Love, Always and Forever

by Alexis Morgan

  BY ALEXIS MORGAN

  Sergeant Joe’s Boys

  Always for You: Jack

  Always Be True: Tino

  Love, Always and Forever

  Snowberry Creek

  A Soldier’s Heart (e-novella)

  A Time for Home

  The Christmas Gift (Christmas on Main Street anthology)

  More Than a Touch

  A Reason to Love

  PHOTO: LUMINA PHOTOGRAPHY

  USA Today bestselling author ALEXIS MORGAN has always loved reading and now spends her days imagining worlds filled with strong alpha heroes and gutsy heroines. She is the author of more than thirty books, novellas, and short stories that span a variety of genres: American West historicals (as Pat Pritchard); paranormal and fantasy romances; and most recently, contemporary romance. Morgan has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s RITA, the top award in the genre.

  Want more from Alexis Morgan? Sign up for her newsletter at her website.

  alexismorgan.com

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  Twitter: @Alexis_Morgan

  Read on for an excerpt from

  Royal Scandal

  Royals in Exile

  by Marquita Valentine

  Available from Loveswept

  Chapter 1

  Colin

  It’s the first day of the new school year for my boys and I’m nearly going mad trying to keep up with their questions while I fill out the last of the paperwork at my desk.

  We have exactly ten minutes before the driver picks us up and I’m only half done. At this rate, I’ll never finish.

  “Will I get to eat?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will the kids like me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Can I take Toady?”

  Pausing, I cut my eyes at Aiden. Naturally he wants to take the blasted frog we rescued from the pool last night to school. “Absolutely”—I begin, and his face lights up—“not.”

  He falls into the chair beside his brother and crosses his arms, his bottom lip jutting out like a three-year-old instead of a boy of eleven.

  Amazing that.

  “Is she coming?” Pierce asks as he bounces in the chair beside me. He’s twelve months younger than his brother, but they’re so alike in looks and temperament that they are frequently mistaken for twins.

  Before I can answer, Aiden cuts in, “Della always keeps her promises.”

  I want to ask him if he’s implying that I don’t, but it’s not worth the fight that will inevitably ensue and then end with hurt feelings that will make me feel guilty for at least a week.

  Who am I kidding? I always feel guilty. I felt guilty the first time I sent them away to boarding school, in the grand Sinclair tradition. They’d clung to me, begging not to go…that they’d be so good and listen all the time.

  My heart cracked at that. Still does whenever I think of it—like now. Damn it. I push away the memories and focus on the questionnaire I should have answered weeks ago.

  “That she does, which is why she should be here any second,” I agree. Setting the paperwork aside, I rub the bridge of my nose and exhale. “Look. I know you’re nervous about starting a new school.”

  “Our fourth new school,” Aiden reminds me, as if I need to remember the expulsions and fights and general hell that our life became once I sent them away.

  “Quite so. Your fourth new school, but it is a beginning and with that comes a fresh start.”

  Pierce kicks his legs back and forth, his shoes scraping on the rug. “Della said that our teachers are kind.”

  “And smart.”

  I nod. “Della wouldn’t lie.” Unlike I have to do—day in and day out—to protect them, of course. No need for them to mourn for parents they have no idea are theirs.

  Hell, they think of Della as their mother. She’s been there for nearly every scrape, every first moment—like when Pierce started walking—and loose tooth. I taught them how to ride a bike. She taught them how to roller-skate. I taught them how to swim in our Olympic-size pool. She taught them how to fish in the pond behind her house.

  “Nope,” they say in unison.

  “And Della loves us,” Pierce adds.

  “That she does.” And I love Della.

  Not that it matters.

  I can’t tell her how I feel.

  Besides, even if I did, nothing can come of us. For years, I’ve worked tirelessly with Parliament to get our exile overturned. I’ve promised everything but my first born in exchange for a full pardon for our family. My last exchange with them has resulted in silence on their end—perhaps a good omen for once, since Prime Minister Davies usually responds with a resounding no in a matter of milliseconds.

  In any case, that, along with raising these two boys, keeping my siblings out of the tabloids, and expanding Sinclair Enterprises are my only goals in this world.

  The topic of our mutual love suddenly appears in the doorway of my office and my heart stutters. I don’t know what prompted my feelings to go from friendship to something deeper.

  I just know that one day we were in the middle of breakfast with the boys and she had to leave to go in to work early…and all I could think as she walked away was that I wanted this every morning.

  With her.

  She brushes back her apricot-colored hair, her silver eyes twinkling in the morning light as she smiles. “Morning, y’all. Ready for school?”

  “Della!” They shout in unison and bolt for her.

  Aiden latches onto her arm and Pierce manages to wrap himself around one of her legs while he looks up at her in utter adoration. Thankfully, she’s not wearing a skirt but rather a pair of khaki pants and a polo shirt with the words AS YOU WISH CLEANING embroidered on the left-hand side.

