Royally Matched Read online

As the meal portion of the afternoon was wrapping up, Lily was suddenly ambushed by Lady Matilda Blanchard and Lady Alexa Davidson who were seated at the same table as Lily. She had grown up with both women, all three of their families being part of the royal court.

  “So, we’ve seen you’ve been spending a fair amount of time with the Crown Prince the past couple of months,” Matilda said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “Is there something going on between the two of you?”

  Lily wasn’t sure how to answer the woman’s probing question. She knew exposing their engagement was off-limits as the king would want to be the one to orchestrate the announcement, but was she allowed to tell people she was involved with Max?

  Rather than answer her directly, Lily said, “My father is an advisor to the king, not to mention Prince Maxwell and I went to boarding school together. Our families thought it a good idea for us to socialize together since we were both freshly back in town.”

  “But that’s not the only reason, right?” Alexa inquired. “I can tell by the way you look at one another, it’s more than that. Plus, when you were in boarding school, didn’t you two date for a time? Have you two rekindled something from the past?”

  At first, Lily was shocked by the woman’s blunt questions. Then she reminded herself it was common for daughters of noble families to hunt royals—single as well as married—to further their positions. Though a lot of things had modernized over the past centuries, that aspect of royal life had not. It was the whole reason her own parents had pushed her towards agreeing to the arrangement with Max. Even though she knew that this was common, and she would have to find a way to cope with it, it didn’t mean she had to like it. When all of this first started, she wouldn’t have cared that it seemed like Matilda and Alexa were far too invested in Max’s relationships. Now that she had grown to care for Max again, she didn’t like the idea of other women chasing after him.

  “The Crown Prince is a good person, and I’m proud to count him amongst my friends.”

  Matilda snorted with a roll of her eyes. “See, there must be something going on between them, Alexa, because anyone who knows the prince, knows he’s not a good man or anyone’s friend.”

  “You shouldn’t say that about the Crown Prince. He’s a wonderful man.” As soon as the words escaped Lily’s lips, she realized she shouldn’t have said them. The other women pounced on them mercilessly.

  “I knew it; you two are together,” Matilda stated with a wicked grin. Turning to Alexa, she added, “Wait until Georgina hears about this. She’s going to have a conniption.”

  “Forget Georgina, wait until the press finds out.” Looking directly at Lily, she stated coldly, “You’re going to wish you never got tangled up with Prince Maxwell Beaumont. No woman ends up on the good side of the press afterward.”

  Were they trying to upset her? Or were they warning her off? Perhaps it was both. Whatever the case, Lily didn’t like it.

  Narrowing her gaze at the other two women, she said through clenched teeth. “You both sound ridiculous. Your wild speculations do you both a disservice.”

  “So, you’re saying nothing is going on then?” Matilda probed, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair. “Because if that’s the case, you shouldn’t mind if I make an effort to attract the Crown Prince’s attention. After all, if he’s single, he’s fair game.”

  Lily placed her napkin on the table and stood up, unable to stay a moment longer around either woman. “If you will excuse me, I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

  Not waiting for their responses, she darted out of the room and made her way down a side hall of the establishment. Once in the bathroom, she entered a stall and leaned against one of the walls. She needed just five minutes where no one was watching her.

  Silently, she prayed to God to help calm her nerves and to give her patience with the other women. She knew it would be difficult being back in the royal court and dealing with the horrible people that ran in her family’s social circles, but this last attack was harder than she imagined.

  The door to the restroom opened and Lily could hear someone was entering. A moment later, she heard a woman say, “Can you believe that the Crown Prince is spending time with her? She doesn’t even care enough about Triola to live here permanently. She’s spent the past decade living abroad.”

  “That doesn’t bother me as much as how basic she dresses,” another woman said to the first woman. “It’s like she puts as little effort as possible into how she looks. No future queen of Triola should present herself like that.”

  “Ugh, I hope he doesn’t plan to marry that sow. Why can’t he see she’s not fit material to be the queen,” the first woman stated adamantly.

  “Come on, let’s get back to the luncheon. Lady Margo will be opening her presents soon.”

  The women retreated from the restroom, leaving Lily alone again. Just when she thought she couldn’t feel any worse, she had to overhear that conversation.

