give him the courtesy of reading what he had to say.
Had she been too hasty in writing him off?
A little stab of guilt hit her gut as she remembered her fierce reaction, storming out of dinner like that. It was completely unlike her. Ashley couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever treated anyone that way. But her love for David was so intense that all she knew in that moment was that her connection with her son had been threatened, and she needed to eliminate the threat as soon as possible. Was Matteo really a threat, though?
And she hadn’t exactly told Sarah the truth about the evening either. Instead of coming home early after stor
ming out of the restaurant, Ashley had gone for a walk to calm down and think things over. Good thing she’d worn the flats.
“Mom! I’m so hungry I could eat a brontosaurus!” David said.
Ashley chuckled. David always had a way of bringing her out of her doldrums. She stood and tidied his bed covers, then made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of them, a tradition she had always wished she’d had with her own parents. She plated scrambled eggs with cheese and plopped two sausage links on each plate before setting them on the table.
“Your breakfast is served, Your Highness,” she said, then frowned.
It was a running joke they’d had—he always liked to play at being royalty. She supposed most kids did, right? Was there something in him that somehow knew, deep down, that he was meant for a more glamorous life than she could provide?
She shook the thought off as soon as it floated in. Ashley gave David a loving home, and he was happy. Her insecurities were getting the best of her, and she knew it. With the adoption being so tightly sealed, she had never prepared for this situation. Then again, whoever planned for a king to arrive claiming parentage over their son?
A handsome king.
Ashley sighed. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that a part of her missed Matteo, however irrational it seemed. She’d known him for such a short amount of time, but there was something between them. She knew it. She had felt it. Before he confessed who he really was, she held hopes that they could find a way to have a life together.
With David as their common thread, could their lives be woven into a tapestry as a family?
“Mom, are you still tired?” David asked after swallowing a bite of egg.
She stared into his lovely green eyes, so wide and innocent and full of curiosity. She had never lied to him a day in his life, until Matteo arrived. Unfortunately, she was too scared to tell him the truth. It felt so wrong, but she didn’t want to upset him without good reason. Not without knowing what was next for them.
“A bit,” she said. “Why don’t you finish up and then get dressed. It will be time to walk to school soon.”
“Okay,” he said, gobbling down the rest of his breakfast.
Ashley knew that little boys had appetites, but she hadn’t fully comprehended just how much food could fit into a small child until it was her job to feed one. David ate as much as a small elephant, she was sure of it. She finished her coffee as David dressed for school, brushing his teeth and sliding on his shoes, as she had taught him.
Matteo likely wished that he had the opportunity to teach his son those things.
“Come on,” she said, brushing away the stray thoughts. “Jacket, please.”
“I’m not cold,” David protested.
Ashley crossed her arms and stared him down. The contest lasted a little over a minute before David finally relented and grabbed his jacket, sliding his arms into the sleeves before they headed out the door. Ashley rested a hand on David’s shoulder as they walked.
“You’re being weird,” he said.
“I’m not,” she protested.
“Yes, you are. You keep staring off into space and saying you’re tired. My friend James said that his mommy did that when she was going to have his baby sister. Are you going to have a baby with Matteo?”
She blinked and stared down at him.
“What on earth would give you that idea?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“The last man who came to see us was Matteo, and you smiled at him a lot. Then you went out to dinner, and now you’re doing the baby thing where you stare into space. I think you and Matteo are going to have a baby. I hope it’s a girl,” he finished.
Ashley wasn’t sure how to react to that statement. As always, amusement won out, and she ruffled his hair with her fingers.
“You are ridiculous,” she said with a laugh.
“I am not. I have to be right.”
“Do you know how long it takes for a lady to have a baby?” she asked.
He stared at her, blank-faced.
“Nine months, sometimes longer,” Ashley said.
“How long is that?” he asked.
“Certainly longer than three days, and a woman doesn’t find out until after the first month or so that she’s even having a baby.”
“Okay, well then how does the baby get there?” he asked.
“Oh hey, look. We’re here,” Ashley said, red-faced as they approached David’s school.
The distraction worked. David instantly caught sight of his friends and hugged his mom before dashing through the schoolyard to join them.
So that was one birds and the bees explanation she got to skip, for the time being.
She watched until the class entered the building, and then turned and considered her next move.
