A Princess Next Door (Rothman Royals Book 1) (10 page)

“Thank you, sir. I mean, your Highness.” Jack glanced at me
quickly and muttered, “Is that right?”

“Close enough,” my father said, looking in amusement toward
Edward.

If I’d been in better shape to notice such things, I would
have been shocked that it looked like Edward was almost—almost—smiling back.

“You’ve interrupted proceedings here enough,” my father
continued. “You may be excused for the time being.”

I gave a foolish little giggle as Jack and I walked down the
platform. Everyone was still watching us, and I didn’t relax until we’d
reentered the palace.

Jack took my hand as we walked up the stairs.

We went to my bedroom. As soon as he’d closed the door, I
sat down onto the chaise and covered my face with my hands, letting go of the
tension for a moment.

Jack strode over and sank down onto his knees in front of
me, taking both of my hands in his again.

“I’m so sorry about the hoopla out there,” he said hoarsely.
“I just couldn’t wait to talk to you anymore, and I guess I kind of lost it.”

“What was it all ab—”

“I needed to say I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“For expecting you to sacrifice everything when I had to
sacrifice nothing. For assuming there was an easy answer for you, just because
it was easy for me. You were right all along. I was wrong. I was selfish. I was
an asshole without even knowing it.”

“No, you weren’t—”

“Yes, I was. I wanted you so much that I refused to
understand what all of this means to you. But I heard you yesterday morning,
when you were talking about all the kings. I heard how proud you were, how much
you loved them, how much a part of you this place, this history really is. And
I heard you with your sister earlier. How much you love her, and how it’s
breaking you apart to have this distance from her. And I heard you with your
mother just now. You’re right. You’re entirely right. You should be able to be
you and still be a princess. And I should love all of you. I
do
love all
of you. And I’ll give up anything I need to if it means we can be together.”

I stared down at him speechlessly, hardly believing he was
saying what he was saying, even though his actions earlier should have showed
me it was coming. A shudder of excitement started in my chest and slowly
radiated out through my body.

“I don’t know if you were even aware of what you said earlier
to your mother,” Jack went on, his face twisting with emotion in a way I’d
never seen from him before. “But you said you would love me if you wanted to. I
hope you meant that, Amalie. I really hope you did. Because I love you more than
anything, and I hope you’ll let me love you the way you deserve.”

I was almost choking on emotion, but I managed to force out
something stupid. “But you said it was casual between us.”

“I just said that to give you a way out. So you wouldn’t be
scared to give in. It was never casual for me.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.” He gave me a broken smile. “I love all of you,
Amalie. And I want you to be a princess, if that’s what you want.” His eyes
lowered for just a moment before he added, “But I also want you to be
my
princess.”

I burst into tears and threw my arms around his neck, and we
hugged urgently—and rather awkwardly—for a long time, half on and half off the
chaise.

When we finally recovered, Jack got up and sat beside me,
pulling me into a gentle hug. “Was that a yes?”

“Yes. It was a yes. I want to be your princess.”

His arms tightened briefly. “And you love me?”

“Yes. I love you. It was never truly casual for me either.”

I could hear and feel him let out a long breath. “So you
think we can work things out? We can do the long-distance thing for a while, if
you need to. Or I can look into ways of working remotely for part of the year.
I’ll go to fancy parties as much as is required, and I’ll play nice with anyone
you need me to. I want to do right by you, Amalie Rothman. Because I love you
and you deserve it.”

“I want to go to graduate school in Minneapolis,” I told
him.

He smiled. “That’s good then.”

“But maybe I could spend summers and holidays here, and then
after I graduate we could figure out another arrangement. I don’t want you to
give up the things in your life that are important to you either.”

“I’m sure we can make it work. If we both agree that both of
our lives are equally valuable, then we can figure out something.”

I nodded. “Good.”

“Good.”

I smiled at him, soaking in the return of the dry amusement
between us. Then, overwhelmed with emotion, I pulled his head down into a kiss.

We spent the next half-hour tangled up together on my bed,
our clothes littering the floor, doing some things my mother definitely
wouldn’t approve of.

But neither of us seemed to care.

***

Two weeks later, I was coming back from
my art history seminar at five-thirty in the evening. I only had two more days
of the seminar left, and part of me was relieved.

