I found that I actually enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of my new job. It was work, but it gave me something constructive to do. The brightest spot of the week was Jess’s call to tell me Bert had proposed. My heart had felt much lighter after listening to her squealing. When I told her she should wait to go dress shopping until she came to visit, I thought my eardrums would explode. Not only was she excited about shopping in Europe, she immediately assumed it meant I was going too. I didn’t have the heart to tell her no, so I decided I’d just suck it up and look for a dress with her.
It wasn’t until Friday arrived that I started to feel blue. I’d stayed so busy I’d managed to not worry too much. Unfortunately, Chadwick was pretty strict about keeping my weekends free. He felt I deserved time off just like everyone else. Normally that would be a great thing, but Alex had called to let me know he couldn’t come back this time. He was attending a formal dinner at the palace and wouldn’t have time to make it here and back.
“Why don’t you go do something? Call Cathy.” Chadwick looked at me over lunch. “You need to think about something else.”
“Are you sick of me?” Not that I’d fault him for it. I was being grumpy. I stood up and put my plate in the sink. Margie was getting used to the idea of us eating in the kitchen and I was getting used to her cooking everything.
“I’m sick of you looking so frustrated.” He threw his napkin on the counter. “Your dad wants you to stay here, but you feel like you should go to him. You miss Alex but don’t want anyone to know you’re together. It’s like you’re trying to torture yourself.”
“I am not!” Margie tsked under her breath while she wrapped up the leftovers and I frowned. “You think I’m being stupid, too?”
“Of course I don’t think you’re being stupid. I think you’re afraid to see the good.” She set the plate she was holding in the refrigerator.
“What do you mean?”
“The man you love loves you just as much.” Her back was to me, so she didn’t see the look on my face.
“Close your mouth, Samantha.” Chadwick rolled his eyes. “You’re the only person who doesn’t realize you’re in love with him.”
“How would you know I was in love before I did?” I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Because we’re not the ones living it. It’s easier to see when you’re not wrapped up in it yourself.”
“Speaking of being wrapped up in things. How are you and Daniel?”
“Nice subject change. And we’re okay. His sister, Adriane, is helping with his parents.” He leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think he understood how much it upset me until I set an ultimatum.”
“So you’re working things out?”
“We’re trying. Instead of talking about it, he’s actually taken steps.” He smiled. “Alex told him that the crown stood behind him and they wouldn’t put up with any prejudice.”
I smiled. Alex and I had talked about the predicament Daniel was in with his family. It made me happy to know that he had made an official move to back his friend.
“So, are you pushing me out of the house so you can go see your boyfriend?” I raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“I certainly wouldn’t complain…”
“Okay. I’ll call Cathy. She’s been bugging me nonstop to go out with her.” I didn’t want to go to the clubs, but I had told her I would and this gave me an excuse to see Alex as well.
Chapter Thirty-One
President Gregory Visits Lilaria
—Lilarian Daily
Cathy was waiting for me at the palace. When I got there, she grabbed my garment bag out of my hands and made a beeline for the guest room that I’d used last time. I’d shooed Chadwick away, promising I would be fine.
I wanted to surprise Alex, so hadn’t told him I was coming. He should still be in a meeting, but I was hoping that I’d be able to drag him with us later. Even if there wasn’t going to be any PDA, I’d at least like to spend the time with him. The door to his room was open as I walked down the hallway and I hurried my steps. His meeting must’ve finished early.
He was sitting at his desk with his laptop open and a stack of papers. I watched him for a minute, enjoying his look of concentration before I knocked on the doorframe.
“Samantha?” He stood up and crossed the room in quick strides.
“Hey.” I stepped into his room and pushed the door shut.
He wrapped his arms around me immediately and I sighed into his kiss. It had been a long week without him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I promised Cathy I’d go out with her and figured that I’d get to surprise you and make her happy at the same time.” I ran a hand over his cheek and the five-o’clock shadow there.
“You came to the palace to see me?” He tilted my chin up. “I know you don’t want to go to the club.”
“I missed you.” It was the truth. The club had been an excuse to come be with him.
“I missed you, too.” He leaned down and kissed me once more. “But it’s a lot harder to keep secrets here.”
“We’ll just have to be careful.” I stepped away from him. “Besides, I’m not going to be sitting around waiting on you. I have to go to the club tonight.” I tried to look excited. “In fact, your sister is probably in my room right now going through the stuff I packed.”
“You’re going tonight?” He glanced down at his watch. “I have to finish up some paperwork, but maybe I can catch up.”
“I think it’s supposed to be a girls’ night out.” I laughed.
“Well, I’ll come over and tell you bye before you leave.” He grimaced. “I really do have a lot of paperwork to catch up on.”
“Sounds good. Now I need to go before she decides my clothes aren’t good enough.”
“Go.” He swatted my ass as I turned around and I looked at him, shocked. He chuckled and winked at me. “Don’t be surprised if I sneak in your room later tonight.”
“I’m counting on it.”
I’d been right. Cathy was going through my clothes, but she hadn’t tried to find something else for me to wear. In fact, she was so in love with the dress I’d brought, she was looking up the designer on my laptop.
“Well, help yourself.” I teased. The dress was risqué, but the high heels I brought to wear with it made me the most nervous.
“Who picked that out?”
“Why do you assume someone else picked it out?” She just stared at me. “Jess.”
“That’s your friend who just got engaged?” She tapped her chin. “She has a good eye. Is she going to do her dress shopping when she visits?”
“Yep. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you come with us.” In fact, Jess would think it was a hoot to have a princess helping her decide.
