Page 12 of Royal Player
Lucas lifts his palms. “Okay, we’ll go to Monte Carlo.”
“Yay!” Alice exclaims. She turns to Polly. “You have to come with us. We’ll have so much fun!”
Polly smiles. “I’d love to, but what about Anna? She’s not supposed to travel so late in her pregnancy, and I have to be here for the birth.”
“She’s got three more weeks before she’s due,” Alice says. “And she told me the first child is usually on time or late.”
Polly bites her lower lip, and my trousers get tight. So fucking hot.Look away, look away.
Lucas tucks a lock of Alice’s hair behind her ear. “We’re leaving on Saturday for Oregon. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. We can hold off, see how the spa does, and revisit.”
Crap. We’re losing him.
“We’ll go tomorrow,” Adrian says. “That gives us three nights in Monte Carlo. I’ll call Charles right now.” He steps away and pulls out his phone.
Lucas calls over to Adrian, “Alice and I have to be back on Friday.”
I glance at Polly, who looks like she’s trying not to get too excited. She’s adventurous, so of course she’d be curious to experience a casino for herself. I wonder if she’ll need a second room for her chaperone, or if her chaperone stays with her to keep a close eye. I keep my mouth shut. My curiosity over her chaperone seems to be a sore point. It’s just such an old-fashioned arrangement that I wonder about the parameters. Does she only get freedom when enclosed safely within palace walls? I can’t even imagine. It’s like clipping her wings when she’s meant to fly.
Anna and Gabriel return just then. “What’s going on?” Anna asks. “Adrian sounds excited over there, speaking in French.”
“Sounds like a trip to Monte Carlo is in the works,” Gabriel says. “His favorite place.”
“A research trip to Monte Carlo,” Alice replies. “We all want to go.”
Anna’s brows lift. Polly rushes over to talk to her and Gabriel. I can’t help but overhear, they’re behind me. I subtly shift in my seat, watching as Polly downplays the need to go, smiling and insisting she’ll be perfectly happy to stay here. Anna locks eyes with me. Busted! I need to be more subtle spying on Polly.
I turn back in my seat, the tips of my ears burning. It’s not like I care if Polly goes with us. I just thought it would be a good experience for her given her restrictive life. Yes. That’s what it is. Everyone should have the freedom to take a trip to Monte Carlo when it’s offered.
The important thing is Lucas is on board. Three nights in Monte Carlo will be a blast. I haven’t been in a while. I don’t mind taking on an outside investor because Adrian and I will be the ones on Villroy running the place. Our legacy. I love the sound of that. We’ll funnel a portion of the profits back to the kingdom. It’s a win-win all around. As long as the numbers work out, as long as Lucas agrees, and Gabriel too. It’s far from a sure thing, but it’s looking promising.
I glance over as Polly takes her seat next to me, talking excitedly to Alice as they make plans for what they want to do in Monte Carlo. Her brown eyes are bright, her color high. Shewantsto fly. Warmth radiates through my chest. I’m exhilarated for her, like her small victory is mine. My head feels fuzzy again like it did at dinner when I was trying to ignore her smiling and laughing right across the table from me. And I wasn’t thinking virgin then either, like Adrian said we would every time we saw her. She’s the epitome of grace, charm, and beauty, everything you’d expect in a princess and more. She glows. Maybe it’s her infectious enthusiasm shining through. She’s everything I like in a woman. And I’m glad her chaperone isn’t here to tamp down Polly’s beautiful light.
Beautiful light?Lust is making me stupid, waxing poetic over here. Hell. I’m in trouble. A virgin princess who needs to marry soon in a faraway kingdom is the ultimate forbidden fruit for a die-hard bachelor like me, especially now that I want to stay on Villroy for the business.
I stand abruptly and head over to Adrian, who’s still on his phone. I need to make sure my room is nowhere near hers. Why put temptation in easy reach?
~ ~ ~
Polly
I’m so excited I’m practically bouncing the next morning as I head down the hallway to check on Marge. I’m leaving in an hour for Monte Carlo, taking the Rourkes’ private jet from Nantes, France, to Monte Carlo, only an hour and a half flight. Alice and I are going shopping first thing when we get there. The utter freedom is making me want to run and hug absolutely everyone. Instead I content myself with beaming a cheery “good morning!” at every servant and guard I pass. Anna was so gracious about me going, assuring me she was not going into labor this week. And even if she did, they’d fly me straight to Paris to be there. Monte Carlo isn’t that far from Paris, tucked just southeast of France in Monaco.
This part of the hallway is empty, so I pump my hands in the air and do a victory walk, bobbing my head and grinning. Yeah, that’s right. I’m free. I’m gambling. I’m drinking. I’m grabbing life with both hands before I have to go back to doing my duty. Damn, total buzzkill every time I think of my future on Beaumont. So far I haven’t come up with a good strategy to get out of the corner I’ve been backed into. Marriage to Peter is still a very real possibility. My mood tanks, my expression sobering, which is probably a good thing because I’m almost at Marge’s room. She’s not going to be happy that I’m going on this trip without her, but I’m not going to drag her to Monte Carlo when she’s sick. It’s time my chaperone used her sick days.
I knock, and she yells, “Come in!” and then coughs.
I open the door and slowly approach. “How’re you feeling?” She’s sitting up in bed with pillows propped behind her. A pitcher of water, a glass, tissues, and ibuprofen sit on the nightstand next to her.
“The good news is I don’t have strep throat.” She holds up a palm. “Stop! Don’t get any closer. You don’t want this.” She coughs and croaks, “The baby.”
I stop several feet away. “Is it just a cold?”
She takes a sip of water. “So far. I’m prone to pneumonia. The doctor was here earlier and says he’ll return in three days to see if I’m improving.”
“I’m sure you will be. You’re as strong as they come.”
She nods. “What have you been up to?”
