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He couldn’t mean those words, could he? The look in his blue eyes, eyes he shared with his son that she loved, said he did mean them. He’d teased about the Lamborghini being more valuable than his oldest son, the crown prince. Of course they all knew he was teasing but with her, the king had been so kind and patient. Like the father she’d always dreamed of having. Her own father only called when she won an event. She’d failed miserably tonight, wrecking a half-million-dollar car, and the king had said she was much more important to him than a car.
She cried harder.
She tried to wash out the dress but feared it was ruined. Ruined just like she was messing up her relationship with Derek over her own insecurities and holdups. If only she could convey that to him.
As she dried off from the shower, she brushed out her long hair, put moisturizer on her face and body, and dressed in a comfortable T-shirt and sweats. She thought she’d be relieved to stay in tonight, but she forlornly looked at the massive closet in her suite, all those beautiful dresses, pantsuits, and casual wear that was prettier than anything she’d ever seen.
Ellery wandered to the window and stared at the beauty of the mountains behind the castle, and the river and the lake behind the village. She couldn’t see the village or valley from this vantage point.
The queen had drowned in that peaceful-looking lake. So sad. She wanted to talk to Derek about it. She wanted to comfort the king. What a tragedy. Instead, they both tried to comfort her—about a car.
She was so used to being independent, taking care of her mom, and fighting her own way. She had no clue how to accept help or accept these accomplished, impressive, and thoughtful men being so kind to her.
The church bells clanged six. Dinner time. She’d planned on a long drive with Derek and a romantic dinner. Her lip quivered. He probably wanted to be away from her after how unstable and moody she’d acted today. Did he think she was an ungrateful brat? Did he wish he hadn’t brought her here? She’d probably embarrassed him—and in front of the king, the crown prince, and the prime minister to boot. It had to be frustrating that she acted so off after the king’s touching words to her.
Today had been incredible, everything except the wreck. She’d loved driving and appreciated Derek patiently teaching her. She could just picture them in that gorgeous Porsche, with all the power and acceleration and thrill of driving, but more importantly the charming prince she was in love with sitting next to her.
Then he’d teased her about being the best kisser, and she’d wrecked a half-million-dollar car.
Her body heated up just imagining kissing him. Would it ever happen for them? She’d thought tonight, after their romantic dinner … now that was all messed up. She’d ruined everything.
Ellery grabbed her phone off the dresser. She should call her mom, but her mom would instantly know she was a mess and Ellery would stress her out and cry even more. Pushing open the patio door, she wandered out into the warm summer air. It was the perfect temperature here. Everything seemed perfect here. If only she could stay, but that was impossible. Especially now that she’d made a mess of everything. She was far from perfect.
Unable to sit, she paced the patio and looked through the Kindle books downloaded on her phone. Before she could decide on one—anything besides a romance, as that would make her longing for Derek deepen—she got a notification for unread Snapchats. Oh … Snapchat. She was supposed to communicate with Naomi that way. She had no information for the lady, but she should at least tell her that.
Opening the app, she saw a picture of a wall and the words. Anything to report? From NaomiTee.
Nothing, she typed back. The only talk of Steffan is he’s volunteering in Haiti. Nobody’s even said if he’s coming to the wedding.
Ellery pushed send and wondered why she felt … guilty. She was trying to protect Derek’s family. She was beginning to wonder if Naomi had misinformation and there wasn’t any danger. She hoped Hattie wasn’t coming to the wedding. The woman probably wasn’t even alive. All of the news outlets agreed on that. Steffan was volunteering in third-world countries because the woman he’d been tricked by and fallen in love with was dead.
A rap sounded at her door. She fumbled and dropped her phone, leaving it on the concrete as she ran for the door. Before she opened it, she licked her lips, flipped her hair over and fluffed it with her fingertips, then flipped it back and took a deep breath.
Derek. Of course he’d come. No matter how many times she’d turned him down for dates over the past six months he just kept teasing and flirting and asking. He was exactly what she needed to break through her barriers. It was unimaginable that a prince cared for her as deeply as Derek did, but he was her Derek not some stuffy prince.
She flung the door wide and had to fight to keep her smile, which made her mad at herself. Darling Kiera did not need Ellery’s moodiness and longing for Kiera’s brother.
The adorable girl held a tray. She thrust it forward. “Derek wanted me to bring this to you and check if you’re okay. Are you okay?”
Ellery nodded, but only because Kiera didn’t need to deal with an emotional twenty-four-year-old woman desperately in love with a prince but knowing they were far too different to ever make it work. She was at the bottom of the barrel of life, barely scraping by. Derek was at the top, a shining star meant to be a leader, a light, a success, a prince among men. Ellery would drag him down with her issues and lack of ability to trust a man and emotionally connect with anyone besides her own mom and Aunt Elise.
“Thank you for dinner,” she managed, hoping she could eat with her stomach tumbling.
“Did you really crash the Porsche Taycan Turbo S?” Kiera’s eyes lit up.
“Yes.” Ellery clung to the tray, embarrassment making her neck and cheeks flush.
“Cool. They never let me drive anything besides the Razor or the Can-Am. They’re fun, but to drive one of the cars, especially one of the race cars… Was it too fast for you? Is that why you wrecked?”
“I’d never driven before,” she said, not about to admit she wrecked because of her inexperience but also because she’d been staring at the most handsome prince and fantasizing about kissing him.
“No way. That’s crazy. Well…” The little girl lifted her thin shoulders. “Derek said I can’t talk your ear off because you wanted some alone time and I need to go eat my dinner.” She lifted a hand and turned to go.
“Thank you for the visit and the food.” She wanted to invite the girl to stay and eat her food, but she should let her go be with her family. They hadn’t seen Derek near enough the past eight months. She didn’t want to make him miss out on time with them. He’d chosen time alone with her today and that had backfired.
“Sure. Oh, and I forgot. Macey said it’s girls’ day tomorrow. The boys are going rock climbing, shooting, and adventuring with Curt and Chad and Jensen before the big wedding on Saturday, so Aliya’s going to come to the castle and we’ll get ‘pampered,’ whatever that means, and do girlie stuff, I guess. Macey will come get you at seven for a girls only workout.” She nodded to herself. “I think I got it all right. Bye.”
She skipped off down the hall.
