Royally Loved: The Royal Romances Books 1-5

by McKenna James

  This certainly looked bad.

  There was another photo of us at the museum kissing. Well, I definitely couldn’t deny that.

  It all looked awful. At the end of the article, some anonymous source had been quoted saying that I had the nanny in my room until midnight while I was recovering. “Frankly, I find it all egregious that he cannot even keep it in his pants when ill.”

  We didn’t even do anything!

  I immediately felt guilty. Maggie had been so damn worried about that night, and what had I done? I assured her over and over again that it was no big deal, that nobody would notice us, that nobody would care…

  Nothing could’ve been further from the damn truth.

  I was the one who pushed her into this. It was all my fault. If she was livid with me, she definitely had a right to be.

  The worst part of this whole article, though, wasn’t the pictures or the details of when we spent time together. It was the fact that they made me seem like a predator. It was as if I preyed on the nanny, pressured her into doing things with me.

  That wasn’t true. Maggie liked me. If they knew Maggie, they’d know she couldn’t be pressured into doing anything she didn’t want to. She rejected me at one point.

  Why did they immediately leap to me being a predator? I mean, I supposed it was because she worked under me, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a consensual relationship.

  I felt sick to my stomach. At first, I only felt bad for Maggie, but I was starting to get worried for myself. If this spun out of control, I could get a reputation as a predator.

  My phone started buzzing, and I grabbed it quickly, praying that it would be Maggie. It wasn’t.

  It was my mum.

  I immediately cringed. I didn’t want to talk to her. I didn’t want to tell her about the mistakes I’d made. She was going to be so upset with me, especially the way this article was written. It made me look like a monster.

  I considered ignoring the call, allowing it to go to voicemail. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I could never ignore my mum. Besides, maybe it was preferable to be yelled at on the phone rather than being yelled at in person.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Is it true?” she asked.

  I played dumb. “Is what true?”

  She sighed. “I presume you’ve seen the news.”

  “I, uh, yeah… I have.”

  “So is it true?”

  I groaned. “I mean, Mum, they have photos of us kissing, so of course it’s kind of true. It’s definitely written in a manipulative way, but yes, it’s true.”

  “Well, I knew you kissed her, of course. That much is clear. I was hoping that was all it was. I was hoping that you did not sleep with that girl.”

  “I, uh…” I couldn’t think of a more awkward conversation. “That’s not all it was, Mother.”

  “Edward! I cannot believe you would take advantage of the staff in that way!”

  “No, no, it wasn’t like that, Mum! That was the one thing the article got incredibly wrong. I didn’t take advantage of Maggie at all. She liked me… I mean, I hope she still likes me after this. She didn’t feel pressured or anything, I’m positive she didn’t. We had real feelings for each other.”

  My mum sighed. “That doesn’t matter, Edward. I do not press you about the many vacations you take and what you do on them. I know I likely wouldn’t approve of your behavior. You can gallivant around with any other woman in London, but you brought this into the palace. You brought it to an employee. I knew you and the young lady were friends, but I believed that was the extent of your relationship. I’m very, very disappointed in you, Edward.”

  I bit my lip. I hated hearing my mum tell me how upset she was.

  “Mum, I get it, but I never thought of it that way. I didn’t think it would reflect badly. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”

  “You’re her boss, for crying out loud, Edward!” she continued.

  “Well, no, not really. Sure, I was responsible for hiring her, but it wasn’t like she reported to me or anything. Ms. Mitchell was her boss, and I told her that many times.”

  “So let me ask you, Edward,” she continued. “Why did you hire her?”

  “What?” I wasn’t expecting that question.

  “What reason did you have to hire her?”

  “Well, she seemed like a good candidate, and—”

  “And she was pretty?” my mum asked.

  “I have always thought she was pretty, but I had other reasons for suggesting her.”

  “No, I don’t think you really did. Which makes this entire situation so much worse. It makes it seem like you actually hired her to pursue her. You have to see how that looks in today’s day and age. Male employers are constantly being called out for their sexual harassment.”

  “I never thought I was harassing her, not for a second! I mean, I wasn’t harassing her! I truly wasn’t. I care about her, Mother.”

  “I have to go, Edward. I have to figure out how we’re going to handle this PR disaster. Please, don’t speak to any journalists, don’t agree to a single interview, and don’t comment.”

  “Of course, Mum. I know the drill.” I hated to feel my mother’s disappointment, but I wasn’t a child who needed to be scolded.

  “I will talk to you when you get back,” she said before hanging up.

  Great, so I was going to get yelled at on the phone and in person. Perfect.

  After speaking to my mum, I felt a lot worse. Not just because she was upset with me, but because what she was saying made a lot of sense. This truly would be a PR nightmare.

  It looked bad on my part, I knew that. Though maybe it would be curved by Maggie saying some nice things about me, clearing up our situation.

  If she ever talked to me again. I couldn’t be sure that she still had any interest in me after all this happened. This was exactly what she was worried about. It had come true, mostly because of my actions.

