by Erika Kelly
He nodded. Hope looked almost painful in his eyes.
“The thing is, I’ve been waiting for my parents to allow me to add another product to our business. And, when Marcel argued against my bath and body line, they went along with him, because he’s expected to take over the business when our fathers retire. Well, guess what? I’m an intelligent, educated woman who grew up in the royal house, privy to all the decisions and inner workings. I don’t need Marcel—or any man—to approve my business decisions.”
He cracked a smile.
“I’ve been so worried about upsetting my father, about me being the reason we lose our seats in parliament, and I haven’t been able to reconcile who I am with what they need me to be.”
“Until now?”
“Until this very moment. As painful as it might be for my parents, I’m going to have to stay true to myself. Hold my ground. And that means I can’t marry and get pregnant just so we can hang onto the monarchy, because I don’t believe that’s what’s best for our people in the twenty-first century. And, I guess, if it doesn’t work for them, then my sister can step into my shoes. Because the kind of life they expect me to live…it’s just not possible.”
“Hey, Rosie?” Callie called. “We’re out of jars. Do you have any more?”
She glanced at the wall where she’d stacked the boxes. “No. I guess that’s it. Wow, you guys are fast.”
“Do you need us to load the truck?” Gray asked.
“No, thank you. I’d rather leave them in the air-conditioning.” Rosalina turned back to the table. “Brodie and I can do it in the morning before we head into town.”
“Are you going to decorate your stall?” Callie asked. “Or just give the samples away?”
“I thought the stalls were about demonstrating your craft,” Delilah said. “Maybe you could make something. What would be easy to do?”
“We’re setting up in the morning,” Brodie said. “Not enough time to pull something together.”
“True,” Delilah said. “You know what might be fun? What if I did some cooking demonstrations?”
“If you’re down to do it, I’d like that a lot,” Brodie said. “It’ll drive business to the restaurant.”
“I want my atelier to smell just like this,” Knox said. “Can you make a home fragrance mist?”
“Sure,” Brodie said.
Rosalina elbowed him. “Don’t say that. I have no idea how to make a mist.”
“Then we’ll find someone who does.”
She gazed up at him, her heart so full. “There are no limits with you, are there?” She admired this man so much.
“No, princess. No limits.”
“Done.” Fin sealed his last jar and added it to the pile. “Now, whose ass am I kicking in air hockey?”
Brodie stepped away from her. “You sure your ego can take another beating, little brother? I was worried yesterday might’ve broken you.”
Will’s chair scraped back. He got up, smoothing Delilah’s long, blonde hair. “You should’ve seen Brodie on the trampoline.”
“Show off.” Gray didn’t look up from the lotion he was spooning into a funnel.
“Hey,” Brodie said. “Don’t give me shade just because you couldn’t get any air.”
“Oh, I got air,” Gray said. “Believe me. I was told to use one trampoline. If I’d known I could use the whole damn place, I’d have shown you what it looks like when a gold medalist gets it done.”
Knox kissed his cheek. “You’ll show them next time, sweetie.”
“Okay, now I get why you finished up here so fast.” Rosalina grinned. “Everything’s a competition to you guys.”
Brodie and Fin took opposite sides of the air hockey machine, and Will and Gray picked up ping pong paddles.
“It really is.” Callie watched Fin with adoration.
This.
This is the life I want. The certainty of it gripped her with a fierceness that took her breath away.
But did Brodie want it, too?
Or was he so passionate because he knew she was leaving?
They’d just loaded the bed of the truck, when Brodie shut the tailgate and hauled her into his arms. She loved this—the way she got to touch him whenever she wanted, sleep beside him at night. She got to talk to him about every little thing that popped into her mind and listen to all the ideas going through his.
He kissed her, his hands sweeping down her back and resting on the rise of her bottom. Her body flooded with heat, and desire made her heart go fluttery. “You ready to see how much people love your perfume?”
“So ready.”
“You got your notebook?”
In her mind, she retraced her steps, remembering when she’d put it in her black leather tote bag. “Yep.”
“Phone?”
“Ah…no. Still charging. Hang on one second.” She darted into the bunkhouse and hurried into her bedroom. Even from the doorway, she could see the screen flashing. Once she reached her nightstand, she yanked out the plug and saw that her phone had blown up with messages.
A quick scan showed her mother, Harrison, Marcel…even her father. The sting of adrenaline had her punching her father’s number first.
He never called. Something was wrong.
He answered on the second ring. “Rosalina?” Her normally warm, loving father sounded terse, clipped.
“Hi, Papa. What’s going on?”
“The fact that you’re asking means you haven’t checked your text messages. I’ll hold while you do.”
“Can you just tell me? I’m kind of freaking out here.” But, really, thank God her father was okay. Anything other than a health scare, she could handle.
“Henri showed us a photograph of you with a young man.”
Dread slammed her back against the wall. “The paparazzi’s here?”
“No. Marcel sent it to him.”
“Are you serious? Marcel sent his father a picture of me and Brodie?”
