Chapter 2
For a few, too short minutes after waking up the next morning, I forgot where I was and what I was doing there. Then it all came back. My parents and I were staying in one of the royal family of Monterra’s guesthouses because we had been invited to celebrate the wedding of Prince Nico and Kat. Our families had been friends for as long as I could remember. It was one of the reasons why I had been convinced that Prince Nico would be mine.
I got out of bed with a sigh as I thought about the next few days and everything I would be expected to do. Expectations. I was so weary of them. I thought about a cousin of mine named Bridgette who had eloped a few years ago with a young Pakistani man who ran a restaurant back in London. Her parents had been livid, and completely cut her off, but the last time I’d seen her she was happy. Her face glowed with joy, despite everything she’d given up to marry a man her family would never approve of. I’d never have the courage to do what she did.
After bathing and dressing I went into the bathroom to apply my makeup. Right on top of the bathroom vanity was the handkerchief Alessandro had given me the day before. I knew he’d told me to call him Alex, but I just loved the way his full name sounded when I repeated it in my mind. I picked the handkerchief up and put it into my purse.
Breakfast was the typical spread of lavish cheeses, jams, freshly baked bread and pastries that were usually served when our family visited Monterra. I couldn’t enjoy any of it, though. At just a few inches over five feet, I had to be careful about what I ate or I would pack on the pounds and have to listen to my mother harp at me that men weren’t interested in fat cows. Instead, I settled on a cup of Earl Grey tea and a small scone and tried to ignore my hunger pangs while I watched everyone else eat. After an acceptable amount of time passed, I excused myself from the table. There was only so much talk of Nico and Kat’s wedding that I could stomach.
On my way back to the guesthouse I spotted Giacomo, the royal family’s butler.
“Excuse me, Giacomo,” I said.
He turned to see what I wanted as I walked over to him. “Lady Claire, is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes, actually there is. I was hoping you could help me locate a member of the gardening staff. Alessandro.”
“Hmmm. I’m not sure I know who you’re talking about,” Giacomo said, looking pensive. “Was there some sort of problem?”
“No, no problem at all. I just have something of his I’d like to return.”
“There is no need to trouble yourself. I can do that for you if you like.”
“No!” I said, a bit too eagerly. “You’re busy enough already.”
Giacomo still had a suspicious look on his face. I supposed it wasn’t like me to ever be concerned with whether someone was busy or not, but I couldn’t tell Giacomo that the real reason I wanted to return Alessandro’s handkerchief to him personally was because I wanted to see him again. Though why I did, I had no idea.
“Come to think of it, I did recently meet a young man named Alessandro who is doing some work in the royal gardens. However, he’s not a member of the staff here, so I’m not sure of his comings and goings. Perhaps the grounds manager would know. Shall I ask him for you?”
“That won’t be necessary,” I replied as graciously as I could. I didn’t want Giacomo to know that I planned on asking myself.
“Very well. Good day, Lady Claire,” Giacomo said before walking away.
I smiled as I made my way back to the guesthouse. All I had to do was get through my morning schedule and then I could find Alessandro.
After changing into proper tennis attire I met Princess Violetta, Nico’s sister, on the courts. I could tell she wasn’t in the mood for a tennis match any more than I was, but I was her family’s guest and she was one of my family’s hosts, which meant that we both had our parts to play.
Thankfully, we finished our match without even one mention of Nico and his fabulous wedding. The rest of the morning was filled with visits to family friends and a luncheon where I once again left the table feeling famished.
A little after three I was able to duck away from my family in search of Alessandro. I really had no idea where I was going. There were acres and acres of gardens surrounding the palace, but I figured that I’d eventually run into someone who could tell me where to find him.
My biggest obstacle turned out to be locating someone who spoke enough English to answer my questions. When I eventually did, the problem was that the person I spoke to had no idea who Alessandro was. Feeling frustrated at my failure and foolish for wanting to see Alessandro in the first place, I headed back to the palace, not really paying attention to where I was going. I kept craning my neck and turning my head from side to side hoping for a glimpse of that delicious man, which was why I didn’t see him coming, and wound up walking right into him.
Literally.
“Scusa, signorina,” he said as I fell backwards, landing on my bottom. As recognition crept across Alessandro’s face he bent down beside me to help me to my feet. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going.”
