Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
REECE
I pace across the massive, elegant hall—too big to be called a foyer—pausing to stare down the eighteenth-century nob gazing down from his oil painting. “You probably thought this place was quaint, didn’t you?”
He declines to comment, not assuaging my nerves at all. What am I doing here? My family may have come into money, but I was raised frugally. Despite my mum’s laughing claims to be a “recovering miser,” spending money doesn’t come easy to any of us. The sheer extravagance of this place makes my skin twitch. I take another turn around the hall.
Teo offered to wait with me, but then his brother needed help with something. Not that it would have made a lot of difference. Teo is a good friend, but he’s a prince. Despite his claim he grew up “normal,” he doesn’t really understand how intimidating this “rose cottage” is, much less the palace.
Besides, I’m not sure I want an audience when I see Andi in person for the first time in weeks.
As if on cue, she calls my name. I swing around, staring at the vision descending the staircase. The sparkling green dress shows off her fabulous figure without looking cheap or sleazy. Gems sparkle amid the green and brown strands of her sleek updo. My heart pounds as she hurries down the last five steps and launches herself into my arms.
I crush her to my chest, reveling in the feel of her strong, lithe body against mine. I pull back to gaze into her eyes, and all my doubts and trepidation evaporate. “Andi.” This woman is everything to me, and I don’t care what royal trappings come along with her. I press my lips to hers and lose myself.
After a long, delirious kiss, I loosen my tight grip. Her high heels put our eyes on a level and her hand steals to my cheek. “Reece. What are you doing here?”
The words tumble out without thought. “I love you. I need you. I’ll do whatever it takes. We can get married. Or not. Whatever you want. Just don’t?—”
She puts a hand over my lips. “You love me?” Her voice catches in the middle.
I nod and speak against her fingers. “Yes. And I’ll chase you wherever you go. But it would be easier if you came back.”
An unladylike snort bursts from her perfect lips. “Easier? Is that how love is supposed to be?” Her hand slides around my neck. “I’ll make it even easier. I love you, too. And I’m coming back as soon as I can.”
That’s all I need to hear. I crush her to me, devouring her lips, trailing kisses along her cheeks and neck, running my hands down her back and— “Ouch!”
“Sorry.” She pulls back a little. “The sequins are kind of rough. But how did you get here?”
“Teo invited me.” I flush a little. “And Mum told me to stop moping and come get you.”
She chuckles a little. “Come get me? That sounds like something Slim would say, not Fiona.”
I raise my brows. “You’re right. Mum said I should go after what I want.” I swallow hard. “And I want you.”
She watches me closely, waving a hand at the room. “Even with all of this?”
How does she know me so well already? “Even with all of this.” I look at the painting I argued with earlier. “But we don’t have to have it all the time, do we?”
She kisses me again, her lips soft and inviting. “No. Hardly at all. That’s why I quit.” Her nose wrinkles. “Or let them fire me.”
I reach up to push a strand of hair away from her face, but it doesn’t move. “What is wrong with your hair?”
With a giggle she pushes my hand away. “Industrial strength hair spray. Gotta have a strong foundation to anchor the tiara. It’s like steel.” She steps back and gestures toward the door. “We probably need to get going. Frederik must take us over then come back for the rest of the family.”
Before we reach the door, Teo clatters down the steps, followed by a man who looks like a younger version of him. “We’re riding with you.” He intercepts Andi’s glare and gives a shrug. “Mutti insisted. With the cousins and Bee, there won’t be enough room in the car.”
I open the door and hold it for the others. “Who are all of those people?”
Teo jerks a thumb at the other man. “This is our little brother, Bertrand. Bert for short. He’s been on study abroad in Oxford. Bee—Bianka—is our sister. She’s a junior at Stanford. They’ll both be with the family in Rotheberg for Christmas. Victoriana and Khristof are cousins. Our mothers are sisters. And Ronald is Tori’s husband. They’re the ones who live upstairs.” He waves a negligent hand over his head as he exits.
I say hello to Bert, but Andi takes my hand and pulls me down the shallow steps toward the long, black car. She nods to the uniformed, gray-haired man holding the rear door of the car, then sits on the seat and swings her legs in. Teo gestures for me to slide in next, and the brothers take the rear facing seat. The door shuts.
“I thought we were going to the palace.” I peer out the windows but see only a few twinkling lights in the dusk.
“We are.” Andi leans back on the plush seat and pulls out a small lighted compact and her lipstick. Probably to repair whatever damage our kisses did.
I regret nothing.
“But it’s right there.” I point in what I hope is the right direction.
“First, it’s not quite as close as it looks—the scale makes the distance seem smaller.” Bert’s accent is heavier than his siblings’ and more familiar to my British-trained ear. “And the front of the palace is on the other side. We often sneak in the back door, but for an official function, the Gee Dee prefers we enter regally through the front. And finally, have you seen Andi’s footwear?”
I glance at Andi’s glittery shoes with their spiky heels and thick platform toes. “Yikes. What’s the Gee Dee?”
“Grand Duchess,” Andi whispers. “Bertie’s even more irreverent than me.”
“But not in public, and not to her face.” Bert winks at his sister. “I know which side of my brioche is Nutella’d.”
It’s hard to see faces in the car’s dim interior, but I catch a flash of rolled eyes from Teo and a scoffing sound from Andi. They clearly find Bert both adorable and ridiculous, in typical youngest sibling fashion.
