“Just come back to me. That’s all I ask.”
I rolled to my side and looped my arms around his neck. “That’s one thing I can promise. I’ll always come back to you. Forever.”
7
“Hey there, my bright girl. Care for some company?”
I turned, smiling at my grandfather, and slid down the wooden bench a bit. “If you’re the company, Handsome, my answer is always yes. Sit down with me.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He eased onto the seat with small groan. “Ah, that’s good. Beautiful morning, isn’t it?”
“It is.” I stretched out my legs. After months of shivering in England, it felt odd to see my limbs bare again, but it had been warm enough for me to wear shorts and T-shirts since I’d arrived in Florida two days before Christmas. “I think I’ve finally thawed. Nicky teases me, but it really is a different kind of damp and cold over there. It seeps into your bones.”
“Well, then, I’m glad you’re here to defrost for a bit. Soak up that sun, sweetie. You fly back the day after tomorrow, don’t you?” He rested one hand on the railing of the deck. “This week has gone by too quickly. Well, all the days seem to go by too fast anymore. The older you get, the faster the ride goes.” He sighed.
“Handsome.” I hooked one hand around his arm and hugged it to me, the way I had done when I was a little girl. “Are you worried about Honey? She still seems kind of . . . I don’t know. Frail.” I felt unexpected tears gathering at the back of my eyes and I blinked them back. “Do you think she’s going to be okay?”
I waited for my grandfather’s usual blustering reassurances, but instead, he sighed. “I hope so, sweetheart. That virus last fall really took it out of her and shook me up, too. You know the two of us . . . we’ve always been sickeningly healthy. Maybe we’ve been a little smug about it. I mean, we take care of ourselves, we eat better than anyone I know, and we’re active. Or we were. So I think when your grandmother had to go into the hospital, it rattled us quite a bit. We’re both still recovering—but don’t you worry. We’re going to be fine.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Nothing is going to keep us from that big shin-dig you and Nicky are throwing next spring.”
“I should hope not,” I sniffed. “I expect you both to be there, showing up all the lords and ladies with your good looks and sparkling personality. I can just see you in a gray morning coat, all dapper and suave.”
“You know it.” He patted my hand. “So tell me, Kyra. Are you really happy?”
I frowned. “What do you mean? With Nicky? Of course, I am. You know how much I love him. I can’t imagine living my life with anyone else in this world.”
“Yes. That’s one thing I’m certain of for you, too. No, what I really meant is, are you happy in England? With your work at Honey Bee? And with what you’ll be doing as a member of the Royal Family?”
I stared out at the ocean. With most grandfathers, I imagined that a quick, trite assurance would do the trick. But Handsome and I had always been honest with each other, and I knew he was expecting me to dig deep and tell him the truth.
“I’m starting to adjust to England. To London. It actually took longer than I’d expected—I thought as soon as I moved there, I’d fall in love instantly. But it’s a very different way of life. Still, Nicky’s been arranging for me to see more of it—we’ve gone to some museums in the off-hours, and sometimes I sneak out in sunglasses and jeans, with my hair up in a hat. London’s an amazing city, and now I’m starting to feel at home.” I paused. “But it’s mostly Nicky who makes it feel that way. Anywhere he is will always be my real home.”
Handsome smiled. “Now that’s exactly right, and just what I hoped to hear. On the job front, we’ve been hearing glowing reports about you from everyone who works at the London office. And all of us are impressed by what you’ve managed to do so far. Do you think you’ll need to cut your hours back, though?”
I drew my brows together, my forehead wrinkling. “I’d like to say no, but the truth is that between the engagements I’m going to have to handle and the wedding stuff, I might have to leave early a few days a week. I’m sorry, Handsome. I don’t want to let you and Honey down. But I just don’t see how I can manage to do everything and make everyone happy. I’m expected to work with this Lady Marjorie to learn how to be royal, and I have to figure out what sort of charities I’ll support and which engagements I can do—I mean, luckily Nicky’s not in the direct line, so he doesn’t have as much pressure on him as his cousins do, but we’re still expected to pull our weight and carry out anything we can.”
