“Sounds like a man with high standards,” Alex said sarcastically as he closed the folder.
Marcello nodded. “My sentiments exactly.”
“He’s the one who took the photo of Rebecca and me?”
“Yes, that much I can confirm. I’m still trying to get a read on his current location; hopefully by tomorrow. Though he’s freelance, he sold those pictures – and apparently others – to the Vallerian Star tabloid. The mainstream news picked it up and published it this morning, too, and you saw one of those articles this morning.”
“Did he take other photos of us?”
“From what we’ve gathered, they’re just more of the same of you and Rebecca from that night. In the copies I’ve seen, Rebecca is clearly visible in some of them, so the paper knew you didn’t have a mistress when they published.”
“I was planning to sue them anyway; at least now we’ve got an open-and-shut case.”
“Definitely.”
“What about Portia? Any word on her purported pictures?”
Marcello shook his head. “Still working on it. We have confirmed that she’s in Valleria. She’s actually in Valentia, if you want to know the truth.”
His first thought was Rebecca, and if she might run into her while shopping. “Do we know where?”
“She’s staying at the Gara Hotel, as it’s one of the swankiest in the city.”
“Holy fucking hell.”
“What is it?”
“That’s where everyone – including Rebecca – is stopping for tea today after shopping. I’ve got to get ahold of her and warn her.”
“Wait.”
Alex shot his brother a thunderous look. “If you think I’m going to give that woman a chance to hurt Rebecca even more–.”
“Of course not. That’s not what I meant. Send a message to Mama or Cat instead. They’ll tell Rebecca gently, and adjust their plans without alerting everyone else.”
Alex let out a long sigh. “All right. Yes, that’s a good idea.” Alex began tapping away at his phone, and hoped his mother was keeping hers handy. It was barely a minute later when his mother responded back, and assured him she’d take care of it. Alex tossed his phone on the desk, on top of the dossier, and sat back.
“Rebecca will be all right, Alex. She’s tough. She can handle this.”
“I know. I still want to keep her protected from shit like this.”
“The two of you will deal with a lot more ‘shit’ than this. You’re going to be running the country together in about ten years, when Papa retires. Just think about everything we’ve been through in the last few years, hell, the last few months.”
“I know.”
“This kind of shit, it doesn’t get easier. You just get used to dealing with it, that’s all. Rebecca will, too. She’ll make a great queen.”
Alex smiled. “Damn right she will.”
Marcello stood up. “Give Mama and Cat a few minutes to do their magic, then call her. Confirm if you’re going to be a father, and then let us know if we should celebrate tonight.”
“Shut up.”
Marcello chuckled on his way out the door, shutting it behind him. When Alex couldn’t wait any longer, he picked up his phone once again, this time to call the love of his life.
***
By the time Rebecca returned to the palace, she was exhausted, though no one else seemed to be. Cat and Grace, along with Sarah and Carolina, were bright-eyed as they left to finalize more details for the ball; Charlie had left to check on Nate before heading down to the kitchens to do some more work; and Nonna, Genevieve, and Francine had left to discuss more wedding details.
Rebecca just needed a few quiet minutes alone, just to think. Since she’d avoided Alex’s calls all afternoon, she should have gone straight to his office to explain the scene with the baby clothes, particularly since she’d heard about the press release Gabriel had sent out not long after that. However, all Rebecca wanted was some peace and rest.
She stepped into the bathroom and began to run water for a bath. She added some lavender bubble bath – one of her favorite scents – to perfume the water and help calm her. She stripped efficiently, and uncharacteristically left all of her clothes in a messy pile on the floor.
She winced slightly as she stepped slowly into the hot, soothing water. After haphazardly pinning up her hair, she sat down and leaned back. She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes.
It was how he found her several minutes later.
Alex had been informed the moment the car had returned to the palace. He’d waited to see if Rebecca would come to him; when she hadn’t, he went looking for her.
Her forehead was furrowed and her eyebrows taut with worry. Her skin was flushed and the tops of her breasts were peeking through the soapy, perfumed water. Though she lay still, her breathing was forcibly even, and he knew she was awake.
“Darling?”
Her eyes blinked open and locked on his gaze. They pulled him, those twin pools of dark brown, he thought as he began to strip and walk towards the bath. From anywhere, any time of the day, they tugged him and lured him closer to her.
She didn’t protest when he slid into the water behind her, and tucked her back against his chest. He picked up a cloth nearby, dipped it in the water, and began to slowly run it over her body, massaging her as he went.