  “You have to work today?” I ask, turning my attention back to the last page, where all I need to do is sign and date, but for the life of me, I can’t remember my damn name.

  “For some reason my boss doesn’t think my birthday constitutes a holiday, but I did try,” she says, laughter in her voice. “But she did say I could go with you to take these monkeys to school.”

  Right on cue, Aiden and Pierce begin to make monkey sounds. They let go of Della to jump around the room. She laughs at their antics and I can’t help but be enthralled.

  Snap out of it.

  I frown.

  Della gives me a familiar look. One that says Stop being so rigid and join us. How she puts up with me, I’ll never know.

  “Colin?”

  Right. My name. Colin Sinclair. “A moment of silence if you please,” I say, finally signing the paper.

  She snorts a little. “Yes, your highness.”

  “Yes, your highness,” the boys repeat in unison.

  I look up just as they start to bow and Della curtsies. On any other day, I’d be amused by this and slightly horrified because it is so close to the truth.

  However, her bloody maid’s uniform mocks me, reminding me of our differences, of all the reasons why we cannot be together, that it pisses me the hell off instead.

  “Enough,” I say sharply and the boys freeze. “Get in the car now. We’ll be there momentarily.”

  “Yes, sir.” They pick up their things and take off.

  Della waits until the door shuts with a slam before she cocks an eyebrow at me. “Was that necessary?”

  My jaw clenches. I’m not mad at her. I can’t be mad at her. And I can’t be mad at my boys either. “Probably not,” I admit. Grabbing the paperwork, I stand up and walk to her. “Rough morning.”

  A small smile appears on her lush mouth. “I can see that.” She touches my cheek. “You missed a spot shaving.”

  I press my hand against hers. The feel of her skin against mine, the feel of her trapped against me…bloody fucking hell it’s good. “I’m a beast in the morning.”

  Her eyes dance. “It’s a good thing I love your library, then.”

  “F
orgive me?”

  She cocks her head to one side. “Yes. You’re my best friend. How could I not forgive you?” After another thousand beats of my heart, she finally says, “Can I have my hand back?”

  “What—oh, yes, that…” Reluctantly, I let go of her. “Shall we be off?”

  “Yup. You’ll need to talk to the boys, too,” she says, and I wonder if she’d order me around so easily, or at all really, if she knew who I was. Would she so easily fit in and spend time with my sisters, take them shopping and give them advice…treat Theo like an annoying brother…Would she act like a mother to my boys?

  Would it matter to her that I’m a crown prince without a country, that one of my sisters is the rightful queen of an Isle that has all but forgotten us in the decade we’ve been gone? Would she stop seeing me as Colin and treat me as a Your Highness instead?

  I know the answers, which is why I can’t tell her the truth. In my family’s case, the truth will never set us free. It would only kill what’s left of us.

  “I will,” I promise.

  “You’re a great dad, Colin. Stop worrying about the little things and let them be boys…and I promise not to egg them on next time.” She gives me a guilty look. “The bowing and curtseying were too much, huh?”

  “A little.”

  “If I didn’t like you, then I wouldn’t tease you so much.”

  “I hate to see how you’d treat me if you loved me, then.” Oh shit. I did not just say that to her.

  Della’s eyes widen.

  Before either of us can say a word, Beaumont walks inside my office. Damn his timing, yet it’s a relief as well.

  “Time to leave.”

  Della doesn’t wait another second; she flies out of my office. I start after her.

  “It’s never easy to lie to the one who holds your heart,” he says.

  I lift a brow. “Is that how you seduced my mother?”

  He doesn’t flinch and he doesn’t tell me to go fuck myself. Instead he moves to stand beside the door and waits.

  I pause, one foot inside the car. “That was completely uncalled for and I was out of line. Please accept my apologies.”

  “There is nothing to apologize for,” he says, his head held high. “We must leave now.”

  He’s not royalty, but he’s a class act and I don’t deserve him.

  —

  By the time we arrive at school, the boys are back to their usual mischievously good moods and Della is herself as well.

  As soon as we stop, the boys hug and kiss us both. They don’t wait for anyone to open the door. Pierce slams the door closed so hard that the car rocks.

  They run down the sidewalk, Aiden clutching the paperwork he’d snatched out of my hand without me noticing.

  “I should go with—”

  “Not this time.” Della nods at the entrance. “See, Mrs. Macintosh has them. They are in great hands. And…they have a bodyguard. At school.” Her face contorts slightly. “Are you that worried about them?”

