Page 115 of The Trophy

Isabelle’s smile widens. “You know I’m right though, darling. Luca has never brought a girlfriend home before,” she says for my benefit. “So I know this must be serious. Besides, a mother can feel these things. Luca is looking at you the same way his father used to look at me.”

I don’t know what to say to that, but I’m saved by the king’s entrance.

“Ah, here’s my son and his beautiful girlfriend. E’ un enorme piacere conoscerti (it’s a pleasure to meet you). I can call you Lakyn, right?”

I feel heat raising to my face and my knees bend as if on autopilot in a deep curtsy. “Of course Your Majesty, I?—”

Like his ex-wife a moment ago, King Gilberto pulls me into a hug.

I can see where Princess Heloise got her oxygen cutting hugs, because the King hugs me like a long lost friend. “I see you’ve looked up royal etiquette, but believe me, that gets boring after a while. Call me Gilberto or Papà, like my favorite son does. If I asked you to call me Daddy, I don’t think Luca would like it.”

I can’t help but laugh, but it comes out more like a snort. Did the King just crack an inappropriate joke?

“Dad!” Luca scolds him. “I’m sorry, Lake, ignore him. My father is a huge flirt, it must be all that Italian blood.”

King Gilberto shrugs, a naughty smile dancing on his still handsome face. “You can’t blame me for flirting a little. Since the love of my life refuses to remarry me, I play the field.”

It’s obviously a joke, because Isabelle and her kids laugh at the king’s antics.

“What can I say,” Luca’s Mom giggles. “Like this I have the best of both worlds. I have my passionate royal Italian lover, and I’m not as burdened by all the obligations that come with being queen.”

King Gilberto’s green eyes shine with determination as he brings the knuckles of the mother of his children to his lips. “You know how stubborn I am, mia cara (my dear). I admit I’ve made mistakes, but I learned from them and I promise this time around, I’ll be the husband you deserve.”

For a second the look in the King’s eyes when he looks at Isabelle, reminds me of Luca’s.

Observing his parents, it’s easy to see where Luca got his good looks; both King Gilberto and Isabelle are tall and while Luca got his blond hair and blue eyes from his mom, the perfect square shape of his jaw, his pillowy soft lips and the charming smile that often dances on those lips come from his father.

His sister Heloise is equally a blend of her parents but in the opposite way; she’s tall and athletic but she has inherited her father’s dark hair and green eyes.

Regardless, the Leighton-Rossi are a stunning looking family and it’s impossible to miss the love that binds them to one another.

We make small talk, mostly centered on Heloise’s choice of college for the fall, until we’re interrupted by the dinging of the elevator, signaling that someone is about to come up.

“Ah, that must be our lunch,” King Gilberto says. “We could have gone down to the restaurant, but I thought it would be more intimate to have it here. What’s the point of having a suite with a proper dining room if then you don’t use it?”

Two impeccable waiters wheel in a cart laden with plates covered by silver domes.

“Your Majesty,” one of them clears his throat. “There are two young men your security let into the hotel when they arrived at the same time as the Prince. They claim they’ve been invited to lunch?”

Luca nods, responding in lieu of his father. “Yeah, those are my best friends Cash and Blaze. Would you mind letting them come upstairs?”

While we wait for Cash and Blaze, we’re ushered into the adjacent dining room and the waiters unveil a variety of finger food, sandwiches, pastries and tiny but exquisite cakes.

I exhale with relief as I take a seat next to Heloise.

My expression doesn’t get past the King’s shrewd attention. “I hope this is to your taste, Lakyn,” he smiles. “Initially I was planning on caviar and foie gras as a starter and sashimi as a main course, but Luca suggested to stay away from entrails and raw fish. I thought an early afternoon tea would be a crowd pleaser, I hope I wasn’t off the mark?”

I’m a little embarrassed that King Gilberto is aware of my less than refined palate, but I’m grateful to Luca for giving him the heads up.

“Thank you, Your Majesty—I mean, Gilberto. It looks delicious.”

Blaze and Cash arrive in that moment and everyone’s attention is diverted toward the two newcomers.

“I just wanted to say,” Heloise smiles, squeezing my hand. “That I want to be you when I grow up, Lake.”

I offer her an uncertain smile, unsure about what she means. “You want to be a librarian?”

Her grin widens, reminding me of her father earlier when he joked about having me call him Daddy. “No, I mean I want to have three smoking hot boyfriends like you. You’re so lucky, I can only imagine how they are in the bedroom. I would definitely be the meat in that sandwich,” she says, eying Blaze and Cash in a way that makes them both blush. “Even though on second thought, one of them is my brother, so eww to that.”

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