For Riley’s first-ever birthday party, Hannah took her friend’s list and gave it the royal treatment. She decided to go with a princess theme, since it was too obvious to resist.
The first glitch came when she asked Riley who she wanted to invite. The little girl mentioned her new friend, Grace, then added Kevin and Caridad and Estavan before rattling off the extensive list of all her aunts, uncles and cousins. She didn’t mention her grandmother, and when Hannah asked about adding her to the list, the princess wrinkled her nose.
“Do I have to?”
“She is your grandmother, and you invited everyone else in the family,” Hannah felt compelled to point out, even as she wondered if she was making a mistake.
But she couldn’t help remembering Michael’s comment about his mother barely knowing his daughter, and though she didn’t think an invitation to one birthday party was likely to change that, she couldn’t help hoping that it might be a start. And maybe, if the princess royal got to know Riley, she would give up on the idea of sending her away to boarding school.
“Everyone else in my family is nice,” Riley said simply.
Hannah didn’t quite know how to respond to that. She’d never actually met the princess royal and she didn’t want to prejudge, but the princess’s response made her wary.
“Would it be nice to invite everyone except her?” she prodded gently.
“No.” Riley sighed, and considered her dilemma for another minute before she finally said, “Okay, you can put her on the list. But she doesn’t get a loot bag.”
After the guest list was finalized, Hannah turned her attention to other details. Taking her friend’s advice to heart and unwilling to trust in the capriciousness of the weather, she rented a party tent to ensure that the celebration remained outside. Of course, when she called about the tent, she realized that she needed tables and chairs for inside the tent, and cloths to cover the tables and dress up the chairs. By the time she got off the phone, she was grateful the prince wasn’t worried about budget.
“I just ordered a bouncy castle,” she admitted to Caridad.
The housekeeper’s brows lifted. “One of those big inflatable things?”
“It fits the princess theme,” she explained.
“Riley will love it.”
“And a cotton-candy cart and popcorn machine.”
Caridad’s lips twitched. “Apparently you know how to throw a party.”
“You don’t think it’s too much?”
“Of course it’s too much, but after waiting four years for a party, it should be a party worth waiting for.”
“It will be,” Hannah said confidently.
And it was. The tent was decorated with thousands of tiny white fairy lights and hundreds of pink streamers and dozens of enormous bouquets of white and pink helium-filled balloons.
The younger female guests got to make their own tiaras—decorating foam crowns with glittery “jewels” and sparkling flowers. Thankfully Hannah had realized that the crowns wouldn’t be a big hit with Riley’s male cousins, so they got to decorate foam swords. After the craft, they played party games: pin the tail on the noble steed, musical thrones and a variation of Hot Potato with a glass slipper in place of the potato. And, of course, they spent hours just jumping around in the inflatable bouncy castle that had been set up behind the tennis court.
For a minute, Hannah had actually worried that Michael’s mother was going to have a coronary when she spotted it. The princess royal had gone red in the face and demanded that the “grotesque monstrosity” be removed from the grounds immediately. But Michael had been unconcerned and simply ignored her demand, for which the kids were unbelievably grateful.
Riley loved all of it. And she was completely in her element as the center of attention. Hannah was happy to remain in the background, making sure everything was proceeding as it should, but Michael made a point of introducing “Riley’s nanny and party planner” to everyone she hadn’t yet met. There was nothing incorrect in that designation, and it wasn’t like she expected or even wanted him to announce that they were lovers. But she wished he’d at least given a hint that she meant something more to him than the roles she filled in his daughter’s life.
That tiny disappointment aside, she really enjoyed meeting his family. She already knew his sister, of course, and was pleased when Marissa jumped right in to help keep things running smoothly. She was introduced to Prince Cameron, his very pregnant wife, Gabriella, and their daughter, Sierra. The teenage princess was stunningly beautiful and surprisingly unaffected by her recently newfound status as a royal, happily jumping in to help the kids at the craft table.
She also met Rowan, the prince regent, his wife, Lara, and their sons Matthew and William; Prince Eric and Princess Molly and their kids, Maggie and Josh; Prince Christian—next in line to the throne—his sister, Alexandria, and their younger brother, Damon. Even Prince Marcus, who divided his time between Tesoro del Mar and West Virginia, happened to be in the country with his wife, Jewel, and their two daughters, Isabella and Rosalina, so they were able to attend.
They were all warm and welcoming, but it was their interactions with one another that Hannah observed just a little enviously. It had nothing to do with them being royal and everything to do with the obvious closeness they shared. As an only child, she’d never known anything to compare to that kind of absolute acceptance and unquestioning loyalty, but she was glad that Riley did.
As for Riley’s “Grandmama”—well, Hannah didn’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings from her, so she just kept a careful distance between them. And she succeeded, until she went into the house to tell Caridad that they were getting low on punch. On her way back out, the princess royal cornered her in the hall.
“I’ll bet this party was your idea,” she said.
