“Okay,” Grace said, thinking him crazy for not realizing that was how Pablo and Herman had tracked his whereabouts. Instead, she dove into her food which was getting a bit cold. The story was unfolding in her mind. “So, why don’t you just go back then? It’s no big deal, right?”
“I will go back,” Antonio said. “But you must come with me. You are the Princess of Aruba.”
Chapter 6
Grace had been silent since Antonio’s revelation. Of course she should have connected the dots herself, but the whole idea was so absurd that she was having trouble absorbing it. “But shouldn’t you have a wife that actually wants to become some princess? I don’t want to. I don’t even know you.”
“That is not my problem,” Antonio said. “Pablo and Herman said you did not put up a fight when they were taking you from your town to Chicago. If you were not resisting, then you cannot now say you did not want it.”
“I did not know where they were taking me!” Grace protested. “I’d just had this horrible… look, I resisted signing the stupid paper because I didn’t know what it was. They threatened me with a knife!”
“Yet, you did it,” Antonio said. “Look, my birthday is tomorrow. I cannot change it now. You think I can just let you go with your story to tell all the world while I get my men to find another woman?”
“They can just kidnap her. That seemed to work pretty well,” Grace said sarcastically.
Antonio shook his head. “I understand that the news is a shock to you. That is why I asked for us to remain here one month for you adjust to the idea.”
The gentleness with which Antonio stated how he had fought to at least give her something in all of this made Grace feel a little bit softer toward him. Then there was the other side where her brain was running around freaking out because she only had one more month before she left everything she knew.
Antonio reached across the table. “I will teach you about my country, my language, and the culture. But not today,” he retracted his hand. “Today, I need to go back to bed. Are you done?”
Grace wasn’t sure that she could eat another bite of the rich food, and she nodded while holding her stomach. She felt as though she was going to vomit. Had she really eaten that much? She took a cup of orange juice with her to sip. She was thinking laying down would be a good idea for herself as well. Pablo and Herman followed them up to the penthouse but let them enter alone.
“Are they going to be guarding us the whole time we are here?” Grace asked, feeling as though she had already lost her life even though Antonio said she had a month more to continue as normal.
Antonio shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably. It’s like that in Aruba unless I can escape.” He smiled with a mischievous little boy air.
“Okay, I think I need to get some sleep too,” Grace said. Without a word more, she turned away from Antonio and went to the room she had occupied the night before. Even though Grace had felt so sleepy over breakfast, she was unable to fall asleep once she was laying in the bed. Grace stared at the clock and replayed the conversation between herself and Antonio. Her life was really going to change forever. She had to convince herself that this was not a dream but that it was really happening. When she had finally convinced herself, Grace couldn’t say for sure if she was upset about this whole turn of events or a little bit excited to be a princess.
Antonio was a playboy, and Grace was pretty sure that would never change. Guys are how guys are, but most royal marriages (Grace smiled at the wordage) were not built on love anyway. Suddenly, tears built up in Grace’s eyes. This time yesterday, she had been thinking about how excited she was to see Dylan that evening. The whole episode with him replayed itself, and the tears could not be stopped as they streamed down her face. Why did this have to happen to her? She had been nothing but faithful to Dylan, giving him everything at his insistence. She had never asked for anything from him except his love, and he couldn’t even deliver that in the end.
Grace’s crying finally got the best of her and she faded into sleep. When she awoke, she could see the afternoon’s late rays streaming through the open window. Grace looked out on the city, and a sense of sadness came over her. Was she really ready to leave this country? Antonio or not, he had made his own stupid decisions to end up in this situation. It wasn’t her responsibility to help him out. Why should she if she didn’t want to?
Grace wandered out of the room and wondered about some food. She found a tray of room service food sitting in the living room. Antonio was on the couch watching TV and eating.
“Oh, there’s some food there if you want it. Or if it’s not your style, you can order something else. Menu’s on the counter.”
He said the words without taking his eyes off the screen, and it annoyed Grace. Was he always going to be so self-serving? Grace ordered something else just to show him how different she was from him. She would never just eat his leftovers.
Grace sat in the kitchen eating. When she finished, she felt unsure what to do. She was normally either working or going over to Dylan’s place. Unless he was away at college, she hardly ever just had time to think. Grace was not about to join Antonio in watching TV. It would make it seem too weird, like they were a couple.
“Why don’t you put on something nice,” Antonio said. “I want to go out to a club.”
“First of all, your guys didn’t exactly give me time to pack my whole wardrobe so what you see is what you get. Waitress at your service. Secondly, I am not going to club. I don’t want to go pretend that everything is okay.”
Antonio put the TV on mute and turned to look at her. “I’ll get my guys to buy you something or I can just give you my credit card. I get that. But what do you have against clubs? If you think I’m going to spend my last month of freedom sitting in this penthouse all day, you are very wrong.”
“Oh, so now it’s your last month of freedom, not my time to get used to this news you just dropped on me. Fine. Whatever. Do whatever you want.” Grace rolled her eyes. “But I do expect something clean to wear when I get out of the shower.”
