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Sophie lifted her hand to cut him off and shook her head. “Forget it,” she said. “I’m leaving for the day.”
“Now?” he asked, clearly surprised.
“Yes, now,” she said. “I’m meeting royalty tomorrow and I have nothing to wear.”
“But I wanted you to recheck the stats on—”
She shook her head. “Not happening today,” she said as she shut down her laptop. “See you the day after tomorrow.”
Sophie knew she wasn’t just frustrated about meeting the Deveraux family at short notice. She was also crazy out of her head that Max still didn’t see her as a woman, even in such a beautiful and romantic setting. During the last month, she had worked her butt off over twelve hours a day, side by side with Max, but he still hadn’t seemed to notice her.
“Whoa,” Max said.
“Exactly,” she retorted as she headed for the door. “Whoa.”
Sophie slammed the door behind her and headed for her teeny, tiny car. She started the car, put it in gear and took the winding road down the mountain. Despite her impatience with Max, she appreciated the challenge of their project. Once they fixed these roads, everyone in Chantaine could enjoy the north end of the island where the vegetation and birds flourished.
This area almost resembled the jungle while most of the rest of the island featured rocky beaches and green parks. Every day during the last thirty-one days, Sophie had wondered if she should have refused Max’s invitation to join him in Chantaine. She had wanted one last chance with Max, but now she was feeling regrets. Every day of being with him was driving her crazy.
Sophie sucked in a deep breath of the clean island air and sped down the winding road toward town. The drive took nearly an hour, but she was glad to be in the center of Chantaine with its variety of restaurants, entertainment and shopping, even though she rarely took part in what it had to offer.
In contrast, shopping was definitely in her future today. She could not think of one thing in her wardrobe appropriate for a tea. She grabbed a bite to eat then focused on finding a new dress and planned to charge Max for the purchase. He should have given her more notice, the jerk.
After zipping through several stores, she found a blue dress that fit and flattered. The price tag made her wince, but was soon forgotten as she headed to a hair salon. It had been over a month since her curly hair had been shaped.
After her hair appointment, Sophie was exhausted and dragged herself back to her apartment. Washing her face and brushing her teeth, she pulled on a nightgown, cursing Max until she fell asleep.
Sophie slept in the next morning, but when she awakened, she immediately felt panicky. She showered and fussed with her hair and makeup. Too soon, however, her cell rang with the news that a driver would pick her up to bring her to the palace.
Sophie’s stomach dipped again. She tried to recall everything Max had said about his half sisters, the princesses, but it all jumbled with her facts and figures about the road project. She leaned her head against the seat back and tried to relax as the driver took her inside the palace gates.
Seconds later, however, the driver let her out at the palace entrance. A man met her and guided her inside. “Miss Taylor?”
“Yes, thank you,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” he said. “We think so, too. I’ll take you to the room where you will share tea with the princesses of Devereaux.”
“Thank you,” she said, but wasn’t so sure about all this. “So, how do you like living in Chantaine?” she asked nervously.
The man glanced at her. “I like it very much,” he said.
Of course, she thought. What else was he going to say? It sucks dirtwater? She nodded, trying to calm her nerves.
He led her into a beautifully decorated parlor with a table readied for formal tea.
“Ma’am, are you all right?” a man asked from behind her.
Sophie whipped around to face the man at the door. “Yes, of course,” she said. “I’m Sophie. And you are?”
“Walter Deneuve,” the man said. “You looked a bit pale.”
Sophie bit her lip. “I’m a little nervous. I’ve never had tea with a bunch of royals.”
Walter smiled. “The Devereauxes are quite welcoming. I think you’ll enjoy them.”
“Thank you,” she said, but still wasn’t sure. “The pastries look delicious,” she said and wandered around the table.
A half moment later Walter stood at attention, the door opened, and three women entered the room, two of which were waddling in late pregnancy.
“Her Highness, Princess Eve, wife of Crown Prince Stefan,” Walter announced.