“Kyra.” Handsome’s expression was stern. “You stop that right now. You never have let your grandmother and me down, and you’re not doing so now. We had an inkling that things would go the way they have when you moved over there, so we already have plans in place to help things along. Now what you must promise me is that if the job becomes too much to handle with your other responsibilities, you’ll tell me. Don’t take on too much, sweetheart. I know you can do it all, but this is a time when you should be enjoying yourself. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you,” I answered. “I don’t know yet, though. I love what I do. I hope I don’t have to give it up. But if Nicky needs me, too . . . I guess I need to figure out that balance.”
“I have faith that you will.” Handsome hugged me close to him, and I took a deep whiff of his familiar, comforting aftershave. “We’re proud of you, Kyra. I may have said it before, but I feel that I can never tell you too much. You are an amazing young woman, and you impress us every single day. Never forget that.”
“I won’t.” A lump rose in my throat. “I love you, Handsome. I miss you and Honey so much. Maybe you could come over and stay in London after the wedding. It’ll be warmer then. I could spend some time with you, once all the fuss is over.”
His eyes lit up. “Could we go to see the ravens at the Tower? I’ve always wanted to do that, but Honey says the place gives her the gee-wilikers.”
I laughed. “Tell you what—we’ll arrange a special private tour so you and I can spend all the time you want with the ravens. And Honey can go shopping while we’re doing that. Everyone will be happy.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Standing, he gripped my shoulder and squeezed affectionately. “I’d better go check on your grandmother and see if she’d like to talk a short walk on the beach. The sunshine’s good for her, I think.”
I rose, too. “Is this a private stroll, or can granddaughters come along, too?”
“Granddaughters are always welcome.” He winked at me. “You can give us a rundown on what’s happening behind the scenes at the office in London, and then we’ll call that a business meeting. Best kind of meeting I can imagine.”
“And no one has to take any notes.” I sighed happily. “Let’s do it.”
That’s exactly what we did, and it was an idyllic hour, a time set apart from the rest of the world, with the sun, the sand, my grandparents and me.
Later, I would realize that hour was the calm before the storm.
8
“Hello, my name is Shelby Rexland, and I’d like to speak to my best friend, the woman who used to love mucking around in the dirt but now spends her time having tea with the Queen of England.”
Laughing, I held my phone between my shoulder and ear as I reached to take a letter from my administrative assistant, sign my name and then return it to her. “Hey, I still love mucking around in the dirt. I just don’t have the opportunity or the time so much lately. And having tea with Her Majesty is fun, too. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
“Well, I’ll get right on that the next time I’m in London.” Shelby’s voice was dry. “I’m just happy to talk to you, finally. It feels like it’s been a hot minute.”
“Yes, I’m sorry about that. Between work and royal prep and the time difference, trying to figure out when to call is tough.” I sat down in my desk chair and gazed out the window onto the London streets. My office had a decent v
iew, but today it was gray and rainy. Not exactly a picturesque day in the city. “I hoped I might see you when I was back in Florida at Christmas, but that didn’t work out. You didn’t end up coming home at all?”
“It was—it was kind of complicated.” Shelby sounded guarded. “Our research has been pretty involved lately, and I knew even if I could get away, it would only be for a few days. So I ended up staying in New Mexico. It didn’t make sense to try to fly to Florida.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. Shelby and I had always shared just about everything with each other, but I knew that since she’d begun the internship in New Mexico, there had been something different. I’d been chalking it up to my own radical lifestyle shift—being in a relationship with a member of the Royal Family complicated things, that was for certain—but now, I was beginning to think there was more to the story. Shelby had always been close to her family, and I couldn’t imagine her missing Christmas with them.
