The Royal Treatment (14 page)

W
hen dinner was over, Isla took us around the palace while the king showed Gina the outside gardens. I let Barrett hold my hand (um, yeah—held a royal heartthrob’s hand, another job duty) as Isla gabbed on about room after room, and Karl trailed behind us.

Barrett whispered in my ear. “Let’s ditch the third and fourth wheel and go explore on our own.”

“We can’t. Isla’s too excited.”

“I wish we were the ones touring the garden, not your mom and King Aung.”

I glanced back at Karl, who looked so cute and troubled. Was he thinking of Olivia or Elsa with that far-off expression? He caught me staring and covered up his anguish with a polite smile. I turned around. Last time I’d toured a garden, it had been with him. The garden tour, actually, was when I’d started to like Karl. What my mom said when we saw his magazine picture was true—Karl wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous like Barrett. But, for that one clear day in the Alps, he’d let his walls down, and I’d seen a guy who was funny, smart, and sweet. That’s what mattered.

Nope. Don’t go there. Right now I had the other garden tour to consider. Why did Gina and the king go off together? It couldn’t be proper. I mean, they were both single—the king widowed and Gina twice divorced—but this could lead to rumors, and Gina was usually so aware of her image. Then again, it could be a friendly stroll. They obviously knew each other. Maybe they just wanted to catch up.

We came to the study, crammed with towering bookshelves and a jungle of exotic plants. One table displayed photos of the king and the many political and entertainment figures he’d met.

“There’s your mom.” Isla pointed to a framed 5 x 7 print right in the middle. “She’s pretty there, but I think she’s prettier now.”

“They look
friendly
,” Barrett said.

I peered closer. I’d seen
Once Upon an Island
—in the photo Gina wore the dark blue Victorian-era dress from the movie’s famous ship-departure scene. The king’s white shirt was untucked and unbuttoned, his arm draped over Gina’s shoulders. She leaned into him as he looked down at her, grinning. Not the pose of casual acquaintances.

The autograph from Gina read “To My Love.”

My stomach lurched as the details clicked into place. Gina’s nerves about seeing the king. Her hints to Floressa about impeding big news. Their unescorted stroll through the garden, the informality, the secret looks, the photo, the inscription…

Floressa’s age.

No wonder the king looked so familiar. If you took those two beautiful people and mixed them together, you would have Floressa.

My voice caught in my throat. I looked wildly at Barrett, but he was busy analyzing a picture of Bruce Willis. Karl, however, caught my eye and whispered, “Are you all right?”

All right? ALL RIGHT? No, Karl. So. Not. All right. “This room is stuffy,” I said to Isla. “Can you show me another?”

“Sure. I can show you my closet!” Isla squealed. “I’ll put on a green dress, and it’ll be like we’re sisters.”

I swallowed. Sisters. You don’t know the half of it, girl.

Karl and Barrett opted to play pool in the game room while Isla showed off her wardrobe. It took ten outfit changes before I could form a course of action. All I had to do was ditch Isla and go find Gina and ask her the scoop—Was the king Floressa’s father?

While Isla changed, I buried myself behind a rack of dresses and thumbed through my manual for information on the king. My quick research revealed that King Aung had been married fourteen years ago and lost his wife to cancer when Isla was five. Originally the second brother in line to the crown, Aung’s older brother was assassinated during a time of political unrest, leaving the kingdom to Aung. This happened while the filming of
Once Upon an Island
was ending, and the crew quickly left because of the ensuing riots. Some of the last movie shots had to be filmed in California.

Aung was Floressa’s dad. Forget spiritual awakening; this was a big bomb, and Floressa had no clue it was about to go off. If I thought Barrett’s arrival was a reason to contact her, discovering a secret royal father was an emergency.

Meredith’s phone went right to voice mail, so I shot her another 911 text and checked my e-mail. Nothing from Floressa. Without a means to contact her, there was little I could do until I heard from Meredith. Best to gather more information. I needed to verify this discovery.

“Do you think this dress looks better in gray or plum?”

I shoved my manual into my purse and turned around. Isla held two identical-except-for-color dresses against her.

