Along Came A Prince (16 page)

“Then how about
before you start filming? How about a couple days from now?”

“Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t be
able to stay long,” he said. “I have to do another ice sculpture exhibit, in
Louisville, Kentucky this time, about a week from now. That should coincide with
the time you begin filming.”

“I have to
memorize my lines. Maybe you could help me.” She started to close her suitcase.

“I was wondering,
Stacia, are you going to wear those shoes and that outfit on the plane?”

She peeked down at
her tank top. “I forgot what I was even wearing,” she said.

“Well, I rather
hoped you’d save that little outfit to wear again for me privately...and my
second chance.”

She couldn’t help
but laugh. He was stretched out sideways across her bed of lavender and pink
ruffles, his head propped on his hand, and he had the begging expression of a
big puppy dog on his face. How could she resist? “If it’s that important to
you, I’ll change into something else.”

“Pack that little
green thing you’re wearing carefully, will you? I haven’t finished admiring you
in it. Take good care of it when you get home because I wouldn’t want anything
to happen to it.” He grinned and stood up. “I’ll wait in the living room so you
can finish without any interruption.”

She changed clothes
and finished her packing. A few minutes later, she walked into the living room
with her suitcase and set it on the floor. “Shall we say good-bye here?” she
asked.

“I’m flying with
you to London, and I’ll make sure you get on your flight home without being
bothered too much by the paparazzi and your fans. You won’t even have to go
into the airport. You can just go from one plane to the other. Customs will
come to you.”

“You really know
your way around, don’t you?”

“I try.”

“And succeed
nicely, or so I’ve noticed.”

“Not always,” he
said. “Not this morning.”

“This morning you
were my hero. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

Clay checked his
watch. “We’d better get started,” he said.

“Do I have time to
say good-bye and thank your parents?”

“If we hurry.”

♥♥

The
limo took Stacia and Clay from the castle’s front door to the king’s jet. When
they entered the cabin, a man emerged from the cockpit.

“Everything’s
been checked,” he said, “and it’s ready for takeoff.”

As the man left
the plane, Stacia wondered why the pilot was leaving, but when Clay closed the
entry door and locked it, she realized she was standing next to the pilot. “I
should have guessed,” she commented. “Is there any end to your talent and
expertise?”

“I still have a
few surprises left – just like you.” He grinned at her.

“Are you ever
going to let me forget that?”

“About as soon as
I forget I’m expecting a second chance.” His grin grew wider. “Come on,” he
said and led the way to the cockpit. “You can be my co-pilot.” He motioned to
the seat beside the one he slid into.

She sat down as he
directed and stared at the maze of buttons, levers and gauges that made up the
instrument panel. “Flying a plane is a lot more complicated than driving a
car,” she remarked.

“Not really,” he
said. “It takes so many hours to get your wings that by the time you’re
finished you’re very familiar with the plane and how it operates.” He put on
his headphones and nodded to her to do the same. “Of course, it helps to
remember, ‘Never be too cock-sure in the cock-pit.’ That was the motto of my
flight instructor.”

Stacia laughed.
“That sounds like very good advice,” she said as she put on her headset.

Clay radioed the
control tower, made last final checks and soon they were airborne.

“What an
incredible view you get from here,” Stacia said. “No wonder people like to be
pilots. If I was one, I’d want to fly all over the world, just to see the
scenery.”

“Your slightest
wish is but mine to please you. Where do you want to go first?”

“For today, London
will have to do.”

♥♥

Their conversation
continued until the city of London came into view. Then Clay became quiet, and
she quit talking too. Her silence was partly due to the fact that she didn’t
want to bother him while he was busy at the controls. But mostly, she suddenly
realized she didn’t want to go home and make a movie, she wanted to go back to
SwissDen with Clay. She felt a tear run down her cheek.

Clay glanced over
at her, his face equally grim. “Are you feeling like I am?” He brushed away
another tear on her face that had followed the first one. “I don’t want you to
leave,” he said simply, then turned his concentration to landing the plane.

When the engines
were stilled, he took off his headset and seat belt while Stacia did the same.
Clay stood up and pulled her to a standing position beside him. Then he
gathered her in his arms and kissed her.

It was a
passionate kiss that seemed to her to be as jet-propelled as the plane in which
they were standing. A romantic kiss drawing Clay and her together in the
cockpit of a plane parked in the airport of one of the most romantic cities in
the world. A loving kiss, tender and sweet, that left her with no doubt of his feelings
for her, and she hoped she was able to send the message to him that she was
falling in love too.

