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“Before you go, was it determined if alcohol was involved?”
“That was a concern at first, since he came in smelling like a distillery. We were hesitant to give him anything for the pain, but he swore he wasn’t drinking, and the tox screen came back clean. No drugs or alcohol in his system.”
So he had just been driving too fast and lost control. If that wasn’t Ian’s life story. As a kid he was always pushing the limits and hurting himself. If there was a tree too high or dangerous to climb, Ian wasn’t happy until he reached the highest branch. By the time he was eight, he’d suffered more broken bones and received more stitches than most people did in a lifetime.
Maybe this time he would learn his lesson.
“You didn’t have to come here,” he heard his brother say, his voice rusty from the anesthesia.
Garrett turned and walked to his bed. “Someone has to pay the bill.”
Ian gazed up at him, bleary-eyed and fuzzy. “I guess ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t going to cut it this time.”
“It might if I thought you meant it.” But Ian wasn’t sorry for all the trouble he’d caused. Only that he’d been caught.
His eyes drifted shut, and Garrett thought that maybe he’d fallen asleep, then he opened them again and said, “I was going to bring it back.”
“The car or the liquor?”
“Both.”
Garrett wished he could believe that.
“I got a few miles from your house and I started to feel guilty.”
That was even more unbelievable. “You don’t do guilt.”
“Apparently I do now. I thought if I got back fast enough you would never know I’d left. Then that damned dog darted out in front of me.” Ian studied him for several seconds. “You don’t believe me.”
“Is there a reason I should?”
He sighed. “Well, whether you believe me or not, I’m tired of living this way. I’m going to change this time. I swear I am.”
Garrett might have believed his brother if he hadn’t heard the same thing so many times before. “Let’s just concentrate on getting you healthy. The doctor says you have to keep off the leg for six weeks. With my hectic schedule, I’ll have to hire a nurse to stay with you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
And he didn’t expect a penny of it back. “Where else would you go? You think Mum and Dad would let you stay with them?”
His expression said he knew the answer to that question was no. Even if their mother still had a soft spot for Ian, their father would put his foot down.
“I’ll figure something out,” Ian declared.
“You have a friend who will take you in?”
Ian was silent. They both knew that Ian had never made a friend he didn’t eventually betray. Unfortunately, Garrett was all he had. “You’re staying with me.”
“I owe you too much already,” Ian said, and Garrett wished the regret he heard in his brother’s voice was genuine. He wasn’t counting on it though.
“Face it, Ian, we’re stuck with each other. If you really mean what you say about turning over a new leaf—”
“I do. I swear it.”
“Then you can spend the next six weeks proving it to me.”
Louisa woke early Sunday morning, planning her picnic with Garrett before she even got out of bed, until she heard the low rumble of thunder and the thrum of rain against her bedroom window.
Oh, damn!
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she climbed out of bed, rousing Muffin, who gave a grumble of irritation before settling back to sleep. She walked to the window and shoved the curtains aside. Dense gray clouds rolled in from the northwest, and a fierce wind pummeled the trees and whipped rain against the windows.
She sighed. It looked as though the weather front that was supposed to miss the island had changed course sometime during the night. It was only 7:00 a.m., but even if the rain stopped it would still be too wet for a picnic. She’d been so sure it would be a sunny day, she hadn’t bothered with a plan B. Her options were limited considering she couldn’t leave the castle with Garrett without giving Chris a two-day warning. And with the weather so dreary, she doubted that he and Melissa would be doing any sailing today.
So much for her and Garrett having some time to themselves. If they had to stay inside the castle, someone would be constantly looking over their shoulders, watching their every move.
She frowned. Being royalty, especially royalty under house arrest, could be terribly inconvenient.
But she refused to let this small setback dampen her spirits. She was sure if she put her mind to it, she could come up with something for them to do, some indoor activity they would both enjoy. Maybe a tour of the castle or a game of billiards. Or maybe they could just sit and talk.
On her way to the shower, Louisa passed her computer and was half tempted to log on, just to see if she had gotten another e-mail from their stalker. No one had said anything about getting the e-mail yesterday, so she could only assume his latest communication had been sent exclusively to her. She couldn’t help wondering if her relationship with Garrett was the catalyst or if it was just a coincidence that he chose now to pick on her individually.
Maybe she should check, just in case. She took a step toward her computer, then stopped. What would be the point of checking? If he e-mailed her, he e-mailed her and nothing would change that, and the way she looked at it, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
She gave her computer one last furtive glance and headed to the bathroom instead.
She showered using her favorite rose-scented body wash and took extra care fixing her hair. Instead of the conservative bun she typically wore, she used hot rollers then brushed her hair smooth, until it lay loose and silky down her back. She dressed in pale pink capris and a crème-colored cashmere sweater set, then slipped her feet into a pair of pink leather flats. She rounded out the look with mascara and pink, cherry-flavored lip gloss with a touch of glitter.
She stood back to examine her reflection, happy with what she saw, sure that Garrett would be pleased, too.
Anticipation adding an extra lift to her step, she headed downstairs to the dining room for a spot of tea, Muffin trailing behind her, but Geoffrey intercepted her at the foot of the stairs.
