The Way to a Man's Heart

by Ann Marie James

  “Christian,” Emily gushed, “how are you? Ian has missed you.”

  “I did.” Ian nodded. “It’s great when I have someone to talk to about something non-medical related or who isn’t zombie-level tired.”

  “Yes, dear, I know we have treated you so badly.” Emily patted his cheek in a condescending but loving manner before turning back to Christian. “Anyway, all that’s behind us. Ryan and I start at the hospital in August. They are giving us a few weeks to settle in and reset.”

  “I look forward to hanging out with all of you. You’re staying with Ryan in his cottage, right?”

  “Just for a short time. Surprise! We bought the cottage on the other side of Ryan from you.”

  “Really? The Svenson place? I heard Mrs. Svenson passed away a couple of months ago but didn’t even think about it.”

  “Yep. We bought it. It needs a lot of updating, though.”

  Christian cringed thinking about the last time he had seen inside the very dated house. “I remember the avocado appliances.”

  “Yeah, but it’s all ours.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “How’s the ankle? Glad to see you are out of the cast.”

  “What happened to your ankle?”

  Christian looked at Max in surprise when he heard the note of panic in his voice. “I broke it about eight weeks ago on my last mission. Just got out of the cast a few weeks ago, so it’s light duty for a few more weeks until I can finish the physical therapy. Should be good as new after that.” Christian held his foot out and rotated it in a circle to show it was fine.

  “Why didn’t you let me know? I could have come to help—or at least sent food, wherever you were. I’m assuming you were here on the island for at least part of your recovery.”

  “Why would I have called for help? It’s just an ankle. I’ve had worse.”

  A look of shock crossed Max’s face. “When were you hurt worse?”

  Christian gave another one-shouldered shrug. “It comes with the job, Max. You know that.”

  They were interrupted by the arrival of Christian’s father before the discussion could go any further.

  “Christian. Ryan.” No hug. No smile. Just their names and a head nod. “I heard you were back.”

  “Yes, sir. On light duty for a few more weeks, but the powers-that-be thought it would be good for me to represent them at this shindig.” Christian waved a hand to encompass the ballroom and all the people as he finished speaking. If Christian had expected the great Juan Diaz, head of the royal guard, to be happy to see him—which he hadn’t—he would have been hurt by his father’s reaction.

  “Huh. And here I thought you’d actually smartened up and were ready to come back full-time and accept your responsibilities here.”

  “I am coming back to accept my responsibilities here. I’m a lieutenant in this country’s army and I am doing my duty as assigned.”

  “Don’t take that tone with me, young man.”

  “I’m not, sir.” Christian squared his shoulders and faced his father, looking him directly in the eye and lowering his voice so the other people around them wouldn’t hear. “I am living my life the way I want to—not your plan for my life…mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have some appetizers to eat and friends to catch up with. I’ll let you get back to your duties.” Christian made sure to put as much emphasis on the word ‘duties’ as he could.

  He had heard enough lectures growing up about the importance of performing his duties—how he had to be at his best at all times, how he had to be serious. There had been no time for play in the Diaz household.

  Juan Diaz’ only reaction was a clenched jaw. Christian swore he could almost hear his father’s teeth creak from the pressure. Without another word, Juan turned on his heel and strode away.

  Christian closed his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment to get his emotions under control. He’d done it. He’d stood up to his father. Ryan wrapped his arm around Christian’s waist and gave him a side hug.

  “Good job,” he whispered.

  “Thanks,” he whispered back. “Why are we whispering?”

  Ryan squeezed him again. “Because I know you don’t know how to take a compliment. Not sure if he actually heard you, but you said what you’ve been wanting to say, so that’s good.”

  Christian wrapped his arm around Ryan’s waist and gave him a quick squeeze in return before raising his voice to normal levels. “Yeah. Well, let’s forget about it for now and focus on the wonderful food Max and his crew have made for the ball.” He turned toward the chef. “You have truly outdone yourself, Max.”

  “You know I love to do stuff like this. It’s been a blast working with Katarina. I love the tradition where the royal gets to plan the Midsummer’s Ball as their first adult event-planning after they turn eighteen. I think everyone is really going to enjoy everything she has come up with for this event.”

  “I don’t think that’s what my father said when he was working with Princess Zia when it was her turn,” Ryan said dryly.

  “Well, Zia’s event was a bit different. She wanted to make hers an exclusive event only for certain people, and that was her choice of how to use her budget. Katarina has been more about including as many people as possible. It’s been great to see her operate. She is well-loved—and look at how great everything is.”

  Everyone turned to inspect how the room was decorated for the event. Princess Katarina had gone with a fairy garden party theme. Flowers in a rainbow of colors were distributed throughout the room, with small, twisted grapevine sculptures of different fairies sitting on beds of petals serving as the centerpieces. Christian was especially impressed by the artistry of the Fairy King and Queen ice sculpture over by the drinks table. The whole effect was warm and yet classy. The doors were open to the outside, where the garden was decorated with lights, and more grapevine sculptures were hidden in the branches of the bushes and trees.

