Their Majesties King Edward and Queen Miriam are pleased to announce the marriage of their son, His Royal Highness Prince Harrison to Miss Vilano Beach of Trumanville, Missouri. The Duke and Duchess of Chalingsgate will take part in a celebratory tour of San Majoria when their schedule permits. Prince Harrison looks forward to showing his bride the beauty of his homeland, and Lani, Duchess of Chalingsgate is excited to meet the people and see the wonders San Majoria has to offer.
The Duchess of Chalingsgate was born and raised in the Trumanville area. She is the fourth of five children and the youngest of three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Colin Beach. The duchess currently teaches theatre at a local high school.
Their Majesties and Their Royal Highnesses apologize for being unable to stream the wedding to the people of San Majoria live but will be posting an unaltered recording for those who wish to view the event for themselves.
They will continue to live in southwest Missouri while Prince Harrison completes his time at university. Their future plans will be announced at a later date. They request the press and public respect their privacy while they are not at public events.
“What exactly do you need input on?” he asked. “It’s pretty basic, except it doesn’t say much else about Lani. The public will find it out before long anyway. She has a movie database page. She even already has a very small Wiki.”
Astrid groaned.
“What?” Harrison glared at her.
“It just hit me that you’re the second Prince Harry to marry an actress. I know Lani doesn’t have nearly the level of fame as the Duchess of Sussex did prior to meeting Great Britain’s Prince Harry, but the comparisons are inevitable.”
“I don’t go by Prince Harry, though,” he pointed out. “I seldom go by Harry and never in public. Maybe no one will notice.”
“Highly unlikely, sir,” one of the people on the screen said. “We won’t make the connection, but someone will. It’ll blow over before long. As you said, her acting career was short-lived. The Duchess of Sussex was much more successful in that arena.”
Which meant Lani would hear the unflattering comparisons. It would dredge up a painful time for her when people asked why she gave up the chance to be a star and move home.
“I’d like to downplay it if possible.” Harrison leaned back in his seat. “She had her reasons for coming home rather than staying in California, but there’s no reason for anyone to know what they are. She chose to move back to Missouri and become a teacher. It was what she’d always planned to do after acting for a while.” She just hadn’t acted as long as she’d thought she would.
“We won’t bring it up,” the team promised. “If it does come up, we’ll say she chose her family and an honorable career as an educator because she felt it was her calling. Is that acceptable?”
Harrison nodded. “For now. If she’d like to change the wording, I’ll let you know.”
“Yes, sir.”
Not the topic of conversation he’d expected for tonight, but he’d likely have to broach the topic. Maybe it could wait until morning.
“We have several photos already. We need your approval for which ones to use, sir.” Harrison wasn’t sure which “sir” they were talking to - him or his father.
Several pictures replaced the faces on the screen. “The bottom right one,” he told them instantly.
Lani looked down and to her left, appearing to blush slightly, and maybe laughing. He looked down at her with a smile on his face. They looked enamored with each other.
“I like that one, too,” Astrid chimed in. “They’re clearly in love. The contrast of Harrison’s dark hair and Lani’s blonde is lovely.” She frowned. “Where’s her tiara, though?”
“It wasn’t staying on well, so she had them take it off until it could be secured. I don’t think she was wearing it for any of the pictures between the wedding and the reception.”
His sister’s frown deepened. “Stylists weren’t there to make sure there weren’t any issues?”
Harrison shrugged. “I guess not. I never would have thought of that, and Lani certainly wouldn’t have. She didn’t want the tiara to fall off and get damaged.”
Astrid and his mother exchanged a look before the queen took over. “Use that one,” she instructed, “but also the top left from the ceremony where the tiara is in full view and the kiss.” They were gazing into each other’s eyes during the exchange of vows in that one.
“Yes, ma’am.” The screen changed back to a view of the other conference room.
Harrison shoved back from the table. “Can I go now?” He stood. “Or do you need something else from me?”
His father gave him a look only a king can give. It was kind of like the look mothers gave to their offspring but worse. “You may go.”
One didn’t leave the presence of the king without permission, though his father didn’t enforce that on a regular daily basis in private. He was simply reminding Harrison that there were certain protocols and such that needed to be followed.
He mumbled a goodbye then hurried out of the room, heading for the apartment where Lani waited for him. The code to the door had been set by Lani earlier. No one else had it, though security could override it if needed.
Locking the door behind him, Harrison went up the stairs to find his wife and talk to her about the coming days.
14
After two days off, the crew was healthy enough to resume working.
The day before, Lani and Harrison had just chilled in the apartment where they’d spent their wedding night. He’d arranged for a couple’s massage which felt amazing, but now it was back to the real world.
She wore a simple gold band on her left ring finger when she went back to work with the local businesses.
Unfortunately, the first business she had to deal with was her own parents’ bookstore.
