“Wasn’t that great?” I smiled at her. “To know that they want to help, that they are helping?”
“Definitely.” She turned her phone on and started typing. “You’re going to have these kids swimming in crayons and paper in no time.”
“Well, I hope it’s more than that.” I frowned. ”I want them to experience as many different forms of art as possible—for them to experience it hands on.”
“And they will.” She never looked up and I tried to not be annoyed by her lack of interest. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t seem to care about art. As long as she did her job, that’s all I could ask for.
Watching her play on her phone made me think about mine, though, and I pulled it out of my jacket pocket and frowned when I realized there were no missed messages. I stuck the phone back in my pocket and sighed.
Busy. He was busy.
Or I had done something wrong.
Or he was just busy. Which was probably the most likely explanation—and it did nothing to ease the worry that gripped me.
When we arrived at the hospital I dismissed Tabitha for the rest of the day. I wanted time alone with Selene before going back to the hotel. My appointment had run late, so Max was gone by the time I got to the room.
Unbuttoning my jacket, I sat down in the chair next to Selene’s bed and propped my feet up on a stool. The sound of Selene’s soft snore and the whir of the machines worked like a sedative. I was asleep before I realized I was tired.
“Your Highness?” A cold hand shook my shoulder and I startled awake.
“What?” I sat up and brushed the hair out of my eyes. “What?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” The doctor smiled at me. “I need to get to the machine behind you.”
“Oh.” I climbed out of the chair so he could get to the monitor.
“She’s doing really well. I think just a little longer and she’ll be ready to go.” The old man smiled at me.
“Excellent. Thank you so much.”
“It’s been my pleasure.”
As soon as the doctor closed the door, Selene popped one eye open. “Is he gone?”
“Yes.” I sat back down and laughed.
“Good. I’m tired of answering all of the same questions.” She sighed and reached for my hand. “You should have gone home. No need to sleep in the chair.”
“I’m fine.”
“I saw you on the news.” Selene raised an eyebrow. “David looked nice and you looked very happy.”
“Oh, you know how we fake it.” I winked at her. My heart did a little dip at the mention of his name and I had to fight the impulse to check my phone.
“Yes, I do. And I also know when you look truly happy.” She smiled at me.
“It was fun. We get along really well even though we’re so different.”
“That’s the key.” Selene smiled fondly. “I dated a boy like David once. All muscles and brooding eyes. He was a carpenter and made the most beautiful things. We had nothing in common, but that didn’t seem to matter.”
“What happened?”
“Oh, life. Things change, jobs change. But I wouldn’t trade the memories.” She patted my hand. “If you really have that special something, hold on to him.”
I frowned. I thought we had that special something. Had I been wrong?
Turning away from Selene I dug my phone out of my pocket and checked my incoming messages. Still nothing. Frowning I checked my e-mail. Nothing there either.
Had I broken some cardinal rule? Texted too soon? David wasn’t the kind of guy to play games. I’d dated those types of people—Kyle had been that guy. The one who thought when I said no I secretly meant yes.
Not wanting to give in to my worry, I decided to text him again. What could it hurt?
Is everything okay? Are the paparazzi bothering you?
I hit send before I could rethink it and turned back to look at Selene with a smile. “There. That’s me not letting him get away. I think.”
“Good for you.” A nurse with a rattling cart pushed open the door and delivered breakfast before leaving just as quickly.
I looked at the covered tray and felt bad for poor Selene. “That looks horrible.”
“Trust me, I know.” She picked up her cup and I moved to help her. “You should get out of here and get some real food.”
“When you’re done, I will.” To be honest, I’d have to leave. I needed to go back to the hotel and change before a video conference.
As soon as Selene was back asleep, I was up and running. Jameson called for the car and I didn’t even take the time to shower before changing. Instead I put my hair in a loose fishtail braid and freshened up my makeup just before my computer beeped.
“Hi, Mother.”
“How are you, dear?” Mother’s face popped up into view and I smiled. She was in a car, headed to parliament for the day. “How is Selene?”
“Good.” I took a sip of the tea Tabitha brought into my room before disappearing again. “She’s healing quickly.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I plan on visiting her at D’Lynsal when she’s released. I want to see her for myself. Oh, and I meant to tell you that your dog is doing wonderful. He hasn’t used the bathroom in my apartments once.” I had asked her to watch Xavier when it became apparent that I wasn’t going to be back soon. Mother situated her phone so that it was off to the side while she went through her files. “I wanted to chat with you about a few things before the others join us. I hear you did an outstanding job at the artisans’ guild.”
And we were off to business in no time. When the prime minister joined us to talk about my program, I had to force myself to pay attention. I kept glancing at my phone, wondering why David was ignoring me.
“Catherine, have you decided on a name for the program?” Mother’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“I—I—not yet. I’ll narrow it down soon.” My attention snapped back to the computer and I frowned.
“Excellent. Let us know once you do and we will meet again.” Mother closed her folder all business. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Prime Minister.”
“Never a problem, Your Majesty. I’m very interested in this program.” He smiled. “Please send my regards to Selene.”
