Maybe someday she’d get back to some of the things she used to be more passionate about.
But not just yet.
Jordan sat across from the founder of #StillKickin at a local cafe.
“It’s an honor to meet with you, Your Royal Highness.” She looked nervous. “But I’m not sure what the purpose of this meeting is.”
He stifled a sigh. Thomas hadn’t told her? “I want to support your organization.”
She blinked. “Okay. We’re happy to have the support. May I ask why? Is someone you know still with you as a result of an organ donation?”
“You are aware this meeting is confidential, correct?”
She nodded.
After a quick glance around to make sure the only other people within earshot were his security team, Jordan leaned a bit closer. “I am a heart transplant recipient. For reasons of our own, we have chosen not to make this public just yet. We will soon.” He outlined his plan to approach the other group and work together to get ready for the #StillKickin run. She was on board with that if they were. She mentioned approaching the board and offering a discounted entry fee for anyone in the other program. Being healthy both decreased the likelihood of needing a transplant for preventable reasons while also making someone a better candidate as an organ donor in the future, though a sedentary lifestyle wasn’t automatically a disqualifier.
After they shook hands and parted, Jordan waited for his second meeting of the day, this one with the running group. By the time that meeting concluded, he was set to be involved with both groups, though he wasn’t sure he’d officially be a royal patron for either. If he was, it was more likely to be #StillKickin.
He returned to the palace to find Astrid walking into the outer portion of their shared office. She didn’t look at him, but did ask how his meetings went. After about half an hour in the office responding to emails Thomas marked for him, Jordan went upstairs to find Sofia playing with her blocks. After a few words with Gretchen, he went and changed then headed out the back door of the palace and onto the beach.
He put a life jacket on Sofia, then set her on the paddleboard. He wouldn’t go out far - the waves were very mild in the cove and barely deserved the name - but she’d love it. When they were about fifteen meters out, he turned back to look. The imposing structure gave new meaning to ocean front property. On either end, the beach was blocked off by walls, partially constructed by seaside cliffs, and topped by manmade towers. About twenty meters of sand separated the base of the palace from the ocean. The bottom ten meters of the palace were windowless. The first entry point was well above where any but the largest storm surge - or possibly a tsunami - would be expected to make landfall. He imagined they could secure all of the windows and doors on this side of the palace though. Several balconies would have doors that would need to be secured, besides the one that led to the stairs down to the beach.
Sitting down on the paddleboard, he pulled Sofia back into him. The waves pushed them closer to shore until Jordan could hop off in water up to his mid-thigh. They played in the water for a bit longer before Jordan carried her onto the sand. Once on the blanket someone had thoughtfully provided, he read her a book about turtles then another about farm animals.
They went back inside and found a kitchen near the beach exit. They’d lived there for three days, but this palace wasn’t as big or confusing as the one in Juan-Eduardo, and Jordan was learning his way around. Sofia sat on her knees at the bar and munched on a chocolate chip cookie. Jordan sat next to her with a couple cookies of his own.
Once done, they went back up to her new playroom. Jordan laid on the floor to play with her and her farm playset. They made the same noises they had with the book on the beach. A few minutes later, he felt like they were being watched. He looked up to see Astrid standing in the door way.
He leaned over. “Hey, Sofia. Mama’s here.”
Sofia’s eyes lit up, and she pushed herself into a standing position, running in her toddler way to Astrid. “Mama!”
Astrid’s smile was as big as her little girl’s. “Hi, sweetheart. Did you go swimming?”
Sofia nodded. “My s’im Papa.”
Jordan blinked as Astrid did a double take.
“What?” Astrid asked.
“My s’im Papa.” Sofia pointed at Jordan.
“I’m glad you got to swim.” Astrid set her back down. “Can you play with your toys for a minute?”
Jordan hopped to his feet, knowing Astrid struggled far more than he did with the honorific. “I never called myself that,” he told Astrid quietly.
He could see her fighting back the tears. “I believe you. I knew she would call you that, or Daddy, or something, eventually, but I wasn’t ready for it.”
After a brief internal debate, Jordan wrapped his arms around his wife. “I know.”
She relaxed against him for a few seconds then pushed back. “I’m fine. It just caught me off-guard.”
“I still won’t refer to myself as her father until you’re ready for me to.”
“Thank you.”
Inside, he felt far differently than he tried to portray on the outside. It thrilled him that Sofia had begun to see him as her father. Another thought occurred to him. “You know, your father told me I wouldn’t be allowed to adopt her as long as she retains her position in the line of succession. I would have told you I wanted to even before our wedding if I didn’t already know it couldn’t happen.”
“Thank you for telling me that.”
He wanted to kiss her but settled for taking her hand and giving it a slight squeeze. “I’m going to go for a run. If I can find the gym in this place, I’ll use the treadmill. If not, do you mind me doing laps in the private portion? I wouldn’t do it where there might be meetings or lots of staff members or anything.”
She shook her head. “No. Go right ahead. Run wherever you like.”