  Christian chuckled. “As I told you, I can’t believe she’s eighteen already and doing stuff like this. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was feeding her a bottle and changing her diaper.”

  Ryan scoffed. “If memory serves me correctly, you avoided diaper issues at all costs.”

  “Only because I had very important duties to handle with the prince.”

  “Uh-huh. Like sneaking out to go for ice cream?”

  “We only did that once!” Christian’s feigned outrage made Ryan laugh, which had been his intention.

  Ryan reached out and cupped Christian’s neck. “I’m glad you’re here right now. I’ve missed you. Hopefully now that I’ve moved here permanently, we will be able to hang out more.”

  “We will. I only have a few months left on this enlistment. I’m not sure if I’m going to re-sign or not. Don’t know what I would do next, but I think I’m ready for something new. Right now, I’ve actually been reassigned as the liaison to the castle for the foreseeable future.”

  “Wait. You’re going to be around more?” Ryan sounded truly pleased with the idea.

  “Yep. Anyway”—Christian rubbed his hands together while looking over the food on the tables—“I’m starving. I know the dinner isn’t for another hour, so let’s dig in. I have definitely missed Max’s cooking.”

  Max grinned at all of them. “I look forward to having you all around, both old friends and new. I have missed the two of you. Now, I must get back to my kitchen. Who knows what crisis is lurking?” With a wave, Max turned and disappeared through the door leading into his domain.

  Christian couldn’t help watching Max’s ass as he walked away, only to be interrupted by Ryan clapping him on the back. “You’ve still got it bad, man.”

  “Like you can talk,” Ian said as he threw his arm over his wife’s shoulders. “Did you see him drooling over the prince?”

  “I did. I also saw the prince doing his own drooling.”

  “I can’t deny it. Prince Sebastian is still very fine.”

  “
Agreed,” Christian said. “Now to put operation Come to Daddy in action.”

  “For the last time, we are not calling it that.”

  “Operation Nookie Time?”

  “No.” Ryan gave Christian a shove. “Let’s just get some food, dork.”

  Christian laughed as he grabbed a plate and started loading it up with a little bit of everything…except the fish. Christian hated fish in any form. Always had. Max had tried for years to find a fish dish he liked. As they were an island country, that made it difficult for him sometimes. Luckily, the island also had sheep, poultry, some beef and he was okay with different kinds of seafood, but not fish.

  Christian and Ryan talked and joked with everyone in the group, in between speaking to all the people who came up to welcome them home. Ryan introduced Emily and Ian as they talked and everyone made sure they both were included in the conversations as much as possible. Ryan snagged the hand of a sneak thief trying to steal a shrimp from his plate.

  “Sorry, Your Highness,” Ryan quickly released Sebastian’s wrist, when he realized who it was. “You do know there’s a ton of food right there, don’t you?” Ryan pointed at the still-full tables of appetizers.

  “Yep, but stolen treats taste better. It’s been scientifically proven.”

  “Has it now?” Ryan queried dryly. “And where can I find the results of this scientific study?”

  “It’s well known. You can find it anywhere,” the prince responded.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Whew,” Emily interrupted fanning herself with her hand. “Is it getting hot in here or is just me?”

  Christian shook his head in mock disgust. “The two of them have always been that way. Although it’s nice to see that the prince finally bought a clue and understood what is right in front of him.”

  The prince whipped his head around so he could stare at his long-time friend. “What?”

  “What? Ryan is one of the few people who can challenge you intellectually and keep up with you physically as far as training. I am one of the others, but there has never been any chemistry between the two of us. The two of you, on the other hand? You start talking and it’s like the rest of the world ceases to exist.”

  “Really?” Ryan said. “That’s interesting to hear. I always thought my crush on the prince was hopeless. In fact, I believe the prince even told me he didn’t see me as anything but a friend.”

  Christian pretended to lower his voice and spoke in a stage whisper. “Plot twist, spoiler alert. He lied.” Christian switched his voice to normal. “Especially now that Ryan has grown into”—Christian paused to wave a hand in Ryan’s direction, indicating his body from top to bottom—“all this. Ryan is everything Sebastian ever said he wanted.” Christian watched with amusement as the prince squirmed.

  “Not to change the subject or anything, but what are you doing here? You didn’t tell me you were coming to the ball.” Prince Sebastian stepped forward and pulled Christian into a quick guy-clench.

  His friend’s laughter and joking eased something inside Christian. Man, it’s good to be home.

  Chapter Two

  Max hustled to his kitchen, shaking his head to himself the entire way. He had no idea what he had even said back there. Christian was back! He had certainly grown into himself while he had been gone. He had always been confident, almost cocky, but now he carried himself in a way that communicated he could handle anything life threw at him. He was taller and moved in a smooth manner that only those who truly understood who they were and what their body could do for them could pull off. A wave of arousal surged through him as he thought about the dream package Christian had become.

  He had been aware of Christian’s crush on him when he had been an older teenager, but he’d ignored it and treated him like the rest of his charges. When Christian had turned over twenty, something had happened involving Zia that had sent Christian into the military and Ryan to college without her. The tensions at the castle had been high all summer before Ryan had left. All he’d gotten from Christian’s father was that Christian had screwed up, and instead of facing it, he had run away. While that didn’t seem at all like the Christian he knew, no one was saying anything different.

