by Noelle Adams
“I’m sure she’ll be adequate,” Erik replied uninterestedly, vaguely remembering a shy red-head with white skin and freckles. She’d been painfully skinny ten years ago so he didn’t have much anticipation of her looks now. “We can probably schedule meetings with the oil companies while we are there. That will free up more time next month when we start the lease negotiations again.”
King Alexander sighed. “You understand that this woman is going to become your wife and the future Queen of Montbain, correct? I’ve never seen anyone so non-challant about getting married.”
Erik dismissed his wedding with a casual wave of his hand. “I have no doubt that she has been raised properly. I’ve met and respect King Stephan a great deal. He’s a very fair ruler.”
King Alexander frowned at his son. “You know I’m wanting grandkids very soon!” he said sternly. “I’ll have none of this dilly dallying around, young man! You’re of an age when you should already have several children but you’ve been fooling around about this situation for too long.”
Erik smiled fondly at his father. “I don’t believe I’ve had a problem with the act of making babies before. If she is as beautiful as you say, I will pursue the subject with great diligence after the wedding,” he said.
King Alexander’s eyebrows drew together sharply. “What do you mean? You haven’t fathered any children already, have you?”
“Calm down, Father. You’ll get your blood pressure stirred up.”
King Alexander stiffened at the non-answer from his son. “Don’t you worry about my blood pressure, answer the bloody question, son!”
“No. You can rest easy about that subject. I have not fathered any children to date. I was just explaining that I have been very diligent about practicing.”
King Alexander quickly calmed down. After a few moments, he chuckled. “Well, I’ll agree with you on the practice part. But it is time to stop practicing and get down to the task.”
“If the woman is as beautiful as it is rumored she is, I don’t think I’ll have any problems applying myself to the task with a vengeance.”
“Good, good,” the king said, relaxing back into his chair. “What were you saying about the leases again?” he moved on to the next subject.
Erik and his father discussed affairs of state for the next hour. After which, he went back to his suite and informed his valet that they would be traveling. “Already informed of that sir. And congratulations, I might add, on your upcoming nuptials,” Jim said, bowing slightly.
“What’s that?” Erik said, glancing at a file. “Oh, right. Yes, thank you,” he replied distractedly then glanced back down at the file he’d been reading.
Chapter 3
Ana walked into the hotel suite of the Mayflower Hotel the following morning. Located across the street from the White House, it was used for most out of state dignitaries that weren’t here on official state business. Although her father would meet with the president, it would be only a social call. This visit was more business oriented than political. The fact that Ana’s engagement party was scheduled for tonight was only a matter of convenience, which made her grit her teeth each time she thought about it.
It was still relatively early and Ana didn’t have any obligations today. She was scheduled to visit the spa after lunch and get a manicure, pedicure, facial and massage in preparation for her meeting with her fiancé tonight.
Marabeth walked into her room and flounced onto a settee. “Hi. Want to watch a movie?” she asked, already bored.
“I thought you were meeting George for lunch. What happened to that appointment?” Ana asked, sitting down on the upholstered chair opposite her sister.
“Canceled,” she said with a wave of her hand, then pushed her heavy red curls behind her shoulders. “He probably had a meeting with his mistress,” she supposed out loud, rolling her blue eyes at the thought.
Ana smiled sympathetically but tried not to show it. Marabeth didn’t want pity. She was too proud for that. “That’s not what he said, I’m guessing. What’s his official excuse this time?”
“Business but he conveys his deepest regrets,” she said sarcastically, putting her hand over her heart.
Ana tucked a red curl behind her ear and laughed at her younger sister’s deprecating joke. “Okay, so what are we going to do for the rest of the morning?”
Both girls jumped slightly as the door to Ana’s suite opened suddenly. “Oh, good, I’m glad I found you, Marabeth,” their mother said as she walked into the room, slightly breathless. “George called and your lunch date with him is back on. You’ll have to hurry if you’re going to be on time,” she said.
Marabeth rolled her eyes. “Oh mother, why do I have to jump each time he calls? This is ridiculous,” she said but stood up and walked quickly into her room.
Natasha sighed as she followed her youngest daughter. “I’m sorry dear. I’ll help you find something appropriate to wear. It seems that you’ve lost your sense of style lately when it comes to your meetings with George,” she said, following her daughter out of the room.
Ana stood up and walked to the window. Outside, the day was beautiful and sunny. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the daffodils were already in full bloom. Ana sighed and wondered what it would be like to walk along the streets and be like a tourist. She watched some joggers as they passed by the hotel window, wishing she could exercise out in the fresh air instead of on the tread mill in the palace or hotel gym.
Someone walked by with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. The man strolled casually through the trees until he sat down underneath one. The man simply sipped and read the newspaper. Ana watched him for almost a half hour, wishing she could be like him.
She should just leave the hotel and get a cup of coffee.
Moving away from the window, she reached into her suitcase and pulled out her book. Sitting down on the settee her sister had just vacated, Ana tried to dive into the world of literature, hoping it would take her mind off tonight’s anticipated but undesired meeting with her future husband.
