The Way to a Man's Heart

by Ann Marie James

  Juan dropped his head again. “I can see why you feel that way, but I would really like an opportunity to get to know you.” Juan chuckled without humor. “Your mother would be totally pissed at me if she could see me now.”

  “Well, I’m plenty pissed at you for the both of us.”

  Juan’s lip quirked. “You’re a lot like her, you know.”

  “Oh?”

  “You are both passionate and love with your whole hearts. She took one look at me and told me I was hers. You did the same with Max. I blew it off because you were only eighteen and Max made sure nothing inappropriate had ever happened between you, but I see how you still look at him. The best part is, he is looking at you the same way now.”

  “I hope so. He’s a great man.”

  “Yeah. I hope one day I can be one of the people you let back in your inner circle. I have screwed up so many times, but please know it was from a place of love.”

  Christian searched his father’s face for a moment. For once, it wasn’t a cold mask. He was showing his contrition and fear and…love. Huh. “I can give you a chance to prove you want to be a part of my life, but you have a lot to make up for—to me and Max.”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry I blew him off about the brandy bottle. As I said, I didn’t know how to answer him when he asked about you and it pissed me off, but that’s on me. I should have listened to him. I was wrong. I’ll apologize to him later, just as I’m apologizing to both of you now.” He looked at the king to include him in the statement.

  Christian paused for a moment to think, before nodding his head in acceptance. “Apology accepted.”

  The king placed his hand on Juan’s shoulder. “Apology accepted, my friend. It can’t happen again, though. We have some major security concerns to deal with here.”

  “Like?”

  The king shared a look with Christian and Christian gave him a nod and a shrug. “We had the brandy issue, then at the ball, somebody stole the bakery van and tried to deliver a cake with a bomb in it.”

  “What? I just thought someone tried to sneak in with the cake delivery. I didn’t know it was a bomb.”

  “That was on purpose. We have tried to keep it as quiet as possible. Christian and his team have some leads they are following up on, but we need to make sure security is tight around here.”

  “Okay. What makes you think it’s not?”

  “The guy on the gate was ready to let me in a few days ago just from me giving him my name. He did check the list, but he never asked me for ID. I didn’t know him, and he didn’t know me. Your second showed up at the end of the interaction and greeted me, but your guy did not follow protocol. That same day, I made my way through the entire castle, including to meet with King Raul, and nobody challenged me. I know a lot of people here, but I certainly don’t know everyone. I’ve been gone ten years.”

  Juan sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face. “I’ve stepped back some and have been letting my second show me what he can do. I want to retire at some point.”

  “Well, now is not the time to do that,” King Raul admonished gently. “You need to take the reins back. We have a group gunning for the royal family and they’re escalating.”

  Juan thought for a moment. “Are you thinking it’s the group doing this that I’ve been hearing rumors want to overthrow the monarchy?”

  “That is our best guess at the moment,” Christian answered. “We probably would have learned for sure if the bomb hadn’t been found in time. Since nothing happened, obviously no one stepped forward to claim it. We’re not sure what they hoped to achieve by putting a bomb in the cake, though. It wasn’t a powerful bomb. It probably had a three-foot strike radius, according to our experts. Wouldn’t have done structural damage, but definitely had the potential to injure people. It had a timer, so there was no guarantee the royal family would have been close to the cake at the time of the blast.”

  “What made Max question the cake?”

  “He received a phone call from the bakery saying their delivery van had been stolen at the same time the van was announced at the gate.”

  “Well, that’s interesting. Whoever did it didn’t think about the use of phones?”

  “Nope. The whole thing has been weird,” Christian waved toward the folder on the table. “It was well executed and yet not, at the same time, like they wanted to get caught.”

  “Okay. What do you need me to do? Besides kick butt and take names with my staff.”

  Christian opened his task list on his tablet, looking at his open items. “Start there. My team and I are handling the investigation. We have a bunch of leads we are following up on. We will need to get together to discuss ramping up security for Doctor Guttschein’s event in a couple of weeks. If they are escalating, that will probably be their next target.”

  Juan made eye contact with Christian. “Ugh. Yet another thing I owe Max an apology about. I had spent the day looking at budget numbers, and they weren’t adding up at all. Max hit me up for security at exactly the wrong moment, but I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on him.”

  “Yep. Do you need a piece of paper to start a list of the things you owe him apologies for?” Christian felt comfortable enough to give his father a hard time.

  “Ha-ha. Always such a comedian.”

  Christian blew on the backs of the fingernails on his right hand then rubbed them on his chest. “I try. Back to your comment about the budget, though. Did you ever figure out what the problem was?”

  Juan’s gaze turned sharp. “Do you think there might be a connection to everything going on?”

  Christian shrugged. “I don’t know. I just remember how diligently you’ve always tracked your budget. It seems odd that there are discrepancies. Have you handed that off to your second as well?”

  Juan was slow to answer, obviously deep in thought. “Actually, I had handed that part off to Princess Zia. She came to me and said her father thought it would be a good idea for her to start learning budgeting.”

