Spring Romance: NINE Happily Ever Afters

by Tessa Bailey

  She opens her iced tea with a loud pop as the seal is broken, and takes a sip.

  Say something!

  “So how do you know Anna?” I ask.

  She smiles, and I immediately relax. “She was the super in our apartment building in Tampa. The woman can fix anything! I was there for about a month when my refrigerator stopped working. Not only did she fix it, she told me to help myself to her refrigerator while I waited. I mean, we barely even knew each other, and she’s handing me the keys to her apartment so I won’t be inconvenienced.”

  “That sounds like her. Generous and unconventional.”

  “Yes! Anyway, I stayed and chatted with her while she was working on my refrigerator, and we just hit it off. We had an impromptu party at her place to celebrate my refrigerator being back in business. She made crushed ice with a wooden mallet and a sack! Actually, we both took turns smashing that ice, and then she made us Moscow mules.” She sighs. “I moved to Orlando for a job, but we still hung out. It’s not too far from Tampa. I’m really going to miss her now that she lives here permanently. She’s the real deal, you know?”

  “We’re lucky to have her. So you’re here for a week, right? Or will you be staying longer to spend time with her?” I should’ve asked her that earlier. I assumed she’d leave when she’d finished her work on the suite.

  “Two weeks. She arrives Sunday and I leave the following Sunday.”

  “I leave the day after you for a five-week international tour with Global Sun Water. They’re a nonprofit that works to bring solar water pumps to impoverished countries. After that, I’ll start my work travelling as the UN Ambassador for Clean Water.”

  She pauses, her iced tea halfway to her mouth. “I did not expect that. That’s great that you’re involved in such a worthy cause.”

  I stiffen. Clearly she thought I was shallow. “You expected me to fill my days shopping and skulking around the palace?”

  She laughs. “So how does it work with the solar water pumps?”

  I fill her in on the technology, which is really just smart engineering. It’s hard to imagine life without such a basic resource readily at hand. For many villages, it’s the first time they’ve had a constant nearby water supply.

  “The technology makes it possible to move past survival mode,” I conclude.

  “And what’s your part?”

  “I’m the one that brings the spotlight to their cause. I travel with Global Sun Water to the villages, but I also meet with diplomats and leaders and cut a lot of red ribbons for the press.” I’ve contributed generously to them as well, but I leave that out. I don’t do it for recognition. I do it because I believe in the cause.

  She shakes her head. “Phillip, you have unsuspected depth.”

  That stings, but I keep my tone light. “Not just a pretty face, huh?”

  She slaps a hand over her mouth. “It did sound like that, didn’t it? I’m sorry.” She drops her hand. “I must’ve had some impression of what you were like, you know, from all the pictures of you gallivanting on the beach with supermodels.”

  “I do not gallivant.” I crinkle my brow. “Or do I? Care to demonstrate a gallivant?”

  She surprises me by standing and moving to the center of the cabin. I step down into the main cabin to get a better view.

  “I imagine it’s something like this.” She grabs the end of her dress and swishes about the cabin before stopping, dipping an imaginary partner over her arm, and puckering up.

  “Not quite.”

  “More like this?” She runs in slow motion toward me, her arms out as if to embrace me. She has a big exaggerated smile on her face like she’s ecstatic to see me.

  I match her big fake smile, opening my arms to her. She doesn’t halt at the invitation, instead she closes the distance. I hug her and spin her around, pretending I’m ecstatic to see her.

  Except with Ruby in my arms, her gaze searching mine, it suddenly feels very real.

  * * *

  Ruby

  My heartbeat roars in my ears, my senses tilting at the unexpected dizzying pleasure of Phillip spinning me around. He stops spinning, still holding me around the waist, my feet dangling above the ground. We’re eye to eye. He’s taller than me, so I don’t usually get this up-close view. I notice every detail, his dilated pupils, the dark blue ring around the iris, the thick lashes. A man should not be this beautiful.

  His voice comes out rough. “I should put you down.” He makes no move to release me.

