CHAPTER 23
T he Palais de la Lumière in Paris was one of the most sought-after hotels for royalty and celebrities and was one of the queen’s favorites. It was especially stunning during the holidays when it was lit up with thousands of gold Christmas lights.
Even the outside entrance was spectacular. The luxurious red carpet, leading up to a palatial front door, was lined with exquisite Christmas trees that all stood exactly six-feet tall and had decadent matching gold decorations.
And once you set foot inside the lobby, it was even more magical.
The soaring, vaulted ceiling dazzled with intricate gold leaf details.
There were gleaming Carrara marble floors and a collection of priceless crystal chandeliers that gave the space a soft, romantic glow.
In the front window, a spectacular thirty-foot Christmas added to the fabulous festive feeling.
All the exquisite holiday decorations were just one of the reasons Queen Kathleen always chose this hotel during the holidays for her visits to Paris. Only this time, she was disappointed to have to cut her trip short.
And it was all because of Henry.
Just thinking about him gave her an instant headache.
When she’d first gotten Henry’s call she had been surprised, because he never called her.
They didn’t have that kind of relationship.
They had no relationship at all. So, she’d let the call go to voicemail.
She couldn’t understand why he was calling in the first place.
She’d already told Ava that Henry couldn’t propose at the party. So, either she hadn’t told him yet, or a more likely scenario was that Ava had told him, but Henry wasn’t taking no for an answer.
She knew that, like her late husband, Henry was tenacious when it came to getting what he wanted.
And right now, he wanted her daughter. Or more likely, what he really wanted was to be part of the royal family.
She had always suspected that Henry was much more in love with the idea of having a royal title than he was with Ava.
And that’s why she was trying to put off their engagement announcement for as long as possible, hoping and praying that given more time, Ava would come to her senses.
After Henry left his two-minute voice message, he’d also sent her a text saying it was critical that they talk right away because he was worried about Ava.
Skeptical, she’d listened to the message, and she’d been surprised when he hadn’t mentioned the Christmas party.
Instead, he was upset about seeing Ava in the village with Justin.
He was convinced something suspicious was going on.
He stressed in his message that Ava was dressed in casual clothes and acting very unusually.
It had made her laugh to hear how appalled he was to see Ava in jeans.
He also wasn’t thrilled that she was with Justin.
Normally, she could have instantly alleviated Henry’s fears by calling him back and explaining that Justin was just the dog trainer who was training her new dog, Stormy.
But since she didn’t want Henry or anyone else to know anything about Stormy until she made her official announcement at the Christmas party, she simply texted Henry back, keeping their exchange short and to the point.
In her text, she assured him he had nothing to worry about because Justin was just an old family friend.
When Henry had instantly replied, asking about the clothes and what Ava was doing in the village when she always stayed out of public places, the queen had said she couldn’t tell him because it was a surprise about something Ava was getting him for Christmas.
She had no problem telling him a little white lie if it got him off her back. However, while she’d downplayed Ava’s unusual behavior to Henry, she, too, wanted to know what was going on.
Henry was right about one thing.
Ava valued her privacy above everything else, and that was why she never went into the village or anywhere in public so that she could avoid the press and paparazzi. When she thought about it, she couldn’t remember the last time or any time when her daughter had worn jeans.
The fact that Ava was with Justin only added to her curiosity.
Justin was supposed to be training Stormy, and Ava was supposed to be planning the Christmas party.
She’d also noticed Edgar had been acting a little strange.
Something was definitely going on, and she needed to get home and find out exactly what.
As she walked through the opulent hotel lobby, the general manager—and her longtime acquaintance, Felix—escorted her to the door.
“Felix, thank you again for arranging everything so I could leave early,” she said with a grateful smile.
“Or course, Your Majesty. You know we’d do anything for you,” Felix said. “But we have been advised that a snowstorm is coming. It would be much safer for you to wait and not fly right now.”
She shook her head. “Thank you, but that’s not an option. I can’t wait. I need to get home right away.”