Lady Claire

by Teresa Roman

  I smiled at Alessandro. “Sure, I think I’d like that.”

  “Magnifico.” Alessandro took my hand, lifted it, and let his lips brush over my skin. “Where can I pick you up?”

  “Pick me up?” That simply would not work. “How about you just tell me where to meet you?”

  “I suppose…if that’s what you prefer.”

  I nodded and Alessandro pulled a pen and paper out of his back pocket. He wrote down an address and his phone number. Before I gave myself another moment to think about what I was doing I wished him a good day. I could tell he had more he wanted to say. After all, he had given me his phone number, and I hadn’t given him mine. But after working up enough nerve to search for him, I had nothing left, and I was going to need as much nerve as I could muster for our date.

  Chapter 3

  When I returned to the guesthouse, my parents were outside on the upstairs balcony enjoying tea and scones. They saw me as I walked up to the entrance, which meant I’d be obliged to join them, no matter how much I longed for a little alone time.

  “What have you been up to?” my father asked as I walked through the double doors that led from their bedroom to the balcony.

  “Nothing much. I just decided to take a stroll around the gardens. They’re so lovely.”

  “Hmph,” my mother grunted. “If you hadn’t let Nico slip through your fingers all this could’ve been yours.”

  “How many more times am I going to have to hear you lecture me about Nico?”

  “Your mother is not lecturing you. She’s merely wondering the same thing I am.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “What you’re planning on doing with your life,” my father replied. “So far you’ve been spending it going from party to party, and from one social event to another. I tolerated it because I assumed you had a plan that involved marriage to a proper young man, but I’m beginning to think that’s not going to happen.”

  I sighed. “Dad, I’m only twenty-four.”

  “You’re twenty-four, single, and have stopped and started your schooling at least half a dozen times. You need to start getting serious about your life and finish your studies already. You can’t just spend your life shopping and partying.”

  “I do not spend my life partying,” I protested before turning my head to address my mother. “I go to social functions and charity events because that’s what you’ve always wanted me to do. Parties are fun, but those dreadful gatherings you send me to are certainly not.”

  “I sent you to those events for a purpose,” my mother replied without needing to elaborate. I knew exactly why she wanted me to attend them. Apparently I was a failure at everything, not just my schooling, but at finding the appropriate husband as well.

  “Can you just get to the point?” I said, trying not to sound annoyed. I didn’t need my parents rubbing my nose into my failed plans. For the past few years I’d practically followed Nico around Europe, showing up where I knew he would be, hoping that he would start to see me as more than a childhood friend. And I was almost sure he had begun to do that when Kat McTaggert came into his life and ruined everything. I tried my best to get rid of her, but she held on stubbornly, and in the end I’d lost. My dreams of marrying a prince and ruling beside him were over. I needed a new plan. The problem was I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

  “I took the liberty of discussing your academic situation with Marco Aiello, the president of the University of Monterra earlier,” my father said. “He will allow you to transfer credit from the classes you’ve already taken so you can finish your studies here. If you work really hard, you can have your International Studies degree by Christmas.

  A few months! “Oh, no no no.” I shook my head. “There is no way I’m staying in Monterra longer than I have to.”

  “I thought you loved it here,” Mum said.

  “That was before Nico fell in love with another girl,” I said sounding like a whiny toddler. “If I live here I’ll have to see pictures of him and his wife all over the newspapers every day. I can’t deal with that.”

  “You wouldn’t be living here, dear,” my mother said in her saccharin sweet voice. The one she used whenever she said something she knew I’d hate, like changing her voice would somehow soften the blow. “You’d just be staying here a few months to complete your studies. You can always come home on weekends and holidays.”

  “There has to be some other school somewhere that I can attend,” I said, inwardly cringing. I was twenty-four, not fourteen. I should be the one to decide my future, not my parents. Unfortunately, they had all the money and all I had was what they gave me. Perhaps my father was right, I needed to think about my future. I couldn’t very well just wait around for my inheritance.

  “As you and I both know, you’ve burned quite a few bridges back in England with your casual disregard to schooling. If you can think of another university that will allow you to finish in such a short period of time then feel free to enroll, but I’ve already secured your entrance into the University of Monterra, so as far as I’m concerned my work is done.”

  “And if I say no?”

  “Then I suppose you return home with us and pick up where you left off. Except this time it will be with a much smaller allowance from us.”

  “Mum, I can’t believe you agreed to this.”

  “Times are changing, Claire. Being born into nobility doesn’t guarantee what it once did, nor does having a pretty face. You need to be well-rounded. Why do you think Nico chose that American girl?” My mother paused, waiting for me to reply, but even I knew better than to give her a piece of my mind about Kat. “She’s educated and altruistic, that’s why.”

  “Yes, she’s a real Mother Teresa,” I muttered.

  “So what’s it going to be,” my father asked, clearly growing impatient.

  “I won’t be able to show my face around Monterra. I’ll have to live like a hermit.” My parents knew that word had gotten around about what I’d done to Kat. I was public enemy number one here.

  “Which means you’ll have more time to study,” my father said.

