His Forbidden Princess (Dirty Royals Book 3)
Page 21
I'll admit it right now, I don't like toffee at all. I don't like caramels or anything that is sticky and sweet. But I keep trying them because I don't want to ruin Nika's excitement. So, I make pleasured sounds whenever I put them in my mouth even though I want nothing more than to spit them out.
"The coffee and butter rum flavors are my favorite. Where do you get them?" she asks Noah.
He clears his throat and looks dour. "I prepared a goodie bag for your highness to take with you. Unfortunately, it's impossible to purchase many of these toffees here in Denmark. There are flavors that are more popular internationally."
Nika's eyebrows go up but she just nods. "Wow. Well, thank you."
Noah bows. "There is one more thing, if you don't mind. We have a very special flavor that we would like your highness to try. It's brand-new."
Nika's eyes widened and she looks at me, her excitement evident on her face. "We would love to. Thank you!"
Noah bows again and produces a final sample, a brownish toffee on a white plate. She goes ahead and picks it up, biting half of it off and offering me the other half. I shake my head gently. "It's for you."
"Mm. Oh my God, I love it. What is it? Chocolate and… some kind of pecan?"
Noah nods. "You nailed it exactly, Your Royal Highness. If you like it, the candy company would like to offer you your very own flavor. You could name it as you like, but we were thinking of just calling it princess’s blend."
Annika’s eyes widen with excitement. She tosses her hair and looks at me, a goofy grin on her face. "This is the best birthday present anybody could've ever gotten for me. I don't know how anyone could ever top this."
She steps closer and hugs me, while responding to Noah's question. "I love it. Noah, I would be extremely proud to have my name on your product."
Noah smiles briefly, his face creasing for only a moment. "Thank you, your highness. We are happy to oblige. I know I speak for everybody in the company when I say how thrilled we all are that you are a fan of toffees. I know they are a bit stuffy and boring."
"No, no. I don't feel that way at all. Can I ask, is there any chance of you making this toffee low calorie or sugar free?"
Noah smiles again. Bowing his head, he answers her. "It already is sugar free. The fact that you can't taste it is a good sign, I think."
Nika grins at both of us. "I would say so. Thank you for helping us out today, Noah. Can I sign anything for you? I'm sure that you have some little girls in your family that would like an autograph."
He bows his head. "Thank you, Princess. My niece would love your autograph."
I shoot Noah a little glare, but Annika doesn't seem to mind signing a couple of company brochures. She carefully scrawls Noah’s niece’s name, signs a few more brochures, and then hands them all over to him.
I gather up the bags of samples that we are taking with us and Noah sees us out of the factory. He is very diligent but still quite grateful.
As we leave, heading down the stairs and out into the parking lot, Nika slides her arm around my waist and gives me a hug. "Thank you for doing that. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime treatment."
I smiled down at her, kissing her lips for a moment. "You're welcome. Admittedly, I didn't come up with the idea of naming a flavor after you. When I called to make the arrangements for a factory tour, the company was very gracious. I didn't do much of anything, really."
Nika chuckles. "You knew me. You knew how much this would mean to me. That's really the essence of why I am so blown away. That's it."
Tugging her to a stop, I leaned down and brush my lips over hers. "I'm glad you got what you wanted."
She pulls back, looking at me. For second, I feel her gaze as it rakes up and down my face and shoulders. "You know, I think that I got a lot more in the bargain than I asked for. And I'm not talking about the candy."
The corners of my mouth turn up a little. "No?"
She's shakes her head. "No. I'm talking about you."
I don't really know how to accept her complement straight on. So, I just grab her hand, kiss her on the lips, and pull her toward the car.
31
Erik
It's been ten days since Nika agreed to move in with me. Ten days of delirious happiness. Ten raunchy, dirty nights.
Every time I look at her, all the good chemicals in my brain start listening, trying to convince me that I love her.
The sound of her laughter.
The way she presses her face against my chest, burying her head.
The feeling of completeness I have at the end of the day, holding her in my arms.
Is it love? I have no idea.
But I know that I'm not ready to say anything to her, lest she be let down by my inevitable flip-flopping.
Still, I think that everything is going pretty well for us. I make an early morning run to the palace, scooping up a few of Nika's things and checking in on Stellan. I don't even get the chance to talk to the king.
So, after I stop for some fresh bread and nice piece of salmon, I head back upstairs to the penthouse loft that I own. When I get inside the door, I am aggravated for about the twelfth time by a loose floorboard that's sticks up a quarter of an inch.
I grit my teeth and remind myself that I just have to call someone to fix it. Living in the new loft is a little weird because it's the first time that I've ever had to think about things like that. I've never owned anything before, certainly not pieces of property with such obvious flaws.
Carrying the groceries with me into the kitchen, I make a mental note to call someone to fix it today, before Nika notices that it's a problem. For some reason, the idea of her noticing such a tiny flaw really kills me. I had the same realization this morning when I noticed tiny, hairline cracks in the porcelain of the bathroom sink.
