Page 16 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“Whereas you feel I am leading Grace into a dangerous environment?” Luis put a warning in his voice.

“You are bringing her into a complicated environment, especially for someone who did not grow up in it.” Mikel did not intimidate easily.

“If she is mine, it is her birthright!”

Mikel gave him a level look. “Have you not sometimes wished to lay down your crown? She may not wish to pick up hers.”

Worry overwhelmed the anger, and Luis sat in a nearby chair, briefly closing his eyes against Mikel’s relentless gaze. “She would not be the heir. She would not face as much pressure.”

“Señor, I sympathize with your desire to hold your child close, but she is from this small town in the midst of Iowa. She may not understand what you are offering her. And if she does, she may not want it.”

Luis pictured the alarm on Eve Howard’s face when he had mentioned Grace needing security. The woman had grasped the problem immediately, and he had regretted bringing up the subject so early in the conversation. “Grace did not have all the advantages I could have given her, but she was raised by a smart, capable woman. Eve Howard will guide her daughter with wisdom.”

“Assuming she understands how drastic the changes in her daughter’s life will be,” Mikel said. “And her own.”

Luis waved a hand in both acceptance and dismissal of Mikel’s words.

In fact, Eve had shown an impressive composure even after she realized who he was. There had been no apparent calculation of what benefits she might derive from the relationship, which surprised him. Too often, Luis had seen the avarice in people’s eyes as they angled for his attention. Eve might have a real claim on his resources, yet she didn’t seem to care about that. Perhaps the shock hadn’t worn off enough for her to consider her possibly advantageous position yet.

He could only hope that Eve was the exception to his previous experience with significant women in his life. He needed her as an ally until Grace took the DNA test. Once Grace was confirmed as his daughter, he would not hesitate to go around Eve, if necessary.

CHAPTER 5

Eve paced over the braided rug in the living room, listening for the sound of Grace’s car in the driveway. Her daughter had worked late with classmates doing charts, as she often did. Eve had spent those hours composing and discarding ways of delivering the stunning news about the man who might be Grace’s father.

Might be. A strange glimmer of hope arose. Maybe all this agonizing would be over nothing. The DNA test might prove that Grace was not the king’s daughter. Then Eve and Grace could go back to their familiar, comfortable lives and laugh over this bizarre memory.

She grimaced at her wishful thinking. The King of Caleva and his very intense head of security would not have trekked all the way to Ames, Iowa, and cleared out an entire law firm if they weren’t pretty certain Grace was his child.

Eve went back to pacing and trying to figure out how to ease into telling Grace about her potential parentage.

There was no way to make the words less shocking. All Eve could do was be there to help her daughter through it.

When the dogs barked and jumped off the couch at the sound of the old Honda rattling up the drive, Eve took a deep breath and went to greet her daughter at the kitchen door.

As Grace trotted up the wooden steps, Eve traced the resemblance to Luis in her daughter’s striking features. It was impossible not to see it now that she knew what to look for.

“Hey, Mom.” Grace gave her a peck on the cheek before she unslung the backpack from her slim shoulders and bent to greet Trace, Eve’s three-legged golden retriever, and Army, Grace’s rescued marshmallow of a pit bull. “I’m starving. Have you got any leftovers of last night’s lasagna?”

“Of course!” Eve was half-relieved and half-anxious about postponing the upcoming revelation.

Grace grabbed a fork before she dropped into one of the antique Windsor chairs at the round oak table. “Dr. Young is such an asshole. He made us redo our charts for the third time this week.”

“What did he claim was the problem now?” Eve asked as she put a generously heaped plate of lasagna in the microwave.

“Nothing of any importance. He was just nitpicking.”

Since she worked as a veterinary technician in the school’s clinic, Eve knew most of the teaching veterinarians. Evan Young was a prissy, rigid, stick-in-the-mud. None of the vet techs liked working with him.

“Don’t take it personally. He’s like that with everyone. At least you don’t have much longer on your rotation with him.” Eve pulled salad greens out of the fridge, added some sliced vegetables, and tossed them with a balsamic dressing. As the microwave dinged, she set the salad on the table before she fetched the lasagna. “Here you go. How about some Chianti?”

Grace looked surprised. “No, thanks, but you go ahead and have some.”

Eve debated before grabbing a glass and twisting the cap off the cheap Italian wine. A quick gulp eased the tightness in her throat a little. Grace gave her a curious glance before digging into her chunk of lasagna.

Eve had drunk her entire glass of wine before Grace finished eating. The Chianti had done nothing to dissolve her tension.

Grace leaned back in the chair with a satisfied sigh. “Okay, Mom, what’s up? You never drink on weeknights.”

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