“It’s quite all right,” I said as I took the hand he offered. “I wasn’t looking either.”
“Are you okay?” he asked as I got to my feet.
“Of course,” I said as I brushed the dust off my pants. “More than fine, actually, because I’ve finally found the person I was looking for. Although you didn’t make it very easy, you know.”
“You were looking for me?” Alessandro said, sounding genuinely surprised.
“Yes.” I reached into my pocket for his handkerchief and held it out to him. “I wanted to return this to you.”
“You really didn’t have to, Signorina.”
“Well, are you going to take it or shall I stand here with your handkerchief in my hand all day?” I realized how rude I sounded as soon as the words rolled out of my mouth. What in the bloody hell was wrong with me anyway? Why didn’t I know how to be nicer?
Alessandro reached for his handkerchief and as his hand brushed mine it felt like a jolt of electricity ran through me. My heart stopped for a second before returning at a bounding pace. This was why I’d sought him out. Because he was devastatingly beautiful and I wanted to see him and forget that a prince named Nico had ever existed. Except as handsome as Alessandro was, there could never be anything between us. I was a Lady, and he was a commoner, not just any commoner, either. If he worked as a lawyer or a banker he might be acceptable, but a man who worked with his hands—there was no way.
“It was thoughtful of you to return it,” Alessandro said. “And a pleasure to see you again.”
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t come looking for you because of the handkerchief.” My nerves were getting the best of me, making my stomach twist into knots. I never got this way around a boy. “I…I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for cheering me up yesterday.”
Alessandro smiled and I swore the sun got brighter. “I’m sure you were not the only woman shedding tears over the prince’s marriage.”
“I suppose you’re probably right,” I said. “Still, I feel like I should repay you somehow, for being so kind.”
“Repayment isn’t necessary, but since you offered…what I want is to see you again.”
That was not at all what I expected him to say. “Umm, I was thinking more along the lines of a gift. Perhaps a nice bottle of wine,” I said, trying to hide how completely flustered I felt.
“The only gift I want is the pleasure of your company.”
I wanted to say yes, badly, but I was always taught that a woman shouldn’t make things too easy for a man. But maybe in this situation that rule didn’t apply. There could never be anything serious between me and Alessandro. Still, I was long overdue for some fun.
“All right. Yes, I will see you again. As long as you promise that you won’t tell anyone about me, especially the part about how you saw me crying. I’ll feel even more humiliated than I already do.”
“I get the feeling there’s more to this story than just some girl crying because the Prince of Monterra finally chose his bride.”
“Perhaps,” I said, reluctantly, not wanting to say more than I should. I didn’t want to risk revealing too much. Building a reputation took a lifetime, ruining it took seconds.
“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s perfectly all right.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but we don’t really know each other. How can I be sure you won’t sell my story to some tabloid?”
“All I can give you is my word that I won’t tell a soul anything you share with me.” Alessandro inched closer to me, close enough that I could almost feel the heat coming off his body. “As for us not knowing each other, that is something I would definitely like to change.”
It was becoming clear that Alessandro was fully aware of how handsome he was and the way he affected women. He had absolutely no fear, while I had a long list of things that frightened me. Like what would happen if word got out that I was spending time with one of Nico’s gardeners. I could just imagine the things people would say. I’d be the laughingstock of Monterra—again. But if I was careful, no one would ever have to know besides the two of us. I planned on returning to London soon, but until then I wanted to enjoy my time here instead of obsessing about losing Nico.
I smiled at Alessandro. “Sure, I think I’d like that.”
“Magnifico.” Alessandro took my hand, lifted it, and let his lips brush over my skin. “Where can I pick you up?”
“Pick me up?” That simply would not work. “How about you just tell me where to meet you?”
“I suppose…if that’s what you prefer.”
I nodded and Alessandro pulled a pen and paper out of his back pocket. He wrote down an address and his phone number. Before I gave myself another moment to think about what I was doing I wished him a good day. I could tell he had more he wanted to say. After all, he had given me his phone number, and I hadn’t given him mine. But after working up enough nerve to search for him, I had nothing left, and I was going to need as much nerve as I could muster for our date.