Honeymoon With a Prince (Royal Scandals) (26 page)

While he was on the phone with Vittorio, the queen left a message asking if Massimo wanted suggestions for decorators, saying that when she returned to the palace following the athletic center opening, she’d be happy to e-mail the names and contact information for those who’d previously worked in the palace.
 
She also had recommendations from friends of hers who, in her words, “have aesthetic sensibilities similar to yours.”

Did he have aesthetic sensibilities?
 
He supposed he did, if having an I-know-what-I-like-when-I-see-it attitude counted.
 
He wasn’t sure how his mother reconciled that with her friends’ opinions on home decor.

He shoved aside the stylists’ resumes.
 
More coffee was in order if he was going to make sense of them.
 
He walked to his kitchen and filled the chamber of the coffeemaker with water, then clicked it to life.
 
As he located a mug and a packet of sugar, he wondered how Kelly managed to stay awake all afternoon.
 
Or if she had.
 
The head of housekeeping notified him that the guest suites were full for once, given the number of dignitaries visiting Sarcaccia for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, but she had Prince Stefano’s permission to house any additional guests in his suite, which was next door to Massimo’s.
 
She offered to put Kelly there, if that was fine with Massimo, pointing out that it would give the new closet organizer easy access to his apartment.

Of course, he’d said yes.
 
And of course, while standing in the closet doorway writing out the promised inventory of its contents for Kelly, he’d allowed his mind to wander to what might be happening on the other side of his apartment wall.
 
When he realized he’d listed his old sports equipment for the donation pile three times, he knew he was in trouble.

He needed to get on with his life.
 
His real life, here in Sarcaccia.
 
The one that demanded he find a cause about which he was passionate, then use his resources to pursue it to the best of his ability.
 
He didn’t need to moon over a tourist who’d had a streak of bad luck and would be gone in two weeks.
 
One who would’ve been gone from his life today, if he’d simply dropped her at the airport.

Instead, he’d created a catch-22 for himself.
 
He could only move forward with his life here by protecting his reputation, which meant covering his tail after his hedonistic night with Kelly.
 
Hiring her lessened potential public relations problems where she was concerned.
 
Nailing down that first hire would also give his mother a sense of relief, knowing that her son was once again focused on his royal duties.

On the other hand, he couldn’t move forward as long as he kept Kelly close, either.
 
She’d pointed out that he could’ve hired anyone for the job.
 
While he doubted that was true—working in the royal palace required a certain level of discretion—he certainly didn’t have to hire
her
.
 
He’d done it because it was the path of least resistance.
 

He’d done it because he couldn’t let her go.
 

He was a five-star idiot.
 
He was attracted, deeply attracted, to the woman.

She saw in him what no one else saw.
 
Laughed at his jokes, took his teasing in the spirit it was intended, then gave as good as she got.
 
Noticed his discomfort in the wine cellar, but didn’t embarrass him when ensuring he was all right.
 
Treated his scars as the wounds they were without asking for more detail than he offered.
 
And she understood him well enough from the first few hours they’d spent together to know that’s what he wanted.
 
He leaned against the refrigerator and waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

An overwhelming desire to help her had fueled him into keeping her around, a desire to fix her asshole ex’s wrongs and show Kelly that she both deserved and expected better.
 
And, frankly, a desire to prove to her that despite having money and connections—and yes, a few yachts—he was nothing like her ex.
 

But what then?
 
What if he did prove himself to her?
 

He’d be right back where he started, with a complication.
 
And now he’d put her in the one position that meant that, even if he proved all that and more, they couldn’t sleep together again.
 
He’d made her his employee for the duration of her time in the country.
 
Shaking her hand to seal the deal as if she were any other hire and knowing what that meant for their relationship was downright painful.

“Necessary,” he muttered to himself.

Beeps finally marked the end of the coffeemaker’s brewing cycle.
 
After pouring himself a cup of invigoration, he strode back to the living room and grabbed an economic brief from the top of the pile.
 
It could be worse, he rationalized.
 
Kelly would be gone in two weeks and he’d end up with a killer closet in the deal.
 
Five minutes online finding information on her former company showed him that much.
 
Besides, he had Independence Day activities to think about.
 
Two weeks should go by in a flash, given that he’d hardly be in his apartment for the next few days.

A glance at the garden showed that the section near his rooms was empty, so after whistling for Gaspare and snapping a tie-out rope onto the dog’s collar, he let himself out the back door and settled on one of the benches to read.
 
With Gaspare’s rope hooked to one end of the bench, the boy had enough room to play without being able to reach the fountain.

An hour later, Massimo was so engrossed in his reading that he wouldn’t have heard footsteps approaching behind him if not for a happy yip and tail wag from Gaspare.
 
Two hands came down on the bench beside Massimo just as he turned to see who was behind him.

“Whatcha reading, little brother?”
 
Cheer filled Stefano’s familiar voice.
 
“Whatever has you so focused, I want some.”

Massimo held the papers aloft as Stefano rounded the bench.
 
“Economic brief?
 
Really?”

“On second thought, keep it to yourself.
 
I’ve read them all already.”
 

“No doubt.”
 
Massimo set the papers to the side.
 