I set the paper sacks of groceries on the counter in the kitchen, absently wondering where Nika is. "I'm home!" I call.
She emerges from the bedroom, wearing nothing but one of my gray T-shirts. She holds her iPad, which I didn't even realize she had here. I raise an eyebrow.
She stops me before I can say anything. "I wasn't looking up myself. Kal texted me a link to some press about Stellan and Margot. Here, have a look."
She saunters over to the kitchen counter, setting her iPad in front of me.
I squint down at the tablet, taking in the headline and the matching photo. In the picture, Stellan and Margot are at a market and they look extremely unhappy. Stellan is raising his hand to point at something, shouting. Margot has her arms crossed across her chest and looks extremely pissed off. The caption reads, "Are King Stellan and his new Queen already on the rocks?"
I scan the first few lines of the article, the corners of my mouth turning down. As far as I know, there is no trouble in paradise. But then again, what do I know? I've been isolated from Stellan and the whole royal family for almost two months now. Still, it doesn't seem like something I should have to worry about.
Stellan is completely in control at all times. I doubt that that has changed much since I was last his secretary.
I push the iPad away. Glancing up at Nika, I shrug a shoulder. "I don't see a problem. It's just the press making things up. You should know about that, shouldn't you?"
She puts her blonde hair in a long, messy ponytail and winces a little. "Apparently Stellan and Margot have been the talk of the Royal Palace lately. Wedding planning is really getting to them, it seems."
I roll my eyes a little. Turning toward the refrigerator, I fish out a bottle of sparkling water. "Do you want a glass?"
She frowns at me. "No. What I want is to know whether you're going to call Stellan or not. This is a pretty big deal, if it's true. And I think that it is. I mean, Kal did send it to me for a reason."
Cracking open the bottle, I take a long pull. Then I shrug. "It sounds like the press is trying to sow the seeds of discontent between the two of them. And you, who should know better and who should have their back no matter what, are fall
ing for the press’s tricks."
Her eyebrows go up. "You're not going to talk to my brother about this? I mean, no one is saying that you have to flourish this article in front of his face. I just mean… I'm sure he needs someone to talk to."
I tried to set the bottle of sparkling water down, but I am a little too forceful and I manage to shatter the bottom of the glass. "Shit. I can't believe I did this."
Nika frowns and heads over to the nearby closet, opening it and handing me the broom and dust pan. I sweep up every last piece of glass, mindful of the fact that she has no shoes on and probably will walk in here in short order.
When I'm done cleaning, I look up to find her staring me down. "What?"
She shrugs. "So, you're just going to abandon my brother?"
I glare at her. "Your brother isn't taking my calls. Or at least I imagine so. I tried to say hello to him just a few minutes ago and he was mysteriously absent. No one seemed to know where he is. So no, I'm not abandoning my best friend. He abandoned me."
Nika folds her arms across her chest and cocks her hip. She levels her gaze at me. "What if it were us?"
Her question stops me dead. "What?"
She jerks her head toward the iPad. "It could just as easily be us that the press is picking on. I would hope that in that position, Stellan would pick up the phone and call you."
I snort. "I don't even think that he has noticed that I'm missing from the palace. And anyway, it's not like we are in the exact same position as Stellan and Margot. They are engaged. They have real problems."
She frowns and rubs her palms together. "What is that supposed to mean? I thought that you and I were moving forward."
It's everything I can do not to roll my eyes. "Forget I said anything. We are moving forward. Let's just… move on with our day."
She stalks a few steps closer to me, staring me down. "What do you mean they have real problems?"
I rub the back of my neck. "I don't know, Annika. I'm just saying that they have married people problems and we don't. We don't have any idea of what the king and the future queen will have to deal with. That's all I was saying."
"Do you not think that we will face similar challenges? I mean… This is all because Stellan is King of Denmark and Margot is a commoner. If that doesn't ring any bells for us, I don't know what would."
A commoner. That's the line that makes me lose my cool. I don't know why exactly, since I've said it a thousand times myself. But the way she says it, it sounds… dirty. And not the sexy kind of dirty, either.
I grit my teeth. "Well, maybe they are crazy to be getting married. Hell, maybe we’re crazy too! Maybe we are living in a bubble and not being practical. Have you thought of that?"
Her brow hunches. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I have no illusions about our future together. You are going to marry a real royal and I am going to be cut loose, eventually. It's just what people do. People who aren't Stellan, that is."
Her eyes widen. "What? You can't possibly think that I'm going to just leave you. I'm not a different person than I was five minutes ago or five hours ago or five days ago."
I shake my head. "We shouldn't be arguing. Let's just enjoy what we have while we have it."
I turned away, taking the dustpan to the glass recycling. When I turn around, she is right there, glaring up at me.
"Are you saying that you don't think that we can make our relationship work in the long term?"
I glare at her, moving her aside. "Let's not talk about it right now."
She makes a frustrated growl. "You are so stubborn. Just… I could strangle you right now."
She turns away, she storms out of the room. I call after her. "Annika… Annika?"
