Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra) (25 page)

Everyone sat when they did. The servants began bringing out the first course. Rafe elbowed his brother and said, “Those are my feet.”

Dante shoved him back, laughing. “Get them out of my way! I’m trying to flirt with my fiancée!”

“Just so you know,” Lemon said as she leaned to one side, allowing the server to put a bowl of soup in front of her, “this does not get better. They’re always like this. Like two pigs set loose in a cornfield.”

I liked it. It made me happy to see Rafe this way. At ease. Surrounded by his family. And she was right. They bantered away the rest of the evening, keeping Lemon and me laughing.

During the second course, the woman on my right, who had a thick Italian accent, introduced herself as the queen’s sister. After I told her my name, she said, “You’ll have to forgive me, but you have the most beautiful red hair.”

Lemon leaned past me to say, “And it’s natural, if you can believe that.”

“I remember reading an article that said looking at the color red increases your heart rate and respiration,” Rafe’s aunt said.

“I can attest to that,” Rafe butted in, making me blush. She said something to him in Italian, and he responded. I couldn’t exactly ask them what they said. Not if I wanted to stay one color.

The rest of dinner seemed to fly by. I tried to imagine my life always being like this. So elegant and glamorous. I felt out of place.

But when Rafe smiled at me, that feeling went away.

“My family’s going to celebrate Christmas early,” he said, leading me from the room. “Since the wedding is tomorrow.”

“Oh.” That would be awkward. “I can’t celebrate Christmas with your family.” Talk about an imposition! They weren’t planning on me coming out here.

“You can,” he insisted.

“I don’t have any gifts for anyone.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“It will matter if I get gifts and don’t have any to give back.” I couldn’t explain to him what that would do to my pride. But he seemed to instinctively understand.

“That won’t be a problem,” he reassured me. He took out his phone, typed in something, and put it back in his pocket.

“Aren’t we going to get changed first?”

“Christmas is more fun in formal wear.” He took me into his family’s private rooms, right into a large, comfortable family room dominated by a massive Christmas tree. There was a roaring fire going. “Look at that,” I pointed out. “No smoke.”

He gave me a wry smile, seating me on one of the couches. The rest of the family joined us not long after that—the king in his wheelchair with his queen walking alongside him, the princesses following, and Nico, Kat, Lemon, and Dante all arriving together a minute later.

Serafina sat next to me. “I’m asking
La Befana
for a sister this Christmas.”

I was pretty sure there wasn’t one of those under the tree. “Is your mother going to have a baby?”

“Ew. No. She’s old. Rafe’s going to marry you.”

How could a simple statement both thrill and terrify me? “He’s not,” I told her. I didn’t want her to get her hopes up. We were nowhere near that yet.

“He is.”

“I wouldn’t bet against her,” Kat said as she walked past, slowing down long enough to speak to me. “She’s two for two on that front.”

“I used to only have two sisters, but now I have five.”

“Almost four,” I corrected her.

“Five,” she said stubbornly, eyeing me.

They all settled in and started exchanging gifts, mostly novelty and prank items that made everybody laugh. Lemon handed Kat a clothing box. When Kat got it open, she pulled out a risqué piece of lingerie that had her blushing, Nico smiling, and Lemon cackling with delight.

As promised, there were no gifts for me, which made me feel more relaxed. There weren’t as many presents in total as I had expected, and Rafe explained that the majority of their gift-giving took place later, in early January.

“Well, my parents are going to be here early in the morning, so we’re going to say good night to y’all.” Lemon kissed the king and queen on both cheeks, and Dante did the same. Everybody seemed to empty out of the room quickly after that.

Rafe offered to put a sleeping Serafina in bed, but Nico insisted he be the one to do it. “Because if I walk my soon-to-be-bride to her bedroom door, she won’t be able to wear white tomorrow.”

Kat put her hands on her hips in mock anger and said, “I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of controlling—”

He interrupted her with an “Until tomorrow,
cuore mio
,” and a kiss so passionate and intense that I studied the wallpaper behind them instead of looking. As if remembering that we were there, a breathless Kat made him stop, and they left the room in separate directions, even though they were both reluctant to do so.

Which left me and Rafe alone. I’d always imagined myself too young to get married, but I wanted what Nico and Kat had. I liked the idea of making a permanent commitment. Standing up in front of everyone I knew and telling them that I loved Rafe and would spend the rest of my life with him.

That was not where my head should have been. I kicked off my shoes, rubbing my feet. “I feel bad about missing the talent show.”

