The Prince and the Wedding Planner

by Jennifer Faye

  Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

  Her cell phone vibrated against the white marble vanity. Knowing it could be about any number of things regarding the quickly approaching wedding, she rushed to grab it. When the caller ID showed her sister’s name, worry consumed Bianca for an entirely different reason.

  “Gia, are the test results in?”

  “Well, hello to you too.” Gia expelled an exasperated breath.

  “Sorry. It’s just all this waiting. It’s getting to me.” If anyone would understand, it was her sister.

  “You don’t have to worry.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s obvious you’re a Bartolini. You look just like Nonna when she was your age.”

  “You really think so?” Bianca once more glanced in the mirror. She didn’t see it.

  “I do. I’m the one who should be worried.”

  “No, you shouldn’t. You were Papa’s favorite. And you can’t deny it.”

  There was a moment of silence before Gia said, “That leaves Enzo.”

  They both hurriedly agreed that it couldn’t be him. Could it? Secretly Bianca wondered if it was him as he and their father used to butt heads—a lot.

  She stifled a sigh. The guessing game was getting old. And it was getting them no closer to the answers they so desperately needed.

  They talked for a few more minutes, catching up on each other’s lives. Then Bianca had to go. She couldn’t be late for the queen’s celebration. She promised to speak to Gia soon.

  Bianca headed out the door. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure where she was going, but she’d been too proud to admit that to Leo. But she figured if she could make it to the main entrance that she could just fall in line with the other guests as they made their way to the library.

  And that’s exactly what she did. Security was everywhere in dark suits and wearing earpieces. Since she was a guest within the palace, she was able to pass through the checkpoint without any problems.

  She wondered if security was always this heavy. And then she realized that it would be this intense for the wedding. She would have to make allowances for that in her plans. She reached for her phone to make a note and then realized she’d left it back in her room. She tucked the information in the back of her mind.

  She followed two couples to the library. As she glanced around, she was relieved to find her dress would fit in. At last, she took a full breath.

  She could do this.

  The funny thing was that everyone thought she didn’t get nervous or filled with anxiety before a big event she’d planned. That wasn’t true, but she didn’t tell them. The trick was to put on a confident smile and never let them see her perspire. And that’s what she intended to do this evening.

  As she stepped into the massive room, she immediately searched for Leo. He was tall, so she hoped he would stand out in this crowd, but she didn’t see him. And before she had a chance to make the rounds, Giselle rushed up to her.

  “There you are.” Giselle slipped her arm in Bianca’s. “I’ve been telling everyone how you are putting a fresh spin on the wedding.”

  Was that what she was doing? Who was she to argue with a client? Correction: a princess.

  “Bianca, I’d like to introduce you to the Duchess of Lamar.”

  Not sure how to properly greet a duchess, she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  The wedding conversation took off from there. The duchess said that she would be recommending Bianca’s services to her nieces. That made Bianca smile.

  When they entered the grand dining hall, it was stunning. The table was unlike any she’d ever seen as it must have seated at least a hundred people. Wow! She couldn’t even wrap her mind around the size of the long narrow room with purple trim and portraits of the royal family through the generations.

  She was seated in the middle of the table. Nowhere close to the queen at the head of the table, which was fine with Bianca. And nowhere close to the prince at the foot of the table, which she found deeply disappointed her.

  But she was delighted that throughout the eight-course meal, she was entertained by the Earl of Saskan. By the looks of him, he was only a few years her senior. He was a delightful man, who could easily carry on an entertaining conversation. And he wasn’t too bad looking, but he had nothing on the prince.

  “It’s nice that they invited you to dinner,” the earl said. “They have such a tight knit group of people for these events that it’s rare for an outsider to be included. Not that you’re an outsider, but you know, not one of the group—”

  With each word he spoke, her insecurities came rushing to the surface. She was an outsider in this grand, historic palace. Nothing would change that. She even felt out of place in her own family, she thought sadly.

  “It’s okay.” She placed her hand on his forearm to get his attention. When his rambling stopped, she said, “I understand. I’m a guest at the palace, I believe they felt it would be rude not to invite me.”

  She felt someone staring at her. Could it be the prince? And then realizing that it was probably inappropriate to be touching the earl, she quickly withdrew her hand. When she lifted her gaze, the prince turned his head to the person on his right. Why should he care who she spoke to?

  The earl looked at her with relief written all over his flushed face. “Sometimes, well, a lot of times I say the wrong thing. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “No offense taken.” But it was definitely time to change the subject. “And how are you connected to the royal family?”

  She didn’t know it was such a loaded question but it kept the earl talking of his lineage through most of the meal. All she had to do was interject an acknowledgment in the appropriate pauses as he regaled her with a detailed history lesson.

  Surprisingly, the dinner didn’t last as long as she’d imagined with that many courses. The queen didn’t chat abundantly and when she finished the course, she signaled for the dishes to be cleared. In fact, during the salad course, the earl had talked so much that he’d squeezed in only one bite before the dishes were whisked away.