“Did you have something to tell me, darling?” he asked as he ran the cloth over her shoulder.
“Like what?” she asked innocently.
“You know what.”
Her back arched into his talented hands and she sighed. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“Nothing?”
“I’m not pregnant, Alex.”
Something cracked inside him; after a moment, he realized it had been hope. Could you feel disappointment for what never was in the first place? “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. Charlie thought up the ploy to distract the press. There were enough people following us today that we knew word would make it around eventually.”
“Charlie thought of that? I assumed it had been you.”
Rebecca shook her head while Alex massaged her neck. “She was really helpful today, and not just with that idea. She helped me see things in a different light.”
“Oh? Like what?”
Rebecca turned and wrapped her arms around Alex, who let go of the cloth and hugged her in return. “She’s used to dealing with this sort of situation, since Nate has quite a past. She just gave me a different perspective on things.”
“And now you feel better about things?”
“As well as can be expected.” She cupped his face with her wet hands. “I never doubted you or us; you know that, right?”
“Of course. I just don’t like to see you hurting and, with this situation, I did hurt you.”
Rebecca shook her head. “Not intentionally. There’s a difference.”
“You’re right, but I still feel terrible about it.”
Rebecca cocked her head to the side. “There’s something else you should feel terrible about.”
Alex gave her a wary look. “What?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that a man asked Cat out on a date right in front of you?”
“Oh.” Alex blinked, not at all expecting the accusation. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”
“Didn’t you? Total honesty, Alex,” she said, repeating the vow they’d made to each other.
Alex sighed. “Yes, all right. I didn’t tell you. I was kind of hoping they’d call off the date before the ball arrived.”
“Why?”
“Because Mama’s got some ridiculous notion in her head that Cat needs to get married, and I’m afraid Cat will do something stupid.”
“Like what? It’s only a date.”
“But they might get married, just to keep Mama at bay.”
“Cat would never do that.” Rebecca didn’t add that Cat would, however, date and maybe even become engaged to someone to appe
ase her mother.
“Listen, if you want to fight about this, can we do it later? I have my very sexy fiancée, naked and wet, plastered against me, and I’d rather not discuss my sister or mother while in this position.”
Rebecca smiled. “Poor baby. Did you have something else you’d like to talk about?”
He pulled her mouth to his and began to distract her from any discussion whatsoever.
Chapter 6
Family dinner was in full swing when Marcello entered the dining room. Before taking his seat by Grace, he went over to Alex and leaned down to his ear.
“We need to talk, right after dinner.”
Alex nodded but gave Marcello a quizzical look. Marcello simply shook his head; he didn’t want to discuss the issue further with so many ears nearby.
Marcello gave his mother and grandmother a kiss on their cheeks, then gave one to Grace before he sat down beside her. A plate of delicate fish appeared before him and he began to dig into the food.
“Hungry?” Grace asked as she placed one of her slim hands on his thigh. “Did you skip lunch again?”
He nodded; caught up in work, he often skipped lunch, though he didn’t mean to.
“What’s going on? I got worried when I didn’t hear from you this afternoon.”
Marcello lifted her hand from his thigh and gave it a soft kiss. “I’m sorry, fair Grace. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear; to the others it would simply look like two lovers sharing a secret. “Something’s come up with Alex’s problem.”
Grace casually took a drink of cool water; Marcello’s breath against her ear warmed her body just a little too much in this crowd of people. “I see. Is it resolved?”
“Not nearly.” Marcello pressed a soft kiss behind her ear before pulling back and returning to his meal. “I’m hopeful, though.” Marcello quickly checked his phone, to see if his team had made any progress; nothing yet.
Grace nodded. Sensing he needed a distraction, she asked, “So, tell me, my prince, what is it that you’d like for Christmas?”
The corner of Marcello’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “I don’t think I can say it here.”
Grace laughed softly; she should have known he’d say something like that. “Don’t be crude. What else would you like? I’ve already arranged a gift for you, you see, but I’m not certain if you’ll like it.”
Marcello ate his final forkful of food and wiped his mouth. “I’m sure it’s perfect, whatever it is. Are you really having trouble figuring out if I’ll want it?”
“Yes. What do you get the man who has nearly everything?”
“What do you get the woman who has nearly everything? I think I’m having the same problem you’re having, fair Grace.”
Grace nodded. “Perhaps we should skip gift giving this year.”
