by Merry Farmer
“Mack?” Antoine wore a combination of gratitude and brotherly suspicion on his face. “You said you were rescued by a prince. Who is this Mack?”
“Prince Mikael Magnusson,” Mack’s voice sounded from the doorway.
Gloria glanced to him, her heart leaping in her chest, then settling into a cloud of butterflies in her stomach. She smiled and pushed herself to sit straighter.
Antoine smiled as well, extending a hand. “You have my undying gratitude, sir.”
“I think you’re supposed to call him ‘Your Highness’,” Gloria said with a smirk.
Antoine’s brow quirked up. “Am I?”
“You don’t have to,” Mack laughed, shaking Antoine’s hand, then stepping farther into the room. He seemed to be in a good mood, which felt like being approached by a beam of sunlight. “I came to see how you’re doing today.”
Gloria rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Like I told you three times already this morning, I’m fine. Just a little sore is all.”
She caught Antoine’s eyebrow tweak as he glanced between her and Mack, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
“I needed to see for myself,” Mack went on. He stood by the head of the bed, smiling, and gave her a quick nod. “Yep, you look fine.”
There was a twinkle of something flirtatious in his eyes, which sent heat to her face. As much as she loved him, she suddenly wished her brother were in London and not witnessing…whatever it was between her and Mack.
“Gloria was just telling me what happened,” Antoine said, his posture and tone of voice indicating he was aware of something going on. “She informs me she would have drown if you hadn’t been there to rescue her.”
“I don’t know about that,” Mack said. “From what I’ve seen so far, your sister is a fighter with more strength than the average person.”
“True, but she doesn’t know when to quit.”
All the warm, fuzzy feelings Gloria had flattened. She narrowed her eyes at her brother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Antoine looked briefly to Mack before addressing her. “It means you’ve been restless and distracted lately. It means you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Are you certain that the fault with your plane was not the result of something you overlooked in this obsession of yours with flying around Northern Europe?”
Gloria’s cheeks burned, but not with the same snuggly feelings she’d had for Mack. “We’re not having this argument again,” she told Antoine, facing forward and staring at the turned-off television across the room.
“What argument?” Mack had the audacity to ask.
Antoine jumped on the chance to share her business. “My darling sister has a chip on her shoulder,” he said. “Ever since leaving the military last winter, she’s been like a bee that can’t find its hive, buzzing all around, staying busy, but irritating the rest of us.”
“Sounds like she’s been through a lot,” Mack said. He was so fair and willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that she could have kissed him. Of course, she could have kissed him for other reasons, too.
“I’ve been telling her that she needs to lighten up and go easy on herself for months now,” Antoine went on.
“I’m not interested in lightening up,” Gloria sighed. “I want to fly.”
“Even the most glorious bird needs to spend some time in their nest,” Antoine argued.
Gloria let out a frustrated breath, turning to Mack. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”
Mack chuckled. “Our family members are always our harshest critics.”
Something about the way he said it plucked at Gloria’s heartstrings. Clearly, he had some sort of family burden as well. Probably more than most, considering his was a royal family. In fact, in the short time she’d been in Aegiria, most of the news stories on the telly had been about the royal family and the upcoming wedding. That had to weigh on a guy after a while.
“This crash of yours was a wake-up call,” Antoine said, dragging her back down to earth. “You need to ease up, sis. Take a vacation.”
“I can’t take a vacation when I don’t have a job,” she argued.
“Oh? Really? Then what’s all this flying you’ve been doing recently?”
She clenched her jaw. “Flying is training. I can’t be grounded, I’ll lose my edge.”
“Take a break,” Antoine said, shaking his head. “Relax for a while. The perfect job will come to you when the time is right.” He paused, but before she could get a word in, went on with, “Besides, what are you going to fly? Your plane is under the sea.”
The truth was so depressing that she sagged back against her pillows. She would have crossed her arms in protest if the gesture wouldn’t have pulled at her shoulder.
“You could stay here for a while,” Mack chimed in.
It was as if someone had pulled open the curtains, flooding her insides with sunlight. She turned to him with a questioning smile.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Antoine said, a little too fast. “Take a vacation in Aegiria until you’ve healed.”
“You could stay in the palace,” Mack offered, sweetening the temptation even more.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t,” she protested, even as part of her screamed to say yes. “Isn’t there a royal wedding in the works? I’d be in the way.”
Mack smirked. “Have you seen the size of our palace? It’s practically a hotel resort.” His expression grew more serious as he went on to say, “Really. There are so many wings to the palace that are used to house all sorts of visiting dignitaries and the like. I can think of just the right suite for you. You wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, it has a gorgeous view of the harbor, and it’s close enough that I could pop over to check on you often.” He added a sly grin to his last point.
Gloria’s heart turned a somersault. She wasn’t sure she could resist an offer like that. All the same, she sent her brother one more firm look. “I need to find a job. I can’t live off of other people’s charity forever.”
