“I meant blood relatives.”
“Blood doesn’t make someone family.” I frowned. “Love is what makes a family.”
“Of course.” Tabitha didn’t look up from her phone as she typed out some long message.
I shook my head. I knew that Selene’s dedication to my family had been part of the reason that she’d never had one of her own. When someone kept the same schedule that we did, they were afflicted with the same problems—sometimes even more so. It was almost impossible to meet someone who would understand what we did and how much time it took.
We followed the guards to a rear entrance, and before the door had even opened I could hear the commotion outside.
“How did they know?” I looked at Mike, my security guard.
“I’m not sure, ma’am. It’s possible that they staked out all of the entrances.” He shrugged. “I’ll never understand these people.”
“Agreed.” I shared a small smile with him. If there was one thing the media managed to do for our stalked group, it was to unite us against a common enemy.
“Perhaps you should say a few words,” Tabitha suggested.
“The words I want to say would not be very polite,” I mumbled.
“Just a quick bit.” Tabitha strode out of the doors, leaving me to follow in her wake.
She stopped, blocking my way to the car, and turned as if waiting for me to make a statement. I ground my teeth but flashed a smile.
“Thank you all for your concern over Selene. I’m happy to report that she is recovering and I have the utmost faith in the staff here.” I looked around at the cameras quickly. “I’m sure that she will be astounded by all of her well-wishers when she wakes in the morning.”
There were chuckles all around and I used that to my advantage. Mike’s large bulk cleared the path by sheer presence and I climbed into the car as quickly as possible.
Tabitha smiled at me as she slid into the seat next to me. “Perfect.”
“I don’t need you to tell me if I say the right or wrong thing,” I snapped.
Her head jerked back with my words. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I just meant that you gave them exactly what they needed.”
“What they need is to leave a sick woman alone.” I watched out the window as we drove away, a fake smile on my lips as I cursed my life.
“I hate to point this out, but they are here because you’re here. They want you, or your brother, not Selene. If you truly don’t want to worry about them bothering her, you could take up some more of your engagements.”
“Keep my distance?” That drew my attention back to Tabitha. “We just talked about how I was her only family.”
“Yes, but if you’re not making stops there, then the media attention will dissipate.”
“I don’t know.” I frowned. Someone needed to be there with Selene. She shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. “I’ll give it some thought. Maybe we can work out some kind of middle ground.”
“It’s definitely worth a thought.” Tabitha looked at me with direct eyes. “I just want what is best for the both of you.”
“It’s my hope that she’ll be well enough to go home soon. That will cut down on the media.”
“That’s true.” Tabitha looked back down at her phone.
I had thought Selene’s clipboard was annoying, but I was finding that Tabitha’s use of her phone was insane. I was starting to wonder if she was playing some type of Tetris-style fruit game, or planning world domination. As much as she played on the thing, she could be controlling MI6 for all I knew.
“For now let’s focus on taking care of the appointments that are in the area and reschedule the rest. I don’t want to be far if Selene needs me.”
“It’s admirable that you care so much for her. I know she cares for you a great deal.” Tabitha looked up and smiled at me.
“It’s mutual.” The thought warmed my heart. I hated that just a day before I had thought about having a younger assistant. At this point, I’d give anything to have Selene and her clipboard sitting next to me as we figured out the details for a speech or how to engage a particularly difficult audience.
“Well, if we narrow down everything to an hour driving distance, you’ll still be able to hit several of the important events.” She flipped through the clipboard. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of putting Selene’s notes into my phone. It just makes it easier to sync my calendars together.”
“That’s fine. I’ve been trying to convince her to do that for a while.” I watched the lights going by and smiled to myself. “You’d think I was trying to get her to write stuff in blood.”
“She’s the same way in the office.” Tabitha chuckled. “Our filing system is a scary beast. So much paper and folders floating around. We have a special first-aid kit for paper cuts.”
That drew an unexpected laugh from me. “I bet you guys hate it.”
“Well, it would be nice to switch everything over, but we’d all tell you that her system works. And she always says—”
“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” I finished.
“Exactly.” Tabitha set her phone down and looked at me seriously. “And that’s exactly what I came bumbling in and did. I’m sorry for overstepping boundaries. I truly did mean well.”
“No, it’s okay. This is a trying situation for all of us.” I sighed. “I should have been more patient. I’m sorry.”
“No, you were right. I came in, clipboard blazing, and tried to be a superhero. But you don’t need a superhero.”
“I don’t know, I don’t think I’d turn Captain America away.” I smiled.
“Well, it looks like you already have a knight in shining armor.” Tabitha wiggled her eyebrows.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “I don’t know about that.”
“Well, he could save this damsel any day.” She held up her hands when I turned quickly to look at her. “Just saying that he would look good riding in on a white horse.”
“David would look good riding in on a donkey.”
She tittered loudly, which made me laugh. She had a horrible laugh, but it felt honest and sincere. “I think you’re right. You should snap that up.”