“What’s the problem, Mom?” She walked in to see her mother frowning with her arms folded over her chest.
“We’re going to be closed two extra days. Are we going to be compensated for them?”
“I haven’t heard yet, but you’ll be fine. The store is doing very well.” And featured prominently in the movie. The heroine worked there after all. “They’re going to try to get everything done on time still. It just depends on how smoothly everything goes.”
“Why are you working anyway? You’re a duchess or princess or whatever now.”
“Because I made a commitment.”
“Lani.” One of the PAs hurried in. “We need you.”
Thankful for even a brief reprieve, she turned. “For what?”
“One of the girls is still sick. She’s only in two scenes in the movie, but they need someone who can pull off the part.”
“What part?”
The PA winced. “The bumbling new employee at the bookstore.”
Right. Of course. “I can do that, but I haven’t acted in years. I don’t have any memberships or anything anymore.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it figured out. Head over to wardrobe as soon as you can.” She turned, talking into the walkie talkie as she did.
Lani pulled her phone out and texted Harrison the news. She didn’t think it should be an issue, but what did she know?
He called a second later as she walked back out of the bookstore. “You’re going to be in the movie?” There was a frown in his voice. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
It meant she’d be working with Louis, but she couldn’t let the rest of the cast and crew down. “It’ll be fine. You can be here while we’re shooting if you want.”
“Oh, I will be. Just a head’s up, though, you’ll probably need to donate whatever money you make from it to the charity of your choice, and probably not the theater boosters.”
That made sense, but she’d deal with it later. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Once at the wardrobe area, she was fitted with jeans and a sweater designed to at least kind of blend into the background. She wasn’t t
he lead or even the best friend. She was just the clumsy one who knocked over bookshelves.
Twice.
Her scenes didn’t take long, and she was glad when they were over, but it was fun acting again, even just briefly. It was different than when she worked with the kids on stage.
Then she went back to trying to put out fires with the local shops. Her parents weren’t the only ones complaining about the extra two days.
Like she, or anyone, could control food poisoning.
By the time she finished working, she was exhausted. Lani headed for her apartment, but only when she saw Harrison sitting on the steps did she remember that she didn’t really live there anymore.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I wondered if this was where you’d end up.”
“Auto-pilot,” she told him as he stood up.
“That’s what I figured.” He put an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward a waiting SUV. “The security teams won’t let us stay here, though. We can either go back to my house or to the apartment on the estate.”
Lani hadn’t even been to Harrison’s house yet. “Which one is closer?”
“About the same. Different directions.”
“Where do I have what I need for bed? Like a toothbrush and stuff?”
Then she remembered that Harrison had slept on the couch for the last two nights. That wasn’t fair to him, even though it was a supremely comfortable couch. “Your house is fine,” she told him. “I’ve been wondering what it’s like.”
Not that she’d spend much time wandering around. She’d want to collapse almost as soon as they got there.
“I think at least some of your things are already there.”
“They are?”
He took her hand as one of the security team members drove the SUV out of town. “We have staff that look out for us. If I had to guess, when they cleaned the apartment earlier, they made a note of what kind of toothpaste you use and things like that, then took extra to the house, just in case.”
She felt her brows furrow. “People do that? Like Jordan with his meds?”
“It’s our pleasure, ma’am,” the security guard up front said. “It’s our job to make sure you’re safe at all times. Other staff members have the job of making sure you have everything you need when you need it.”
“Well, thank you.”
She let her head lean back against the seat behind her and closed her eyes. Another week and these long days would be over.
Then they would head to San Majoria and tour the country for a few weeks, giving Lani a chance to get to know the people and them a chance to know her.
No pressure there.
She dozed off for a few minutes but woke when the car came to a stop.
“We’re here.” Harrison got out then hurried around to her side of the SUV to open her door. He held out a hand to help her.
Lani took it and looked around. The house was nice, much nicer than anything she’d expected to live in at least any time soon. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’d say thank you, but I didn’t have anything to do with it. My sister and her husband live in the neighborhood and the house was available. It makes it easy for security and everyone else to work together when needed.”
“That makes a lot of sense.”
They went up the four steps to the front porch, and Harrison opened the door.
Before she could walk in, though, he turned and swept her into his arms.
Lani squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I didn’t get a chance to carry you over the threshold the other night.” He grinned and kissed her lightly. “There was no way I was going to miss this.”
He carried her inside, kicked the door closed behind them, then walked up the stairs before setting her on her feet outside one of the bedrooms.
“This is your room until you’re ready for me to move in with you,” he told her, his dark eyes soft. “We’ll figure out when together.”
Then he kissed her, tender and sweet, before moving away.
“Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
One more soft kiss, and he was gone.