  So I wasn’t even sure if Maggie would come to my defense. Though, frankly, I wasn’t sure I cared about that at the moment. I’d rather have her affection than her defense.

  I told myself that despite all this, we still had a chance. Because that was the only thought that was going to get me through this. If we ended up together, I could handle the world’s scrutiny. In fact, their opinions would mean nothing to me if I had Maggie by my side. Nobody could bother me. Until I knew I still had her, everything bothered me.

  I tried to get my stuff together, pack up all my things so that I’d be prepared to leave tonight. Time dragged on with how stressed I was, and I decided to take a break. I had a good ten hours until I had to leave, so I needed to eat even if it was one of the last things on my mind.

  I ordered some room service—just some fries because I didn’t imagine I could stomach much more than that—and turned on the TV.

  Of course, turning on the TV was a horrible idea, and I definitely should have known that. Front and center, as soon as the news came on, were photos of Maggie and me.

  The news anchors were talking very seriously about whether my dating her was an abuse of power. They even brought an expert on workplace sexual harassment in to discuss it.

  Bloody hell, this was a nightmare.

  I wanted to flip the channels or turn the television off, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was like a train wreck. I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away.

  Room service knocked on the door and I went to open it, pulling out some cash to hand him as a tip; the food would have been put on a tab by the hotel.

  “Hey, thanks a lot,” I said, as I took the food from him and handed him my cash.

  When people run into me, I was used to getting a fairly positive reaction. This guy barely answered me.

  “Uh-huh,” he said with a disapproving glare.

  Goddammit, had public opinion shifted this quickly?

  Okay, I understood it. It was wrong to sleep with someone who worke
d for my family, but it was not at all abusive or coercive. She really liked me. We were growing toward a real relationship, not just some romp in the sheets.

  I shut the door quickly behind him and put my food down. I no longer had any desire to eat it.

  I reminded myself that I could deal with public opinion. That was bound to happen. I was in the spotlight, so I was going to be scrutinized. I grew up with that reality and was quite used to it. This was something that could be handled.

  As long as Maggie wasn’t done with me for exposing her. As long as there was still a chance with us, I’d be okay.

  If there wasn’t, I wasn’t sure how I’d get through this.

  It was a little hard for me to think about. I was starting to think this was the reason I’d fought commitment for so many years. It was so hard to feel as strongly as I did for Maggie and know that she may end things. That this may not work out for us. It felt like I was losing someone important to me, and after my father, I never wanted to lose anyone again. So I kept everybody at arm’s length.

  I just couldn’t do that with Maggie. She sparked something in me. I felt drawn to her like a magnet, like it was impossible to do anything without her by my side.

  Now I may have to face that possibility.

  17

  Maggie

  “I just don’t get it!” Abigail groaned.

  “Well, let’s go over it again. Okay, see, you almost got it, but that’s a minus sign, not a plus sign.” I was going over her math homework.

  “Oh! I see!” She grinned. I loved the smile on her face whenever she finally understood something.

  It was so rewarding to work with both kids, even though sometimes it felt like Drew didn’t really need my help. He had his head buried in one of his Earth science books. I loved to be impressed by all the knowledge he constantly attained.

  “My brother is supposed to come back today, you know,” Abigail teased me.

  She never let up on the idea that I had a crush on Edward. I mean, she wasn’t wrong, but I never hinted that she was right about anything.

  “Oh, that’s great! I’m sure you’re very excited to see him.” I played it off as if I didn’t know already. I did, of course, and I was eager to talk to him about the hospital bill as well as put an end to this friends-with-benefits situation.

  “I’m sure you’re very excited to see him too.” She kept teasing.

  I rolled my eyes at Abigail but had to laugh at her persistence. Then Drew looked up from his book.

  “Do you really like my brother?” he asked plainly. He wasn’t joking at all, he genuinely wanted to know.

  “Well, as a friend, of course I do,” I told him.

  “I don’t mean as a friend,” he clarified.

  “Well, uh, no,” I lied. “Your brother and I are just friends.”

  He looked disappointed, which was a reaction I wasn’t expecting.

  “What’s wrong, Drew?”

  “I just thought it would be nice if you liked him. Then you could come hang out at the palace even more.”

  That absolutely melted my heart.

  Made what I had to do with Edward even harder.

  It had to be done, I knew that. I couldn’t keep putting it off, no matter how much I wanted to.

  I wanted nothing more than to be part of this family. Even my anger towards Edward about the hospital bill eased a bit when I thought about being something real to him, an actual girlfriend.

  That could not and would not happen. I had to start facing that head on. I would tonight.

  Though that meant I’d only see Abigail and Drew in a professional capacity.

  “Wait, okay, I’m confused again,” Abigail said as she squinted at her math homework. Lord, that girl was adorable.

  “Alright, let’s take a look—”

  Before I had a chance to, the door had opened, and someone walked in.

  I recognized the woman, but I didn’t know her name. I’d seen her around the palace frequently.

  “Maggie?”

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “Ms. Mitchell would like to see you right away.”