  I stare at his mouth, at his full lower lip that’s been tempting me from the start. “Can I just…” I close the distance and dart my tongue out to taste.

  He groans and then his mouth seals over mine. It’s not rough, not too soft; it’s perfect. Decadent. Lush. I’m drowning in sensation, in the pleasure of kissing this beautiful man. I can barely catch my breath and I don’t care. I just need more. I’m suddenly ravenous for him, my long-dormant needs lurching back to life.

  He breaks the kiss and sets me back on my feet. I’m not done. I wrap my arms around his neck, go up on tiptoe, and bite his full lower lip. He growls low in his throat, turning me and pinning me against the wall, his mouth devouring mine. I slide my fingers through his soft hair, loving the thickness, loving everything about this—his taste, his scent, the way he kisses me like he’s as hungry for me as I am for him.

  He breaks the kiss suddenly, turns toward the cabin door, and bites out, “What?”

  Whoa. I didn’t even hear it open.

  It’s Maya, her eyes wide as she takes in me plastered between the wall and Phillip. She lets out a soft cry, whirls, and rushes out of the cabin.

  He closes his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh. Somehow I know he’s going to comfort her.

  “Hasn’t she seen you with a woman before?” I whisper.

  He steps back and runs a hand through his hair. “Not quite that up close. I don’t bring women home, except for my ex, and that was more than a year ago.”

  “Ah.”

  He smiles ruefully. “I know I should go talk to her, but I don’t think it’ll go over well while I’m in this state.” He gestures below the waist at an impressive bulge.

  A vision of Phillip’s naked muscular body rising over me, covering me, driving into me flashes through my mind. I lift my head, my mouth dry. “Probably not.”

  He takes a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

  “It’s fine.”

  He meets my eyes, his brows knitting together. “I don’t know what came over me. We only have a couple of weeks before we go our separate ways. And I don’t want hurt feelings, especially with a friend of my sister-in-law.” He grimaces and looks away.

  He’s right. I wish he wasn’t. I’m feeling things I haven’t felt in a long time—warmth, affection, lust. He’s not the arrogant jerk I first thought he was. I like him. And I don’t kid myself that the incredible kiss we just shared would happen for me with any attractive guy. Usually, a first kiss is tentative, awkward, or sloppy. Sometimes all three. This was passionate perfection. That’s rare and special and…impossible. We live in different worlds, soon to go our separate ways, and he’s a renowned playboy. I know better than to get tangled up with him, no matter how tempting he is.

  He looks so miserable I let him off the hook, saying nonchalantly, “No problem. We’ll just rewind.”

  I open my arms and jog backward to the center of the cabin like I’m rewinding, running away from my lover through a meadow.

  He grins and lifts his palms. “I’d like to say that worked, but…”

  I head over to the sofa. “Come on, we’ll watch some TV. You should probably talk to Maya once you two can have some privacy. I’m sure she won’t appreciate your it’s not you, it’s me talk with me standing nearby.”

  He sits next to me and snags the remote from a compartment behind us. “I was going to go with ‘we grew up together, so I’ve always seen you as a little sister.’”

  I give him serious side-eye. “
You can do better than that.”

  “How about ‘I just don’t feel that way about you’?”

  “Brraap. Wrong answer.”

  He turns on the TV with a frown, rapidly flipping channels. “What should I say? I thought it was a harmless crush. Maya’s mother worked as a maid for our family, and Maya started working for us when she was sixteen. I was nineteen. She really has felt like a little sister.”

  “Oh, wow. So the crush goes way back?”

  “I suppose. She did blush a lot around me back then. Anyway, I’m twenty-nine. I thought she would’ve figured out by now it’s not going to happen.”

  I wince. I suppose there isn’t really a nice way to turn down an unrequited crush. “Go with the little-sister thing. She’s going to be hurt no matter what you say. At least that’s the gentlest of the nothing-personal responses.”

  He lands on a soccer game on the TV and puts the remote down. I pick it up, change the channel to a fashion show, and grin at him.

