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“I have no problems losing to you, love,” he said quietly. Meeting her gaze so she knew it was true. “When you win, we both win. Congratulations.”
Her face softened and she was once again his Dani.
“Thanks, baby.” She held out her hand. “How about we go upstairs and celebrateourwin? I’m dying to tell you more about... sandbagging.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Is an engagement just around the corner? Between recent photos of that hot royal date, the inclusion of Duchess in official events for the queen, and sources who say she’s made herself at home in Prince Jameson’s eleven-thousand-square-foot country estate, Primrose Park—even hosting parties—all signs point to yes!”
Entertainment Tonightwebsite, embedded video
How many events had she and Jameson done in the past week?
Two? Three? Five?
Together, they’d hosted a palace reception in honor of Caroline Batley and her second-place finish at the U.S. Open. Dani had actually liked the woman, who’d quietly told her it was okay if she’d cheered for Yolanda’s win, since Caroline knew Dani and Yolanda were friends.
The following morning, Dani and Jameson had taken a day away to visit a fifth-generation farm and talk with the family about the challenges of modern-day agriculture. Two days later, they’d visited an ambulance station in East London and taken a private meeting with executives from the JFL Trust to get an update on the progress.
So four. Four official engagements in five days.
Before this she hadn’t ever given a thought to what royals did all day, but if pressed she probably would’ve admitted she didn’t believe they did much.
She’d have been wrong.
A lot of planning and preparation went into a royal event. Briefings on security and protocol took hours, and on top of that, Dani put additional time into reading the dossiers and researching the issues and the establishments they were visiting, so she understood the purpose behind the meeting and could be a useful part of the conversation.
She knew the engagements were taking their toll on Jameson, but there was no doubt he was great at them. His growing celebrity wasn’t born from being slick and glib, but because he was earnest, smart, and captivating. Dani always took a moment to glance around during each occasion and she’d never failed to find everyone under his spell.
Today, he’d had a rare day off and had been summoned by his mother. Dani had received a summons of her own.
“I’m surprised you invited me to this event with you,” Dani said, glancing over at the car’s other occupant.
“You shouldn’t be,” Catherine said, lovely and serene in a kelly green dress with a bow and a pleated skirt. “You’re very popular.”
Dani couldn’t tell from her tone whether the Princess Royal felt that was a positive or negative thing.
But it was true. The coverage of Jameson and Dani’s new role in the royal family had been overwhelmingly favorable. She’d never been more popular—as determined by the increase of followers across all her social media platforms and the fact that she was trending or mentioned almost daily—and Mela-Skin products were in high demand, practically flying off the shelves or perpetually sold out online.
Their plan was working. During a phone call with Andrea, her company’s CEO had informed Dani that Parcellum was thrilled with the developments and they were working to get a meeting on the schedule for both sides to sign the contract.
Dani should’ve been ecstatic.
But keeping her motivations from Jameson was taking its toll onher. And she’d heard from Tasha that the Hip-Hop Awards had announced their presenters and performers and she hadn’t been listed. The slight hurt more than she’d anticipated, and she could only link it to Cash continuing to bad-mouth her within the community. It seemed the more prominent she became on the worldwide stage, the more Cash resented her.
“I’d give Bettina a wide berth for a while,” Catherine said.
“Why?”
She had a small smile. “She was supposed to do this with me. Not that she’d been excited about doing it. But the idea that I would pick you over her...”
Dani shrugged. The other woman hating her wasn’t anything new.
Dani felt she had a good feel for the members of Jameson’s family. She knew what to expect from them. Julian was a perv. Bettina was a bitch. The queen was the queen.
But Catherine...
Dani hadn’t forgotten the older woman’s manner after she and Jameson had been outed at the tribute ball. Unlike the others who’d been so clear with their disdain, Catherine had been honest and genuine with her concern. But that didn’t mean she’d been warm and cuddly, either.
