by Noelle Adams
That meant additional tasks to consider, more projects to start and follow through on in an effort to work himself so hard he would fall asleep at night exhausted instead of laying in bed thinking of another man touching Annie. Even his father had mentioned that he was pushing his staff too hard and he needed to back off.
It was now two weeks until his wedding and he could care less. He’d wracked his brains trying to come up with a way to escape the wedding that only two weeks before had been nothing more than a blip on the schedule of his daily activities. The idea that one, slender beauty with fiery hair and sparkling eyes could so destroy his usual calm exterior and rigid schedule would have been laughable.
Adding to his anger was the fact that she could not be found. He was furious that his security team had not found a trace of Annie. She had apparently disappeared into thin air once she’d gotten on the plane in Grand Cayman. He knew she’d flown to Paris but after that, her trail had disappeared. It was as if someone had gone in and purposefully erased any trail she might have left. It was the second time she’d done this. How could one female escape him so completely?
His valet was now packing his bags in preparation for his wedding trip. He’d be gone for four weeks, two of which would be spent in Cordova in wedding festivities and two more on his honeymoon. His secretary was packing the office so it could follow him to both. He hated the idea of traveling to some other country right at the moment when he had so many more important things to do other than get married to a woman he didn’t know and couldn’t care less about.
“Will there be anything else?” his valet asked, bowing slightly.
Erik shook his head. “That should be all, James. What time does the plane leave?” he asked, knowing that he’d be on his father’s schedule instead of his. If it were his schedule, the plane would leave when he arrived at the airport. They flew in separate jets because of the succession issue, but they still timed their departures and landings so that they would arrive at approximately the same time.
“His Highness wants to be airborne before noon, I believe. I’ll confirm that information.” The valet answered quickly, obviously too often on the wrong side of Erik’s temper lately.
Erik sighed and rubbed his face, trying to ease some of the tension that never seemed to leave him lately. “That’s fine. That will be all,” he said, dismissing the man for the moment. He’d have to get moving if he was going to make the flight. Did he have enough time to check with Tim again before leaving? Glancing at his watch, he didn’t think he did. It wouldn’t matter anyway. If Tim had come up with any new leads, he would have contacted Erik immediately.
He left the room and made his way to the car and was met by Tim who was just getting off the phone. “Anything?” he asked, knowing the answer before he even asked it. The expression on Tim’s face told Erik everything he needed to know and it wasn’t good.
“No, Your Highness,” the body guard said and handed Erik the latest report on the leads they had followed in their efforts to find Annie.
Erik took the report and scanned it, noting the leads that the security team had followed and lost. “Find her!” he demanded, handing the papers back to his body guard. “Re-cover these leads. Someone has to know something about her. She can’t just disappear!” Erik forced himself to calm down. This wasn’t like him. He’d been referred to as ice man from some of the people he’d known in the past. This was an extraordinary circumstance, he told himself although that didn’t excuse him abusing his staff. “Sorry, Tim,” he said and turned back to his body guard. “I know you’re doing everything you can to find her. I’m just frustrated.”
“I understand, Your Highness,” Tim said, bowing. “We will find her, Sire,” he said and stepped back to the limousine, prepared to find the elusive woman that was damaging his employer’s state of mind.
The flight to Cordova with his father was uneventful and they landed three hours later. Both he and his father worked with their individual staffs during the flight, handing out last minute instructions that would take them through the next few days so both could concentrate on the wedding festivities. As soon as the plane landed, Erik and his father were met at the palace receiving area by Prince Maximillian, a man similar in build to him but a few years younger. Bowing, Erik politely shook the man’s hand. “Good afternoon, Max. It is good to see you again,” he said politely. “I apologize for my father’s delay,” Erik was saying as they walked along the hallway. “He has one more important meeting and then he will be behind me,” Erik explained. “But he didn’t want to delay my meeting with my future wife any longer so he sent me on ahead, if that is okay with you.”
Max also bowed and took the offered hand. “It definitely is good to see you again, Prince Erik. And we will send an emissary along to greet your father when he is finished. Glad to see you in our country. I know Anastasia has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. I’ve sent word for her to meet us in my father’s office. If you’ll follow me, I’ll escort you there,” he said.
Max led the way down a long hallway. Erik followed behind the tall man and surveyed the palace, noting the differences and similarities with his home. He was glancing down another long hallway when a movement caught his eye. It was a slender woman with striking red hair falling down her back. Annie! He thought.
Erik literally stopped in the middle of the hallway, his gaze transfixed by the woman who was walking in the opposite direction. He couldn’t believe his luck!
“Max,” Erik said, stopping the man with a hand to his shoulder. “Who is that woman?” he asked, feeling like a cad for asking the brother of his fiancée who another woman was but he was beyond rational thinking at this point. “Does she work in the palace? She looks vaguely familiar,” he said as an excuse for his interest, knowing it still looked poor.
Max glanced down the hallway at the woman he was pointing to. When he realized who she was, he was a little shocked. “Are you serious?” Max asked, his gaze sharpening as he registered the man’s features.
