“Thank you. I have to admit that I’m flying by the seat of my pants.” A woman cleared the plates. I was starting to understand why Alex loved hamburgers so much—the fancy food lost its appeal after your eighth straight meal of it.
The rest of the lunch was filled with chitchat. The longer I talked to Felecia, the more comfortable I felt. She was a quick thinker, directing the conversation easily but not leaving me feeling like she wasn’t listening.
By the time lunch was finished, we were all laughing and I’d even joked with the queen. Alex had one arm thrown over the back of his chair while he teased Cathy about her collection of frog figurines.
“Frogs? Why frogs?” I leaned forward and propped my chin on my hand.
“It started when I was little. They’re cute and green.” She shrugged while Alex and Rose laughed. “And then it just exploded. Everyone would bring me frog figurines when they came back from a trip.”
“She still has all of them.” Alex shook his head.
“They’re special! You guys got them for me. What am I going to do? Throw them away?” Cathy glared at him.
“Your closet looks like a frog shrine.”
“I don’t know where else to put them.” Cathy shrugged.
“So, you have hundreds of frog figurines stuffed into your closet?” I laughed. “This gives the whole frog-prince thing a new meaning.”
“Oh, hush.” Cathy laughed.
“Well, as much as I’ve enjoyed lunch, I have to go.” Felecia set her napkin on the table and stood up. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you better, Samantha.”
“Yes, ma’am. Same here.” I stood up.
“We’ll have to do it again when you come back.”
“I’d like that.”
Once Felecia left, Alex stood up and smiled down at me. “I hear you have portraits tomorrow afternoon.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Aren’t those normally done in the morning?” Cathy asked.
“I asked them to move it to a later time.” Chadwick chuckled under his breath and I shook my head. “Okay. I begged them to move it to later. I’m not a morning person and didn’t think it would be appropriate for me to be glaring at the camera in each picture.”
“Not a morning person?” Alex asked.
“I can get up and do what I need to do, I just don’t want to talk to anyone while I do it.” I shrugged. “Just takes me a little while to warm up.”
“And a lot of coffee,” Cathy added. “Or so I’ve heard.”
“It’s not a very well-kept secret.” I sighed.
“Speaking of the portraits, you still need to decide if we’re doing them inside or out.” Chadwick raised an eyebrow. “I believe it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.”
“Lilaria has the strangest weather.” I frowned. “I guess we’ll do them inside.”
“What are you wearing?” Cathy asked.
“I’m going with the black dress from the other night.” I caught Alex’s eye. I didn’t want to admit that I had chosen that one because he had said he liked it.
“That dress looks great on you. Have you had any jewelry delivered? It’s customary to wear family jewels.” Cathy watched me thoughtfully.
“The Rousseau family had three tiaras in the royal vault and Samantha prefers to wear her mother’s earrings,” Chadwick supplied. We hadn’t talked about the tiaras, but I had said I wanted to wear Mom’s earrings.
“Would you like to borrow a necklace? I have a few that would look great with that dress.” Cathy pulled a phone out of her pocket and tapped on the screen. “I can have Selene bring them to your room.”
“No, it’s fine. Thank you.” I hadn’t thought about wearing a necklace, but Cathy’s taste and mine differed greatly. I’d rather have something simple and she was all about jewels.
“The offer stands if you change your mind.” Cathy leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “I’ve got to run. I’m signing up for my first semester today.” She practically vibrated eagerness. Sometimes it was easy to forget how young she was. After a quick kiss for her brother, she left in swirl of excitement.
“How are you doing?” Alex asked. He stepped closer, ignoring Chadwick. “You’ve been really busy for just getting here.”
“I’m fine.” I sighed. “Okay. I’m a little overwhelmed, but Chadwick’s keeping me sane.”
My assistant hummed to himself before looking up. “I’m going to run a quick errand—I’ll be right back and then we’ve got to move on to our appointment.”
