“I’m bored,” Ian said. “She’s really nice by the way.”
“Who?”
“Who?” Ian laughed. “The Princess. Your girlfriend. The one you aren’t shagging. Who did you think I meant?”
His brother had just informed him that everything he knew about his life was untrue, so it was natural for Garrett to be a bit confused. “Yes, she is.”
“I’ll bet she’s a handful though.”
He narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Why would you say that?”
“Mischief recognizes mischief. And honestly, I think that’s exactly the kind of woman you need. One who won’t give you the chance to be bored.”
It surprised Garrett how well Ian knew him. Ian had been so young when Garrett left. So carefree. Maybe there was more going on in his head than people realized.
Garrett had left his phone on the counter and it began to ring. Before he could reach for it, Ian grabbed it. Rather than hand it to Garrett, he answered himself. He greeted the caller just the way Garrett would, then for several seconds just listened. At first Garrett thought it might be some sort of automated call, then Ian said, “Sorry, I think it’s Garrett you want to speak to.” With another wry smile he handed the phone to Garrett. “It’s a fellow named Wes. He called to say that he saw you on the news just now and it looks as though the situation with the Princess is going just as planned.”
Bloody hell. Ian knew. Not specifically what, but he knew Garrett was up to something. And he wouldn’t hesitate to hold it against him.
Garrett took the phone. “Wes?”
“Christ, Garrett, was that Ian? He sounds just like you.”
“Yes, it was.”
“I’m sorry. If I had known…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I called to tell you that I just saw footage on the telly of her leaving your place.”
That was quick. “It was something of a media frenzy outside.”
“Well, you certainly gave them fodder to chew on.”
Garrett frowned. “What do you mean?”
Wes told him about the footage he’d seen and Garrett groaned. Suddenly what Ian did or didn’t know was inconsequential.
“I take it that wasn’t deliberate,” Wes said.
No, and he had the feeling he would be hearing from Chris regarding the matter, if the family hadn’t banished him from the castle, from Louisa’s life, already.
“I’m here!” Louisa called cheerily as she breezed into Melissa’s hospital room at seven on the nose…and was met by total silence.
Melissa reclined in bed and Chris stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest. Aaron and Liv sat in chairs across the room by the window, and Anne was seated across from them. And they all just stared at her.
Did they know what she’d been up to?
Of course not. She had looked a bit rumpled when she left Garrett’s town house but she’d fixed her makeup and hair in the car. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“We saw you on the telly,” Anne remarked with a smirk.
Was that all? They were always on television for some reason or another. It’s not as though her relationship with Garrett was some kind of secret.
She shrugged and asked, “So?”
Everyone exchanged a look, then Melissa said, “You looked a little…disheveled.”
Yes, she probably should have fixed up herself before she left, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. “So my hair wasn’t perfect. Is it really the end of the world?”
“Well,” Liv began, looking pained. “There was your shirt, too.”
“What about it?” she asked, and Liv gestured for her to see for herself.
Louisa looked down and her heart sank. She must have been in quite a rush when she dressed because she’d fastened the buttons on her blouse cockeyed.
“Oops.” She turned away and swiftly fixed it.
“I guess this means you blew that vow to be a virgin on your wedding night,” Anne snipped, and Louisa spun to face her. That was supposed to be private, a secret shared between sisters.
“What’s your problem?” Louisa said, so tired of Anne dumping on her that she wanted to scream.
Anne just sneered. “Should we expect a shotgun wedding, or were you smart enough to use a condom?”
“Anne!” Chris cut in sharply.
“I wish you would do something to kill the bug that has crawled up your you-know-where, so I could have my sister back,” Louisa retorted. “And not that it’s yours or anyone else’s business, but I am still pure as the driven snow.” More or less.
“That may be true,” Aaron said, “but it looked as though you’d spent the afternoon shagging.”
She could understand why people might get that impression, and why Chris looked so disappointed in her. “It was an accident,” she told him.
“Yes, well, it’s not the kind of thing that someone would do on purpose. All that tells me is that you were being careless.”
“I was in a hurry. I was running late and wanted to get here on time. If I had taken the time to fix myself up, I would have been late and you would have chastised me for that.” No matter what she did, she couldn’t win.
“Then you should have taken that into consideration and stopped whatever it was you were doing earlier to give yourself extra time. With everything else we have to worry about, this is the last thing the family needs, Louisa. It reflects badly on me.”
Him? “How did this become about you?”
“Because it is my responsibility to hold this family together in our father’s absence. How do you think he and Mother will feel when they see this on the news? Who do you think they’ll blame?”
She hadn’t thought about it like that. She bit her lip and lowered her eyes, suddenly filled with shame. “I’m sorry.”
Sometimes she forgot how much pressure Chris must be under. First taking over their father’s duties, and now having Melissa in the hospital and his children’s health at risk. He was right. She was being irresponsible and selfish.
