Royal Date (9 page)

I got a disapproving face that reminded me of a grumpy Tim Gunn. “I do not think His Highness will have any use for them when you are done. You may take them with you.”

He lifted up the tablet he had been carrying and turned it on. “You have approximately ten minutes to shower and dress, and a car will be waiting for you by the west exit. From there we will drive to the airport, and spend an hour and a half in flight until we reach Paris. I have scheduled several designers to come to the suite where you and Signorina Beauchamp will select gowns for this evening. I have also arranged for hair and makeup artists to be there. You will have some free time today to shop or explore the city, if you wish.”

Much as I appreciated his attention to detail and planning, I wasn’t sure I much liked somebody else making plans for me. Plans that nobody had bothered to run past me first. “Do I have any say in this at all?”

“No, Signorina Kat. I’m afraid you do not. Now you have nine minutes.”

I wanted to be stubborn and refuse, but I had promised both Nico and Lemon. If I went back on my word, that would open a door for Nico to go back on his. Not to mention that I always kept my promises. I jumped out of bed and ran to the shower, taking the fastest one I had ever taken. I got out to brush my teeth and saw a bag on the counter. I peered inside. It was a toiletry bag, with almost everything packed except for the stuff I was currently using. I rinsed out my mouth, threw the toothpaste and toothbrush into the bag, followed by my brush once I’d put my hair in a ponytail.

In the closet Giacomo had laid out a pair of nice slacks and a cotton button-up shirt. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a purple sweater and put them on instead, along with a sturdy pair of tennis shoes. I put some extra jeans, shirts, and sweaters into my toiletry bag. My other suitcase was gone. I guessed that Giacomo had it sent down already.

“Kat, darlin’?”

I came back into my room to find Lemon. “Finally.” I threw my arms around her.

“What the devil is this for?”

“I’m just happy to see you. I waited hours last night to talk to you.” I stopped hugging her. She made me feel real and grounded again.

Lemon’s hazel eyes lit up with interest. “I want every single little detail. Let’s get down to that car before it leaves without us.”

I grabbed my toiletry bag, winter coat, and the to-go cup of hot chocolate Giacomo had left for me on my nightstand. I took a sip. I groaned. I wanted to bathe in this stuff. It was a good thing we were only staying in Monterra for a couple of weeks. Otherwise I was going to get seriously fat.

She started pumping me for information, and I began telling her about the beginning of our tour, what he said, what I said, how he looked, what I did, how I felt.

I saw Giacomo tapping on his tablet, standing next to a giant door at the bottom of the main stairs, and we headed toward him. The door had been opened, and I saw a black stretch limo. “Make sure you sit with me on the plane so we can get to the good stuff,” Lemon said. “I don’t think we’ll have any privacy in the car.”

I heard male voices come up behind me. Their words echoed through the front entry hall and down to us. “You know he’s only interested in her because she’s convenient. She’s not even pretty.”

“She’s nothing but a challenge to him.”

I turned to look and the men stopped talking, and two of them smiled at each other. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach. They were talking about me. Me and Nico. And that he only wanted me because I wouldn’t let him have me.

“Of all the rude, hateful . . .” Lemon whispered next to me. “Ignore them. They wanted you to overhear them. They deliberately spoke in English to make sure you understood.”

“Aren’t those his friends?”

“Salvatore is his friend, but that wasn’t him talking. Those other two are jerks. I met them last night and disliked them on sight. They’re like a couple of foxes in a henhouse. Don’t listen.”

“But why would they . . .” She didn’t let me finish. She hustled me outside and into the waiting limo. I sat on the back seat while Lemon sat kitty-corner to me on the side seat. I started to move so that we could sit together when men began coming in through both doors.

Dante and Rafe greeted me with more cheek kisses, asking me how my day was and wondering if they could do anything for me. I held back tears and just shook my head. Oblivious, they greeted Lemon in the same way and sat next to her, keeping her wrapped up in conversation. She looked over at me with a concerned expression and shrugged apologetically.

Was any of that true? Did they all think I was some stupid little ugly thing throwing myself at Nico?

Salvatore and the two douche bags got into the car and sat on the empty side seat. Dante rushed to make introductions. Davide, the Conte di Lerio, and Francesco, the Barone di Atanni. Francesco was the one talking about me earlier. He had an awful, evil smirk on his face. “They are family friends who also serve on the board of Nico’s charity, representing their families.”

Davide and Francesco said their hellos, pleasure to meet me sort of thing. Davide at least had the decency to look embarrassed. I could only nod, afraid that I might start crying if I spoke. Lemon gave them the dirtiest, meanest look I had ever seen her give anyone. And I had seen her mad plenty of times.

Nico was the last one to the car, and he apologized to everyone for making us wait. I couldn’t believe how much better I felt when he sat next to me. Like sitting next to a roasting fire after a day spent out in the snow.

“Good morning,
bella
.” His smile faltered, and he put an arm around my shoulders. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

Me and my stupid expressive face. I refrained from resting my head on his shoulder. I wanted to fall into his embrace, to let him help me. But I had to stay where I was and stop sending mixed signals. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Are you certain?” he asked as someone outside the car closed the doors. We pulled out with black SUVs in front of us and behind us.

“Yeah. Totally sure.”

“You have only to tell me what dragons need slaying, and I will see to their quick deaths.”

That made me laugh in spite of myself, and Nico looked happier too. He took his arm away and pulled out his ringing cell phone. He said, “
Mi scusi
,” to me, and then
“Pronto
,” when he answered the phone.