Grace hopped off the bar stool and went down the hall to find a bathroom with a shower. She was starting to feel grungy after her second day without a shower. Maybe she was acting like a diva, but Antonio deserved it. He was not making this easy on her, so she was not going to make this easy on him. Grace made sure there was a towel hanging on the towel rack before she turned her attention to the spa-like situation in the bathroom. It looked almost like an in-ground hot tub. Grace picked her settings and waited for the tub to be ready as she undressed.
Maybe there was still a way she could get out of this. Better yet, if she convinced Antonio that she would be a terribly boring wife for him to have, then he would force Pablo and Herman to do something. But enough scheming, Grace wanted to enjoy her bath. Once she was in, she had trouble forcing herself out of the tub. It would have done her good to stay there all day with the stream of warm water shooting into her back. Then a wonderful idea hit Grace.
Antonio had money, money for things that she had never had before. Grace immediately wondered where she could pay for one of those professional massages. She was almost melting in a puddle just thinking about it. Besides, this situation was stressing her out so much, that she was sure her back muscles were tight. She wondered if she could get one tonight. Suddenly all business, Grace wrapped herself in her towel and unlocked the bathroom door. Coming down the hall was Antonio. It looked like he was holding some clothes in his hands, and Grace was surprised that he had actually complied with her demand.
“Pablo went out and got these for you. If they’re not the right size, I’m sure we can find something tomorrow.” Of course he had not actually gone out and bought it for her. That would require him… caring. Antonio’s eyes swept over her. Grace knew immediately what he was thinking, and she turned toward her bedroom, taking the clothes in her hands.
Antonio was behind her, though, and he wrapped his arms around her middle. She could
feel his manhood pressing up against her butt. “You look super sexy,” he whispered in her ear, biting it. He started licking her neck and working his hands slowly up from her stomach to her…
“Stop,” Grace said, pulling gently away. He was entrancing her, and Grace couldn’t help but glance down at the front of his pants. She could tell he was hard, and it made glancing away all the more difficult. “I don’t want that with you.”
“You’re my wife,” Antonio said, pulling the word out and dangling it in front of her.
Grace shrugged. “I don’t want to. Sorry. You’re not my type of guy.” In truth, Grace was scared that some other guy would make her feel like Dylan had. If some guy did, then she would be unfaithful. She couldn’t let that happen, because she had promised she would always be faithful to Dylan.
Grace put her clothes on and came back out to the living room. She was drawn by a sense of curiosity. She wanted to know, but she didn’t want to know. Had Antonio gotten someone else to please him?
A new man was on the scene alongside Pablo and Herman, and this new man spoke English. He had flown directly from Antonio’s parents and had been sent for one purpose, to make sure that Grace was properly cared for. They wanted her to be happy.
“I shall not bring another woman into this penthouse,” the man said. “That would be disrespectful to Grace. And as the Princess of Aruba and more importantly, your wife, you must respect her.”
Antonio seemed to be in as much shock as Grace was. “You can’t tell me that… look, here she is,” Antonio indicated Grace. “She doesn’t even want me to touch her. Tell him yourself, Grace.”
Grace shook her head. She wasn’t going to lie, but if she admitted that what Antonio was saying was true, would that mean that the other man would allow him to bring in women? The other man surprised Grace by not doing anything as she expected. Instead, he stood and bowed. “Pleased to meet you Princess Grace. Estefan, at your service.”
Grace wondered if she should drop a curtsy or if curtseying would be mimicking their gestures, something she did not want to risk. The man continued bowing, and Grace just looked on awkwardly.
“Tell him he can rise for God’s sake!” Antonio exploded.
“Okay, rise,” Grace said. Estefan smiled at her and indicated for her to take a seat. Once she was sitting, he sat again as well.
“So?” Antonio burst out. “Can’t you see she’s not interested in me? I need to have my needs fulfilled, and to do that, I need women.”
“I’m sorry,” Estefan shook his head. “The good King and Queen have forbidden you to do so. You would be not only shaming yourself but the country as well.”
“Damn you!” Antonio said, looking straight at Grace. He stormed from the room and slammed the door.
“Pardon him,” Estefan said, standing and giving a quick bow before going after him. Grace remained seated in the chair, trying to understand what had just happened.
Chapter 7
Grace couldn’t sleep that night. She kept seeing how angry Antonio had been, and she worried about facing him the next day. She wondered if he would hit her. Would he have done so had Estefan not been there?
Grace dragged herself out of bed and put on the same clothes she had been given the night before. She combed her hair and used the curling iron in the bathroom to give it a nice touch. Then, she put on some earrings that had been placed on the bathroom counter. Had Estefan put them there or Antonio?
Grace emerged from the bathroom and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Antonio was sitting there. He was eating breakfast that Estefan had ordered up.
“Yours is there,” Antonio said, pointing at a second plate with a cover on it. Grace sat down beside Antonio, ignoring his attitude, and began to dig into her plate. The food was good, and that was one part that Grace was really enjoying about this whole adventure.
“I thought we would get your clothes situation sorted out,” Antonio said. “We can go shopping today, and don’t worry about prices, I’ve got it.”
