"You are confusing me, daughter. Explain yourself."
"Come in and close the door, Father, and I'll tell you all about my marriage and why, in just a little while, you and I must face our guests and tell them that the wedding has been canceled. Permanently canceled."
Matt made it all the way to the airport, but the minute he got out of the taxi, he knew he couldn't leave. Not without Adele. To hell with her becoming queen of Orlantha. If she loved him, she'd come back to America with him. But he hadn't even given her the chance to say no. He'd made all the decisions.
Yeah, but if he loved her, truly loved her, wouldn't he be willing to stay in her country and make a few sacrifices to be with her? He shouldn't have run off the way he did. He should have stuck around and talked things out more thoroughly. Maybe they could have reached some sort of compromise.
"Hey, buddy, take me back to the cathedral," Matt said as he hopped into the cab he had just exited.
"Back to the cathedral?"
"Yeah, and step on it, will you?"
"Step on what, sir?"
"Just get me back to the cathedral as fast as you can."
On the fifteen-minute drive, Matt went over every possible scenario that could give Adele and him a happily-ever-after to their romance. He wasn't sure how they would work things out, but he knew one thing for certain—he loved Adele.
When the cab stopped in front of the cathedral, Matt paid the guy and gave him a big tip, then rushed past the guards at the door and hurried inside to the vestibule. He walked up to one of the palace guards standing just outside the entrance to the sanctuary.
"Where's the princess?" Matt asked.
"Sir Matthew?" The guard inspected Matt's appearance. "Her Highness is with the king. They entered the sanctuary only moments ago."
Matt opened the huge double doors leading into the sanctuary. He gazed down the long, wide center aisle to where Adele and her father stood before the altar and faced their guests.
"May we have your attention, please," Pippin Ritter said. "King Leopold wishes to make a brief statement."
Matt took several hesitant steps down the aisle. Suddenly Adele saw him. Their gazes met and locked. Adele moved from her father's side and walked several feet up the aisle. The wedding guests murmured and glanced around to see what had gained the princess's attention. King Leopold smiled broadly, then slapped Pippin on the back. Adele walked faster. Matt moved toward her. Then Adele and Matt ran to each other, meeting in the middle of the center aisle. Matt lifted Adele off her feet and swung her around and around. She squealed with delight. Then he eased her down the front of his body and set her on her feet. She threw her arms around his neck.
"I couldn't leave," he told her.
"I didn't want you to go."
"I guess I could get used to being Sir Matthew."
"Prince Matthew," Adele corrected.
"Yeah, Prince Matthew."
"We could postpone the wedding until you're sure."
"I'm sure," he told her. "I'm sure I love you, and if I can't spend the rest of my life with you, my life won't be worth living."
"Oh, Matt. I love you, too. So very much."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road. The sooner we finish up with this royal wedding, the sooner we get another honeymoon."
Adele surveyed him from head to toe, but didn't say anything about him changing out of his jeans and leather bomber jacket. She took his arm and led him down the aisle. The crowded sanctuary stilled as King Leopold came forward and ceremoniously took Adele's hand and placed it in Matt's.
"Glad to see you came to your senses," the king whispered to Matt, then winked.
An hour later, when the endless wedding service finally did end, Sir Matthew—soon to become Prince Matthew when his wife was crowned queen—kissed his bride. The entire assembly came to their feet and applauded. Cheers rose to the rafters. And the church bells rang out as Adele and Matt, now husband and wife in every sense of the word, headed out of the church to the awaiting horse-drawn carriage. Happily-ever-after was only beginning for the royal couple.
Epilogue
A year after the royal wedding made headline news around the world, the christening of the new crown prince was heralded as the happily-ever-after to a Cinderfella fairy-tale romance between Adele and Matt. Theo and Dia Constantine were godparents to young Alexandre Leopold Desmond Reynard-O'Brien, who had his father's wild black Irish hair and his mother's exotic dark eyes. The little prince seemed to know that this celebration was in his honor and therefore was on his best behavior.
At the grand reception at the Erembourg palace, Queen Adele and Prince Matthew greeted their guests—the wealthy, the famous, the royals of the world. And Grandfather Leopold took charge of his grandson, whisking away the child to the nursery while the party was still in full swing. An hour later Matt and Adele left Muriel in charge of their guests, and they slipped away in search of the missing twosome.
Softly singing a melody from his own childhood, King
Leopold sat in a wooden rocking chair, little Alex in his arms. Adele and Matt stood in the nursery doorway.
"One day, my little man, you will rule Orlantha,'' King Leopold said. "There have been many changes made to my country since I was a boy, and many more will be made before you sit on the throne. Your mother's marriage to your father marked the beginning of a new era. I plan to be around for many years to see all these changes, so I must take good care of myself. That is why I gave your mother my old job of running this country. You see, Alex, I want to live to see you grow into a fine man. . .a man as strong and brave and honorable as your father."
Adele squeezed Matt's hand. They smiled at each other, then turned and walked down the hall toward their private quarters adjacent to the nursery. Carrying an armful of toys, Alex's nanny, Mrs. Pearson, met them in the hallway. When she tried to curtsy, two teddy bears and a musical rattle fell to the floor. Matt picked up the items and laid them atop the heap.
"His Majesty requested I go to his quarters and get these new toys he ordered for Prince Alexandre." Mrs. Pearson tsk-tsked. "Wherever shall I put them? The nursery is running over with toys and stuffed animals as it is."
"I suggest you weed through the toys and remove some of them from time to time," Adele said. "I'll arrange to have them sent to the children's ward at the Erembourg Hospital."
Ms. Pearson smiled and bobbed her head, substituting the action for a bow. "Yes, Queen Adele."
Once Alex's nanny disappeared into the nursery, Matt took Adele inside their suite, closed the door and pulled her into his arms.
"Have I told you today how much I love you?"
Adele smiled. "I believe you told me this morning, when we showered together. But I never tire of hearing those words."
"And I never tire of saying them."
"We are very fortunate," Adele said. "I never dreamed that I could ever be this happy."
"Neither did I, honey." Matt nuzzled Adele's neck. "If anyone had told me a couple of years ago that I'd wind up married to the queen of Orlantha and actually like my job as prince consort, I wouldn't have believed them."
Adele grasped Matt's hand and led him across the room to the bed. She yanked on his arms, toppling them both down on the satin coverlet.
"You enjoy being the prince consort because you've created your own niche, my love." Adele wrapped her arms around Matt's neck. "You're the first prince consort who actually knew how to do anything other than play polo, give speeches and spend money. Your computer expertise has helped reorganize the way our government is run, and your security background has helped bring our military into the twenty-first century."
"I do what I can." Matt kissed Adele.
Adele returned the kiss with equal passion, and within minutes the queen of Orlantha was participating in her favorite pastime—making love to her husband. Her prince.
THE PROTECTORS
continues next month with a brand-new, l
onger-length, single-title release:
ON HER GUARD
Featuring Ellen Denby, the head of the Dundee Agency! Only from Beverly Barton and Silhouette Books! Available in November at your favorite retail outlets.
Also in November, look for
FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE,
another brand-new short story in
THE PROTECTORS
series, available in the anthology,
SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS.
The Princess's Bodyguard Page 21