Suddenly Royal (32 page)

“
Are you kidding me? You’re American and they expect you to be curt and adorable.”

“
Uh, that’s offensive.” I shook my head. “There are a lot of Americans that would go out of their way to not insult anyone. I’m just not one of them.”

“
Exactly. And people like it. They think it’s refreshing.”

I snorted and almost dribbled soda out of my mouth. “Refreshing. Right.”

“
Seriously. I heard you shot down Jeremy and he still wanted you to do his show.” She waved her chip in the air. “He thought it was great that you were so transparent and upfront. No tiptoeing around stuff.”

“
Jeremy is a weird guy and I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a spork than be the host of a television show.”

“
A spork?” Her mouth twitched.

“
Weird little spoon that thinks it’s a fork.”

“
You’re kind of crazy.” She smiled. “I can see why Alex is so smitten.”

“
Excuse me?” I looked around to see if anyone was listening, but the closest person was washing dishes on the other side of the room.

“
C’mon. I’m not blind, Sam.”

“
We’re just friends.” I looked down at my food.

“
Why?” She pushed my plate with her finger so that I’d look up.

“
What?”

“
Why are you just friends? You’re wearing the necklace he gave you, he hovers around you like a mommy bear, and the chemistry is disgustingly obvious.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is it because of Melissa? You have to know how much that hurt Alex.”

“
No, it’s not that.” I frowned. “There’s just so much going on and I don’t think I can handle a relationship on top of it all.”

“
So, it’s because of your father?”

“
No. Yes. Partly. It’s everything. I’m trying to learn how to do all this.” I motioned around the kitchen. “Plus, I’m leaving soon and Dad will be here. He’s going to need me.”

“
Is that all of it?” She leveled her gaze on mine and I squirmed.

“
Did you take classes as a child on how to get what you want?”

“
Don’t change the subject, Samantha. What is this really about?” She leaned forward.

“
I just told you!”

“
You think your father would want you to miss out on something—someone—that would love you because of him? All this change, it’s scary. I get that. But it can be good, too. You don’t see it because you’re living it, but to those of us watching, it’s obvious that you were meant for this job, for this life.”

I chewed on my lip while I pondered what she was saying. “That’s pretty deep for an eighteen-year-old.”

“
I might have come from a life of privilege, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any perspective.” Something in her eyes shifted and I saw a much older girl looking back at me.

“
I’m scared.” I said the words in a rush. Maybe if I said it out loud it would make it less real.

“
Of what, exactly?”

“
Alex—it wouldn’t be a fling. It wouldn’t be simple or easy. If I let myself, I’d just end up hurt and then it would be in every newspaper and on every gossip site.”

“
Why do you think Alex would hurt you?” She sat back in her seat. “No one knows Alex the way I do. When Daddy died, Alex stepped up and became the man of the house. He watched out for me and Max. Max has classic middle-child syndrome and left for school as quickly as he could, but every decision Alex has made was based on how it would affect us. And I can see how much he already cares about you. He would never do anything to hurt you.”

“
Not on purpose.” I played with my napkin. “I don’t think I could handle the scrutiny, the media attention.”

“
That’ll die down after a while. Or you’ll get used to it. It’s overwhelming right now, but we do have real lives. We go on vacations and sometimes have lazy Sundays like everyone else in the world.”

She didn’t understand. She’d been born into something that was so foreign to me I felt as if I’d been dropped on another planet. And Alex would break my heart—he’d have to when it came time for him to take the throne. I’d read enough in my
Idiots Guide to the Monarchy
that I knew he had to marry someone of royal blood who would be able to help him rule the country.

“
The wheels are turning in your head; I can practically hear the gears squeak.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “You know what I think? I think you’re worried about what it would mean if it all worked out. Alex comes with some heavy baggage. Crown prince isn’t nearly as fun as they make it out to be in the storybooks. Whoever he chooses will be queen.”

I groaned. “Exactly. I’m an American, for crying out loud. Remember? The adorable little foreigner that says whatever she’s thinking? No one would accept me as their queen and God knows I wouldn’t blame them. When I think about being with Alex, I can’t just think about how he makes me feel, I have to think about how it would affect an entire country. If they reject me, he would have to leave me. And if they don’t reject me, how badly could I screw it all up?”

Cathy smiled and leaned back in her chair. “He could always abdicate.”

“
Geez, Cathy, that wouldn’t make me feel like an ass or anything.” I glared at her. “Our entire relationship, I would be the reason he wasn’t king.”

“
The very things that have you worried are the exact things that mean you would make an excellent queen.”

“
You don’t understand. You’ve been brought up your whole life with that as a possible future. I was brought up in a land with no kings or queens. The very idea makes me nervous.”

