The Widow of Conard County

by Rachel Lee

  “This is my sister Bridget,” Stefan said. “She loves to create surprises for family members.”

  One of the pregnant women with wild hair laughed lightly and extended her hand. “Very true. I’m Phillipa and very pleased to meet you. Thank you for coming.”

  Stefan slid his arm around the back of the other very pregnant woman. “This is my wife. Princess Eve.”

  Not exactly sure how to address the roomful of royals, Max nodded. “Your highnesses,” he said.

  Eve extended her hand. “Titles are unnecessary,” she said with a hint of a twang that made Max recall she was from the States. “As everyone has said, we’re just very pleased that you were able to come.”

  He found it odd how protective the Devereauxes were of their father’s illegitimate child, Coco. “If you don’t mind my saying so, you haven’t known Coco very long. It’s surprising how attached you seem to be to her,” he said.

  Eve smiled gently. “Ah, well, you’ll understand when you meet her. She is such a kind soul.”

  “Wouldn’t take advantage of anyone,” Bridget added.

  “Very sweet and so alone in the world since her mother died,” Phillipa said.

  “Except now she has her husband and his daughter,” Bridget pointed out.

  “Family means so much to her, and she really had none,” Eve said. “We couldn’t resist her after we met her.”

  “We don’t have much time,” Bridget said. “Apologies, but we do have a plan for when we’d like to introduce you at the reception. We’ll have you sit in the back of the chapel so you won’t miss the wedding.”

  “Because every man loves a wedding,” Stefan muttered dryly.

  Both Bridget and Phillipa scowled at their brother, and at that moment, Max felt a strange kinship with Stefan.

  Stefan shrugged. “What? It’s not as if a wedding is like a soccer match.”

  * * *

  An hour later, Max sat in the back of the chapel feeling incredibly uncomfortable. He watched as his full-blooded sister met her groom and both of them pronounced their vows. The Devereaux sisters crowded around the couple, and Max felt a strange twist in his chest. His sister’s voice touched something deep inside him. The Devereauxes were kinder than he’d expected. Why had the royals decided Coco belonged to him? Why had Coco pursued both the Devereauxes and him?

  Max watched as the groom kissed his so-called sister and felt another bizarre clench in his gut. Why did this sight affect him? Why did he care?

  After the couple kissed, Max was led to a reception in the ballroom. Then Bridget offered him a drink. “I hope whiskey is okay,” she said. “I never know what you Yanks want.”

  Max downed the drink. “Whiskey’s fine. What’s the plan?”

  “Just tell Coco how glad you are to meet her and how special she is. If you knew her, it wouldn’t be difficult,” she said.

  “As you wish, your highness,” he said and put his empty glass on a tray.

  “You’re missing out,” Bridget said. “But you’ll have to learn that on your own. Come along.”

  She led him to the bride and groom. He stared into his sister’s face. He kept trying to tell himself that Coco wasn’t his real sister, but he felt a sense of connection with her.

  She stared at him. “You’re my brother, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, and you’re my sister. Maxwell Carter at your service, your highness,” he said in a wry voice.

  She laughed out loud. “Yes, just as you are a prince, your highness.”

  “Not me,” he said, shaking his head, feeling regret steep through him. “I wish I’d known you before.”

  He saw the same wisp of loss he felt slide through her. “You know me now and I’ll be your pain in the butt sister for the rest of your life.”

  “Why do I feel like I won the genetic lottery?” Max asked.

  Her groom, Benjamin, stepped forward. “Because you did, in every way.” And then he took Coco’s mouth in a kiss.

  * * *

  Arriving back for a holiday visit in Northern Virginia, at her mother’s home, Sophie braced herself for her mother’s usual inquisition. This time, however, her mother seemed to have given up on nagging Sophie to get married. Her mother was far more relaxed than Sophie could remember. As a single parent, Katherine Taylor had spent most of Sophie’s growing-up years in fear of losing her job and subsequently being unable to care for Sophie. It had taken years for Katherine to trust Sophie to be able to take care of herself, but now it appeared her mother believed.

  Sophie did her best to push Max and his situation from her mind. She needed some downtime. Even with the rush of decorating and baking, she found herself easing into a routine and taunting herself with advertisements for dogs.

  After roaming the globe with Max for years, she wondered if she was ready for a different job. Although being away from Max was less exciting, she found herself much more calm and at peace. Maybe it was time to find a place of her own where she could stay for more than a few weeks at a time. The possibility was seductive, but something kept her from calling the engineering firm that employed her.

  On New Year’s Day, she began composing a list of resolutions. The first was that she was going to start having a life, wherever she lived. As she recalled her list, her cell phone rang and she saw the caller ID. Max. Her stomach danced with stupid anticipation. She pressed the answer button. “Yes, Sophie.”

  “Okay, I met my sister. She was nice. You were right. But I ended up staying a lot longer than one day. This Prince Stefan guy is a shark. That said, he needs a road fixed. Our company loves the idea of fixing the roads of an exotic island country, so we have our new assignment. I want you to come to Chantaine.”