It had been an amazing learning experience, and I wouldn’t
have missed it for the world. But spending all day in one class, for two whole
weeks, was absolutely exhausting.

Plus, I was still dealing with the lingering notoriety from
my mother’s meddling a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t uncommon for a few
photographers to show up where I was, snapping pictures. Hans had had to step
up his security and act like a real bodyguard.

It was unavoidable, though, and Jack and I were getting used
to it. I was also hopeful that pretty soon another story would drown out the
interest in the princess of a tiny country no one had heard of who was going to
school in Minnesota.

There were definitely some annoyances with being a princess
and living the life I did. I was in a good mood now, though, as I knocked on
Jack’s door.

“Come in,” he called out, his voice slightly muffled.

I opened his door and stepped in, finding him coming out of
his bedroom. He’d obviously just gotten home and had changed clothes. He wore a
pair of workout shorts and was pulling on a T-shirt.

He smiled when he saw me, reaching out to pull me into a
kiss. “You look tired,” he murmured.

“I am tired.”

“How about we order pizza?”

“We had pizza a few days ago.”

“What’s your point?”

I giggled. “Okay. We can order pizza, as long as you eat a
salad I’ll make with it.”

He made a face but nodded in agreement. “I was going to work
out first. Do you want to join me?”

I didn’t really want to exercise this evening, but I knew it
would be a good idea and I’d feel better if I did. So I agreed reluctantly.
“Just let me change clothes.”

“I’ll come with you,” he said, grabbing his keys and his
shoes.

“Why?”

“So I can watch. Why did you think?” He gave me a teasing,
smoldering look.

Laughing again, I told him, “Well, don’t get any ideas. Working
out is going to take all the energy I have this evening.”

When we got to my apartment, Jack sat down on my bed while I
pulled out my workout clothes. “You look happy,” he murmured, his eyes resting
on my face.

“I am. Victoria called me this afternoon. My phone was off,
but I called her back on the way home.”

“So it was a good talk?”

“Y-yes. It was pretty good. Not like we used to talk, but
much better than nothing. She’s getting married this summer.”

Jack shook his head. “That sounds pretty dubious to me.”

“I know. I hope she’ll be all right. But she’s absolutely
set on it, and she seems to think they’ll manage all right.”

“Does that man ever say more than a few words at a time?”

“I don’t think so. The most I’ve ever heard him speak was at
that scene you made at the processional. He must think he’s too good for idle
conversation. I don’t know.
I
certainly wouldn’t want to marry him.” I
sighed, fighting that shiver of worry. “Well, if it’s bad, she can always
divorce him. I’ll keep checking up on her so she doesn’t feel trapped.”

“Yes. That’s important.”

I’d taken off my clothes and was starting to pull on a T-shirt
when I noticed Jack’s eyes were focused hotly on the vicinity of my chest.
“Jack,” I said, feigning sharpness. “We’re having a conversation.”

“You better put on your shirt then.”

I did just that—as well as my shorts, shoes, and socks—and
was smiling fondly as I walked over to the bed to kiss him. He dragged me down
with him, but when the kiss got too urgent, I pulled away. “I thought you
wanted to work out.”

Jack groaned. “I do.”

“So work out first. Then pizza and salad. Then maybe sex, if
I still have the energy.”

Jack chuckled and put his arm around me as we left the room.

Just as we were stepping out of my apartment, a delivery man
arrived with a bouquet of flowers for me.

They were gorgeous—silver and purple and green—and I stared
at them in wonder in the doorway.

“Who the hell sent you those?” Jack grumbled. “You better
not have a secret admirer.”

“It’s not a secret admirer,” I said, my voice wobbling
slightly.

Jack’s expression sobered as he peered at my face and then
studied the bouquet. “They’re like those flowers from the painting you showed
me—in the Villemont colors.”

“Yes.”

Then enlightenment dawned. “They’re from your mom.”

“Yes. They’re from her.”

There was no card, but I didn’t need one. My mother would
always be who she was, but this was her gesture of peace.

I was still part of the Rothman family. I was still a
princess.

But I was also Amalie, graduate student in art history, who
was crazy in love with Jack Watson.

And maybe the world was truly big enough to let me be both.