“We’ll see.” I looked back out the window. We were almost back to the hotel and I still needed to do some work before bed.
Her phone beeped and I could hear her clicking away in response. I wanted to ask her who she was talking with, but there was no polite way to approach that subject. And in all honesty, it could have absolutely nothing to do with me. She could be talking to her family, canceling plans with her family or a significant other.
“I should have asked before now, but do you need time to handle anything back at the palace? You had to leave on really short notice.” I offered an apologetic smile. “I don’t even know if you have any family or children.”
“No children.” She smiled. “And my boyfriend understands that this is my job. If he didn’t understand, he wouldn’t be my boyfriend.”
“I can understand that.” I nodded my head. “But if you need to catch up on anything, I’ll be fine. I can manage on my own.”
“Of course you can!” She sat up straighter. “But I really am okay. Everything that I was working on in the office is being handled by one of the other assistants. Being ready for the unexpected is part of our job.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “In fact, we’ve all gotten kind of stale. It’s good to shake it up a little from time to time. Though I wish it hadn’t been at Selene’s expense.”
“Too bad she didn’t just go on vacation, huh?”
“I don’t think she’s ever gone on vacation, has she?” Tabitha widened her eyes. “I’ve only been working with her for a couple of years, but I can’t remember her taking off more than a weekend.”
“You’re right. Which is probably why she’s in a hospital from a heart attack right now.”
Once we were to the hotel, we made our way back up to the room in companionable silence. M
ax was sound asleep and snoring on the couch when we opened the door. Knowing that he was probably exhausted from his day in the limelight, I made a quiet sign to Tabitha, who smiled and mouthed good night before disappearing back out the door. I wasn’t sure where her room was located, but it was probably nearby.
I took my shoes off and went to the kitchen to grab a snack and get something to drink. The fridge wasn’t stocked the way it would be at home, but there were a few things like fruit and cheese on a covered dish. I ignored the soda and opted for water instead. Quietly I padded back across the giant room and sat in the big armchair next to Max. The television was going and the news was showing a story about a wounded soldier who had returned home just in time to see his twin daughters being born. It was a bittersweet story but at least it had a happy ending.
The next story almost made me spit my grape across the room. The stupid title at the bottom of the screen said, “Royal Love,” and the story started out with an image of Sam and Alex running around on a beach. Those jerks had found the island and were using aircraft to video my brother’s honeymoon. I leaned forward and glared at the smiling reporter as she joked about the fun the two seemed to be having on their getaway. Getaway. Like it wasn’t their honeymoon, but just a random trip that didn’t matter.
Oh, then they showed Samantha in her wedding dress, smiling for the cameras. She was gorgeous and it would have made my heart swell if it hadn’t been used by the very reporter I had told Tabitha to not allow into the wedding. Had he just stolen the picture or bought the rights? It figured that he would be the one hounding them on their honeymoon. Speaking of that, there was now a picture of them kissing on the beach, and I blanched.
“Blech.” I turned the channel. No matter how old I got, no matter how much I adored Sam, Alex was still my brother and I didn’t want to see him playing grabby-ass with anyone.
The next channel was some type of soap opera and I watched for a minute as the actress slapped some man wearing a tuxedo. Heh. I’ve wanted to do that before. I picked up a piece of cheese from the tray I had brought with me and looked it over. It smelled off so I set it to the side and stuck to the fruit.
“Are you really going to watch that?” Max’s groggy voice interrupted the string of verbal abuse coming from the television.
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “I just wanted to know why she hit him.”
“That’s how they get you.” He rolled over on the couch and covered his head with a pillow. “At least turn it down.”
“You have a room.” I pointed to the side opposite of my room. “With a bed and everything.”
“Can’t. I’m waiting on a phone call.” His voice was muffled. “If I go to my room I won’t wake up for it.”
“Who is calling you this late?”
“’Merica.” The word was garbled.
“Who?” I frowned.
“America.” Sitting up, he threw the pillow on the floor. “You’re not going to let me sleep, are you?”
“Nope.” I shook my head and passed him the fruit tray. “Who is calling you from America?”
“Bird crap.” He grabbed a couple of apple slices.
“Bird crap is calling you from America?” I giggled.
“Ha ha. Dork. People are calling me about bird crap. Future Bird Trust. Blah, blah, blah.” He stretched. “Something about starting an American branch.”
“Can’t Chadwick handle that?” I bit into another grape.
“I wish. It’s the president’s wife, which means she needs to speak to someone other than an assistant. Though Chadwick could tell her more about that stuff than I can. It’s just a formality at this point.” He frowned at his apple. “What is it they call her? The first lady? What would they call the husband of a president? The first man? That sounds idiotic. Hello, I’d like to introduce you to Bob, the first man.”
“It is a bit silly, but I can see why they need a title.” I shrugged. “It’s a little harder when you don’t have royalty, huh?”
“Right. Because that makes life so much easier.” He bit into his apple. “I hope Sam comes back knocked up.”
