“Did she know?” I looked at Rose and hoped she didn’t notice the tears in my eyes. Mom had been gone for five years, but it still hurt when I heard her voice in my head like that. And now, to find out this, I wasn’t sure what to do. What to think.
“I’m not sure. It’s likely she knew a little, but I don’t believe she knew everything.” Rose frowned. “I’m sorry we didn’t find you sooner. I would have liked to have met your mother. I understand she was a brilliant biologist.”
“She was.” My eyes slid around the room as I tried to regain my composure. How could she not tell me? Did she know the truth? Part of the truth? And what about my dad? My feet started to itch and I wanted to get up and go demand an answer.
“I’m leaving in a couple of days to head home. I’d like it very much if you would return with me.” Rose leaned forward. “The Rousseau family was a very important one and my sister is extremely excited to meet you.”
“In a few days? I can’t. I have school. Projects. I can’t just leave.” I shook my head. A queen wanted to meet me? This was insane. “What would I do?”
“Aunt, surely we can give her more time to consider everything.” Alex looked at Rose, his bright blue eyes serious. “That’s a lot to put on her all at once.”
“True.” Rose picked up her fork and knife and cut her chicken. “But the world has a way of throwing us curve balls. We have to decide whether to swing or strike out. This is your moment, Samantha. You’re up to bat.”
I snorted. I couldn’t help it. The duchess had just made a baseball analogy about my life. I picked up the glass of wine, deciding I needed a sip to help calm my jangling nerves. “How long would I be away?”
“That would depend on you. There is a ceremony to be performed. Legalities to be followed through with. Of course, once you take control of the estate and become the family head, it would be pertinent for you to stay in the country as much as possible. You would be your family’s voice on the council to the queen.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I looked at her, my mouth hanging open. “Holy shit. You’re serious.” Rose’s mouth twitched and I realized I had just cursed in the presence of royalty. “Sorry. A seat on the council to the queen? You guys know nothing about me!”
“That’s not true. You’ve made the dean’s list at your school every year. You were the top student to be chosen for your graduate program. You are dutiful to your family and take good care of your stepfather. You are a remarkable young woman our country would be proud to have.”
I knew my mouth was still agape. I didn’t care. Rose had just outlined my life, but instead of making it sound boring, she had made it sound like I was a saint.
“I can’t just leave school. My degree is very important to me.” I’d worked so hard to get to where I was. The scholarships alone had taken countless hours of work to receive.
“Raptors are incredibly important in our country. Each of the noble houses has one as their symbol. Your family is the merlin. A small but fierce bird. There are several well-known schools and programs that would be pleased to have you. And you would have the added benefits of our medical system for your father.” Rose looked up from her food. “There are many treatments available overseas your government has not allowed here.”
That gave me pause. More than anything she could have said tonight, that was the one thing that would make me seriously consider this craziness. From the look in her eyes, she knew it, too. I was being maneuvered. I didn’t like it, but at the same time, she made a good case. And I knew about merlins. They were amazing birds.
“I need to think about this.” I picked up my fork and pushed the potatoes on my plate.
“Of course.” Rose smiled and I caught a hint of victory in it. “Like I said, I will be here for a few more days. And if you decide to come, we can push it back a little so you can accomplish any tasks you’d need to do first. I’m sure you will want to speak with your father, as well.”
“Thank you, but I’m not sure I’ll be going.” I took another sip of wine. And then another. Oh good God. What would Dad say?
“I hope he will be able to come for the ceremony.” Rose sipped from her wine. “If you decide to take up the mantle, of course.”
If I decided, of course. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy.
“If you come out, you’ll have to go hunting with me.” Alex nodded toward me.
“I’m not much of a hunter.” I racked my brain, wondering why he would think I would want to go hunting, but found it a little difficult to get past the fact he had asked me to do something with him. “I’ve only shot a gun a few times.”
He chuckled and the sound sent a wave of goose bumps over my arms. “No, I meant with birds. I own several hawks that are excellent hunters.”
“Oh.” That made much more sense. I scooped some of the food into my mouth, enjoying the flavors. Despite the crappy service, the Parallel’s food had lived up to the hype. “I’ve been a few times, but don’t have a bird of my own.”
“I’d be happy to lend you one of my birds. I’ve been away for a while, so it would be good to have help exercising them.” The corners of my mouth pulled up a little. He was being nice. There was no way he didn’t have a gamekeeper to help him take care of the birds while he was away.
“What do you have?” I pulled apart some of the bread I had asked the waitress to butter.
“Three Harris hawks.”
“Alex and his father are very large bird advocates in our country.” Rose tilted her glass toward her nephew. “He presented his first bill to the Lilarian council when he was twelve. He called for stricter punishments for the purposeful deaths of raptors and endangered birds.”
I looked over at Alex and felt my first true smile of the night. “That’s a pretty big proposal. Good for you.”
“Didn’t do it for me.” Alex sipped from his glass and smiled.
Chapter Four
Playboy Prince on the Prowl
—L.A. Chatter
When I asked for the bill, Rose waved it off. “You’re our guest. We will take care of the bill.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t want to offend her by insisting, even though it made me uncomfortable.
“I hope to hear from you soon, Samantha.” Rose looked over her shoulder and Duvall appeared from the shadows of the room. I tried to keep my face from registering my shock. The man gave me the willies. He handed Rose a card and a pen. She wrote something on the back and handed it to me. “Call me if you have any questions. That’s my direct line.”
“Thank you.” I tucked the card into the small purse I was carrying. I was sure Rose didn’t give out that number very often, so didn’t want to risk losing it.