  Lily exited the stall and went over to the sink. Looking at herself in the mirror, she analyzed herself critically. The pale yellow sundress she was wearing seemed appropriate when she put it on that day, but now she wondered if she had been dressing poorly without knowing it. She wasn’t much for fashion, and preferred function over style, but she didn’t consider herself a slob. Was she wrong? Perhaps it was time to hire a personal dresser and makeup artist. A lot of royals and celebrities did it, but Lily didn’t like how pretentious it would make her look.

  She closed her eyes and started to pray again. The only thing that was going to help her right now was her faith. She needed God to show her what to do, and how to handle all of this.

  A moment later, the door opened again, and Lily’s head turned to the side to find Margo entering the restroom.

  “There you are. I was looking for you everywhere. I didn’t want to start anything else without you.” She must have noticed Lily looked upset because she came up and placed her hand on the side of Lily’s arm. “Are you all right? What’s the matter? I can tell you’ve been crying.”

  “It’s nothing,” Lily stated, pushing away the tears she hadn’t even realized had been falling since the other women left the room. “It’s your day, Margo. Let’s get out there and focus on you.”

  Lily tried to push past her friend, but Margo reached out and stopped her. “Oh, no you don’t. You don’t get to push your own feelings aside for me. You’ve always done that for everyone else. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Some women are being catty, that’s all. It’s nothing, we’re both used to growing up in the royal court.”

  “I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier.” Tilting her head to the side, Margo stated, “Let me guess, this has to do with the fact you’re in a relationship with Max again.”

  “Who told you? Was it Richard? Did Max tell him?”

  Margo shook her head. “No one had to tell me. I have two eyes, and it’s obvious to anyone that knows the two of you.”

  “You can’t say anything to anyone,” Lily whispered. “The king would be furious if he knew I confirmed the fact.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Your secret is safe with me. Let me give you a little advice. Though Richard isn’t next in line to the throne, he is a royal. When the other noble women found out we were dating, they were horrible to me. I had to decide whether my relationship with Richard was worth putting up with it, and that’s when I realized I loved him. I would rather deal with a hundred vicious gossiping harpies than be without him, and so I made peace with it. You need to do the same thing.”

  Lily thought about Margo’s words. It was true, if Lily was going to be with Max, she needed to accept that parts of it would be harder than being with someone else. She had to decide if she cared enough about Max to be with him despite the difficulties that would come.

  “Thank you. I appreciate you sharing that with me.” Lily would have plenty of time to worry about her future with Max, for now she wanted to focus on her fri
end. “I think we should join the others and open your gifts.”

  Margo nodded. “Let’s go enjoy the rest of the afternoon.”

  Chapter Nine

  Max paced the floor in front of the staircase as he waited for Lily to come downstairs, glancing every few moments to see if she was ready. He had a special evening planned for them and couldn’t wait to see her reaction to all the surprises.

  On his fifth round of walking back and forth, he saw Lily come into view at the top landing.

  She was wearing a brown silk blouse and a pair of cream slacks along with a pair of beige pumps. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, causing her curls to bounce as she moved.

  “You look great,” Max said with a grin.

  “Do I look all right for where you are taking me?”

  “You sure do.”

  Glancing at his outfit, she noted, “You’re wearing slacks and a button-up shirt. Your outfit isn’t any help in letting me know what you’ve got planned.”

  “And try as you might to get it out of me, I won’t tell you. It will ruin the surprise.”

  Max reached out and took Lily’s hand as he escorted her out of the palace.

  Patrick climbed into the front passenger seat while Harry opened the car’s back door for Lily and Max. They both slid into the leather seats of the limo. Once inside, Max took the open bottle of sparkling cider and poured them both a glass. He handed one to Lily.

  “No smuggled-in champagne?” she mused.

  “I know you’re not a drinker, so I opted for something we both could enjoy.”

  Her cheeks tinged pink as she said, “That was sweet of you to remember.”

  “It’s been that way since we were kids. When all the rest of us were sneaking off and drinking behind our parents’ backs, you didn’t. Was it a religious or taste thing?” Max asked with curiosity.

  “A little bit of both. I’ve never gained a taste for it, and I think people can make stupid decisions when they drink too much. It never appealed to me.” She took a sip of the cider, then glanced out of the corner of her eyes at him. “I noticed you haven’t been drinking much yourself.”