“Shel, are you okay?” I blurted out. “Do you want to talk about . . . I don’t know, anything?”
“Of course, I’m okay,” she returned quickly. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m doing the work I love, living in a beautiful place, and I’ve got friends . . . and my very bestest bestie is about to become a princess. What could be better? Now, tell me everything. What’s happening there? What’s this royal prep you’re talking about?”
I wasn’t stupid. I knew a diversion tactic when I heard one. But clearly my friend wasn’t ready to spill on whatever might be going on in her own life—not yet, anyway.
“First of all, I’m not going to be a princess. Only women born into the family get that title. If Her Majesty confers a title on Nicky when we get married, I’ll be . . . Lady whatever, I guess, according to what I’ve learned so far. Maybe the Duchess or the Countess of something or other.”
Shelby made a derogatory noise. “Pah, that’s just semantics. You’re marrying a prince—in my mind, that makes you a princess. But let’s talk about the juicy stuff. How’re the wedding plans coming along?”
“Those are fun—when I have time to participate in the planning process.” I leaned back in my chair. “Right now, my priority is to learn as much as I can about actually being a member of the Royal Family. At least, that’s what I’m told. I have to memorize things like who takes precedence over whom, when to curtsy, how to speak to all kinds of different people—oh, and then there’s really complex stuff, like how to get out of a car.”
“Seriously? What’s the trick there? Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all my life.” Shelby giggled. “Fill me in.”
“Well, see, the problem is that often when we exit a car when on an official engagement, photographers are there waiting to snap our pictures the minute we arrive. So when the door opens, I have to remember to swing both knees around, keeping them together so no one can see up my skirt, and then bend a little and stand up. I’m not supposed to scramble out of the car like a turtle who’s been turned on his back.” I grimaced, remembering Lady Marjorie’s sniff of disapproval.
“Color me schooled. Who would have thought there was a right or wrong way to get out of the car? What else are you learning at royal school?”
I ignored her jibes. “Some of it is an extension of what I’ve been trying to do since the press began following me last year. I smile, but I don’t say anything when I’m being photographed, or when the reporters yell things to me as I’m going about my life. I have to remember not to press my lips together. Apparently, I do that a lot, and it makes me look funny in the pictures. When I get out of the car to go into the office every day, the thought that’s pounding through my brain is open your mouth, but just a little. I can’t go around with it gaping, either. I work on keeping my jaw relaxed without looking like an idiot.”
“That’s wild. Do people really care about this stuff?”
“Oh, do they ever. The Royal Family employs heaps and heaps of men and women who live for this shit. Someone using the wrong fork at a state dinner can give them nightmares for months.” I propped my feet on the edge of my desk and crossed my ankles. “Making sure I’m ready to go public is their ultimate goal right now. I have my first official engagement with Nicky next week, and my teachers are all about to lose their minds.”
Shelby laughed. “These people need to learn about real stress. What’s the big outing with Nicky?”
“We’re visiting a food and wellness center in Brixton. Nicky was already scheduled to be there, and now they’ve just added me, too. It won’t be anything too taxing—I just show up, smile, talk to the people who run it and have pictures taken. I think I can manage that.” At least, I hoped so.
“Just another day at the office. What else do you have coming up?”
“Well . . .” I smiled and leaned my head back. “Two days after Brixton, we’re attending the opening of the ballet Giselle. It’s a benefit for one of Alex’s charities, and she asked us to go with them that evening. I have a beautiful dress to wear, and we get to meet the ballerinas afterward.”
“Okay, now I’m jealous.” Shelby was definitely pouting on the other end. “I’d ask you to take pictures, but I guess that’s kind of a done deal, isn’t it? I’ll probably wake up the next morning and see them on my Twitter feed.”
“Probably.” I closed my eyes. “Let’s just hope it’s because everything goes right and not because I’ve screwed something up. All of this is a lot harder than it might seem.”