“Off to bed then, for me. I’m not as young as I used to be. But don’t let that stop you and Alex. I’ve heard there are many interesting places in town for young people.” Rose held her hand out to me and pulled me close once. Softly she kissed my cheek and smiled. “It’s been a pleasure, my dear. A pleasure.”
“Very much so.” I bussed her cheek and tried to suppress the queasy feeling that surfaced when she suggested I spend more time with Alex. What the hell was I going to do with a prince? Good grief, even the voice in my head squeaked when I thought the word prince.
I watched quietly as Alex kissed his aunt good-bye before Duvall ushered her through the restaurant. I looked up into Alex’s amused eyes when he cleared his throat.
“Would you like to get a drink? The bartender seems rather knowledgeable.” His eyes slid over my body in a lazy perusal. “Or if you’d prefer, we could try somewhere else.”
“I probably shouldn’t.” The most attractive man I had ever met just asked me for a drink and I tell him no? I’m insane. I’m sure he was just trying to be polite. “I drove, so no more drinks for me tonight.”
“Ah.” He looked down at me and I felt small. Not in the personal sense, but literally small. The man was tall. “Well then, let me walk you to your car.”
“Thank you.” As we moved toward the entrance, he placed a hand on the small of my back. The warmth from his palm seeped through the thin material of my dress and made me shiver.
“I thought you weren’t cold.” He dipped his head so his breath tickled my ear.
“I’m not.” My voice sounded a little breathy and I swallowed to wet my throat. “I mean, it’s cooler closer to the door.”
“Hm.” As we neared the door, he dropped his hand from my back and smiled at the hostess. “Our coats, please.”
“Of course.” She batted her eyes and I had to fight to not roll mine. When she brought our coats back, she practically threw mine at me and I had to scramble to not drop it. Alex swooped down and grabbed the coat before it could touch the floor and held it open for me. Carefully I shrugged into the ugly jacket and let him help shift the shoulders so it sat correctly. After pulling on his coat, he led me outside and motioned for the attendants. The young man who had given me my ticket earlier waved at me before running off toward the parking garage.
“Samantha, I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I hope you consider what my aunt has offered. Our country would benefit from another forward-thinking member on the council. And our healthcare rivals the best. Your father would be well seen to.” Alex stepped close to me, buffering the strong winter wind.
“This is something I’m going to have to think about.” I shook my head—his eyes were almost hypnotizing. And he smelled scrumptious. Clean, delicious man. The longer I spent time with him, the harder it was to ignore how attractive he was.
“Of course.” He looked away from me for a minute, his eyes trailing over the traffic before turning back to me. “I know what it’s like to have your life turned upside down. Especially when you’ve worked as hard as you have at your education.”
“I have no idea how to be a royal. I can’t even speak Lilarian.” Thinking about it was overwhelming. “It’s a lot of responsibility. I don’t even know what a Duchess does.”
“We wouldn’t throw you to the wolves.” He dipped his head down so that he was looking me in the eye. “I wouldn’t throw you to the wolves.”
Not sure how to respond to that, I just nodded my head. His eyes starred down into mine and I felt entranced. There was some kind of emotion swirling behind that ice that I didn’t understand. I had the feeling he wouldn’t have promised to just anyone.
“Miss!” The parking attendant jogged toward us, my keys in his hand. I groaned when I realized what that meant. “I’m sorry ma’am, but I can’t get her to start.”
“Not again.” I closed my eyes for a brief moment. “Okay. Where is it parked?”
“It’s on the third deck. I can take you to it, but I popped the lid and checked the battery and I don’t think a jump will do it.” The young man held the keys out to me and I took them from his hand.
“It’s probably the starter.” Turning toward Alex I smiled ruefully. “Thank you for dinner. I’ll be in touch with your aunt about what we discussed.”
“How are you going to get home?” Alex stepped closer and touched my shoulder when I started to turn.
“Well, I’m going to go check to see what’s wrong, and I guess I’ll call a cab.” I winced slightly at the thought. A cab home from downtown would cost a small fortune.
“Let me call a car for you and I’ll have someone take care of your truck in the morning.” Without waiting for my response he looked at the attendant. “Will the vehicle be fine where it is for now?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well. Please call us a car.”
“No, thank you, but I can take care of my own business.” I narrowed my eyes at Alex. He definitely was used to being in charge. Too bad I wasn’t used to people making my decisions.
“Samantha, I’m not going to let you run off into a dark parking garage to take care of a broken vehicle.” He shook his head. “What kind of man would I be?”
“One from the twenty-first century.”
Alex threw his head back and laughed. The sound drew the eyes of pedestrians and other people waiting on their cars. “Samantha, the century doesn’t dictate chivalry.”
“Of course it does. Women have proven to be just as capable as men.”
“Oh, I have no doubt you are quite capable.” His eyes raked over my body in a way that made me hot all over. “But I’m still not going to let you walk into a dark parking garage in the freezing weather when we know your car is already refusing to start. Let me see you home, and we’ll get your car to you tomorrow.”
“For the love of… Fine. I can take a cab.” My mind went over the contents of my purse. Maybe I could take a cab a couple of blocks to a coffee shop and call Jess and Bert.
“Samantha, I’m seeing you home. I want to make sure you get there safely.” His mouth pulled up into a cocky grin that was both irritating and sexy. “Besides, I can see the wheels spinning in your head. You’d likely take the taxi around the block and come back to work on your truck.”
“I wouldn’t…” An exasperated burst of laughter flew out of my mouth and I looked away from Alex and bit my lip. “Okay, you got me. I’ll let you take me home.”
“Thank you.” Alex reached down and captured my hand with a quick squeeze. “My chivalrous heart appreciates it.”
“I’d hate for you to lose sleep over my safety.” His thumb ran across my knuckles and I felt my heart rate increase.