And so was adding your name to the guest list, Hannah wanted to tell her. But she bit her tongue. Elena Leandres might be insufferably rude, but she was the princess royal and, as such, was entitled to deference if not respect.
“Riley doesn’t need to play at being a princess,” the birthday girl’s grandmama continued. “She is one. And this whole display is tacky and inappropriate.”
“I’m sorry you’re not enjoying yourself.”
The older woman’s eyes narrowed on her. “But you are, aren’t you?”
“I can’t deny that I like a good party, Your Highness,” she said unapologetically.
“Is it the party or the fairy tale?” she challenged. “Do you have some kind of fantasy in your mind that you’re going to ride off into the sunset with the prince?”
“I have no illusions,” she assured the prince’s mother.
“I’m pleased to hear that, because although my son might lack sense and discretion in his choice of lovers, he would never tarnish his beloved wife’s memory or his daughter’s future by marrying someone like you.”
One side of Elena’s mouth curled in a nasty smile as Hannah’s cheeks filled with color. “Did you really think I wouldn’t guess the nature of your relationship with my son? I know what a man’s thinking when he looks at a woman the way Michael looks at you—and it’s not about hearts and flowers, it’s about sex, pure and simple.”
She forced herself to shrug, as if the princess royal’s words hadn’t cut to the quick. “Sure,” she agreed easily. “But at least it’s really great sex. And while this has been a fascinating conversation, I have to get back outside.”
“You have not been dismissed,” Elena snapped at her.
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness,” she said through clenched teeth. “But the children will be getting hungry and I promised Caridad that I would help serve lunch.”
“Well, go on then,” the princess royal smirked. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties.”
And with those words and a dismissive wave of her hand, she quickly and efficiently put the nanny in her place.
Hannah’s feelings were in turmoil as she headed up the stairs to h
er own room. She was angry and frustrated, embarrassed that her own thoughts and feelings had been so transparent, and her heart was aching because she knew that what the princess royal had said was true.
Not that she believed her relationship with the prince was about nothing more than sex. They had fun together and they’d become friends. But she also knew that while Michael had chosen to be with her now, he’d made no mention of a future for them together. And she had to wonder if maybe one of the reasons he’d chosen to get involved with her—aside from the obvious convenience—was because he could be confident that their relationship already had a predetermined expiration date. At the end of the summer, she would be leaving. The time they’d spent together was an interlude, that was all, and she’d been a fool to ever let herself hope it might be more.
Marissa was coming down the stairs as she was going up, and the princess’s quick smile faded when she got close enough to see the distress that Hannah knew was likely etched on her face.
“Riley asked me to find you,” she said. “She said she’s absolutely starving and wanted to know when it would be time to eat.”
“Please tell her that I’ll be out in just a minute, Your Highness.” She was anxious now to move things along and get this party over with, but she needed a few minutes alone to regain her composure before she could face anyone. And especially before she could face Michael.
“Hannah.” The princess touched her arm, halting her progress. “I just saw my mother walk out—did she say something to upset you?”
“Of course not.”
But it was obvious that Marissa didn’t believe her, and that she was disappointed by the obvious lie.
“I thought we were becoming friends,” she said gently.
Hannah looked away so that the princess wouldn’t see the tears that stung her eyes. “You’ve been very kind to me, Your Highness, but—”
“Will you stop ‘Your Highnessing’ me,” Marissa demanded, “and tell me what she said to you.”
“It wasn’t anything that wasn’t true,” Hannah finally acknowledged.
The princess sighed. “I’m not going to make excuses for her. All I can say is that she’s so unhappy, her only pleasure comes from making others feel the same way.”
“I’m not unhappy,” Hannah assured her. She was simply resigned to the realities of her relationship with the prince, but also determined. If they only had two more weeks together, then she was going to cherish every moment.
“Actually, there is one more thing I’d like to say,” Marissa told her.
“What’s that?”
“That you’re the best thing that has happened to my brother in a long time, so please don’t let my mother—or anyone else—make you question what you have together.”
Despite Marissa’s reassurances, the rest of the day was bittersweet for Hannah, her happiness tempered by the realization that she wouldn’t be around to witness the celebration of Riley’s fifth birthday. She was only going to be at Cielo del Norte with the prince and his daughter for another two weeks. After that, they would return to their home in Verde Colinas, and she would go back to her apartment in town and her job at the high school, and she knew that she was going to miss them both unbearably.
She tried not to dwell on that fact, and when everyone joined together to sing “Happy Birthday,” it was a welcome diversion. Caridad had offered to make the cake, as she had for each of the princess’s previous birthdays, and Riley was stunned by the three-dimensional fairy-tale castle confection that she’d created, complete with towers and spires and even a drawbridge.
After everyone had their fill of cake and ice cream, Riley opened her gifts. She enthused over all of them, showing as much appreciation for the Little Miss Tennis visor that Kevin gave her to the elaborate back-to-school wardrobe from her aunt Marissa. Of course, her absolute favorite gift was the Yo Gabba Gabba CD collection from Grace, and she insisted on putting on the music for the enjoyment of all her guests.
