by Vivian Wood
Kal frowns and leans back in her seat. She seems unsatisfied with that answer. "What did he think he was going to gain by kissing you today?"
I slowly shake my head. "I don't know. He seems to want me to take him back. But he doesn't believe that there is a long-term relationship in the cards for us. Why would I do that?"
Tilting her head, Pippa pulls a face. "I can tell you one thing. Men suck. Maybe you're better off without him."
A door opens up behind me. I turn and look to see who it is and am surprised to see Margot and her beautiful white wedding gown. She blushes a little as she comes outside, looking between all of us. "Is there room for one more?"
Pippa is the first to grin and wave her over. "Today, you get whatever you want. Come sit down by me."
Margot walks over, showing off a champagne bottle that she brought up from the wedding. "I come in peace and I bring gifts."
Kal smiles at her, getting up and grabbing for champagne flutes from behind the empty bar. Margot sits down and Kal puts the flutes down in front of her. Margot pours a little champagne into each glass, looking at me with a small smile.
"I gather that things aren't good between you and Erik."
Taking the glass that she offers me, I exhale loudly and take a sip of the champagne. Rolling it around in my mouth, I savor the sweetness of the wine. "You could say that. Of all the things that I intended for today, telling Stellan was the least among them. I'm very sorry that Erik and I made a scene."
Margot scrunches her nose up and tucks a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. "He'll be just fine, believe me. I'm sorry that he reacted so poorly. He feels bad about punching Erik in the face. Or at least I think he does."
Kal tilts her head questioningly. "Has anyone heard from Erik?"
Pippa shakes her head and Margot just sighs. "Not that I know of. It's better if he and Stellan have a cooling off period from each other, anyway."
I look at her for several long seconds, finishing off the glass of champagne in one long pull. "Go ahead. Say it."
Margot's brows delicately rise. "Say what?"
I look down at the table, dropping her gaze. "Whatever my brother sent you out here to say to me… What is it? Is it about how Erik betrayed him? Is it about how Erik is way too old for me? Or maybe it’s the fact that I am seen as just a baby, and he thinks that Erik somehow took advantage of me? What is it?"
Margot waits for me to finish, sipping her champagne. She takes a full breath. "Stellan has a few issues with you and Erik hooking up, not the least of which is the fact that he worries that you are being naïve. He said that he’s worried about the appearances of it, that people will think that Erik is using you for a title or some kind of money somehow. But I don't run errands for my husband. I just came out because I know that you are very important to Stellan and would like for us to be close too. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. That's all."
I glance up at her a little sheepishly. "Oh. Well… Sorry. I think I am just still a little confused and defensive."
Pippa interjects. "Margot, Annika was just telling us that Erik doesn't seem to know what he wants. Apparently, she told him that she loved him and that sent him into a tailspin somehow."
"Really? You love him?"
Margot appears thoroughly surprised. I nod, unhappy. "I do. Or I did. Whichever way makes me sound less pathetic."
She gives me the soft smile. "I think I know one way to make you feel a little bit less miserable." She reaches underneath the table and then shows me her palm, a heavy skeleton key sitting in the middle of it. She picks it up and offers it to me.
I take it, frowning. It's made of ancient wrought iron and inscribed with old, worn letters. "What is this for?"
She wiggles her eyebrows. "A Tuscan Villa. We were supposed to stop there during our month-long honeymoon, but we changed our minds at the last minute. So, I'm presenting it to you now. For a little recovery time… or maybe you end up liking it and want to stay. Either way."
I close my hand around the key, gripping it and looking her in the eye. "Thank you. As it turns out, I will be needing a new place to stay."
Margot smiles and pats my hand. "Us girls have to look out for each other, don't we?"
Nodding slowly, I give her a pathetic little smile. "Yes, we do."
She takes another sip out of her glass and then pushes herself to her feet, brushing her hands down her hand beaded wedding dress. "You know, we don't know each other very well. Which I hope someday will change. But I do know one thing. Whatever you decide to do, it's the right thing. Stay with Erik. Don't stay with Erik. I just want you to know that either way, you have my enthusiastic backing. That is just automatic."
My eyes fill with tears. Standing up, I walk over and hug her, careful not to cry on her wedding dress. She hugs me tightly, making me realize how small she actually is. She is a tiny person, almost pocket-size.
"Thank you," I whisper.
She beams at me. "That's what sisters-in-law are for. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding party to get back to. Pippa, will you accompany me?"
Pippa rises to her feet, looking graceful. "Coming, Margot." She starts walking towards the rooftop entrance, looking back at me. "Stay in touch, will you?"
I nod and she winks at me. Then she and Margot head downstairs, leaving me and Kal by ourselves. I breathe in a shaky breath and look at my best friend. "So, what now?"
She tips up her glass of champagne, drinking it all down and then looking at me. "Now? Now we dance. Come on."
Standing up, she holds her hand out to me, and I walk over and take it, grasping it gladly. I may not have Erik in my corner, but I will always be cared for.
Taking a deep breath, I head downstairs to the wedding.
35
Erik
I drain the last few drops of expensive whiskey from the bottle and then chuck the empty vessel off the end of the dock. I'm good and soused… and I feel like absolute hell.