  Christian turned his head to look at the king to find him looking very concerned.

  “I never said that,” King Raul reluctantly admitted.

  Christian sighed. “So, we have a budget discrepancy for a budget that Princess Zia was tracking, and we have a fake cake that was attempted to be delivered in the design Princess Zia had pressured Princess Katarina to use for the ball. I’m sorry, Your Highness. This investigation might get uglier than anticipated.”

  The king waved his hand in dismissal. “Do the investigation. Treat every suspect the same. If Zia is involved, she is going to have to face the consequences of her actions. Though what she hopes to achieve by assisting a get-rid-of-the-monarchy group, I don’t know. If that is who is doing all of this.”

  “It does seem odd, but she is the only common factor so far.”

  King Raul turned to Juan. “Schedule a meeting to go over the budget with Niles. He is exceptionally good at finding problems.”

  “That would be great. Something is weird with it, but I still can’t figure it out.”

  “Okay, Juan. You are going to kick butt, put the fear of God and Queen Tania in your second and the rest of your people and plan to meet with Niles on the budget concerns.”

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  “Christian, you and your team will continue the investigation into the other happenings and review security needs for Doctor Guttschein’s dinner with Max and your father.”

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  The king sat back in his chair. “As a father, I am hopeful Zia is not really involved in anything that is happening. I’m hoping it’s all coincidence.”

  “I know you are, Your Highness.”

  King Raul looked Christian in the eye. “I’m afraid she’s in it up to her eyeballs, though. The fact she basically volunteered to help the Castle Commander with the budget is very out of character for her.”

  “Let us look into it, Your Highness. As you said, it could all just be coincidence.
We will hope for the best.”

  The king snorted a laugh. “I think part of the problem is that I have hoped for the best with Zia too many times in my life.”

  “Not being a parent, I couldn’t possibly speak to that, King Raul, but you do have two other children who I think are pretty amazing. Everyone loves them.”

  The king sighed heavily. “Let’s keep this between the three of us for now. You know the queen would want to try to get to the bottom of this herself. If that happens, we might not catch everyone.”

  “Agreed,” Juan and Christian said together, before Juan followed it up with, “but you get to explain it all to her at the end.”

  They all shuddered at the thought of Queen Tania on the warpath. “Agreed,” the king said wearily.

  Chapter Six

  Max looked at all the different stations in the kitchen to see if anybody needed any help. Things had been going too smoothly this evening. It always spooked him a bit when that happened. They were down to the last few people eating in the dining room. Everyone seemed to have everything under control for that, so he joined some of the others on prep work for the morning.

  Chopping vegetables always put him in a Zen place. It was his form of meditation. He hadn’t heard anything from Christian, but he hoped to see him soon. Williams was on the overnight for any room service calls and had joined him doing prep work a few minutes ago when he’d arrived. Luckily, there usually weren’t that many requests for anything more complicated than dessert. Although, there had been times after parties or events where large meals were desired. Whoever was on the overnight usually spent their time doing yet more prep. As long as it was done, Max didn’t care what his staff did after that. He usually had paperwork or planning to do, but he had been known to bring a book to read from time to time.

  The kitchen slowly quieted until only he and Williams were left. Max helped Williams prepare a meal request that had come in before leaving him to it. Taking off his apron, he made his way to the door. “I’m heading out, Williams. Keep up the good work.”

  “Thank you, sir. See you tomorrow.”

  “Other than fulfilling a commitment I’d already made for Thursday, I’m actually off the next couple of days, so James is in charge.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Max threw his apron into the kitchen laundry hamper and made his way to his office to grab his things. A voice calling his name made him pause just as he was getting ready to go through the door.

  Turning, he was surprised to see the Castle Commander standing there looking decidedly uncomfortable. “Commander Diaz. What brings you to speak to me twice in one day? I still don’t have permission to talk to you about the cake incident.”

  “I know. I’ve had a long talk with the king and Christian about it all. I’m not here for that.”

  “You’re not?”

  “Nope. Do you mind if we talk in private?” Juan waved a hand at the office behind Max.

  “Oh, sorry. Sure, come on in. Shut the door behind you.” He waited until they were both seated in the same chairs as earlier in the day before speaking again. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m here because I owe you a couple of apologies.”

  “You do?” Max couldn’t have hidden his shock at the statement if he’d tried.

  “Yes. I should have taken you seriously when you came to me about the missing brandy. You did nothing to deserve my attitude. You asked after Christian, and I was upset because I had nothing to tell you, but that’s on me, not you—and is something I hope to correct moving forward.”

  “Okay. We caught it before it went any further, so no harm no foul, as long as you will take me seriously in the future.”

  “I will. You run a tight ship. I should have trusted your gut.”

  “Fair enough. What else do you owe me an apology for?”