  He holds me by the chin and kisses me, a swift hard kiss that jolts my system, leaving me speechless. Then he pulls out his phone, ignoring the TV.

  Warmth steals through me. I know it’s dumb. It’s just a TV show, but my ex never let me have control of the remote. It’s the little things. I can’t help myself. I grab him and hug him tight around the middle. He smiles down at me, and it’s like warm sunshine all over my body.

  I let him go and get comfortable, scooching down in the cushy sofa and leaning against his side. His hand slides over and holds mine in a warm clasp.

  My stupid heart flip-flops.

  My lips curl up into a smile.

  We are not done.

  Chapter Five

  Ruby

  Someone must’ve leaked the news about our arrival because when we step onto the dock in Nantes, there’s a crowd of people waiting. Locals holding up their phones for pictures, but also what has to be paparazzi, their cameras with huge zoom lenses aimed at Phillip. They want the royal hottie.

  Security flanks us. Phillip puts an arm around me, tucking me close to his side. A woman rushes toward us, screaming his name and knocking into Maya. Phillip grabs Maya and tucks her under his other arm. People are screaming “Prince Phillip” and “royal hottie,” firing questions at him in English and French. I only catch a few things.

  “Two women? Just one won’t do it for you, huh, stud?”

  “Who’re the girls?”

  “Lana’s single again. Give her a call and you’ve got an orgy!” A ripple of laughter goes through the crowd.

  I cringe. That’s his ex. Their relationship was very public. The press dubbed them “the golden couple.” I would’ve hated that kind of scrutiny on my private relationship. The gossip rags covered the breakup and Lana’s new lover in excruciating detail.

  Phillip doesn’t react, his expression neutral as he guides us through the crowd, the guards clearing a path. We’re hustled into a waiting limo, and Phillip urges me and Maya in first. I hurry to the far side, making room for them. Maya takes the seat adjacent to me, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. The moment the door shuts behind Phillip, the car takes off.

  Phillip sits on the bench seat next to me and leans toward Maya. “Are you okay?”

  She looks down at her hands. “Yes, sir, I’m fine.”

  He turns to me in question.

  “I’m fine.”

  He leans back and blows out a breath. “Shit. They’ll make a story out of this, something as simple as a shopping trip. It’s ridiculous. Why can’t they just report on real news? Something worthwhile!”

  “Your trip with Global Sun Water should help,” I offer.

  His eyes flash. “That’s what they should be focused on. Clean water, helping people. Not my social life. Who cares?”

  I lift one shoulder. “I don’t.”

  He laughs. “All right. Enough agitating. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.” He glances over at Maya, who’s quiet, still staring at her hands.

  I tip my head toward the center console, where champagne is cooling in an ice bucket.

  “Maybe we should start our trip with a little champagne,” he announces. “Sound good, ladies?”

  “Absolutely,” I say.

  “Maya?”

  “I’m working, sir.”

  He lifts the champagne bottle. “You’re officially off the clock. And if you want to wear something besides your uniform, you can pick an outfit at the shops. My gift to you.”

  Her head jerks up in surprise. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. I’ve always thought of you as part of the family, like the agreeable little sister I never had.” He cups his hand by his mouth and whispers conspiratorially, “Don’t tell Emma and Silvia I said that.” Those are his younger sisters.

  She bites her bottom lip, fighting a smile. “Thank you, sir.”

  He pops the champagne, and Maya laughs at the sound. Just like that, Phillip has won her back to the friend side. He pours her a glass and hands it over; then he pours mine.

  He offers me the glass with a wink. “For a supremely gifted gallivanter.”

  I flush at the memory of our shared gallivanting kiss. “Why, thank you.” I take a sip and catch Maya’s frown before she turns to look out the window.

  * * *

  Phillip

  Other than the initial commotion at the dock, the rest of our trip runs smoothly. The palace staff is like a well-oiled machine when it comes to our outings. The shopkeepers are notified of our presence, and each store will close to customers during our visit with them. They’re willing to do this because they know I have funds and any item I buy will instantly become popular. The fact that it’s a Tuesday in September also makes it easier. We’re not asking them to give up their busy weekend traffic.