  Drew and Abigail looked confused, so I made a joke for their benefit.

  “Uh-oh, am I in trouble?”

  The woman’s face didn’t ease. In fact, she looked significantly more serious. My heart dropped.

  “Wait, am I actually in trouble?” I asked.

  “Please, just follow me. Bring your things.”

  Bring my things?

  I was so confused, but I did as she said. Surely I hadn’t really done something wrong, right? I mean, what could I have even done?

  I followed her down the hall and to a small office where Ms. Mitchell was sitting behind a desk.

  “Please have a seat, Maggie,” she instructed with a wave of her hand.

  “Uh, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what this is about,” I told her, feeling like a dog with my tail tucked between my legs.

  “I just have a few questions to ask you.”

  “Okay…”

  I took my seat, my heart pounding in my chest. Ms., Mitchell was always a fairly serious woman, but there was something else in her attitude today. She seemed frustrated, maybe even mad at me. What on earth could I have done?

  “Now, when I ask you this, I need you to be entirely honest with me. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, of course,” I agreed instantly.

  “Have you had any relations with Prince Edward?”

  I felt my face go flush with embarrassment. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that question.

  “Uh, no, of course not,” I lied without thinking, despite my insistence I’d be honest.

  She sighed as she pulled something out of her desk drawer. She laid out in front of me a newspaper article with a large photo of Edward and me kissing.

  I gasped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How was this the first time I was finding out about this? How did nobody text or call me about this?

  Then I remembered that my phone didn’t charge last night, and I didn’t notice until right before work. It had been running on very low battery. It probably died.

  “Now, I’m going to ask you again—have you had any kind of relationship with Prince Edward?”

  I looked down at my shoes, completely humiliated. “Yes, I have.”

  “Okay. Now, with that established, I must also ask—did you feel coerced in any way by the prince?”

  “What?” This surprised me. “How do you mean?”

  “Well, he was a superior to you after all. Did you feel he abused his power in any way to seduce you?”

  “No!” I said quickly, without thinking. “That absolutely wasn’t the case. Everything that happened between us was enthusiastically consensual.” I felt embarrassed saying the words, but they needed to be said. “He absolutely did not coerce me.”

  She nodded and didn’t say anything, but I thought I saw a flicker of relief cross her face.

  “Alright, then. I am afraid I am going to have to let you go.”

  “What?” I gasped. “I’m being fired?”

  “Yes, unfortunately. I like you, Maggie. You are a sweet girl, and the kids love you. You have to understand how this reflects upon the royal family. We can’t have you hired on if you intend to fraternize with Edward.”

  “I don’t! I mean, I did, but… I was going to end it. Today, actually!”

  “Even still, I’m afraid the queen is insistent that you cannot work within the palace anymore. Again, I am very sorry.”

  I was heartbroken. I knew there was nothing I could say to change her mind, so I stood and headed out of the office.

  I didn’t even get to say goodbye to the kids. Had I known this was going to happen, I could have talked to them about it, explained it to them…

  Now when they found out, not only were they going to learn I’d never be coming back, but that I had lied to them about Edward and me. Their last memory of me was going to be
of me being untruthful.

  I felt like I was going to be sick.

  This wasn’t how I would have chosen to end things. I couldn’t help but feel like I was abandoning the kids, even though I was the one being forced to leave. What was the difference to them, though? Whether I was forced to leave or left voluntarily, I was still effectively leaving them.

  I wanted desperately to call someone, but who could I call? I had so few friends since my life was work and my father. I certainly couldn’t call him.

  Oh, no, but he probably already knew, didn’t he? That was another thought that made my stomach turn. He was going to find out I was lying too. Ugh! He was going to be so disappointed in me when he learned I lost this job because I had a fling with the prince. It was such an important job to us.

  Although I supposed after Edward paid for the hospital bills, it had become less important. Not to me. It still mattered for reasons outside of money.

  I tried to think of who else I could talk to. Well, Millie and I had become close, and she already kind of knew…

  Then I pieced it together. Dammit, Millie knew! The day after she found out, this news breaks?

  It had to be her who revealed us. Although some of those photos in the article were quite old… Maybe Millie reached out to some gossip journalist and they subsequently did some hunting. I wasn’t sure exactly how that worked. I knew that if they had those photos months ago, they would’ve announced it.

  I felt so stupid. I genuinely trusted her.

  After how careful I was, after how nonchalant Edward was, I would’ve thought it was his actions that would have ultimately revealed us. I couldn’t even be mad at him for this. It was only my actions that led us to this unfortunate predicament.

  I decided to call Millie. I needed to know if it was her. I wanted to know if it truly was my fault that I was just fired.

  I stopped in at a local coffee shop on my walk home. I wasn’t exactly eager to go home anyway. Even if my father hadn’t heard the news already, he’d wonder why I was home early, and I’d have to explain. I’d put off going home as long as I possibly could.

  I plugged my phone into the charger and waited impatiently for it to light up. As soon as it had, I dialed Millie.