Erik wasn’t looking at his future brother in law or he would have seen the gathering storm in his eyes. His eyes were still fixed on the redhead, sure that she was some sort of mirage but unwilling to let go of the image just in case. But then she laughed slightly and his gut twisted. It was her! He’d finally found his Annie! And in the house of the woman he was about to marry. That made it a little more complicated but he didn’t care. He was going to do whatever it took to get her back. “Yes, does she work here? Is she part of the staff or just visiting?”
Max shook his head. “That’s your fiancée,” he said, his eyes turning sharp and intense. “That is Princess Anastasia.”
Erik looked at the other man, trying to determine if he was telling him the truth. “That’s Princess Anastasia?” he asked, the shock evident in his face and tone.
Max stood stiffly beside Erik, the anger building in the younger man as Erik continued to watch the woman walk down the hallway. “Yes. I would have thought you’d known that by now, seeing that the wedding is less than two weeks away.”
Erik shook his head. “I’m sorry, I only had a glance at her as she turned the corner and I’ve not been around her lately.”
Max’s eyes narrowed. “This way to my father’s office,” he said, more stiffly now.
Erik watched a little longer, just enough time to see her face, and know that she’d seen him as well. He chuckled at her startled expression and, even from this distance, he suspected that he saw a momentary flicker of excitement, before the panic struck in.
Obviously she didn’t know who he was, just as he hadn’t recognized her.
As he followed Prince Maximillian down the hallway, his mind slowly put the small amount of information together and he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t figured it out before. Annie was apparently short for Anastasia. He’d known she had red hair since the last time he’d seen her, ten years ago, she’d had short, red curls that bounced around her ears and eyes. And last week, he’d
known his fiancée had been staying at the Mayflower hotel. He’d just been so concerned about not running into his fiancée, he hadn’t made the connection that the woman he was running to was his fiancée.
Erik couldn’t believe his luck. Suddenly, his mood lightened and he had the most incredible feeling of excitement for his upcoming wedding. Ten minutes ago, he was trying to figure out how to delay the wedding. Now he was wishing time would fly so he could be done with the formalities and move on to the honeymoon.
Erik chuckled as he stepped into his future father in law’s office. King Stephan rose immediately, as did the woman by his side which he knew was Queen Natasha. Erik walked up and bowed formally to both. “Your Highness,” he said. He took King Stephan’s hand and shook it firmly, knowing that a man’s handshake was a test of the man’s character. He then turned to his beautiful mother in law and raised her hand to his lips, kissing the back of her hand gently and smiling down into her blue eyes. “Good evening, Your Highness,” he said politely. “It is a great honor to meet you yet again.”
“We’re glad to see you again as well, Prince Erik,” Queen Natasha said, taking his hand and shaking it less formally. “Anastasia will be here in a moment. She was delayed momentarily by a minor crisis but I apologize for the delay in any case.”
As she spoke, the doors behind them opened and Erik turned to face the woman who had been haunting his dreams for the past week. He smiled warmly, wishing she would look up at him and see he was here.
Ana was staring at the floor, wishing she could run in the opposite direction. Her heart was beating wildly after seeing Marcus in the hallway. And now she was facing the man who would imprison her. She was so angry but knew she had to hide her feelings or face her father’s wrath. Not that she would do anything to embarrass her father or mother. This was her responsibility and she would fulfill her obligations and make the best of it.
She looked up as her cold hand was taken in two warm ones. “Good afternoon, Princess Anastasia. I’m glad to see you again so soon,” he said. “I definitely look forward to the next two weeks.”
Ana inhaled sharply at the deep voice. She looked up into the dark, smiling eyes of Marcus! “I....Uh....” Ana couldn’t form a thought. He was here! He was Prince Marcus? No, no... Prince Erik. But how could that be? Was she misinterpreting the situation?
Ana looked to her mother, trying to find reason in this insane moment of her life. But her mother was only smiling politely, watching her daughter’s expression for any sign of anger. Ana looked at her father, but she only saw the same reaction. Finally, she turned to the third person in the room, her brother and that’s when the truth finally hit her. He was furious and only someone close to him would know it. His jaw was clenching and she saw a muscle twitching on the side of his forehead. Then that would mean....no! It couldn’t be, could it? Ana looked back to the man still holding her hand in his, with laughing blue eyes dancing in merriment at her startled expression.
“Prince Erik Marcus Phillips, the Third, at your service,” he replied, and bowed over her hand, kissing the skin just above her knuckles.
He took a step closer to her and looked down into her confused eyes before continuing. “I apologize for being remiss about my responsibilities before now but I hope this will make up for it,” he said and pulled a small, black jewelers box out of his pocket. He opened the box and Ana gasped as she looked down onto a beautiful square cut diamond with smaller diamonds surrounding it. The stone wasn’t the largest she’d ever seen, but it was definitely the most beautiful.
When Ana didn’t move, only continued to stare down at the ring, Erik took the ring out of the box. Placing the box on the desk behind him, he turned back and gently took Ana’s cold fingers within his hand, sliding the ring onto the third finger of her left hand. Her fingers automatically closed around the ring and already it felt right to her. Her eyes misted over and she looked up into his eyes.
