A Princess Next Door (Rothman Royals Book 1) (7 page)

It wasn’t long before we reached the top of a mountain and
could see the walled city in the distance.

Villemont had started as a medieval village and had been
built out from there. The “new wall” that spanned the circumference of the city
proper was a hundred and fifty years old. The palace grounds were within the
older wall that was more than four hundred years old.

Many of the streets were still made of cobblestones and were
too narrow for larger cars to drive through, but there was a wide paved road that
led to the palace, and that was the one we took.

Jack stared out the window, occasionally asking questions
but mostly just taking it in.

If I’d been hoping for an easy entrance, I’d have been
disappointed. My mother loved ceremony of every kind, so she’d arranged the
full treatment for us. The green-liveried Royal Guard was in position as the
limo stopped, and my mother and father were standing at the bottom of the main
stairs up to the palace. A small crowd had gathered—mostly palace staff and a
few friends of the family.

“Whoa,” Jack said, seeing what was waiting for him.

“I’m sorry. This is what they do.”

“Every time someone comes home?”

“Only if you’ve been gone as long as I have.”

He swallowed hard and reached to open the limo door. “Okay.
Let’s do this.”

Jack hated to be the center of attention. I knew this about
him. He also hated a lot of fuss and hoopla, as he called it. He was bombarded
with all of it now, as we got out of the car and were greeted by my parents.

My mother was always formal when other people were around,
so she simply kissed my cheek and took Jack’s hand as she introduced herself.
My father hugged me and gave Jack a pat on the shoulders, smiling warmly.

My father was genuinely glad to see me. I was sure my mother
was too, although you couldn’t tell so from her behavior or expression. Jack
was trying to be polite as he said hello, but he looked trapped and
uncomfortable. He’d rather have been anywhere else right now.

We had to greet a few other people before we were allowed to
make it into the huge entrance doors. My mother wanted to take us right into
the parlour for tea, but I pleaded fatigue and the need for a shower so I could
get Jack up to his room to recover a little.

We were put in separate rooms, as I’d known we would be, but
at least we were on the same floor in the same wing, so there was just a hall
between us. I managed to get rid of Madame Giselle, our long-time housekeeper,
and the two footman who had carried our luggage, and then Jack and I were
finally alone in his suite of rooms.

I was relieved they’d given him one of the best guest
suites—on the corner with a private balcony, a large updated bathroom, and some
very good, not-to-feminine antique furniture.

“Wow,” Jack said, staring at the closed door. His face
looked a little strained. “That was…a lot.”

“I did warn you.”

“Yes, you did.” He smiled, looking more like himself, and
reached out to pull me against him, his arms wrapping around me. “The worst is
over. It’s going to be fine.”

I wasn’t at all confident that the worst was over, but I
liked the tone of his voice so I didn’t argue too vehemently. “I told you
they’re having a dinner party tonight, didn’t I?”

“Yes. I’m fine with that. I’m usually good with people, you
know.”

“I know. But this won’t be pizza in the living room.”

“I won’t embarrass you.”

I looked up at his face. “That’s not what I’m worried about.
I’m quite sure my family is going to embarrass me.”

He leaned down to kiss me gently on the lips. “I’m pretty
tough. I can take whatever they dish out.”

I sighed and tightened my arms around him, but I had a sick
feeling in my gut.

Jack hadn’t seen anything my family could throw at him yet.

That evening, I was zipping up my
evening gown when there was a knock on my door.

My mother had probably sent one of the lady’s maids to help
me. I’d always preferred to get dressed on my own, but on special occasions she
liked for me to have a second pair of hands.

“Come in,” I called out, still working on my zipper. Another
pair of hands would actually be convenient at the moment.

A few seconds later, I heard a husky male voice saying, “Now
that is not at all what I expected to be greeted with.”

I gasped and whirled around to see Jack closing the door
behind him, looking incredibly handsome in a tuxedo the staff had found for
him. “I didn’t know it was you!”

“Would you have zipped up if you’d known I was coming?”

“Probably.”

“Then I made the right decision by not warning you.” His
eyes raked up and down my body with a possessive look that made me shiver. “You
look good enough to eat.”

I was wearing a deep red sleeveless gown that clung to my
body. The material was thick and lush enough for my mother to decide it was an
appropriate gown for a princess, but it was definitely sexier than I normally
wore. I’d never liked the gown as much as I did right now, though. “I’m still
trying to zip the silly dress.”

“I can help with that.” Jack came over, and I showed my back
to him. I could feel his warm fingers against my bare skin.

The zipper didn’t seem to be elevating.

“It goes up,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at him.

He gave me a wolfish smile. “I’m working on it.”

He leaned forward to press a kiss against the bare skin at
the back of my neck. Then lower, between my shoulder blades.

“Jack.” I tried to make my tone chiding, but it was shaking
from rising excitement. Nothing had ever felt as good as the touch of his lips
so soft against my skin.

“Mm hmm.” His hands were moving now too, skating up my belly
until he was cupping my breasts with both hands.

