A Royal Entanglement: The Young Royals Book 2 (33 page)

“But the photo—”

“A photo that shows a much younger Alex.
 
Whatever happened in her past, is just that, in her past.
 
Alex has done an admirable job of becoming a woman that I thought you, of all people, would be proud to call your daughter-in-law.
 
Aren’t you even willing to give her the benefit of the doubt?
 
Even the Queen is distraught over her resignation and, if I know Alyssa, she would be more than happy to accept her back in a heartbeat.”

My mother stared at me like she didn’t recognise me.
 
I could understand the shock on her face, I had never defended one of my girlfriends so ardently before, nor had I claimed to love them and want to marry them.

“He makes a convincing argument,” my father said from the doorway.
 
I hadn’t noticed him standing there and he had a suspicious gleam in his eye.
 
“I always did like that girl and this story in the paper is a disgrace.
 
I hope she sues.”

“From what I understand, her mother leaked the story,” I said cautiously.

“Her own mother did that to her?” Caroline said in shock.

I nodded, “So she would leave Merveille and go back to Boston.
 
Kiki wants her to marry Bradley.”

“Bradley?
 
That man that was staying here?”
 
I nodded again.
 
“Why on earth would Kiki want her to marry him and not you?”

“I have no idea,” I said, “But I intend to find out.”
 
I stood to my feet and placed my cup on the tea trolley.
 
“If you will excuse me mother, father, I need to get to the Palace and see if I can sort this whole thing out.”
 
I bent to kiss my mother and shook my father’s hand on the way out.
 
He patted me on the back in encouragement.

“Go get her, son,” he said as I walked past.

“How’re you holding up?” Will asked as I paced Alyssa’s office.

“Going insane, very slowly,” I said ruefully.

“I know the feeling,” he said.

“I just—“ I paused and ran my hand through my hair in frustration, “I get the whole leaving thing, I understand why she thought that it would be best for her to leave Merveille, not that I agree, but I understand,” I was rambling, my thoughts tumbling one over the other.
 
It was late and I was tired and I just wanted answers and I needed a plan.
 
“But I don’t get why she is marrying him.
 
Surely it can’t be just to make her mother happy.
 
If that was the case then she would’ve married him the first time around.”

“Did he tell you why he came looking for her?” Will asked.

I stopped as I realised nobody knew that story.
 
So much had happened since I’d found out the news and I’d forgotten that I hadn’t talked to anyone about it yet.

“Yeah, I do,” I said, “He needs to marry before the end of the month or he loses his inheritance and if he marries Alex, he gets a ten million dollar bonus.”

Will whistled a long low tone.
 
“That’s a lot of money.”

“Yeah, but do you know what the kicker is?
 
I just handed him a cheque of twelve million dollars to stay away from her and then she goes running into his arms.”

“You paid that scumbag twelve million dollars?” Alyssa said as she strode into the room.

My cheeks heated and I nodded, “I did,” I said, “I paid him to leave.”

“So what happened?”

“Her mother leaked the story in order to get her to leave with him.”
 
And I still didn’t understand why she’d done that.
 
“It just doesn’t make sense, not after the agreement Alex and I had.”

Alyssa sat in one of the couches and looked up at me, “What agreement.”

“Yes, what agreement?”
 
Meredith asked coming into the room as well.

I sat down in an armchair and faced the two women, deciding my only course of action was to spill the entire story.
 
“When Bradley turned up here unannounced on the day of the coronation, I met with him and found out that Alex had run out on him on the day of their wedding.”

“Yes, we already know that,” Meredith said, rolling her hand in a hurry-up motion.

“What you don’t know is that Alex came to me and asked for my help.
 
She had told Bradley that she was being someone and I offered to be that someone.”

“I knew it!”
 
Meredith said, jumping to her feet, “I knew it was fake.”

I shook my head, “It might have started out that way,” I said, although it had never really been fake, there had always been something special between us, “But, that’s not the way it ended.
 
I fell in love with Alex and I believe she fell in love with me.”

“So why did she leave?” Alyssa asked.

“To protect you, to protect me,” I said, “What I don’t get is why she’s marrying Bradley.”