It was a rare morning off from taking the pups for a walk, and Ashley was a little bummed out to have all that free time to let her mind buzz and whir around her current dilemma. She started walking, paying little attention to where she was going, and before she knew it she was in front of Sarah’s boutique shop on the boardwalk.
It appeared what she was looking for at the moment was a friend. She opened the door, and the bell rang to alert Sarah to a new customer. She came out from the backroom and smiled.
“Ashley! To what do I owe the honor of your visit? Are you looking for some perfume to entice your handsome beau?” she asked, wiggling her russet eyebrows at her friend.
Ashley felt bad about not telling Sarah about what a fiasco the date was. Her expression clearly alerted her friend to her situation, because Sarah frowned.
“Oh, no. Not exactly the Prince Charming we hoped he would be?”
Ashley laughed. In fact, Sarah’s statement was so funny that she couldn’t stop laughing. She hunched over as waves of giggles washed over her. How ridiculous her situation was! After a few minutes, she stood up and wiped tears from her eyes as she joined her friend at the sales counter.
“This ought to be good,” Sarah said.
“Do you have time? It’s kind of a doozy.”
Sarah pulled up a seat and plopped in the chair, resting her chin on her hand as she leaned in.
“All the time in the world. What’s the skinny?”
“I should probably share the details about my date,” Ashley said.
“Yes, please,” Sarah said, her attention solely on Ashley.
“Well, we went to La Belle Mer. We walked in and he’d somehow gotten a last-minute reservation, which never happens, right? And then the hostess takes us to a private dining room, where he orders all the seafood on the menu and some wine.”
“I like him already,” Sarah said. “Go on.”
Ashley inhaled.
“So then he starts talking about a confession he has to make, and he tells me that he’s got a son that his dad hid from him.”
Sarah gasped, her hands over her mouth.
“You’re kidding,” she said.
“I wish,” Ashley said, happy to finally get to relate the story to someone. “As it turns out, he just found out where his son was a few days ago, and he instantly set out to find him.”
Sarah blinked, enraptured in the story.
“So? Has he found him yet? Do you think the boy would get along with David?” Sarah asked.
Ashley hesitated before she responded.
“Sarah, it is David.”
Sarah stared at her friend, dumbfounded. After a beat, she stood up and gently swatted her friend on the arm. Ashley stood back and rubbed it.
“Ow,” Ashley said.
“You came in that night cool as a cucumber, told me everything went fine, and then sent me out the door. I thought, usually she has more to say, but I know you have a way of sharing your love life in your own time. You didn’t think to tell me that David’s birth father was the handsome man that swept you off your feet?”
“There’s more,” Ashley said, unable to stop herself from divulging everything
.
“I should hope so,” Sarah said, crossing her arms.
Ashley swallowed.
“Matteo is the king of Golina. Like, the actual king of the country. As in David—”
“Is a prince?” Sarah said, incredulous. “Get out of here! You’re kidding me this time, right?”
Ashley shook her head and grimaced.
Sarah sat back in her chair as she absorbed Ashley’s story with wide eyes. When she refocused on Ashley, her eyebrows dropped back into their regular position.
“So what are you going to do?” Sarah asked.
This time Ashley pulled up a chair on the other side of the counter and sank into it. She rested her elbows on the glass and placed her face in her hands.
“I don’t know,” she said, the sound muffled. She lifted her head to stare up at her friend. “I didn’t exactly end the evening on a positive note.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Sarah said. “David is everything to you. Why would you be nice to his birth dad coming into town to take him to a faraway kingdom? Not a chance.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Ashley said, pulling out her phone. “But he’s been texting me these past few days, and I think he’s sincere.”
Ashley handed over her phone and watched as Sarah read through the messages, carefully watching her expression, which went from skeptical to pensive as she finished.
“He makes a decent case,” Sarah said, handing the phone back.
“Right?” Ashley said, glancing down at his words for the hundredth time. She then looked up at her friend.
“What should I do, Sarah?” she asked.
She’d been asking herself the same question for days, still unable to make a decision. Perhaps her friend could shine some light on the issue. For her part, she was at a complete and total loss.
Sarah pursed her lips as she considered.
“I think you should go out with him. Today, if possible.”
“You do?” Ashley asked.
Sarah nodded.
“Look, the man has come into David’s life. The kid was hidden from him without his consent, Ashley. That wasn’t his fault. Also, now David has a chance to know his roots. You always thought that someday he might want to know, and knowledge is power. I say be as informed as possible. You have the power here, right? There are legal documents ensuring that.”