“I understand that,” Shelby spoke softly and more seriously this time. “Are you okay, Ky? Are you handling it all right?”
“Ah . . .” I drew in a deep breath. “I guess. I think I’m picking up on all the tricks they’re teaching me. There are just a few little things that make me anxious.”
“Such as . . .?”
I wasn’t sure how much to say, but then again, this was Shelby. She’d never told one of my secrets, ever.
“Do you remember Sophie Kent? The reporter who we liked?”
“Oh, yeah. Pretty girl, right? Stayed later than the rest after you and Nicky—well, when you were on a break.”
“Thanks for the delicate way in which you phrased that,” I replied dryly. “Yes, that’s Sophie. I hired her—well, the Palace did—to be my press liaison.”
“Did you? What a great idea. I’ll bet she’s doing a terrific job.” Shelby paused. “So why does that make you worry? Is she not doing well?”
I rubbed at the knee of my jeans absently. “No, she’s fabulous. She seems to know how to deal with the press, how to strike a balance between being too familiar and alienating them. Most of the reporters like and respect her. I’m really happy with her work.”
“Yeah, I can see exactly why this is a source of stress to you.” Shelby’s tongue was firmly in her cheek.
“It’s not Sophie who’s the problem. First, it’s the fact that I had to get pushy about hiring her. I went against advice, and I bucked the system. It made some people . . . unhappy, and I don’t want to be that girl, you know? The loud American who insists on getting her way.”
“Who’s saying that you are?” Shelby inquired. “Nicky’s not upset, is he?”
“Not at all,” I admitted. “On the contrary—he was really proud of me for standing up for what I wanted.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
I sighed. “The issue is that somehow, it leaked to the press that I’d pushed for Sophie, and now some of the newspapers are making a big deal about it. They’re saying that I’m bulldozing my way through the Palace, trying to change the status quo. That’s bad enough, but what’s really getting all the staff in a tizzy is the idea that there’s a leak. They’ve been asking me who I’m talking to and insinuating that maybe I’m the one letting this out into the media. Which I’m not. I haven’t told anyone about that meeting, the one where I said I wanted Sophie. Well, I told Nicky, and now I’ve told you, but no one else.”
“And it’s highly unlikely that Nicky would be the leak.” Shelby was quiet
for a moment. “So if it’s not you, it’s got to be within the Palace itself, right? Someone working there?”
I paused, casting my eyes up to the ceiling. “That seems like the obvious answer, and let’s face it, it’s not as though things like this haven’t gotten out to the press before. I don’t think anyone is delusional enough to believe that it’s an air-tight ship over there.”
“But you still feel as though this falls on you?”
I bit my lip and glanced beyond my open doorway into the corridor. It was quiet; everyone was either working or at lunch. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, so I dropped my feet to the floor and jumped up, shutting the door quietly.
“One of the guys in the Palace press office made a remark about Honey Bee, basically insinuating that it must be someone here at the office giving away information to the media. Actually, he went a step further and said maybe it’s someone selling insider info. I told him that he was way off base, that no one who works for Honey Bee would do that, but I don’t think he believed me.”
“That’s a shitty thing to say to you.” Shelby was pissed; I could hear it in her tone. “Can’t Nicky . . . I don’t know, have him fired or something? Maybe lock him up in the dungeon?”
I knew she was joking to try to make me feel better, and I smiled as I perched on the edge of my desk. “I’ve suggested it, but he claims they don’t do such things anymore. I mean, what’s the use of getting hooked up with the Royal Family if they’re not going to help me destroy my enemies, right?”
“I thought you’d at least have access to the guillotine for situations just like this,” Shelby agreed. “What’s the world coming to when the Royal Family can’t banish its enemies?”
“Let’s just hope no one’s recording this conversation,” I mused. “Can you just see the headlines? Soon to be royal wants a return to beheading. That’s just what I need.”
The Anti-Cinderella Takes London Page 7