by Trish Morey
“No. Please.” He seemed genuinely embarrassed and she laughed.
Kayla watched them and she had to smile. Her sister resembled her quite a bit, but her blond hair was cut short and perky. Caroline was the friendly, outgoing sort, while Kayla had always felt she was the shy one, the quietly competent one whose work no one really noticed. And yet, here she was, having lunch with a prince, working for the queen … Maybe it was time to reassess her self-image.
“Ma-ma,” Teddy said, tugging on her collar and adding something indecipherable that probably meant, Let’s get out of here and have some ‘mommy and me’ time together.
The words weren’t there but Kayla heard the message loud and clear. She looked up at Max, waiting for him to finish chatting with her sister and notice the baby.
“We were on our way to the playground,” Caroline was saying. “If you two have any lunch hour left, why don’t you come along?”
Kayla looked at Max. He was staring at Teddy. Her heart began to race. What was he seeing? What did those sharp eyes catch? What were the vibes that were getting through to his instinctive reactions?
It was hard to tell. He was smiling, but something in that smile was beginning to stiffen up. Had he noticed? Had he taken a quick assessment of whom Teddy might look like? It was an exercise that was completely familiar to her. She’d done it periodically ever since her baby was born. She was blond with dark eyes. Eddie had been the same. But Max had dark bronzed hair and shockingly blue eyes. And so did Teddy.
It didn’t mean anything. Of course it didn’t. There were all sorts of combinations possible with the logic of genetics. She knew that. He knew that. But still …
“This is Teddy,” she told him, wishing her voice wasn’t shaking. “Teddy, this is Max. Say ‘hi.’” She made him wave, but his little baby face was rebellious.
Max hesitated. He didn’t seem to have much experience socializing with babies and in the end, he smiled awkwardly and said, “Hi, Teddy.”
Teddy turned and hid his face against her neck. Kayla searched Max’s eyes, trying to guess what he might be thinking. She didn’t see any clues. But she also didn’t see the sort of appreciation for her beautiful child that she might have expected.
“I think he’s tired,” she said, knowing it sounded like an excuse.
“Oh, sure,” Caroline chimed in helpfully. “He didn’t have a nap this morning and he usually goes down for a half hour or so.”
Teddy still had morning naps? Had she really been out of his daily routine for so long that she didn’t know it any longer? She felt a sudden sense of remorse. She should be with her baby today. He needed her. She needed him. He was clinging to her and she was getting the message.
As she pulled him closer, he turned to look at Max. Teddy’s expression didn’t change, but his lower lip thrust out and his little hands dug deeper into the fabric of her blouse. This is my mom, his face said. She belongs to me.
“Cute kid,” Max said shortly, but there was no warmth in his eyes as he turned away.
Kayla made her decision. “I think we’re going to have to put off doing more work on our prince project,” she told him. “I really feel I need to go to the playground with them. I’ve been neglecting Teddy so much lately. Do you … do you want to come along?”
She waited as he mulled it over, hoping he would say no.
“I’ve got a few things I’ve got to take care of,” he said at last, his gaze touching hers, then veering off again. “I’ll catch you later.”
“Okay.” Relief flooded her. This was just too nerve-wracking to keep up much longer.
She didn’t look at Max again. Her attention was all for her baby. Caroline gave her a questioning look and she knew that her sister wanted to get filled in on a few details and get a fix on her feelings, but she wasn’t up to discussing Max and all that he meant to her. Too much had happened too soon and she needed to reevaluate.
But right now it was Teddy’s time. She turned her face away and began a baby-talk discussion with her son. Her sister would have to wait.
Max wandered down into the main castle courtyard and out along the man-made miniwilderness where he could lose himself among the trees. A small babbling brook ran cheerfully past a large flat rock, and that was where he settled, out of sight of the walkways.
Normally, he wasn’t much for introspection. He thought of himself as a man of action. He didn’t tend to second-guess himself, to try to analyze why he did the things he went through or why the results had been good or bad. Navel gazing was just not his style.
But today he felt like a little self-analysis was in order. He’d just spent an hour in a meeting with two of his brothers—Prince Mykal, who had been identified as one of the royals only a few weeks before Max had, and Prince David, who had caught sight of him in the hallway and invited him to join them in a discussion of renovations to a still-destroyed area of the castle.
Much of the original and ancient castle had been burned on the night thirty years before when the Granvilli family had mounted a successful rebellion and taken over Ambria, killing the king and queen and establishing their vicious dictatorial regime. That night, each of the royal children had been spirited away by various servants or friends or members of the administration and hidden from the Granvillis. It had taken twenty-five years for the princes and princess to begin to find each other again. Their fight to win back their country had been successful and now there was only a remnant of the Granvilli faction that held a remote part of the island to deal with.
David was the second oldest prince and considered second only to King Monte in importance. Tall and dark, he had a serious air about him.
“Max, I’m glad to see you,” he said when he met his brother in the hall. “I’ve been neglecting you, I know. There are so many issues coming up right now. I really want to get you more involved in management matters. We all have to share the burden of managing the castle, and eventually, the nation at large.” He gave him a firm pat on the back. “I’m meeting Mykal in the blue meeting room right now. Why don’t you join us?”
