Royally Duched (Duched #2)

by Xavier Neal

  I take a long deep breath and a brave step forward. “And I love you for that.”

  Yes. I really said that out loud. Will you just give me a minute?

  Kris whispers under his breath, “Are you having a stroke?”

  After shooting him a sarcastic look, I meet my father’s eyes again. “But Kristopher gave me advice that night to which I still stand by. I have the right to choose whose opinions matter to me and whose don’t. That includes other royal families. Investors. Internet trolls and so on. I’ve never given a damn about what the rest of the world thinks of me and while that has given you and Kristopher more gray hairs than you appreciate, it has also reminded the country we live in that it is all right to be who you are. To challenge the world. To strive to be more than mindless sheep.” My palms fall flat on the desk. “Change and progression are inevitable. Wouldn’t you rather our family legacy be that we were forerunners rather than bigots too stubborn to see past something as miniscule as race? Wouldn’t you rather the Kenningston name make an actual difference like mom always hoped?”

  His shoulders drop.

  “I don’t want my child to grow up in a country where he or she has to be afraid of falling in love with ‘the wrong person’.” Kris backs me as he makes his way to the desk. “I don’t think mom would want that either. I think she’d want her grandchildren and her own children to love whoever it is they love and to battle adversity with a punch rather than a pull.”

  I give Kris a smirk before I chuckle, “She had a helluva left hook.”

  “I remember. That was also her ring hand.”

  We laugh again and our father adds, “You boys should’ve seen her the night Selene MayVer tried to drunkenly kiss me, shortly after we first got married. Oh…The papers went crazy at the black eye your mother gave her.”

  With a proud smirk, I state, “That’s why you advised Soph not to throw any punches at the picnic last year? Didn’t want to relive the scandal?”

  He reaches for his glass. “Trust me, it’s for the better. People still bring up that night to this day.”

  The realization we all miss my mother more than we are willing to admit washes over us.

  She kept us sane. Grounded. Centered. Grandmother used to whisper to her when I was little that was the true role of the Kenningston queens. To be the glue that kept us from ripping each other to shreds.

  “Are you sure about this, Kellan?” Our father unexpectedly asks. “Are you sure you want to do this? There’s going to be backlash. For all of us. Have you considered Kristopher in this decision?”

  My eyes slide to his and he immediately states, “I support you. If that means we have to find new funding then so be it. Racism like that is a cancer on the world. I don’t mind being a part of the cure as opposed to being a part of the problem.”

  The moment my attention is back on my father he sighs, “Once things are settled between the two of you, I will issue a statement requesting the media respect your privacy. I will also begin to deal one by one with the connections that may suffer as they are presented.”

  For the first time in weeks the bleak, desolate feeling begins to waiver and the faint light of hope flickers.

  “You’re both right. Change is…necessary. But Kellan,” his voice takes on a strong parental tone. “I need you to handle this entire situation with sophistication and tact. This isn’t going to be an overnight win for any of us. Be prepared for new hardships.”

  I heed his warning with a simple nod.

  The biggest concern I have to face first is getting my love back. With her on my arm all the others I have to encounter will be a piece of cake. Probably chocolate since she hates carrot. Who would’ve ever thought I’d be so desperate to spend the rest of my life with a woman who can’t even stomach my favorite kind? See the sacrifices I’m ready to make for her already? Let’s hope she’s still just as willing as I am to make this work.

  “I told you to stop for lunch, Brie.” My father whines after he slams his car door. “I can’t take another salad. Even alpacas don’t eat this much grass.”

  I roll my eyes. “You’re not eating grass, Dad. You’re eating lettuce.”

  “It’s green. It grows on the ground. It’s grass.”

  Before I have a chance to retort, an unexpected voice chimes in, “Like father, like daughter.”

  My body instantly stills.

  Have I ventured into full on hallucinations now? Wow. How desperate am I?

  All of a sudden from beside me, there’s the ruffling of a paper bag, and an offer made. “How does a burger sound?”

  “Perfect.” My dad attempts to reach for it.

  Instantly, I swat his hand away and turn to Kellan. “Excuse me, Stalker Texas Ranger, but he cannot have a burger. Just because you hate your own father doesn’t mean you should try to kill mine.”

  Kellan’s smile expands and my heart thumps harshly against my chest.

  He’s really standing here…He’s really standing here and trying to kill my father. What! He is! You don’t offer someone who recently had a heart attack a greasy, cholesterol filled patty of death.

  He dangles the bag out of my reach for my father to grab. “Enjoy it, Mr. Sanders.”

  “Charles.”

  Kellan gives him a polite nod as my father snatches it from him. “Charles.”