My phone rang and I looked at the display, it was Jeremy Hatfield.

“Excuse me,” I said, “I need to take this.”

I turned away from my three closest friends and answered the phone.
 
“Jeremy, tell me what you’ve found.”

“Alex’s parents are broke and in deep, deep debt,” he said in his no nonsense voice.
 
“From what I can work out, Corsair struck a deal with the mother in order to get information on Alex.”

“He’s paying Kiki off?” I asked and everything slid into place.
 
Kiki needed money and if Bradley married Alex he would have access to a veritable bottomless bank account.

“It appears that way, yes. The bank was threatening to foreclose on the estate, but the proceedings have been halted.”

“Thanks,” I said, relief filling me as I disconnected the call.
 
“I know why she’s doing it,” I said, turning to the others, “She’s trying to protect you, Alyssa, and me and she’s trying to save her family and their estate.”

It was just like Alex to look after everyone else, but it was time someone began looking after her.

“I’m going to Boston,” I said, “And I’m not coming back until she agrees to marry me.”

I didn’t wait for them to answer, I ran from the room, pulling out my phone and calling Dayne.

“Get the plane ready,” I said, “I’m going to Boston.
 
Meet me at the airport with a bag.”

I took the car to my apartment that I kept in the city and raced up the stairs to my office safe.
 
I unlocked the steel door and reached in for the box that had sat there since my grandmother had given it to me.
 
I flipped the lid on the velvet box and looked at the antique diamond.
 
It was square cut and flawless and I knew it would look perfect on Alex’s finger.
 
I smiled as I closed the lid and slid it into my pocket.
 
My grandmother would’ve loved Alex and it was only fitting that I give her the ring that Grand-mére had given me.
 
Now I just hoped I wasn’t too late.

I walked into the building that I never thought I would see again.
 
Harmon Enterprises stood tall and strong in the middle of the financial district in downtown Boston.
 
A feeling of melancholy ghosted over me as I walked through the doors and into the foyer.
 
I had spent so many hours here and I was thankful for each and every one of them.
 
I didn’t know how Daniel would take my visit today, but if I was lucky, he wouldn’t even need to know.

I walked up to the reception desk and smiled at Frank.

“Miss Fornette,” he said, standing to his feet and leaning over the counter to brush a kiss on my cheek, “Or is it Mrs Corsair, now?”

“Not yet,” I said and shivered as the words were spoken over me.
 
“I was wondering if I could get a visitors pass for upstairs?”

His dark face split in a blinding white grin, “Of course you can,” he said handing over the plastic badge.
 
“Make sure you come and say goodbye before you leave.’

“I will,” I said, “And Thanks.”

“I hope this means we will see more of you around here.”

“Maybe,” I said with a wink and a grin I didn’t feel as I walked away.

I made my way to the bank of elevators and pressed the call button.
 
I had two reasons for being in this building today, and if luck was on my side I would be in and out before Daniel even knew I was here.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor number, glad that I was alone.
 
My first stop would be the personnel department, I needed a job.

The elevator doors opened and I stepped out into the busy hall.
 
The glass doors stood in front of me with ‘Personnel’ etched on the glass and I took a deep breath before striding through them.
 
The girl manning reception was new and smiled up at me as I approached.

“Hi, how can I help you?”

“I was wondering if I could speak to Constance,” I said.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Ah, no, but if you could just let her know that Alex—“

“Alex?
 
Is that you?”

The woman in question walked out from one of the far offices and I turned and smiled at her.

“Constance,” I said, walking towards her, my hand extended.

She bypassed my hand and pulled me into a quick hug.
 
The familiarity misted my eyes and I may have clutched her a little tighter than I would have normally.
 
She stood back and ran a practised eye over me.

“What are you doing here?
 
I heard you got a job in some small European country working for a Princess.”

“She’s the Queen now,” I said, and Constance raised her eyebrows, “But I’m back in Boston for now.
 
Do you have time for a chat?”

“For you?
 
Anything,” she said and then turned to the receptionist.
 
“Hold my calls.”

She led me back down to her office and we settled into the conversation corner she had set up near the corner of windows.

“So what’s going on,” Constance said, not one for small talk.