by Romancing the Crown Series (13-in-1 bundle) (v1. 0) (lit)
"My mother is very wise."
"But you're making a hash of it, boy!"
Lucas blinked. "This from the man who was turned down how many times?"
The king of Montebello actually blushed. "That was different."
"Because there wasn't a baby involved?"
"Partly. But also because she was English. It makes a difference, you know, if you've grown up in a monarchy. You're accustomed to it. Americans may understand, but they never quite accept. It's not their way of life."
"I know." Lucas grimaced. "Ironically, it's one of the things I admire about them, this idea that anybody can become anything, and no one has to let anyone or any thing else choose for them."
Lucas saw his father's gaze sharpen. "As you had to?"
"I accept things as they are." He remembered Jessie's question, and added, "If I'd had a burning need or desire to become a doctor, an engineer, or something else like that, I might have felt differently. But I didn't. I want to be right where I am."
"Some would say you've been convinced of that by a lifetime of indoctrination," the king said frankly. Lucas knew he'd heard that argument before.
Lucas shrugged. "It hardly matters now. Let's not dwell on it."
"No," his father agreed. "Let's dwell on what you're going to do about your current situation."
"Then I'm going to need that drink," Lucas said grimly, reaching for the glass.
* * *
Jessie was surprised when Rudy brought her the small parcel. She thanked the solemn butler, closed the door of her room, and sat on the bench at the foot of the huge four-poster. There was a small vellum card attached to the gaily wrapped package, and she opened it expecting it to be from Lucas, another salvo in his campaign to convince her Montebello was paradise on earth.
It was from Julia.
A little something for the little prince, the card said in a lovely script, and was signed simply "Julia" in a bold yet feminine hand.
Despite the fact that it still rattled her to think of her tiny son as a prince, she was delighted that Julia had thought to send a gift. Her first baby gift, she thought as she carefully removed the thick, expensive-looking wrapping paper, trying not to dwell on what she'd missed.
The small rattle gleamed in the sunlight that shone through the window. It was obviously not merely silver plate, she could tell that with a look. The handle was solid and curved to perfectly fit a tiny hand. The head was engraved rather ornately, in a pattern that was vaguely familiar, and after a moment she recognized the Sebastiani family crest.
Her delight faded. She stared down at the etched crest, seeing in the lovely lines and the strong, solid "S" nothing less than a claim made tangible. The Montebello royal family's determination to have her son was suddenly solid and heavy in her hand.
She felt an odd sense of betrayal. Julia had seemed so nice, so understanding. But it was hard to doubt or deny the significance of this particular gift. And now that she'd seen the gift, that simple, sweet-seeming line written on the card seemed ominous.
A little something for the little prince. The prince who had no choice about being a prince.
She should have realized. No Sebastiani would understand why everyone didn't think Montebello was the best place in the world. Or that being prince, and someday king, might not be everyone's dream job.
And certainly not a job for someone who didn 't want it! she thought.
But Julia wouldn't understand that. She was a Montebellan, a princess, and a Sebastiani.
Jessie sighed. She'd dared to hope she might have found a friend here, another new mother who could understand her reservations, her resolve not to take away all her son's choices for his future. She'd looked forward to talking to her again, perhaps even asking her for help.
She sat staring at the gift a while longer before it occurred to her. Maybe she wouldn't have to ask Julia for help. She'd already been invited to Tamir, hadn't she? And it wouldn't surprise anyone if she wanted to take Luke with her, would it? She'd have to find a time when she could be sure Lucas couldn't accompany her, as she was sure he'd want to do, but surely she could do that?
And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be recognized in Tamir. They couldn't be as enamored of the Sebastiani clan as the local press was, could they? Surely her picture wouldn't have appeared on every magazine cover and in every newspaper over there. She could get on a plane and skedaddle for Colorado.
