Crowns & Courtships Compilation Volume 1

by Carol Moncado

  “We’ll talk later.” She wouldn’t commit to it, even just to get him off the phone. Before he could reply, she hung up.

  Kenny held Gracie in one arm and took her hand with the other before giving her a soft kiss. “Who was that?”

  “My grandfather. He wanted to discuss the same thing we did yesterday. I told him we were on a day trip.” She bit her bottom lip. “We are flying back to Eyjania today, aren’t we?”

  “We can, or we can stay here a few days. It’s up to you.”

  Anabelle hesitated. “I think we better go back.” Besides, they didn’t have any clothes or anything packed for an overnight trip.

  Kenny looked around and led her to a semi-private corner. “There's something I need to tell you,” he started.

  “Annie,” Gracie interrupted. “I need to go.”

  Kenny blew out a deep breath as Anabelle reached for Gracie. When they returned a few minutes later, Kenny stood next to a man in a black and white suit. Kenny took Gracie from her, and they followed the man to a limo parked out front.

  “What’s the plan?” she asked as they pulled into traffic, but she didn’t look at Kenny. She stared at her hands where they gripped the straps of her bag.

  “You’re going shopping for a dress for you and something for Gracie. The driver knows where to go, and they know to put it on my account.”

  Anabelle blinked and looked over at him. “You have an account at a store that caters to women who are eloping?”

  He chuckled. “No, but my sisters probably do. It’s taken care of. The staff will help you get ready. If you don’t find anything you like, they’ll point you somewhere else and make the arrangements. They’ve got someone lined up to do your hair and make-up. Nothing too fancy, probably, but you won’t have to figure it out yourself. Then the driver will bring both of you to my family’s home.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “There’s the confirmation I was looking for. A preacher friend of mine will meet us there. I’ve already talked to him, and he’s made the arrangements for the license.”

  A weight lifted off Anabelle’s shoulders. “You’ve taken care of all of it?”

  Kenny winked at her. “I think so.”

  No more mention of what he’d wanted to tell her. It couldn’t be bad, or he wouldn’t go through with the wedding. She’d find out later.

  Right now the only thing that really mattered was finding a way out of marrying King Benjamin.

  6

  Kensington needed to find Anabelle and talk to her before this ceremony actually commenced. He’d been told the car had arrived on the property, but hadn’t seen her or Gracie yet. He and an old friend of his, a preacher who’d listened to him when he’d needed a shoulder and a man of God to point him in the right direction after his last breakup with someone only interested in his titles, stood next to him.

  “Are you sure about this, Your Royal Highness? You don’t think your family would want to be here? That the country doesn’t want their own chance to watch their favorite oldest prince get married?”

  Kensington shook his head. “No. It has to be this way. Maybe we’ll have a wedding later, but this needs to happen now.”

  The preacher frowned. “She isn’t pregnant, is she?”

  He couldn’t contain his chuckle. “Nothing like that. There hasn’t been any contact of that kind, not outside of a few not-quite-chaste kisses.”

  “Good.”

  “But can you leave the titles and everything out of this?” The wedding wasn’t the time to find out she was about to be a princess. “Kensington is marrying Anabelle. Not Prince Kensington, Duke of This, Earl of That, and Baron of the Other Thing.”

  As the other man laughed and nodded, he also glanced at his watch. “I’m about out of time, though. I hate to rush you, but I have a meeting I can’t miss in about forty-five minutes, and it’s at least half an hour away.”

  Kensington started to reach for his phone to text Anabelle, but before he could, movement at the top of the stairs caught his eye. The housekeeper, a woman who’d worked for his family for decades but moved here when her husband retired, hurried down to the beach.

  “I’ve got the music on my phone,” she called as she reached the sand. “And we’ll have a photographer in a minute, too.”

  That’s right. Her husband had dabbled, much like Astrid’s husband, Jordan, did. She tapped a few times on her phone before music sort of filled the air. The phone’s speaker wasn’t top notch. Why hadn’t he thought to grab his bluetooth speaker to use?

  But his thoughts stopped in their tracks when Anabelle appeared at the top of the stairs, Gracie’s hand in one of hers and a bouquet in the other. Her smile would have lit up the whole of outside if the sun wasn’t already shining bright.

  A minute later, Gracie stood by the preacher and held the bouquet as Kensington took Anabelle’s hands in his.

  “Dearly beloved...”

  Kensington tried to focus on the words, but found himself unable to tear his attention away from Anabelle. Her simple dress and hairstyle were perfect for the woman he’d been falling in love with.

  “Kensington?” the man at his side prodded. “Do you take Anabelle to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  His smile widened. “I do.”

  “And do you Anabelle, take Kensington to be your lawfully wedded husband?” He continued through the list of things they would be to each other, ending with, “keeping yourself only unto him until death do you part?”

  Anabelle’s smile grew. “I do.”

  “Then by the power vested in me by the king of Athmetis, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kensington, you may kiss your bride.”

  Kensington’s foot shifted in the sand as he leaned toward Anabelle. “My pleasure.” He framed her face with his hands and touched his lips to hers. As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss beyond what they’d previously shared, he didn’t let himself. Judging by the way she gripped his shirt, Anabelle wished for more, too.