“But job hunting is not something you need to do immediately,” Antoine argued. “Take some time here. Heal. Enjoy the royal wedding. Then come home refreshed and ready to take on the world again.”
Gloria winced. She hated when Antoine was right. But more than that, she couldn’t resist the intrigue that an invitation to stay in a palace as the guest of a prince brought with it. And what a prince! Mack was sweet and generous, and he had saved her life, even if she didn’t want to think about it. If she were honest with herself, she didn’t want to leave him quite yet. There was something there, something she wanted to explore.
“All right,” she sighed, secretly thrilled. “You win. If you’re sure it’s all right,” she glanced to Mack, “I’ll stay for a while.”
“Perfect,” Mack smiled. “I promise, you won’t regret it.”
A shiver passed through Gloria. She had the distinct feeling she was going to enjoy her vacation far more than she should.
4
The hospital deemed that Gloria’s injuries weren’t severe enough to keep her any longer, so before Antoine could leave to catch a plane back to London and before Mack could remember some kind of royal duty that would take him away from her, Gloria was dressed in borrowed sweatpants and a t-shirt, being wheeled down to the hospital’s main entrance, with Mack by her side.
“I can have Mom pack some of your clothes and ship them here,” Antoine said as he hailed a cab. “She’ll probably want to deliver them herself.”
Gloria let out a wry laugh. “Please tell her not to. I’m fine, really. I’m just on vacation now.” She proved her point by standing as the three of them waited for the valet to bring Mack’s car around. Her muscles protested, and her shoulder and knee twinged, but it was a relief to show a little strength again.
“I could take you shopping in Solrighavn,” Mack offered.
Gloria sent him a doubtful look. “Do you really want to spend your time chauffeuring a downe
d pilot around the mall and holding her bag while she tries on jeans?”
Mack’s expression flashed through emotions from pleasure to disappointment so fast that Gloria wasn’t sure what he was feeling until he said, “I don’t have anything else to do.”
“Even with your mother’s wedding coming up?”
His expression settled into a frown. “No.”
Gloria’s heart went out to him. There was so much behind that one syllable, but she didn’t feel it was her place to ask about it. At least, not until they’d spent more time together. She shrugged with her good shoulder. “All right. I’m all yours, then.”
That brought a smile back to his face. “Good.”
A chill zipped down her back. Another one-syllable reply that said more than an essay could.
“Take good care of my sister,” Antoine charged Mack as he headed to the cab that had pulled up to the hospital’s front door.
“I will,” Mack promised with a wave.
To Gloria, Antoine said, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Gloria laughed and shook her head. Her dear brother had an unfortunate reputation as a player, and judging by the sparkle in his eyes, he was encouraging her to have a royal fling on her vacation.
Not that she would mind. She glanced subtly to Mack as the valet who had just brought his car to the door handed him the keys. Mack didn’t scream “royalty”, but he was an attractive man with a fine physique. He had the kind of arms she wouldn’t mind having wrapped around her.
“Ready to go?” he asked, holding the passenger door open for her.
“My carriage awaits?” she joked.
He laughed as she lowered herself gingerly into the car. The sound made the tiny hairs on her skin stand up.
“Do you want to go shopping first or get settled in at the palace?” Mack asked as they pulled away from the hospital.
“There’s a question I never thought anyone would ask me in my life,” Gloria answered. When Mack sent her a sideways smile, she went on with, “I should probably go to the palace first and rest for a bit before shopping.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
She let out a mock impatient breath. “You’re just like my brother. I’m tough. I’ve been through worse. All I need is a nap and some paracetamol and I’ll be fine.”
“Glad to hear it.” Mack nodded, turning onto a main road. “Although I’m not sure how I feel about being compared to your brother.”
A flush of self-consciousness brought heat to Gloria’s face. “I only mean that you’re protective like him.”
Mack shrugged, a mysterious grin pulling at his lips. “When I have something worth protecting.”
It was all Gloria could do to keep her smile in check. Maybe the crash had scrambled her brains more than she’d originally thought. She wasn’t the sort to go all gooey on the inside over a handsome face and sweet words. She’d spent years serving alongside the kind of men that most women would have given their eye teeth to date without a single butterfly in her stomach. But there was something about Mack that drew her in, like her heart had already charted a course to him and all she had to do was guide herself in for a landing.
Although, considering how her last landing had gone, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hold on to that image after all.
“Is this the palace?” she asked as they turned off the main road and drove through a tall, arched gate in a nondescript wall.
“This is it.” Mack nodded. “Aegirians have never been all that ostentatious.”
“No, it’s beautiful,” she said, craning her neck to glance out the window at the 18th century architecture.
“It’s big,” Mack went on. “My ancestors built more and more wings over the years. The original, medieval palace is still at the heart of the complex, but there are so many quarters and flats and offices in the palace complex that it’s more like a resort than a home.”
“But it’s still your home, right?” she asked, turning back to him as they drove through a courtyard and down a ramp that led to an underground parking garage.
“It’s absolutely home,” Mack said with a smile. There was a pause as he parked, then got out and dashed around the car to help her up.