Max was glad to do just that. He was still new enough at the castle to be a little starstruck by his brothers and he wasn’t sure he would ever get over being impressed by them. He’d been told a little of David’s background. He’d been raised by a family in the Netherlands, and since he was six when he was taken, he remembered where he’d come from. But he also knew it had to be kept secret, and it wasn’t until he was in his twenties that he and Monte found each other and began to plot their return to power. As the two oldest, they were regularly considered the head and heart of the family.
Mykal was almost as new to this as Max was, and it showed. Still recovering from a terrible motorcycle accident, he had trouble sitting for long, and by the time an hour had passed it was obvious the meeting had to be adjourned for the day.
But Max sat with them at the long, shiny table and made small talk about how he was settling in. Then the real work of the meeting had begun, and he was very quickly over his head. The talk was all architectural plans and cost estimates and zoning regulations, things he had never dealt with before. He listened carefully and filed information away to learn more about later. But he was definitely out of his element, and what’s more, though he liked and admired them, he didn’t feel any special connection. They were brothers, but it didn’t feel the way he had expected that sort of relationship to feel. When they all rose, shook hands and parted ways, his head was swimming.
That feeling was still with him now. He was glad to have carved out an hour to be on his own. There was a lot to think about. He was feeling a bit shaky about what he ought to be doing and generally undecided about his own future. Bottom line—what the hell was he doing here living in a castle?
The whole prince thing just didn’t feel right. He’d never asked for it. He’d been happily flying reconnaissance missions over the Granvilli territory when he’d been called in to the commander’s office and asked to take a batter
y of tests. He still didn’t know who had nominated him for testing or why.
If only he’d refused and walked away right at that point, none of this would be happening. He’d be off flying in someone else’s war.
Still, what was stopping him from doing exactly what he pleased right now? He could go. He could find someone else to fly for. He would keep his promise to the queen, but once that was over, he wasn’t so sure he was going to stick around. After all, what was really keeping him here?
Right now, he would have to say it was mostly Kayla. He hadn’t expected to find her here, but now that they had reconnected, he knew he didn’t want to lose her again.
Kayla was important to him. She always would be. He remembered those days in Trialta as the best days of his life. He and Eddie had hit it off like brothers, born to be together, and Kayla had been a huge part of that bond.
Funny. When he’d heard she had a child, he’d assumed her baby would be an extension of that. That he would love the kid as a small form of Eddie. But the reality hadn’t fit in with the vision. There was something about that baby …
He was definitely a beautiful baby boy. But looking at him, something hadn’t felt right. Something about the kid bothered him, made him want to look away quickly, and he didn’t want to feel that way about Kayla’s baby. Very strange. Maybe he ought to stay away from the kid until he was a little older.
A twig snapped and he turned his head, sure someone was coming into his little clearing. He didn’t want company. He stared into the brush, ready to scowl a nonwelcome. But no one appeared. He stared harder, his gaze darting from one gap in the greenery to another, looking for movement. Nothing. Funny … he was sure he’d heard someone.
And it had happened before. He remembered getting the same feeling when he was wandering through the halls, earlier. A feeling that he wasn’t alone.
Suddenly he had a prickly feeling on the back of his neck, and he stood, turning slowly, hands balled into fists. Yes, damn it, someone was watching him. Maybe he couldn’t see it, but he sure as hell could feel it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KAYLA looked up, startled, as Max came into the office. There was a thunderstorm brewing in that handsome face.
“Max,” she said, but he walked right past her desk and confronted Pellea.
“I want to know why you’ve got somebody following me,” he said curtly. “Don’t you trust me? Has it really come to this?”
Pellea looked up and gaped at him, bewildered and showing it. “What are you talking about?”
“Look, I’ve made you a promise. I may be unreliable in superficial ways, but when I make a promise, I keep it. There was no call for you to send spies to watch over me. I don’t like it.”
She was shaking her head, looking at him as though he’d lost his mind. “I don’t have anyone following you,” she protested earnestly. “Really, Max. I swear.”
His anger seemed to pulse in the small room. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew he was over-the-top and taking it out on Pellea wasn’t going to fix anything. This wasn’t really her fault. He’d been angry when he thought it was, but her outrage told him differently, and he began to cool down. If he were honest with himself, he knew his own doubts and insecurities were more to blame for this outburst than anything the queen could have done. He needed to get a grip.
“I was just down in the courtyard, in among the trees, and someone was there watching me. I know it.”
She shrugged. “There may have been someone watching you, but I didn’t tell them to. Believe me, Max. I wouldn’t do that.” She made a face. “Not yet, anyway.”
He looked at the ground and shook his head. For someone trying to learn to act like a prince, he was doing a lousy job of it. He looked up with a rueful smile and made a slight bow toward her.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me. This was rude and uncalled for. I had no right to attack you like this and I’m sorry.”
