Chapter Fourteen
"Oh, Madison, you look stunning." Kat clasped her hands together, a delighted look on her face. "That color is perfect for you."
Madison looked in the mirror and pivoted so she could see how the dress looked from the side. "It is nice."
"Nice?" Kat rolled her eyes. "I'm glad our seamstress isn't here to hear you call her work 'nice'." She came over and straightened one of the sleeves. "Breathtaking is a better word."
"I don't even know why I'm going to the gala."
Lemon, who up until this point had been engrossed in scrolling through her to-do list, looked up from her tablet. "I did not just hear that."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. The dress really is gorgeous." Madison loved the color purple, and the head seamstress at the palace used two shades to create a spectacular creation. The bodice was a dark purple velvet while the full skirt was a much lighter shade of purple with layers of ruched fabric. The full off-the-shoulder sleeves were made from an exquisite ecru lace. She looked like a princess going to the ball. Madison had never before worn anything so beautiful.
Or felt so miserable at the prospect of an evening ahead of her. But the Fiorelli family had been so kind to her over the last few weeks that she couldn't not go to the gala they were throwing for the release of the cookbook. The whole project was about raising money for children with leukemia. Despite her misery, she couldn't be churlish enough to bow out. She was leaving for home in three days. Until she left, she was determined to repay her hosts' kindness by appearing happy. Even if it was all an act.
Lemon stood and picked up her tote bag. "I think we've been over all the details."
"Twice," Kat said with a grin.
"Funny." Lemon made a face. "Now, shall we send a car for you at seven o'clock so that you can come up and dress at the palace? Or do you want to dress here and we'll send a car for you at eight thirty?"
"I'll dress here." Despite how much she adored Nico's entire family, Madison found herself craving privacy in a way she never had before. Another surprise had been that she wasn't homesick. She did miss her sister and her work at the restaurant, but she didn't long to be back in Amarillo. Truthfully, just trying to keep her thoughts off of Luis took most of her mental energy. Still. With each passing day, she missed him more.
"Hello?" Lemon snapped her fingers. "Madison? Are you okay?"
"Yes, sorry. I zoned out for a moment."
Kat and Lemon exchanged looks but neither said anything. They'd been the most amazing friends possible over the course of the last few weeks. They'd given her extra hugs when she needed them and space when she'd needed that too. Mackenzie called daily to check in on her, Serafina showed up on her doorstep daily, and even Queen Aria had stopped by several times a week for a cup of tea and a chat.
What more could she have asked for?
Luis. She pushed the thought aside. She was going to have to wrap her mind around the fact that what had happened, despite being painful, had been for the best. She looked up to find her friends watching her.
"I'm sorry. I just need something to keep my mind busy."
"Well, I can help you there," Lemon said. "I've got about two hundred cookbooks being delivered here to the Lodge within the hour." She reached into her tote and pulled out a package of black fine tip sharpie pens. "You can sign books until your hand feels like it's going to fall off."
Madison took the pens. "When it feels that way, what then?"
"Keep signing."
Madison shook her head, unable to keep a small smile off of her face. Lemon was incorrigible, in an adorable way. "Consider it done."
***
A black town car pulled up in front of the Royal Lodge but neither the driver or the passenger in the back seat made a move to exit the vehicle. The driver looked into the rearview mirror and met his passenger's gaze. "I'm nervous."
Prince Alejandro of Santa Rosa shrugged. "That's unfortunate. But there's nothing more that I can do for you. You need to take it from here."
Luis took off his dark sunglasses and twisted around so he could face his brother. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me."
"It's nothing," his older brother said.
But it wasn't nothing. Alejandro had flown to Monterra to meet with Nico and Dante so that he could plead his brother's case. The brothers had quickly seen that Luis was guilty of a grave error in judgment. However, they'd also understood from personal experience his desperate desire to protect Madison from the glare of the media.
Both princes had readily agreed with Alejandro that Madison needed a time before Luis should approach her with an apology. Like a trio of old-fashioned match-makers, they'd settled on the evening of the Midnight in Monterra gala for Luis to make his move. The idea of arriving as a driver had been his.
He could only hope that Madison would understand why.
***
Madison had just poured a fresh cup of coffee when she heard a knock at the door. Good. That must be the cookbooks arriving. She took a quick sip and set the mug down. Just before she opened the front door she glanced out the window. All she could manage to see was a driver in a dark suit removing boxes from the back of the car. She opened the door.
"Oh." Startled to see a man on the doorstep, she took a step back. "Hello."
"Miss Bishop?"