“I will.” I nodded my head. “Good luck today in parliament.”
“Thank you.” They both laughed. They were not in agreement about the newest bill, so it would be interesting to see how it worked out today. However, they had known each other for so long it was easy for them to separate state affairs from each other.
When I closed the computer I threw myself on my bed and buried my face in a pillow. My phone beeped and I practically flew across the room to pick it up.
There was a text message.
But it wasn’t from David. Instead it was Chadwick.
Turn on the news.
Grabbing the remote I pointed it at the television and held my breath. I flipped to a news station quickly and cussed loudly. The reporter was talking about David’s family and showing images of his youngest sister and mother being hounded in a parking lot.
Liberty Anne was crying and shaking her hands at her sides. It was obvious that the attention was upsetting her a great deal and yet the cameras persisted.
“She’s a child, you assholes!” I screamed at the TV in fury.
“Whoa! What’s wrong?” Max burst into my room. “Who is that?”
“That’s David’s youngest sister. She’s autistic and they won’t leave her alone.”
Tears formed in my eyes as I watched the little girl start hollering and swinging her hands at the reporters. His mother dropped her bags and wrestled with her to get her away from the people.
“This is my fault.” I covered my mouth. “Oh God. He must hate me.”
“This is the reporters’ fault.” Max wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
“I should have insisted that we sneak out. The fallout wouldn’t have been so crazy.
It was so reckless to just walk out with him.” I closed my eyes. “No wonder he isn’t answering my texts.”
“You do not control the media.” Max looked down at me. “And if he’s not answering your text messages it could be because he’s trying to handle this. Or he’s an asshole and I’ll beat the shit out of him.”
I shoved his chest. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Do you like him?” Max looked at me with serious eyes.
“I really do.” I really, really liked David.
“Then go find him.” He shrugged. “If you don’t try, you won’t know.”
I thought about it for a minute. Did I want to put myself out there that far? It would be a long, painful fall if he turned away from me. Then again, if I didn’t try, I’d go crazy just thinking about it.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and picked up my phone.
Where is he?
I waited for Chadwick’s response.
Chadwick: Fishing.
Me: Fishing? Where?
Chadwick: Rousseau. He said he needed to think.
I looked at Max. “Get out. I need to shower.”
“Okay.” He walked to the door. “Remember, I’ll beat the shit out of him if you want.”
“Gee, thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve always wanted to meet a nice guy and then have my brother try to kill him.”
“The offer stands.” He closed the door behind him with a wink.
I was ready in record time, throwing on jeans, boots, and a shirt. I braided my wet hair and had Jameson bring the car around. The ride to Rousseau was a long one and I spent it going over in my head what I would say.
What would I say?
Everything I came up with sounded so corny—so pointless. Really, if he was smart he would run from me, and fast. God, I hoped he wasn’t smart.
When Rousseau came into view I bit my lip and took a deep breath. I’d just wait and see how he felt. Maybe I’d be strong enough to let him go without crying. Or at least not crying in front of him.
He was sitting on the front steps when we pulled up. I didn’t know how long he had been sitting there, but when he looked up at the car my heart jerked. His dark eyes were partially obscured by his hair, but I could see the worry that worked through them. He pushed off the stairs and opened the car door for me. We stood there looking at each other without saying anything.
“I—” he started.
“Is your—”
He motioned for me to go on as his jaw worked silently.
“How is your sister?” I was thankful that my voice didn’t shake.
“She’s better. They took her riding this afternoon and are trying to explain things to her.” He took my hand and led me back to an area on the porch where no one would be able to see us. “I was going to call you, but I had to decide what I was going to do.”
“I understand.” I looked down at the steps. “If we stop seeing each other now, this should blow over for your family.”
“What?” He frowned.
“Your decision.” I shrugged. “I figured that would be the easiest thing for you. Dating me is difficult. I understand that.”
“Cathy.” His sigh held a hint of frustration. “Not seeing you wouldn’t be easy. Not seeing you would be the most difficult thing I could do.” He reached up and touched my face. “And I’m not that strong.”
I covered his hand with mine. “Then what are you going to do?”
“I was trying to decide if I should go back home for a quick trip or if that would make it worse.” He let his hand fall from my cheek, but kept our fingers threaded together. “I spent some time talking to her on the phone today.”
“Is she—did she understand?”
“She did. She was pretty excited that my girlfriend is a princess.” He smiled at me.
My heart did a flip in my chest and I leaned forward to gently kiss him. “I’m so sorry for all of this.”
“I knew it could happen.” He frowned. “That’s one of the things I was thinking about today.”
“I don’t want to see your family hurt or afraid to do their shopping.” I shook my head. “I know what that’s like.”
“I’m not calling us quits because of some jackass reporters.” He looked at me with a fierce expression. “I won’t let someone else dictate my life.”
I nodded in understanding. Relief lightened my heart.
“Besides, I had Chadwick call the producers of the news program.” His teeth gleamed white in the moonlight. “I don’t think my family will have to worry.”
