A Royal Distraction

by Daphne James Huff

  A Royal Distraction

  The Princes of Prynesse

  Daphne James Huff

  Copyright © 2018 by Daphne James Huff

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: https://romacdesigns.com/

  to my prince

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Thank you for reading!

  Acknowledgments

  About Daphne James Huff

  Also by Daphne James Huff

  A Royal Decision Preview

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Keep Reading

  Chapter 1

  Alix was ready to kill Stella. She had told her best friend at least a hundred times how much she hated clubs. The music was always awful, the drinks way too watered down, and Gilt, in particular, was always filled with the other nobles she tried so hard to avoid.

  Stella was her best friend, though, and Alix would do anything for her. So here they were at the hottest club in Prynesse, one of the small, rich European countries no one could ever find on a map. Main export: Rich beautiful people. Main import: Bankers. Main royal attraction: Three eligible princes and one beautiful princess.

  Stella wanted her prince. She’d had her sights set on Anton, the youngest of the three brothers, since they’d all been in nursery school together. No matter that he’d been with nearly every other girl with a title in the entire country (and several others). Stella was sure that she’d be the one to tame him.

  It was a typical summer night, hotter outside the club than inside. As they walked in, still sweaty from the heat outside, Alix was actually grateful for the watery drinks.

  “You’ll never be able to change him,” she’d told Stella repeatedly. Still, Stella’s technique of never letting him go all the way did seem to hold his attention for a while. That is, until the next leggy blonde walked by and he was off to add another notch to his bedpost.

  “He’s not here,” Stella pouted, looking around the crowded club.

  Alix looked, too, despite herself. The sooner they found him, the sooner she could excuse herself and go back to her room to get out of her heels.

  “There,” she said, pointing. He was on the upper level, in a private booth with his brothers and sister. Stella nearly squealed in delight.

  They made their way through the throng of bleached blonde bimbos in short skirts, low-cut tops, and high heels—the typical upper class Prynessian uniform for a night out. Alix felt the urge to tell Stella that she needed to change her look if she wanted to stand out. She loved her best friend, but at times, Stella could be just as shallow as the rest of the nobles.

  If it weren’t for the sweltering air outside, Alix would have been in sweats and sneakers, but instead, she found herself in an outfit resembling “the uniform” out of practicality – she didn’t want to die of heat exhaustion.

  Stella confidently strode up the stairs and approached the table where the royal siblings sat, the flashing lights illuminating the sequins on her dress as she moved. She waved a hello to Helena, the princess, before making her way over to Anton.

  Alix stood there awkwardly for a minute. Stella clearly knew them, and Alix did not. She wanted to leave, but had promised Stella that she’d stay at least an hour in case she needed her.

  “Hi,” Helena said in a friendly tone that could barely be heard above the thumping of the music. “You’re Lady Alix de Neunesse, right?”

  Alix nodded.

  “We don’t see you out much,” she commented, though not unkindly. Maybe Helena wasn’t as bad as the others.

  “I grew up in New York,” Alix said, “where my mother is from. I just finished up university, so I’m back here for the summer.”

  “Ah, I thought I heard an American accent.” Alix heard a deep, sexy male voice behind her and felt a hand at her back.

  She turned and saw Duncan, Helena’s twin brother, indicating that she should sit down at their table.

  “I was born in Prynesse, like all of you,” Alix said, a bit testily, as she sat. They’d been speaking in English, but she switched to an accent-less French, one of the official languages of the country. She was as much Prynessian as they were, even if she only spoke French and not the local language. Her father had bucked tradition and married outside the pool of Prynesse nobles, without realizing the linguistic implications for his daughter. “It’s not my fault if my father didn’t teach me much of the language.”

  “Don’t listen to Duncan,” said Helena. “You should hear his German, it’s awful.”

  His eyes flashed for the briefest of moments at his sister’s remark, then he laughed it off.

  Alix nodded in reply, not wanting to encourage more conversation. This was exactly the kind of meaningless chatter and attention she wanted to avoid this summer.

  “Do you miss it?” Duncan asked, not picking up on her cold shoulder vibe.

  He must be bored, she thought to herself. There are hundreds of other girls he could be talking to right now.

  “Sometimes,” she replied. “But not during the summer. It’s even hotter there.”

  He nodded, and she wasn’t sure that he’d really heard her over the thumping music.

  He continued to stare at her, which made her a bit uncomfortable. She had grown up in almost total anonymity in New York, but here, she was one of the nobles. The stares followed her everywhere.