  “Fine,” I said, trying not to sound like I was on the verge of a temper tantrum even though I was. “I’ll finish my degree here.”

  “Perfect. I will call Marco tomorrow and let him know. Perhaps we can arrange for tea, the four of us, before your Mum and I return to England.

  “Yes.” I gave my father a weak smile. “That would be lovely.”

  *

  My upcoming date with Alessandro seemed like the only bright spot in what had been the bleakest week of my life. Imagining myself sitting beside him later was the only thing that helped me get through afternoon tea the next day with my parents and the University of Monterra’s president. Marco was completely unashamed discussing how my parent’s money was basically buying me a degree I hadn’t truly earned. Subtlety was clearly not one of his strengths. I tried to let his words slide off my back. I was far from the only person whose privilege had taken them a few steps further. There was nothing to be ashamed about.

  After my father’s new best friend finally left, I went to my room to change into more casual attire. I was used to dressing up to go out, not the other way around. But a Chanel pantsuit didn’t seemed like the appropriate thing to wear on a date with Alessandro. He struck me as a pretty casual person. Besides I didn’t want to attract attention. I settled on a black silky romper with a belted waist and released my blonde hair from the bun I had it in letting it flow down my back. Being short meant that heels were essential, so I chose a pair of wedge sandals.

  Giacomo arranged for a driver to take me to the place that Alessandro and I were supposed to meet. It turned out to be a small out of the way gelateria. Alessandro was already there, waiting by the entrance. It wasn’t until the driver had sped away that I greeted him, which did not go unnoticed by Alessandro.

  “Will being seen with me tarnish your reputation?” he asked as we walked inside the g
elato shop.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “I should have figured it out sooner. You were a guest at a prince’s wedding and I’m assuming you’re a guest at the palace as well, because if you weren’t then I hardly think the guards would’ve let you on the grounds just to look for me,” Alessandro said. “Which means you must come from a wealthy family. One that wouldn’t approve of you spending time with someone like me.”

  I didn’t want to admit to Alessandro that he was right, but sooner or later he would have to know. Maybe it was better we got the unpleasantries out of the way now.

  “Does that upset you?” I asked.

  “No, but it does make me wonder why you agreed to meet me here at all,” Alessandro said as he led me to a table and pulled out a chair for me. I took a look around as I sat. The shop reminded me of a small French bistro complete with white chairs and tables topped with colorful clothes. A menu of gelato flavors sat on top of the table.

  For a moment I considered lying to Alessandro, but despite his chosen career path, he seemed clever. “I’m in need of distraction.”

  “So the other day when you said you were meant to be the one marrying Nico, you were being serious?”

  “Do most girls you know tell you jokes with tears running down their face?”

  Alessandro pursed his lips and sat back in his chair with a look on his face that made me wonder if he had missed the sarcasm in my voice. “I may be better looking than Prince Nico,” he finally said, with a wicked grin on his face. “But I’m not sure I can measure up to royalty, and I hate to disappoint a beautiful lady. Perhaps you want to call your driver back.”

  “And miss the best gelato in all of Monterra?” I said reading what was written on the top of the menu as I picked it up from the table.

  “I highly recommend the nocciola. The hazelnuts this place uses come from the best farm in all of Monterra.”

  “That sounds perfect. I love hazelnuts.”

  Alessandro gestured for a server to come to our table and gave him our orders. A few minutes later the server returned with two enormous bowls of gelato. I took one lick and fell madly, deeply and passionately in love. I’d traveled all over Europe and had eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world, but nothing topped the bowl of hazelnut gelato that sat in front of me.

  “You approve?” Alessandro asked, again flashing that same wicked grin of his.

  “It’s amazing.” I helped myself to another spoonful of gelato, then another. If my mother saw me eating like this, she would totally have a cow, and if I kept eating that’s exactly what I’d turn in to.

  “So tell me about yourself, Claire,” Alessandro said.

  I was almost grateful for his question because it kept me from shoveling more gelato into my mouth. “You can probably tell by my accent that I’m from England, where I’m called Lady Claire Sutherland. My family has been friends with Nico’s for generations…”

  “Wait, don’t tell me you’re related to the Queen of England,” Alessandro said, cutting me off.

  “No. Not all British nobles are related to the queen, you know,” I said, trying to figure out a way to explain British titles and royal family lines, which even I found confusing at times. “Perhaps it’s better if you told me a bit about yourself first.”

  “I’m afraid compared to your life, you’d find mine rather boring.”

  “So you don’t like being a gardener?”

  A look of confusion passed across Alessandro’s face before he replied. “Ahh, I see now. We met in Monterra’s royal gardens, so you just assumed that I worked for Prince Nico’s family.”

  “You don’t?” Now I was the one who was confused.

  “No. I work for myself. In my family’s business. We own a farm here in Monterra. The royal family hired us to teach their staff how to start fruit and vegetable gardens. Home gardening has become quite popular, but most people don’t even know where to start.”

  “Is it really that complicated?”

