Lani’s mind was trying to assimilate puzzle pieces, but she couldn’t quite get them to fit together correctly. She wasn’t even sure what puzzle she was assembling, but there was one.
The woman looked sort of familiar.
Grandmother Grace.
Presentation.
An idea came to her, but she couldn’t even let her mind formulate the thought until...
He’d bowed.
He hadn’t bent over.
He’d bowed.
To his grandmother.
Named Grace.
Just like the woman depicted in the doll.
Queen Grace.
“You’re Queen Grace,” she blurted out.
The woman turned to her and gave a single nod. “I am, though I’m curious why you sound shocked.” She looked back at her grandson.
Her grand. son.
Which meant...
“I didn’t tell her, Gigi.” He sighed. “I liked being Harry. Not His Royal Highness Prince Harrison blah blah blah. You know how it is.” He seemed to be pointedly looking anywhere but at Lani.
“I understand that, but you couldn’t even share with the young woman you’ve spent the last several days with?” She turned to Lani. “Good morning, dear. And yes, I am Dowager Queen Grace of San Majoria, the Queen Mother, if you will, and Harrison’s grandmother.”
Was she supposed to curtsy? “Um, hi.” That was all she could figure out to say.
“There’s much more to discuss later, but first I wanted to take the two of you to breakfast before the delivery, but that would require the two of you being dressed appropriately. If either of you would like to accompany me, you have ten minutes. Otherwise I’ll have breakfast without you.”
Harry - Harrison looked at Lani. “Would you like to join my grandmother for breakfast?”
And try to forget that he was a stinkin’ prince and her husband had been king.
Which meant she was a widow.
“Sure. Breakfast.” Lani hurried to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She leaned back against it and blew out a breath. She didn’t have anything appropriate to wear for breakfast with a queen, but she’d have to do the best she could with the minimal clothing at her disposal.
At least she’d bought a pair of jeans. When combined with a longish solid colored t-shirt, it wasn’t the worst combination ever, though still not what she would have worn if she’d known she’d be meeting royalty.
But if she’d known Harry was really Prince Harrison, there was no way she would have spent the last few days getting to know him. She would have handed over the doll and taken off.
That would have been a shame. She’d really enjoyed the Harry she’d gotten to know the last few days.
After putting her shoes and a smattering of make-up on, Lani went back into the living area to find Prince Harrison was still in his room, and she was alone with the former queen.
She picked up the cup of coffee she’d poured a minute before the knock at the door. “Would you like a cup of coffee, Your Majesty?”
“No, thank you, but please, go right ahead and finish yours if you would like.” Queen Grace smiled at Lani. “And perhaps we can talk for a few moments before my grandson emerges from his room.”
The coffee was almost cold, but Lani sipped it anyway. “Your grandson has been most kind on this trip. It’s been nice getting to know him.”
“That’s wonderful.” The woman raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at Lani. “But the first question I have is whether or not my grandson has kissed you yet.”
As Harrison walked through the door between his bedroom and the living area, he heard his grandmother’s question to Lani.
“Grandmother,” he admonished. “Leave her alone.”
“It’s a valid question. The two of you have spent a fair bit of time together the last few days. She’s a lovely young woman. You’re a handsome young man. It would only be natural, but I also trust a kiss is as far as it would go, because you are a gentleman.”
“Let’s get breakfast, then we’ll head for the meeting point. Separately. No one else needs to know who I am until later.”
“Very well.” His grandmother stood with all the elegance one would expect from a former queen.
Harrison waited for her to lead them out of the room. When she was far enough ahead of them, he whispered to Lani. “I’m sorry about her. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But can we talk about it later? I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, and I’d like to continue being friends.”
Lani sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “Fine. We’ll talk later.”
“Thank you.”
Two men in suits joined them in the hallway. His grandmother’s security nodded politely his direction, flanking the trio.
Breakfast was in a private room at a nearby family-owned restaurant. Gigi spent the whole time talking to Lani, asking insightful questions Harrison hadn’t thought of in the days they’d spent together. He learned more about her in that hour than he had in nearly a week. It wasn’t that he hadn’t learned about her, but it was more superficial. Somehow Grandmother Grace had a knack for getting to the deeper things.
Like the fact Lani had gone to Los Angeles, acted in one movie, then returned to Trumanville.
She did not say why she’d left California and returned home or what movie she’d starred in. She did say she’d made a friend or two that she’d kept in touch with.
For a grandmother who said she’d wanted to see him, Harrison barely entered the conversation at all. Grandmother Grace dominated with her discussion with Lani. Having been on the other end of her subtle interrogations, Harrison doubted Lani had any idea just how much she divulged.
No one ever did. He was fairly certain the national police interrogators could learn a thing or two from Grandmother Grace’s tactics.
By the time Lani went to the restroom as breakfast ended, the former queen was Gigi to Lani.
“I thought only people under eighteen could call you Gigi,” Harrison asked sipping his coffee to hide his smirk. One did not smirk at the former queen.