“Nicole will film the whole thing for you. She even said she would be Henry’s assistant.”

Just the memory of the box made me shudder. We were quiet for a moment before I asked, “They had presents for me, didn’t they?”

He stifled a yawn. “Yes.”

“And you had someone remove them?”

“I did. I’ll have someone ship them back home to us.”

Besides being touched by the idea that he would go out of his way to make sure that I was comfortable, my heart flittered at him calling Iowa home.

Home is where the people you love are.

I saw that once on a sign, and it had stuck with me. Home
was
where the people you loved were. I slipped my hand into his.

He put his arm around me, pulling me against him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the couch.

I couldn’t believe how much I loved him. How much everything had changed. “Hey. I got you something for Christmas.”

He opened one eye and focused it on me. “You did?”

Getting up on my knees, I put my hands against his chest for balance. Now he had both eyes open, watching me. I very slowly, very deliberately leaned forward, pressing my lips against his.

Amusement tugged at the corner of his eyes. “Was that your way of asking me to kiss you? Because that wasn’t asking.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me?”

His hands slid around me, pulling me into his lap. “Maybe I don’t.”

“Liar,” I said, tugging at his undone bow tie.

He smiled, and then he kissed me for a very enjoyable and very long time.

When we had to come up for air, he leaned his forehead against mine. “That was the best Christmas present ever.”

I totally agreed.

Chapter 25

The entire castle was in another uproar the following morning. I got myself dressed just as two frazzled looking women knocked on my door, telling me that they had come to do my hair and makeup. They spoke some English, so I found out that they’d been up since four in the morning helping everyone get ready. They were extremely fast and efficient, and they finished up right as Rafe arrived to escort me to the wedding. “You look beautiful,” he said, holding me at arm’s length while he took me in, head to foot.

“You make me feel beautiful,” I told him. He kissed me gently, softly. Like a whispered promise.

He had to be to the church early, so he led me with him into a waiting limo. We didn’t talk as the limo drove toward the center of town. Snow glittered all around us, but the roads had been totally cleared. The closer we got, the more people we saw lined up behind barricades, waving to us. Rafe rolled down his window, smiling and waving back.

Could I do this? Could I really be part of his life? Could I be a princess and a veterinarian at the same time? Could I be happy here?

Then he turned his smile to me and I thought, yes, absolutely. I could be very, very happy in Monterra.

Rafe put me in a seat near the front of the church. He reached inside his pocket. “For while you’re waiting.”

It was a Snickers bar. It wasn’t exactly breakfast food, but I loved that he knew me well enough to know what I wanted. I ate my candy bar as other people began to file in and were seated by ushers. I realized he had put me on his family’s side of the church, and in a spot where we could easily see each other as he performed his groomsman duties. He stood talking to a man who looked vaguely like the prince of England, near where Nico and Dante were speaking to each other. Although I couldn’t hear what was being said, it looked like Dante was teasing Nico, but nothing could remove the huge grin on Nico’s face. He didn’t look at all nervous or worried. He looked thrilled and excited.

The music started, and everyone stood. I got up a half second later, as I hadn’t known that was expected of me. I hadn’t ever been to an actual royal wedding before.

Rafe’s sisters entered the church in adorable red ball gowns. Serafina had a basket and seemed to be taking her flower girl duties very seriously. She threw big fistfuls of flowers in a pattern only she seemed to understand. Chiara and Violetta followed behind her, with Lemon bringing up the rear. They each carried bouquets of red and white flowers.

A choir started to sing, and it was Kat’s turn to enter the church. I heard sighs and murmurs around me as everyone fixed their gaze on her. She held on to the king’s wheelchair, letting him escort her down the aisle. Her dress sparkled like snow, and she was so happy she glowed. She had a red velvet bow around her waist, and she wore a tiara filled with red hearts. She was stunning.

I could tell she was trying to be dignified and move slowly, but she had to keep adjusting her pace because she wanted to get up to the front quicker, to where her soon-to-be husband was waiting for her.

When she finally got to the altar, everyone sat down. Nico and Kat spoke briefly and quietly to each other, the love and exhilaration of the moment evident on their faces.

As I sat through a ceremony that was sometimes in English but mostly in other languages, I watched Rafe. Would that be us? Did I want that to be us?

I did. I wanted to marry him. I wanted all of this with him. I wanted a life, a family, a forever with him. It didn’t matter that he was from here and I was from Iowa. That he was a prince and I was a college student. We would find a way to work it out.

