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“Let’s go in the study.”
She couldn’t tell if this would be a good talk, or a bad talk. But she had the sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with Garrett.
Louisa sat on the sofa while Chris fixed himself a drink. In preparation for his role as future King, Chris had always been the most responsible and aggressive sibling. He honored the responsibility, oftentimes to his own personal detriment. Still it surprised and impressed Louisa, since having to take their father’s place while he was ill, how effortlessly Chris had slipped into his place and taken over his responsibilities. She had no doubt that if, God forbid, their father didn’t recover, Chris would make a fine king.
But she had every confidence that their father would make a full recovery. He simply had to.
“I want you to know,” Chris said, his back to her, “I didn’t appreciate you waiting until this morning to announce that you had invited Garrett to dinner.”
So he’d asked her here to scold her. Wonderful. “Can you really blame me? Had I said anything earlier I never would have heard the end of it.”
He turned to her, took a swallow of his drink, then said, “You could have been putting the family in danger.”
She rolled her eyes. “You say that like you haven’t known Garrett for years. If he was dangerous, I’m sure we’d have heard about it a long time ago.”
“You still have to follow the rules. We’ve all had to make sacrifices, Louisa.”
As if she didn’t know that. If they didn’t treat her like a child, she would have been more forthcoming. This was more her siblings’ fault than hers. They drove her to it. Sometimes she just got tired of being the obedient princess.
“I’m assuming that he must have checked out,” she guessed, “or he never would have made it through the front gate.”
“Yes, he did.”
“I knew he would, and I didn’t need a team of security operatives to tell me.”
He shook his head, as though she was a hopeless cause. He crossed the room and sat on the sofa beside her. “I had a talk with Father about this earlier today, regarding his wishes concerning the matter.”
Louisa held her breath. If the King disapproved of a man she wanted to date, she would be forbidden. Those were the rules. “And?”
“He told me to use my discretion.”
Louisa wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. At least she knew their father would be fair. Would Chris forbid her to see Garrett to teach her a lesson?
This was probably something she should have considered when she waited until the last second before telling Chris about Garrett’s visit.
“And what did you decide?” she asked, flashing him the most wide-eyed and hopeful look she could manage.
He regarded her sternly for a moment, then a grin tipped up the corner of his mouth. “It’s clear that you have feelings for the man. Of course you can see him.”
She let out an excited squeal and threw her arms around Chris, hugging him so hard that his drink nearly sloshed onto the sofa. “Thank you! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a chuckle. “However …”
Oh boy, here came the conditions. She sat back and braced herself.
“No more stunts like you pulled this morning.”
She shook her head. “Never. I promise. I swear, it won’t happen again.”
“In addition, you will not leave the premises without a minimum of two bodyguards, and I need at least two days’ advance notice before you visit any sort of public place or attend a function. No exceptions, or I will not hesitate to place you on indefinite house arrest.”
Inconvenient, but definitely doable. “No problem.”
“And please, let’s try not to give the press anything to salivate over. With Father’s health, the last thing the family needs is more gossip and rumors.”
She refrained from rolling her eyes. Now he was being silly. “Honestly, Chris, have I ever been one to create a scandal?”
“It’s not necessarily you I’m concerned about.”
“You don’t have to worry about Garrett, either. He’s a complete gentleman. So much so that when it came to kissing, I had to make the first move.”
Chris cringed. “I really didn’t need to know that. I’m counting on you to be … diplomatic.”
Diplomatic? He made it sound as though she and Garrett were forming a business partnership. Besides, she knew for a fact that Chris hadn’t been very “diplomatic” when he was first seeing Melissa. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other.
What he was really saying was that he expected her to live up to her reputation as the innocent and pure princess. Eventually her family was going to have to accept that she was a woman, not a child.
If only he knew what went on in her head, how curious she was about sex and eager to experiment. Most modern women didn’t make it to twenty-seven with their virginity intact. He would probably drop in a dead faint if he knew about all of the reading she had done online about sex. When it came to intimacy, boy, was she ready. It was all she’d been able to think about since she had danced with Garrett on Saturday night.
“You don’t have to worry about me or Garrett,” she assured him and left it at that, and Chris looked relieved to have the subject closed.
“I want you to know that I like Garrett,” he added.
“But …?”
“No buts. I think you and he would be a good match.”
She eyed him skeptically. “Even though he isn’t royal?”
“Liv isn’t a royal,” he reminded her.
True. Liv was an orphan from the States who didn’t even know who her parents were, but there was always that double standard. A prince could get away with marrying a commoner. A princess on the other hand was held to a higher standard. She imagined that Garrett’s money was probably his only saving grace. She would never be allowed to date a man of modest means.
“Given his background,” Chris continued, “Garrett would be the perfect choice to take over Aaron’s position now that he’s going back to school. If you marry him, that is.”
Oh, she would. The fact that he was already making plans to include Garrett in the family business was more than she could have hoped for. “I think that’s a wonderful idea!”
“However,” he added sternly, “I don’t want you to think this means you should rush into anything.”
How could she rush fate? Either it was or it wasn’t meant to be. Time was irrelevant. Besides, Chris was one to talk. He’d asked Melissa to marry him after only two weeks. Of course, at the time, he’d expected nothing more than an arranged, loveless marriage. Boy, did he get more than he’d bargained for. But destiny was like that. And there was no doubt that he and Melissa were meant for one another.
Just like Louisa and Garrett.
She pictured them a year from now, married and blissfully happy, hopefully with their first baby on the way. Or maybe even born already. She would very much like to conceive on her honeymoon. What could be a more special way to celebrate the union of their souls than to create a new life? Some women dreamed of a career, and others liked to travel. Some spent their lives donating their time to charitable causes. All Louisa had ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. Archaic as some believed it to be, it was her ultimate dream. A man to cherish her, children to depend on her. Who could ask for more?