When their kiss
ended, she knew she couldn’t change the reality of the moment. She had to go
home and finish her commitment. He opened the exit door, and she was certain
her face was as sad as his when they descended the steps of his jet.

He led her to the
American Airlines plane that was completing its boarding. Customs came and
cleared her. She climbed the steps, and when she was at the top, she turned to
wave at him and blew him a kiss, then walked inside and was welcomed by the
First Class service manager and flight attendant.

When she was
settled in her seat, she looked out the window and saw Clay’s plane across the
runway from hers. Her plane started its roaring engines, and soon they were off
speeding down the runway and flying upwards into the skies. She watched as the
white jet with the cameo of snow-capped mountains on its tail grew smaller and
smaller. A second later, it had disappeared as if it had never existed, just
like her days at SwissDen.

“...I don’t
know when I’ll be home, Elizabeth. I planned on staying at Grand-mère’s for a
few days.” Dean was on the phone in the library. “I know you planned on going
to the beach alone. But just this once, can’t you take the boys with you? You
know how much they love to swim.”

Silence
barricaded the room as he listened to his wife’s response. “I’m sure you can
ask my sister to stay with the boys until I get back,” he finally replied.
“That won’t be a problem for Diane. If it is, call me back, and I’ll come
home.” Silence again. Dean ran his hand over his hair and walked toward the
window. “All right then, I’ll see you in a week.” He slammed the phone down in
frustration.

His grand-mère
walked into the room. “What’s happening between you and Elizabeth these days,
dear, or is that none of my business?”

Dean scratched
his head. “I don’t know, Grand-mère, we’ve just grown apart. She wants to live
her own life and is gone a
good share of the time. She thinks she can
write the great novel, but all the time it has to be done away from the boys
and me. She claims she can’t write it at home, so she goes to our beach house a
couple times a month and stays for long periods of time. And when we’re
together, we fight a lot because she keeps insisting we send the boys to
boarding school, and I want them home. It’s like she doesn’t want to be a part
of our lives anymore.”

“And her, Dean?”
Grand-mère pointed the end of her cane out the window at Victoria. “How does
she fit into all of this?”

He sighed. “I’m
in love, deeply, passionately, past all eons of time love. I knew it when Victoria
walked into my office with her sister. For the first time in my life, I know
how it feels to look at someone and think she’s the most beautiful woman in the
world. I know what it is to love everything she loves, how it feels to shed
tears when she does, but mostly I want her to be happy, to not ever have to cry
a tear again. That’s why I brought her here. I knew you were the miracle
worker
she needed to get better.” Dean walked over to his grand-mère and hugged her.

“And Victoria?
How does she feel about this?”

“She doesn’t
know, and I won’t tell her until I’m free and she’s healed. But in the
meantime, I don’t see what it hurts to spend time with her, under your
supervision, of course. Who knows, maybe she’ll fall in love with me before I
tell her I love her.”

“And when do
you plan to tell Elizabeth?”

“About Victoria?
Never. Ask her for a divorce? Soon. Very soon. As soon as I can figure out
what’s best for the boys. I’d like them to live with Victoria and me...I guess
I’m getting ahead of myself in my thinking.”

“You always
did, dear, you always did...”

♥♥

The
first thing Stacia did when she got home was to dig in her closet for a box big
enough to hold her green tank top, black pants and stiletto heels. She placed
the clothes inside the box carefully, covered them with the lid and stored them
away on a shelf in her bedroom closet, smiling as she remembered Clay’s
instructions to save “that little outfit to wear again just for me.”
Now
everything is all ready for his second chance, if it ever occurs.
Then, she
crawled into bed and slept off her jet lag.

When
she awoke, she went into her living room and opened the door to grab the day’s
paper.
Welcome Home!
she thought, as she read the headline, GOODBYE,
SWEET PRINCE! A photo of her throwing Clay a kiss at the top of the airplane
steps in London was beneath the headline, and the story began,
The lost is
found...

How
did the press happen to be there right then? Probably they just hung around the
airport looking for anything they figured was newsworthy and had stumbled onto
them.

Her
phone rang, and she let the answering machine pick up. A sexy male voice said,
“I waited for you to call me.”

She
made a flying leap for the phone and tackled it. “Hi, I just got up,” she said,
hoping she sounded as sexy to him as he did to her.