  Dad rushes away towards the front door like a goblin who has just stolen someone’s gold.

  The moment he’s out of sight, I turn around and snap, “Seriously, how is that a good idea?! He like just had a heart attack.”

  His hands slide into his light gray suit pockets while he lets the corners of his lips turn upward.

  Please do not remind me how delicious he smells and looks right now. Between that suit, which I would guess is over a thousand dollars, and my favorite cologne he’s seducing my senses with, I’m well aware that these past few weeks haven’t hurt him nearly as much as it has me. Obviously.

  “I’m aware of your father’s status. I’m also aware that for the past three weeks he’s hasn’t been allowed anything that wasn’t caught in the ocean before a humpback whale could filter it through its teeth.”

  “Have you been hanging out at the aquarium?” I step to the side to face him. “Did you watch Finding Dory and decide you need to get a better idea on how that system works?”

  In classic Kellan fashion, he argues, “Don’t you mean Finding Nemo?”

  “No. I mean the sequel.” My eyebrows dart down. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know there was a sequel.”

  He looks taken back. “I didn’t.”

  I mumble more to myself than him, “Guess the real surprise is the fact you’ve ever seen the first one…”

  “Hey! I’m very well versed with the Disney Culture! We even went to Disney World, here in the states when my mother was still alive. I was about four and quickly realized I have a huge distaste for people in character costumes.”

  I fight the urge to smile.

  “We’re talking, spend most of the day screaming my head off, type of distaste. It was a very unpleasant experience. Afterwards, I only agreed to watch the films if they promised we would never visit again.”

  A small giggle escapes me and his laugh almost instantly joins mine. For the first time since I stepped off the jet, relief wiggles its way effortlessly through my entire system. However, the weight on my shoulders refuses to budge.

  He shouldn’t be here. There’s no way he came to stay….There’s no way this can pick up right where I ended it. Nothing has changed. Or at least I’m assuming nothing has. Did I miss a big announcement in the paper that bigotry died? Was there a parade?

  As our laughter dies down, I shake my head, and protectively fold my arms across my chest. “What are you doing here? Stalking me again?” When Kellan begins to grin, I add, “Have you been peeping in my bedroom window?”

  “You mean our bedroom window?”

  The correction causes my mouth to close tightly.

  I
’m looking for an apartment! You know this!

  He tilts his head to the side pleased at the sight of my face changing shades. “You’re wondering if I’ve been lingering on the bedroom balcony, watching you undress and slip into one of my favorite lacrosse shirts. The ones I wear to the gym. Maybe watching you reach out for me in the middle of the night, but having to settle for the pillow instead? Grabbing yogurt for breakfast yet only making it through a bite before the agony of missing me becomes too much to swallow.”

  His accurate descriptions cause the hairs on the back of my neck to rise.

  Okay, I was joking about the stalker thing before, but after he said that, it feels a little too Hannibal Lecter in his early days for me.

  Sensing the alarm, he quickly states, “I was merely guessing. More or less mirroring some of my melancholy moods.”

  My heart sinks into my stomach. In a shaky voice, I repeat the original question, “Kellan, what are you doing here? Really.”

  He takes a step forward. “We made an agreement very early on in our relationship. We promised to always answer each other’s calls regardless of where this did or did not end up.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t exactly agree to that with the idea of a real break up in mind.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he quickly argues. “You haven’t been answering.”

  And it has taken all the self-control in the entire goddamn world.

  I struggle to say. “Because there’s nothing to talk about it.”

  “You left something on the jet. I wanted to return it.”

  Uncertain what on earth that could be, I question, “Why didn’t you just mail it like a normal human being?”

  “We’ve been over this. I’m much more charming in person.”

  Even. Fucking. Now. Why couldn’t we have ended on different terms? Like the really bad ones that would make it easy to kick him in the nuts and let my father chase him off with a baseball bat? Why did we have to end things with….so much left between us?

  I let out a slow exhale to calm myself back down. “What is it? What did I leave behind on the jet that was so important it had to be hand delivered by the Prince of Doctenn?”

  His body moves towards mine until the closeness hitches my breath. “Me.”

  Unsure of how to respond, I simply let my jaw crack open.

  Kellan gently tugs my left hand away from my body and uses his other to pull a small object from his pocket. Carefully, he slides a diamond covered gold band with a heart shaped ruby in the center onto my ring finger. “I’ve learned in the very little time we’ve been apart I cannot live without you. My entire life ceases to make sense. I can’t fathom a reason to take a breath let alone open my eyes. And I know that sounds insane and over dramatic and flat out ridiculous, but isn’t that what true love is? A mixture of all those things? Wanting to spend your days with someone who adds meaning and purpose to your world? Maybe your life doesn’t revolve around them, but it cannot revolve at all without them.”