  “Their bodyguard is posing as the resource officer for the elementary school so that none of the families feel unduly scared at the thought of a man in a suit with a gun standing outside every day. It’s been cleared with everyone on the school board as well. I know this is hard for you to understand, but with our family, security is a must.” Meanwhile the school board thinks we must have more money than God to warrant security. I’m more than happy to allow them to think whatever the hell they want as long as our secret is kept and my boys are safe.

  The car pulls away from the curb, my heart speeding up as I get a last look at my boys. While it seems strange that I should worry with them so close to home as opposed to sending them to a boarding school, the schools I sent them to had top-of-the-line security. They were with children just like them, not royalty necessarily, but they were with the offspring of the ultra rich and famous, the infamous, and even criminal in some cases.

  While here…no one is like them and I can’t help but think that it means my boys are vulnerable.

  “Oh, I understand, but it’s a tad frustrating because there’s so much I don’t know,” Della finally says, sounding slightly exasperated with me. “While it’s not my business, I think you let your secrets get in the way of us.”

  “Us?”

  There is only the barest hint of a blush on her cheeks. “Our friendship.”

  “Right.” My jaw works. “You’re involved in nearly every facet of my life and my family’s life. Please enlighten me how I’m letting anything get in the way of you.”

  “Wow.” She shakes her head at me, her nose wrinkling adorably. “You’re in a foul mood.” She leans forward and knocks on the partition. It comes down. “Can you stop at the corner, please? It’s a nice day for a walk.”

  Beaumont nods and the partition closes.

  “Why are you getting out?”

  “Because today everything I say annoys you and everything anyone does annoys you, and it’s my birthday, which means I don’t have time for people who are annoyed by everyone and everything.”

  I stare at her in utter amazement. When will she stop surprising me with her frankness? “I’m not annoyed.”

  “Yes you are, and since it’s a rare occurrence, I’ll let it slide.” She taps her finger against my chest. “However, this is my day, so you’d best be in a better mood before dinner.”

  I grab her offending finger, then the rest of her hand and don’t let go. “Listen. There are things going on with me that I cannot share with you, things that I can’t share with anyone, and I don’t know if those things will ever get better.”

  “Why can’t you share them?”

  “You’d look at me differently. Everyone would.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but you are different. You live in the biggest house in town, speak with a hoity-toity accent, and have bodyguards. That’s not normal around here…or most places in North Carolina.” She scoots closer to me, so close that I can smell the floral scent of her shampoo. “No one cares, especially me, about that. What matters is what’s in here.” She pushes my hand against my chest. “I have to get to work and my first house is right around the block. Lola is already there, waiting on me.”

  “I’m sorry for ruining your birthday.”

  “You didn’t ruin my entire birthday.”

  “I’m glad—”

  “Just the morning and I expect you to fix that tonight.” She grins at me, then pulls her fingers out of my grasp just as the car stops. “See you later.” Like the boys, she doesn’t wait for anyone to open her door.

  I should have opened her door. I should be walking down the street with her. She waves over her shoulder at Beaumont and the car merges into traffic again.

  “Damn it,” I mutter, then pull out my phone to check incoming messages and emails. I can barely concentrate because the car is filled with her scent.

  My head is filled with her image, of all the ways I want to have her. The hundreds of ways I want to kiss every inch of her body.

  Make her mine in every way possible.

  I slump against the leather seat.

  There is no way possible for us to be together and I blame my rather vivid imagination on years of celibacy. However, I won’t apologize for it. I haven’t had much time and ever since I realized I was in love with my best friend, no woman held my interest. I didn’t want to be with a woman who wasn’t Della, didn’t want to think about how she felt or sounded when she orgasmed while I was with another.

  It felt…wrong.

  My phone vibrates suddenly and I check the screen, then hurry to answer.

  “Prime Minister Davies.”

  “Your Highness.” There’s a hint of a sneer in his voice, but I choose to ignore it. “Forgive the early morning call, but we have a proposition for you.”

  “In regards to our exile?” Don’t get too excited. Remain calm.

  “Yes. I, along with other key members of Parliament, will be in London tomorrow and we have time to
fit you in,” he says.

  Fit me in? Fuck you, I want to shout into the mobile. “Brilliant. What time?” I ask instead.

  “Nine A.M., House of Commons, Strangers’ Dining Room,” he replies.

  The irony is not lost on me. I am a stranger to them as well as a descendant of the first queen of the isle, Baroness Strange. “Perfect. I’ll see you then.” I end our call before he can and then lower the partition. “Beaumont. We’re going to London.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  “We need to leave as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll make arrangements for the boys,” he says. “Shall I ask Pemberton to reschedule tonight’s dinner and inform Ms. Hughes?”

  Della’s birthday. I inwardly groan at the timing of Davies’s call. “Yes to rescheduling, but I’ll call Della myself.”

  Usually, I look for any excuse to talk with her, but this, especially in light of my beastly behavior, will not be pretty.

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