  “The extra security for the dinner you asked for. I shouldn’t have given you a hard time about it. You were right to mention it. I was again wrong for blowing you off. Christian and his team are going to step in and help. We need to schedule a meeting between the three of us to figure out where and how many people are coming to the dinner and how many extra security personnel we’re going to need.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that. I can send you the counts later, but I really don’t know anything about what the security might need to be. Princess Zia and Stefan Guttschein are the ones planning the event. They are supposed to get me final counts on Thursday.” Max watched as some emotion crossed Juan’s face, but it was gone behind his professional mask before he could identify it.

  “Do you know if the hospital has run background checks on the individuals participating?”

  “I have no idea. Again, this is Princess Zia and Stefan Guttschein’s event. Doctor Guttschein has given them free rein on it.”

  “Interesting. Okay, I will get with Christian and see if we can set up a meeting with the princess and Stefan.”

  “Or the two of you can join our meeting Thursday, if that’s not too late.”

  “That should be fine.”

  “Okay then. Let me know if there’s anything else you need from me.”

  “I will.” He stood and extended his hand to Max. “I really am sorry for treating you poorly. I hope we can work together better from now on.”

  “Of course.”

  Juan made his way to the door, before turning back one more time. “Take care of Christian. He’s a good man and deserves to be loved hard.”

  “I will, sir. You have my word.”

  “Thank you. By the way, you may see some changes over the coming weeks. There will be a tightening of security. People might not be too happy about it.”

  “The security tightening needs to happen, given recent events, and people will get over it.”

  Juan’s smile, the first one Max had ever seen from him, was blinding. “I like the way you think, Mr. Ramirez. They’ll get over it indeed. They don’t have a choice. Have a nice evening. I believe I saw Christian return to the castle about twenty minutes ago and head toward your apartment.”

  “Well then, I guess I better go see what he’s up to, shouldn’t I? Thank you for stopping by, Commander Diaz.”

  “Please call me Juan when we aren’t in public. You’re dating my son, after all.”

  “Thank you, Juan. Good night.”

  “Good night.” With a final wave, the man was gone.

  Max stood there in bemusement at the interaction for a couple of moments before shaking himself and heading to his apartment. He had better things to do this evening than think about Juan Diaz. Now, his son? That was a different story.

  Entering his apartment a few minutes later, Max was happy to see the lights on, hear the radio playing something soothing and smell a wonderful scent coming from the kitchen. Looking in that direction, he saw Christian bending over, taking a pan out of the oven.

  “Honey, I’m home and loving the view.”

  Christian shot him a grin over his shoulder and wiggled his ass for a moment. He pulled a baking dish out of the oven and placed it on top of the stove.

  “Looks great. What is it? Mac and cheese?”

  “Yep. It’s one of the few things I know how to cook consistently. Don’t get too excited, though. It’s nowhere near your level.”

  “Hey, I’m happy to have a home-cooked meal that I didn’t have to make.”

  Christian shrugged. “I didn’t know if you had already eaten or not, but I’m starving. It’s been a long time since lunch.”

  “What? It’s almost nine at night? You haven’t eaten since noon?”

  “Well, I snacked on some cheese while things were cooking. Does that count?”

  “Okay, so I need to stock up on things you can snack on during the day, as well as grab-and-go breakfast food.” Max drew Christian into his embrace, loving it when Christian wrapped his own arms around him. “What am I going to do with you?”

  Christian waggled his eyebrows at him. “I certainly have some
ideas.”

  Max leaned in and gave Christian a peck on the lips, just as Christian’s stomach snarled. “After we eat.” Max stepped away from Christian and went to the cupboard to pull down two plates and set them next to the food so it could be served. Moving over to the refrigerator, he reached into the drawer next to it and grabbed silverware before opening the door to the fridge. “I have water, Coke, Sprite and some wine chilled. What would you like to drink?”

  “Water’s fine,” Christian said as he scooped out servings onto the plates then took them to the breakfast bar. He slid onto one of the stools on the other side of the counter and waited for Max to join him.

  Max grabbed two bottles of water and some napkins on his way then joined him on one of the remaining stools. “This looks great. I can’t wait to try it.”

  “Didn’t you eat, either?”

  “Oh, I had something before the dinner rush, but it’s been a long night and I’m hungry again.”

  “Ah. Good. I do it all the time, but I don’t really like eating alone that much.”

  “I hear you.” Max scooped up a forkful of the creamy pasta mixture and took a bite. “Wow. That’s good.”

  “Thanks. Like I said, I can make very few dishes well. Dining hall or commissary on base or take-out is usually easier for me. Glad you like it.”

  Glancing over at the kitchen, Max was surprised to see that all the other dishes Christian must have used were already washed and in the drainer. “And you clean up after yourself too. I’m impressed.”

  Christian laughed. “The Army did a good job of house-training me. Plus, with living alone, if I don’t do it, no one else is going to.”

  “That’s true. I’m still impressed.”

  “It’s all part of my master plan.”

  “Oh?” Max quirked one eyebrow at Christian in question.

  “Yep. Make it so you can’t imagine life without me. They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so I plan to start by feeding you. Phase two is to seduce you, then phase three is to make you fall in love with me.” Christian leaned in and placed another peck on Max’s lips, before going back to his meal.