“
You do realize you’re from a line of royalty that once held the crown of Lilaria?” She snorted and picked up her plate. “Sam, get it together. Sometimes all our plans for life go to shit. You end up doing something you never dreamed of and you know what you do?”

I stood up and followed her to the sink with my plate. “What’s that, oh wise one?”

“
You make the best out of it you can. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as you think it will be. It’s what you make of it.” Alex had said that exact same thing to me. She tossed her leftovers and handed the plate to the dishwasher. “But I can tell you this: You will never find another man that would love you the way Alex would.”

“
Riddle me this. If you’re so smart, why are you hanging out with Kyle? He’s a scumbag.” I looked over at her as we walked.

“
Oh, I know.” She shrugged. “I know exactly what he’s after, but when it’s just us, we have fun. I might understand how the world works, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to just be a little wild.”

“
Be careful there. The lines become blurry when we’re living it.”

“
I will.” Her blithe answer did nothing to make me feel like I had gotten through to her. Kyle was dangerous and I’d hate to see some of her sweetness smothered by the scars he would leave on her heart. “You leave tomorrow?”

“
Yep. Bright and early. I think we’re driving.” I shrugged. “Chadwick already packed up my clothes and sent them to the house.”

“
You’ll love it out there. Lots of trees and quiet.”

“
I’ve seen some pictures online, but I’m really looking forward to being there in person.” I stopped near my bedroom door.

“
Alex is going, too?”

“
Yes.” I took a deep breath. I hadn’t seen him since our trip to the bookstore. It felt like ages and I was eager but also nervous to see him again.

“
Lighten up, Sam.” She pushed my shoulder. “I expect an invitation to dinner soon.”

“
Pizza party at my place.”

“
Sounds perfect.” She hugged me quickly. “I’ve got to run.”

“
See you soon.”

I spent the rest of the afternoon going through my e-mails. I was almost through with the list of unread messages when a new one popped in. When I saw the return address I grinned. It was from Bert, probably telling me about something silly Jess had done. I clicked on the icon and almost screamed when I saw the attached pictures.

From:
BERT

To:
"Sam Rousseau"

Subject:
Important Question!!

Sam,

I was going to ask you to come with me to look, but since you’re all the way in Lilaria I’m sending you pictures. She’ll kick my ass if I pick the wrong one. What do you think?

Bert

I looked over the picture of rings and chewed on my lip. I was so happy for Jess, but also sad that I wouldn’t be there to listen to her squealing. I looked over the choices carefully, trying to pick out what Jess would and wouldn’t like. I debated for a minute over a couple of settings before responding.

From:
Sam Rousseau

To:
"BERT"

Subject:
RE: Important Question!!

Bert,

It has to be the round-cut; they have the most facets so sparkle the most. And we know how much Jess loves to sparkle!

Congrats! Really happy for you guys.

Sam

I hit the send button and sat there staring at my computer monitor. I wasn’t there, but I had still been able to help Bert. I sent a quick e-mail to Dad with pictures I had snapped with my phone. Looking through the snapshots made me realize how much of the city I had seen. Cathy was right. I needed to stop focusing on the parts that made me miserable and enjoy the good things that came with this new life.

I decided to relax the rest of the night. Chadwick was so busy he hadn’t scheduled me anything after lunch. It was like coming home and having no homework. I made use of the big tub and finished the book I had started on the plane. In fact, I was so engrossed in the book that the water chilled and I had to get out. It was the most peaceful night I had spent in Lilaria and I was grateful for it. I had needed to recharge my batteries. I felt like I had been handing out little pieces of myself to everyone I met and took pictures with. After a while I had begun to feel like a shell of the person I was and having the night off was working wonders.

I fell asleep with the e-reader on my chest and didn’t move the entire night.

America’s Duchess Finally Goes Home

—
California Travel Agents’ Association

The next morning was a blur of activity. For the first time since I met Chadwick, he looked flustered. I dutifully wore the dress he had left in my closet and checked the guest room for anything I might have accidently left behind. I packed up my laptop and stuck my e-reader in my bag to carry in the car. It would be a two-hour drive—nothing too long, but not a trip around the corner.

I finished up my breakfast while looking through the local papers. Thankfully some of them were in English. Unfortunately, my picture was on the front page of most of them.

“
How can they do this? They just publish whatever they want without checking facts.” I held up the one I was reading. “I’m not pining away for some lover back home.” I set that paper down and picked up the next one. “I’m also not suffering from an eating disorder. Look at this! This one says I refuse to eat and the queen is worried. This other paper has a picture of me stuffing a burger in my mouth and calls me an American slob. Which is it? Am I anorexic or a fatty?”