  This was a different type of stare, though. His eyes lingered a little too long on the short hem of her skirt before they made their way, slowly, back up to her face, taking in every curve of her body as they went.

  “Do you want another drink?” he asked, leaning in close to her ear so she could hear him. She shivered at the contact. His deep green eyes hinted at wanting to give her more than just a drink, and his flirtatious smile flaunted his perfectly dimpled chin. She could tell that he was on the hunt tonight.

  She, however, was not.

  “I’m fine,” she said, crossing her legs and leaning away from him. She fiddled with the bangle she wore, switching it from wrist to wrist. It was a gift from her father on her sixteenth birthday. The diamond and rose gold didn’t always match her outfits, but she wore it everywhere regardless.

  “So, looking to have fun this summer now that you’re done with school?” Helena asked her amiably.

  Alix nodded. “I was pre-med in college, so it was pretty intense. It’s nice to have a break.”

  “You’re going to be a doctor?” Duncan asked, his voice teasing. “Doctor Countess Neunesse?”

  Helena rolled her eyes. Alix bristled.

  “Yes, well, one day,” she said simply. This was not the time or place – nor was this the ideal company – in which to reveal her big plans.

 
She looked around for Stella, who was now quite cozy with Anton on the dance floor, and figured that she wouldn’t notice if she left before her promised hour was up.

  “I’m actually pretty tired,” Alix said as she stood. “I might just head out.”

  “You have an apartment in the city?” Helena was really being quite friendly, especially when compared with her mocking brother.

  Alix shook her head.

  “No, my parents are renovating it,” she said. “The queen asked that I help with some charity events this summer, so I’m staying at the palace.”

  Duncan’s eyes brightened.

  “I can escort you back,” he said, standing as well. “I do, after all, know the way.” He smiled what was probably a panty-dropping smile for any other girl, but Alix remained unmoved. She was tired and hungry, and just wanted to go to bed.

  She made her way back downstairs, waved a quick goodbye to Stella, who flashed an ecstatic smile, and headed out into the hot summer night in search of a taxi.

  Later, as Alix slipped into bed in her rooms at the palace, she wondered if she’d been wrong to pass up what had obviously been a chance to sleep with the most eligible bachelor in the country.

  He certainly looked the part–tall, handsome, and strong. She was sure, however, that by morning he’d have forgotten about her. If he passed her in the hall, he’d look right past her, as everyone else did. That was how she liked it.

  She just had to get through this summer as quietly and calmly as possible, and then her real life would begin.

  Chapter 2

  With a headache the size of Cambria province, Duncan was now wishing he had listened to Anton and played sick. The charity tea was shaping up to be just as boring as their older brother Leo had predicted, which is why he’d asked Duncan and Anton to go in his place. Being the crown prince had a few advantages, like getting your little brothers to do the things you didn’t want to.

  The throbbing in Duncan’s head worsened as the late afternoon sun glared off the white tiles on the upper veranda of the palace. At least he didn’t have a real job to go to, like Leo, he reminded himself. Why on earth his brother had wanted to try his hand at banking before taking on the responsibilities of the throne was still a mystery to Duncan, but he suspected that it was, in part, because it excused him from the worst of the charity events.

  This particular event featured the usual cast of sycophantic “wives-in-waiting,” as Duncan and his siblings liked to call them. The same group of women somehow always managed to receive invitations to things like this. They were mostly the daughters and sisters of important businessmen in the city who had donated large sums of money to various causes. They behaved as if they were nobles, and they probably would be soon. It was only a matter of time before a lonely count or duke snapped up the youngest of them.

  However, amidst the crowd of tittering blonde heads, Duncan spotted Alix’s dark waves. His eyes lit up and his headache suddenly disappeared. He hadn’t expected her to be there. She had completely ignored his advances the previous night, which intrigued him. He’d never had to work to get someone before, and the challenge excited him.

  He wondered how she knew the Duke of Apfelnesse. Not that it really mattered. But it was an excellent excuse to go and talk to her. She had run off last night just as things were getting interesting. She’d left in such a rush that she’d left her diamond bangle at the table.

  “Hello,” he said quietly behind her. She jumped a bit before turning to glare at him, the china teacup in one hand clattering against the saucer she held in the other.

  “Your Highness,” she said, tilting her head respectfully, though her eyes flashed. With annoyance or anger – he couldn’t tell. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Wonderful,” he replied, flashing his warmest smile at Alix and the women she had been talking with. “And you?”

  “Fine,” she said, and pursed her lips. Her eyes moved to the woman next to her, indicating that he was interrupting a conversation. He decided to ignore it, smiling again at the woman. She returned it and moved away with a tilt of the head, giving them privacy.