“Sure.” I frowned as I watched him disappear out the door. He was leaving me alone when we had something to do?
“Samantha?” Alex’s voice drew me back to him. “He’s giving us a few minutes to talk.”
“Oh.” I looked up into his eyes and words left me. Again.
“You say the most profound things.” Alex laughed softly.
“Shut it, Your Highness.” I narrowed my eyes.
“And then when you do find something to say, it’s always so sweet.” Alex reached out and tucked some of my hair behind my ear.
“Why do you do that?” I wanted to hear that he needed to touch me as much as I wanted to touch him. He did something to me that I had never felt before.
He rubbed some of my hair between his fingers. “You know why.”
I stood there, enjoying his nearness. I felt like I was trying to soak him up to get me through the craziness of the rest of the week. “You’re the least normal person I know and yet you’re the only person that makes me feel grounded.”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t understand why you’re so intent on fighting this.”
I’m scared. I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t make my mouth utter the words. How silly would that sound? He’d think I was a child.
He slid his hand over my cheek and I looked up at him with wide eyes. Leaning down he leaned close so that his breath tickled my mouth. “Ask me to kiss you.”
“I can’t.” I wanted him to. I wanted him to kiss me badly. I wanted to not worry and to get lost in the moment. To get lost in him.
“You want me to. I can see it in your eyes.” The rumble of his voice dropped even lower.
His lips were so close to mine I could barely think. I wanted to say something, anything. My heart was screaming for me to beg him to kiss me. And yet my throat was frozen. After a moment he pulled back enough to look at me.
“Tell me when you’re ready, Samantha.”
Disappointment flooded my body. My heart was more than ready, it was my brain that was holding me back.
There was a knock on the door and Chadwick stuck his head in the room. “Ma’am, it’s time.”
“I have to go.” I turned away and walked to the door.
“Samantha?” I stopped and looked over my shoulder. “The ball’s in your court.”
I nodded my head and hoped my face didn’t show my regret.
The New Duchess of Rousseau to Host Nature Show
—Lilarian Prophet
“I’m not wearing that much makeup.” I grabbed a washcloth and rubbed at my cheeks. I looked at Chadwick in the mirror and hissed under my breath. “I look like a prostitute.”
He barked a laugh. “You do not.”
I glared at him in the mirror as I rubbed off an inch of foundation.
“Okay. A very classy one.”
“Damn it. I smeared the eyeliner!” I rubbed at my face harder. “Now I look like a crying prostitute.”
“Stop that! You’re taking off skin.” Chadwick grabbed the towel out of my hand. “Look at me.”
I turned toward him and sat very still while he carefully wiped around my eyes. He picked up something that I couldn’t see. “Close your eyes.”
I sat there patiently while he reapplied the eyeliner. He tsked under his breath while he worked. “The makeup artist I hired had a family emergency.”
“Where did you find her replacement? A brothel?”
“It’s not that bad.”
I peeked one eye open. “Yes it is.”
“Okay. It was pretty bad.” He spun me toward the mirror. “But I fixed it.”
“Why didn’t you just do it in the first place?” I checked my reflection out, feeling much better about the way I looked.
“Bah.” He helped me out of the chair. “Now hurry. We need to pick a diadem for the photos.” He led me into the room where we were doing the shoot. There was a bland-looking background set up in one corner with lights focused directly on it. Off to the side was a table with a large wooden box. Chadwick went straight to the chest, produced a large key, and unlocked the lid. He opened it and stepped back so I could see what was inside.
“These belong to my family?” I ran my fingers gently over the jewel-encrusted tiaras.
“These belong to you.”
There were three in the box, each as beautiful as the next. One had large, clear emeralds set between diamonds. The next one was large and flashy—it would make Cathy proud. The last one was small and had been worked to look like vines. It was simple but breathtaking. It was intricate, but not over-the-top, and I knew it was the one I wanted immediately.
