Chapter 19
Nineteen
Just before dawn, I run toward the castle, my heart pounding as I climb that final hill.
My adrenaline and endorphins are going crazy and I feel for just one second that literally anything is possible.
I swear, as I’m cresting that hill, it’s like the last seven years of my life weren’t crushed and ruined.
When I reach the castle, I take a moment before I head back inside.
Leaning against the stone wall, I suck in a breath.
Running has long been an important part of my life.
Even before Isla, before I met Kingsley and she blew my whole entire life up, it was a quiet kind of stress release.
For forty minutes or an hour, or however long I can get away for, it is a quiet time to meditate.
Breathe in, breathe out, push one foot in front of the other.
But lately, I have been getting very few moments of this kind of bliss.
Honestly, aside from the night I spent with Ella in New York City, I haven’t been releasing any kind of steam lately.
At least today when I had the opportunity to run, I grabbed it with both hands.
But my body will soon be racked with tension again.
And the only things that I’ve ever found that worked to get out my aggression are sex and exercise. One of those things makes my life unbearably complicated. And the other takes time out of my busy schedule, something I often don’t have to give.
I sigh and push out every bit of breath that’s in my lungs.
Then I push myself off the stone wall and head inside.
The castle is silent now. It’s too early for Natasha’s sarcastic, frenetic presence.
And Isla won’t be up for a little while yet.
Now is the only time that I get to myself and I feel amazing as I trot up the stairs.
Heading up the stairs and around the corner to my room, the first thing I notice is that my phone is buzzing.
I like to keep my room extremely cold and extremely dark, so the screen of the phone lights up where it lies on the bedside table.
Sauntering over to it, I pick my phone up and find a text message from my long time good friend, Stellan.
Stellan is the king of Denmark now. But for a long time, his family was the same as mine: the entirety of the country looks up at the Love family, just as Scotland had a huge spotlight placed on the Grayrose family.
So as you can imagine, the two oldest sons from both close knit families are bonded in a special way. Our families were close for our entire childhood. But Stellan and I, being only a year apart in age, are particularly close even to this day.
Stellan texts: Are we still on for the visit in Paris? My wife is pregnant but I feel like an outing is overdue.
I lift my brows. Stellan fell in love with a common American girl with a rebellious streak a mile long.
After a torrid affair, they ended up getting married.
Now Margo is settling into being the Queen of Denmark.
As far as I know, she is a lovely little blonde that complements my childhood best friend pretty damn well.
Congrats on the baby, I text him back. And yes, I think that we should definitely plan a trip to Paris. Are you thinking this summer?
He texts me a smiling emoji. Thanks! It’s her second pregnancy and she is going a little stir crazy with this one. I was thinking that we could leave our kids at home for one weekend of luxury. Does May sound good?
I pursed my lips and check my calendar. It’s packed with notes and events added by a secretary from NewsCorp. Pushing out a breath, I scroll through each weekend and choose one in particular that has the least number of commitments already scheduled.
I am open the second weekend of May. Can I bring a guest?
I texted it without really thinking about it. But now that I’ve hit send, I freeze.
Who am I supposed to bring? Ella?
The only other woman I could even bring is Natasha. And God knows I have spent three solid years keeping Natasha at arms length. Her sarcastic energy makes her a perfectly capable assistant. But I am not attracted to her in the slightest.
I start to text out a quick change of my mind. But before I can, Stellan is texting me back.
The three dots appear and then he says, I didn’t realize that you were seeing anyone new since Kingsley. But I would be extremely glad to meet anyone that you decided to bring. The more the merrier.
I can feel the heat gathering at the back of my neck.
I’m not quite embarrassed enough to feel my face flush but I stir uncomfortably, not knowing exactly how to answer Stellan.
He is one of my oldest friends and he was integral in my decision to silently go through with divorcing Kingsley.
If it weren’t for him, I might still be married to her and waiting around for her to show up after she had disappeared on one of her benders again.
Screwing up my face, I decide not to say anything about it at the moment. It’s nice of Stellan to be so open to meeting a new person that I might date, even if that person doesn’t really exist just yet.