After a bunch of standing and kneeling, they were finally pronounced husband and wife. The entire church erupted into applause and cheering as they marched down the aisle together, waving to everyone. The noise from the crowd outside the church was even louder when they opened the doors, and there were bells ringing and sounds of celebration. Rafe escorted Violetta down the aisle, and he waited outside for me.

I threw myself into his arms, kissing him hard. “What was that for?” he asked.

“For being you.”

The reception was loud and teeming with people. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had that much fun. Despite generally hating dancing, I decided I didn’t care what anyone else thought about my moves and spent the night with Rafe and his family out on the dance floor.

I was shocked when Rafe had the DJ put on a country song, and asked me to teach everyone the steps to a line dance. I did it, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched all of his family, including the new bride and groom, trying to do the Tush Push.

But Nico and Kat didn’t stick around for long. They said their goodbyes and left quickly, their eyes full of longing, anticipation, and joy.

Rafe’s arm went around my waist. That could be us.

The rest of the time in Monterra seemed to fly by. That might have been because I spent a lot of it making out with Rafe. As always, Rafe’s family was so kind and generous with me that I found myself not wanting to leave.

After Kat left for her honeymoon, Lemon had teased me relentlessly about being under Rafe’s thrall. I told her I wasn’t.

“So you’re saying you’re not in love with him? That you’re not kissing on him every chance you get?”

What could I say to that that would be true without admitting anything?

“See how you’re not responding? Total thrall.”

Obviously, I wanted to get back to Aunt Sylvia and Whitney and my horse and my dog, but there was something special about being in Monterra, too. I didn’t want to leave. There were people I loved here, as well.

When our time was finished and we flew back to Iowa, we held hands as Rafe drove back to the farmhouse from the airport. It was dark out, and the full moon illuminated the snow beneath it. “I’m excited to get home, but I am not excited to see Brooke. She’s going to be even madder at me now that I won’t run the blood drive.”

He kissed the back of my hand. “What brought out your inner rebel?”

“You did.” I put my head against the seat, watching his profile. “You’re also the one who made me consider why I always say yes. I think it goes back to when I went to live with Aunt Sylvia. John-Paul had spent my entire childhood telling me how wicked I was. Obedience was the first thing he ever drilled into me. So when Aunt Sylvia rescued me, I wanted to make her happy. I wanted to be the perfect child. Some part of me was afraid that if I didn’t do everything she said, she’d send me back. I know she wouldn’t have, but little kids aren’t always rational. And I think it stuck.”

“What did?”

“I really do like helping people. I like making people happy. But what stuck was the obedience thing. Feeling like I had to be good and say yes every time someone asked for help, even if I didn’t want to or didn’t have the time.”

He glanced at me. “Let’s continue the streak. What is something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t because you wanted to be good?”

His bare chest flashed into my mind, and I was grateful his eyes were on the road so he wouldn’t notice how my cheeks burned. “It’s going to sound stupid. But I always wanted to climb the water tower.”

“Let’s do it then.” I gave him directions, and his SUV had no problem handling the snow-covered dirt road out to the tower. He called his guards and told them not to follow us, and that he would see them back in town.

Climbing the water tower was something the seniors always did on ditch day. I was the dork who stayed in class, studying, while all my classmates were off enjoying themselves.

We got out, and I showed him the hole in the chain-link fence that we could climb through. “Is this legal?” he asked.

“Probably not,” I said as I started to climb. The rungs were a little slippery, but my rubber-soled boots did a good job of clinging to the metal.

When we were halfway up, Rafe called up to me, “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I pictured this.”

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“No, just very aware of my own mortality and that unlike my character in
World of Warcraft
, I can’t fall a hundred feet and survive.”

But once we got to the top, it was totally worth it. We could see the entire county, the Christmas lights that twinkled on the houses, the empty cornfields blanketed with sparkling snow. “It’s not a turret in a castle, but the view is breathtaking.”

He kissed the spot on my neck that I loved, and heat blossomed under my skin, rushing to meet his lips.

“One of the things I love most about living here is that I never have to look up to see the sky. Everything is so open.”

“That’s how I feel about the mountains in Monterra.”

Was that going to be a problem? He was a prince. He couldn’t stay in Iowa for forever. He had a life and a family that he had to get back to. Just like I had a life and a family here.

We would make it work. We had to. He kissed me again. “I love you.”

This was it. My chance to tell him. To let him know that I was on the same page. “I . . .”

