Royal Romance: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 38)

by Flora Ferrari

  I help Peaches back over the fence and then join her inside the park myself. I don’t know how much longer that guy will be out, or if there are more guys in their “team.” There might be another guy robbing my car for all I know.

  But I don’t go to my car. My eyes are fixated on the guy who saved Peaches. He tracks down the other guy, tackling him just like he did the first. And just like the first he gets him to pass out about twenty seconds after he puts him in that wrestling hold.

  I scoop up Peaches and carry her back to the car. Cream follows us.

  I can’t even begin to thank that man for what he’s done, but first I need to get my two babies to safety. Once I get them in the car I’m going to thank him properly and give him a reward.

  “Somebody bring me some rope,” the man yells. “And call the police.”

  I have rope in my trunk in case of emergencies.

  I pick up the pace and a minute later I’ve got my dogs safely inside the car.

  I open the trunk and dig quickly for the rope.

  I find it and I enter through the gate in the fence and jog back toward the man.

  A few of the people who didn’t help earlier seem to be…taking pictures?

  There’s some kind of commotion that seems unnatural for what’s happening. Maybe they’re just documenting the guys for the police or maybe social media has gone too far once again. A picture with a passed out criminal. What will the world come to next?

  But as I get closer I realize they’re not taking pictures with the criminal. They’re taking pictures with the hero.

  They’re bending down in every which angle to try to get their face in with his, but he seems to want no part of it.

  “Do you have the rope?” he says when he sees me getting close.

  His voice is like a deep echo in an empty forest in the morning. It’s not crisp, sharp, or cutting. It’s just very low and very powerful. Very earthy if you could say that about a man’s voice.

  “Yes,” I say. Where have…I…heard…that…voice…bef—

  Just as I arrive at the scene he turns his head, but doesn’t look up and around the hat at me. He doesn’t need to.

  I drop the rope immediately and he scoops it up.

  He ties up the man quickly as I watch.

  My jaw drops and I feel like I’m literally having an out of body experience.

  Suddenly I feel lightheaded and weak in the knees.

  It’s him. It’s really him. And not only is it him, he saved my Peaches.

  That’s the last thing I remember before my legs give out and my mind goes blank as I pass out at the sight of my hero.

  CHAPTER 9

  Faith

  I open my eyes and see beige. I feel the cool fake leather underneath me and feel a dog’s tongue licking my hand.

  And I’m moving.

  I look down and see a dog licking the back of my hand, but it’s not my dog.

  I realize I’m in a car.

  I look towards the front seat and see Peaches and Cream riding shotgun.

  What in the world?

  And then I start to remember.

  “Everything’s going to be alright,” a voice says from the driver’s seat.

  It’s him. This is real.

  “What happened?” I say.

  “You passed out. You didn’t hit your head though. You’ll be fine in a few minutes. We’re heading back to the palace now so our doctors can have a look at you just to make sure.”

  “The palace?”

  “Yes. I want the doctors to have a look, just to make sure. You just fainted but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  “I’m okay. Really.”

  “I won’t take no for an answer.”

  I slide my body sideways and rotate up into a sitting position. I look from the backseat through the window in-between the two front seats.

  “Sorry, do you mind laying back down for a second? Just until we pass through the gate?”

  “Sure,” I say. I slide back down from my seating position. He must be embarrassed about me. Embarrassed because I work for the palace and I’m out and about getting my dog kidnapped and fainting almost at the sight of him.

  Either that or…he doesn’t want to be seen with me. I understand that he needs to present a certain image and be seen with a certain class, but I don’t think I’m that unattractive.

  I’m a bit disappointed…okay a lot. But I know how things are in this world and I just need to do as he asks until we get through the gate.

  We start to slow and I notice the row of trees that are located near the entrance. Even flat on my back in the back seat I can recognize them. I catch myself staring at them every day just before I enter the grounds.

  Suddenly I can’t see anything. There are a multitude of bright lights flashing in my face. One right after another.

  I bring my forearms in front of my face like an X to cover my eyes. The flashes are so strong it’s like my eyelids are defenseless against them.

  I hear a lot of loud voices. Most people are shouting, “Prince Alistair!” I make out the word “dog park” a couple times. That and “what happened.” And I think I hear someone say, “who is she?”

  Are they talking about me?

  I feel my body move on the seat as the car turns. Just as quickly as the flashes arrived they’re now gone.

  “You can sit up now,” he says.