Two months later, I was waiting
anxiously at the airport in Geneva for Jack’s plane to deboard.

Hans was standing a short distance away, but otherwise I’d
come to the airport alone. There was going to be people and hassle and hoopla
enough this week—as Victoria and Edward got married. I figured I could greet
Jack alone and in peace.

I hadn’t seen him in almost a month, since I’d spent the
past few weeks in Villemont helping with preparations for the wedding and
reconnecting with my family.

My graduate coursework would start up again in a couple of
weeks, and I’d return to Minneapolis and Jack. But first we had to get through
the wedding.

My whole body jerked in excitement when I saw Jack’s big,
familiar body striding through the crowd of other passengers on their way to
ground transportation or baggage claim. He saw me and grinned, his stride
accelerating.

He dropped his bag and scooped me into a hug when he’d
reached me.

After more of a kiss than I’d been expecting—and one that
left me flushed and panting—I smiled up at him and said, “I missed you!”

“Not as much as I missed you.”

The summer hadn’t been without its stresses and
complexities—as Jack and I had navigated a relationship between two entirely
different worlds—but it had been the best summer of my life, and I wouldn’t have
gone back to the way things were before for anything.

And the best thing was I knew Jack felt exactly the same
way.

“You’re even dressed up,” I said, my eyes running up and
down his slightly wrinkled dress shirt and dark gray-brown trousers.

He grinned at me. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just stared as
he put down his bag on an empty seat and unzipped it. As I watched, he pulled
out a jacket that matched his trousers and put it on.

He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to exclaim at his
wearing the suit coat. “Not yet,” he murmured.

Then he pulled a tie out of his bag—a green, purple, and
silver striped tie, the Villemont colors—and he wrapped it around his neck and
under his collar before he tied it off.

I stared at him, awed and filled with emotion that
threatened to choke me. “You wore a suit and tie!” I breathed, when I could
finally form words.

He gave a sheepish nod and tried to brush out a couple of
wrinkles from his shirt.

“For me?”

“Of course, for you. And your family.”

There was no way to properly respond to this except by
throwing myself back in his arms.

I might have been a slightly spoiled princess, but Jack’s
little gesture was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

And not for the world would I mention that his tie didn’t
really match his suit.

***

The next story in the Rothman Royals
series is
A Princess for a Bride
, about Victoria and Edward. Because of scheduling
conflicts, I can’t release it until February, but you can be looking out for it
then. In the meantime, I’ll have
Christmas in Eden Manor
coming out in
early October, and
Trophy Wife
coming out in December. An excerpt from
Trophy
Wife
follows.

If you want to keep up with my new releases and sales, you can
sign up for my newsletter through
this
link
.

Two hours later, Allison
pulled her father’s old tank of an
Oldsmobile back into her driveway. She’d tried to be careful at the store, but
her trunk was filled and she’d spent way too much money.

Plus, the Walmart had been packed out on
a Sunday.

It was four in the afternoon, and she
was exhausted. It was just early May, but the air was hot and humid today, and
she was sweating, even in her sleeveless top.

She was leaning over into the trunk to
gat
her up as many bags as she could carry when a
voice behind her surprised her. “You need some help?”

She straightened up with a jerk, turning
to see a man beside her wearing faded jeans and a white T-shirt. He looked to
be in his thirties. He needed to shav
e and his brown
hair was too long, and he had the rough look of a man who work
ed
with his hands. He’d startled
her so much she just stared at him. “What?”

“Do you need some help?” he asked again,
gesturing toward her trunk. “Carrying all that in?”

She frow
ned.
Who the hell was this guy? And did she really look so helpless that she
couldn’t unload her own trunk by herself. “
Oh. No. I
’ll be okay. Thank you.” Several bags
were already hooked over her arms, so she gave him an absent smile and turned
to walk up
the steps to the front door.

She had some trouble getting her key
into the door with the bags on her hand, but she’d almost gotten the door
unlocked when she suddenly felt someone behind her, swinging open the storm
door that had been propped against her b
ack.

She gave a little squeal of surprise as
she turned to see the man she’d thought she’d dismissed. He had twice as many
bags hooked over his arms as she was able to carry.

“I’
m Rob West,
” he said with a slight mountain drawl
in his deep voice. “I’m your
neighbor across the
street.”