“I can give a special dispensation to anyone I want,” she informed him, folding her napkin neatly on the table. “Now, I shall take my leave and the two of you shall travel to the meeting point together. I will see you there.”
Harrison stood and held his grandmother’s chair as she rose. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “See you soon, Gigi.”
She muttered something about his impertinence as she patted his hand and left with her security in tow.
Lani returned a moment later. “Where’s your grandmother?” she asked looking around the room.
“We’ll see her after the reveal.” He glanced at the incoming text on his phone. “She’s asked us to accompany her back to Springfield. She’ll have someone drive my car.”
“What exactly does that mean?” She pointed a finger at him. “And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook on the whole ‘I’m a prince but didn’t tell you’ thing.”
“It means she wants us to fly back with her. Based on the text, there’s something she wants to talk to us about. Probably me, really, but didn’t want to ask you to drive the car back by yourself.”
They started for the door. “Did you do something to make her mad?”
“Not that I know of, but it’s possible. I graduate this fall and haven’t made an official plan for what I’m going to do afterward, so maybe that’s it? They like to announce these things far in advance, so could be.”
He held the car door open for her, but when he took his spot in the driver’s seat, she was staring at him.
“What?”
“Do you have a crown and everything?”
“No. No crown. Only the monarch and queen consort have those. Married women have tiaras, but not men. Some countries have coronets which are kind of like a crown for the men, but they’re seldom worn. Only at coronations really and only in some countries. The Quad-Countries and the United Kingdom.
Maybe New Sargasso, but I’m not sure. For example, Spain’s crown is too heavy to wear, so they don’t have a coronation, but rather a proclamation or swearing in ceremony, basically.”
“Fascinating.” The way she said the single word led Harrison to believe she meant it. “What other trivia do you know?”
Harrison chuckled. “I have no idea what’s considered trivia and what’s common knowledge. It’s all common knowledge to me, I think. My father is king. My grandfather before him. It’s the only life I’ve ever known, but it won’t be the only life I ever know. I’m already like forty-second in line.”
Lani simply raised an eyebrow at him.
“Fine. Not that far down, but my eldest sister already has three children. My brother has one adopted child not in the line and one biological child that is. My second sister has two adopted children who aren’t in the line of succession. My third sister has twin girls, but I really don’t know what their official status is. They haven’t been legally excluded at the moment.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Darius is also a prince, but from another country. His father was my father’s best friend until his father died a number of years ago. I don’t think they’re excluded unless Darius becomes king, but that’s highly unlikely. His brother, King Benjamin, has a baby girl, who’s a couple of months old. He has two older sisters who both married last year, so he’s likely to get pushed down even farther soon.”
He could see it register as he punched the button to start the car.
“Wait. Your sister and brother-in-law who were at the game...”
“Yes.”
“She’s Princess Esther. And he’s a prince? Prince Darius from somewhere else.”
“Yes.”
Lani groaned. “Pretty sure I made a fool of myself in front of them then.”
He reached over and covered her hand with his own. “No. You didn’t. You were kind and polite, even without knowing they have titles. That’s all anyone can ask for, really. Besides, you’ve spent several days with me, and I saw you snort soda out of your nose. If you made a fool in front of anyone, it was me.” He squeezed her hand, so she’d know he wasn’t serious.
“You still owe me.”
“For what?” Not that he was complaining. He wanted to have a reason to see her once they made it back to Missouri.
“For not telling me. For letting me spend time with people when I should have known who they were but didn’t. Who else was with us? I know who Christopher Bayfield is, obviously, and his wife. My aunt married them when they eloped. They lived down the street from Mama Beach before they moved to California. We used to play together. But the other guy and his wife? I knew I should know them, but never did figure it out.”
“Jonathan and Kenzie Langley-Cranston. Jonathan comes from one of those Kennedy-esque families on both sides. He and Kenzie have been married for a few years and have three kids, I think. I don’t talk to him often on a purely personal level. He runs a security company that handles bodyguards and stuff for high profile clients. He assists with security for all of the royal families who spend time in and around Serenity Landing.”
She groaned. “Of course. Humanity Magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor for a long time, right?”
“I think so. I can’t say that I’ve ever paid attention.” Harrison pulled the car into a parking spot near the meeting place. He’d been antsy ever since relinquishing control of the doll days ago. He would see it get to the rightful hands and maybe the knot in his stomach would dissipate. “Now, are we ready to do this?”
6
Watching from the side as the doll was given to the former seamstress, Lani tried to keep her mind from wandering to Harry - Harrison - and his royal titles. Surely he had more than just “His Royal Highness Prince Harrison.” Didn’t they usually have like nineteen titles with Duke and Count and stuff in them?
The elderly woman gasped and cried when her grandson handed her the doll. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “This is incredible. I remember this like it was yesterday.”
“In that case, Nana, there’s someone else who’d like to talk to you.” Mrs. Quinn’s grandson motioned to someone standing off to the side.