“Do you know anything about them?” I lifted the tiara out of the box and watched as the light played along the jewels.
“I had a feeling that would be the one you chose.” Chadwick took it from my hands and nodded toward the chair. I sat down and let him place it on my head before securing it with a hundred pins. “This one was designed in the seventeen hundreds for the marriage of Duke Rousseau to the Duchess of Minsington.”
Cecil, the photographer, entered the room with a large smile. “Duchess Rousseau, you look lovely.”
“Thank you.” I stood up, trying to ignore the priceless heirloom tucked into my hair. “What would you like me to do?”
“Have a seat right here on the stool. That’s it.” He grabbed a camera from a small worktable. “Now, there are a few basic shots we have to get and then we can try a few different things.”
I let him tell me how to sit, which direction to look, and when to hold my breath. I smiled big, small, with teeth, without teeth. I made serious faces, thoughtful faces. He put a table in front of me and told me to prop my face in my hands. I did as he said and tried to not laugh as images of glamour shots flashed through my mind.
I heard the door open quietly, but I couldn’t tell who it was that had snuck in. The lights focused on me were so bright I couldn’t see much past the table. The shadowy figured moved toward the corner and Chadwick joined whoever it was. I squinted but still couldn’t make the newcomer.
“What kind of face is that?” Alex’s voice rang through the room. I scrunched up my nose, but couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my mouth. I heard the camera clicking, but didn’t care. My heart felt a little lighter.
“This was wonderful, Samantha. I think we have some great images.” Cecil set his camera down and walked toward me.
“Thank you.” I hopped off the stool and shook Cecil’s hand. “I hope some of them are useable.”
“I think I have some you’ll enjoy.” Cecil gave a short bow and grabbed his camera off the table before leaving the room excitedly.
I made my way over to Chadwick and Alex. “Well, how’d I do?”
“I think you deserve the night off.” Chadwick smiled at me.
“Excellent!” I rubbed my hands together. “I saw a little bookstore on the ride to the zoo. I think I’ll make a run over there and poke around. I promised I’d send Jess some souvenirs. Oh! I can wear jeans for something like that, right? Please tell me I don’t have to wear another pantsuit. They’re giving me hives.”
“Not so fast.” Alex narrowed his eyes. “You need to have a lesson in Lilarian.”
“You’re going to deny me the chance to wear jeans? I miss them.” I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes.
“You’re getting better at the anime eyes. Have you been practicing with Cathy?” Alex smirked when I frowned. “I rearranged my schedule so I could help you with Lilarian. Besides, I thought you hated to shop.”
“I hate shopping for clothes. Books are something else.” I widened my eyes, empowered by my close freedom. “Come with me. You can teach me Lilarian in the car.”
Alex shook his head. “You’re definitely getting better at that look. Okay. We can practice in the car. I need to buy a gift for someone anyway.”
“Thank you!” I threw my arms around him without thinking. His hands slid around my back with no hesitation and pulled me closer for just a moment.
“Well, I’m going to go unless you need anything else, Samantha?” Chadwick cleared his throat. “Let me help you with the tiara first, though.”
“Of course! You need a night off, too.” I pulled myself away from Alex and smiled at Chadwick. “Sorry, you’ve been just as busy as I’ve been.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He made quick work of the pins holding the tiara in place before locking it back into the wooden box. Chadwick picked up the chest and ducked a small bow. “Good night, Alex. Samantha.”
“Good night, Chadwick.” Alex slapped him on the back as Chadwick made his retreat.
“I’m free!” I smiled up at Alex and did a little dance. “Free!”
“Has this week been that bad?” Alex looked down at me with sad eyes.
“It hasn’t been torture.” I frowned, remembering him telling me that I was a bad liar. “Okay. It wasn’t peeling-your-eyelids-off bad, but I need a break. I need to be Sam, not America’s Duchess or the weird, long-lost cousin.”