Sophie dipped her head.
“Her Highnesses Bridget and Phillipa,” he continued.
“Yes, yes, enough of that,” Eve said in a Texas drawl as she extended her hand. “I’m Eve and at least thirteen months pregnant. Very pleased to meet you. I’m sorry Maxwell didn’t bring you around sooner.”
Sophie smiled and shook Eve’s hand. “Thank you. And I hope your delivery is quick and smooth.”
“Me, too,” Eve said in a grumbly voice.
“I’m Bridget and I’m not pregnant,” the dark-haired woman wearing high heels said cheerfully. “But I’ve also adopted twin toddler boys.”
“You’re brave,” Sophie couldn’t help saying.
Bridget laughed. “I like you already. This is Phillipa, but we call her Pippa. Her delivery date is right behind Eve’s.”
Sophie met the kind gaze of the youngest princess. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope you, too, have a quick and smooth delivery.”
Pippa beamed. “Thank you. I’m hoping for the same.”
“Shall we sit?” Eve asked. “These days, I’m always happy to sit.”
“Of course,” Bridget said and led the way to the table.
Eve glanced at Sophie. “I don’t really like hot tea. Would you like iced tea?”
Sophie felt an easing inside her. “I would love some iced tea.”
Soon enough, sandwiches and pastries were served.
“What is it like working with Maxwell? He seems very intense,” Bridget said, taking a bite of a pastry.
He’s a pain in the butt, Sophie thought, but bit her tongue. “You’re right. He’s very intense. Type A.”
“Yes, he’s mentioned you several times, and it occurred to me that you might enjoy some female companionship. I hear there aren’t many women on the construction site,” Eve said, then smiled. “Then again, maybe you enjoy being surrounded by all those men.”
Sophie laughed at the thought. “Perhaps I would in a different situation, but there’s no flirting. It’s all about getting the job done.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” Bridget said, pursing her lips. “Perhaps we can help find someone to amuse Sophie during her off-hours.”
Pippa groaned. “Oh, no. You’re not going to start matchmaking again.”
“I’m determined to succeed one of these days,” Bridget said.
The resolve in Bridget’s voice made Sophie a little uneasy. “Not necessary. I can amuse myself. Besides, it’s not as if I’ll have that much free time.”
“Well, everyone needs a break now and then. So I’ve been told repeatedly,” Eve said with a sigh.
Bridget nodded. “Eve hasn’t had the easiest pregnancy, so we’ve all had to help her accept that she can’t keep going at breakneck speed. Coco was especially helpful getting through to Eve.”
At the mention of Max’s full-blood sister, Sophie felt a twist of curiosity. “Max hasn’t discussed her much, but she sounds like a very sweet person.”
“Oh, she is,” Pippa said. “We would kidnap her and make her live in Chantaine if possible.”
“I would have liked to have met her,” Sophie said.
“Perhaps you will,” Pippa said. “Once Eve and I have our babies, I know she’ll be dying to see them.”
“In the meantime, you’ll have to come visit my ranch,” Bridget said with a sly sense of pride.
“Ranch?” Sophie echoed.
“Yes, my husband is originally from Texas. He is the official medical director for Chantaine and I noticed that he was missing his home state, so we’ve built a ranch for him. We have chickens, horses and now we even have two cows. So you’ll feel totally at home on our ranch.”
Sophie swallowed a chuckle. She hadn’t spent one day of her life on a ranch. “It sounds fabulous. How did you do it?”
“Trust me, it wasn’t easy and it’s taken months, but my husband seems happier, so that makes me happy. The only thing that would please him more is if Chantaine had a semi-professional baseball team. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Where are you from?” Eve asked, shifting her weight as if she were uncomfortable. Sophie felt sorry for the woman. She was probably always uncomfortable at this stage of her pregnancy.
“The Washington, D.C., area,” she said.
Eve blinked then snickered. “Sophie is from the city, Bridget. Not everyone from America is from Texas.”