My throat locked up. I couldn’t speak. I loved him. I wanted to tell him. Why couldn’t I? Was I just not ready?

“I’m not telling you so that you’ll say it back. I say it to you because it’s how I’m feeling and I don’t want to keep that from you.”

I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck. Like we were being watched. Normally I would have dismissed it as his security, but they weren’t here. Or at least they weren’t supposed to be.

A figure emerged from the tree line and held up a bullhorn. “Get down from the water tower, Genesis.”

It was Sheriff Stidd.

“Busted,” I said. Rafe started down the ladder first.

“Are we going to be in trouble? I have lawyers on speed-dial.”

“Well, considering that you just saved the church and this is literally my only offense, I’m guessing we’ll be just fine.”

I was right. The sheriff yelled at us for a few minutes about being reckless and irresponsible, and it was all I could do not to break into pealing laughter. I actually clamped my lips shut. But as soon as we were back in the SUV, we both laughed.

“I really love you,” he said after his laughter died down.

“Yeah, yeah. You said that already.”

“Did I say this?” He leaned in to brush a soft kiss against my lips. “Or this?” The next kiss was firmer, longer. “What about this?” That kiss nearly made my socks explode.

The sheriff banged on Rafe’s window. “And no parking!”

Rafe nodded, and we laughed again as he headed back out toward the main road.

My phone rang, and I saw that it was Whitney. “Hey! What’s up?”

“You’re back in town, right? Do you have your key to the diner? I left my wallet in the kitchen, and I drove all the way back to get it before I realized I left my work key at home. Total pregnancy brain. Can you help?”

“You know I always have my keys.” I felt them in my front pocket. “I’m actually fairly close.” Rafe was massaging the back of my neck, which made my head loll all over the place. It was not easy to form words. “I’ll be there in a few.”

I explained the situation to him, and he headed straight for the diner. Whitney stood out front with a tired Gracie. I knew Christopher was in Iowa City for a training seminar. Meredith and Beau were asleep in the car. That was the nice thing about our town. She could have even left the car running and we wouldn’t have had to worry.

“I’ll go in and get it for you,” I said. “You go get in the car and rest.”

We walked back to her car. Well, Gracie and I walked while Whitney waddled. “How did your trip go? Did you finally realize that you like him?”

Rafe sat in the SUV waiting for me. “I like him more than I like candy and
Star Trek
combined.”

“Wow,” Whit said as she climbed in the front and I buckled Gracie into her car seat. “That’s huge.”

“I know.” I kissed the top of Gracie’s soft hair, and she sucked her thumb, resting her head against the side of her seat. “Where is your wallet?”

“It’s um, behind the, uh, ow, ow, ow, ow!”

She grabbed the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned a bright white. “Are you okay?”

“Either somebody poured a Sprite all over my front seat while I was outside, or else my water just broke.”

“Oh. That’s not good. What do I do? Do I call an ambulance?” I turned, panicking. “Rafe! We need help!”

He sprinted to my side before Whitney could speak again. Like the Flash.

“No, an ambulance will take too long. Man, this really hurts. Why did I want to do this again?”

She obviously couldn’t drive. And Christopher’s seminar was in Iowa City, so he was already near the hospital. It would take too long for him to get back here.

“Marco’s got first aid training. Let me text him.”

“Or I could call Amanda.”

“Marco’s closer,” Rafe said.

A minute later, Marco pulled up. “I thought you sent them home,” I said.

“They don’t always listen.”

Rafe explained the situation to his bodyguard, while Whitney moaned again in pain, leaning against the wheel. Gracie started to cry. “It’s okay, Gracie, Mommy’s okay.”

“I’ll drive you to the hospital,” I told her. “You and Marco can sit in the backseat and he can help you.”

“No!” she said. “Somebody’s got to take care of the kids. They only know you. It has to be you. Gracie will freak out otherwise. You have to take them over to my mother’s house. Please.”

“I’ll drive her,” Rafe said. “And I’ll have Marco find Christopher when we get to Iowa City. It’s my fault he’s there. You take the kids to Whitney’s mother’s house, and then go straight back to the farmhouse. Stay there until I get back.”

She was going to need her wallet for the hospital. Her insurance card, driver’s license. That kind of stuff. Right?

I told them I’d be right back and ran inside to look for her wallet. I used my phone as a flashlight and finally found the wallet in one of the refrigerators. I put my phone down and filled up a to-go bag with some snacks for her. I didn’t know what she’d need. I only knew that horses liked to eat when they were in labor. People couldn’t be much different, could they?