Marcello scoffed. “Not on your life. Besides, I told you: we have a tradition when it comes to gift giving.” Grace frowned; she’d nearly forgotten. She wasn’t sure the gift she had in mind should be revealed in a crowd.
“Are you all right, Grace?” Cat asked. “Has Marcello upset you?”
“If he has, I can kick his ass for you,” Lorenzo chimed in, and his mother scolded him for his language.
“I’d like to see you try, little brother,” Marcello retorted.
“I’m fine, perfectly so,” Grace said quickly. Even though she knew they were teasing each other, she still didn’t like the confrontation and wanted to diffuse it. “Marcello was just telling me about your Christmas gifting tradition.”
Mischievous grins broke out on the faces of the brothers around the table, while all the sisters groaned.
“It started out a lovely tradition,” Carolina said. “We all open one present each on Christmas together, and the rest are tucked away in our rooms to open later. It was the boys who ruined it.” The brothers started to protest.
“They’re terrible,” Sarah said as she pushed back her golden hair over her shoulder. “The boys always find a way to torture or scare us with their gifts.”
“Don’t place all the blame on us,” Nate said, his arm draped casually across the back of Charlie’s chair. “You girls did your fair share of tormenting.”
“Nathaniel does have a point. However,” Genevieve said as she gestured to Rebecca, Grace, and Charlie, “since our family has grown so much over the last few months, I think we should avoid those types of gifts this year.”
“I second that,” Marcello agreed. “I don’t think we should set out to embarrass anyone this year.” He gave a few of his brothers pointed looks.
Alex shook his head. “Of course we shouldn’t embarrass anyone.”
“Is this really the best idea?” Lorenzo asked as the dinner plates were whisked away and plates of tiramisu were brought out. “If they’re really part of the family, they should take part in all of the festivities.”
“You just want to scare them,” Carolina said.
“Of course I do,” Lorenzo said and wagged his eyebrows. After a handful of cloth napkins were thrown in his direction – a fairly usual occurrence – he grabbed them and set them to the side. “What? If they’re basically my sisters, I should treat them as such.”
“Show them a little more respect than that, Lorenzo,” Ethan interjected. “Hell, you could even show me more respect than that.”
“He treats you like that because you’re the baby of the family, kid,” Nate said, using a nickname Ethan clearly didn’t like by the look on his face.
“Just because I’m the youngest in the family doesn’t mean I’m a child. I’m a doctor in the Navy for fuck’s sake.”
“Language, Ethan,” Genevieve said, though she said it with a softer voice than she’d used a few moments ago with Lorenzo, while scolding him for the same thing.
“Mama.”
“Don’t ‘Mama’ me, Ethan Robert Louis Santoro di Valleria.” All of the siblings, not just Ethan, winced at the use of his full name. No one wanted to be ‘full-named’ by their mother.
“We’re all very proud of your accomplishments, but that doesn’t give you the right to be crude at the dinner table.”
“Yes, Mama,” Ethan said sullenly.
“Good. Now then,” Genevieve said turning to Charlie. “Did you make this, Charlotte? It’s absolutely divine.” A chorus of agreement sounded from around the table.
Charlie blushed and Nate’s hand squeezed her shoulder in support. “I did, and thank you for the compliment.”
“How are the preparations for the ball coming?” Sarah asked Charlie. “Will you be making tiramisu for that, too?”
Charlie shook her head. “No, there’s a little different setup to the ball this year, since it’s also an engagement party. No sit down dinner. Just buffet tables, drinks, and dancing, so I’m making a lot of smaller desserts.”
“You’re making too much,” Nate said. “How many desserts have you selected thus far?”
Charlie bristled in her seat. “Only about ten, but there’s a separate buffet table for desserts only. It needs to have a wide variety.”
Nate kissed her temple. “Of course it does.”
“Don’t talk to me like that.”
Nate’s eyebrows shifted upward. “Like what?”
“Like I’m a child you’re indulging. My job is important.”
“Of course it is,” Nate said as his face fell to somber and he tugged her against him. “It’s very important. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Maybe not, but that’s how it sounded.”
He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “I just think you’re working too hard, Charlotte-mine.”
“I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’ll be fine.” Charlie glanced over at Alex. “I don’t suppose you could find something to distract Nate for a while? He shouldn’t go back to work full-time, but I’m sure he could do something besides obsess about my workload all day.”
“I’m not obsessing,” Nate muttered.
&n
bsp; “You are,” Charlie said and gave him a quick kiss. “I usually don’t mind it.”
A Royal Holiday (Royals of Valleria #5) Page 7