“Brodie? So, it’s true? You’re in a relationship with someone?”
She wouldn’t lie to her father. “Yes, I am.”
He blew out a breath into the receiver. “Rosalina, what on earth are you doing? The vote is next week. Can you imagine if this photograph got into the hands of the paparazzi? Do you understand what it would do to our family? This country? How do I impress upon you that the monarchy hinges on our ability to prove its continuity? And, right now, that means you and Marcel presenting a united front.”
“I thought you liked the idea of establishing a university.”
“I do, but you seem to think a university will win you points with the voters, when it’s nothing more than our obligation as guardians to give our citizens the very best opportunities and amenities possible.”
She had done that, hadn’t she? While it was undoubtedly a great idea, she’d come up with it as a way to make up for her broken engagement.
“If Auguste replaces me as Head of State, everything the people take for granted as their right will disappear. His plans will irrevocably change not just the economy but the very essence of St. Christophe. This is not about wanting to live in a castle and wear crown jewels, Rosalina. This is our responsibility, handed down by our forefathers. I do not take it lightly, nor will I let you take for granted the lifestyle it has afforded you. For goodness’ sake, you’ve had seven years to ‘sow your oats,’ as the Americans say. It’s time to embrace the responsibilities that come with the luxuries.”
She couldn’t argue with a single point he’d made. “Papa…” After that powerful speech, she didn’t know if she could keep fighting for what seemed like a selfish, entitled platform. But, for some reason, she felt the need to try.
She stepped around the bed to look out the window, where she saw Brodie leaning against his truck, checking out his phone. She held up a finger, and he gave her a warm smile and a chin nod, which somehow gave her the strength to carry on the fight. “From the moment I found out about Marcel and Fabiana, my life�
��s turned upside down.”
“I understand how much that upset you, and I’ve given you several weeks away to get a handle on your emotions, but—”
“Father, stop. Do you hear yourself? I’m a twenty-five year old woman. You don’t get to give me a time limit. This is my life. I love you and Mama so much. I love St. Christophe. But I’m so much more than your dutiful daughter. I’m more than my royal title. I have hopes and dreams and ambitions. I have a heart, and I can’t ignore it. You shouldn’t want me to.”
“You haven’t even been away six weeks. You couldn’t have gotten so far along with this young man that you’ve given him your heart. And, if you’re going to give it away, do it here.”
“It’s too late. And I didn’t so much as give it away as open it up to find a space carved just for him. Believe me when I tell you, I’ve got a very strong grip on my emotions. What Marcel did, it was a gift. Had he not strayed, I would’ve been consigned to a lifetime of a loveless, passionless marriage. You can’t want that for me.”
“I want you home, assuming your duties. The royal life is not easy, not for anyone. Along with the benefits comes a lack of privacy and freedom. But, sweetheart, it is your birthright. It is your responsibility to rule this country.”
“But I won’t be ruling it, will I? My husband will. I’ll be every bit as unfulfilled as Mother. Do you want that for me?”
In the absolute silence on the other end of the line, she wondered if she’d taken it too far. It wasn’t her place to bring up her mother. And it wasn’t like her mother had ever complained.
“No, I don’t want that for you. You’ve always had such a strong spirit. I want you to be happy, but you’re going to have to find a way to blend your role in this family and in this country with your passions, just as your mother has done. I think we both know she would make an even better ruler than I, but she’s found a way to enact her vision through other means. You’ll do the same. You must come home, Rosalina, and take on your role here.”
She understood his point, but she also knew her own heart. “Brodie’s special, Papa. What I feel for him…it’s so much more than what I had with Marcel. I didn’t come here for this. I certainly don’t want to let you down or add to your stress, but I feel like my whole, true self here.”
“Rosalina, that is enough. You’ve always had this streak of rebelliousness in you. We’d thought getting expelled from school might’ve been enough to get it under control, but I see it hasn’t. There will be no forbidden romance with a cowboy. Not when the vote’s next week.”
“I can’t believe Marcel took a picture of me and sent it to his father.”
“I’m not sure you understand the pressure Marcel is under. He was instructed to bring you home, and when he couldn’t, he showed his father the reason why. Henri is not a patient man, and this situation has pushed him to his limit. First, his son acts out, and now you.”
“I’m not acting out. That’s an insulting way to look at this. I love him.” Oh, dear God. She did, didn’t she?
She glanced out the window to find Brodie watching her. Her heart swelled so big it hurt. “I’m not getting back at Marcel, and I’m not rebelling against my role. I’ve simply fallen in love with a man who makes me happier than I’ve ever been.”
Her father let out a slow, tired breath. “Listen to me. I would never force you to marry Marcel, and after the vote we can talk about your business plan. I won’t hold you back from realizing your dreams, but you must take on your role here. You’ve been in that town a matter of weeks. You can’t have fallen so hopelessly in love with this man that there’s no turning back. The sooner you end it with him, the easier it will be on both of you.”
His concessions surprised her—and warmed her. But she couldn’t believe the way her body reacted to the idea that she hadn’t fallen so hopelessly in love that there was no turning back.