“By the way,” Chris said. “Melissa and I are planning to go sailing Sunday.”
“Is she allowed to do that so close to her due date?”
“As long as she takes it easy and stays off her feet. We figure we should get in as much time on the water before the babies come. You’re welcome to join us. Garrett, too, if you’d like to invite him.”
Her parents were leaving for England on Sunday morning for testing on her father’s heart pump, and Anne was going with them. If Chris and Melissa were going to be gone, too, that would mean that she and Garrett could have some time alone, without her entire family watching over their shoulders. She wondered if there was any way she could get rid of Aaron and Liv, as well.
“Maybe next time,” she told Chris. “I already have plans.”
At least, she would have plans, just as soon as she called Garrett and invited him over.
Five
Garrett had just walked in the door of his town house when his cell phone rang. He looked at the display and saw that it was Louisa’s personal line. When they had exchanged numbers earlier, he hadn’t expected a call quite this soon. In fact, he’d just assumed he would be the one calling her.
It shouldn’t have surprised him that she wouldn’t let him make the next move. This so-called shy and innocent Princess seemed to have everyone snowed, because as far as he could tell, she didn’t have a shy bone in her body. As for innocence, she certainly didn’t act like an inexperienced virgin.
When he answered, she asked, “I’m not bothering you, am I?”
“Of course not.” He dropped his keys and wallet on the kitchen counter then shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “I just walked in the door.”
“I wanted to tell you again what a wonderful time I had this evening.”
“I did, too.” Things were progressing even more quickly than he’d hoped.
“I was wondering what you’re doing Sunday afternoon. I thought you might like to come over.”
He chuckled. “I suppose it’s too much to expect that I might get to ask you on a date.”
“Am I being too forward?” she asked, sounding worried.
“No, not at all. I like a woman who knows what she wants.”
“I just wanted to catch you before you made other plans.”
“If I’d made other plans, I would cancel them. And in answer to your question, I would very much like to come over. If it’s all right with your family, that is.”
“Of course it is. They love you.”
That must have meant he’d passed the initiation. Not that he ever doubted he would. It was just nice to know that he’d scaled the first major obstacle.
“I thought maybe we could have a picnic,” Louisa suggested. “Out on the bluff, overlooking the ocean.”
“Just the two of us?”
“My parents and Anne will be leaving for England, and Chris and Melissa are going sailing. Liv will probably be tied up in the lab and lately Aaron has been down there assisting her. And as long as I stay on the grounds I don’t need security at my heels, so we’ll be alone.”
He didn’t miss the suggestive lilt in her tone, and wondered what she expected they might be doing, other than picnicking that is.
“Muffin will be there, too, of course,” she added.
“Muffin?”
“My dog. You would have met him today, but he was with the groomer and then his behaviorist. He’s a Shih Tzu.”
So, Muffin was one of those small yappy dogs that Garrett found overwhelmingly annoying. He preferred real dogs, like the shepherds and border collies they kept on the farm. Intelligent dogs with a brain larger than a walnut.
“He can be a bit belligerent at times,” Louisa said, “but he’s very sweet. I know you’ll love him.”
“I’m sure I will,” he lied, and reminded himself again that this relationship would require making adjustments. It was just one more issue he could address after they were married.
The front bell rang and Garrett frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Who would make a social call this late?
“Was that your door?” Louisa asked.
“Yes, but I’m not expecting anyone.”
“Could it be a lady friend perhaps?” Her tone was light, but he could hear an undercurrent of concern.
“The only woman in my life is you, Your Highness,” he assured her, and could feel her smile into the phone.
The bell rang again. Whoever it was, they were bloody well impatient.
“I won’t keep you,” she said.
“What time would you like me there Sunday?”
“Let’s say 11:00 a.m. We can make a day of it.”
“Sounds perfect,” he said, even though he’d never really been the picnicking type. He would much rather take her out to eat—preferably at the finest restaurant in town—but the heightened security was going to make dating a challenge.
They said their goodbyes and by the time Garrett made it to the door, the bell rang a third time. “I’m coming,” he grumbled under his breath. He pulled the door open, repressing a groan when he saw who was standing there.
“What, you’re not happy to see your baby brother?”
Not at all, in fact, but he did his best not to look too exasperated. “Last I heard you were working a cattle ranch in Scotland.”
Ian shrugged and said, “Got bored. Besides, I have something big in the works. A brilliant plan.”
In other words, he was let go and had formulated some new get-rich-quick scheme. One that, like all his other brilliant plans, would undoubtedly crash and burn.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Ian asked with forced cheer, but the rumpled clothes, long hair and the week’s worth of beard stubble said this was anything but a friendly social call.
Letting Ian in was tantamount to inviting a vampire into the house. He had a gift for bleeding dry his host both emotionally and financially and an annoying habit of staying far past his welcome.
It was hard to believe that he was once the sweet little boy Garrett used to sit on his knee and read to, then tuck into bed at night. For the first eight years of Ian’s life, he was Garrett’s shadow.
“Mum and Dad turn you away?” Garrett asked, and he could see by Ian’s expression that they had. Not that Garrett blamed them.
The cheery facade fell and Ian faced him with pleading eyes, looking tired and defeated. “Please, Garrett. I spent my last dime on a boat to the island and I haven’t had a proper meal in days.”
Or a shower, guessing by the stench, and it was more likely that he’d conned his way to the island than paid a penny for passage. But he looked so damned pathetic standing there. Despite everything, Ian was still his brother. His family. The only family who would bother to give him the time of day.