  “If you want to garden organically it can be. Believe it or not, there’s a lot to know.” I could hear the passion in Alessandro’s voice. He clearly loved what he did. I figured the two of us were probably fairly close in age. He’d obviously found his calling and I was light years away from discovering mine. I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. “I doubt you’d find any of it very interesting, though.”

  “You make a lot of assumptions, don’t you?”

  “Perhaps I do. But you’ve made a few of your own as well.” I couldn’t argue his point and let him continue talking. “Maybe it would be better if from now on we laid our cards out on the table.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I asked you out because I think you’re a beautiful woman, and I have a thing for blondes.” He gave me a flirtatious wink before continuing. “I was hoping we could get to know each other better, but you’re after something else. You’d never be interested in dating a simple farmer, am I right?”

  “Are all you Monterrans so blunt?”

  “I believe in telling the truth.”

  “Fine, since it’s the truth you want, here it is. You said it yourself, you know you’re a handsome man, which means that I’m sure you’re used to woman throwing themselves at you, so consider me just one more fish in your sea. Show me some fun, make me forget that Nico, the man I’ve dreamt of marrying since I was a girl, chose someone else. Can you do that?”

  Alessandro lifted a gelato filled spoon to his mouth and slowly licked it clean as if he were demonstrating his talents. An image of him kissing me in places I’d never been kissed before filled my mind and for a moment I wondered if I was playing with fire. “With pleasure,” he finally said.

  “I have a few ground rules. The first one is that my parents cannot know. The second is that everything we speak about needs to stay between us. No selling any stories to tabloids.”

  “Agreed,” Alessandro said. “I am wondering, though, exactly how long will you be requiring my distraction services?”

  “I’m not really sure.” I explained to Alessandro how my parents had hijacked my life and all but forced me to remain in Monterra to complete my degree. As I finished my story I realized that with my parents back in England the chance of them finding out who I was spending time with would be pretty slim. Perhaps this arrangement would work out better than I’d planned. Alessandro was already proving to be a smart choice. He was more than just handsome, he was downright sexy, and something told me that under his macho act he was an honorable person. Besides, I was enjoying being around someone without those ever looming expectations to think about. I could just be myself and say whatever I wanted. I had just finished whining about my parents and Nico’s awful new wife and Alessandro just sat there listening without judgment.

  After I finished my last spoon of gelato, Alessandro stood and offered me his hand. “Come, let’s take a walk. I know a lovely park not too far from here.”

  I took his hand and followed him outside. I was too distracted by the butterflies fluttering around in my chest to pay attention as Alessandro led the way. It had been a long time since someone had held my hand the way he was. When we arrived at the park Alessandro navigated his way through its winding paths until he found a bench away from the last few sunbathers lying on a giant green lawn, hoping to soak up the sun’s final rays of the day. We sat down and turned to face each other. The words “what are you doing” kept running through my head. Nothing about being with Alessandro felt safe or comfortable, but safety and comfort had failed me. It was time to things differently, to live a little.

  “What is Lady Claire thinking?”

  “Just call me Claire.” I’d always insisted on being called by my title, but suddenly it had begun to feel like a noose around my neck. For the next few months I would be stuck in Monterra and I planned on taking full advantage. The prim and proper life I was used to could wait until I was done with my studies and returned home,
where my father would find me a boring but well-paying job that introduced me to the right people. Until then, I planned on enjoying myself with Mr. Wrong.

  Alessandro inched closer to me. The heat from his body mixed with his intoxicating scent making me almost dizzy. He reached around me and pulled me into his arms pressing his lips on mine. His tongue parted my lips as I wove my fingers through his thick, but soft dark hair. I couldn’t help the moan that escaped from me or the shudder that ran though my body as I realized Alessandro’s kiss was the first one I’d ever experienced that had actually made me want more.

  Chapter 4

  Alessandro and I didn’t see each other again until after my parents left. After the kiss we shared in the park I craved to see him again and spent far too much time thinking about him. But I let my common sense side take over and decided it was safer to wait until my parents’ prying eyes were gone. I spent the next few days making arrangements to have my things moved to an apartment as far away from the palace as possible without making it too difficult to get to classes at the university. Kat and Nico were still on their honeymoon and I wanted to be long gone by the time they returned.

  When I finished settling in to what was going to be my home for the next few months I thought about calling Alessandro and inviting him over, but in the end I decided against it. I’d asked him to be my distraction, and I still wanted him to be. But when I thought about our kiss the other day, part of me felt elated, the other terrified. If I invited him over he might misconstrue my intentions, and I really wasn’t ready to move things along as quickly as I’d implied.

  I turned the TV on and sat on my couch with a brochure from the University of Monterra. I’d barely had a chance to read through it when I heard the names Nico and Kat blaring from the TV. I didn’t understand what was being said, but I didn’t need to speak Italian to know that it was yet another story about Monterra’s newest royal couple. I reached down and grabbed a shoe from the floor and flung it at the images of Nico and Kat in their wedding attire. When I’d first met Kat I thought she was rather plain, but in her wedding dress, even I had to admit she looked stunning. I was so tired of being jealous of her, and in desperate need of some hazelnut gelato to get me out of my funk. I called Alessandro, who agreed to meet me.