The Keys' Prince (The Royal Heirs) (23 page)

As much as Dario wanted to discount what Anya was saying, he couldn’t. Luckily, times had changed and most royal marriages weren’t forced upon a couple, although there were still many that were. But back then, when Anya and his father were in love, they didn’t stand a chance. Just like their son and the love of his life were doomed, for many of the same reasons, twenty-five years ago.

But Dario was a new king. A modern king. And he had the power to make sure that nothing like this every happened again, at least not in Kristianico. And if he were lucky, maybe by telling their story to the world, they’d save royal families in other countries from suffering like they had.

Knowing exactly what he needed to do, he got up, made sure everyone had a refill on their drinks and sandwiches and then, with his family’s help, he came up with a plan to share their secret with the world.

For what seemed like mere minutes but actually ended up being a couple of hours, judging by the position of the sun which was approaching another gorgeous Le Nid sunset, they devised and worked through the details of their plan to go public
with their family’s truth. It seemed that once the gates were opened, an easy, at times spirited conversation ensued—a conversation that was forty-plus years overdue.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Three days had passed since the day that forever changed Stella’s
life as well as the life of the man she loved. Seeing Dario finally interacting with his family gave her a new side of him to get to know and love. And the more she saw, the deeper she loved him.

He and his brothers and sister may have only known they were a family for a few days, but the bonds they were forming were for a lifetime. And with Anya there to guide and gently nudge them in exactly the right directions, they were very quickly making up for lost time.

Anya was a remarkable woman. Stella was so lucky to have her in her life, as it seemed every person was who had her in their inner circle. She couldn’t help but wish she’d had a mother like her. And on that note, she couldn’t wait for Auntie Elo to meet her. They were sure to become fast friends.

Stella looked in the mirror one last time, admiring the gorgeous cut of the dress her stylists had chosen for her. The royal-violet, silk jersey wrap-dress by her favorite, go-to designer, Diane von Furstenberg, perfectly complemented her engagement ring.

Even though she’d been staring at the ring for what seemed like an eternity, she couldn’t believe a wish she’d dared to dream since she was eighteen was finally coming true.

Today, she and Dario would announce their engagement to the world. She would be the next queen of Kristianico. And along with this wonderful news, the people of Kristianico would also learn that their country did indeed already have a line-up of heirs, whether or not she and Dario gave them one or not. There were four of them—David, Deacon, Duke and Delaney—who would soon be deep in the process of learning to live the public and private lives of royals. They’d be groomed to become King or Queen, should the need arise.

Dario had summoned virtually his entire staff to Le Nid for a long weekend. His private secretary Lowell Tannebaum was in charge of carrying out all of the family’s plans, which included getting the Palace Press Office ready to make the announcements by noon today. Stella and Dario had met with the palace’s chief press officer Mario Vanvitelli and his team.

There was so much to organize and prepare in such a short time, but Stella saw firsthand why Dario trusted his team—especially his two main men—and why he enjoyed such a great relationship with the press over the years. With the support of his team and their media contacts, so far, everything was going very smoothly. Although it was nerve-wracking, Stella knew that, with time, and the expertise of Dario’s staff to guide her, she could become just as adept as he was at dealing with the media.

Since Dario was a modern royal and worked hard to make sure that everything he did was in keeping with the modern approach to life that his country’s people and the world operated on, their staff first posted a release on the royal family’s Facebook page. The Palace Press Office then Tweeted that there would be terrific news coming from King Adonis around noon. Within minutes, the post and tweet were shared and retweeted tens of thousands of times, causing them to go viral in no time at all.

An official press statement was issued via email: “King Adonis is thrilled to announce his engagement to Miss Alexia Stella DeAngelo Anastas. The wedding will take place this summer in Kristianico.”

Dario’s private office, together with government leaders, would choose the date, after they’d coordinated with heads of state and diplomats around the world, as well as all of the foreign royals, whose offices would also be consulted.

Less than a half-hour after the social media announcements, hundreds of journalists and photographers from around the world had gathered outside the gates of Le Nid.

Normally, Queen Meredith would have been the first to make a public comment, but not this time. Dario would speak for his entire family, and in this case, introduce them to the world as well. Queen Meredith had arrived at the farm however the previous night as well as Auntie Elo, Hollywood and Emma Lou.

“You look so beautiful, my darling,” Auntie Elo said, coming into Stella’s walk-in closet.

She stood behind Stella as she adjusted a fifteen-carat amethyst pendant till it rested just below the hollow of her throat. Dario had the piece delivered for her by the royal jeweler, and it was stunning.

Stella had no idea how long Elo had been standing there while she secured the pendant, but she was so glad to see her. It had been late the night before when she, Hollywood and Emma Lou had gotten in, so Stella had hugged them all and seen them to their suites. After the media circus concluded, she was looking forward to catching up with them, especially Auntie Elo. She’d missed her so very much and hoped to convince her to pack up permanently and move to Kristianico.

“I just got a call from Dean, and the press is already lined up outside of Neptune’s Treasures,” Elo said, fixing the back of Stella’s hair, the same stubborn spot she’d been fixing for her for years.

“I figured as much,” Stella said, taking a deep breath, and for the first time since she’d been in Kristianico wondering what she would do with her beloved shop. She loved it too much to abandon it all-together. But she couldn’t very well be a hands-on owner from across the globe, especially not with the crazy schedule she’d be keeping as Kristianico’s queen.