Laying back on the dock, I put my feet into the cool water and stare up at the sky. Nika really did a number on me. And having Stellan kick me out of his own wedding was a humiliation that I wasn't expecting.
Granted, if I kept dating Nika, I would've had to have told him at some point. But I left Copenhagen in a cloud of shame, without either of the people that I claimed to care about.
Nika is nowhere to be found and Stellan is supposedly off on his honeymoon.
And me? I'm renting a house not far from the beach house that the royal family owns. I'm alone and I've been drunk for approximately four days straight. Or is it five days?
I'm not actually sure.
I close my eyes and throw my arm over my face. This is about as bad as I get. I've never moped like this for so long over anyone or anything.
And the kicker is that moping isn't making me feel any better. It's just a little salve on the wound that's sure to bleed me dry soon enough.
I hear footsteps on the dock. Odd, since I don't remember inviting anybody else out to this misery fest. A shadow falls over my face.
I move my arm and find Lars Løve staring me down, lifting his glasses up from his eyes.
"You look like shit." I squint and glance down at what I am wearing. I have on the same T-shirt and shorts that I've had on for three days, black on black. I also notice that I am sunburned beyond reckoning.
I guess that's what I get for getting drunk and falling asleep in this very position for days on end.
I sit up or at least try to. I fall back and laugh a little. "Yeah, well. Apparently, this is what I look like when I've been dumped."
He frowns down at me. "Okay. It's time to get you up and get you sober. Come on." He grabs my hand and hauls me to my feet, helping me down the little dock and up the slanted hill to the magnificent beach house.
I look at Lars, frowning as we walk into the house. "What are you doing here? “Shouldn't you be ignoring me? There's some sort of royal decree against me, I know it."
He grunts
. "Shower first. I'll make some coffee. And then we can talk." He wrinkles his nose. "You smell even worse than you look."
I pull a face at him, especially when he walks me into the downstairs bathroom and turns on the taps to the shower. "You're so high and mighty right now. I can't even talk to you."
He just shakes his head and leaves the bathroom, slamming the door as he goes. I take a second to smell myself, inhaling a deep, long pull. I splutter and cough, overwhelmed by my own scent. Lars is right about one thing. I definitely do need a shower.
I strip down and hop in the shower, the warm water doing wonders to sober me up. I'm still a little drunk as I groom myself and get dressed, pulling on a fresh pair of black jeans and a white T-shirt.
When I appear in the kitchen, Lars is just pouring two cups full of coffee. He looks me up and down, judging. "Here." He thrusts the coffee mug in my hand. He points to a seat at the bar. "Sit down and drink this coffee. Then we can really get down to why I am here."
I frown at him, but I move towards the bar, sitting and drinking the fragrant coffee. I realize then that I probably haven't actually eaten anything other than an uncooked cheese sandwich last night. My stomach growls and I try to think what is in the house that I can eat.
"How are you feeling?" Lars asks. "That is to say, are you feeling more sober?"
I squint at him. Now that I am a little less drunk, the world seems harshly lit and missing the buzzy warmth of the world had when I was intoxicated.
I nod at him. "I think I just realized that I'm hungry."
He stands up, padding over to the refrigerator and cracking it open. To my surprise, he has a takeout container filled with a roast chicken and a side of sweet potatoes. He offers it to me with a fork on the side, not saying anything. I give him a questioning look and dig into the food, which is pretty tasty even though it's not brand-new.
After I power through most of the food and two more cups of coffee, I officially have the start of a mean hangover. I beckon to Lars, heading into the cool theater room and lying down. He looks around, completely unimpressed by what he sees, but then again he's an actual Danish prince so…
I cover my face up with my arm again, sighing. "Well, if your goal was to make me more miserable, you have succeeded. Now I'm just suffering from a hell of a headache and some serious dehydration."
He sits across from me, pulling his legs under his body. "Tough shit. I'm here because no one has heard from you in a week. It was actually pretty hard to track you down since you left your cell phone at the palace. So thanks for that, by the way."
I give him a humorless chuckle. "What are you doing here, Lars?"
He goes quiet for a minute. It's long enough to make me look up at him. When I do, I catch his gaze. He looks a little concerned.
"I expected to find you moping about your breakup with Nika. What I didn't expect was that you would be completely tanked. That's not like you." He scowls for a moment. "From what I've heard, it sounds like your father. Is that what you intended?"
Angered by his words, I sit up. But I take it a little too fast and I have vertigo for a moment. Wincing, I rub my temple.
"Are you just here to rub it in more or what? I know that if it was up to your brother, I would be banished from the kingdom altogether. I get that he thinks what I did was wrong."
Lars squints at me. "Leave Stellan out of it. As far as you're concerned, Stellan doesn't even exist right now. What does exist is the rest of the whole entire world. I know that it seems like hiding out here is a good idea, but I came to make sure that you have a better plan than that. Because I think you need one. It seems like you are… floundering a little bit."
I shake my head and shrug. "How am I supposed to just go back to living normally? What am I supposed to do with myself? I can’t… I don't know how to do it. Annika won't have me. Stellan can't stand the sight of me. I really screwed up." My eyes mist over, making me more miserable than ever.