The car stops and the elderly driver opens the door. I slide out, giving him a nod of thanks, then reach a hand in to Andi. She smiles as she stands, and I can’t resist kissing her lightly on the cheek, since she just redid her lipstick.
“Reece. Save the smooches for later,” Bert calls from inside the car.
Andi and I step aside. Bert climbs out raising a brow at his sister. “The Gee Dee doesn’t like public displays.”
She raises her chin. “Tough cookies, Gee Dee.”
His eyes glow with admiration. “I wish I was that brave.”
“Some would call it foolhardy,” Teo mutters.
Andi wraps her hand around my bicep and tugs me toward the palace. “They often go hand in hand.”
We climb the shallow steps to the wide, paved plaza in front of the palace’s triple doors. Lights shine from every window in the front of the massive Baroque building. The center pair of doors stands wide, with a uniformed guard on each side. Their gaudy hats and coats give them a nutcracker appearance, but their weapons look real enough. In addition, I spot several large, black-suited security personnel in the shadows.
Throngs of people bottleneck at the double doors, but no one makes a move to open the side portals. When our progress halts, I turn to look back. The brilliant headlights of an endless train of elegant cars pause at the big gold-embellished gate, then roll up the long drive to stop at the steps. Men in long dress coats and women in furs follow us to the entrance.
Andi tugs my arm, and we approach the open doors. As we move forward, a whisper precedes us. People turn to look, then clear a path as they recognize the siblings. Andi, Teo, and Bert smile professionally, exchanging greetings here and there as we walk unimpeded across the massive hall and up the double flight of wide steps. Wide-eyed and silent, I try to stay calm as I’m towed through the crowd in Andi’s wake. At the top of the stairs, we reach a broad landing with three more double doors, all closed.
We turn to look back. The people have flowed back like the Red Sea, eliminating the corridor they created for the royals. The stairs are crowded with people in expensive tuxedos and brilliant gowns—there must be a coat check somewhere near the door—but no one dares to join us on the landing.
My stomach tightens at the scrutiny from the mass of faces turned toward us. I feel as if everyone is asking who the rube from Texas is. Self-consciously, I smooth down my lapels.
Andi puts a hand over mine, warm against my chest. “Did you bring this suit?”
I snort. “Sure, I crammed my spare tux in my backpack along with my space suit and my Halloween costume.”
She rewards me with her musical but wistful chuckle. “I had to bring huge suitcases of ‘suitable’ clothing. Two massive ones in addition to my backpack. Tori was scandalized when I said I prefer carry-on only travel.”
“I wasn’t sure where I’d be staying or doing, so I went light.” I grip the lapel between my thumb and forefinger. “Teo got this for me.” I drag my gaze away from the crowd to meet her eyes. “Am I going to have to get all of this stuff?”
She pulls my hand away from the satiny fabric and wraps her fingers around mine. “You can get as much or as little as you like. Once I get my green card, I don’t anticipate doing this often.”
“You didn’t anticipate doing it at all only a year ago, yet here you are,” Teo puts in.
“True.” Andi frowns a bit. “But Eduard won’t be getting engaged every year—we hope.” She turns back to me. “Did I tell you—that was the big announcement we all had to be here for. Our cousin, the Hereditary Grand Duke, got engaged to the sister of the girl he was supposed to marry.” She snickers.
“And people think you’re the rebel.” Bert throws a grin at his sister then turns to me. “Lady Selina Distler-Herbst was supposed to be engaged to Teo, but Andi put the kibosh on that. Then Eduard dumped her sister Elizabeta and took up with Selina instead. The count and countess were not amused, but they got over it when they realized they were still marrying into the family.”
The flood of names and titles leaves me speechless.
Andi squeezes my fingers in sympathy. “The point is, this should be a one-and-done kind of thing. The Gee Dee insisted we all be present for the announcement last month. Today is the official presentation of Lady Selina as the future Hereditary Grand Duchess—” She frowns at her brother. “Is that the correct title?”
“She’ll become Princess Selina when they get married and the Grand Duchess when Eduard succeeds to the throne.” Bert pulls out his phone and starts scrolling, clearly bored with the conversation. “The hereditary part only applies to Eddie.”
Teo frowns at the phone and Bert heaves a sigh but puts it away. “This part is so boring.”
The crowd surges like the sea, then parts, leaving a path between the doors and us. Another stylish group appears and processes down the long aisle. An older couple leads the group, followed by Andi’s parents, then two younger pairs, and finally a girl in a huge, pale pink dress.
Andi chuckles. “Poor Bee has to wear the princess gown this year.” She turns to Bert. “You should be with her, so she doesn’t have to walk the gauntlet alone.”
“I offered.” Bert shrugs one negligent shoulder. “That girl should be the next Gee Dee. She was made for it.”
We all turn to look again. Bee waves and smiles, elegant and assured. She lifts the hem of her massive skirt with one gloved hand and seems to glide up the steps. The crowd leaves plenty of room before closing in behind her.
“Too bad she’d have to murder the rest of you to get there.” Andi snickers.
Teo tries to hide a smirk. “I’m not worried.”
“Not being in the succession anymore has its advantages.” Andi turns to introduce me to her family. I shake hands and nod but don’t say anything. The nervous squirm has returned to the pit of my stomach.
Then Andi squeezes my hand and the nerves fall away. I can face anything with her at my side. She leans close. “Are you ready?”
I meet her gaze, and everything else disappears. “With you? Always.”