  Max was pulled from his thoughts by the buzz of a call coming through on his cellphone. Looking at the display, he saw that it was from the bakery commissioned to do the cake for the event.

  “Hey, Pierre. What can I help you with?”

  “Hello, my friend. I’m calling to say that the cake is going to be a little delayed. We are waiting for a rental van to arrive, should be here any minute. Someone stole our van right out of the lot this evening. Luckily, we hadn’t loaded the cake into the back yet. The changes the Princess requested last week took a little longer to complete than we thought they would. I think you’ll be happy with the end result, though.”

  “We don’t even serve dinner for an hour yet. You have plenty of time.”

  “Great! We will be there as soon as we can.”

  “Sounds good.” Hanging up, he walked into the kitchen.

  “Chef!” One of the guards called from by the outside door. “Front gate reports the bakery van is here with the cake.”

  “What? That’s weird. Have the gate stall them for a moment if possible, please. If it makes it before I return, do not unload the van. I’ll be right there.” Spinning around, Max made his way to the ballroom. He didn’t even try to find Christian’s father. Instinct was telling him that weird stuff like this was why Christian was really here. “Christian, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  Max waited impatiently for Christian to excuse himself from his friends before turning around and heading toward the kitchen.

  “Listen… I just received a phone call from the bakery making the cake for tonight saying their van was stolen and they were waiting for the replacement. At the same time, I was notified by security that the bakery van is here to deliver the cake. That’s weird, right?” Max watched as the relaxed and friendly Christian morphed into the super-serious, dedicated soldier it was rumored he had become. The change was fascinating.

  “Where is the van now?”

  “Pulling up out back probably. I told the guard to stall them and I would be right there.”

  “Okay.” Christian reached up and pressed a button on an earpiece that was so small Max hadn’t even noticed until now. “Sean? Yeah. Can you bring the K-9 to the rear kitchen entrance? Need him to check something for me.”

  Max didn’t hear Sean’s response, but Christian responded with a curt, “Understood.”

  They both hurried into the kitchen and outside where the van was just arriving to make its delivery. Christian said something quietly to the guards there before making his way to the driver’s side as one of the guards went to the passenger door at the same time. Max could see in the side mirror that the driver looked surprised by the attention then nervously licked his lips.

  Christian reached out and opened the driver’s door, signaling for him to step out of the vehicle, just as another soldier and his K-9 partner arrived on the scene.

  The driver was young—early twenties, if that, with long hair and a surfer vibe. He was wearing the bakery uniform, so maybe Max had overreacted. “Hey, man, what’s going on?”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Henry, sir.”

  “Who do you work for?”

  “A guy paid me and my buddy a thousand euros to deliver this cake. Gave us all the paperwork and uniforms and everything. Said he was short-handed and really needed last-minute help. Is something wrong?”

  “We don’t know yet. I’m going to ask that you two stand over there with my guys.” A couple of more soldiers came up, took the arms of the two young men and walked them away from the van.

  Christian ducked his head inside the front of the van and peered through it. “I don’t see anything rigged to the doors. Should be safe to open them—but be careful.”

  “Yes, sir.”
Another two soldiers cautiously opened the rear doors.

  Once they had been opened, Christian, the K-9 and his handler met at the back of the van. Max caught a glimpse of the cake right before Christian signaled for him to come closer. “Is this the cake you ordered?”

  Max examined it more carefully. “Actually, no. Katarina made changes last week. This is the version prior to that. She had originally bowed to pressure from Zia to make it super flowery, but Katarina wanted to make it more her style and had them change it to a design to match the grapevine fairy sculptures. It should have one made to replicate the ice sculpture on top.”

  Christian and Sean shared a meaning-filled look before Sean gave a signal, and the dog jumped into the van. The large German Shepherd immediately laid down inside and barked three times. Christian turned to him. “Okay, Max. I need you to return to the kitchen. We’ll take it from here. You said the real cake is coming soon?”

  “Yep. Should be here in a little bit.”

  “Please, try to act like nothing happened. I’ll talk to you about it later, okay?”

  “Sure. I can do that. Please be safe.” A voice yelling for him through the doorway had him returning to the kitchen after a brief wave. Max pushed his curiosity and nerves to the side. He had a ball to serve.

  A bit later Pierre arrived with the correct cake, and Max wasn’t really surprised to see Sean and his K-9 waiting to inspect it before it was unloaded. This time the dog simply jumped up, sniffed around and jumped back out of the van without pause. Max exhaled a sigh of relief.

  “What was all that about?” Pierre asked as he rushed over to help his guys unload the large six-layer cake onto the serving cart decorated for the event.

  “I’ll explain when I can. I don’t know exactly what is going on myself,” he answered with a shrug. “The guests are being served the main course now, so your timing is perfect.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear I’m not horribly late. I can’t believe someone stole our van from our lot.”

  “I know, right? That’s ballsy. Let’s get this inside and we can wheel it to the correct spot.”