Not ever, if I have my way.
Not after all the shit that Kingsley put me and Isla through.
I end up just texting, thanks, man. I will let you know the details when we get closer to the date. I assume that you won’t mind staying at my penthouse?
I would never say no to an offer like that, Stellan jokes.Gotta go. Little Adeline is on the loose and Margot can’t keep up. Excited about the trip though!
Yeah, me too. Talk to you soon.
Putting my phone down, I suck in a deep breath.
It’s hard for me to believe that Stellan has a kid.
Not just the one, either, because he apparently has a very pregnant wife.
I’ve been friends with Stellan for most of my life and I never thought that he would settle down, even though he had a lot of pressure put on him because he was a presumptive heir to the Copenhagen throne.
As I run through the shower, I remember quite succinctly how judgmental I was when I first married Kingsley. I thought back then that it was a sign that I had my shit together and that I was really moving on an upward trajectory in my life.
Now I am a thirty-something divorced dad and the only woman that I’ve even looked at twice in the recent days is posing as my nanny. How funny and cruel life can be to men that have big dreams.
I rush through the rest of my shower and spend very little time getting dressed.
It’s not like I have a huge selection to choose from when I step into my closet.
I have only the best white button down shirts and thirty designer suits in various shades of dark gray, black, and very deep navy blue.
I dress almost without thinking about it and drift downstairs, my mind still on Stellan.
How is it that Stellan, a man who at one point was a huge disappointment to the royal family because of his bad behavior, is now on track to rule an entire country peacefully?
And yet, here I am, struggling to keep Kingsley at arm’s length while my young daughter acts out constantly?
And all I have to run is Newscorp which is a large company but is nothing compared to running all of Denmark.
Maybe when I see Stellan, he can give me some sage words of advice and tell me how to keep my life from spinning out of control.
I’m walking through the ground floor of the castle, heading toward the kitchen in the back.
It’s still early enough for the maids and the butler to be off duty.
But Mrs. Wolf looks up from her cutting board, startled by my presence as I walk into the kitchen.
When she sees me, she breaks into a smile.
“My Lord,” she says, with a curtsy. “I didn’t know you were awake yet.”
Pushing my fingers through my hair, I give her a quick smile. “It’s Keir. Come on now, you’ve known me since I was just a baby. No need for a formalities at this point, eh?”
She blushes and sets down her knife, swiping a stray strand of hair back with a smile. “As you wish. The young ladies are already up and fed. They’re out back, in case you were looking for them.”
My brows go up dramatically. “They are?”
She nods. “Indeed they are. For what it’s worth, not that anyone asked, but I find that young Ella very charming.
She always asks me how things are going every time she sees me and remembers little details from our previous conversations.
If I have any say in the matter, I hope you keep her around. For Isla, if nothing else.”
The back of my neck heats. I can’t very well lie to Mrs. Wolf’s face and say that Ella is just here to watch after Isla. So I gave her a little bow and say, “Nice to see you this morning. I’m going to go check on Ella and Isla to make sure that Isla hasn’t driven poor Ella crazy just yet.”
Mrs. Wolf chuckles. “I, I think that is a winning strategy.”
Giving her an uncharacteristic wink, I head out the back door of the castle.
Mrs. Wolf stares at me, again startled by my words, and I feel her eyes on my back all the way out the door.
I realize that if my long time chef is so surprised by my words, then maybe I am in an unusual mood.
I feel a little better, especially when I step outside and find Isla and Ella.
They are drawing on the ancient stone terrace with a big bucket of sidewalk chalk. Nonsensical doodles and rainbows mostly, but they are in the same little space, Isla not minding Ella’s closeness. I hate to even interrupt them and briefly consider backing away and returning to the castle.
Ella stands up, admiring her own work, and out of the corner of her eye she sees me. She straightens herself, brushing off her silky black dress and puts her hands behind her back, as if I require formality.
“Oh Keir,” she says. She looks a little breathless. “We were just working on a mural. I didn’t expect you to even make an appearance today.”