“I’m sending Anne to speak for me tomorrow,” he told her, twisting the knife in a little deeper. Prince Chris giveth, then he taketh away.
She nodded, unable to meet his eyes. “I understand.”
Not only had she let him and the rest of the family down, but the way Anne had been acting lately, she would take satisfaction rubbing this in Louisa’s face. “You will be more careful next time,” he said, and she went limp with relief. At least he wasn’t going to put her on house arrest, or insist she stop seeing Garrett. He was giving her another chance.
“I will,” she told him. “I promise.”
Her cell phone started to ring and she practically dove into her purse to grab it. It was Garrett’s number. “I need to get this,” she told Chris.
He nodded, signaling what she hoped was the end of the tongue-lashing. At least for now, but God forbid she screw up again. Chris wouldn’t be so lenient. He might do something drastic, like lock her in a tower and never let her out.
Eleven
Louisa escaped into the waiting room and answered her phone. “Hi.”
“Did I get you at a bad time?” Garrett asked.
“No, your timing was perfect. Chris just finished chastising me to within an inch of my life,” she said, and could swear she felt him cringe.
“I take it they saw the news clip.”
“Yeah. Did you?”
“Yeah. A friend called to tell me so I put the television on. It’s been on practically every channel, so it was hard to miss.”
She tensed up. “Aaron said I looked like I spent the afternoon shagging.”
“Yeah, you did. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I never should have let you leave my house. As you were getting ready to walk out the door I was thinking to myself how mussed you looked, but I just thought it was sexy as hell. It never occurred to me that the press would notice, too.”
/> “What about my blouse?”
“That I honestly didn’t notice or I would have told you.” He paused then asked, “Chris was angry?”
“It was more of an I’m-not-angry-I’m-disappointed speech. And to be honest, anger would have been a lot easier to stomach. I feel terrible. I promised him that next time I would be more careful.”
“Does that mean we’re still on for Saturday?”
“Definitely. Although there was a point when I worried he might stick me on permanent house arrest. And coincidentally, I’m also free Thursday, as well. Chris asked Anne to sit in for him instead. I guess he doesn’t trust me.”
“Well, I made plans with my friend Wes to golf that evening, but I could cancel.”
She shelved her disappointment. “No, don’t do that. I don’t want to be that girl.”
“What girl?”
“The one who makes her boyfriend drop all of his friends and monopolizes his every waking moment. Go golfing and have fun. I’ll see you Saturday.”
The hospital room door opened and Anne stepped through. She shot a quick, nervous glance at Louisa then walked to the ladies’ room. What was her deal?
“Are you sure? Because I know he would understand.”
“I’m sure. I have plenty to keep me busy.” She loved the idea that he wanted to be with her, but she needed to let him have some normalcy before things got too serious between them, because eventually he was bound to become a target for the Gingerbread Man and security would become an issue for him, as well. He should enjoy his freedom while he still could. “Maybe you could call me before you go to bed,” she suggested.
“Eleven too late?”
“I’ll keep the phone beside me just in case I drift off.” Maybe they could even give that phone sex thing a try. She was about to mention it when she heard what sounded like retching from the ladies’ room. Was Anne sick?
“Garrett, I have to let you go,” she said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
They said their goodbyes and she walked over to the door to listen. It was quiet for a minute, then she heard the unmistakable sound echoing off the tile walls. She knocked on the door. “Anne, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she called back, but immediately the vomiting started again. It sounded violent and painful, and Louisa started to actually worry something was seriously wrong.
“Do you need anything?” she asked.
“No. Go away.”
She sighed. She was trying to help and Anne was still copping an attitude. “Would you stop being such a bitch and let me in? For reasons I cannot begin to comprehend, I’m worried about you!”
A few seconds passed and she heard the toilet flush, then the lock on the door snapped and Anne yelled, “You can come in.”
She opened the door, taken aback by what she found. Anne was sitting on the floor near the commode, her cheek resting against the tile wall. A sheen of sweat dampened her face, and aside from two bright red patches on her cheeks, all the color had leeched from her skin.
Alarmed, Louisa stepped inside and shut the door. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine.” She reached down to feel her forehead, but Anne batted her hand away.
“I don’t have a fever.”
“If you’re sick, you shouldn’t be anywhere near Melissa.”
“I told you I’m not sick.”
Then what other explanation—
“Oh my God, are you bulimic?”
Anne laughed weakly. “Louisa, bulimics vomit after they eat. Not before.”
“If you’re not sick and you’re not bulimic, what’s going on? Healthy people don’t throw up like that.”
“Some healthy women do,” Anne said.
It took a minute, but the meaning of her words finally sank in and Louisa gasped. “Oh my God,” she hissed in a loud whisper. “Are you pregnant?”
“You can’t tell anyone,” Anne said.
“Oh my God,” she said again, hardly able to believe it. “Imagine how I felt when I took the pregnancy tests,” Anne joked weakly.
“You took more than one?”
