Courting His Royal Highness (22 page)

“Yes. No cameras. We agreed,” snapped Parker. “But I want to be on the record as saying I think that’s a bad idea.”

“Noted.” Von Stratton turned back to Chloe. “Go ahead. Choose one.”

Chloe glanced around the table. Everyone nodded, affirming his statement. They smiled encouragingly at her, each and every person at the table, and she felt an overwhelming feeling of love. She was startled by it. She’d been so focused on getting away, leaving because of her feelings for Max; she’d forgotten how wonderful the people she worked with were. Even Mr. Parker had his moments. He wasn’t always brash and insensitive; in fact, she’d learned a lot from his tutelage. Over the course of the last five weeks, they’d become like family to her.

She laughed, trying to act as if she hardly cared about choosing the ring Max’s fiancée would wear upon her finger. “Yeah. No big deal. They’re only rings, right?”

Heads nodded in unison, and looks were exchanged. They almost looked as if they all shared an amazing secret, a secret she knew nothing about. But that was ridiculous. Julia had always criticized her about being paranoid.

“What’s going on here?” No one responded. She turned to Max. “Max?”

“I know this is difficult. And I’m sorry to ask it of you, but could you please help me one last time?”

The people around the table faded into nothing. She only had eyes for Max. He filled the entire room. His blue eyes, his gentle smile. His hands covered hers, and she wanted to weep with joy. His touch felt so incredibly good; she never wanted to be without it again.

“This is hard for me, a nearly impossible task,” she whispered.

Max nodded. “I understand. I’m not trying to hurt you.”

Her fingers curled about his. “How can I choose a ring for you to give someone else? How can I do it?” A sob caught in her throat. She closed her eyes briefly, praying for composure. She was surprised she wasn’t angrier with him, but she couldn’t be. She was tired of being mad at him, so very tired. She just wanted it to be over.

“Choose the ring you like best. Do it for me. This last time. One more favor.”

One could argue she’d done too many favors for him, but she was finished with fighting. She nodded and pulled her hands from his.

“Miss Tanner?”

Chloe nodded at the assistant, who opened the shimmering boxes. Three rings blinked back at her. She gasped in appreciation of each one’s unique beauty.

“Oh, my goodness,” she sighed. She couldn’t help but smile. The diamonds glimmered brilliantly in the light. One was a round stone with a gold band, the second a marquis shape with a white and gold band, and the last was the loveliest piece of jewelry she’d ever seen. She touched it lightly with her fingers. It was exactly the ring she would’ve selected: a square-cut diamond mounted on a thick platinum band, it was simple and elegant and yet extravagant and oh so very royal. She fell in love with the ring. It was the ring from her imagination. It was the ring she’d always hoped for.

“This one.” She looked up at Max and smiled. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “This is the ring you should give your bride-to-be. It’s perfect. It’s exactly the one I’d pick to be mine.”

“That’s the one I thought you’d choose.” Max smiled
her
smile, the one he reserved only for her, and Chloe longed to throw herself into his arms and confess her love all over again.

He loved her, didn’t he? He had to. There was no other way to interpret the deep tenderness in his blue eyes.

“That’s a wrap!” shouted Mr. Parker. He quickly downed the remainder of his coffee. “Mystery solved. We’re going with the square-cut diamond. Everyone may leave now; get back to work. We’ve got a big week planned.”

A dozen people rocketed from their seats and bolted for the door, filing out in a chattering stream and leaving Max and Chloe and Eric Von Stratton in the room.

“A tasteful choice, Miss Tanner.”

“Thank you, Mr. Von Stratton.”

“We should go, Max. We’ve got a lot to plan.”

“Thank you for choosing.”

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought.” She watched as he closed the lids on the boxes and tucked the treasures back into the black bag. “It truly is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Max leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. Diamonds can’t compare. Nothing can compare.”

She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. Gosh, he smelled good. She wanted to remember that soapy freshness for as long as she lived. His breath caressed her cheek. His lips were light and gentle. She wished for more time with him; she wanted to be with him forever. A tear slipped free, zigzagging down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb.

“Don’t cry.”