I looked out the window, ignoring the conversations going on all around me. It was my first look at the castle from the outside, and it was one of those fabulous fairy-tale kinds, all gray stone and tall towers, with slanted roofs covered in thick snow. We passed through a massive outer wall on our way down the hill.

I had my hands at my side, and Nico’s hand was next to mine. He used his littlest finger to gently rub the top of my hand. Instead of it being something that got my blood racing, it comforted me and improved my mood. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him as he had one phone call after another during the entire trip.

Before long we were on a tarmac, next to a small airplane. A stewardess stood at the top of a set of stairs. I looked over at the airport. “Don’t we have to go inside? Get our passports checked?”

“Not when you travel with me, you don’t.” Nico grinned, putting his phone away. In addition to the people in our car, there was an SUV full of security, and another one that had secretaries or assistants like Giacomo in it.

Everyone moved to the plane, and Nico took my hand to help me up the steep steps. I didn’t need his help, but I didn’t make him stop either.

Inside there were comfortable-looking cream-colored leather chairs separated by small tables, and some full-length couches made of the same material.

“Wow.” A private plane? I’d only ever seen them in movies, and now I was getting to ride in one!

Lemon came and commandeered me away from Nico. “My turn now,” she said with a flirtatious smile, and it flooded me with warmth when I realized that Nico hadn’t even looked at her or responded. His gaze was instead fixed on mine, until one of his secretaries handed him a stack of papers, directing him to a different area so that they could talk.

Lemon and I buckled in as the very pretty flight attendant asked if she could get anything for us. I said no, and Lemon asked for coffee.

“Okay, this is pretty amazing,” I told her.

“You won’t believe this, but it has a full bathroom and a bedroom on here, too.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Dante offered to ‘show’ me the bedroom.” She rolled her eyes, and we both laughed.

I saw the two brothers talking to their “family friends.”

“What are the twins like?” I asked. “I haven’t actually spent any time with them yet.”

“Rafe is quieter, more easygoing. Loves to read, but really loves videogames. He’s finishing up his degree in gaming design. And Dante . . . well, let’s just put it this way. I am wildly attracted to him.”

“Which means he’s an obnoxious playboy with no real ambition who will break your heart.”

Lemon sighed. “You got it. I will be steering clear.”

I put my hand on her arm and squeezed. “Good thing you have Salvatore. How’s that going?”

“Slowly. Slowly, but surely.” She tapped her perfectly manicured nails on the armrest. “But let’s talk about your boy, shall we?”

I let out a happy sigh. I picked up where I’d left off in the story, watching Lemon’s eyes grow bigger and bigger as I built up to the kiss in the moonlight garden.

“And then?”

“Then he kissed me.”

Lemon squealed out loud, and almost everyone on the plane turned to look at us. “Shh,” I told her, giggling.

“I’m as excited as a hen on a hot griddle. I can’t believe it’s finally happened! My little unicorn finally has a dent in her horn!”

“And there’s more.”

“More?” she shrieked.

I again shushed her and told her about our kitchen rendezvous. As I remembered my conversation with Nico, it struck me how easy it was for me to talk to him. I’d never been able to manage more than a few fumbling words around guys before. But with him, everything just flowed. Lemon was the only other person I’d ever experienced that with, but a large part of our conversations succeeded because of her socialness and ability to carry it one-sided if she needed to.

I finished up the story with mine and Nico’s arrangement and the rule I’d put down.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not going to let him kiss you again? Are you crazy?”

“Not according to the court-appointed psychiatrist.”

She made a face. “Not funny. You know what I mean.”

Lemon knew a lot, but she didn’t know everything. Maybe I should tell her and then she’d stop pushing me. An icy fear gripped my spine when I thought of confessing. “I can’t. I can’t handle being with him.”

She took me by the hand then and stayed quiet for a moment. “I know you don’t want to talk about it. Heaven knows I’ve tried to get you to. And I respect that it’s private. But if you aren’t going to tell me, darlin’, you need to tell somebody. You need to stop shutting everyone out. Stop making up reasons to not be with someone. You need to move past whatever it is so that you don’t live your whole life in fear.”

The attendant returned with Lemon’s drink, and I crossed my arms, shaken and upset. I turned to look out the window. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to tell someone. It would be hard to tell Lemon, though. Who knew what kind of conclusions she’d already come to? How would she react? Would I still be able to look her in the eye after it was done? Would she tell me how stupid I’d been? I’d spent the last ten years beating myself up. I didn’t need my best friend doing it too.

Lemon excused herself to use the restroom, and I looked over the seats to where Nico sat. He was deep in conversation with the men and women surrounding him, looking very serious. I liked having the chance to observe him without him knowing. I was quickly disabused of that notion though when a small half smile appeared, followed up with a knowing look in my direction. I turned away from him.

Insufferable. So annoying.

A small voice asked me then if that was how I really felt about him, or if I was doing exactly what Lemon had accused me of. Making up excuses so I wouldn’t have to be real with Nico.

If I was just living in fear.

I didn’t want to discuss the Nico situation any further, and Lemon didn’t press me. Instead, she invited the twins to join us. They told us several hysterical stories about trouble they’d gotten into while at boarding school. The mindless laughter was infinitely better than serious introspection.

Dante made googly eyes at Lemon the whole time, but she didn’t encourage him at all. Which seemed to only make him try harder.

The plane landed and I freaked out once, right as the tires made contact with the runway. I gripped the armrests and let out a sigh of relief when we started to slow down. When the pilot told us we could disembark, everybody stood up at the same time. I heard Dante offer to take Lemon’s carry-on bag, but she refused.

Nico made his way over to me and, smiling, took my hand. I followed behind him to the exit. Where I was pretty sure he started swearing in Italian. He looked over his shoulder at me.