“Plum.” I stood. “Although the gray is pretty too. You should put it on. I’m going to go find the princes. Why don’t you meet us in the game room?”

“Can you find the game room on your own? People are always getting lost in the palace.”

“Oh, yeah. I have, like, a built-in navigational system in my brain.”

Isla opened her mouth wide. “That is so cool.”

I hurried out of the closet. I did have a navigational system, but it was in my manual, and I needed it to guide me to the gardens. I didn’t have much time before Isla and the boys started to wonder where I was.

I heard Gina’s and King Aung’s voices after I crossed the sprawling lawn. The moon was full and the sky clear, which helped me see my way as I tiptoed behind the hedge of bushes circling the courtyard and fountains. The king and Gina sat on a bench with two bodyguards a respectful distance away. I crouched behind a bush close enough to hear, but far enough that
they
couldn’t hear
me
.

“Spielberg is a gem to work with
,”
Gina was saying. “Other directors lose their artistic edge when they reach that level.”

“Gina, enough of the preliminaries. Will you please explain why you decided to return to my country after all these years?”

Gina broke a leaf off a bush and twirled it in her hands. “Floressa and I aren’t as close as we used to be. I thought it’d be nice to bond with her, to help her connect to her spiritual side. I have such fond memories of the time I spent here before—”

“You didn’t tell her about
us,
did you?”

“And what if I had?” Gina sat up straighter. “Would you have been ashamed?”

“Of course not. But you know no good can come from our past being exposed.” The king glanced at his security guards and lowered his voice. “Our life together—it was an enjoyable time.”

“
Enjoyable time
? Aung, I loved you.”

“Did you? Because, as I recall, you left me when I was already at rock bottom. The only thing that comforted me when my brother was assassinated was knowing that you would be my queen.”

“But I’m not a queen! I couldn’t even play that role in a movie. And you weren’t the next in line when we eloped. I married the second prince, not a king. When your brother died, that changed everything. We couldn’t move to California. You had a duty to your country.”

“And to you! I would have done anything for you. But, instead, I found out from a
tabloid
that you were dating that producer.” The king folded his arms across his broad chest. “I’m just glad I annulled our marriage here, otherwise I don’t believe your next quick wedding would have been legitimate. The ring I gave you…I wonder…Did you take it off before you put the other one on?”

Gina shoved her right hand in front of the king’s face. “I still wear it. I’ve worn it every day for seventeen years. You and I both know it was a promise you couldn’t keep, not with your title. I left because I loved you, Aung, and I knew
I
wasn’t best for you. But don’t you for a second think my feelings weren’t real.”

“Your actions don’t match your words, my dear.” Aung hung his head in his hands. “Let’s not open this wound any more. We were young and we’ve moved on. What’s past is past.”

Gina glanced up at the bodyguards. “It’s not that easy.”

“It is. I am king now. A scandal for me is a scandal for my country. And I have quite a bit more pride than to accept your belated advances.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” Gina drew in a breath, preparing herself for the delivery of her greatest line yet. “After I left you, I returned to L.A. and married Lorenzo because I didn’t want scandal either. I knew what that would mean to you
and
your country.”

“We could have worked through it. We could have gotten married again, given my people something to be excited about. Yes, you aren’t royal, but—”

“That’s not the scandal I’m talking about.” She glanced over to the bushes, and I crouched lower. “Haven’t you ever done the math with Floressa’s age? And look at her—Lorenzo had red hair and freckles. Did you notice that she has your eyes and coloring and…your laugh? She’s…she’s yours.”

A mixture of emotions flashed across the king’s face. Confusion, understanding, fear, anger. But none of them joy. His voice was tense when he spoke. “It cannot be.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and prayed the king would be sympathetic. Yes, finding out you have a teenage daughter with the-girl-that-ran-away isn’t your average after-dinner chat. And no matter her reasons, Gina shouldn’t have kept this from him. Gina shouldn’t have done a lot of things. But now that he knew, he could be the better person. I’d seen how he looked at Isla with adoration. Floressa deserved that too. She was innocent in this. Even if they kept it a secret from the press, King Aung could still be a piece of Floressa’s private world.

