“I understand,” he whispered. “I understand doing what you feel you have to for your parents.” His forehead rested on hers. “I know what it means to sacrifice what you want for the good of others, and I think, many times, it’s utterly ridiculous. There are always times when it’s best, but most of the time? When it comes to turning away from someone you could really fall for because tradition dictates you should? That’s utterly bogus.”
With her eyes still closed, Jacqueline Grace leaned forward and brushed her lips against his before stepping away. Hot tears burned the back of her eyes as she turned so he wouldn’t see. “I agree, but that doesn’t change anything.”
“What if I told you I was a prince?”
6
Dave almost smacked himself across the back of the head. Why had he said that?
Jacqueline Grace turned around, her face sad and tears still shimmering in her eyes. Tears she clearly didn’t want him to see. “Then that would change everything. But saying it and it being true are two entirely different things, and we both know it.”
He simply nodded and let her walk away. Some things couldn’t be changed no matter how hard one wished they could be.
Walking back to the other side of the apartment where his room was, he pulled his phone out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and knew wearing it had likely been a mistake. He’d bought one off the rack the day before they left because he knew he’d need at least one. The mistake had been in bringing a couple of his custom suits along as well. They just fit better, and he couldn’t stand wearing the untailored one.
He’d tried.
But it hadn’t worked.
Dave knew Jacqueline Grace knew his suit had been made just for him. He also knew she would wonder about it.
His phone showed a missed call and voice mail from his father. It would say the same thing it always did. That’s why he used an untraceable forwarding service. His father called the number he’d always used. That number was connected to a service. The service sent him a message but had no idea who he was or where he’d gone.
Even his father’s minions wouldn’t be able to trace him - otherwise they already would have.
Dave hung his suit up, knowing he would need it again later. Conviction settled over him like the coat he’d taken off. His father was right to be worried about him. He’d disappeared with a vendetta and without a trace.
Good thing he knew how to take care of himself.
After changing into a pair of pajama pants covered with the flag of his recently adopted country, he stared out the window, turned sideways so he could see the darker area that was Central Park. Some of the trails were lit up, but overall it was the darkest spot he could see.
This trip wasn’t going how he’d thought it would. He’d figured he’d keep his distance from the princess as much as possible. He hadn’t planned to go on something resembling a date and kiss her repeatedly on the first day.
Finally turning from the window, he flopped onto the bed and managed to doze off.
When he woke the next morning, Kirsten had sent him the updated itinerary. They were going to the Central Park Zoo and a different playground followed by lunch at a small pizza place then nap time. After dinner at a burger place, they’d go to the top of the Empire State Building at sunset before going back to the apartment to put the girls to bed.
A full day, though there was no mention of what he and Jacqueline Grace would do while the girls napped. Most likely something separate.
He went with jeans and a plain green shirt, both deceptively expensive. He’d never thought much about wearing the clothes he’d always worn. Most of those he was around regularly didn’t know a cheap t-shirt from an expensive one.
But the princess did.
Maybe he needed to go shopping or at least buy a tourist-y t-shirt or two.
In the dining area, he found Mary already eating, and Kiara climbing onto the chair next to his girl. He kissed the top of Mary’s head. “Morning, sweet girl.”
“Maw-ninn’, Da’y!” she mumbled around a mouth full of food. It made him grin. Jacqueline Grace was nowhere to be seen. Kirsten was keeping an eye on the girls while she worked at her spot at the other end of the table.
In the kitchen, he filled a plate with fruit and a hardboiled egg. Clearly no one had made brekkie in there, so it must have been brought in.
Unless they’d used the other kitchen.
Jacqueline Grace slid into a seat near Kiara. She didn’t look like she’d slept much at all.
“You all right?” he asked, tapping his spoon on the egg to break the shell.
“Fine.” Even her voice sounded tired.
The grown-ups ate in silence while the girls talked about which dog had been their favorite. Jacqueline Grace’s tone was more abrupt than usual as she asked the girls to finish getting ready so they could leave.
Dave had the feeling it was going to be a very long day.
The next afternoon, Jacqueline Grace sat in the middle of the SUV with Kiara at her side. Dave and Mary were in the back.
She liked that. She liked him farther away.
She didn’t like him close. Really, she’d prefer separate cars, but at least separate rows helped a little bit.
At least until he leaned up and whispered in her ear. “When are the girls going to find out where we’re going?”
His warm breath on her ear send chills down her spine. “When we get there. If they don’t notice, we won’t tell them.”
“Got it.”
Close enough to be in her space was way too close. It just reminded her of the kisses and the way he made her toes curl.
The SUV pulled up to the theater and let the five of them out onto the sidewalk.
It wasn’t what she expected.
In San Majoria, the theaters had plenty of space to linger and network before entering the theater itself.
This one, and she suspected most of the ones in New York, didn’t.
“I learned what makes it a Broadway show,” Dave told her, standing closer than she’d like.
“The theater’s on Broadway?”
“Nope.”