Of course, Lucas could, and no doubt would, come after her with all the force of the Sebastianis behind him. But at least in America she could fight him. She couldn't swear his position wouldn't matter in any court battle, but it would matter less at home than here, that she was sure of.
She could do it. She knew she could. She'd find a way.
As soon as she finished crying her eyes out over being put in the horrible position of having to run from a man she had once loved.
And if she dared admit it, loved still.
Chapter 16
Lucas let out an inward sigh of relief. Something had gotten through to Jessie, because she had relaxed, had once more become the woman he remembered from the ranch. He found it much easier to be with her now, without the strain underlying every word or action. Last night she'd seemed almost giddy at dinner, laughing at his father's awful puns, even the worst, something about good gnus and bad gnus.
His parents had noticed the change, as well, and they'd both given him encouraging nods and smiles. His father had even whispered, on his way out of the room, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."
The problem was, he hadn't done anything any differently than he had since they'd arrived here. He'd tried to give her space and time, while at the same time showing her how good life could be here. It hadn't been working at all, at least that he could tell.
So he couldn't explain the sudden change. But that didn't stop him from feeling good about it. He'd walked her upstairs after dinner last night, and when they'd stopped outside her door, she'd turned to face him. And for a moment he could have sworn she was looking at him with longing, the same longing he felt every day for her.
The same longing he'd seen in her eyes on the ranch when he'd been just a guy called Joe.
It had taken every bit of restraint he had in him to keep from pressing his luck. He'd been aching for her for so long now that it was about to drive him mad. When she unexpectedly kissed him, quick but no less hot and sweet for it, he nearly lost it. But then she was gone, darting into her room and closing the door, leaving him with a disturbing image of that last second before she'd turned away seared into his mind—a woman with utter despair in her eyes.
By morning, he convinced himself he'd imagined that look. He'd wanted to take her to the beach today, now that he'd finished with the last of the financial meetings, but as she'd told him last night, there wasn't much call for a bathing suit on the ranch. So he decided to send her off to his sisters' favorite boutique with instructions to pick out whatever she wanted.
As insurance, he enlisted the help of his sister Julia, who had taken quite a shine to Jessie, to go with her and make sure she didn't run the moment she got inside the exclusive boutique. To his surprise Jessie had agreed easily. She wasn't a shopper, she told him, but then there weren't shops like these in Shady Rock.
Julia had arrived via her husband's helicopter just before noon, proving yet again that Rashid was true to his word; his wife could visit home any time she wished. She hadn't told him that this was a shopping expedition, Julia said with a laugh, or perhaps he wouldn't have been quite so accommodating.
Of course, Lucas knew perfectly well Jessie would gasp at the prices, so he also called ahead to warn the shop's owner, who took great pride in her service to the royal family, to make sure Jessie never saw the cost. Between the eager Ms. Francois and Julia, he was sure the trip would be a success.
When they came back hours later, laden with bags, he was pleased, until he got a look at Jessie. Julia was laughing, but Jessie was looking rather wan, and
almost shell-shocked. Julia spotted him and sent Jessie upstairs with instructions to put on the "purple thing" and come back down.
Once Jessie was gone, Julia turned to him. "I tell you, that is the most independent, stubborn woman I've ever met, and given my family that's saying something."
Lucas frowned. "Problem?"
"She was more worried about whether everything could be returned if she changed her mind than anything else."
Lucas smiled. That was his Jessie, all right.
Julia grinned. "I really like her."
"So do I," Lucas said softly.
"Then, big brother, you'd better tell her."
He blinked. "What?"
"She knows 'Joe' loved her. She has no idea about you."
"That's ridiculous. Of course she knows."
Julia sighed. "You know, I thought for a while it was simply Rashid who was so obtuse. Now I know it's men in general."
"You still married him," Lucas pointed out.
"Because he learned," she told him. "And if you don't, you're going to regret it."
"Learned what?"
"To take nothing for granted," Julia retorted, clearly impatient with his ignorance. "Jessie is coming to Tamir for the day tomorrow. With Luke. And you're not invited."