  When the meal was over, they were escorted to the grand ball room. And grand it was with its gold trim and enormous landscape murals on the walls. A crystal chandelier was the focal point of the room. Bianca had never seen a chandelier of that magnitude. It took in the light, making the thousands of crystals shimmer and then cast a rainbow of colors throughout the room.

  As the music started, Giselle sought her out. “Are you having a good time?”

  “I am. Thank you. But I had no idea there would be dancing.”

  “My mother, though she hasn’t danced since my father passed on, does enjoy the music. You should dance.”

  Bianca shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  Giselle frowned. “Why not?”

  “I really should go back to my room. I have so much work to do—”

  “Not tonight. There will be no work. I insist you enjoy yourself.” Just then the earl passed by them and Giselle stopped him. “Donatello, my guest doesn’t have an escort, would you mind dancing with her?”

  The earl’s face lit up. He turned to Bianca. “May I have this dance?”

  “I... I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She was a wedding planner, not any part of the royal society. It was more than enough that she’d sat at the dining table, but now to kick up her heels—it didn’t seem right.

  “Go ahead,” Giselle encouraged.

  The earl turned to Bianca. “If you don’t know how to dance, I can show you. Trust me, it’s not that hard.”

  Heat rushed to Bianca’s face. How was she supposed to turn him down now? He was such a nice man, but he didn’t make her heart race or fill her with giddiness like...like Leo.

  In that moment, she realized she had a crush on the prince. Maybe it shou
ldn’t come as such a shock. Probably most of the single women and maybe even some of the married ladies in the room had a crush on him. What wasn’t to like?

  But she couldn’t just stand around here waiting for Leo to ask her to dance. That wasn’t going to happen. And the best way to forget about how Leo made her feel was to get on with her life. Just one dance and then she would quietly slip away to her room.

  “I’d love to dance.” Bianca slipped her hand in the crook of Donatello’s arm.

  As he led her to the full dance floor, her gaze strayed across Leo’s. This time she didn’t have to wonder if he was looking at her. He was staring right at her. There was a frown pulling at his kissable lips. And his normally warm brown eyes were dark and stormy.

  As the earl took her into his arms, she had to turn away from Leo. What was he frowning about? Leo might have invited her to the dinner, but it wasn’t like he was her date. In fact, he hadn’t spoken so much as a single word to her all evening. He didn’t earn the right to be upset with her. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

  The earl hadn’t been exaggerating about his skill on the dance floor. She knew how to dance, but her moves weren’t as smooth as his. As they moved around the floor, she searched for Leo, but she wasn’t able to locate him.

  Maybe he’d been upset about something else. Yes, that must be it. Someone must have said something he didn’t like. Perhaps it was the queen that had him out of sorts. Because there was no way he cared who she danced with.

  When the music stopped, Bianca said, “Thank you so much for the dance. I enjoyed it.” It was the truth. “And you are quite a talented dancer.”

  “Thank you. We could go again, if you want.”

  “Thanks. But I think I’ll sit this one out.”

  “Perhaps later.”

  She nodded. “Maybe.”

  And that was it. The earl moved on. Without anyone around that she knew, Bianca was left to her own devices. She made her way to the edge of the crowd. It was time to make a quick exit, but she was on the opposite side of the room from the door.

  She stayed near the wall as she made her way around the crowded room. She neared the corner where there were floor-to-ceiling purple drapes with gold trim that framed the wall of windows overlooking the gardens. She paused for just a moment to admire the view.

  When she turned to continued walking, someone reached out. A hand pushed against her mouth, muffling her scream. Another arm wrapped around her waist and she was yanked back into the curtains. It all happened so suddenly that she didn’t have time to fight back.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THE DOOR SLIPPED CLOSED.

  Darkness surrounded her.

  Bianca’s heart raced. She was alone in the pitch black with her kidnapper. Her palms grew moist. Her mouth was dry. She had to do something. Fast.

  Having gained her wits, she used all her might and kicked the person behind her. There was the muttering of a male voice. Immediately he released her. She spun around, but she couldn’t so much as see her hand in front of her face.

  “What’d you go and do that for?”

  She immediately recognized that voice. It was Leo. Leo? What was he doing grabbing her out of the ballroom into—whatever this room was?

  “Leo? Is that you?”

  “Who else did you think it’d be?” He sounded a bit exasperated.

  “I don’t know. Some kidnapper. Or worse.”

  “You are safe. It’s just me.”

  Her gaze moved around the room. Even though her eyesight had adjusted to the darkness, she couldn’t make out anything, including him. “Leo, what are you doing? Why did you kidnap me from the ballroom?”

  “I didn’t kidnap you.”

  “Really? Because it sure seemed like it to me.” She turned around. Her hands stretched out in the darkness, searching for the door. “How do I get out of here?”