“I
miss you already. SwissDen isn’t the same without you around tempting me.”

She
wanted to say she wished she was there to tempt him, but decided on a more
casual approach. “Those days were the best times of my life.”

“Well, don’t count
out the rest of your life, because I’ve got some spectacular plans for our
future.”

“How about if we
just concentrate on the present for now? Are you still coming to visit me?” She
plopped back onto her sofa cushions and stuck her bare feet on the coffee table
right on top of her photo.

“In a few days
like we planned, if it’s still okay?”

“I’d like to ask
you to stay here with me. I have plenty of room, but...”

“I know. The paparazzi
would love to catch us staying together.”

“Did my photo make
the papers over there?” She wiggled her heels around on top of the newspaper
until she succeeded in ripping it apart. Then she stuck her tongue out at the
pieces.

“Yup. London,
Paris, Switzerland, and every country around them. I thought I’d frame a copy
of that kiss, until I could collect the real thing, that is.”

“How do you know
you haven’t used up your allotment?”

“I don’t, but if I
did, I’ll have to negotiate for more.”

“Time to change
the subject,” she said. “So, I can expect you in a couple days, then?”

“Yes, and I’m
bringing Sam along. He’s going to Louisville with me for the exhibit, so I
figured he might as well detour with me to California first.”

“I like Sam.”

“Yeah, me too, but
the problem is I want to spend my time with you. I was thinking if you knew
someone you trusted who could go along with us when we went out, the media
might not be so hard on us if we’re seen with other people. They could act as
decoys. The person would have to be a woman, of course. Do you know of anyone?”

“Not at the
moment.”

“Then we’ll have
to go to Plan B. I’ll come to your place and camp there, and never leave. We’ll
be alone all the time and –”

She laughed. “Wait
a second. I’ve just thought of someone.”

“Goodbye, Plan B,”
he quipped.

“Do you remember
Helen Ashley Shores?”

“Doesn’t
everyone?”

“She happens to be
my agent’s mother. I’ve met her and she’s very sweet and nice, and extremely
attractive.”

“How old is she
now?”

“Are you afraid
she’s too old for Sam? Did you want someone my age for him?”

“Ouch,” he said.
“I didn’t mean to imply either of those things. I was curious, that’s all. She
sounds perfect for him. You do realize we’re setting up a blind date for one of
the richest men on the planet.”

“That choice
gossip would make headlines all around the world.”

He chuckled. “Well,
I won’t tell, if you don’t.”

“Then they’ll
never know.”

“Listen, Stacia,
I’m going to hop over to Monaco with my father and Sam. We’re leaving right
away, but I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know our flight plans for
California.”

“I’ll call Helen
and see if she’s willing to go out with us.” She smiled, trying to picture Sam
and Helen together. They made an extremely attractive couple – him with his
gray crown accenting his tall, handsome looks, her – petite, blonde and
beautiful.

“And I’ll talk to
Sam, but I don’t think I’ll tell him we’re trying to fix him up with a blind
date.”

When she hung up,
Stacia checked her messages. She decided to return only the most important ones.
She called her assistant first, informing her that she was home and gave her instructions
to have the studio hand-deliver the script to her home as soon as possible. She
also asked Jamie to set up a meeting with Nathan and Arthur for the next day.
That way the following days would be free for Clay.

After that, she
called Hal, her mother and her brother. They all had the same questions, and
she gave the same answers to each of them. Yes, she had a lovely vacation. Yes,
the prince was wonderful. No, they weren’t going to get married, don’t believe
everything you hear or read.

But in the case of
Hal, she managed to wheedle a little information out of him about his mother. She
found out his mother wasn’t seeing anyone and hadn’t dated since his father
died many years ago. When Hal asked Stace why she was asking about his mother,
she’d evaded his question except to say Helen seemed so young and pretty to be
alone. Then she asked if he would give her his mother’s phone number, because
she wanted to talk to her about something. She figured if Helen agreed to go,
she could tell Hal herself. If not, he probably didn’t ever have to know,
providing his mother didn’t want to tell him.

She punched in
Helen’s number. A nervous twinge hit her stomach. What if Helen said no and got
angry? What if she said yes and the date turned out to be a disaster? How would
all this affect their friendly relationship?

The phone rang.
Helen answered it on the third ring.

“Hi, this is
Stacia Saunders.”

“Hello, dear.
You’re really getting around these days, aren’t you?”

“I guess you read
the papers, right?”