“Why not? There is so much to cry about.”

“You’re going to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of. I promise you that.”

She opened her eyes and looked directly into his. “How can you promise me that when all I want is you?”

Von Stratton politely cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to break this up, but we have to go. We have to go now. Things to plan. Things to plan.”

Max drew away from her. She felt cold without him near.

“Goodbye, Chloe.”

“Goodbye, Max.”

And she knew it was their final goodbye. It was over. Despite his romantic promises. It was over. At last. For good.

It was the saddest moment of her entire life.

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“You look beautiful, Chloe. You’re going to knock their socks off.”

Chloe smiled sadly into the mirror. She wrapped a string of pearls about her neck and wished she could stop the trembling in her fingers. The
Courting His Royal Highness
makeup and wardrobe staff had done an excellent job. She looked like a princess. She looked better than she’d ever looked in her entire life, except for portraying Queen Mab at the EVE Halloween Ball. She would probably never look this lovely again.

“I’d like a minute by myself,” she pleaded softly to the bubbling assistant Linda, an adorable college intern who thought
Courting His Royal Highness
was the best gig in the entire world. She idolized Chloe and was goggle-eyed over the charming Prince Max.

“No problem. I can’t believe tonight’s the final night. I’m so bummed. This job was awesome. I’m so lucky I got to do it.”

“We were lucky to have you on board. You do magic with makeup and hair,” Chloe complimented sincerely. “I’ve never looked better.”

Linda flushed with pride. “Thanks, Chloe. I’ll tell everyone you’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Chloe smiled at her. “Try to keep Mr. Parker from having a heart attack while waiting for me. And hide the coffee.”

Linda giggled as she set down the brush on the small vanity. “I’m really going to miss you,” she whispered, trying to smile through the tears that filled her eyes. “I hope EVE will hire me. I really need a job. I really want a job in Hollywood.”

Chloe reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’ll be a reference for you.”

Linda glowed. “Truly?”

Chloe nodded. “Truly.”

“You’re the best boss in the world!” cried Linda, startling Chloe by throwing her arms about her and hugging tightly.

Chloe hugged her back. “You’re the best assistant I could ever have. I’ll not forget you.”

Linda pulled back. “Maybe I’ll work for you someday.”

“Maybe.”

“I just know you’re going to be big. This show is going to skyrocket you to stardom.”

At one time, being a famous movie star had been all Chloe ever wanted. A career in the movies was what she’d dreamed of.

But now things were different. She only wanted the man downstairs. She only wanted the prince who would select his princess tonight. And she would not be chosen. She was not a choice. She had never been a choice.

“Go. I promise I won’t be too late.” She forced a shaky smile. “Only typically late.”

“Fashionably late,” Linda teased.

Chloe laughed. “Yes, fashionably late. That’s fits me exactly.”

Linda gave Chloe another hug before leaving the room. She closed the door softly, leaving Chloe alone with her thoughts and a tidal wave of emotions that threatened to drown her.

Chloe looked back at her reflection. She did look lovely—very royal-like. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, secured by a tiny tiara of pearls and diamonds. It was very tiny, hardly the type of crown a true princess would wear. She’d been shocked when Linda showed it to her and refused it initially, but that was what the director wanted her to wear. So that was what she’d do.

Dark tendrils of her hair tumbled down about her neck and shoulders in soft curls. Dangling diamond and pearl earrings danced on her ears, and the four-stranded pearl necklace was gorgeous. More exquisite than any piece of jewelry she’d ever owned, it looped elegantly about her long neck. She touched it lightly with shaking fingertips.

“I can’t do this. How can I do this?” she whispered at her reflection.

Tonight she had to give him away. Officially. Finally.

Her throat tightened, and she swallowed a sob. Max was the love of her life. She didn’t know how she would ever live without him. And yet she had to. She had to move on with her life. Without him. Alone.

Some other woman, Ingrid or Elizabeth, would exchange vows of love and honor and fidelity with him. One of them would have the honor of being his wife, of gazing into his amazing blue eyes every morning, of being loved every day, of curling in his arms every night.