"That's right, Madison Bishop." She extended her hand to the stranger. There was something familiar about him but she couldn't remember having met him before. Perhaps she'd seen him when she'd been out and about with Kat and Lemon. "I see you've brought the books. Thank you."
The man's lips curled into what she assumed was supposed to be a smile. He had an air about him that, while not rude, was remote and detached. He was so different than Luis. The first time she saw him, it was like the sun came out. She sighed.
"Is something wrong?" the man asked.
"No." Something wasn't wrong. Everything was wrong. But she couldn't very well spend the rest of her life telling strangers how she'd been foolish enough to let her heart get broken. "I'll come out and help carry in some of the boxes."
The man held up his hand. "No need. My driver will carry them in if that's acceptable to you."
"Of course. I'll just leave the door open and he can carry them straight back to the kitchen."
The stranger nodded. "Perfect, thank you."
Madison made her way to the kitchen and took a sip of her now lukewarm coffee. She leaned against the counter and gazed out the window which afforded her a picturesque view she'd miss when she was back in Texas. She savored another sip of coffee.
She whirled around when she heard a box drop onto the kitchen table but by the time she did so, the driver was already on his way out to bring another box in. Her heart gave a funny little flutter as she watched the driver walk back out to the car. She closed her eyes.
This simply had to stop. She couldn't continue to compare every man she saw to Luis. That wasn't fair to half of the world's population, not to mention that it was a sure fire way to drive herself crazy.
But her traitorous heart didn't concur because it began to race as she saw the driver walk through the front door. The man was about the same height and build as Luis, with shoulders just as broad. Madison took a deep breath in an effort to steady her heart rate.
The driver set the stack of boxes on the kitchen table and took a step backward. He took off his cap and sunglasses, and looked at her.
"Luis," Madison cried out in surprise. Tears welled in her eyes and she covered her mouth with her two hands. "Luis."
"Madison."
She lowered her trembling hands. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't stay away." His brown eyes searched hers. "I've missed you."
His words were like arrows that pierced her heart. He really was here. "I don't understand. Why are you dressed like that?" She frowned. "Is this your idea of a joke? One last laugh at my expense?"
"God, no, Madison." Luis ran his hands through his hair. "Listen, I made a terrible mistake by doing something without talking to you first. But nothing was what it seemed. Will you give me a chance to explain? Please?"
The angst in his voice went a long way toward convincing her to say yes, but still Madison hesitated. "What was that all about at the airport? You talked to me about forever and only hours later you were with-" her voice broke, she couldn't make herself say 'you were with another woman'. "Why?"
"Because I was arrogant. That night I left you, I found out that someone had taken pictures of us together in Monaco. I knew what would happen if I didn't find a way to distract the press. More than anything I wanted to protect you from the craziness that comes with this life I was born into." He paused, his eyes pleading with her to understand. "I also, selfishly, wanted you all to myself. I didn't want us to be thrust into the spotlight of media attention." He touched his heart and then motioned toward hers. "This is something precious that I wanted to protect."
"Who is she?" Madison's voice was barely a whisper, but she had to know.
"Graciela. She's been a part of the team at Santa Rosa Wines for years, and she's been a good friend to me. I also hope she's the woman that my brother will marry. But all she was doing was helping me out by acting as a decoy." He ran his hands over his face. "I know I was wrong. If I had it to do over again, I'd come to you so we could make a decision together."
Together. The word was a balm to her wounded heart. Luis' anguish was real, and she wanted nothing more than to assure him that she could forgive him anything. Before that, though, she needed to understand something else. "You still haven't told me why you're wearing a chauffeur's uniform."
He glanced down at his suit and then back at her. "This is me. The real me."
"You're a driver? And a prince?"
Luis took a few tentative steps toward her. "I am. I'm a prince because I was raised to honor my duty to my country."
"And you're a driver because...?"
He came close enough that she could see the sincerity in his expression. Sincerity and humility, a combination designed to destroy what little resistance she had left.
"Because that's the way you first saw me. My life changed forever in that moment when you looked at me. I know I should have corrected you, but when you smiled at me, I wanted to be the man you thought I was."
Madison covered her mouth with her fingertips. Tears of understanding, of empathy, of love, pricked at the back of her eyes.
He took one step closer. "I am a prince, I am vineyard owner, I am a brother, a son, a friend, but in the last month, I've learned that I'm nothing without you."
"Oh, Luis," she whispered. "I love you."
He closed the distance between them and drew her into his arms. "Madison, my beautiful Madison. Will you give me the chance to prove my love?"
"You already have, Luis." She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss across his lips. "You already have."