  “Come with me.”

  “No. Now turn on the lights.”

  It took a couple of seconds but then a bare lightbulb lit up. She glanced around, finding that they were in some sort of passageway. And she couldn’t make out a door.

  “Where’s the door?”

  He pointed to a spot on the wall. It looked like the rest of the wall. And there was no door handle. She moved to it and tried to push it open but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Bianca, stop.” The agitation had drained from his voice. “Let me explain.”

  Having no success with opening the door, she whirled around to him. “Is there another way out of here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  “Aren’t you even going to let me explain?”

  She was mad at him. She didn’t think anything he had to say at the moment was going to change that fact. “No. Let’s go.”

  He let out a frustrated sigh. “Follow me.”

  He led her through a tunnel. In places the tunnel narrowed and they had to pass through it sideways. In other places there were wooden stairs.

  “What is all of this?” she asked.

  “So you’re speaking to me again?”

  She huffed. If he thought that he was off the hook, he was wrong. She didn’t bother answering him. He could come to his own conclusion.

  Not pushing his luck, the prince said, “These are secret passages that weave their way through the palace.”

  “I’ve heard of palaces having secret passageways but I thought they were just works of fiction.”

  “Now you know differently.”

  “But how do you know where you’re going? There are so many different ways to go.” She stayed close to him so as not to get left behind.

  “I learned these tunnels when I was a kid.”

  “How did you keep from getting lost?”

  “I did get lost, but my father found me. He taught me how to navigate the tunnels so I never got lost again. Once you figure it out, it’s no harder than walking through the halls of the palace.”

  “Uh-huh.” She didn’t believe him.

  If she was in here alone, not only would she be scared, but she was certain she’d never find her way out. She’d become a ghost that haunted the palace.

  And then a thought came to her. “Is this place haunted?”

  “Haunted?”

  “Uh-huh. You know, ghosts that got trapped in these passageways.”

  Leo stopped and turned to her. In the cramped space they ended up being much closer than she was prepared for. His gaze met hers, making her heart pound. That’s all it took—a look—for her body to respond to him.

  She was so tempted to lift up on her tiptoes and press her lips to his. She wondered how he would react. Would he pull her closer? Would he wrap his arms around her, crushing her soft curves to his very muscular chest?

  But that wasn’t part of her plan. She was supposed to ignore these unwanted feelings. After all, he had practically kidnapped her from the party. Still, it’d be so easy to just live in the moment—this very intimate and most unique set of circumstances.

  As though Leo could sense her conflicted emotions, he leaned forward as though to tip the scales in his favor. The breath hitched in her throat. He was going to kiss her.

  But she couldn’t let him off the hook that easy. Her hands moved, pressing against his very firm chest. Surprise flashed in his eyes.

  “Don’t even think about it.” As the stern warning passed over her lips, her heart sank in her chest.

  “Are you saying the thought hadn’t crossed your mind?”

  She wasn’t playing this game with him because she knew that she would end up losing. “I’m saying that you aren’t getting off the hook that easily. Shouldn’t you be here with your girlfriend?”

  His brows drew together. “What girlfriend? I have no girlfriend.”

  She desperately wante
d to believe him, but she knew what she saw. “The woman you were walking with in the gardens the night you cancelled our dinner plans.”

  His eyes momentarily widened. “You saw us?”

  “I did.”

  “And that’s why you’ve been so distant?”

  “I’ve been busy.” She answered a little too quickly—a little too vehemently.

  He nodded in understanding, though they both knew it was much more than work that kept Bianca away from him.

  “The woman you saw me with is an old friend of the family. I’m not now nor was I ever interested in her for anything other than friendship. We went for a walk while her father and the queen talked business. That is all.”

  “Really?” She wanted to take back the question, but it was too late.

  “Really.”

  He said all the right words, but this thing between them—it was like playing with fire. It’d be so easy to get caught up in the flames—and get burned.

  And then realizing that she was still touching him—still absorbing his body heat through his white dress shirt—she yanked her hands back to her sides. But it was too late. His energy had been absorbed into her body and it coursed through her faster than the speed of light. It warmed her chest and melted her core into a puddle of need.

  No. This isn’t going to happen. He isn’t going to take what he wants.

  She thought of stepping back, allowing more space between them, but she didn’t want him to read weakness in her movement. And so she stood there, rooted to the spot. Her determined gaze continued to hold his. She would not let him detect any weakness in her.

  But she was starting to wonder how long she could keep this up. Because every fiber of her being craved him.

  He stood there for a moment as though questioning her decision. But her determination was stronger than the way his dark eyes could make her knees turn to gelatin. Wasn’t it?

  Before she could answer that question, he turned and continued through the passageway. She followed him as they ascended a set of narrow steps with no handrail. Bianca pressed her hands to the cold stone walls to balance herself. They kept going up and up. Then there was a switchback and they ascended another flight of steps.