The plane rolled to a stop on the tarmac in San Majoria. There had been wrap parties in Trumanville, but Lani declined to attend, so Harrison had brought her to his home. He promised her a trip to Savarino’s when they returned.
Outside, they would be greeted by local politicians and school children with flowers. He’d tried to prepare Lani for it, but nothing could prepare her for it, not really.
There would be pictures taken by authorized photographers and paparazzi alike. That was why a stylist touched up Lani’s make-up.
“Whenever you’re ready, sir.”
Harrison reached a hand out to Lani. “You ready?”
She took a deep breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”
“Just smile and be yourself.” He squeezed her hand. “You’ll be wonderful.”
A steward opened the door after the stairs were in place. Harrison stepped out first with Lani right behind him. He kept a tight hold on her hand as they walked down the stairs. He wanted her to know he was right there with her.
Beyond the nearby fences, crowds had gathered and cheered. At the base of the steps, they were greeted by the mayor of Cabo Juan Eduardo and a group of children from a local school.
When they reached the mayor, Harrison let go of her hand to introduce him to Lani. After bowing slightly, the man shook hands with both of them. Lani moved on to the children as Harrison had told her she should.
A girl and boy came toward her, curtsying and bowing before handing Lani a bouquet of flowers.
He couldn’t hear her response, but the boy grinned and the girl giggled, so it must have been good. After she’d moved a bit down the line, Harrison started at the beginning and talking to each of the children for a moment.
About halfway through, one of the little girls tugged on his shirt. Harrison leaned closer to hear what she had to say.
“She’s nice. I like her.”
Harrison chuckled. “I like her, too.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Of course, you do. You married her.”
Lots of people got married when they didn’t particularly like each other, but he wasn’t going to ruin the romance for her just yet.
By the time he made it to the end of the group of students, Lani was talking to their teacher.
“Congratulations, sir,” the teacher told him as he shook her hand. “We’re all very happy for both of you.”
They made small talk for another minute then continued their walk to the waiting SUV.
Harrison took Lani’s hand again and waved to those over by the fence. Lani waved, too, and the crowd went crazier than he’d seen a crowd in a long time.
They hadn’t had a new princess in a long time either, though.
As the SUV drove through the streets of Cabo Juan Eduardo, Lani looked around wide-eyed. “This place is gorgeous, Harrison.” She gasped as they drove by a sign. “Is there really a turtle sanctuary here?”
Harrison chuckled. “There is. I’ll see if we can go one morning before they open. Take the tour and swim with them in the lagoon maybe.”
“That would be so cool.”
Before they could talk any more about it, she gasped again. “Is that where you live?” Her voice was hushed this time as the palace pulled into view.
“It’s where I grew up,” he confirmed.
“That’s so cool.”
The gate opened in front of them, and the SUV went through without stopping. It came to a stop under the portico. A uniformed guard opened Lani’s door while another opened Harrison’s.
He rested his hand on the small of her back as they went inside, cognizant of the fact that there were likely cameras on nearby buildings catching their every move.
Inside, his parents waited, though not in the formal configuration they would use if it had been an official visit of some kind.
“Welcome to our home,” his father said walking toward them.
Harrison bowed and saw Lani remember to curtsy before his father reached her and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you for having me.”
His father turned, keeping an arm around Lani’s shoulder. “This is your home now, too. At least when you want it to be.”
“Thank you.”
They walked through the palace until they reached the private quarters.
“We’ll be having dinner in about an hour and a half,” his mother told them. “We would love to have you join us but understand if you’d rather not because you’re tired.”
“We’ll be there,” Lani promised. “I haven’t eaten in a while.”
His parents laughed as they went their separate ways.
Harrison took her hand and led her to his suite. “We each moved into our own apartments when we got older. We were able to choose the artwork on the door. I’ll probably have it changed at some point, but this is mine.”
The Medieval knight on his horse with his sword drawn likely wasn’t what he would choose today.
“Are these priceless artworks or something commissioned for this purpose?” she asked as he opened the door.
“I have no idea.” He debated carrying her over the threshold again but decided against it.
“Our luggage will catch up with us later,” he told her as she sank onto the overstuffed couch. “There should be some clothes in the main bedroom for you if you’d like to change into something more comfortable.”
Lani curled onto her side, with a pillow under her cheek. “This is fine,” she murmured. She told her phone to set an alarm in forty-five minutes.
Harrison stifled a laugh and found a blanket to pull over her. Taking a nap sounded like a wonderful idea. Rather than a chair in the living area, he chose to flop onto his bed in the main bedroom.
Certain Lani would wake him up when she came in, he didn’t set an alarm but instead just let himself doze off.
There was no place like home.
15
Lani jolted awake, though she didn’t know why.
Where was she?
Small Town Girls Don't Marry Secret Princes: A Small Town Contemporary Christian Romance (Beaches of Trumanville Book 2) Page 10