Grace nodded. “Thank you.” But she couldn’t help but worry about his exterior motive. Was he only doing this because Estefan was making him? However, Estefan didn’t seem to be present. “Where’s Estefan?”
“He has a room on the floor below us,” Antonio answered, still completely focused on his food. Grace wondered why he would get a room on the floor below them when there was more than enough room here. But, she decided not to say anything. She obviously didn’t understand this lifestyle.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Antonio said, taking the plate to the service cart and leaving it there. He was wearing black pants and a leather jacket. His fedora once again brought the whole ensemble together.
“Yes, I’m ready,” Grace said. “I’m not too hungry. I think all this rich rood is upsetting my stomach, because I haven’t been very hungry.”
“Try drinking water,” Antonio said. “That always helps me.”
Grace took his advice and drank some water before they approached the penthouse’s front door. To Grace’s surprise, it opened easily. Herman was waiting on the other side of it, but still, it was open. She could leave if she wanted to.
Antonio held his arm out to her, and Grace slipped her arm through is. “Where are you from?” he asked. Grace peered at him strangely. Did he really care or was he just asking because Estefan had given him some strange order?
“Are you okay?” Grace asked. “You seem kind of serious.”
“I didn’t have anything to drink last night,” Antonio said. “I think it’s affecting my body. I just feel tired, but I know you need to go out.”
“Oh, well, I’m from Benton. That’s southern Illinois.”
“Small town or big town?”
“Small. I’ve been to St. Louis, the capitol of Missouri, but I’ve never been to my own capitol because it is so much farther.”
“So, we just need to get you enough clothing for your time here. When we get to Aruba, we can get you clothes there that will be more suited to your role.”
Grace nodded as though she was receiving orders to complete a mission. She wasn’t sure if she would enjoy their little outing, but she was pleasantly surprised.
“I haven’t seen Chicago by daylight yet,” Antonio laughed. “It’s actually quite pretty.”
“This is what happens when you sleep at night and are awake during the day, like a normal person,” Grace laughed. “It does wonders for you.”
“Point taken,” Antonio said. “But please, won’t you come to a club with me one night? We can leave at a reasonable time.”
“Like what time?”
“Midnight or one? Just give it a try. Have you ever been to a nightclub before?”
“A couple times,” Grace shrugged.
“But you’ve never been with me,” Antonio said. “I guarantee whatever fun you had before is nothing in comparison with the kind of fun you will have with me.”
“Do you know how to dance?” Grace asked. “I don’t just mean wiggling your hips dancing but real dancing?”
“I’m Prince Antonio of Aruba. Yes, I know how to dance,” he said. “In fact, I bet I am a better dancer than you.”
“If that’s a challenge, I am so taking you on,” Grace laughed. Antonio was pretty arrogant, but she probably would be too if she had been raised knowing she was someone important, instead of her parents ignoring her and telling her to take care of herself.
“I don’t understand that. You are taking me?”
Grace laughed. “It’s an expression. Taking you on, means I am challenging you. I think I can beat you.”
Antonio raised his eyebrows. “We will see, then. So, do you have a big family?”
Grace shrugged, wanting to avoid the topic. Her parents had been in their forties when she was born, and they saw her as more of an annoyance than anything else. That was why she had left home as soon as her eighteenth birthday rolled around. “No, my family was small. I have two older brothers and my parents.”
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br /> Antonio nodded. “Well, you family is bigger than mine. It is just me and my younger brother. Look, what about this store?” Grace looked in the window and saw the kind of clothes that she would call daring and sexy. Did Antonio think she should dress like that? Would she even look good in those clothes?
“Alright,” Grace said. “Let’s go inside.” She let go of Antonio’s arm, and he held the door open for her to enter. Once she was inside the store, Grace saw it was the kind of boutique where the sale rack had things that cost minimum $150. She immediately went over to the sale rack as she had in all of her prior shopping experience, but Antonio pulled down a jumper from the wall.
“Would you wear something like this?” He posed with it in front of him and put his hand on his hip like a diva.
Grace shook her head. “No, that’s too short.”
A few moments later, Antonio pulled down another jumper that was longer and had a lacy back. “What about this one?” he asked.
Grace turned away from the sale rack.
“Are you going to be suggesting things all day?” Grace asked with a laugh.
Antonio shrugged. “I have to look at you in it, don’t I? It should at least be something that I like to see.”
Grace raised her eyebrows. “Well, I have to wear it, so I think it is more important that I like how I look in it.”
“I will give you an honest opinion,” Antonio said. “I think this would look good on you.” Grace had never worn a one piece, and she wasn’t sure what she thought about it. She had already taken enough dares. It was time for something comfortable and familiar.
“How about I show you the kinds of things I like to wear, then you can begin to suggest ideas?” Grace said.
“Hmmm, only if you promise to try this on.” He dangled the jumper in front of her again.
“Fine, I promise, but trying it on does not equal a purchase,” Grace turned back to the rack.
The sales lady appeared amused by their conversation. “Is there anything I can help you find?” she asked.
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