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Hope blinked at him, her blue eyes stunned. “Our suite? At the palace?”
It was a good hook. Their Wengen home was gorgeous, but staying at the royal palace was a fantasy he could fulfill. Hope wasn’t like Princess Hattie Ballard August, who’d traveled the world and spent money rubbing shoulders with dignitaries and celebrities. Hope worked and worked hard. He loved that about her, but she needed an escape. A magical escape where she could love and be loved.
“We get to stay at the palace and have the royal stylist bring us gowns and shoes?” Faith clapped her hands and then pumped them in the air. “That’s even better than shopping! I can’t imagine what brands the royal stylist can get her hands on. Thank you, thank you, Chad. I’m stoked out of my mind.”
Chad had already asked his best friend Crown Prince Tristan if he could bring Hope to the wedding and have her stay at the palace that night. He knew Tristan wouldn’t mind if he brought Faith as well. Malik and Sophie would hardly notice, as in love as they were, and both of them felt like they ‘owed’ Chad for not only helping to protect them, but stepping down and letting them have their love story.
Hope let him hold her hand as they hiked up the incline. The trail was barely wide enough for them to walk side by side. He waited with bated breath, worried she’d have some excuse or would outright refuse to go to the wedding. Faith was the ace up his sleeve, though. Hope would do anything for Faith.
Chad had known both sisters would be excited to stay in the palace and attend the royal wedding. They were very successful, but they mostly focused on working hard. He rarely saw social media posts of them attending fancy parties with the wealthy elite of America. Chad wasn’t much for social media, but he checked Hope and Faith’s posts regularly.
When she said nothing for far too long, he said in a decisive tone, “Thank you for committing to spend the week with me. I’ll swoop over and escort you to paradise tomorrow morning.”
He, along with most of the military, police force, and royal guard, had been working triple time to bring down the Rindlesbacher family since they had first started their horrific schemes last summer. General Ray had been bugging him the past couple of weeks to take some time off. Chad planned to. He’d fly Faith and Hope to the castle tomorrow for the wedding, and Hope would eat up touring the castle and learning how the country was run. The next day, he’d show them Greenville, Traverse, and some other key spots around Augustine. His mum would get them into parliament. With Hope’s business mind, that would be an intriguing tour for her. Then he’d take them to the military center, show her how he ran his world. Next would be his cabin in the mountains, hikes and adventures rock climbing with Curtis and Aliya and natural beauty she’d never imagined.
He had big, big plans.
“Um …” Hope hedged. “Faith is so excited.”
“Of course she is. Augustine is a magical place, but especially the castle and a royal wedding.” He smiled at her. “I’m certain you’re ecstatic as well. Especially about spending time with me.”
“You assume that all pretty faces are the same and if you’ve wooed one, you’ve wooed us all.” She smiled and he knew she was teasing but there was an underlying tension in her words.
“I promise you Hope that you are the only woman I intend to woo.” Chad tugged her to a stop, lifted their clasped hands, and then turned her hand over. He placed a heated kiss on her palm, glancing at her from beneath his lashes. “And I am certain I’ll find a myriad of tours, attractions, and adventures in Augustine that you’ll be ecstatic about. Particularly that you’ll be spending every day and night with me.”
Her gaze was warm on him, and it encouraged him.
He’d make her ecstatic about kissing him.
Hope studied him deeply, as if she were looking for the chink in his armor or checking if he was sincere.
“Your confidence knows no bounds,” she said, but it wasn’t as lighthearted as she usually said that standard tease.
“Should it now?” He arched his eyebrows.
“We’ll see,” she murmured. Then she unfortunately pulled her hand free and hurried up the trail after her sister.
Chad caught up. He asked questions about their business, the plans to build more gyms, the next release of fitness clothing and gear. Hope’s business mind was fascinating. He was interested in their business and its growth and development, but pressing at the back of his mind was that he’d gotten her to agree to come. Now, how could he make this the most magical time of her life? He knew Hope well, but Faith would help him make sure this was the perfect weekend and exactly what Hope needed. The time she would always remember as the time she fell in love with him.
Chapter Three
Hope was a wreck the next morning as they waited for Chad to arrive. After he’d left yesterday afternoon and all through the evening and this morning, Faith had been driving her insane. She adored her creative, whimsical little sister, but Faith’s fascination with Chad and all things Augustine was wearing. Hope had kept her smile on her face but tried to escape any chance she got, working on her laptop in the office until late and then lifting weights with headphones on this morning as she listened to inspirational talks to keep her head on straight. She’d also scheduled four Zoom call meetings and had barely finished the last one. Hopefully her marketing, managerial, accounting, or data analytics teams hadn’t realized how scattered she was today.
And who could blame her?
Chad. Enchanting Major Chad Prescott. That irresistible man was coming for her, escorting her to a royal wedding, showing her his fascinating and magical home country of Augustine, and acting like she was his girlfriend, claiming she was the only woman for him. It was too much. Her nervous system was overloaded, her defenses were low, and they hadn’t even begun the journey!
She and Faith both had bags packed and waiting in the living area. Faith was pulling her famous chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Of course she had to make Chad’s favorite cookies. Hope scrolled mindlessly through her emails. Too distracted to respond to anything important right now, she deleted any email that was no longer pertinent while praying nonstop that they could all have a wonderful time together and somehow she could stay impervious to Chad’s charm. Of course they’d have a fabulous time. She’d be with two of her favorite people—Chad and Faith. But she had no idea if she’d be able to stay strong.
Her Father above knew she couldn’t handle another heartbreak. Chad’s lack of commitment to her three years ago had shattered her, but Grace had helped her through it. Most people would say she was silly to believe she’d fallen in love that quick—only three days—but not Grace. Her older sister had been solid, smart, and full of faith. She’d listened, loved, and lifted Hope through that hard time, and not once had she said Hope was just like their mother, falling in love with the wrong man.
With Grace in heaven, Hope had to constantly be the big sister and the parent, take care of trusting and innocent Faith. No way could she unload her pain and fears on Faith and damage sweet Faith’s happy light.
Thankfully, their business had been flourishing and successful before Grace died. Hope worked eighty hours a week to make up for what Grace could’ve accomplished in forty. She missed Grace every day, and her sister’s business prowess was at the bottom of the list. Grace had been surrogate mom and dad for her and Faith when their parents’ selfishness had grown stronger than their desire to be involved in their children’s lives. She’d been their rock, their light, the person they both turned to. Now it was all up to Hope. Faith was delightful and brought so much joy into Hope’s life and heart, but it was still a heavy responsibility.
Helicopter rotors beat through the peaceful late morning air.
“He’s coming!” Faith cried out. She hurried to wrap up a plate of warm cookies. Their housekeepers would come through and clean up the mess Faith had made. Bless them. Hope paid an exorbitant amount for housekeepers, groundskeepers, and personal shoppers. It was worth it. She kept their homes and workspaces organized, but if she had to clean and shop and do yard work on top of the list of items she had to keep up with at work, she’d most likely implode.