“That sounds like fun!” Cathy was already dressed for the night. Her long hair was pulled up and she was wearing a sexy, but appropriate, short blue dress. “Get ready! We don’t want the VIP section to fill up before we get there.”
“I thought it was better to make an entrance.” I grabbed the dress from the hanger and slid it on. Once I had wiggled it into place, I touched up my makeup and went out to get my shoes.
“Oh, we’ll be making an entrance.” She whistled.
I pulled on the heels and looked at myself in the full-length mirror. You could see the necklace Alex had given me though the slit in the front. I ran my fingers through my hair so it had that tousled look and turned toward her for inspection.
“Do I pass?”
“I’d say so.” She nodded in approval. “But we need to test it out first.”
Grabbing my hand, she pulled me down the hall to Alex’s room. He was back at his desk working when she barged in with me in tow.
Alex looked up and froze. His eyes ran over me hungrily. “When are you leaving?”
“Now,” Cathy responded. “I just wanted you to know what you would be missing out on.”
“Oh, I’m not going to be missing out on anything.” He leaned back in his chair, his eyes locked on me. “I’ll meet you there.”
“I thought you had paperwork.” I smirked.
“There’s no way you’re going without me in that dress.”
“Then you better hurry up.” Cathy grabbed my hand again and pulled me toward the door. “We’ll see you there.”
I rolled my eyes at her. She was a handful and I’d agreed to go out with her. There was a limo out front instead of one of the normal cars. Becca was present as usual and I knew better than to complain. There was no way we would be able to go to such a public place without a guard.
“You’ll love this place. The lounge is above the main floor, but there is plenty of dancing room. And the owner is more than happy to help us if we need to sneak out.”
“Why would we need help sneaking out?”
“If the press gets too rowdy. Not that I think we’ll have any issues.” Cathy smiled. “This is going to be fun! I never liked Tabitha and now that she and Kyle are together, it’s miserable.”
“What happened? Kyle seemed to have his sights set on you.”
“I told him no.” She sighed. “The serious no. Not the flirty one.”
I wasn’t sure if I was following her, but I let her keep talking.
“So he moved on?”
“In about two point one seconds. He told me to make a decision, I did, and he left with Tabitha.” She looked down at her nails. “I wish it didn’t bother me so much.”
“He was your friend.” I shrugged. “It may have been based on the wrong stuff, but he was the person you spent time with and now he’s gone. That makes sense.”
“You’re right. I’ve been trying to figure out why I’ve been upset. I mean, I never wanted more than friendship. I’m not sure I even wanted that much with him.”
“You just wanted a friend.” I sighed. “I get that.”
We pulled up in front of the club and my heart raced at the sight of all the people. A bouncer opened the door and helped us out. There was no waiting in line, no showing ID or paying a cover charge. We were allowed right in and a hostess took us up to the VIP lounge.
The club was nice, but underneath all the shiny surfaces was the same thing you find in every club. Loud music, alcohol, and people needing to let off steam. It wasn’t that I was against any of those things, but when you put them together, it often had ugly results. Like waking up next to Jabba the Hutt kind of results. Or being groped by a man wearing a bow tie and lavender slacks. Not that either had happened to me. Okay, bow-tie-loving groper had happened, but I’d never drank enough to mistake Jabba the Hutt for Brad Pitt.
The VIP box was full. Kyle was busy making out with a redhead I assumed was Tabitha and several other people were dancing in the middle of the room. Becca had followed us up the stairs but stopped just inside the door.
“What do you want to drink?” Cathy pulled me to the bar.
“Cosmo.” I didn’t plan on doing anything but sipping the drink.
Cathy ordered our drinks and then pulled two chairs together. She introduced me to the people closest to us, always careful to use my full title. I was called the American duchess more times than I could count. At first the music had been annoying, but I was getting used to it.
Cathy had been pulled out on the floor by one of the guys she’d introduced and his friend asked me if I wanted to dance.
“I think I’m going to sit this one out.” I smiled and then looked away, hoping he would go. Instead he pulled up the seat next to me.
“How are you enjoying Lilaria?” He leaned close and I realized he was trying to look down my dress.
“It’s great. I love all the purple trees and pink leaves.”
“Yeah.” He was so focused on my cl**vage he hadn’t heard a word I said.
“What’s your name again?” I leaned away from him a little more.
“Gregory.” He licked his lips and edged forward. “I’m the Baron of Dushner.”
“That’s nice.” I looked away from him and wondered if this guy was for real.
“You should come out some time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I kept my response short, hoping he would catch a clue.
“Would you like another drink?”
“No, I’d rather not.”
“If you’re worried about getting home, you could stay at my apartment here in the city.” He looked down my dress again and I felt my temper snap. I’d been polite Samantha the entire time I’d been in Lilaria, but this asshat was pushing the wrong buttons.
“Eyes up here, buddy.”
“You don’t wear a dress like that unless you want to be looked at.” He reached out and ran a finger over my knee.
“The dress isn’t for you.” I slapped his hand away. “And unless you want broken fingers, you better keep your hands to yourself.”
“I’m just trying to get to know the new duchess.” He raised an eyebrow. “Or are you only interested in princes?”
“I’m interested in men.” I stood up. “Not slugs.”
I looked around for Cathy but didn’t see her anywhere. Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the bar. If nothing else I could order a soda or bottled water until she showed back up. My phone vibrated in the tiny purse I was carrying and I pulled it out, thinking it might be her.
“Where are you?”
“Sam?” Patricia’s voice made me freeze in place.
“Hey. It’s me. I’m sorry I thought you were someone else.” I put a finger in my other ear. “Are you okay?”