Again, out of character, she took his hand and let him help her to stand rather than muscling through and doing it on her own. Something was definitely wrong with her. After all the times she’d fought to be taken seriously and to stand on her own two feet without help, letting a prince escort her from his sports car, through a small tunnel that felt like it might have led to a dungeon at one point, and into a luxurious home was not what she ever would have seen herself doing.
“Wow,” she said, looking around at the portraits lining the hallway. Her eyes popped even wider when the hall opened out to a vast living room or reception area with more modern floor to ceiling windows that highlighted an amazing view of part of the city and the harbor beyond. “This is incredible.”
“The advantage of being royalty is that you can claim the best views when you build your castles,” Mack joked.
Gloria laughed as she moved to stand by the window, looking out. The sky was so blue. It was a perfect day for flying. And the water was calm and clear. She wondered how Aegiria managed to keep their seas so clean. She wondered where her plane was under all that beauty.
The thought dampened her spirits. Mack walked slowly to her side, standing and looking out with her.
“Don’t you just want to get out there on a day like this?” he asked.
“Yes,” she sighed, then turned to him with a weary smile. “I intend to get back out there as soon as possible, injured shoulder or not.”
He nodded, his lips twitching into a smile as he turned to look back over the gorgeous scene. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Gloria’s heart flipped in her chest. She’d had people make promises to her before, but with Mack, she believed that he really would move heaven and earth to get her what she wanted. It was the strangest feeling, particularly given how short a time they’d known each other.
“You want to get back out there too,” she observed, wanting to peel back the layers of all the little shifts of emotion and hints of a deeper story she’d seen in him.
He smirked, suddenly tense. “I can’t. At least, I’ve been told what I want isn’t what a prince should want.”
Curiosity on fire, she turned to him. “What do you want, Mack?”
He glanced sideways to her. “I want a lot of things.”
A rush of what she had to admit was lust coursed through her, making her knees weaker than they already were. She told herself it was normal to have the hots for an attractive man, especially one with a title who had saved her life. She reminded herself that they were living in the twenty-first century, where no one would hold it against a woman if she felt like jumping in bed with a guy she’d just met. But she knew there was so much more to the wiggling excitement in her gut, and lower, than the need for a little, harmless release.
“Your Highness.” A no-nonsense, woman’s voice came from behind them.
The moment was interrupted as they both turned to find a middle-aged woman in a suit, with some kind of crest on the pocket, waiting at attention for them.
“Ah, Jenny.” Mack smiled, stepping away from the window and gesturing for Gloria to follow. “This is my friend, Miss Gloria Swann.”
“How do you do,” Gloria greeted the woman. She wasn’t sure whether to shake her hand or just nod. Jenny appeared to be palace staff, but she had as regal a bearing as any princess.
“Quite well, miss,” Jenny answered with a smile and a nod. “Prince Mikael informs me you’ll be staying with us in one of the guest suites?”
“Yes, thank you.” The buzz of unreality that surrounded the entire experience made Gloria smile.
“If you would care to come with me, I’ll show you to your quarters.”
Gloria exchanged a look with Mack as Jenny turned and led them off down another
corridor lined with magnificent artwork.
“I’m never going to find my way around,” she whispered as they walked.
“Believe me, you get used to it.” Mack paused. “But I can draw you a map if you’d like.”
Gloria giggled—actually giggled. Something was definitely wrong with her, but she kind of liked it.
“I’ve picked out a suite for you near my own rooms,” Mack went on, still whispering, a light of mischief in his eyes. “So you won’t feel alone and overwhelmed, which can happen in a place like this.”
“That’s so considerate of you,” she smiled, wondering if there was more to his motivation than that. Hoping there was, really.
Their hands brushed as they walked. She had to fight the urge to slide her fingers through his.
“Here we are,” Jenny said as they reached an unassuming door with a small plaque beside it that read Freya Suite. “I hope you’ll find these accommodations acceptable.”
Gloria stepped through the door into a world that could have come out of a fairy tale. It wasn’t like a hotel room, it was an entire, luxuriously appointed flat, complete with magnificent view and furnishings that looked both comfortable and exquisite.
“I think I’ll recover in no time in a place like this,” she said, then turned to Mack. “Thank you for this.”
“Don’t mention it.” He smiled at her, nodded to Jenny, dismissing her, then turned back to Gloria. “Why don’t you get settled and take your nap, and I’ll come along later to take you shopping. We can grab some lunch while we’re out and about too.”
She grinned. “I think I’m going to like this vacation.”
Mack hadn’t been in such a good mood in months. His mother’s wedding and the family drama that surrounded it had been reduced to a buzz at the back of his mind. The fact that Marina hadn’t given him anything important to do for the wedding turned out to be a blessing instead of a curse. It meant he’d been able to take Gloria shopping, treat her to meals in some of Aegiria’s finest restaurants, and show off his country to her over the past few days. It meant he had a front-row seat for her speedy recovery.