Bridget frowned for a moment then her face brightened. “No problem. Perhaps Sophie and I could take a quick trip to Paris and we could visit Fredericka, one of our sisters.”
Both Pippa and Eve gave loud sounds of disapproval. “Not before we deliver,” Eve said. “If we’re trapped here on the island, then you have to stay, too.”
“Trapped in paradise?” Bridget echoed with a cheeky smile. “Who would possibly call it trapped?”
“You’re the one taking off for Italy and France every chance you get. You just wait until you get pregnant and your husband gets all protective of you,” Eve said. “You’ll be singing a different song.”
“With twin toddlers, I won’t be getting pregnant anytime soon,” Bridget promised.
Pippa glanced at Sophie. “We must stop with all this baby talk. We’re probably boring our guest to death.”
“Oh, no,” Sophie said. “It’s a nice change from discussions about rocks and engineering.”
“From what Max has said, it sounds as if he does a lot of traveling,” Eve said. “Do you enjoy it?”
“For the most part, I do,” Sophie said. “It’s fascinating to see places that were just spots on a map to me. But all this travel prevents me from getting a dog.”
Bridget nodded. “My husband feels the same way. A dog is next on our list as soon as the boys are toilet trained.”
More courses of fruits and sweets were served. After a while of chatting and giggling, the man who’d been standing by the door the entire time walked toward Eve and spoke to her in a low voice. Eve nodded. “Thank you. I asked Walter to remind me when Stephenia is supposed to wake up from her nap. I promised her a trip to the playground. She’s missing the boys since you moved out.”
“I’ll bring them soon,” Bridget said. “I’ve just wanted them to get adjusted to the ranch.”
Bridget said it with such irony that Sophie couldn’t conceal a chuckle.
Eve rose. “We must do this again.”
Bridget nodded. “Or better yet, let’s do lunch and shop.”
“I’ll agree to lunch, but no shopping for me,” Eve said.
“Same here,” Pippa said as the rest of them rose to their feet.
“Thank you so much for inviting me. I didn’t know what to expect, but I have to say this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Sophie said, surprising herself a little with the realization.
The chauffeur met her at the palace door and drove her back to her apartment. It occurred to Sophie as the car wove through the picturesque streets that she’d been spending a lot of time working and hardly any time enjoying herself. For what reason? So she could be close to Max. Because she was still hoping he would notice her and fall madly in love with her.
Sophie caught a glimpse of the ocean and realized that she hadn’t gone to the beach once since she’d arrived in Chantaine. Irritation niggled through her. Why was she staying with Max until the wee hours of the night if he wasn’t going to notice her? It wasn’t as if they accomplished much after dinnertime anyway.
She’d recently been reading a self-help book a coworker from Australia had given her for Christmas. The book had supplied a quote that was sticking, annoyingly, in her head. If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.
Sophie frowned. What she’d gotten the last few years had been an adventurous job with great pay and an unrequited crush on Max. And no dog.
Sophie brooded over that for several moments.
The chauffeur surprised her, opening the door. “Miss?”
She hadn’t even noticed the car had stopped. “Yes. Thank you for the ride.”
“My pleasure,” he said and helped her out of the car. That was nice, she thought. Someone treating her like a woman.
Sophie cringed. Someone paid to treat her like a woman.
Okay, that was it. She needed to think about doing something different. Sophie took a deep breath. Sophie looked at her apartment then turned away. She needed a night out.
She meandered in a few shops until they closed then walked to a café, got a sandwich and did some people-watching. All the while, she found herself second-guessing her decision to come to Chantaine. Maybe she should have refused Max. What would have happened if she had? What would she be doing now?
Sighing, Sophie wandered out of the shop and stopped at the crosswalk to walk the few blocks to her apartment. She waited until the light signaled that she could cross and stepped off of the curb.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a cute bright yellow scooter whizzing around the corner just before it sent her flying through the air.
Later, hours, was it days? Sophie awakened to a blurry sight in front of her.