Jacqueline Grace looked up to see him grinning like the Cheshire cat. “This theater is on Broadway.”
“Kind of. The entrance is on 45th Street, though the side of the building is on Broadway. It’s a Broadway show because the theater seats more than 500 people. Less than 500 and it’s Off-Broadway. Less than 100 and it’s Off-Off Broadway.”
“I see.”
An usher took their tickets then led them to the box reserved for their party. It could seat ten, but just the five of them would be there. Tim would stand in the back.
“What’re we seein’, Jacquie?” Kiara perched on the front edge of her seat, leaning down to look over. “Simba?”
Jacqueline Grace let herself smile and even start to relax. “Yes. We’re seeing Lion King.”
“Where the movie?” Confusion colored the little girl’s face.
“It’s not a movie. It’s a play,” Jacqueline Grace explained. “There’s going to be real people dressed up like animals, and it’s going to be super cool.” Or so she’d heard from everyone who’d ever seen it.
“Yay!” Kiara and Mary continued to peer over the railing, though they weren’t tall enough to get over without really trying. Jacqueline Grace would keep a close eye on them. Dave probably was, too.
But when she glanced over at him, he was watching her, not the girls.
She turned her attention back to their charges. It wouldn’t do for something bad to happen because she’d been taken in by his ocean blue eyes.
They hadn’t arrived too early, so in just a few minutes the lights went out and the music started.
As Jacqueline Grace expected, the girls were utterly enthralled by the whole thing. So was she. When the lights came up at intermission, Kiara turned to her, tears in her eyes.
“It’s over?”
Jacqueline Grace shook her head. “No,
sweetie, it’s just a little break to give them time to get ready for the next bit.” She stood and held out both hands. “Why don’t we take both of you to the bathroom while we wait for it to start?”
Both girls went with her easily. Dave didn’t protest but stayed behind while Tim followed along. The line wasn’t as bad as she feared, and they were back in their seats several minutes before it started again.
They were all on the edge of their seats as Simba finally defeated his uncle and took his place as king of Pride Rock.
In many ways, the matinee was a better option for them with the girls, but it also meant nap time was thrown off. The ten-minute wait for the SUV was punctuated by outbursts and crying.
“Ca’ we go to the park, Jacquie?” Kiara whined as Jacqueline Grace buckled her into her seat.
“Not right now. First, it’s nap time. Then we’re going to do something fun. Then there’s another surprise later tonight.”
“Don’t wanna nap.” The pout made Jacqueline Grace close her eyes and pray for patience.
“If you don’t nap, you won’t get to stay up late enough for the surprise later.” Not that they’d sleep with fireworks literally right outside their window, but they didn’t know that.
Kiara gave a long-suffering sigh, but Jacqueline Grace knew it meant she was acquiescing. More likely they’d both be asleep before they made it back to the apartment building, even though the drive wasn’t that long. They could probably walk it faster, but not with two exhausted little girls.
When they arrived, Dave took Kiara since she was a little bigger and left Mary for Jacqueline Grace. A few minutes later, both girls were still asleep but now on the bed in their shared room.
“Do we have plans?” Dave asked softly as he pulled the door closed behind him. “Or are you working?”
Jacqueline Grace brushed past him toward the study. “I have work to do.” It didn’t have to be done right that minute, but she might as well. It needed doing before they reached Athmetis.
Spending time in the study meant she wasn’t spending time with Dave. Didn’t spend time imagining what could be. The whole time they were at Lion King she’d had to stop herself from wondering what it would be like if that was her family. Her, Dave, their two girls. Maybe another baby or two someday.
No!
She couldn’t let herself want what couldn’t be.
Instead, she immersed herself in the trade deal her father wanted her to handle. Not the whole thing, of course, but some of the preliminary discussions were all on her. He was depending on her for a good start.
In went her earbuds. On went her favorite playlist and her glasses.
For nearly two hours, she went over the details of the last trade agreement with Athmetis as well as a similar one Kensington negotiated six months earlier with Islas del Sargasso.
When she heard Kiara call for her, she set everything to the side and went out to find her little girl. A post-nap snuggle with Kiara was just what she needed to soothe her troubled mind.
7
Dave hadn’t expected Mary to be scared of the fireworks, but she was.
Many were about eye level, though some went even higher than their two-hundred-plus meters. Mary snuggled into his lap, watching, but holding tight to him.
“I found out why we’re on the 75th floor, even though the building only has 55 floors.” Jacqueline Grace sat in a chair with Kiara next to her, though the other little girl was awed by the fireworks show rather than scared.
“Why?”
“Legally, a story is ten feet. In a 120-foot building, you have twelve stories.” She glanced up. “But how high is this ceiling?”
Dave did the math in his head. “Closer to fifteen feet.”
“Right. So, in that same building, if you have twelve-foot ceilings, you’ll only have ten floors, even though it’s twelve stories tall. Many of the tall buildings in the city number weird. They skip thirteen out of superstition. The hotel ends at one floor number and the residences begin higher, but since very few people go from hotel to residence, no one notices. You can’t get to both from the same elevator, so there’s no missing number buttons.”