“I mostly look at
the photos of celebrities and skip the headlines and stories. I know there’s
not much in the way of truth in them.”

“Have you ever met
Prince Clayton or Sam Prescott?” Stacia thought she was pretty clever to slip
Sam’s name in there.

“Prince Clayton,
no. Sam Prescott, yes, a long, long time ago. I haven’t seen him for years, and
I was very young then. He manages to stay out of the press. I believe the last
time I read anything about him was when his wife died.”

“Well, I have a
little problem. Clay is coming to visit me, and he’s bringing Sam with him for
a couple days. Because of all the publicity we’ve been getting, we’re afraid to
go out alone. Confidentially, I’m more afraid of what would happen if we stayed
in alone.”

Helen laughed
softly. “Sounds like Cupid’s been around with his arrows.”

“I’ve been trying
to dodge them, but if I spend much more time alone with Clay...I just don’t
know what would happen. I guess that’s where you come in. Have you ever been a
decoy?”

“I don’t
understand.”

“What I mean is,
if you’re free and would consent to come along with the three of us for a
couple days, the media wouldn’t be so quick to say we were in some
love nest
like they did when we were in London. We’d more or less have a couple of
chaperones.”

“I don’t know,
Stacia. I’m not interested in dating.”

“You don’t have to
think of it as dating. I’d prefer if you’d think of it as a favor to me as a
friend. Or is that putting too much pressure on you? I don’t want anything to
ruin our relationship.”

“What does Sam say
about this?”

“Clay is talking
to him today. They’re on a little jaunt to Monaco to gamble. He’s going to call
me tomorrow to let me know when they’re coming, and what Sam said. I figure
he’ll say
yes
. Who wouldn’t want to date...excuse me, I mean...be seen
in your company?”

“If your acting
career fails, Stacia, you can always join the diplomatic corps.” Helen laughed.
“I’ll agree to this much. When the prince calls you back, you find out what Sam
said, and then call me. I’ll give you my answer at that time. But remember, if
I do agree to this, it will definitely
not
be a date, and I’d only be
doing it to help you and Prince Clayton out.”

“You’re not so bad
about being diplomatic either. I appreciate you not giving me a direct no. I’d
enjoy spending some time with you. It would give us a chance to get to know
each other better. But if you think this little decoy experience might ruin our
friendship, I hope you refuse because nothing’s worth that to me.”

“I can assure you,
Stacia, I wouldn’t let anything spoil our friendship. I don’t want that
either.”

“And Helen, one
more thing. When I asked Hal for your phone number, I kinda danced around the
real reason I was calling you. I figured it was your decision what you wanted
to tell him.”

“I don’t keep
anything from Hal. I never have. If I thought he shouldn’t know about something
I was considering doing, I wouldn’t do it. I’d be aware immediately that it was
wrong to do if it meant I had to keep a secret from my son.”

“What a great
relationship you have with Hal.”

“I know I’m lucky.
After all the bad things that have happened in my life, he’s been the one
constant good thing. I’ll always respect and love him for that.”

“When I have
children, I’m going to remember what you just said and try to live up to your
example.”

“And do you
suppose Prince Clayton will be their father?”

Stacia shook her
head. “I wasn’t born to be a princess. You should have seen me growing up on
the farm, milking cows, gathering eggs, driving tractors, all the usual things
we farm girls have to do to learn responsibility, or so my parents said.”

“Well, their
method worked fine on you.”

“I am responsible
all right.” She wished she wasn’t, so she could dump her commitment to
London
Affair
and tear up her studio contract for her following picture. Then
she’d be free to fly back to SwissDen to tempt Clay some more until she used up
her welcome, or he used up his allotment of kisses, whichever came first.

“Stacia, I have to
hang up now. My driver’s at the door to take me to an appointment. Call me
tomorrow.”

After saying their
good-byes, Stacia turned her phone off and stared down at her ripped-apart
photo. She picked up the pieces, crumbled them together, and tossed them into
the waste basket. She sat back down, her elbows on her knees, her hands bracing
her head and contemplated both ways the next few days could turn out. As much
as she wanted Clay with her, since she’d been away from him, the impact of him
being a prince collided with how she felt being around him in Europe. There,
even with all the riches he’d introduced her to, he still seemed like a normal,
great guy. But he was more. He was a prince, and she wasn’t royalty. While
SwissDen had been a wonderful paradise to visit, the splendor of it overwhelmed
her now that she was home and had time to think about it.