Page 126 of Loyally, Luke
“Dawson,” came Jackson’s response as a middle-aged man with bright blue eyes stood.
“Did you know about the princess’s past when you started developing your... friendship?” Skepticism laced the man’s words and Luke pressed his palm down on the lectern in an attempt to steady himself. What was the old adage his grandpa used to say—“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar”?
“Truth be told, I didn’t even know she was a princess when we first became friends.” He pushed up a smile as a murmur bled through the crowd. “Asking if someone is royalty isn’t a typical conversation starter in the States, so the notion didn’t even cross my mind.”
Another dozen hands rose in the crowd. A woman with curly, strawberry-blonde hair stood.
“She’s part of the royal family. How did younotknow who she was?” she asked. “And what was your response when you found out?”
“I’m pretty simple as far as technology goes and I’ve never been what my youngest sister would refer to as a royal watcher. In fact, I usually have enough trouble keeping track of my dogs—the last thing I need is to worry about what’s happening in the lives of folks who don’t even live in my town, so I’d never had any reason to know who she was before now.” He shrugged a shoulder, watching as some of the faces in the crowd responded to his grin with their own. “I was surprised, of course, but we all have histories. The woman I’d come to know as my friend was the one who mattered to me more than the one who’d made some poor choices in the past.”
The woman placed her palm over her heart and wilted down into her chair with something like a sigh.
Hands rose again.
“Larson?”
A young fellow with dark eyes zeroed in on Luke, the tilt of his lips and brows giving off an air of arrogance. “Mr. Edgewood, the video released shows the princess’s fall into the lake while fishing.”His brow rose high, a hint of doubt in his words. “Fishing? It seems a bit far-fetched to me and possibly staged.”
Jackson stepped forward as if to intervene, but Luke shook his head. Jackson tipped a brow in question, but Luke just turned back toward the reporter. Holding the man’s gaze, Luke took his time formulating a response. If someone started questioning his own words and intentions, he wanted to sort it out himself.
“I’d given her a fishing rod as a kind of parting gift, thinking I wouldn’t see her again. Fishing was something she’d always wanted to experience. She brought it with her so I could help her put it together and teach her how to use it.” Luke shrugged a shoulder, keeping his tone calm while never breaking eye contact with Larson. “Any fishermen in the room can vouch for the comfort and clarity a little bit of fishing can provide when regular life gets messy. And I’d say, with the intense scrutiny and pressure inherent in royal life, even a princess could do with the benefits of fishing every once in a while. Wouldn’t you?”
A few chuckles bubbled from the crowd and Larson returned to his seat.
“Ms.St.Charles?”
A blonde in a pink dress offered a coy smile before beginning. “Elaine St.Charles fromThe Daily Edge.” She paused as if expecting him to respond to her declaration, but Luke wasn’t sure why. “Mr.Edgewood, how friendly would you say your relationship with Her Highness is? Should her current suitors be threatened by you?”
Jackson cleared his throat. “Mr.Edgewood has already spoken to the nature of their friendship, Ms.St.Charles. Do you have another question?”
Her smile dropped for a second before returning with a bit less potency. “I’ll rephrase.” She looked back at Luke. “Do you have plans to stay in Skymar long-term?”
“No, ma’am. I return to the States next month.”
“We have time for one more question.” Jackson interrupted Elaine from adding something else. “Mr. Pool?”
“Darien Pool, theMorning Gazette.” The older gentleman dipped his head in greeting and squinted toward Luke. “As a longtime reporter of the royal family, I am curious to your thoughts, Mr.Edgewood. Since you consider yourself a friend of the princess, are you concerned about her past sabotaging her future choices as she potentially steps back into life as a working royal?”
This question carried so much intention behind it. Luke paused, considering how to address it. “Mr.Pool, are you a hunting man?”
The older gentleman’s gray brows rose. “Pardon?”
“Skymar, especially the North Country, has some great places for outdoorsmen. I was just wondering if you ever did any hunting?”
Mr.Pool cleared his throat. “I have, more so in my younger days than now. It’s a valued pastime of Skymar.”
“And rightly so. I’m not highly familiar with the royal family of Skymar and their history. To be honest, I’m more of a face-value sort of guy, so I’ll give you my opinion from that simple perspective.” He scanned the crowd. “When I’ve been hunting, the tracks tell you a lot about what you’re looking for, right? Follow the wrong tracks, get the wrong animal. People leave tracks too. Their reputations and actions. Any solid Google search can give plenty of details of what sort of tracks Her Highness had three or four years ago, but the same online search can also show how those tracks have changed in recent history. Any good reporter worth his or her salt can follow the accounts of accurate news and see how Princess Elliana has made a good and real difference to the people she’s served in the North Country. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather people look at the track record I’ve left behind since I’ve grown from my mistakes rather than the one I left before then.”
Luke nodded toward the older man and then turned to Jackson, who wore an odd expression of... almost a smile? The latter gentlemangestured toward Luke and Luke followed him from the room as the calls of competing reporters clamoring with more questions resounded behind them. The awareness that he’d made it through the press conference suddenly weakened him. Kind of like the feeling of nearly falling off a roof, the few times that had happened.
All right. He’d survived. Maybe hadn’t sounded too stupid. And hopefully helped Ellie out, at least a little, in the process.
Jackson turned to Luke as the door closed behind them. “Well done, Mr.Edgewood.”
“Thanks, Jackson.” Luke released a long breath and tugged off his suit jacket to cool down. “I don’t think it would have turned out so well without you.”
“It is what I do, sir.” Jackson offered a deferential nod before adding, “Though I have no doubt you could hold your own, if necessary.”