“Prince Christian asked that you call him as soon as possible.”
She frowned. “Call him? Did they go sailing? The weather is horrible.”
“No, Your Highness. He took Princess Melissa to the hospital early this morning.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What for?”
“He didn’t say. He just asked that you call him as soon as you’re up.”
“Are Aaron and Liv up yet?”
“Not yet.”
She was going to ask him to wake them, but there was no sense in starting a panic before she even knew what was wrong. It might be nothing.
“Could you see that Muffin is fed and let out?” she asked Geoffrey.
“Of course. Come along, Muffin.”
Muffin just stood there looking back and forth between them.
“Breakfast,” Geoffrey added, and Muffin scurried excitedly after him.
Forgetting about her tea, Louisa hurried back to her room and dialed her brother’s cell phone. As soon as he answered she asked, “What’s wrong? Is Melissa okay? Are the babies all right?”
Chris chuckled and said, “Relax, everyone is fine. Melissa started having contractions last night.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“There was nothing you could have done and Melissa didn’t want you to worry.”
“Is she in labor? I thought it was too early.”
“She was, but they gave her a drug to stop it. Unfortunately she’s already dilated two centimeters, so she’s on complete bed rest. They’re keeping her in the hospital until she delivers.”
“Oh, Chris, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“Actually, yes. Melissa made a list of things she needs. Makeup and toiletries and things like that. Could you gather everything and bring it to the hospital?”
“Of course.” She grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and jotted down the list. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I want to stay here as often as possible, so I’d like you to meet with my assistant about taking my place at a few speeches and charity events.”
For a second she was struck dumb. He never would have trusted her to a task like that before. She almost asked, what about Aaron or Anne, but caught herself at the last minute. She didn’t want him to think she didn’t want to do it.
“Of course I will,” she told him instead. “Anything.”
“Thanks, Louisa. I’ll see you soon.”
She hung up and was turning to leave her room when she remembered her date with Garrett and stopped dead in her tracks.
Bloody hell.
Well, as much as she wanted to see Garrett, family always came first. Especially now, when Chris seemed to be seeing her as a capable adult. She would just have to call him and reschedule. Maybe they could see each other later in the week.
She picked up the phone, mumbling to herself about bad timing, but as she put it to her ear there was no dial tone. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a deep male voice said, “Hello?”
“Garrett?”
“Well, that was strange,” he said.
“What just happened?”
“I called your number, but before it could even ring, I heard your voice.”
“Seriously? Because I just picked up the phone so I could call you!”
Garrett chuckled. “We must be on the same brain wave or something.”
“I guess. Why were you calling?”
“Regrettably, something came up and I have to break our date for this afternoon.”
Louisa laughed and said, “Seriously?”
Garrett paused for several seconds, then said, “Well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction I’d been expecting.”
“I’m laughing because I was calling you to say that I have to cancel our date.”
“Hmm, that is pretty weird, isn’t it?”
“I thought maybe we could get together later this week.”
“We could do that. The first half of the week will be a little hectic for me, but maybe Thursday evening?”
That seemed so far off, but at least it would give her time to visit with Melissa while she adjusted to being confined to a hospital bed. “Just to warn you, if you want to take me off the palace grounds, Chris will need two days’ warning to arrange for security.”
“Well, then, I guess I’ll call you Tuesday.” There was a commotion in the background, and what sounded like a voice over a PA system, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. “I’m sorry, Louisa, but I have to go. I’ll talk to you Tuesday.”
Before she could say goodbye, he disconnected, and she realized she hadn’t even asked why he had to cancel today. Oh well, she was sure that it must have been very important. They could talk about it Tuesday.
She hated the thought of having to wait until Thursday to see Garrett again, but the anticipation would make their next date that much more special.
Seven
Sunday morning became a blur of doctors and nurses and representatives from the private home care facility that Garrett was hiring to look after his brother while his leg healed. And since Ian was being released tomorrow morning, there wasn’t much time to get everything squared away.
Though Garrett wasn’t too keen on the idea of his brother staying in his house for another six weeks or so, at least this time Ian would be physically incapable of running off with his belongings. The only time he was allowed out of bed was to bathe and use the loo, or he risked the bones shifting and healing incorrectly, leaving him with the threat of more surgeries and possible permanent disabilities. And while Ian could be irresponsible and self-absorbed, he wasn’t stupid.
It was going on three when all the arrangements were completed and the appropriate paperwork signed. Garrett was walking down the hall to the elevator when someone called his name. He turned to see Louisa standing behind him, flanked by two very large and ominous looking bodyguards.
Oddly enough, his first instinct was to pull her close and kiss her, and he might have were it not for the risk of being tackled by her security detail.
“I thought that was you,” she said, breaking into a wide smile. “What are you doing here? Did you come to see Melissa?”
“Melissa?” he asked.
She walked toward him, and with a subtle wave of her hand the guards fell back several steps. “Princess Melissa, my sister-in-law.”
“No. Is she here?”
“In the family’s private wing,” she said, gesturing behind her. “She was brought in last night for early labor. That’s why I had to postpone our date.”
“I had no idea. I’m here visiting … an associate. He was in an accident yesterday.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Is he okay?”