The prince had given his gift to his daughter at breakfast: a three-story dollhouse, which she had absolutely adored. Partly because it came with dozens of pieces of furniture, but mostly because it was from her beloved daddy.
Hannah had walked the mall in San Pedro three times looking for something special for the little girl. She didn’t want it to be anything showy or expensive, just something that might remind Riley of the time they’d spent together after she was gone. She finally found it in a little boutique that sold an indescribable variety of items ranging from handmade lace and estate jewelry to the latest in kitchen gadgets and children’s toys. At first, it caught her eye just because it was funky and fun: a three-foot-long stuffed caterpillar with a purple body and high-top running shoes on its dozens of feet. Then when she picked it up, she noted the name on the tag: EMME.
“It’s a palindrome!” Riley exclaimed happily.
“It looks like a caterpillar to me,” her father said.
Riley just rolled her eyes and shared a secret smile with Hannah.
Several hours later, after the guests had all gone home and the remnants of the party had been cleared away by the rental company, Riley’s eyes were closed. Even when Michael touched his lips to her cheek, she didn’t stir.
“She’s sleeping,” he confirmed.
“She had a busy day,” Hannah noted.
“A fabulous day—thanks to you.”
“I tried not to go too over the top,” she said.
His brows rose. “You don’t think it was over the top?”
“I nixed the suggested arrival of the birthday girl in the horse-drawn glass carriage,” she told him.
“I’m in awe of your restraint,” he said dryly. “But truthfully, whatever it costs, it was worth every penny. I’ve never seen her so happy.”
“Now I’m regretting that I didn’t get the carriage.”
“Then what would we do next year?”
She knew he’d only meant to tease her with the suggestion that this party couldn’t be topped, but the words were a reminder to both of them that there was no we and Hannah wouldn’t be around for the princess’s next birthday.
“Brigitte called today,” he said, in what seemed to Hannah a deliberate attempt to shift the direction of the conversation. “To wish Riley a happy birthday.”
“That was thoughtful,” she said. “How is she adjusting to life in Iceland?”
“Not easily.”
“Does she want to come back?”
He laughed. “No. As much as she’s struggling with culture shock, she is very much in love with her new husband.”
“Then what is it that you’re not telling me?” Because she was sure that he was holding something back.
“She did ask if I’d found a full-time nanny,” he admitted. “And when I said I had not, she suggested that I interview her friend Margaux for the position.”
Hannah had to remind herself that this wasn’t unexpected. She’d known all along that the prince would be hiring a new nanny because she was leaving at the end of August. “Why do you sound as if that’s a problem?” she asked.
“Because I was hoping that I might convince you to stay beyond the summer.”
Her heart pounded hard against her ribs. This was what she hadn’t even realized she wanted—what she hadn’t dared let herself hope for. “You want me to stay?”
“You’ve been so wonderful with Riley, and she’s going to be devastated if you leave.”
Disappointment washed the roots of barely blossomed hope from her heart. “She’ll be fine,” she said, confident that it was true. The child had already proven that she was both adaptable and resilient. It was her own heart that gave Hannah concern, because she knew that when she left Cielo del Norte, she would be leaving the largest part of it behind.
“Okay, maybe the truth is that I’m not yet ready to let you go,” Michael acknowledged.
Not yet ready—but he would be. Neither of them had any expectations of anything permanent or eve
n long-term. At least none that she was willing to admit to him now. “We still have two weeks before the end of the summer,” she said lightly.
“What if I’m not ready then, either?”
She didn’t know what to say, how to answer his question in a way that wouldn’t give away the feelings in her own heart. Because the truth was, she didn’t want him to ever let her go—she wanted him to love her as much as she loved him, and she knew that wasn’t going to happen.
He was still in love with Riley’s mother, and even if he wasn’t, she knew he wouldn’t ever love her. Not enough.
Her father hadn’t loved her enough to keep her with him, and Harrison hadn’t loved her enough to defy his parents. And if she wasn’t good enough for the heir of some obscure earldom, there was no way anyone would ever consider her good enough for a Tesorian prince. The princess royal had made that more than clear.
“Let’s not think about that right now,” she said, leading the way across the hall.
So long as they had tonight, she wasn’t going to think about tomorrow.
Afterward, Hannah would wonder how it happened, because she knew she didn’t consciously speak the words aloud. She certainly hadn’t intended to tell him of the feelings that filled her heart. But when he pulled her close, tucking her against the warmth of his body so that she felt secure and cherished in his embrace, her emotions overruled reason. And as she started to drift toward slumber, the words slipped from between her lips as if of their own accord.
“I love you, Michael.”
His only response was silence. She wanted to believe that he was already asleep and that he probably hadn’t heard her impulsive confession, but the sudden tension that filled his body proved otherwise. The muscles in the arm that was wrapped around her grew taut, and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
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