Because that’s exactly what I’ve done. She pressed her hand to the cool glass, her heart so full of love she wanted to drop the phone and run right into Brodie’s arms. She never wanted to leave those arms again.
“After the vote, things will be different. Between the two of us—and this goes no further—I will be firing Henri. And that means his son will go, as well.”
“You’re firing them? Papa.”
“There can be no other interpretation to him showing us the picture than to either manipulate or blackmail us into controlling our daughter. He’s never disguised his ambitions, but anyone who works for the Villeneuve family must place honor and country above his own ambitions.”
“But he holds all our secrets.”
“And that’s why we conduct ourselves the way we do, sweetheart. So that we have no skeletons in our closets.”
Her father was a good, honorable man, and all she’d done was pile on the stress during the hardest period in his life. “All right, Papa. I’ll come home.”
When Brodie straightened, eyes narrowing on her, she knew what her expression revealed.
The clock had just about run out. “Give me one week to finish up here. I’ll be home before the vote.”
Chapter Twenty
“Can’t sleep?”
In six days, Rosalina would never get to hear that deep, rumbly voice again. She’d never have this intimacy with him, their naked bodies under the covers, the heat of him stretched alongside her. The clutch of his hands in the middle of the night, and the sexy murmurs in her ear.
“Not really.”
Brodie rolled onto his side, slung his arm across her, and nuzzled her neck. “Still buzzed?”
After giving away every sample, Rosalina had been wired. It wasn’t just the fantastic response they’d gotten to the lotion, but the idea it had prompted. Brodie would open an online store for the hotel to sell not only their spa products but other gifts specific to Owl Hoot.
The spirit of Calamity and the Bowie family…she’d never felt more inspired. The freedom to create had opened the floodgates. It was exhilarating.
“No.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“I was thinking about the way you laugh. Usually, you’re all serious and badass—even when someone teases you or says something funny—but every now and then you let loose a smile or a laugh that just slays me. You’re so incredibly handsome, but your intensity can be intimidating. So, when you smile? It’s like…it’s like on an overcast day, when the sunshine breaks through the clouds?” She rolled to look at him. “It’s like that.”
He nudged her. “Come on. What’re you really thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about the way you look at me. Like…like…” She had to close her eyes to conjure up his expression, so she could get it just right. “Like I delight you. Like the wavelength of my voice is meant for you alone. Like…there’s no one else you’d rather be with.”
The awkward silence reminded her of what Vanessa had told her in the trampoline gym. “Relax. Don’t get all worked up about it. I’m not saying any of that’s true. I know when you find something you like you go all in. I’m just saying how it makes me feel.”
The next stretch of silence made her wish she could rewind and delete everything she’d said. Sometimes she needed to shut her mouth. She hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable. “Never mind. Seriously, just forget it.”
But, then, his voice, cracked the quiet. “I didn’t respond right away…because I was embarrassed.”
Embarrassed? “About what?”
“That you see all that.”
Because it’s not what you feel? Or because it is? “Oh, well, don’t be. Apparently, a lot of women see it. You just have a way about you.” She instantly regretted saying that. She’d tried to sound teasing, but it was passive aggressive, and that wasn’t cool.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Best to just say it. “It’s something Vanessa said. It’s been bugging me for a few days. She said the reason she thought there was more to your relationship is because you’re so
wild in bed. She said she confused your passion for actual feelings for her.”
“Fucking Vanessa.” He threw off the covers and stalked to the window. Giving her a fantastic view of his hard, round ass, the breadth of his shoulders, and taper of his waist. Even in the dark, she could see the power in his muscular thighs. “She’s messing with you.”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t have any sense that she was trying to make me jealous. But I get what she means, because if you give her half of what you give me, I can see how she’d be confused.”
“I didn’t give her anything. And, trust me, there wasn’t any passion between us. We worked together. Sometimes we’d grab a bite to eat, and it ended with a quick fuck.”
She hated the image of him with Vanessa. With any other woman.
“Sorry, but it’s true. That’s all it ever was.” Finally, he turned to face her. “The other day my brother told me about some conversations he’d overheard around the time my mom left the family, and it made me realize how different I was before that happened. I was a pretty wild kid. But, after all that went down—me demanding she come home, reaming her ass when she kept putting me off and giving me bullshit excuses—after I figured out she wasn’t ever coming back, I just shut down.”
He stalked back to the bed, towering over her with his imposing physique. “You’re leaving in six days, Rosie. I’ve known it from the beginning, but I feel like that kid all over again. It’s killing me, because I want you to stay. I want to beg you to stay. And it feels exactly the same as it did with my mom.” Putting a knee on the bed, he crawled over her. “What I feel for you? I’ve never felt this for anyone. You make me smile. You make me happy. I never understood why my brothers would settle down with one woman, because until I met you, I had more fun with them than anybody else. But I get it now. I get why they put a ring on it. Because, when I look at you, I see my heart, my home, I see my future. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”