“Looks like you’ve made a lot of progress on the conference center and on upgrading the transportation system.
 
Well done.”

“Thank you.” He gave an exaggerated bow before taking a seat beside Massimo.
 
“It’s been my passion.”

“
That’s
your passion?
 
Have you informed Megan?”

“Very funny.”
 
He looked sideways at Massimo and flashed a smile that lit his clear green eyes, eyes identical to their mother’s.
 
“So much has happened this summer, I can’t begin to comprehend it all.
 
Happy as I am that the transportation upgrades and conference center refurbishment are on schedule, I’m far happier about finding Megan.”

“I imagine so.”
 
He returned Stefano’s smile and added, “If you didn’t, she might strangle you.”

“That she might.”
 
Stefano leaned back on the bench, then made a few innocuous observations about the garden as he scratched Gaspare’s head.
 
After a few minutes of chatter, he asked, “By the way, who’s the woman staying in my old apartment?
 
I didn’t recognize her name.
 
She here for the Independence Day celebrations?”

“No, Mother insisted I begin hiring staff.
 
She’s in charge of revamping my closet.
 
Since she’s only here temporarily and needs access to my rooms, I figured she should stay in the palace.”

“That’s all?”

Given the teasing tone in his question, Stefano had probably talked to Vittorio.
 
Great.
 
Massimo kept his tone level and asked, “What, you want to hire her to do your closet while she’s here?”

“First, my apartment has already been redone, closet and all.
 
And even if it hadn’t been, my clothes are all in my new apartment, where my future wife has the closet handled, thank you very much.”
 
Stefano gave a half-hearted shrug.
 
“I was simply wondering why you put her up at the palace.”

“If you want her out of your rooms—”

“I didn’t say that.”

“She’s from the States.
 
I didn’t want to make her stay in a hotel given that they’re overrun at the moment.”

Stefano contemplated that.
 
“If I were single I’d put her next to my rooms, too.”

“So you saw her?”

His mouth took a devilish hook.
 
“Saw her in the long gallery talking to the housekeeping staff.
 
Hard to miss her with that hair.
 
If the rest of your hires look like she does, you’ll have Alessandro stalking your rooms.”

“He’d have to be around the palace, first.”
 
Massimo noted.
 
“Speaking of which, I assume you didn’t leave your fiancée and daughter because you wanted to hang out with me in the garden.”

“My fiancée is at work and Anna is in the palace kitchen.
 
The chef called this morning to say he’s preparing appetizers for tomorrow night’s dinner and told Megan he desperately needed Anna’s help.”

Massimo grinned at the thought of his niece’s reaction to such an invitation.
 
The dark-haired girl was happiest when wearing a chef’s hat and learning her way around the kitchen.
 
“I see.
 
So you brought Anna over?”

“At this very moment, she’s using a tube to make stars out of salmon paste.”
 
He raised a hand in response to Massimo’s quizzical look.
 
“Don’t ask me to explain it.
 
All I know is that she’s thrilled.
 
Anyway, I saw you out here and I thought I’d say hello.
 
And” —he checked his watch, then pushed to his feet— “I have a meeting with the head of the tourism bureau in the green parlor in ten minutes.
 
He’s giving me an update on the events being planned to coincide with the conference center’s grand opening.”

“You can cut through my apartment.
 
I have a meeting in ten minutes, myself.”
 
He unhooked Gaspare’s tie-out line and allowed the dog to walk freely as they made their way back indoors.
 

“So you’re getting back into the swing of life here?”
 
Stefano asked.
 
“Believe me, I know how hard it is to adjust after time away.”

“Slowly but surely.”
 
Which wasn’t the pace his parents expected.
 
As he keyed into the rear door, Massimo asked his older brother, “Out of curiosity, what made you choose to pursue all this work on the transportation system and conference center?
 
No offense, but to me it sounds about as exciting as studying dust bunnies.”

“To each his own.
 
The idea of bringing more visitors to Sarcaccia gets me excited.”

One visitor in particular got Massimo excited, but he was certain that wasn’t what Stefano meant.
 

Stefano gave his brother a hearty clap on the back as they walked through the living room.
 
“Don’t worry.
 
You’ll find what makes you just as happy.
 
Give yourself some time.
 
It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted.”

“Remind our parents of that, will you?”

“Like they listen to me.”
 
Stefano opened the door to the long gallery and wished Massimo a good day.
 
Before the door closed behind him, he paused and popped his head back inside.

“Yes?”
 
Massimo asked.

“You know, if you really want Mother to ease up on you, why not have dinner with her one of these nights when she’s not busy?
 
Ask her about her projects.
 
It’ll show her you’re interested and it might give you some ideas of your own.”

“I can do that.”
 
Besides, the queen looked like she could use some attention.
 
“Think the same thing would work with our father?”

“Guess you could try.
 
But I wouldn’t.”
 
Stefano’s laughter echoed through the door after it closed behind him, which made Massimo smile to himself.
 
No, dinner alone with their father wouldn’t be the easiest thing in the world.
 
Though King Carlo was popular, he wasn’t an easy man to know one on one, even with members of his own family.
 
He did best in a crowd, perhaps because he’d been surrounded by them from birth.