Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Margot
“I’m sorry, madame.” The butler bows his head. “His royal highness Prince Stellan has stepped out rather unexpectedly.”
I wrinkle my nose, unsurprised. Of course Stellan doesn’t show up the day after we fucked each other’s brains out. Of course.
“Ah. Thank you.” I lift my camera from my tote bag. “Would it be okay with you guys if I just took some photographs? Just you know, the dining room and the salons…”
“Of course, madame. We have been instructed by the press office that you are to be given full access to the upper half of the palace. Will you need anything else?”
“No, no.” I shake my head and give him a halfhearted smile. “I’m fine.”
The butler bows and retreats, leaving me alone in the corridor just outside Stellan’s study. Biting my lip, I look around. I try the study… but of course, it is locked.
What could I have hoped to find in there anyway? Stellan’s private diary with all his innermost thoughts jotted down just for me?
Unlikely.
Besides, he’s made enough of a statement by just not showing up than anything I could’ve read.
I just wander the halls, opening doors at random. Mostly I find the rooms empty or filled with the ghostly shapes of furniture with the dust covers on. Climbing the stairs, I am drawn to the elegantly draped window that dominates the end of the hall.
I snap a few photos of it, and then draw the see-through curtain aside. Aiming my camera lens down onto the street, I catch an unexpected sight.
A flash of a familiar hair color. It’s bright red, like a candy apple.
Yeah, that’s got to be Pippa. And she’s wearing a loose white romper and beaming at a man. She says something and he picks her up, whirling her around. When he stops, she kisses him. Then he glances my way, laughing.
My eyebrows fly up. It’s Lars L?ve, Stellan’s younger brother.
Whoa. That is a hell of a secret to keep, especially for someone as chatty as Pippa.
Pippa bats at his arm. He puts her down and then heads off at a loping run. Pippa turns like she is going to walk somewhere, maybe to our apartment or the offices of Politiken.
I stuff my camera in my bag and sprint downstairs, catching up with her in less than a minute. She looks at me, her blue eyes widening.
“Margot!” she squeaks. “I haven’t even seen you since Thursday night. Where have you been?”
I chuckle. “Do you really think you’re just going to distract me with a question like that?”
A hint of pink lights up her cheeks. “What?”
“Did I just see you kiss Lars on the lips just a minute ago? You two looked pretty comfortable…”
She tosses her fiery hair, glancing around. The blush spreads further across her cheeks and darkens to a red hue. “Shh.” She pulls me further away from the palace. “It was just a one time thing. No need to announce it, okay?”
I grin at her. “Umm, wow. I had no idea that you were sucked into the royal family like that.”
She throws up her hands in front of her face, hiding. “It’s… complicated. Lars and I go way, way back.”
My eyebrows rise. “What? Tell me everything!”
She peeks at me from behind her hands. “How about I tell you everything over a cup of coffee? I haven’t had any caffeine today and I’m dying.”
“It’s a deal,” I say, putting my arm around her. “There’s a coffee shop around the corner. Come on, let’s hurry so you can spill your guts all over the place.”
Pippa rolls her eyes but doesn’t resist as I pull her along. I wasn’t kidding about the cafe being really close; when we turn a corner, there it is, all glass and pastel colors inside. We order and then take our seats outside.
I lean forward eagerly. “Tell me everything,” I demand.
Pippa wrinkles her nose. “I met Lars when I went to St. Malo, a prestigious boarding school in Switzerland. And before you even start, I want you to know that I only went to a school that the Danish royal family would send their child to because I was offered a full scholarship.”
I shrug. “I wasn’t judging.”
Her shoulders relax a fraction. “Oh. Well… yeah. I’ve known Lars since we were both just kids. He was a year older than me at school… and he was also my first kiss.”
“Whoa. That sounds like a relationship.”
She glances at me sharply. “It is definitely not a relationship. It’s just… a friendship that has lasted a long time. It’s complicated.”
I stare her down. Is she for real? It seems like she really believes it, but I’m not sure where I stand.
The barista brings our drinks out and Pippa makes a big deal of thanking her and sipping her latte. I level her with a long look.
“So if you’re just friends, what happened between you last night?”
She flushes. “Too much wine. We just… fell into old patterns.”
“Old patterns like sleeping together?” I ask, scoffing.
Pippa looks down at her latte, running her finger over the white cup’s handle. Her mouth twists with humor, but I see a faint echo of sadness on her face too. “Yes.”