“Dinner begins in fifteen minutes.”

“We have time.”

I gasped when he caressed my nipples and gave the back of my
neck a little lick. I was almost limp with desire, and my cheeks were blazing
beneath my makeup. “We don’t…have much time.”

“I can be quick.”

“What about me?”

“I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”

He always did. I’d only been with two other men in my entire
life, and both of them had been decent in bed. But neither had been as
attentive and considerate about my needs as Jack was—every time.

I was quite sure it was a rare trait in a man, and it was
one I definitely appreciated.

I was letting out a helpless moan of pleasure when a knock
on the door surprised me for the second time in five minutes. My moan turned
into a little squeak of outrage as Jack dropped his hands.

Jack scowled. “Who the hell is it?”

“Amalie?” a familiar voice called through the door. “Are you
there?”

“Yes,” I called out, before I thought through the wisdom of
letting someone else in at the moment. My zipper was still down, and both Jack
and I looked a little worse for wear.

My youngest sister, Lisette, opened the door with a big
smile. “There you are! I had to host a stuffy garden party all afternoon. I’ve
been waiting all day to get back to the palace to see you!” She paused when her
eyes took in Jack standing beside me, giving my zipper a quick tug up. “Oh. I’m
sorry…”

“Oh, no,” I assured her, coming over to give her a hug as
soon as my dress was zipped. “You’re not interrupting. I’m so glad you stopped
by.”

She hugged me back and was grinning as we pulled apart.
Lisette was twenty, four years younger than me, and we’d gotten closer as we
grew up. She was sweet and quiet and preferred to stay in the background, and
only recently had our mother trusted her to participate in social functions for
the royal family, since she was often tongue-tied when put on the spot.

“How did the garden party go?”

“It was fine. I didn’t embarrass anyone, I don’t believe.”
Her big green eyes slanted over toward Jack.

“This is my friend Jack,” I said.

Jack smiled at her. “Nice to meet you.”

“You as well.” Lisette looked between me and Jack. “Is
Mother okay with your having a, uh, friend?”

I laughed. “She seems flustered by everything recently, but
my friends aren’t her business.”

“She’s been on the warpath lately. She’s determined to get
you back.” Lisette looked like she had a few more questions, but she obviously
wasn’t going to ask them in front of Jack.

“I told her I was coming home after that seminar.”

“Yes, but she doesn’t believe you’re actually going to do
it.” Lisette gave Jack another quick glance. “Are you?”

“That’s the plan.” I smiled determinedly and then checked
myself out in the mirror, smoothing down my hair, since my little interlude
with Jack had caused a few strands to slip out from the French twist I wore.
“It’s almost time to go down. Is there anyone interesting attending tonight.”

“Edward and his father will be there.”

“Edward!” I gasped, my shoulders stiffening in indignation.
“Why would she have invited him?”

“Why do you think? She still thinks there’s a chance for a
match.”

I growled and turned to Jack. “He’s the rich man she’s been
trying to marry me off to.”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding! That kind of thing
doesn’t still happen here, does it?”

“Only for princesses,” Lisette put in. “It’s a long-standing
tradition that the country—and particularly our mother—still believes in. But
Edward knows Amalie isn’t interested. He’s very snobbish and almost never
speaks to anyone but his father and our father. I don’t think he’d lower
himself to marry someone who wasn’t happy about it.”

“I sure hope not.” Jack looked surprised and a little
disgusted by the idea, and I could tell the glow of his arousal earlier had
worn off.

I shouldn’t be surprised. It wouldn’t take long for him to
see what my family was truly like and want nothing to do with me.

I tried to shrug off that knowledge. “Where’s Victoria?” I
asked Lisette. “I haven’t seen either her or Henry.”

“Henry is in England. He won’t be here for a couple of days.
Victoria is around, though.”

Something in Lisette’s expression struck me as off. “Is
something wrong with her?”

“Of course not.”

I didn’t believe my sister for a moment, but I just said
slowly, “Okay. I’ll see her tonight then.”

***

The dinner party was every bit as
stuffy and pretentious as I feared it would be. There were fourteen people
present, including my parents and sisters, me and Jack, Edward Farmingham
Channing IV and his father (Edward Farmingham Channing III), and three couples
who were longtime friends of my parents. We had drinks in the parlour and then made
a traditional procession into the dining room.

The dinner was eleven courses.

Nothing could have made Jack more uncomfortable and annoyed
than all of the ceremony and empty conversation. I could see it on his face,
although he was obviously trying to be polite.

It wasn’t easy, especially as some of the comments became
rather pointed.

As soon as conversation opened up, Lady Hannah, my mother’s
best friend, asked with her typical smiling condescension, “So, Mr. Watson, I
understand that you’re from Minneapolis, where Her Royal Highness, Princess Amalie
went to university.”

Jack had just taken a spoonful of soup so he had to swallow
before he answered. “Yes. That’s right. We’re neighbors, actually.”

“Amalie was staying in a very nice apartment building with a
lovely view,” my mother said, addressing the table at large. “But she’s moving
back home now, of course.”