I choked on my water and had to wipe up the little that dribbled down my chin. “What? Why?”
“Put that crown a little further away from me.” He smiled. “The last thing I want to ever be is king.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure that Sam isn’t ready to be a mom yet.” I frowned. “In fact, I’d be surprised if she didn’t have an entire suitcase of birth control packed and next to their bed.”
He snorted. “She’ll be a great mom. And the kid would be cute. Even if Alex is the dad.” Old habits like picking on your sibling died hard, no matter how old you were.
“No doubt. I’d love to be an aunt.” I smiled thinking about it. “Now I’m going to have aunt fever.”
“Is that like baby fever?”
“Yeah, but when you can give the baby back to the parents.”
“I like that idea. I can’t imagine being a parent. Can you? We don’t have any time to ourselves now. It would be hellish to have to split the little bit we do have with another living, breathing, needy thing.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. “Let’s hope you don’t knock anyone up any time soon.”
“Let’s hope I don’t knock anyone up ever.” He shook his head. “I honestly can’t imagine passing all of this baggage on to someone else.”
I sat there stunned for a minute. Sure, I had thought about having children before, but hadn’t really thought about the fact that they would have to go through what I had. Then again, they would be further removed from the crown than Max and I. It wouldn’t be quite so bad.
“It’s what you make of it.” I shrugged. “If you do have kids, it doesn’t mean they have to be in the spotlight. The world is changing. You could make sure they had a normal childhood.”
“Our children will never have a normal childhood.” He looked at me with pity.
“Well, no one is really normal, now are they?” I picked up the remote and flipped through the channels. I didn’t want to continue that conversation. Having a child was a part of a normal life I wanted for myself. “Oh! Zombies.”
“Great. Phone calls, babies, and now zombies. My own personal horror movie.” Max leaned back on the couch.
I threw a grape at him. “It’s your fault I like them.”
“I’ll always regret that.” He picked up the grape and ate it.
“Ew. You don’t know whose butt has been on that couch.” My nose wrinkled in horror.
“And I don’t care.” He smiled. “Good grape.”
Shaking my head, I turned back to the TV and watched as the hero used a bow and arrows to take out a stampede of the undead. Now this was a good way to relax after a long day.
FOURTEEN
THE SCHOOL I attended the next day was a miracle of good feelings. The children were excited, the staff was kind, and best of all, everyone seemed genuinely interested in my art program.
Tabitha was great about updating me on Selene’s condition and making sure I had the papers I needed for the pitch I was giving to the school administrators. After accepting the different drawings that the children presented to me and seeing the classroom with the new supplies that I had funded, I was escorted back to my car and on my way to the hospital.
“That went really well!” I smiled at Tabitha, relieved. “It’s nice to see why I’m doing this, not just fighting with investors.”
“I can only imagine how frustrating it is to deal with people that just don’t get something you’re passionate about.” Tabitha typed a few things on her phone as she talked. “And the kids love you. When you sat down and painted at that one table with the kids, I thought they were going to go crazy.”
“They were really well behaved.” I smiled. “And it was fun. I haven’t taken the time to paint a rainbow in forever.” I laughed at the thought.
“I think they’re going to auction off the painting at their next school fund-raiser for
the program.”
“Oh Lord. No one’s going to want to buy that.” I shook my head. “But I guess every bit counts.”
“That was the prettiest rainbow I’ve ever seen.” Tabitha looked up at me with a straight face.
Laughter burst out of my mouth, which made her do her weird chuckle-snort.
“There is a reason I went into art history and not studio art the way Max did.” I shrugged. “Alex is good too, but I’m the weakest link when it comes to that talent.”
“Well, it was a beautiful rainbow. And a nice daisy to boot.” She smiled before turning back to her phone. “I’m sure someone will want to hang it on their refrigerator.”
I snorted. “Only because I signed my name at the bottom.”
“Would you mind making one more stop before we get to the hospital? There is an event taking place a couple of blocks away.”
“What is it?” I didn’t want to stay away from Selene any longer than I needed to.
“You were scheduled to reveal a plaque at a local animal hospital, but I originally told them you might not make it.”
“What is it for?” I asked.
“They have donated over two hundred thousand man-hours to animal care.”
“I suppose we could stop by briefly.” I frowned. That certainly deserved recognition; I just hated not being with Selene. “I want to get back to Selene quickly.”
“Excellent. I will give them a call and let them know.” Tabitha dialed a number quickly and explained we would be making it after all. I shoved my frustration out of the way and put on my “princess face.”
When we pulled up, there was a large crowd of people waiting outside and a ton of reporters.
“I thought we had originally canceled?”
“I’m betting they thought you might show up since you did the school event.” Tabitha shrugged.
Jameson opened the car door and helped me out before lending a hand to Tabitha. I smiled for the cameras briefly before letting Tabitha lead me up the stairs. I noticed that she was smiling for the cameras as well and thought that was odd, but dismissed it. She was probably not used to being around all of these cameras. Her job had mainly kept her in offices until now.
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