When I opened my eyes, the king was standing. He pointed at Gina. “I want you to listen carefully. You will not share this news with anyone. If you do, I shall deny it. You will not sail into my country and ruin everything. You are an
actress
.” He spit the last word out. “I will not have you disgracing me.”

“Aung, please. I know I don’t deserve your love. I ran away from it. But Floressa had no part in this. She doesn’t even know. I was hoping—”

“Enough!” King Aung boomed. “I will have my own people confirm this news.” He shot a look at his bodyguards. “This meeting did not take place. I hope you understand if I return to formalities, Miss Chase. You may see your way out.”

The king stormed out of the courtyard. A breeze picked up. I wrapped my arms around myself, waiting for Gina to leave. She started crying, and I felt awful that I couldn’t slip away and give her the privacy she deserved.

Gina’s sobs quieted. “You can come out now, Flossie. I know you’re behind that bush.”

So much for sneaking away. I stood, slowly, so that I was level with the hedge. “What just happened?”

“Come sit next to me.”

I circled the hedge until I came to an opening and slid next to Gina on the bench. Her face was already puffy, and she had snot running down her nose. Still, she looked beautiful. Vulnerable, sad, and beautiful. “That’s not how I wanted you to hear the news,” she said.

Floressa would probably huff off at this moment. And she’d be justified in that. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I felt so bad for Gina, for Floressa. I sat there and let Gina cry, keeping my face blank.

“So this is why you brought me here,” I said.

Gina blew her nose. “I was going to tell you before we got off the yacht, but then I worried you wouldn’t come and then never meet him. You have to understand his reaction had nothing to do with you. It would be shocking news under any circumstance.”

“Why didn’t you tell him before?” I asked.

“I don’t know. No, I do. I was trying to protect you.” She crumpled up her tissue. “Aung and I married in secret because we thought it was romantic—we planned to tell his family right before moving to California to start a new life. Then his brother was killed and Aung had to stay. I found out I was pregnant, and for the first time, I was scared. After all the political chaos, the last thing this country needed was me. And the last thing you needed was to grow up both a princess and Gina Chase’s daughter. But Aung wouldn’t have accepted that. Things are more black and white to him.”

There was some logic to Gina’s reasoning.
Some
. But I couldn’t say that. This was something Floressa needed to hear and digest on her own, without me putting words in her mouth. What I wouldn’t do to beam her back right now, to let her feel this moment herself. I squeezed Gina’s hand. “I don’t know what to think right now. I need some time.”

“Of course. I think Aung, your father, needs the same thing.”

I let go of her hand. “Then let’s not talk about this again until I’m ready.”

“Don’t you have questions—”

“Later. I’m going to find Barrett and Karl. I think our welcome has worn itself out.”

I hurried across the lawn. Now, this, THIS would be a time when knowing exactly how my magic worked would be great. Magical power, or even a sixth sense, could get me connected to Floressa, whether emotionally or in person. Sure, princesses don’t want their vacations ruined, but this was the biggest drama I had ever encountered. No amount of BEST research or client background checks could replace knowing exactly what Floressa wanted me to do.

This was a scandal. A major tabloid-crushing, life-ruining royal scandal that I did not want to mess up.

I slowed my steps, a memory sparking to life. When I very first became a sub, I overheard Meredith talking to Floressa Chase on the phone. Confused, I’d asked about Floressa’s agency eligibility, but Meredith had said something…something about Floressa’s “status” changing. Oh, and that Façade knew things the tabloids didn’t.

So the agency
did
know Floressa was a princess. And of course she was. Façade was so strict about magic, they wouldn’t waste it in a non-royal. I should have known there was more going on. Wasn’t there some sort of moral obligation to tell Floressa the truth? Just like there had to be a moral obligation to tell those poor sub hopefuls about sub sanitization?

No. I could worry about Façade’s involvement later. That was a sparkly can of glittery worms I didn’t have time to open right now. The most important thing was to get a hold of Floressa.

I’d just reached the sprawling palace terrace when my manual buzzed. Finally. I glanced around to check that I was still alone in the darkness. I thought for sure it was Meredith informing me she was on her way. After all, she’d intervened when I kissed Karl. If a kiss was an emergency, what category did a secret celebrity princess fall under?