  “What? I thought I was going to get some vacation time,” she said.

  “I’ll give you some time off when you’re here in Chantaine. You’ll like it here,” he said.

  Sophie sighed, wondering if this was when she should finally say no to Max. It had been a fun ride traveling to exotic places to work with him, but she was longing for a home of her own. She was tired of feeling unsettled. “When would you need me?” she asked.

  “Yesterday. Sophie, come on. You know what a great team we are. We always get the job done ahead of time and under budget when we’re working together. There’s no one I can count on the same way I can count on you.”

  Sophie took a deep breath and said what she always said to Max. “Okay.” But this was going to be the last time. Really.

  * * *

  Two days later, Sophie gaped out the window of the jet as it neared the island. She couldn’t believe how beautiful the island of Chantaine was. White sandy beach on one side, rocky mountains on the other with azure ocean surrounding it all. Australia had been amazing. She’d been lucky enough to steal a long weekend over to New Zealand and absorb the lush gorgeousness of that island. But this, she thought, this was incredible. Paradise. She couldn’t wait to see it on the ground. Within moments, the plane landed. She grabbed her carry-on from the overhead compartment and waited her turn to exit the plane.

  Her checked luggage arrived without a hitch. Nice change, given how many times the airlines had lost it in the past. She walked outside the terminal to what felt like a perfect combination of temperature and humidity and thought she would never want to leave this place.

  A Mercedes slid in front of her. The driver and Max exited at the same time. “Miss,” the driver said.

  “Sophie,” Max said. “We’ve got work to do.”

  “I expected that. But you mentioned vacation days.”

  “You’ll get a break. Just not right away.”

  “Great,” she muttered under her breath. After the long flight, she didn’t have the energy to put up a fight.

  The driver relieved her of her luggage and opened
the car door for her. Sophie was grateful for the consideration. “Thank you,” she said, climbing into the car.

  “The island is so beautiful,” she said to Max as he followed her.

  “Yes, but the north side is a mess. That’s where we’ll be working. Unstable roads. Rock slides. Not acceptable. Far too dangerous. Stefan thinks one of his brother-in-laws will want to build a resort there, but the roads will have to be improved.”

  “Will they need a bridge?” she asked.

  “I think we can just build up the road. It’s tricky because it’s hard to get materials the second you want them.”

  “Which will drive you crazy,” she said. “Since you consider patience a vice.”

  Max shrugged. “You know me,” he said while lowering his window so that the breeze flowed through the backseat. “My impatience is my strength and weakness. I try to direct it toward my strength as much as possible.”

  Sophie nodded. “What do you think of your new relatives?”

  He moved his head from side to side. “An interesting crew.”

  “I’m surprised you agreed to direct this road construction for them,” she said.

  “Why not? Plus, if I do this, I won’t feel obligated to do anything else.”

  Surprised, she threw a questioning glance at him. “Obligated?” she echoed.

  “It’s a weird situation,” he said. “I’m related to them, but I don’t feel like I am. I wouldn’t feel right just doing nothing.”

  “Hmm,” she said. “So this is a guilt job?”

  He shrugged. “An obligatory job,” he said. “And the good thing is that the company will pay for it.”

  Sophie took a deep breath. “You mentioned that Prince Stefan is a shark. You sure sound like one at the moment.”

  “I haven’t figured them out. Stefan has royal manners, but underneath, he can be a hard case. He married an American and she’s about to give birth. Come to think of it, she’s Texan and so are two of the sisters’ husbands. He seems to truly love his wife. The same for the other couples I met.”

  “You sound astonished,” she said.

  “I’m not used to it. My parents spent most of their time fighting when my dad was home. He spent most of the time on the road.”

  Sophie studied him for a long moment. Although Max had alluded to the fact that his parents hadn’t shared a great relationship, he’d never come right out and said it until now. It was eye-opening.

  “You know, some people actually do fall in love, get married and stay in love,” she said.

  “Sounds like a fairy tale to me,” he said, staring out the window as the car rode past one of the most spectacular beaches Sophie had ever seen.

  “I knew you were cynical about romance, but—”

  “It’s not cynical,” he said. “It’s realistic. The reason men and women marry is for sex. Then children. Men want children for progeny’s sake. Ego. The focus temporarily turns to children. Then men need to feel young again and sex is key. Even with the help from the blue pill.”

  She slid him a sideways glance. “Blue pill. What do you know about that?”

  He chuckled. “I don’t need it yet.”

  “You and I have never really discussed your attitude toward marriage. You’ve given little clues, but I’ve never heard your complete scientific view.”

  “Scientific?” he echoed.

  “You’re an engineer. It’s coming through in your opinion.”

  “It’s not just an opinion,” he said. “It’s based on observation and scientific research,” he said.

  “Uh-huh, then how do you explain the way Prince Stefan acts toward his wife?”

  “It won’t last. They’re in the progeny stage.”

  Sophie’s heart sank. After all these years, she was beginning to believe that there was no hope for Max. He truly didn’t believe in love.

  ISBN: 9781460315491

  Copyright © 2013 by Susan Civil Brown

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