“Don’t you worry about that shop,” Auntie Elo said, shaking her head and finger in the way she did when she was about to give Stella a firm order. “We can figure out all of that later. Today, you focus on your engagement and the wonderful new family you’re about to become part of.”

“I’ve already got a wonderful family with you,” Stella said, turning to hug Elo, really not wanting to let her go.

“And now, we’ve got an even bigger one,” Elo said, holding Stella at arm’s length, smiling with the same sense of pleasure mixed with insecurity that was also pulling at Stella’s heart.

As much as Stella wanted all of this, and always had, it was such a huge change to go from the perfectly quiet, idyllic life she’d built in Sarasota, to once again being back on the world stage.

She and Dario had just talked about that very thing earlier that morning. They’d been too keyed up to sleep and had spent a couple hours talking about all of the challenges they had to face and decisions to be made. Giving up on going back to sleep, they’d gotten up at five and started working on the brief statement Dario would give in front of the cameras about their relationship and the addition to their family of Anya and her children.

Their press team, who’d made themselves available whenever they needed them, helped them clean up the statement and gave it a final polish. Without their careful and thoughtful guidance, Stella wasn’t sure where’d they’d be.

When all of this was done, she and Dario would definitely be giving each of them extra time off, as if they were ever truly free of their duties. But they’d do their best not to bother them on a much-deserved vacation.

“Auntie Elo, you’ll also have the full support of the Palace Press Office,” Stella said, letting that soak into her aunt’s mind. “Be kind, Elo. I see your ornery wheels spinning.”

“It’s not me you have to worry about, you know,” Elo said, laughing out loud and then clearing her throat, tilting her head so that Stella could past her to Hollywood and Emma Lou who were eavesdropping outside the closet’s double doors.

“Come here, you two. I’ve missed you,” Stella said walking toward Hollywood and Emma Lou who appeared to be about ready to burst with excitement over the whole ordeal.

“Oh, we’ve been busy in the kitchen. Geldon, that hot chef of yours, was so kind to give us a couple of crock pots to use. And we invited Queen Meredith to join us. She fit right in and could be a promising new addition to our Crock Pot Guild,” Emma Lou said, looking quite pleased with herself for thinking to include the Queen.

With that information, Stella laughed so hard she thought she’d have to touch-up her makeup. But gosh, it felt good to laugh. With these three around, there would always be plenty of high jinx in the palace.

• • •

As soon as the announcement had been made on all of the palace’s social media outlets, Dario immediately checked in with his elite Royal Protection Service. He asked that additional teams be made available at once for Stella as well as for his mother, brothers and sister, Auntie Elo, Hollywood and Emma Lou.

Once introductions were made at the press conference—from that point on—all of his family and inner circle would be accompanied everywhere by a protection team. There would also be a permanent police presence at the farm as well as at Neptune’s Treasures and Auntie Elo’s retirement community in Sarasota.

Dario knew that dealing with a protection detail—being surrounded, for example, by uniformed officers with semiautomatic machine guns—would be one of the toughest adjustments for his new family, but it was absolutely necessary for today’s modern royals.

They’d have to get used to security convoys as well as an obscene number of reporters visiting the places they enjoy and the people they’re friends with or do business with. It wouldn’t take long till there would be guided tours driving by their favorite places. Anywhere they frequently visited would be fair game.

That said one of the items on Dario’s agenda for today’s television interview was to ask the public’s respect for his family’s privacy as they learned the ropes of being royals.

In addition, his press aides had been in constant communication with the news’ crews for a couple of days now, asking for the same respect. Dario had also chosen his most-trusted reporter Sam Spencer, who he’d done several interviews with in the past, to break the story.

Because of his openness with the press, Dario had a great relationship with several reporters. He probably would have been all right with whoever the station sent to cover the announcements, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Unlike in his past, when he only had to worry about himself, he had Stella and her family as well as his to protect. For him, the challenges and their consequences had increased ten-fold.

Mr. Spencer had been summoned to Le Nid early in the day, moments before the official announcements had been sent out via social media. With his cameras now set up around the pool and outdoor living area, Dario waited for Stella to join him so they could go over the final details with Sam and his crew, ahead of the arrival of the rest of his family.

Dario was chatting with Sam when Stella came up behind him and slipped her arm inside his elbow. Now that she was by his side, he was fine, filled with the steady confidence that she so easily and naturally inspired. He hoped he had that effect on her too.

“Are you okay?” He asked, hating that right off the bat she had to endure this kind of monster-sized press event. So much for gently breaking her in.

“I’m fine. Now that I’m here with you,” she said, giving him the smile that shored up his courage like nothing ever had.

She turned to introduce herself to Sam.

She looked and acted every part his queen. He couldn’t be more proud to announce to the world that she was his and would be forever.

Less than five minutes later, with his new family surrounding him underneath the pergola, Dario cleared his throat and made the announcement he’d wanted to make since he’d first met Stella all of those years ago.

Basically repeating the exact words from their social media releases, Dario started the event reiterating what the world already knew. Stella would soon be his queen.

The first topic of discussion after that was the proposal itself, which Stella handled with finesse. With her hands in her lap, a trick his team had shown her to help her appear as well as feel more at ease, she touched his heart with her sweet telling of his proposal.

“It was all very romantic. You’ve got yourself a wonderfully romantic king,” she said, smiling up at him and winking. “Not that we haven’t both been thinking about this for several years,” she added, getting lots of laughs from both Sam’s crew as well as their families.

“It’s about time. They’ve waited long enough,” Auntie Elo chimed in, immediately softening the formal edge of the event.