“Thanks.” It took all his willpower to walk away, but he did.
Because in not pushing her, hopefully she’d come back to him soon.
22
Astrid stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had five minutes before she had to leave to take the boat over to the other island for the garden tea. The blue and green shirt Jordan had given her was perfect. She loved absolutely everything about it. His guess had been right, too. It did look great on her.
“Are you going to wear it?” Martina’s face seemed purposely shuttered.
“What do you think?” Astrid twisted one way then the other. “What will Grandmother think?”
“Do you really care what your grandmother thinks?” Martina asked softly. “Or do you care far more about being able to break out of the confining mold you’ve been put in? Do you care far more about what your husband thinks, since he’s the one who bought it for you?”
Mind made up, she turned and picked up the light wrap she’d need on the crossing. “I’m going to wear it.”
“Good for you.” The twinkle returned to Martina’s eyes. “I’m sure the duke will appreciate that.”
Astrid didn’t respond to that comment. Martina knew things were strained between Astrid and Jordan, that they no longer slept in the same room, though for now they shared a suite. They hadn’t run into each other in it more than a couple of times so far, though.
With the wrap around her shoulders, she left the dressing room and headed for the stairs to the beach. There wasn’t a pier, but a smaller boat would come right up to the sand and take her to the larger one for the journey between the islands. Once situated in the first boat, she pulled the wrap over her hair to keep it from getting blown about too badly. She would freshen up in the cabin of the second boat before they arrived.
In fact, she did that first thing. Martina had joined her for just that reason. While Astrid was at the event, Martina would take the opportunity to see her grandchildren.
Martina clipped Astrid’s hair back in place. “There you go.” She stared into Astrid’s eyes in the mirror. “You know,
if you wanted to get really bold sometime, you could get some of that fake colored hair. This outfit would look fabulous with matching streaks of blue or green in your hair.”
Astrid laughed. “My family would have a fit, and you know it.” She tilted her head and thought it over. “You’re not wrong, though.”
Her aide held up a bag. “Good thing I brought this then!”
Astrid gasped. “You didn’t.”
“Just try them. If you don’t like it or your mother flips out, we can take them out before your big entrance.”
Astrid bit her bottom lip and wondered if she dared. Finally, she nodded.
“Okay. We’re going to do two, one on each side. They won’t be stand out like if we put it on the top of your head.” Martina spun Astrid’s chair. “No peeking.”
Astrid tipped her head to the side while Martina found the right place to clip the first strand in. It started blue and faded into green, all in one piece. She could tell the other strand didn’t go exactly opposite, but close. Martina moved around to the front and fluffed and fussed over the exact placement of Astrid’s hair, something she did regularly anyway.
Finally, Martina stepped back. “Okay. You can look.”
Astrid turned, afraid she’d like it too much and still feel she should take them out. Instead, she gasped. “I love it, Martina! And it goes so well with the shirt!”
“Almost like they were made for each other.”
That settled it. “I’m going to at least wear them to meet Mother. If she asks, I’ll take them out.”
The sound of the motor changed, and Astrid knew they were almost there. A car waited for her when she disembarked. The drive to the palace didn’t take long. Astrid walked through the halls toward her mother’s office where they were to meet. She took a deep breath and walked in, waving to her mother’s assistant who just nodded and smiled.
“Good afternoon, Mother.”
Her mother looked up. “Astrid! I didn’t know you’d arrived yet.”
Because Astrid had asked them not to inform her mother. She took off her wrap and set it on the chair. “How long until we’re expected in the garden?” No sense in drawing attention to the changes. Let her mother notice them herself.
“We have about fifteen minutes.” Mother pushed back from the desk. “But don’t think I haven’t noticed this blue and green thing you’ve got going on. I don’t recognize the shirt. Where did you get it?”
“Jordan bought it for me. He gave it to me the night of the ball and asked me if I’d wear it today.”
Her mother held out her hands, and Astrid took them. “I think you look truly lovely. Those are your colors.” She leaned a little closer and squeezed Astrid’s hands. “I like the hair, too.”
Astrid finally smiled. “I’m so glad. I kind of love it.” She let go of her mother’s hands and separated her hair. “But it’s temporary. It just clips in. Martina found them when she saw the shirt.” Her smile faltered. “What will Grandmother say?”
Mother linked arms with Astrid. “I’m guessing she’ll say her granddaughter hasn’t looked quite this happy in a very long time.” They started for the door. “That is the most important thing, as long as you’re wearing actual clothing and not what passes for clothes in some circles.” Her mother gave a delicate shudder. “You’re fine.”
They reached the drawing room nearest the garden a few minutes later. Grandmother waited for them.
Astrid held her breath as she underwent the visual inspection. Doing nothing but looking her up and down with only her eyes moving, Grandmother managed to intimidate. Astrid supposed it came from being queen. Her mother could do it as well, though she wasn’t quite as good. Given a couple more decades, it was likely she would be.