“I can’t think about that now. I can’t. I’ll fall apart if I do. Tomorrow I can think about him, about us, about what might have been. But tonight I have a job to do. Tonight I have to hold it together. I have to be brave. I can’t let others see how my heart is shattered, how my life is in shambles.”

Chloe smoothed the satin of her dress. She loved the dress. Long and elegant, with a high empire waist and full skirt, it swooshed about her as she moved. She felt as though she’d stepped off the pages of a fairy tale. And the best part about the dress was that the soft blue satin fabric seemed to replicate the exact shade of Max’s eyes.

She stood, grabbing the matching wrap off the back of the chair. She draped it about her shoulders and took one last look at herself in the mirror.

“Chloe, you’ll put on the best performance of your entire life,” she told herself. “You will. No one will know you’re in love with Max. No one. Even Max himself will wonder if he actually heard you say that you loved him.”

The words made her feel better, more confident. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She decided she needed to keep telling herself over and over again tonight that her goal was to make sure no one know of her feelings for Max. It was a challenge, but she could do it. She had to. And it was going to work—she knew it was.

Twenty minutes later, she’d changed her mind. She didn’t feel so brave or so confident. Being in the presence of Max, his bachelorette choices, and surrounded by the entire production crew rattled her already frayed nerves. The scrutiny of the camera lens didn’t help either.

It wasn’t going to work. Most definitely. Most certainly. All of America and the world would be able to see her love for Max. There was no way she could hide it; attempting to do so was a hopeless task.

Max looked so handsome—every woman’s dream. He took her breath away. Just gazing upon him gave her so much joy. She wanted to run across the patio and wrap her arms about him and hold him close to her heart. She wanted to claim him as her own in front of everyone. She wanted Ingrid and Elizabeth to know he didn’t belong to either one of them. She wanted to make it clear he was hers and hers alone.

But she wasn’t brave enough. Even when his eyes caught hers and he smiled the smile that was only meant for her. She hated herself for it. She hated that she didn’t have the backbone, the nerve, the guts to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on love.

Who cared about EVE or the production crew or Toni back in Los Angeles? Did they really matter? And was her career that important? Wouldn’t there be other opportunities? Did a person truly only have one chance in Hollywood? That couldn’t be true. Life was full of second chances.

“We’ll be ready to roll in ten minutes! Everyone take their places!” barked Mr. Parker.

It suddenly occurred to Chloe that she didn’t know Max’s choice. Wasn’t she supposed to know? She’d known everything else, including Max’s final two selections. And the ring. After all, she’d selected it herself.

She hurried up to the high-strung director. “Excuse me, Mr. Parker, but I don’t know which girl Max is choosing. Shouldn’t I know?”

Mr. Parker shook his head. “No. It was decided that you weren’t supposed to know. It adds more suspense and drama that way, if even you are in the dark.”

“So, you all know and I don’t. That doesn’t seem right. After all, I am the hostess and part of team. Besides, I helped Max with all his previous choices.”

Mr. Parker took a long sip of coffee. He smiled kindly. “Sorry. Upper management made the decision.”

Chloe was positive she detected a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. And Mr. Parker’s eyes didn’t normally twinkle. They just didn’t; he wasn’t that type of guy. He was serious about his work and didn’t have time for humor.

Chloe didn’t like this one little bit. Something was going on, and she wanted to find out what. She’d never been particularly found of surprises.

“I demand to know what’s going on.”

“I need you to take your place next to Max. We have to get this show rolling. No time. No time.” He tapped his wristwatch with the bottom of his coffee mug. “I’m on a tight schedule here. Very tight.”

Max appeared at Chloe’s side and placed a hand on her arm. “Is something wrong?”

The heat of his bare hand seared her skin, and she stepped away from him. “No. Nothing. Not really. I just don’t understand why I don’t know your choice.”

He dimpled at her. “Don’t you like surprises?”

She glanced away. “That all depends on what type of surprise.”

“Would you two please take your places? We can’t start filming until both of you are in place,” snapped Mr. Parker irritably. “I need more coffee.” He handed his empty cup to his ever-present assistant. “I don’t know which is worse, royalty or actors. And I don’t have time to figure out which.”