  I roll around in my seat and look up. Sure enough we’re arriving at the palace, but unlike other days I’m not taking the cobblestone that goes along the perimeter to the employee parking. Today he’s pulling right up front.

  There are already two butlers that seem to be waiting on us. There’s a third man dressed like a doctor.

  “I’m sorry about the front, and asking you to duck down like that. I just want to respect your privacy.”

  “Okay. Thank you,” I say, still a bit unsure if he’s trying to protect my privacy or his own.

  “Things are about to change in a big way and we need to discuss your options first so you can make the decision that’s best for you.”

  “About to change?”

  “Actually, they already have. You’re on the homepage of every news site in the country. Likely your photo will spread worldwide before the top of the hour.”

  I tap my hand on my pocket. My phone is still there.

  I pull it out and fire it up.

  I don’t even need to go to the homepage.

  My name is the number one trending search in Google, Twitter, and Facebook.

  #Faith

  #whoisshe

  #prince’snewgirlfriend

  #luckylady

  Oh. My. God.

  CHAPTER 10

  Faith

  An hour later I’ve been properly examined, although it wasn’t necessary even though I do appreciate the thought.

  And my car has been picked up from the dog park and brought to the palace.

  It’s almost like I’m moving in, but I try my best to keep a level head. It’s not easy.

  One of the butlers enters the room I’m in and stands in front of me. “Prince Alistair would like to invite you for tea in the garden.”

  “Certainly,” I say.

  This is surreal! Tea with the Prince in the palace garden? Are you kidding me.

  The butler leads me outside and sure enough the Prince is there waiting. He’s standing, facing my direction. He’s got a serious look on his face, but it’s not bad. It’s more like there are things he needs to tell me. He looks busy. And he looks incredibly hot at the same time.

  He’s dressed casually, but elegantly.

  He has on trousers that fit his thick thighs and strong legs perfectly and leather lace-up boots. They’re custom made by his tailor, no doubt.

  I try not to look directly at it but it looks like…is that…an erection he’s sporting?

  He seems to notice and moves his hands in front of his waist to cover it up. It’s not pointing straight out or straight up,
but it definitely appeared to be “on the move.” It was hardening as I approached.

  And his shirt is crisp and white, just as to be expected from royalty. It’s cut perfectly at the shoulders and fits just as brilliantly as the rest of his wardrobe.

  It’s not tight, but it’s definitely form fitting. Something I’m very thankful for as it allows me to make out those muscles of his. I can see that big, broad chest of his through the fabric before his top tapers down to his waist creating the perfect male V-shape.

  This can’t be happening.

  And things get even stranger as I arrive at his little garden table.

  He nods to the butler who turns and walks away, then Prince Alistair pulls out my chair himself.

  “Thank you for joining me.”

  “It’s my pleasure,” I say.

  “And sorry to keep you waiting. I had some things to attend to after what happened this morning and I also wanted to make sure the doctors had plenty of time to examine you properly.”

  “Thank you,” I say. “It really wasn’t necessary, but I certainly appreciate it.”

  “You’re very welcome. And before we go any further I’d just like to let you know your dogs are out back at the kennels.”

  “Oh.”

  “They’re not caged. They’re playing in one of the areas where the dogs play. We’ve brought in a trainer today to keep an eye on the animals.”

  “I’m fine, really. If you’re busy I’m happy to just get to work. I’m already late as it is.”

  “Please,” he says. His hand reaches out towards my forearm, but stops just short. He was about to touch me, but stopped for some reason. Just his hand moving towards me sent chills of anticipation shooting up my arm, across my shoulders, and down my back. I couldn’t even imagine if he had made contact.

  It’s hard to believe he was actually carrying me to his car…or at least the car we came back to the palace in. The prince carried me to his horse and then took me to his castle, and I barely got to enjoy any of it because silly me was passed out. Story of my life.

  “We’ll need to go over your options moving forward.”

  “My options?”

  “Yes. There will be no time to work with the dogs today. We’ll need to put a plan in place for your life.”

  “My life? I’m doing okay, thank you.”

  “My apologies,” he says. “Can I offer you some tea?”

  “Certainly. Thank you.”

  He turns to pour the tea and it gives me the perfect chance to check out his back. He must spend half of his day at the gym using that pull down bar seeing how wide his upper back is.

  And his butt. Oh my. The trousers follow the lines of his body as he bends and I can see his firm tushy. I can easily imagine grabbing it and pulling it closer toward me as he thrusts inside me.