“I like it,” Grandmother pronounced. “It’s about time you wore something besides those boring earth tones. No, you really just wear dirt tones. All those shades of brown. You’re far too young to dress like that.” She waved a hand toward Astrid’s head. “And the hair is fabulous.” With a pat on her own head, she continued. “You don’t suppose I could pull off hair matching my outfit, do you?”
Astrid and her mother laughed. “You could pull off whatever you want, Grandmother.” After giving the former queen a gentle hug, Astrid sat next to her. “But I thought that’s what you wanted me to wear, all of us girls, really. You do mostly blacks and grays,” she pointed out. “And Mother wears mostly muted tones.”
Her genteel grandmother snorted. “I’m an old widow, and your mother looks best in muted tones. I never said any such thing. And you didn’t always. It wasn’t until your tenth year of schooling or so that you started wearing such bland colors.”
Her tenth year? What had happened then that would change the way she dressed?
Then it hit her.
She met Andrei.
Leaning against the door frame to his wife’s dressing room, Jordan shamelessly spied on her. He’d even make sure she knew he was there if she started to undress.
Instead, she was plowing through her clothes, taking hanger after hanger off the rod and tossing them into a pile.
“What did those clothes do to you?” he finally asked.
Astrid jumped, one hand clutching her chest, gripping the shirt he’d bought her. “You scared me.”
“I didn’t mean to.” That was coincidence. “But what did all of those clothes do to you?”
“They’re boring and blah. I’m done wearing boring and blah.”
“I thought your grandmother insisted.” Something had changed while she was gone for those few hours.
“Apparently not. She loved my entire ensemble today. Told me she didn’t know where I got that idea from.”
Jordan had seen a few pictures already, but up close, the color really did work well on her. “I really love your ensemble, too. The blue and green really looks great with your eyes.” He just barely leaned into the room. “And I love the hair color.”
A blush crept up her cheeks. “I kind of do, too. Martina ordered these hair clip things to go with the shirt. She said she’ll order more once she knows what colors will go with my new clothes. I won’t wear them all the time, of course, but sometimes, for fun things, I will.”
“That’s great.”
She finally looked him in the eyes. “Thank you for the shirt, Jordan. I wouldn’t have had the guts to get something like it and wear it on my own.”
He bowed at the waist. “It was truly my pleasure, Princess.” The title didn’t seem to annoy her like it sometimes did, but he wasn’t being snarky either.
“I really do love it. Did it come in any other colors? Because I just might buy up every option they have. Where’d you get it anyway?” She went back to pulling most of the hangers off the rods.
He named a boutique a few blocks from the palace on the other island. “To be perfectly honest, I sent Adam for it. I saw it when my car stopped at a light next to the store, but I didn’t want to draw too much attention to what I was doing. Adam has daughters and a wife. He could have been shopping for one of them. Plus, I had no idea what size you wear. I told him which one, but he took care of the rest. I don’t know if they had other colors. That was the only one on display in the window, though.”
Astrid stared at him for a long minute. “Well, you did good. It was a great choice.”
“Thanks.”
She turned and looked at the growing pile of clothes. “I’m going to need to go shopping.”
He pointed to another pile on the other side of the room. “Those aren’t bland.”
Once back to pulling hangers off, she spoke again. “But those are gowns I wore to events with Andrei. I’m not opposed to rewearing clothes, but I don’t want to wear those again.”
Because they would remind her too much of what she’d lost and of Jordan’s perceived betrayal.
“I understand your logic,” she went on, oblivious to his thoughts. “I don’t agree with it. I think you and my parents should have told me and let me
make an informed decision, but I do understand why you didn’t. I’m not just going to be able to forget that and move on.”
Jordan noted the way she worded it. She didn’t imply she would be able to eventually move on. No, she implied she wasn’t going to be able to move on at all. He didn’t have to accept that. “What are you going to wear to the Women in Medicine dinner in a few weeks then?”
“My favorite designer is already working on it. The dress will actually be similar in color to this shirt.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” He needed to find out more about it, and decided to do so before he forgot. “I’ll leave you to your closet clean out. I did want to remind you that the mayor and his wife are coming for dinner this evening. It’ll just be the four of us, and fairly informal.”
She nodded and pulled a dark brown outfit out, looking it up and down before putting it back. “I did know that, but it had escaped me. Thank you for the reminder.”
“I’ll see you in a bit then.” At least she wouldn’t change into pajamas or shorts and a t-shirt for dinner. Even with the relaxed standards on colors, that would mortify her.
He went back to his office and talked to Thomas about finding information on the fundraiser.
Thomas shifted in his seat. “I’m not sure what you want to know, sir, but that’s the event the princess and Prince Andrei were on their way home from when the accident occurred. She didn’t attend last year, but is attending under pressure from her parents. It was always one of her favorite organizations. She’s still their royal patron, but she hasn’t actively been involved with them since. No one really knows why, though the assumption is that it’s because of the accident.”
Crowns & Courtships Compilation Volume 1 Page 17