“I took five. I wanted to be sure.”
That would definitely do it. “How far along are you?
“Just a few weeks.”
“How did this happen?”
Anne raised a brow at her.
Louisa rolled her eyes. “Of course I know how, but when, and with whom? I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”
“I’m not. And the father is out of the picture. He doesn’t want the baby or me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“Oh, Anne, I’m so sorry.” She sat down on the floor beside her sister and took her hand. She half expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. At least this explained why Anne had been so cranky lately. Her hormones must have been raging, and to top it off, having the father reject her and the baby? She must have been devastated.
“Who is it, Anne?”
“It’s not important.”
“Yes, it is. Someone needs to make him own up to his responsibility.”
“I’m not even sure what I’m going to do yet.”
Louisa’s heart skipped. “You don’t mean…?”
“What I mean is, I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it, or give it up for adoption. If I choose adoption, I figure I can hold out until it’s impossible to hide, then take an extended vacation. No one will have to know a thing.”
That would be tough enough for an average woman to pull off, but a princess? Someone was bound to figure it out. “You don’t want to have children?”
“Not like this. Besides, look how everyone reacted to you leaving your boyfriend’s house looking a little untidy. Can you imagine how they would take the news of me having a child out of wedlock? I’m not sure Daddy could take the stress of a huge scandal right now.”
She hadn’t heard Anne call him “Daddy” in years. “He’ll be okay.”
Anne shook her head, looking troubled. “He doesn’t look good, Louisa. He’s lost so much weight and he has so little energy now. You should have seen the look on his face when the doctor said there was so little improvement. He was devastated. And Mum is a total wreck. I think she sees the same thing I do.”
“What’s that?”
“I think he’s giving up.”
Louisa shook her head. “He would never do that. He’s strong.”
“He’s been so sick and in and out of hospitals for so long. I think he’s just tired.”
“I can’t accept that.”
“I know you love him. We all do, and I think right now he’s holding on for us. But there is going to come a time when we have to let go. We have to let him know that it’s okay to stop fighting.”
She knew she was being selfish, but she didn’t want him to stop fighting. He was going to walk her down the aisle at her wedding and be there to play with her children. She simply could not imagine her life without him in it. “How do you know he’s ready to quit? Did he tell you?”
“He didn’t have to. I just knew. I think you will, too. When you’re ready.”
She didn’t know if she would ever be ready for that.
There was a soft rap at the door, startling them both.
“Come in,” Anne called.
The door opened a crack and Liv stuck her head in, she looked around, then her gaze dropped and she frowned. “Oh, there you are. We thought maybe you’d left. Why are you sitting on the floor?”
“Hot flashes,” Anne said. “Damned PMS. I thought it would be cooler down here.”
It was the dumbest excuse Louisa had ever heard, but Liv didn’t question it.
“Oh. Well, dinner is getting cold.”
Louisa smiled. “Thanks, we’ll be right in.”
Liv shot them one last odd look that suggested her sisters-in-law were both a few beakers short of a complete lab, then disappeared
. It probably did look odd, the two of them alone in the bathroom sitting on the floor and holding hands no less.
“I really like her,” Anne said, “but she’s way too uptight. Maybe she just needs a good shag.”
“That’s definitely not the problem,” Louisa said, and to Anne’s how-do-you-know look, she added, “My room is right down the hall, and suffice it to say they aren’t exactly quiet. And for the record, I really didn’t sleep with Garrett. I want to though. I’m not sure I can wait until my wedding night.”
“I’m sorry for what I said, Louisa. About your virginity. That was rotten of me. And I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch lately.”
“Under the circumstances I guess I can cut you some slack.” She looked at Anne and smiled. “I’m just glad to have my sister back.”
Anne gave her hand a squeeze. “I think I’m just jealous that you found someone you care about. I should be happy for you, not trying to drag you down.”
“You don’t still think he’s using me?”
She shrugged. “What the hell do I know? If I was so damned smart I wouldn’t have gotten myself into this mess.”
“It’ll be okay, Annie,” she assured her, using the nickname from their childhood. Anne was Annie, and Louisa was Lulu. She wondered when they had stopped that, when they felt they were too mature or too refined for silly names. They used to be silly a lot back then, and Louisa missed that. Sometimes she wished they could go back to those days when things were so simple and uncomplicated.
Or maybe it was all relative. Problems that seemed enormous back then were, in retrospect, not such a big deal now.
“You ready?” Anne asked.
She nodded and asked, “You?”
Balancing on the wall, she pushed herself to her feet. “May as well get this over with.”
Louisa followed her out, thinking that maybe the trick was going back over all the experiences she’d had up until this point—the good times and bad times, the hurts and the happiness—and starting fresh.
Of course, going back would mean leaving Garrett forever, and that wasn’t something she would ever do.
The headline of the morning paper was brutal. Clever, but brutal.
Virgin Princess, Tycoon's Temptation Page 10