No way am I about to fucking cry in front of Lars, friend or not.
"Okay, okay. Let's just slow things down for a minute. What happened with Nika?"
I swallow, looking off into the darkness. "I don't know. I mean… I obviously screwed things up big time with her. She told me…" I pause. "She said some things that indicated that she was getting pretty serious about our relationship. And I freaked out. I did what I always do, which is push people away. And now I've managed to not only alienate her, but alienate her brother, who is basically like a brother to me."
My voice breaks on the last word. I swallow again and avoid looking at Lars. He sits forward, putting his feet on the floor and bracing his elbows on his knees. "I didn't realize that things had gotten so serious between you two."
I manage a stiff nod. "It went fast. Like, it was so quick that I was just…" I blow out of breath. "I guess I was scared. That's what it comes down to."
I sit back, covering my eyes again. Lars is quiet for a full minute. I'm just sitting here, thinking of all the things I said to Annika that were wrong. If I had any power, I would go back in time and fix every single flaw that I see so well in hindsight.
Lars rises from his seat wordlessly. "Come on."
I groan and follow him into the kitchen, where he grabs several bottles of water from the refrigerator. He turns and sets them down on the counter in front of me. "Get hydrated."
I look at the water, feeling how dry my lips are. I grab a bottle and chug it down, then do the same with another. The third bottle I take more slowly, as the water splashes and sloshes around in my stomach.
Lars leans on the counter, crossing his arms and watching me carefully. "Would you do anything differently if you were given a second chance with Nika?"
I glance up at him, surprised. "Of course. I would do almost everything differently. I would not chase her off by talking about how I don't believe in the idea of having a relationship forever, first of all."
His blue gaze burns into my face. "What about the other thing, the thing where she told you she loved you and you just…" He makes a small explosion noise. "What would you do about that?"
I finish off the third bottle of water, wincing. "I would tell her that I needed a little more time, but that I felt that way too…"
He squares off with me. "Do you love her?"
Looking down at the fourth bottle of water, I slowly nod my head. "Yeah, man. I love her. I can't believe I was stupid enough to run her off like I did."
He studies me for a long second. Then he cocks his head at me. "Would it help if I told you where she was going to be in two days?"
My eyes widen. I look up at him, trying to tell if he is serious or not. "What? How could you know? I thought she was hiding out or whatever."
He rolls his eyes. "My sister is not good at deception. She told Pippa where she is going to be the day after tomorrow. And it just so happens that it's very close. As in three beach houses down, kind of close."
The possibility of being able to talk to Annika again makes my heartbeat speed up. "Are you serious right now? You're not fucking with me?"
He shakes his head. "I'm serious as a heart attack. That's her itinerary, as far as I know. What you do with the information that I just gave you, that's up to you. But this?" He waves his hand over the recycling bin and steps on the latch that pops the lid up. I am embarrassed to say that I'm a responsible drunk and every one of the bottles that I emptied this week is right there, plain to see. My neck heats. He looks at me, dead serious. "This isn't how you deal with bad news. I need you to promise me that you understand that before you try to go win back my little sister."
I swallow, my jaw tensing. "Of course. I mean… Thanks. I don't really know what else to say."
He steps off the latch, looking at me. "Don't say it to me. Say it to Annika. She's the one that you seem to have massively ticked off somehow."
I take a deep breath, sucking it into my lungs. Running a hand over my face, I try to figure out what I could say to her.
"W
here do I even start? What does Nika need me to say? Because I will say anything if it means she'll take me back." For keeps this time.
His lips twitch. "I would start with that. And telling her that you love her can never steer you wrong."
He picks up a set of keys from the counter by the fridge, holding them out to me. “It sounds like you have a ton of stuff to work out. I have to head back to the city but I’m glad that you are going to meet Nika at the house.”
Bowing my head gratefully, I grab the keys and walk him to the front door. “Thanks man. Really.”
We hug briefly and then Lars leaves me alone with a million thoughts crowding in on each other.
36
Annika
As we pull up to the big beach house just north of Copenhagen, I look up at the modern structure with a silent sigh. I don't want to be here. I'm a hundred percent sure that all I will think about the entire time I am at this particular house will be Erik.
How nearly three months ago to the day, I kissed him clumsily for the first time. Little did I know, it would spark something so consuming and burn for so long.
I climb out of the car, pressing my lips into a thin line and shouldering my bag. It's a little cooler outside now then it was that day three months ago. But despite the changing weather, everything else is the same. I glanced up at this cloudless sky and wish like hell that Kal and Pippa had just let me stay in Tuscany.
Kal glances at me, leading the way up to the door. "Are you okay with this?"
I shrug even though my heart aches. "We are here already. There's no point in going back, is there?"
Pippa heads up the end of our little party of three. She just joined me and Kalindi in Copenhagen and she smiles at me carefully, like I'm fragile and going to shatter at any moment.
Granted, I did well up at least twice on the ride here so…
Kal opens the door, standing back to let Pippa and me through. From here, I head straight to the stairs. Pippa stops me with a gentle hand on my elbow.