Lucas blinked. "Oh?"
"Yes. It's a girl's day. Rashid is flying to Cyprus for a meeting."
"Oh. Then why is Luke going?"
She gave him a look that, had she not had the same parents, would have called his species into question. He gave up. "All right, all right. Never let it be said I intruded on a sacred female ritual."
"Maybe you're trainable after all," Julia said with exaggerated reluctance.
Lucas grinned at her. When he'd first come home, everyone, including his family, had treated him with such care that it had almost driven him crazy. He'd been delighted the first time his irrepressible sisters began to tease him again, knowing it was the first step back to normalcy.
"Now, when Jessie comes down, be suitably impressed, if you know what's good for you."
"If I'm not, will she skewer me, or you?"
"She'll skewer. I'll hold her purse. Now watch for her, like a proper suitor."
Lucas laughed, but he turned to face the stairway. He did love this sister of his. She'd grown even more confident since she'd married Rashid, proof enough to him that it was a good match. He hoped he would see the same kind of assurance in Jessie, once she was sure of herself and her place in his family. She would come to know that—
His thoughts stopped midstream. All thought stopped, because there was no room for anything but stunned response to the woman at the top of the stairs. She wore some floaty thing that looked for all the world like veils that could part at any moment and reveal the luscious body beneath. The color could be, as Julia had said, purple, although to him it looked like an opal he'd seen once, many colors at once that shifted with the light. Her long, blond hair was down, flowing with the same silken rhythm as the dress, then falling still as she paused above the first step. She had on a pair of strappy sandals that made her feet and ankles look impossibly delicate. He'd never seen her look like this. He'd never seen any woman look like this.
Lucas became abruptly aware his mouth was literally hanging open and he shut it with a snap. "Damn," he muttered under his breath.
"Well, now, I'd say that's suitably impressed," Julia said with a barely suppressed giggle. "I guess I'll put away the skewer now."
Slowly, Jessie started down the steps. She kept one hand on the polished mahogany banister, and her eyes downcast almost shyly.
As if any woman who looks like that could possibly be shy. That hair, that body, that dress....
They were a walking declaration, Lucas thought. He just wasn't sure if it was a declaration of intent, of interest or of war.
If it was war, he was already done for. Hit before the first rounds were fired. Casualty number one. And the idea of being a prisoner of war didn't bother him at all, now that he thought about it.
He watched in silent awe until she reached the bottom of the stairs. Julia said softly, "I'll see you tomorrow, Jessie." Jessie flicked a glance at Julia and nodded rather quickly. Julia nodded back and left them there. Alone.
"You look...incredible," Lucas said, barely able to get his voice above a stunned whisper.
"I clean up all right," Jessie said with a shrug, her eyes still lowered, as if she were avoiding his gaze.
"Much, much more than just all right."
Take nothing for granted, Julia had said. He didn't. How could anyone take a woman like this for granted? He reached out and took her hand.
"Let me take you to dinner. Right now, tonight. To the Glass Swan. It's the only place good enough for how you look tonight."
Finally she looked up at him. Maybe it was the unusual color of the dress, but her eyes seemed to shimmer with the same luminescence as the fabric.
"If you promise we won't talk about the future," she said, an odd quiver in her voice.
Right then he would have agreed to anything. "I promise. I'll go change. I won't be long. Don't go anywhere. Please."
She looked so nervous he was half afraid she'd bolt, so he rushed through a quick shower and shave, then dressed with slightly more care in the suit that always made the girls tease him mercilessly, saying he was their brother and not supposed to be so handsome. He chose a dark tie with a small fleur-de-lis pattern in a bluish shade that reminded him of the color of her dress. And realized as his fingers fumbled in knotting it that he was as nervous as she had looked.
This was ridiculous, he lectured the image reflected in the mirror. He was Prince Lucas Sebastiani, not some bashful young swain who'd never taken a beautiful woman out to dinner before.