Pellea’s smile lit up the room. It seemed she knew earnest regret when she saw it. “Of course I forgive you. This is not supposed to be a fight. We’re both on the same side.” She rose from her desk chair and came out to throw her arms around him and then kiss him on both cheeks.
“Listen to me,” he told her. “I will make you a pledge right now. I won’t do anything behind your back. If anything happens, I’ll tell you. If I decide I have to leave, I’ll tell you. No secrets.”
She nodded. “Good.” One last pat on his cheek and she turned. “And in the spirit of openness, sit down. I’ll give you the rundown on our latest outreach to Mercuria.”
He sank into a chair across from her, but glanced back at Kayla. She gave him a wink and a tiny approving smile. Ridiculously, he suddenly felt much better.
“All right, here’s the news. We’ve sent our ambassador to Mercuria.”
Max nodded. “And what message does he take with him?”
Pellea shuffled papers on her desk and brought up the pertinent ones. “In answer to their charges, we respond thusly—it is our understanding that the airplane was given to Prince Maximillian, formerly known as Max Arragen, in payment for his help in establishing the Mercurian Air Force and therefore not an item that can be reclaimed.”
She looked up for his approval, and he nodded.
“As for the horse, we made it clear that we feel there was a misunderstanding and a wrong done to the horse’s owner, who now has regained possession of the horse. If they like, we are prepared to pay damages for the loss of it to the Mercurian government.” She nodded toward Kayla. “I’ve had that whole episode explained to me. Kayla repeated what you told her this morning.”
He glanced back at Kayla again and nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”
“As for the historical artifact, I let them know that we have no idea what this might be or how it might have come into your possession. We shall await clarification. Barring that, we are unwilling to count that as a serious charge against you.”
“Wow. I’d say that pretty much covers all the bases.”
Pellea nodded. “Now we wait to see how they take it. We should have their response tomorrow.” She gave him a significant look. “And then, we’ll see.”
He heard the warning in her voice. She was seriously worried about this.
“You’ve said the Mercurians were a big help in the fight to regain Ambria for the DeAngelis royal family,” he said musingly. “What made them come in on your side?”
Pellea shrugged. “As you know, Mercuria is a tiny stretch of land along the coast, not even as large or as important to this area as Ambria, whose main source of wealth comes from tourists, mainly in gambling. Some wags have called it nothing more than a casino with a nice beach. But they have been traditional allies of ours, and the fact that they have a monarchy, just as we do, cemented our ties more recently.”
He nodded. “And they are the closest country to you, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Just an hour by boat will bring you right to the foot of the Mercurian castle. You could almost consider them a neighbor.”
“Do you know King Juomo personally?”
“No, I don’t. I guess the families had personal ties back in the dark ages, but as far as I know, none of us have come face-to-face with any of them. As I understand it, they are rather reclusive.”
He nodded. “Yes. Very reclusive. And very strange.”
“So I’ve heard.” She made a face. “That doesn’t bode well. It’s hard to judge how they will take this. What do you think?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea. King Juomo liked me, until he didn’t like me anymore. And I’m not sure what made the change.”
“Oh, well.” Pellea waved a hand dismissively. “We shall see. And I need to get back to work.” She smiled at him. “Cheer up. We’ll get through this.”
He smiled back. “Of course.” Taking a deep breath, he rose, took his leave of the queen and pivoted to Kayla.
“Do you have time to go get a cup of coffee with me?
” he asked, looking at her without any clear emotion.
She glanced at Pellea, who nodded her permission, and smiled. “Sure,” she said, reaching to pull her tiny clutch purse out of her larger bag. “I won’t be long,” she promised the queen.
She almost had to run to keep up with Max’s stride once they were out in the walkway. His walk was strong and aggressive, with a hint of residual anger still hovering over his mood.
“Will you tell me why you’re so upset?” she asked.
He gave her a sideways glance and didn’t respond as they came out onto the public corridor and up to the coffee bistro. It was packed with people and the lines were long.
“There’s a vending machine a little farther out this way. We can get coffee and go out on the balcony.”
They got their coffee in paper cups from the machine and made their way outside. The balcony was small, but there was a table flanked by two chairs, and they went to it after a quick look over the railing. The blue skies were gone and a cool wind blustered in and out of the crevices and still neither of them had said a word.
Max stared down into his coffee. She watched him. Finally he looked up and met her gaze.
“You know what?” he said. “I want to go.”
Her heart jumped. His eyes looked hard and unhappy.
“Where?” she said.
He shrugged. “Away. Anywhere. Something new. Something different.” His blue eyes held hers. “This isn’t the life for me.”
“Max …” She reached for his hand and held it tightly.
“I don’t feel like I belong here. I don’t think the way these people do. My instincts don’t work here. I really feel I need to go.”
“Max …”
His wide eyes stared right into her soul. “Will you go with me?”
She stared at him. How could he ask such a thing? Didn’t he realize she had a life here? A son? She couldn’t go anywhere she felt like. She had commitments.
He could read her refusal in her eyes. The child. Of course. What was he thinking? She had the child. He pulled his hand away and looked out at the grey skies.