“Peel your eyelids off, American duchess, and creepy cousin.” Alex shook his head. “I think I followed that.”
“Why are you here, anyway?” I ran a hand through my hair and found another pin.
“I came to bring you this.” Alex held his hand out, revealing a small black box.
“What is that?” I looked up at him. Jewelry? Why would he give me jewelry?
“I saw this the other day and thought of you.” He held the box out a little farther and I picked it up off his hand gently. “When Cathy offered to lend you a necklace, I decided to get it for you. I know Cathy’s style wouldn’t really fit your personality. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I had planned and wasn’t in time for the shoot.”
I opened the lid slowly, not sure what to expect. I shouldn’t have worried. Inside was a simple gold chain with a bird charm trapped among the links. I pulled it free, careful to not tangle the chain. I looked at it and realized that the charm wasn’t meant to hang at the bottom, but sit along the side of your neck so that it looked like it was in flight.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Would you like to wear it?”
“Yes, please.” I handed him the necklace and turned so that he could put it on me. He took his time, his warm fingers sending goose bumps racing over my skin. When he was done, I peeked in the mirror on the wall. It was dainty and wouldn’t draw a lot of attention, and I absolutely loved it.
“It looks good on you.”
“Thank you.” I met his eyes in the mirror.
“You’re welcome.” He tilted his head to the side, watching my reflection. “Now, go change into the jeans that had you salivating.”
“Yes!” I hurried for the door and hesitated. “Should I meet you out front?”
“Perfect.”
I smiled at him as I made my way through the door. Once inside, I quickly snagged one of the passing maids to help with the zipper and then threw on my favorite pair of jeans. Closing my eyes, I sighed in happiness. It was like slipping into my favorite pj’s after a long day. I dug through my clothes and found my favorite sweater. My warm pea coat, scarf, and boots completed the outfit—I was ready to be me.
I stopped at the mirror briefly and checked my hair before running my fingers over the necklace. Smiling, I wrapped the scarf around my neck, turned the lights off, and headed for the front of the palace.
Alex was talking with a blond woman wearing a cocktail dre
ss, her hand laying on his arm. She laughed at something he said and stepped a little closer to him. I looked down for a minute and tried to rein in my jealousy. I had told him I wanted to be friends and I had no right to envy the way she was touching him.
She said something in Lilarian and he chuckled while shaking his head. I couldn’t understand anything they were saying, but thankfully I didn’t hear the word stuffed.
I cleared my throat when I got closer, not wanting it to seem like I was creeping up on them. The woman turned to look at me, her expression open and friendly. I tried to not focus on the fact that her hand was still on his arm.
“You must be Samantha!”
I held out my hand to shake hers and smiled. “That’s me.”
“Samantha, this is Adriane, the Lady Minsington—Daniel’s sister.” I hoped my face didn’t falter as I realized this was one of Alex’s past flames. No wonder she was so comfortable with him.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Alex was just telling me that you were going out to do a little shopping.” She looked over at him. “I offered to let you take my car. I figured it might keep some of the reporters off your tail.”
“Thank you, that’s very generous.”
“You’ve been hounded this week and need a break.” She shook her head. “It’s hard enough for us who are used to it. I can’t imagine what it would feel like being thrown into all this.”
“It’s definitely been an experience.” I buttoned up my coat. “But I’d hate to take your car and leave you stranded.”
“I’m in town for a charity event, so will be staying at the palace. It won’t be a problem at all.” Adriane checked her dainty watch. “In fact, I’m supposed to be meeting with the president of the organization shortly.”
“Would you like to try to duck out?” Alex looked at me, assessing my response to her offer.
“Will you hum the Mission Impossible theme song?” I smirked.
“You two have fun. I’ll chat with you again, Samantha.” Adriane’s eyes slid between me and Alex. She gave me a sly smile before heading down the main hallway.
“So, the palace is like a cross between a Motel 6 and a dorm.” I followed Alex as he led me away from the front door.
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