But he'd never taken Jessie out to dinner before.
He'd never taken Jessie anywhere, he realized with a sudden little shock. As Joe, he hadn't been able to afford it, and there was no real place to go in tiny Shady Rock anyway. And since he'd come back, the only thing he'd done was take her back to the ranch, and then here.
Feeling more than a little remiss—this was the woman he was going to marry, after all, and he'd never even taken her on a date—he paused only to call for his car to be brought around, then rushed back downstairs. His heart sank when he found the foyer empty. He spun around, wondering if she'd just gone somewhere to sit and wait. He'd thought she'd relaxed, but—
He spotted her then, through the open doors that led to the grand ballroom. She was at one of the tall windows, silhouetted by the last rays of the sun. He was seized with a sudden desperation to make certain she stayed here, in his home, and wished he hadn't promised not to speak of their future tonight. He hadn't pressured her at all for a decision, hadn't wanted to press his luck with her, but sooner or later they were going to have to discuss it.
Just not tonight, he thought as he looked at the lovely picture she made standing there in that dress, her hair fired pure gold by the sun. He wouldn't risk ruining this night for anything.
Since this had been an impulse move, he hadn't had time to call ahead to the Glass Swan. But he would call on the way, and knew Louis Montague would rise to the occasion with his usual grace and skill.
Jessie paused at the bottom of the outside steps when she saw the racy blue Italian coupe parked there.
"Yours?" she asked, her voice so neutral he almost wished he had an SUV instead.
"For now," he said, thinking that the best answer he could give. It didn't seem the time to explain to her that he received a new model every year simply so the famous maker could tout that his vehicles were driven by the crown prince of Montebello.
He opened the passenger door for her, and she stepped past him without further comment. The lustrous fabric of the dress slipped upward as she sat in the low-slung seat, revealing a tantalizing length of leg. He remembered those legs so well; remembered tracing their silken length, marveling at the taut strength there; remembered them in tight jeans a
s she worked around the ranch, the worn denim hugging her curves as he longed to do with his hands; remembered the feel of them holding him tight and close as she rode him to a completion he'd never known before.
He bit his lip in his effort to tamp down the fire that wanted to roar to life. He sedately shut her door and took his time walking around to the driver's side, since walking wasn't the most comfortable thing to do just now.
Jessie's eyes widened as they walked into the Glass Swan, although Lucas couldn't be sure if it was the rich, luxurious decor or the phalanx of people who greeted them at the door with everything short of a red carpet. As usual, the fuss drew eyes from around the restaurant, but they were quickly through the main dining room and into a smaller, more private area. They walked past a fireplace in one corner, there only for ambience not heat in this Mediterranean climate.
Louis outdid himself. Had he been choreographing the perfect evening, Lucas couldn't have planned it any better. They had a private, candlelit booth overlooking the yacht harbor. And when Louis, stroking his dark goatee, begged Lucas to turn the menu over to him, Lucas did so without a qualm, promising Jessie that the man was unparalleled in providing a meal that was nothing short of heavenly.
This time was no exception. From an appetizer of shrimp in a lemon garlic sauce through the luscious fresh red snapper cooked in paper to the decadent pear and caramel dessert, it was all perfect. And Louis's wife, Mariella, a petite, exotic brunette beauty, waited on them herself, as if they were guests in her home.
The close attention from the proprietors kept him from breaking his promise to Jessie and talking about their future, kept him from trying to make her see how good it could be, how they could make it all work if she just gave it a chance. The fact that he still had no answer for her main concern, that of Luke's future, he tried not to think about.
Somewhere between the appetizer and the main course, Jessie seemed to change. She became more animated, even laughed as the old Jessie used to, as if she'd decided to put their differences aside and enjoy this night. With that example before him, he gave up any thought of forcing the issue, and set himself to the same task, to simply enjoy this evening with her.