I take a sip of my latte, savoring the creaminess of it while I look at her. “Why are you two not dating?”
She looks up, a little bit of alarm on her face.
“Well, for one thing, neither of us is interested in being tied down. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but there are a million expectations of anyone who openly dates a royal. Not the least of them being the you are well bred and well behaved… and looking for a ring.”
I swallow, looking down at my latte. “That does sound like a sticky wicket.”
She smirks at me. “You are actually the only person who probably knows better than I do, Margot. Tell me, has anything come of your insane crush on Stellan yet?”
My eyes widen. I blush furiously. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
She shakes her head at me. “Oh, please. Ever since the second you laid eyes on him, you’ve been making this face at him. Like this.”
She angles her face and flutters her lashes. I make a disgruntled sound.
“Uh! No. I am not like that!” I protest.
“Oooh, you are too!” she cries, laughing. “Talk about a couple that just seems like they are bound to slip up and end up banging the hell out of each other…”
I feel my face heat. “Pippa…”
She studies me for a second, then grins. “Oh. Oh! I think you already did slip up! You did, didn’t you?” She throws her head back and cackles. “I was right!”
“Oh my god,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Okay, so Stellan and I finally did it. So what?”
“Umm… yeah, that’s not good enough. I’m going to need details. Was it great? Where did you do it? And how did you guys leave things?” She spreads her hands out over the table. “Tell me everything.”
I groan. “Please don’t make me."
She snots. “Dish.”
“Ugh.” I run my fingers through the curls in my hair.
“Okay. Umm… yes, it was great. We went to a little coastal house in Norway for the weekend and we…” I pause, screwing up my face.
“We did everything we wanted to do for a full twenty four hours, on every conceivable surface. And then…” I shake my head.
“I thought we left things on a good note, but then he just stood me up today, so…”
I throw my hands up in the air. “Who knows?”
Pippa leans forward. “Do you think he got in his own head? In my experience with Stellan, duty is his weakness. If he spends too long thinking about how he wants to do something but is duty bound to do something else… he ends up doing the un-fun thing. It’s just how he is.”
“Well… it doesn’t really matter. I am not exactly chomping at the bit to get involved with all the crap that comes along with trying to date Stellan.
He is great, but…” I shake my head. “The whole ‘requirements to date a royal’ thing doesn’t sound like I’ll like it.
I’m all about smashing the patriarchy and breaking through glass ceilings, not reinforcing them. ”
Pippa gives me a look. “You might say that. But what does your heart have to say?”
I give a humorless chuckle. “My heart says what I tell it to say, period. End of story.”
“Does it? Tell me, how do you get your heart to listen? That’s one of the things that I struggle with constantly.” She pouts.
I shift in my seat, not entirely comfortable. “I don’t know. You just do.”
Her lips lift. She raises her latte to her lips, sipping it coolly. When she sets it down, she eyes me.
“I think you are full of shit.”
“What? Why?”
She shrugs. “I think you just haven’t given yourself enough time to consider whether you are a complete lovesick fool or whether you’re just dabbling. Dipping a toe into Stellan’s pool to test the waters.” She smirks. “I’m willing to bet you’re the former.”
“Well, I call bullshit on you not being in love with Lars! It’s complicated? I just bet it is, Miss Welch. I think you love him and you’re just not willing to say it out loud.”
“Ah!” she says, making an outraged sound. “I could say the same for you!”
“No, no. You and Lars share a history. Stellan and I were born under two totally different moons in two completely different solar systems. Okay?”
Pippa’s eyes narrow. “I don’t think so.”
My phone buzzes. I reach for it, checking the screen. Then a warm feeling rushes over me when I read the words.
Sorry about today. Got held up. Meet me at seven tonight? Wear cocktail attire.
There is no signature, but I know who it’s from. I smile as I respond.
Just give me an address.
When I look up, Pippa is surveying me knowingly.
I turn red. “What?” I ask, putting my phone away.
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t pretend like that wasn’t Stellan. You are so easy to read, it’s crazy.”
I sigh. “All right, it was Stellan. Happy?”
She reaches across the table, catching my hand. She looks me in the eye. “Yes. I am.”
I pull a face. “Do you want to walk with me back to that dress shop? I need something to wear tonight.”
She grins. “I can’t think of anything that would make me happier. We need to put you in something that is so hot, it’ll melt Stellan’s tie right off his body.”
Giggling at Pippa’s description, I down the rest of my latte and then head to do some shopping.