She felt flustered now and annoyed that
a strange man was walking into her house as if she’d invited him. “Okay, but I
said I could get the bags by myself.”

“I was already over here. Why shouldn’t
I help?”

Because she’d said s
he didn’t need his help. Any basically civil person would
have respected her wishes. She really hoped everyone wasn’t as rude and pushy
as this man was.

“Where’s all your furniture?” Rob asked,
looking around the empty house after he’d dumped his load of b
ags on her kitchen counter.

“It’s in the basement. I just got here
today.”

He focused his gaze on her, looking her
up and down. His eyes were actually quite nice—a really deep, melting brown.
“Are you Chris and Sharon’s girl?”

She was startled by the quest
ion, but then realized that, if he lived across the street,
he’d probably known her parents.  “
Yes.
”

“I though you lived in the city.” He
glanced down at her left hand, and she realized he was looking for a wedding
ring.

She’d taken off her rings six month
s ago. “I’m moving here now.”

He nodded slowly, as if trying to piece
together her situation, something he had no business knowing. “Well, welcome to
town. I’ll get the rest of your stuff.”

“I don’t need any—” she began.

He just ignored her, striding back
outside as if
she hadn’t spoken. Arthur had done that
all the time—completely disregard what she was trying to say. She
hated
it.

Rob might be a small-town, blue-collared
guy, but he obviously wasn’t all that different from Arthur at heart.

He came back
into
the house a minute later with another huge load of bags. She couldn’t help but
notice he had really good shoulder
s, and his biceps were very impressive
, clearly visible beneath his shirt
sleeves as he held the bags. He set them on the opposite counter and t
hen turned to look at her. “That’s it from the car. Do you
want me to haul some stuff up from the basement for you? You at least need a
chair or two and a bed.”

“I’
m fine,
” she said, managing to smile although
she really wanted to scowl at him. “Thank you.
”

He frowned. “You can’t get it all up
yourself. Do you have some guys who are coming to help?”

Now she frowned too. “I said I was fine.
Thank you.”

“What are you all snippy about?” he
asked, looking at her curiously.

She gave a gasp of indignation at his
clueless rudeness. “I’m
snippy
,” she bit out, “because I’ve said several times that I’m
fine, and yet you refuse to listen to me.”

His expression relaxed into almost a
smile, as if he’d finally figured out her mood. “O
h,
I get it. I’m not some creepy asshole, so no need to worry about that. I live
across the street. I knew your folks. I just figured you could use some help,
especially since you’re all dressed up and everything.”

She looked down at herself in surprise.
“
I’m not dressed up!” She wore a sleeveless pale blue
top, black capris, and sandals. The sandals had heels on them, but almost all
of her shoes had heels. In terms of her wardrobe, the clothes were very casual.

He chuckled—a surprisingly pleasant
sound. “O
kay. If you say so.”

Allison heard a familiar sound just
then—that damned toilet was running again, after she’d spent five minutes
jiggling the handle before she left.

Rob must have heard the sound and seen
her expression. “Sounds like it just needs a new
flapper.
I can look at it for you.” He actually turned around and took a step toward the
bathroom.

“That’s okay,” Allison said quickly,
relieved when he stopped at her words. “I’m sure I can take care of it.”

He turned to face her again, not looking
like h
e believed her, but fortunately he didn’t
argue. “There’s a hardware store in town—just a block down from Dora’s. You can
get a new flapper, and they can
talk you through
replac
ing
the old one.”

There was he was, assuming she’d need
help again, based on no
thing but her appearance. He
could have no idea whether she was capable of fixing a toilet, and he shouldn’t
make assumptions.

She didn’t like this guy at all. She
really wanted him to leave.

She took a deep breath, making sure her
voice was polite as she
said, “I appreciate your
help, and it was nice to meet you.”

“You really don’t mean that, do you?” he
drawled, an irresistible half-smile on his face.

She narrowed her eyes. “I’d like to
unpack my bags now.”

“Got it,” he said, still smiling as if
privately
amused. “I’ll see you around.”

Finally, he turned to leave. Allison was
very glad to see him go, and it wasn’t because her eyes drifted down to his
very nice ass as he walked away.

***

You can find out more about Trophy Wife
here
.