  After posing for a few pictures with just the two of them and some with Gracie, he held her hand as they walked back up the stairs.

  “There’s a meal waiting for you, sir,” the housekeeper called from a few steps below where she helped Gracie.

  “Thank you. We’re going to eat, but then we need to get back to the airport for our flight back to Eyjania.”

  “Already?” He heard the disappointment in her voice.

  “I’m afraid so, but we’ll come back for a visit soon.” He winked at Anabelle who turned the most becoming shade of red. “Maybe when we have time for a real honeymoon.”

  “We’ll be here waiting for you, sir. Bring your sisters, and that niece of yours.”

  Kensington stifled a chuckle. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  On the patio, past the luxurious pool and under an awning, sat a table with food. He held a chair for Anabelle then took his own seat as Gracie scrambled onto the third chair. After he said the blessing, Anabelle dished up a serving for herself and Gracie while Kensington helped himself. He would need to learn how to do the father thing, even if he was really Gracie’s brother-in-law.

  There was a weird thought.

  “So, I learned something about you,” Anabelle said as she situated a napkin in her lap.

  “What’s that?”

  “Your name isn’t Kenneth, and the single word on your business card wasn’t just the name of a random palace in Great Britain.”

  Rather than the smile her smirk said she expected, Kensington sobered. “No. It’s not Kenneth. It’s Kensington. It never occurred to me you might think that. Usually when I hand out a business card, the person already knows my name, so I never even thought about someone who might not know Kensington isn’t just a British palace, but also my name.” With a bunch of middle names and more titles than most people ever held for cars. How was he going to tell her about that? “Honestly, my mother would likely be appalled to know you’ve been calling me Kenny.” She was wonderful, but had a thing about n
icknames. He leaned closer and kissed Anabelle softly. “But I kind of like it.”

  She groaned. “I probably need to start calling you Kensington all the time though. Otherwise I’m sure to slip in front of your family.”

  “My father would think it’s hilarious. So would my grandmother. We all have these kind of pretentious family names, and no one dares shorten them for us because of the family connection and all, plus my mother has a thing about nicknames. They’re mostly fantastic when you get to know them, but they can be kind of stick-in-the-mud until then.”

  “Okay, so you’re Kensington. What about the rest of your family? Who are they?”

  He hesitated, but only for a second. Would she recognize the names of the San Majorian royal family? “My older sister is Astrid. After me is Jacqueline Grace, then Esther, and my brother is Harrison. My parents are Edward and Miriam. My grandmother is Grace, but I doubt anyone ever called her Gracie.”

  Anabelle seemed to be thinking.

  Had she finally figured it out? And how would she feel?

  He held his breath waiting to find out, breathing a sigh of relief - for now - when she changed the subject.

  Anabelle wondered if it was too much to wish she could sit by her new husband on the way back to Eyjania. Unfortunately, the flight was almost full. Kenny - no, Kensington - being the gentleman he was, gave the two first class seats to Anabelle and Gracie and took a seat in business class for himself.

  She realized he’d managed to make the trip without Rob. Because they were going to his family’s property on the other end? And it was a direct flight both ways?

  Or had he snuck off without telling Rob and how mad would his security team be?

  Did that mean she and Gracie would have security before long? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Maybe she should have asked before marrying Kensington.

  Too late now. Even if they were off to a very unconventional start, she knew deep down that marrying him was the right thing to do. Almost anything would be better than marrying King Benjamin.

  Gracie stayed awake for most of this flight, but played quietly with her toys and stared out the window, pointing out mountains and other things she saw below.

  It was nearly Gracie’s bedtime when they landed, long after dark this far north.

  Rob met them as they emerged into the baggage claim area. He looked annoyed but not mad. That was something. He didn’t mention the wedding and neither did Kensington. One thing they didn’t have were rings.

  Kensington apologized for that while they ate. He said there was a family heirloom ring designated for his use but he obviously hadn’t had time to get it. She hadn’t even thought about a wedding band for him. Everything else had freaked her out too much.

  “Anabelle and Gracie will be staying at the house with us,” Kensington told Rob. “We will need to hire someone to pack up their apartment and move their things.”

  Anabelle stopped in her tracks. “Hold up there, Kenny.” She used the nickname on purpose. “What if I want to do the packing myself? And why can’t you move in with us?” She knew that wasn’t an option, but they hadn’t discussed any of this.

  “No one will be moving in with anyone.” Rob glared at Kensington.

  “Sorry, Rob.” Kensington started walking, leaving the rest of them to follow. “Not an option. There are reasons to be concerned for the safety of both Anabelle and Gracie. They’re coming to the house with us.” He turned to look at her.

  Anabelle had to admit she saw nothing but compassion and concern in his eyes.

  “Our house is gated and secure. Your apartment isn’t. That’s why you should move in with me. If you want to pack everything up yourself, that’s fine. I just wanted to make things easier.”

  She felt her shoulders relax. “I know you did. Maybe we can go over tomorrow to pack the things I wouldn’t want to leave to anyone else then hire someone to do the rest?”