“Interesting.” It made sense. An apartment on the 75th floor would sell for more than one on the 53rd, even though they were the exact same height.
Explosions of color in rapid succession, combined with the increased tempo of the music from the speakers, told Dave this was the finale.
“It’s pretty,” Mary whispered. “But loud.” Her hands covered her ears as Dave tightened his arms around her.
A minute later it was over, and Mary relaxed.
Jacqueline Grace took both girls to get them ready for bed. Dave stayed in the living room, though he stood near the window, watching as tiny specks began to flow out of Central Park.
Mary and Kiara both came out to say goodnight.
Mary tugged on his sleeve until he knelt at her level. “I wan’ Jacquie tuck me in tonight.”
Dave wasn’t ready for the stab of jealousy. Instead of letting it show, he kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, sweet girl. I’ll see you in the morning. We’re going to go on a boat.”
Well, a ferry, but close enough.
Her eyes lit up. “A fast one?”
A chuckle escaped before he could stop it. “No. It’s not a fast one, but it’ll be fun anyway.”
“‘Kay.” She kissed his cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you, too, munchkin.”
She and Kiara went back to their room, hand-in-hand. He heard their door close a moment later, followed by another one slightly farther away.
That answered his unspoken question about whether Jacqueline Grace would come back out to talk to him or not.
Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, Dave stared out the window for a long time.
Too many thoughts were filling his mind. Too many things distracting him from his true purpose in going to San Majoria. As much as he loved Mary, taking care of her kept him from following up the leads he should have when he first heard about them.
He was afraid he’d waited too long.
That’s why he’d tried for a job at the palace. His first choice had been in security, but when they offered him an interview for the valet position, he’d jumped on it. People like King Edward tended to forget that staff had ears. At least, they tended to carry on semi-sensitive conversations even with underlings around, usually because those underlings were completely trustworthy.
As was Dave.
He just had a different agenda than most.
Not a bad one, just different.
Maybe he should call his father.
Heading to his room, he pulled his phone out and did time zone math. It was already tomorrow afternoon back home.
He’d learned how to call home in a way that would be difficult for his father to trace, but he always called his father’s direct line. If he was available, he’d answer, and Dave wouldn’t even have to go through the assistant.
He dialed.
“Yes?” His father clearly hadn’t recognized the ring indicating the call went straight through to his phone.
“Hello, Father.”
Dave could almost hear the leather creak as his father leaned back in his chair, away from whatever paperwork he’d been working on. “Hello, David. Where are you?”
No asking how he was, just where he was. “I’m still not going to tell you. Not until I have the answers I need.” And the vengeance.
“You should come home.” His father’s tone softened. “Let us help you.”
“No. I have to do this on my own.” He’d explained that over and over. His father’s end game wasn’t the same.
“Your mum misses you.” His father knew how to hit below the belt. “As does your sister.” Way below the belt.
Dave pinched the bridge of his nose. “My brothers don’t?”
“You know them. The twins have each other. The older boys each do their own thing.”
Their ow
n thing but often together. The middle son with two older brothers who were thick as thieves and twin younger brothers were even more inseparable. He was often left out for the first decade plus of his life. Dave was much closer to his younger sister, despite the age difference of more than ten years. It was no wonder she missed him most.
“When will you be home?”
“I don’t know. After I finish what I set out to do.”
“And when will that be?”
Dave flopped backward onto the bed. “I don’t know. I’d hoped to be done by now, but I had some... unexpected responsibilities arise.”
His father was silent for a long moment. “You didn’t get some girl pregnant, did you?”
“Of course not.” Weariness filled his words, not the indignation he wished he could work up. He hadn’t lied to his father, but he was responsible for a child nonetheless. “I have a job. I’ve had more than one. I have to fulfill my obligations.”
“You have obligations here.”
“Not really. I’m the third of five adult children. I’ll never take over for you, and there are plenty of others to be the public face.”
Another silence. “I miss you, David.”
Dave wanted to hear those words, but he didn’t think his father meant them quite the way Dave wanted to hear. His father didn’t miss him. His father missed having one more son to boss around. One more son to show to the world his prowess.
One more son who was nothing more than a PR stunt.
“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“October. You will be home for the Centennial.”
“We’ll see.” He couldn’t commit to it. “I love you.”
Dave hung up before he could hear if his father said it back.
Because if he did, it would be the first time.
Both little girls were sound asleep by the time the SUV reached the airport the next evening. Tim and Dave carried them onto the plane and buckled them in on the two small couches.
Jacqueline Grace took one of the seats next to a table. Eventually, she’d lean it back and get some rest but the next couple of days would be spent trying to keep up with a little girl and recovering from jet lag. Kirsten would help if Jacqueline Grace needed a nap, but one of the things her parents had always insisted on was that vacations were not a time for staff. They were a time for family.
Her Undercover Prince Page 5