  “How do you know the Duke of Apfelnesse?” he asked.

  “I don’t, really,” she answered, keeping her body turned away, and merely inclining her head in his general direction. “My father and his family do. They are great supporters of the Duke’s work with animal shelters in the country. My cousin, Evangeline, who you just scared off, was nice enough to invite me to the event today.”

  “Does his work interest you? Would you like to work with animals?” he inquired, genuinely curious to learn more about her. She had barely spoken ten words to him the night before.

  “I didn’t spend four years working hard to become top of my class to run an animal charity,” she said sharply.

  “So you were serious about being a doctor?” asked Duncan, knitting his eyebrows in confusion. “Why would you even want a job?”

  “Because going to tea parties is a job?” she retorted, disdainfully.

  “The best job in the world, getting to meet and talk with so many lovely ladies,” he said with a smile and a wink.

  Alix simply stared at him with an arched brow and her mouth set in a thin line.

  “Seriously, why would you want to do that when you have a simple, easy life here?”

  “Because I want one where I can make a difference,” she said, handing off her cup and saucer to a passing waiter. Duncan followed suit.

  “We make a difference here,” he replied, sweeping his arms to show how many people were in attendance. “All of these events raise money and awareness to support important causes. I may not enjoy every single minute, but my presence can make a huge difference in how much attention and money is given to something – something that matters.”

  Alix hesitated, thinking it over, as she looked around the garden full of Prynesse nobility.

  “Raising money and awareness isn’t the same as saving someone yourself,” she said finally, turning back to face him with a seriousness that surprised him. “I’d give up all of this just to know I’d made a real difference in someone’s life.”

  He had no quick reply to that. He noticed her twisting a hand around her wrist, and he remembered the bangle, and took the opportunity to switch topics and tone.

  “You forgot something last night,” he said with another wink.

  Alix’s eyes flashed. He felt the heat of them run through every part of him. She was definitely a spitfire; not like the cookie-cutter wives-in-waiting with their vapid laughing and fawning. The attraction that he’d felt the previous night doubled–no, tripled—as he considered all the ways he wanted to show this serious girl how to have some fun.

  Before she could say whatever retort was clearly on her lips, her father came over.

  “Ah, hello Your Highness,” he said, tilting his head to the prince. “I hope you’re enjoying getting to know my lovely daughter, now that she’s back from New York.”

  He turned to Alix.

  “Poppet, might I speak to you?” he turned back to the prince, who tried to hide his smile as she flushed at the family nickname. “My apologies, Your Highness, for pulling her away. It’ll just be a moment.”

  And with that, she was gone as hastily as the previous night. Yet again, he’d barely exchanged more than a handful of words with her but she clearly was so much more than the others. Duncan was happy to give up his days to helping his family, but she was after a whole life of studying and hard work. He had to find out more, and see what could happen when those hints of feistiness were given free rein in a more private milieu. He smiled to himself in happy anticipation when he remembered he still had the bangle to return.

  Chapter 3

  Alix was led away from Duncan by the firm hand of her father on her arm. He took her to a cool, interior room, away from the heat of the sun. The lavishly decorated lounge right off the veranda was full of beautiful sculptures and paintings by local Prynesse artists
.

  “I just wanted to tell you how pleased your mother and I are that you decided to come home for the summer, rather than stay in New York,” he began.

  Alix smiled in response but didn’t really consider Prynesse home, not when she’d spent so much of her life in Manhattan. Coming back for most of the Christmas holidays meant that she did feel a certain connection with the place. And, as she’d reminded the prince the previous night, she had been born here, and was Prynesse nobility, even if she only spoke one of the three official languages. She thought briefly of asking him to switch into Prynessian, so she could practice, but decided against it. She wouldn’t let some offhand remark from the prince make her uncomfortable in her own country of birth.

  “I do like seeing you both more,” she replied honestly. While her parents had been working in New York through most of her childhood, by the time she started boarding school, they’d taken on more responsibilities of the various noble charities they were involved in. For the past 10 years, they’d only visit the States for a month or two at a time.

  “I am sorry about the apartment renovation,” he said. “And that our duties at the manor take so much time. I feel like we’ve barely gotten to see you since you’ve been home. But you seem to be making friends here at the palace.”

  His eyes gleamed with excitement. Of course he’d think that one conversation with Duncan meant they were a couple. Alix enjoyed being an only child, but since her return, she was suddenly very conscious of the fact that all of her parents’ hopes for a good marriage and babies rested on her shoulders.