The thought of leaving the hotel on her own kept niggling in her mind though. She looked around at the perfectly decorated, but incredibly bland hotel suite. Why couldn’t she just go have a cup of coffee by herself? What harm would it cause? She was a grown woman, she had a book and she wanted to read outside of the hotel and away from her guards. There was always the threat of kidnapping which had been drilled into her from a young age. But really, how dangerous could it be? She was a princess from a small, mountain country that was strategic but not powerful. Because she’d led such a protected existence, her face really wasn’t that recognizable.
She was going to do it, she decided. Ana walked to her purse and pulled out her wallet. No money! Ugh, she thought. How could she get some money? She wasn’t sure how much a cup of coffee costs, especially here in the U.S.
She walked out to the main rooms of the suite and found her older brother, Prince Maximillian reading through some files. “Max, I need your help,” she said.
Max instantly put his file down and turned toward his sister. Max was a wonderful older brother if somewhat arrogant and only slightly domineering. But Ana excused him for that since he had been trained from birth to be ruler of his country. He was also the exact opposite of Ana and Marabeth in looks. Whereas the girls were petite with striking red hair and green or crystal blue eyes, Max had inherited their father’s dark black hair and dark blue eyes. He was also very tall and muscular from years of military training.
“What do you need?” he asked, looking down fondly at his sister.
“I need some money,” she said. “Do you have any American currency?” she asked.
Max barely blinked at her surprising question. “Yes. What do you need? I’ll have room service send it up,” he said patronizingly and started reaching for the phone.
“No, please. I don’t want room service. If you don’t want to give me a few dollars, I’ll get it from mother.
”
Max laughed. “I doubt mother has any either, Ana. What do you need? I promise that Americans have all the conveniences of home and whatever you need can be delivered to you.”
Ana sighed and her shoulders drooped slightly. “Yes. I’m sure you’re right. Thank you,” she said and returned to the privacy of her rooms.
Ana surveyed the beautiful gold colored suite and wondered where else she could get some money. She supposed she could ask her body guards but that might tip them off that she was going to try and slip out of the hotel. Besides, they’d probably just tell her the same thing her brother had said.
Searching through her purse, she came across her wallet again. What was the point of having a wallet if she didn’t have any money? “Marabeth!” The thought struck her at the same time her wallet fell onto the table.
Ana walked into her sister’s room, grateful that their mother was already gone. “Mara, how did you buy that pink dress last week in London?”
“I used credit cards, silly,” she said and pulled a white sweater over her head.
Ana rushed out of her room and checked her wallet. Sure enough, it was loaded with credit cards. Tucking the wallet under her arm, she grabbed a scarf and headed out of the suite. She felt very daring as she peered out of the room and checked the hallways. So far, the coast was clear. No guards out here.
Ana walked to the elevators as if she’d done this many times before but her heart was beating wildly. The elevators closed around her and she held her breath, hoping no one would come out of the room to stop her.
Down in the lobby, Ana felt as if she was going to be stopped at any moment. When she reached the street, her body cringed and prepared to be jerked either back into the safety of the hotel or into a black van that would carry her off to her kidnapper’s lair. When neither happened, she looked around, shocked that it was so easy to just walk away from her body guards.
Ana didn’t waste any more time. She took off down the street and, after three blocks, found a quiet coffee shop. As soon as she walked in, she was assailed by the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and something else that leaned toward the sweet side but she couldn’t quite place the scent. The other customers were either reading a newspaper or book or they were leaning toward their companion, sipping coffee out of their paper cups and talking in low voices intently.
Ana stood at the end of a line of people approximately ten deep, surveying the others in the shop and impressed that she had gained the courage to make it this far. She was thrilled with her adventure and excited about the prospect of a cup of coffee all by herself. When she reached the front of the line, she smiled happily at the clerk. “May I please have a cappuccino?” she said, eager to accomplish her first, lone purchase. Her credit card was clenched in her hand and she had to concentrate on not dancing in her eagerness.
“Talle or grande?” the woman behind the counter asked, not returning Ana’s smile.
“Excuse me?”
The cashier grouchily pointed to the two cups indicating the sizes of the coffee, almost rolling her eyes in frustration and a need to get back to leaning lazily against the counter top now that the morning coffee rush was over.
Ana looked at both cups and her eyes widened. Both paper cups were much larger than her usual cup of coffee in a bone china demitasse cup. “Oh, my. That’s quite a lot of coffee, I suppose. The small one will be fine,” she said.
“Skim, full or cream?” the woman said, her body leaning onto one leg impatiently.
“Excuse me?” Ana asked again, completely unsure what was being asked of her.
The clerk sighed impatiently. “Do you want skim, full or cream milk in your coffee?” she asked, rolling her eyes at the idiocy of the question.
“Ah! Well, I guess full would be very decadent, wouldn’t it?”
The clerk didn’t respond but she yelled back to the person behind her. “Tall cappuccino, full!”
“May I also have a newspaper?” she asked. Ana handed her a credit card and waited anxiously, hoping it wouldn’t be rejected from lack of use. When the woman simply handed her back the credit card and a piece of paper, Ana was thrilled beyond words with her simple task. “Thank you,” she said and moved on down the line.
