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I cried like a baby on her shoulder and didn’t even slow down long enough to feel embarrassed about it.
“Why can’t I fall for a regular guy?” I complained once I caught my breath and took the dish towel she offered me for my face. “I mean, a prince? Really? Jesus.”
She laughed through her own tears, and I realized she’d been crying too.
“Why are you crying?”
She rolled her eyes again. “’Cause it sucks. I told you that. It’s so unfair. It’s not like we chose to be born into this family. We should be able to be with the people we love.”
“You’re not thinking about breaking up with Jon, are you?” I wondered whether her situation would allow her to date someone like a royal guard and whether things were serious enough between them to find out.
“Hell no. No. I love him, and he loves me. But I shouldn’t get trashed in the media because of it.”
“No. You shouldn’t.”
“I wish Lio would come out of the closet. That would take the heat off me quite nicely.”
I stared at her in disbelief before noticing the teasing twinkle in her eye.
“Bitch,” I muttered.
“Sucker,” she quipped back.
We were both quiet while we took a moment to sip our coffee. Just before I opened my mouth to tell her I needed to finish packing my things, she turned to study me for a moment.
“What is it?”
She pursed her lips before speaking. “I just remembered Jon got a notice from Bert about the road to town being washed out.”
“How can that be? It hasn’t rained.”
She shrugged. “He said something about a water pipe break. You know that bridge across the inlet leading to town?”
I nodded, picturing the narrow single lane structure that seemed to be on its last breath.
“It’s totally wiped out. You won’t be able to get to the airport until they’ve fixed it. And today’s New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow’s New Year’s Day.”
“How did Lio get out?”
Hen paused, her face coloring with guilt. “It happened after he left. Like, just before you came down.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“You can’t go yet, Felix. I need your help.”
“No, you don’t,” I said, standing up. “You want to find a way to make things happy ever after for your brother, and that can’t involve me. I’m leaving this morning regardless of how awful I feel about it, Hen. There’s nothing in Monaco for me. Please don’t make me go there under the guise of some harebrained scheme to get the two of us together.”
“You watch too many Hallmark movies,” she muttered.
She wasn’t wrong. “You know your brother watches them too.”
She shrieked. “No! No way! Tell me everything. Every dirty little secret about that fucker.” The evil glint in her eyes was 100 percent little sister. I’d seen it many times in my cousin Hallie’s eyes when she teased her brothers.
I laughed as I rinsed out my mug. “Nope. Some secrets I will take to the grave. No one should know the royal prince cranks up Celine Dion when he thinks no one is around, he sips tea with his pinky out, or that he prefers purple socks.”
Another shriek. “Oh my god, he’s so gay!”
“I made up one of those things. Two truths and a lie is a staple in my family.” I made my way over to her and drew her into a big hug. “Thank you for everything. Meeting you has been one of the joys of my life, Hen, and I will never forget it.”
I heard her sniffle in my ear and mutter, “Goddammit. Don’t make me cry again.”
After extricating myself from the embrace, I made my excuses so I could take one last walk around my favorite spots around the castle. It was when I finally found the hidden entrance the little private courtyard outside Lio’s treasury room that I spotted the ancient grave marker and felt my heart stutter.
Mon Etienne…
Chapter 27
Lio
I spent New Year’s Eve studying my ass off at the office. My father and his council members had gathered binders full of information I needed to review, and my mother kept interrupting to update me on plans for the coronation festivities the following week. Everything had been moved up in an effort to have me solidly on the throne before news of Eleanor and her pregnancy broke. By the time the clock chimed midnight, my head was pounding and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to talk to Felix.
Instead of succumbing to the temptation to call or text him, I forced myself to put in another hour of work before taking a hot shower and falling into bed. The following day was more of the same with a long break in the middle for a big formal meal with family and friends.
I wasn’t at all surprised to find a myriad of women there whose sole purpose seemed to be luring me into asking them out on a date. My mother was pushing the princess plan hard.