I sighed and met Jack’s eyes, pleased to see that his were
rueful but mostly amused.

“So what is your line of work then?” my father asked Jack.
At least he looked genuinely interested. He was an always busy man who was
mostly dominated by my mother’s personality, but I’d never once doubted that he
loved me.

“Sporting goods stores, actually.”

“Sporting goods?” From the tone and my mother’s expression,
she might have asked if Jack was in the business of hiring out hitmen.

“Yeah. My dad started the business, and I took over when he
died.”

“He’s done a great job growing the company,” I put in, since
I didn’t like the unimpressed expressions on the faces of most of the table. “The
stores are very successful.”

My mother cleared her throat and gave Lady Hannah a look
that clearly said, “I told you so.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. Lisette was looking
sympathetic, and my father was still looking interested. But no one else at the
table was any help at all.

I was surprised and disappointed by Victoria’s expression.
My middle sister was just a year younger than me, and we’d been best friends
all our lives. The first couple of years I’d been in college, we’d talked
almost every day on the phone. The calls had gotten less frequent, though, and
now she was barely looking me in the eye.

It was like she was hurt or angry, but I had no idea what it
was about.

There was no way to ask her right now, though. Anything said
would be heard by the entire table.

It worried me. It made my chest hurt. I glanced away, and my
eyes happened to land on Edward’s face. He was a handsome man with dark hair
and blue eyes, but his face was perpetually emotionless. I doubted the man even
had a sense of humor. I certainly had never seen him laugh. When I was younger
and we were thrown together, I’d tried to make conversation, and he wouldn’t
say more than two words.

I’d known my share of snobs in my life, but no one was as
bad as he was.

I noticed that his eyes were on Victoria’s face, like he was
trying to read her expression the way I’d been. This struck me as strange—that
he would be at all interested in anyone but himself—but then Victoria looked
over in his direction, and his eyes moved immediately.

I shook the thought away. It was probably my imagination,
after all.

Returning to a subject that was far more important, I
checked Jack’s face. He was now telling my parents about the kinds of sporting
goods he sold in the stores. His conversation was as natural and
self-deprecating as always, but I could tell that he wished they would talk to
someone other than him.

“You should expand,” my mother told him, “and carry more
lucrative goods. Sports must be such a limited market. I’m sure if you tried
you could expand your reach, at least regionally. Take the Channings, for
instance.” She nodded toward the father and son across the table. “They handle
precious items—jewelry, clocks, fine art.”

I saw Jack swallow back whatever his response would have
been. It wasn’t like him. He normally said what he thought. But he was trying
to hold back—for me.

It made my stomach churn, that he had to.

“That’s not the way it works, Mother,” I put in softly. “I’m
sure you can understand how they’ve built their brand around sporting goods,
and that’s why people come into the stores.”

“Hmm.” She looked disapproving but let the subject rest.

Hit with a brainstorm, I asked Lady Hannah, “How is your
garden this year?”

This was a brilliant strategy, since Lady Hannah loved to
talk about anything—particularly her garden—so she went off for fifteen minutes
about the flowers her gardener had planted this year.

Jack was clearly relieved to be out of the spotlight, and I
felt better about everything.

All went well until the fish course was served. Jack picked
up his fork and started to eat before my father did—which was a no-no in royal etiquette—and
I put a discreet hand on his knee to stop him.

He didn’t know what I was trying to say, but he put his fork
down and met my eyes. Eventually, he must have understood my meaning because he
didn’t start to eat again until everyone else was.

My mother had noticed, of course, but no one else seemed to
have.

“Sorry,” he mouthed, giving me a tired smile.

He hated this.
Hated
it. Dinner parties like this
weren’t my favorite thing in the world, but I’d grown up with them so they were
no big deal. This was a big deal to Jack, though, and I could feel how restless
he was beside me as the dinner went on hour after hour.

We finally reached the cheese course, and I was starting to
relax. If we could get through this, then I could try to avoid anything else
this week that would be too painful.

Except for the ball. Jack would hate it, but I absolutely
had to attend.

When the dinner finally broke up, my father came over to
clap Jack on the back. “Do you want to join us for a drink and cigar?”

The men always did that after a dinner party—went to the
billiard room to drink and smoke, while the ladies went to the parlour.

There was no way I was going to leave Jack alone, though. “I
was going to take him on the tour of the gardens, actually,” I said quickly.
“They’re so beautiful in the moonlight, and we need to stretch our legs after
the flight earlier today.”

My father smiled agreeably, but my mother looked outraged.
It wasn’t enough to stop me, though. I took Jack by the arm and started out of
the dining room.

Then my mother said, “The other young people might want to
join you. Victoria, Edward, Lisette, why don’t you join them on their walk.”

I almost whimpered at losing our near escape, but there was
no way to object without creating a scene that would humiliate my parents.

So our quiet walk in peace turned out to be an awkward walk
with me and Lisette trying to make conversation, Jack putting in a comment here
or there when it was appropriate, and Victoria and Edward not saying anything
at all.