  We begin at le Passage Pommeraye because Maya is eager to find a new outfit and Ruby wants to see a historic shopping mall. They’ve cleared it for our private shopping trip for two hours. The moment we step inside, Ruby is enthralled. What was initially a passage between two streets is now a glass-covered, elaborately decorated three-story gallery of shops with a grand central staircase.

  “Oh, look at these columns!” Ruby exclaims, pulling her phone out of her purse and snapping pictures. “And the arch, the clock, the cherubs!” She points at the carved cherubs overlooking the passage. “Aren’t they darling? Even the windows are gorgeous!”

  It is charming, a very typical French neoclassical style. The enclosed shops used to be outdoors, so they have their original windows with intricately carved plaster trim and wrought-iron flower boxes under the sill. The arch of the passageway features more fancy trim and a large clock. The glass ceiling lets in muted natural light.

  I turn to Ruby. “Are you just going to keep taking pictures, or are we going to shop?”

  She stashes her phone in her purse. “You and Maya hit the clothing shops. I’m going to check out some of these quirky-looking places. This place is magic!”

  I leave her to it.

  An hour later, Ruby is still off shopping somewhere, and Maya has emerged with her new outfit—a rust-colored blazer over a matching T-shirt with black trousers and black leather high-heeled boots. She’s let her hair out of its bun, and the transformation is startling. She doesn’t look like the Maya I grew up with. She looks like a stylish young woman, sexy even, with her dark brown hair falling in soft waves over her shoulders.

  “Maya, you look lovely. You should get away from the palace, meet people your age, and socialize more.” She rarely takes time off.

  “Thank you, sir.” Her cheeks flush pink. “Where would you have me go?”

  “Wherever the cool guys your age go. Maybe here or Paris.”

  She tucks her hands behind her back. “Paris is a long train trip.”

  I realize my easy access to the yacht and jet have made me take my freedom for granted. “Well, then, on Villroy.”

  “There’s not that many young men left there; only a few have joined their fathers
in the fishing trade.” She’s probably known them her whole life and hasn’t felt strongly about any of them. I suddenly want more for her than an unrequited crush on me. I want her to get out there and grab her own happiness. I never gave much thought to how insular life was for her. She’s young. She should be out partying, dating the wrong guys, and having fun while doing it.

  I rub my stubbled jaw. “Well, that is a problem. I think that will turn around once the queen’s ideas get off the ground with the day spa and natural beauty product line. We’ll likely have an influx of young people and visitors.”

  She murmurs noncommittally, seeming unconvinced.

  “Maybe one of my brothers can introduce you to a friend or—”

  Her cheeks flush scarlet. “Please don’t trouble yourself finding me a date, sir.”

  I shut my mouth. I’ve never spent time with Maya outside the palace walls, and it reminds me of my privilege. I must remember gratitude and continue my efforts to give to others. That’s the only meaningful use of what I’ve been given. Maybe Lana did me a favor by dumping me. I was at such loose ends I threw myself into distractions—women, yes, but also filling my schedule with charity events and going anywhere they wanted royal representation. Gabriel was still shunning the spotlight at the time. I’d long been a contributor to Global Sun Water, but it was a face-to-face meeting with the director at a fundraiser that led to my more active involvement.

  “Phillip! Maya! Look at these treasures!”

  I look up to the second floor, already smiling, where Ruby stands overshadowed by two carved Grecian columns with finials. Two burly shopkeepers hold the columns upright.

  Ruby calls down to us. “These weren’t even for sale! They were decorations. Aren’t they amazing?”

  Maya nods and smiles.

  The columns look fake. I imagine they’re chipped wood. “Wow.” It’s all I can come up with.

  The men head for the grand staircase with the columns, and Ruby trots ahead of them. When she reaches us, she tells us in a low voice, “They were a steal! I’m going to sand them down and do this paint finish that will make them look less Grecian and more royal fantasy suite.”