  For a chilly morning I sure am getting hot out here.

  But everything’s perfect as expected. It may be a chilly morning, but he’s got those heat lamps running all around us and there are blankets on a little cabinet next to the table.

  He turns and hands me a cup of tea and presents a plate of breakfast biscuits as well.

  Morning tea at the palace? I could definitely get used to this.

  “Shall I begin?” he says.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “I hate to be so abrupt and jump right into this, but your life has changed forever.”

  “Forever?” I sure like the sound of that word coming out of his mouth and directed towards me.

  “Forever. The minute you step outside that front gate the paparazzi will hound you endlessly. It will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced. They will go to all lengths and measure to dig up anything they can on you. They’ll go so far as to figure out how you scored on your grammar school spelling tests.”

  I giggle, almost causing me to cough as I was just swallowing a bite of the biscuit. I’m trying my best to eat like a proper lady, but am failing miserably.

  “Well, fortunately I think I got most of them right. I do have a thing about the English language and I love reading so I guess we’re in luck there.”

  A moment passes and then suddenly he smirks. Oh my god is it hot! It’s the closest he’s come to a smile and I absolutely adore it, and it’s making my panties even damper.

  “That’s good to hear. I do like a girl who knows her way around our language, and one who isn’t afraid to crack open a book. It almost seems like a lost art these days.”

  “Reading?”

  “Reading and language in general. With all the text speak it’s like so much of the language has been turned into some sort of jumbled shorthand consisting of misspellings and phonetic sounds. I understand it’s function and have nothing against it, but…well, I guess I’m a bit more of a traditionalist…from a different generation.”

  “But you’re still very fit and handsome.” I stop myself. Did I just say that out loud just now? “And it’s not like you’re old, just a bit older. But age is a state of mind right?”

  “That’s what I hear, but I’m not so sure I buy into it,” he says. He doesn’t exactly smirk this time, but he does do some sort of facial expression with his mouth that seems more human. It changes the businesslike atmosphere of our meeting into something a bit more personal. I guess that’s what tea time is all about…at least in this case. It’s a chance to speak a bit more openly. I am having tea with the prince after all. I should be on my best behavior, but he’s just so calm and easy to talk to that I feel like I’m in the backyard with an old friend.

  Except for the fact that he’s extremely good looking and the guy I’ve had a crush on forever. That part is making me beyond nervous, but somehow his easygoing ways override my fears. I never expected he’d be like the press portrays him, but I also didn’t necessarily expect he’d be this easy to talk to.

  But the thing I really want to talk to him about will have to wait. First I need to hear him out, but at some point I want to tell him I know what he’s going through because I’m going through it too.

  CHAPTER 11

  Faith

  The day literally flies by.

  I spend the entire time with Alistair who introduces me to a whole new world.

  We turn on the TV and watch as cameras are live from outside my apartment. They’re waiting for me to arrive home or to come out. Some think I may already be back at home and some are expecting me to arrive in a helicopter.

  They’re interviewing my neighbors about me. Luckily they’re not saying much, mostly because I just spend time with my dogs. No one there really knows me that well.

  They manage to track down my parents, but they’re not talking either. I gave them a call earlier in the day and they were floored. My mom wished me good luck. I think she’s wishing something might happen between Prince Alistair and I. I know I am too.

  He also presented me with a new car. It’s a Mercedes registered offshore. I always thought the rich just used those offshore things to avoid taxes, but I see now that they can provide good privacy benefits. Excellent in fact. It’s my car, but technically I don’t own it. Some company in the Cayman Islands owns it and I own a company in South Dakota that owns that company. Apparently you don’t have to provide much, if any information to own companies in some U.S. States. This is all way over my head though. All I really know is that I’ll be much harder to track down going forward. I’m a private person anyways, so I like the sound of that.

  And I’ve even been given my own room here in the palace, at least for a few days. I tried to say it wasn’t necessary, but Prince Alistair insisted. At some point logic kicked in and I accepted. How could I turn down a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend the night in the palace? Exactly…I couldn’t.

  We’ve just finished dinner and I go upstairs to freshen up. I’ve been invited for tea or coffee downstairs in the den at nine p.m. sharp. It’s so nice to have plans like this. They may only last a few days, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

  I neve
r really had a boyfriend and the attempts I had at dates were usually just that…attempts. At least from the guy’s side of things.