“Chadwick can be scary. Awesome but scary.”
“It was brutal.” He laughed and I felt the last of my nerves melt away. “We had a beer afterward.”
“Now I know it was bad. Chadwick hates beer.”
“Well, I had a beer. He had wine.” He lifted my hand to his lips. “So, you’re not going to dump me because I’m a quiet introvert who needed some time to think?”
“Nah.” I shrugged. “You can balance out my need to be involved in everything.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He pressed his lips to mine again, slowly, tenderly coaxing my mouth open. When his tongue darted across my bottom lip I sighed and he deepened the kiss. His arms wrapped around my waist and in one quick move he had me sitting in his lap. I snuggled close, letting the heat of his body warm me up in the cool summer evening air.
I ran my hands through his hair and tilted his head back to take the advantage of our kiss. He melted under me, letting me kiss him with abandon. Gently I nipped his bottom lip and he moaned softly. His hands slid under the back of my shirt, playing with my bra clasp, but never undoing it. I knew that he wanted to, knew that he was straining against the material of his pants, but he had more self-control than I did.
When I finally broke our kiss, he pressed his face to my neck and inhaled deeply. “You smell like an angel.”
“It’s just soap. I didn’t take the time to do anything special.” I sighed as he trailed his lips down my neck.
“I like you like this. No makeup, a pair of jeans, and need in your eyes.” He shifted me on his lap so that I could feel his hard-on against my thigh. “Need for me.”
I didn’t have words, just kissed him again. It was short, because I knew that if it went on too much longer I’d never be able to leave him and I had meetings the next morning.
“I have to go.” I whispered the words against his mouth.
“I know.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m glad you came to see me.”
“Next time, just text me back.” I winked at him to let him know I was mostly kidding.
“There won’t be a next time to worry about.” He stood up slowly, holding me in his arms and easing me to the ground.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Angel, you can hold me anyway you want to.” He raised an eyebrow and flashed a devilish grin.
“Oh, I plan on it.” I winked at him before sashaying back to my car.
SEVENTEEN
I COULDN’T HELP MY yawn. I had stayed up all night watching movies while talking to David on the phone. It was like a long-distance date, even though we were only a couple of hours from each other.
We had watched a horror movie marathon that started with one of my favorite zombie movies. It had been more fun than I would have thought.
“You’re sure it’s safe for her to leave?” I looked over the papers the doctor handed me.
“She’s doing excellent.” He offered me a reassuring smile. “Make sure she takes it easy, does her physical therapy, and takes her medicine.”
“I’m right here,” Selene grumped from her wheelchair. “You could talk to me.”
“Will her mood get any better?” I looked at the doctor with wide eyes.
“Yes. She’s still in a lot of pain, and the medicine can affect the patient’s mood, but don’t worry.”
“I’m tired of being cooped up in this hellhole. You won’t even let me have my phone and I hate my ph
one.” She adjusted the blanket covering her legs with angry jerks. “Forget my heart. I’m going to die from boredom.”
“Honestly, Doctor, are you sure you can’t keep her?” I wrinkled my nose.
“The nurses are starting to complain,” he whispered back. My mouth fell open and he started to laugh. “I’m just joking, Princess Catherine. You’ll be fine. Miss Selene will be more herself soon.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I warned.
“I’m confident in my diagnosis.” He patted my shoulder before handing his clipboard to the nurse. “Please make sure that she has a follow-up scheduled in three days.”
“Yes, sir.” The nurse made a note before moving to push the wheelchair. “Let’s get you home!”
“Oh, I don’t get to go home. Her Highness won’t allow it,” Selene grumped. “Can’t I just go back to my own bed?”
“Stop whining. You and I both know that you prefer your room at D’Lynsal.”
“Oh, that’s nice! I’ve heard that D’Lynsal has amazing rooms and service.” The nurse patted Selene on the shoulder. “You’ll be in good hands there.”
Selene frowned but didn’t say anything else as we moved through the hospital. The press had been moved farther away from the entrance so that we would be able to get into our ride without trouble. I wasn’t willing to risk someone knocking over my friend in their haste to get a picture.
“Try to smile,” I whispered.
“You smile,” she whispered back through her teeth.
“You know, I’m not going to forget this.” Shaking my head, I smiled and offered a small wave for the cameras.
Jameson lifted Selene out of her chair and slid her into her seat before reaching over and buckling her in with gentle hands. I folded up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk before climbing in next to my friend. I waved to the cameras briefly as we drove away, making our way back to D’Lynsal.
Selene was pale as we drove, obviously uncomfortable. Reaching over, I grabbed her hand and squeezed. She held on for the entire ride, not once letting go, even though she glared out the window the whole time.
After the longest car ride I had ever sat through, we were able to get Selene situated in one of the guest rooms down the hall from mine. I’d hired two nurses to stay on-site, working with Selene and attending to her physical therapy on a daily basis. While I intended to help as much as possible I had to get back to taking care of the events I had picked up for Alex and Sam. Poor Max looked like he had been put through the wringer in the last two weeks.
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