The other person opened the door and out walked the woman Lani had found herself spilling her guts to over breakfast.
Mrs. Quinn gasped again. She stood and curtsied as best she could given her age. “Your Majesty.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Quinn.” Queen Grace inclined her head as gasps came from the rest of the group gathered around. They’d known an anonymous benefactor related to the royal family provided for all of them to be there but hadn’t known the queen herself would be in attendance.
Lani hung back as the others surged forward then paused, unsure of how to proceed with an actual queen in the room. She’d already met the queen so she’d let the others have their turn.
“She commands a room, doesn’t she?” Harrison stood close to her, so close his arm brushed against her back.
“Definitely. Does that come naturally or is there some class on how to get people to pay attention to you?”
“For some people it comes naturally. For others, it’s a learned skill. There’s not a class, per se, but especially for those who will wear a crown, there’s mentoring. My father is naturally incredible. Astrid tends to be more reticent if given the choice, but she also knows how to work a room when necessary.”
“And your other siblings?”
“Esther hasn’t done much of that in a while, but I’m sure she can. Jacqueline Grace tends to be fairly private, but it’s something we all have to learn to one extent or another.”
“And you?”
He nudged her with an elbow. “I walk into a room, and women swoon.”
Lani rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “I’m sure they do.”
“Maybe not swoon, but I do tend to attract attention. That’s part of why I stayed inside most of the baseball game. Esther did, too, because she knew I didn’t want it to get out that I was there and for you to find out who I was before I was ready to tell you.”
“I understand that, you know, but you’re still not off the hook. I’m pretty sure you’re going to have to take me somewhere nice for dinner to make up for it.”
He leaned in closer as Queen Grace greeted each person one at a time. “I’m happy to do that. Maybe Savarino’s next weekend?”
“If I’m not busy with the movie, I would love that.”
“Right. The movie.”
“I’m helping by being a liaison with the town businesses. I’m not sure exactly what my days are going to look like. I think I may be busy 24/7 for the next three weeks.”
“Then after you’re done. Meantime, I don’t have classes. I’ll help you however I can if it means I get to spend more time with you.”
Lani could feel the blush crawl up her cheeks. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Then, when the movie is all wrapped up, we’ll celebrate with dinner at Savarino’s. How does that sound?”
“Perfect,” she whispered.
They watched as Queen Grace talked with everyone in the room. Eventually, Lani and Harrison found seats of their own.
“Why haven’t you two gone over there?” one of the organizers asked, sitting next to them. “She’s really cool.”
“Uh...” Harrison couldn’t come up with an answer.
Lani jumped in. “She’s going to our part of the country for a visit with some friends. She invited us to travel with her. We’ll have plenty of time to talk with her on the trip.”
Mrs. Quinn walked slowly to their side, taking a seat next to Lani. “Thank you both for the role you played in making all of this happen. I’m told the two of you took two legs of the trip because others couldn’t, then started the caravan that led to this.”
“Lani did three legs,” Harrison told her. “Four really. The women from Tulsa to Joplin and Joplin to Springfield were both sick. Then she woul
dn’t let me travel on my own to the Crimson Knights’ stadium since I had no idea where the statue we were supposed to meet at actually was.”
“Why would you?” Mrs. Quinn asked. “You’re not from the States. I can’t imagine baseball is high on your list of priorities.”
“Well, no,” Harrison answered.
Lani could hear the nervousness in his voice, but since when did she know him that well?
The woman tilted her head. “You’re a lot like your grandfather, I think. Your father, too, of course, but I see your grandfather in your eyes.”
“Do you know his family, Mrs. Quinn?” the other organizer asked innocently.
“Oh, I worked for them many years ago,” Mrs. Quinn answered with a sly smile. “They were wonderful people. I don’t see them often but keep up online from time to time. Your father has turned out to be excellent at his... job. And your sister! I was so glad to see her happy again after the tragedy she lived through.”
Lani watched as Harrison reached out and took Mrs. Quinn’s hand. “My father is a wonderful man. My sister is extremely happy with her not-so-new-anymore husband and their little family has grown since then. As for my grandfather? If I’m half the man he was and my father is, I’ll be quite happy.”
The organizer sitting next to them gasped. “I knew you looked familiar! I researched the Cordova family while putting this together.”
Lani cringed on Harrison’s behalf as the woman went on.
“You’re Prince Harry!”
It took everything in him not to cringe.
“I’m not Prince Harry,” he told them.
“But you look...”
“I am Harrison Cordova,” he interrupted, a very un-royal thing to do.
“Prince Harrison then?” she was clearly confused, but he simply nodded.
He glanced around. No one seemed to be paying any attention to them. “I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself, though.”
The woman lowered her voice. “Why? She’s your grandmother, right?”
Small Town Girls Don't Marry Secret Princes: A Small Town Contemporary Christian Romance (Beaches of Trumanville Book 2) Page 4