Page 57 of A Royal Disaster
Which, in retrospect, might not be such a good thing.
She was, after all, a walking disaster. Even the tabloids were saying Liam must be out of his mind to take her as his plus-one on official palace business. And she could hardly fault them, because she agreed wholeheartedly.
Her belly churned and for a minute, she thought she might be sick.
“Shall we?” Liam asked, slipping his arm around her waist and giving a reassuring squeeze.
At his touch, Lena’s nerves subsided.
Mostly.
It would be fine. Liam would be with her each step of the way. And clearly, he had more confidence in her than she had in herself or he wouldn’t have invited her, right?
Jack opened the car door and she slid inside, startled to realize the driver wasn’t Ethan. Odd. Liam never went anywhere without both his bodyguards.
“Where’s Ethan?” she asked, turning to Liam as he ducked in next to her.
“He’s already there. He’s doing a quick security check before we arrive.”
Jack climbed into the front seat and the car pulled away from the curb, the paps fading into the night with their flashing lights and obnoxious questions.
Liam fell silent, drumming his fingers against his knee as he stared out the window. There were tension lines around his mouth and his jaw was set. It was so unlike him, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore it. She didn’t know the particulars of Liam’s business in the city, but she knew it was important, which was why she’d promised herself she wouldn’t fuck things up tonight. No disasters. No embarrassing headlines.
But maybe this wasn’t about her.
“Everything okay?” Lena scooted closer, dropping a hand to his thigh. “You seem a little tense.”
“It’s this deal,” he said, finally turning to face her. “Time is running out. Our existing trade agreements are set to expire, and if I don’t secure a new, more favorable deal, Their Majesties will have my arse.” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “They’re counting on this deal to help protect the crown.”
“Protect the crown?” Lena asked, furrowing her brows. “How?”
Liam pitched his voice low. “Parliament has been pushing to reduce the power of the monarchy. They want to neuter us like our English cousins.” He sighed. “It happens from time to time, and my father’s been able to hold them off—he’s had a good reign—but the movement is gaining traction with the public.”
“Ay bendito,” Lena gasped, unable to hide her surprise. She didn’t follow international politics or the gossip rags, but she’d had no idea Liam’s future was in jeopardy. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to carry the weight of that burden day to day any more than she could imagine carrying the wellbeing of an entire country and its citizens on her shoulders. “And you don’t think this trade deal will be enough to put things right?”
Liam shook his head. “It’ll be a win to be sure, but Valeria’s once thriving economy is stagnant and unemployment is climbing. The people are restless. Rightly so.”
“It doesn’t seem fair to lay all the blame at the feet of the monarchy.” Liam quirked a brow. Touché. Lena knew as well as anyone that life wasn’t fair. She’d been saddled with impossibly bad luck her entire life. “What will you do?”
“I’ll see the king’s wishes done and close the trade deal. Tonight, if I’m lucky,” he added.
Great, no pressure. It would only cost him his crown if she screwed things up.
“Valeria’s a wealthy country, but the distribution of wealth is uneven at best,” he continued quietly. “We need more private sector and tech jobs to keep pace with the rest of the world.”
Lena leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. “I’m so sorry you have to deal with this, but I know you’ll find a way to save the monarchy.”
It was true. In the three short weeks they’d known each other, she’d come to realize that once Liam set his mind to something, he would see it through. After all, he’d saved her business when there was nothing in it for him. And if he’d go to such lengths to help a stranger, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to deliver the jobs his people needed.
Liam flashed her a wicked grin. “On the bright side, if I fail, I’ll have a lot more free time to spend gallivanting around New York.”
“Very funny,” Lena said, rolling her eyes. She glanced out the window as the car turned onto Broad Street. “Hey, what are we doing in the financial district? I thought we were flying.”
“We are.”
The car slowed at Pier 6, and Liam pointed to a shiny white helicopter.
Lena’s stomach dropped.