“You need to sign, ma’am,” the clerk called back to her.
“Oh, yes,” Ana said. “Quite right.” With a flourish, she signed her name and handed the pen back to her.
A teenage boy handed Ana a very large cup and Ana picked up a newspaper. With delicious freedom, she found a relatively comfortable spot near the window and sat down in a hard, plastic chair to sip her coffee and read her newspaper, just like everyone else in the store was doing.
PRINCE ERIK LURCHED as the limousine swooped to one side, a loud hissing sound followed. “What the...” he said, impatiently holding his hot coffee cup away from his suit as the brown liquid danced over the edge of the cup and onto the floorboards of the car.
The driver immediately pulled over to the side of the road and turned around. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. There are so many potholes in the roads after the winter. I’ll get out and check what happened to the car. It won’t be but a moment.”
“Fine,” Erik said, not really caring about the pothole but irritated with the state of his shoe which now had coffee on it.
A moment later, Erik’s body guard, Tim, opened the back door. “I’m sorry, Your Highness but the driver has explained that there is a flat tire. It will only take a few minutes to fix.”
“Great,” Erik said furiously and looked out the window. “I’ll be in the coffee shop getting some fresh coffee. Signal me when the bloody tire is fixed.” He got out of the limousine and shook his shoe, ignoring the crisp breeze that told the world that winter could still come back with a vengeance even through the promise of a relatively warm spring breeze.
Erik walked quickly across the street and entered the shop, only vaguely aware of Tim, following behind him. The man knew to stay discreetly out of his way and was very good at his job, not that he really needed a body guard. Erik felt he would be able to defend himself easily against just about any attack, had in fact been trained to do so. But the king demanded that Tim guard him anyway.
Erik walked up to the now empty line and ordered a double espresso then surveyed the occupants of the store while he waited for his coffee to be made. His eyes initially glanced over the tiny woman with the scarf over her head, but then a strand of red hair peeked out from the back when she leaned forward. Redhead! And a beautiful one at that. He hadn’t been with a redhead in a long time and he admired the silky threads that were visible underneath the scarf. He knew he’d be in luck if she had green eyes. His body stirred slightly at the thought. Ah, the combination of red hair and green eyes was just too striking in his mind to ignore. He loved it, was his favorite combination. He knew it was cliché, just like blonds and blue eyes, but he thought it was a rare woman who had the combination and he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to at least chat with the lovely lady.
From what he could see she had a slim figure and beautiful skin. From this distance her high cheekbones were just too perfect to be real. He saw her profile as she skimmed the newspaper and was struck by her beauty, his eyes not leaving her face for a moment now that he’d seen her.
Taking his coffee, he walked toward the front of the store. “May I join you?” he asked, bowing slightly as he watched her face move from the newspaper she was reading to his own.
Blue eyes, but still startling in their gorgeous color! The distance from the counter hadn’t been simply an illusion. The woman had perfect, glowing, flawless skin. What a beauty, he thought to himself.
“Excuse me?” she said, pulling the newspaper closer to her body in a protective measure.
Eric saw the wariness in her eyes and bowed politely again, trying to allay her fears from him being a stranger. “I was hoping I could share the table with you, since the rest seemed to be taken already.
Ana looked
around and, sure enough, all the other chairs were occupied. She supposed this was normal activity for Americans, but it definitely threw her for a shock. “Well, yes. I suppose,” she said and scooted her chair father away from the table. There was only so far she could go though since her table was in the corner with the store window to her left and the wall to her back. Another table with an occupant’s back blocked her in to the right.
“Thank you,” he said and took the chair opposite her.
Ana looked back down at her newspaper, terrified of the tall, handsome stranger. She wanted to peek back up at him and view his features. He really was a gorgeous man, she thought as she glanced back up at him. He caught her look and winked at her from his own newspaper. Ana quickly glanced back down, feeling silly for staring at him.
“What’s so interesting in the newspaper?” he asked after several silent moments.
Ana looked up and felt her insides turn to jelly. Goodness, his face was incredibly handsome. His square jaw framed firm lips that weren’t sensuous in anyway but she wondered what they would feel like kissing hers. His nose was very patrician looking but his eyes! Oh those eyes were simply sinful, she thought. They promised forbidden pleasures deep in their dark blue depths. Flustered, she tried to come up with a witty response but her tongue was tied as he looked at her with those lovely, sexy eyes. “Um...nothing really,” she replied.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked. “I don’t recognize your accent.”
Ana flushed and wondered how she was going to answer his question. “Oh, I’m from Europe,” she said evasively.
“What country?” he asked.
“Um...nowhere you’ve probably heard of,” she said, nervous now about the possibility of kidnapping. “Are you doing business in the city or are you just visiting?” she asked, quickly changing the subject away from herself.
“Business mostly, I suppose,” he thought, remembering the dinner he had tonight to meet his future wife. His day was also packed with back to back meetings. He wasn’t sure if he classified his engagement party as business along with the other meetings or if she should be in the pleasure category. He supposed he’d find out tonight.