“Do you like it?” he asked softly so only she could hear.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “But you already know that.”
“I thought so but it is nice to know that you also think it.”
As she looked into his eyes, a horrible thought occurred to her. “Who did you buy this ring for?” she demanded, just as softly since she didn’t want her parents to hear her conversation.
“For my wife,” Erik replied but she saw the closed look come over his face with her question and she knew she’d hit on something he didn’t want her to know about.
“The one you thought you were going to marry?” she asked. The confusion came rushing back to her at that realization.
“You’re in love with me,” he said, winking at her. “We’re getting married. Don’t create problems where there aren’t any, Anastasia.” He emphasized her full name.
Ana could only gape at him with embarrassed disbelief. She heard her mother cough delicately and Ana knew it was a signal that she was doing something wrong but she just couldn’t snap out of it. It finally took her father to step in and break the silence before she could do anything at all. “Why don’t you show him the gardens, Ana?” her father said, beaming as the two stared into each other’s eyes.
Ana knew that her father assumed that everything was okay. But for some reason, Ana was angry. She wasn’t exactly sure why though.
Pulling her hand out of Erik’s she turned away as if in a trance, ready to follow her father’s instructions but not sure what they were anymore. Oh yes, the gardens! She should show this man the gardens. “Yes, of course,” she said, wondering what was wrong with this situation. She turned as if in a dream and led Erik out of her father’s office. “I’d be delighted to show you the gardens,” she said but her words weren’t directed at anyone as her mind whirled through the scene.
She felt odd as Marcus...no Erik, tucked her hand into his arm and started walking out the door. She heard him speak but the words were foreign to her ears which were ringing right at the moment. But it wasn’t just her hearing that was off. Her whole world had tilted and she had to find her way back to something sane, something that made sense because Marcus, or Erik, or whatever he was calling himself today, was not supposed to be here. He was supposed to be marrying some other woman. But that other woman was...her? Could it be true?
Erik guided her out of the office and down the hallway. It wasn’t until he turned the corner and knew that they were out of sight that he stopped walking and turned her into his arms.
Ana understood his intentions quickly enough, was somehow anticipating this move even though she couldn’t quite grasp the whole situation. She stepped out of his arms and glared up at him. His smiling face just angered her more. And as she watched his confident smile and dancing eyes, she understood exactly why she was so upset. “You were cheating on me in Washington, D.C.!” she said and her hand reached up to slap him. Unfortunately for her wrist, her hand didn’t even come close to his face and he used her momentum to pull her into his arms. He held onto her wrist with one hand and pulled her hard against his body with the other, wrapping his other arm around her waist and holding her there easily despite her wiggling.
“I missed you too,” he laughed.
Ana struggled, determined to not give in to his charm or the heat surging through her body with his touch this time. “You arrogant pig!” she hissed. “How dare you touch me after you cheated on me!”
Erik chuckled, delighted with her temper. For the past few minutes, ever since he’d figured things out for himself, he’d been wondering what her reaction would be. He was glad it was anger. He could deal with that. He smiled down at her lovely face, enchanted by her all over again. “I cheated on you with you. Doesn’t that count for something?” he asked, enjoying her wiggling body as it moved against his.
“No!” she said emphatically, smacking his rock hard chest with her fist since her efforts to escape his embrace were futile. “You didn’t know it was me. That doesn’t count in my book.”
He laughed,
watching in fascination as her eyes changed from a misty blue to sparkling sapphire. “True. But now that I’ve found you, I can guarantee that I’m going to enjoy our marriage. Admit it, you were pleasantly surprised as well, weren’t you?”
Ana pushed against him again, wishing she could hurt him in some way but the man was just too big and too muscular. “No,” she said emphatically. “I was dreading this day and now I think I’m going to be ill,” she said, pushing against his hard chest in her efforts to escape. “I can’t believe you flirted with me in the coffee shop the very day you were supposed to be getting ready for our engagement dinner!” She gasped again, “And you didn’t even show up for that dinner! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was that night? Your father had to escort me in to dinner! That was the ultimate humiliation,” she said. “Everyone was whispering about how pathetic I was, standing there trying to keep a stiff upper lip when my future husband didn’t even show me the courtesy of showing up for our engagement party! That was the epitome of rudeness.”
He bent down and kissed her soft, porcelain cheek, careful not to touch her lips yet. With her current state of mind, he suspected she might bite him. “Don’t be offended. I was searching for you all night,” he said, his voice turning husky as his eyes looked at her lips. “You ran down the street and no one could find a trace of you. I was beating my security team up for losing sight of you and then not being able to find any trace of you. No other woman has ever gotten under my skin to the point that I would allow them to interfere in my obligations, Ana. You’re the only one that has ever done that and I couldn’t believe I wanted, needed you, so much after just a cup of coffee and conversation.”
Ana shivered as his hand smoothed the small of her back and she leaned back in an effort to put just a small amount of space between their bodies. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she gritted between her teeth. “In other words, you had so little respect for me that you would search for another woman when you were supposed to be meeting me?” she snorted in disgust. “I can tell you aren’t very well versed in the romance department,” she said and relaxed against him, hoping a new tact would gain her freedom.