I clench my fists. I didn't mean to start a fight or whatever the hell just happened. That was definitely not my intention. But it seems like I have really put my foot in it.
I head back to the kitchen counter, spotting her iPad. I turn it on and read a little more of the article, which is obviously full of hot air. It's just more royal headlines to earn the paper more clicks.
It's not worth calling Stellan about, that's for sure.
Nika comes storming out of the bedroom, tucking her gray T-shirt into a pair of sleek black jeans. She shoulders her purse, looking pretty angry. As she starts heading to the apartment’s front door, I called after her.
"Where you going?"
"Out for a drink.”
Before I can say another word, the front door slams, leaving me alone in the apartment.
32
Annika
It's dark outside by the time I stumble out of the elevator and into Erik's loft. It's cool and quiet up here right now, the lights dimmed. Maybe Erik has gone out as well…
It's been a full day since I walked out this morning. A whole day that I have just been trying to disguise my appearance, flitting from bar to bar.
I know, it's beyond old news that I shouldn’t drink and play over the scene from this morning in my head, again and again. I just can't get my head around the fact that he said that he doesn’t expect us to ever be engaged. It boils down to the fact he doesn't believe in the potential for longevity of our relationship.
Which I knew, I swear I did. But hearing him say it?
It killed me.
I lean against the front door and take my shoes off, sighing with relief. I'm more than a little drunk and still revved up from the argument. I head to the fridge, opening it and helping myself to a pint of fresh berries and a bottle of sparkling water. When I close the fridge door, I'm surprised to see Erik standing not two feet away from me, a glower on his face.
"So, you're alive."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Yup."
"What were you thinking, Annika? You know you can't just go out alone."
I pop one of the berries into my mouth and make a face at him. "I can do whatever I want."
Sliding the berries across the counter and in front of a chair, I sit down and pull the top off of the sparkling water. I take a big gulp and eye him. His face is tense.
"What’s your problem? I thought we were getting along."
I shrug a shoulder. "Who says we aren't getting along? For right now, anyway. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?"
He glares at me, making a disapproving sound. "What is that supposed to mean?"
I pick up a strawberry, biting into its succulent fruit. "Why did you even ask me to move in here with you?"
Apparently, my question was unexpected. He tilts his head, trying to puzzle out what I mean. "Why? I don't know. I guess I felt like we were spending all our time together anyway… So why not?"
I snort. "How utterly unromantic. Here I was, feeling like it was a sign that things are going well between us."
He holds his arms across his chest. "They are."
I arch a brow at him. "For how long? Because if we are not building something that can last… I'm not interested. I am trying to shape my future here."
He pushes his cheek out with his tongue. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. That's all I am trying to say."
I glare at him. "What do you see for us in the future? A year from now. Or five years from now. Do you see us getting married someday? Starting a family?"
He frowns and looks pensive. I'm forced to wait for a full minute while he thinks about my questions. I take another sip of water as he considers what to say.
"I don't know, exactly." He shrugs. "I try not to think too much about what will happen in the future. It's easier just to focus on what is right in front of me."
I toyed with the cap of the water, unable to look at him. "I'm asking if you think that we will be together. That's it."
There's a note of hesitation on his face. "What do you want me to say? I don't know. I feel like there are so many factors working against us. If I had to make a wager, I would probably bet against us in the long term."
My heart sinks. I knew that he felt that way. That's a big reason
why I disappeared all day to mope on my own.
But it's a whole different thing to say it out loud.
I can't meet his eye anymore. "You're getting in your own head. That's what this is about, isn't it? This morning, when I said that you needed to talk to Stellan, it shook you. And now you're not even sure that we should be together. Do I have all that right?"
A muscle in his jaw tenses. "Why are you so worried about the future? Why can't you just be happy with what we have right now?"
I put my hands on the counter, pushing up from my seat. "Because that isn't good enough for me. What woman wants to hear that you like her right now, but you don't know about what the future holds? That's how relationships fail."
He arches a brow at me. "And you're the expert, are you? Admit it. You don't have any idea of how relationships work."
"Neither do you. Obviously."
His gaze narrows on my face. "So, what, then? Where do we go from here?"
I give a humorless laugh. "I don't see how we do anything together at this point. If you don't believe that we will be together for the foreseeable future, I think I would rather just call it what it is right now. Because if you think that something is going to die, it usually does."
He squints at me. "I'm not saying that we will not last."
I shake my head and roll my eyes. "That's not good enough, Erik. Either you believe in us or you don't. And it sounds an awful lot like you don't."
He flexes his fingers and tightens his fists.
“You know just as well as I do that when the press gets ahold of the existence of our relationship, we're done for. That's not even talking about what Stellan will feel when he finds out that I'm banging his little sister. And your grandmother? God, I can just see the expression on her face right now."
I level a gaze at him. Crossing my arms, I walk to the hallway, pausing. "It's funny. Your worries are all related to how you feel that people will perceive us. I thought that I was supposed to be the one that was so worried about appearances. I guess that was all wrong, too."