  Tears sting the corner of my eyes.

  He totally turns me into such a girl! Like too much girliness!

  “The only thing I want for my birthday, Brie Adelyn Sanders, is to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Who proposes to someone on their own birthday?!

  “But your father-”

  “Is not an issue,” he reassures immediately. “And even if he were, it would not stop me from asking you. With or without his blessing, with or without his approval, I am ready to spend the rest of my life with you. All you have to do is say yes…”

  My eyes glance down at the gold ring sparkling in the sunlight. It’s a perfect fit.

  And I don’t just mean the size. This entire thing feels like it’s meant to happen. Like this ring should be here. Like we should build a concrete future. Like this is finally our step towards happily ever after….Yeah. I know. Fairytales aren’t real and there’s still the subject of a king prepared to have the country stone me to death rather than marry his son.

  “Kellan…” my voice barely whispers, eyes too stubborn to tear away from the jewel on my hands. “As much as I want this-”

  “Then say yes.”

  “Your father-”

  “I already said-”

  “I heard you.” My face finally lifts to his. “But nothing has changed for me. I don’t wanna divide your family. Not then. Not now. Not ever. I refuse.”

  “And you aren’t,” his reassurance perks my eyebrows up. “My brother, like the meddling girl he is, locked the three of us in a room to sort out our differences.”

  Are you as scared as I am?

  “Turns out lacrosse stick beats tennis racket and golf club.”

  With a sarcastic expression, I tilt my head at him. “Pretty sure golf club would win.”

  “Obviously not. I’m standing here, aren’t I?” After the two of us share a chuckle, he confesses, “We discussed the issues my father brought up the day you left. His main concern first and foremost is me and my brother. After dealing with a negative response from friends and fellow business associates, he believed it would be best to banish you, the possibility of us, in order to protect Kristopher and me from the potential pain. He could hardly cope with the idea of his son possibly being the laughing stock of the country or other’s countries, for who he fell in love with. He didn’t want me nor Kristopher to lose out on the fortunes and lifestyles we’re accustomed to because other people couldn’t see past their own disjointed views.”

  Unconvinced, I merely listen on.

  “He feared or fears the magnitude of repercussions that we will face. But we all agreed, as a family, that we would rather stand for what is right, and lose the wealth we have than be forced to submit to their xenophobic whims. Our family will be a part of a change and a world where people are allowed to love who they love regardless of race, wealth, or status. We will deal with the consequences of this as they come.” Kellan grips my hand tighter, his bright blue eyes still coated in fear. “You were wrong when you said I would change the world, love. We will. And it starts the moment you say yes…”

  His lips lightly press to the back of my hand. Seconds later, I whisper out, “Yes…”

  Kellan’s mouth descends mine without hesitation. Our tongues feverishly fuse, weeks of longing to be together imbued in every push. I wrap my arms around his neck while his slip down to my lavender sun dress covered hips. He yanks me closer to him and effortlessly commands my tongue to submit, to swear, to sacrifice itself to every motion delivered.

  Unexpectedly, he pulls back and growls, “Bloody hell, I need you naked.”

  I giggle and wiggle out of his clutches. “Sorry, but you’ve got a long wait before that happens, birthday boy.”

  His face instantly falls. “What? Why? It’s my birthday.”

  “Uh-huh and I’m still in charge of watching my father until my mother gets off, which isn’t for another two hours. She just started working again and is only scheduling clients the first half of the day. Candice and I are taking turns running errands with him, making sure he takes the proper medication, and most importantly avoids the wrong foods.” His action pops me back in the head and I swat at his chest. “Like that cheeseburger! What were you thinking!”

  He beams. “It’s actually a veggie burger.”

  A gasp escapes me. “That’s like the ultimate betrayal.”

  Kellan innocently shrugs. “Seemed like a healthy middle ground to me.”

  I shake my head and begin to back up towards the front door. “Good luck getting him to let me marry you now.”

  Surprisingly, he winks. “Asked before I tricked him.”

  My feet freeze in place on the driveway. “Excuse me?” He smirks again, which is when I push. “What the hell do you mean you asked him before? When? When could you have possibly asked?”

  The grin grows to a nauseating form. “He actually answers my calls. Well, texts really.”

  “You’ve been talking to my father this entire time?”<
br />
  He casually adjusts his collar. “Not the entire time.”

  Sonofabitch! Is this why my father seemed to constantly promise me Kellan wasn’t out of the running yet? Why wouldn’t he include me in on those plans? What do you mean I wouldn’t have listened? Well….But…Okay. Fine. You win this round.