  He moved to her side and slid an arm around her waist. “I think that sounds perfect. I have a meeting first thing in the morning, but after that we can go over, and I’ll help however I can.”

  “Thanks.”

  A car waited for them outside. Rob opened the back door for the three of them to climb in. He then sat in the front next to the driver.

  The drive to Kensington’s home was quiet. Gracie started to nod off. Kensington carried her inside when they arrived and put her in the room across from his. He’d basically dismissed Rob as soon as they arrived.

  Once Gracie was snuggled under the blanket, Anabelle turned to find Kensington right there.

  He rested his hand on her hips and pulled her close. “I know this isn’t exactly the wedding or wedding night every girl dreams of,” he told her softly. “But it’s what we’ve got. I’m not going to pressure you or ask for more than you’re willing to give. If you want to stay here with Gracie tonight, I understand.” A self-assured grin crossed his face. “But if you would rather join me across the hall, that would be all right with me, too.”

  Anabelle rested her hands on his chest, but didn’t look him in the eyes. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by your offer.”

  “But?” he prompted when she didn’t go on.

  “I’m not sure I want to leave Gracie alone in a new place, not when she wasn’t awake to know where she is and where I’ll be.”

  His hands slid around her waist. “I can understand that.”

  Her fingers fiddled with the button at about her eye level. “But if you had some sort of baby monitor or something so I could hear her if she woke up scared, that might be okay, too.”

  As soon as the last word left her mouth, Kensington’s lips covered hers in a kiss so intense it left her breathless. When he moved away, long minutes later, she whispered, “So you have something like that?”

  He rested his forehead on hers. “If we don’t, we will in the next twenty minutes.” With one arm around her waist to anchor her to him, he pulled his phone out with the other hand. He tapped on the screen a few times then waited for a reply.

  “Yes. We do have one. My sister stays here with her daughter sometimes.” He gave her another intense kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

  Anabelle clutched her stomach as he walked out.

  They were married.

  Kensington was her husband.

  She hadn’t given this enough thought.

  She knew what was expected, but wasn’t prepared. There had been no time to go shopping for something cute or sexy or somewhere in between. Kensington probably wouldn’t care, but it bothered Anabelle a little bit. Her wedding dress was long gone, left behind in Athmetis to be preserved and shipped later, though Kensington hadn’t changed out of the very beachy shirt and slacks he’d been wearing.

  Rather than waiting for him in Gracie’s room, she went across the hall to the one she knew to be his. Maybe she’d find some inspiration that wouldn’t be completely embarrassing.

  The wooden valet held a suit, likely meant for a meeting he’d missed due to their trip or for the next day.

  But it gave her an idea.

  A smile played at her lips. If only he didn’t hurry back too fast.

  7

  Kensington sat in the outer office waiting for Isaiah to decide he was worth the other man’s time. He knew Isaiah thought making Kensington wait gave him the upper hand, but Kensington was on to him. Simply by knowing what game Isaiah was playing gave Kensington the upper hand. Sure he was kept waiting, but Isaiah couldn’t complain he’d been late, and he’d brought work to do knowing this would happen.

  Not that he could concentrate on any of it.

  Every time he closed his eyes, even just to blink, he saw Anabelle.

  Waiting for him when he returned with the baby monitor.

  Wearing one of his dress shirts.

  Nervously biting her lip as he walked toward her.

  Kissing him.

  Curled around a pillow with the sheet over her bare shoulders as he left before
she woke up.

  “Kensington?” Isaiah’s assistant spoke for the first time in nearly an hour.

  Kensington looked up with a raised eyebrow.

  “His Royal Highness Prince Isaiah will see you now.”

  Kensington was a little surprised the man didn’t include all of Isaiah’s other titles in an additional effort to emphasize his importance. He might do more of the day to day running of the nation, but Kensington outranked him in the scope of things. For now, Kensington was third in line for the San Majorian throne after Astrid and Sofia. Isaiah came behind all nine of King Benjamin’s siblings, his own older sister, and all of her children and grandchildren.

  All the reminders did was serve to amuse Kensington.

  When he entered the office, Isaiah still looked annoyed at being interrupted, despite this meeting being on the schedule for weeks.

  “Everything all right?” Kensington asked. “I trust there’s no major emergency going on that caused the delay.”

  Isaiah shook his head. “No. In fact, it’s good news. My nephew will be announcing his engagement later today.”

  It took all of Kensington’s acting skills to control his response. “Benjamin is getting married?”

  “Yes. He is marrying a local woman in a couple of months. Anabelle is quite honored to have been chosen.”

  Kensington took a seat without waiting for Isaiah to invite him to. He leaned back trying to project an ease, a comfort, he didn’t really feel. “Anabelle Gregorson? I’m kind of surprised Ben is willing to marry a woman with custody of her little sister.”

  “You know her?”

  “We’ve met.” Kensington did his best to remain nonchalant.

  “The child will be taken care of. Ms. Gregorson does not want to subject her to the rigors of palace life, so an appropriate caregiver will be found for her.”

  Like any of this had been discussed with, much less agreed to by, Anabelle.

  The statements also meant they had no idea about his wedding to Anabelle the day before.