  “I’ve come to realize I’m one of those people who doesn’t do well when I drink. When my father first forced sobriety on me, I was pretty angry, but the longer I went without it, the more I realized I was better off. Now, I don’t really see a need to drink.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Lily said with a smile. “You keep making wiser and wiser decisions.”

  “Well, it helps I have a good influence around me lately,” he said, scooting closer to her. “I never thought I would say this, but I’m glad you’re back in my life, Lily.”

  “I know, it’s odd hearing you say that. It’s even more peculiar I feel the same way. I’ve become so used to being around you, I can’t imagine that changing.”

  “According to our parents, it doesn’t have to. For once, I’m glad my parents meddled in my life.”

  “I feel the same,” she said in agreement. Glancing out the window, she asked, “So, you’re really not going to tell me where you’re taking me?”

  Max shook his head. “I told you, you won’t get it out of me. You’ll just have to wait to find out.”

  A few minutes later, they arrived at a private airport. They entered the gates and made their way over to the royal jet which was fueled and ready to go.

  Lily’s eyes grew round with surprise. “We’re going on that?” she asked, turning to Max.

  “You travel a lot, so I’m guessing you’re not afraid of flying,” Max stated, trying to hide his amusement at her reaction. “What’s wrong?”

  She pressed her lips together as she whispered, “I traveled on lot bigger planes than that.”

  Max shrugged. “Once you’re on it, you won’t feel the difference. Plus, you don’t have to worry about crying kids or annoying people. I promise you, once you go private, you won’t want to go back.”

  A few minutes later, Max, Lily, and Patrick were on board the plane and taking off to Max’s surprise destination. He knew the plane ride would be long, so he had the servants stock the plane with several board games, books, and various electronics.

  Lily glanced at the stack of supplies and raised an eyebrow. “How long is this trip?”

  “Long,” he said with a grin, “but worth it.”

  Gesturing to the items nearby, he asked, “Up for a game?”

  “Sure,” she said, running her finger down the stack. “I haven’t played a game in years.”

  “I have to admit, I haven’t either, but I used to love them when I was a kid.”

  “Let’s play Monopoly. It’s a time-suck, but you said it will be a long flight, so it shouldn’t matter.”

  “Right, let’s set it up. You should know though; I tend to be great at board games.”

  “I’m surprised we never played any together when we were little,” Lily noted.

  “I think it was the whole boy—girl thing. I wanted nothing to do with girls until I hit my teens.”

  Lily let out a laugh. “And then you couldn’t keep away from them.”

  At first, Max was slightly offended at the comment, but realizing it was accurate, he joined in and laughed with Lily.

  They spent the next couple of hours playing the game, with Lily winning at the end by bankrupting Max.

  “Your winning seems about right,” Max joked. “You’ve always made way better decisions than me.”

  “That might have been the case, but not lately,” Lily corrected. “Lately, you’ve done a great job with your decisions.” Giving him a playful smile she added, “Like taking me on this date for instance.”

  “I’m glad you think so,” Max said, returning her smile. “Let me go check with the pilots and see if we are on schedule to arrive at our destination.”

  “I can take care of that for you, your Royal Highness,” Patrick offered.

  “That’s all right. I got it,” Max said as he stood up and made his way over to the cockpit. He opened the door and stepped inside. “How is it looking?”

  “We’re right on time, your Royal Highness,” the head pilot said. “We should arrive in Karamay, China, in three hours.”

  “Thank you,” Max said, shutting the door behind him as he exited.

  Max sat back in his seat across from Lily.

  “How’s everything going?” she asked, placing a card down as she played solitaire. “Are we going to arrive at your private island soon?”

  Max let out a chuckle. “Nice try, Lily, but I’m not that easy to trick.”

  “Can’t blame me for trying.”

  Max picked up a book, trying to distract himself from how gorgeous Lily looked as she concentrated on the cards in front of her. No matter what he did though, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her pretty lips and how enticing they looked.

  Unable to stop himself, Max leaned across and cupped Lily’s face with his hand. He stared into her eyes for several seconds before his mouth claimed hers. Rather than pull away, Lily leaned into him as he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair.

  Breathlessly, Lily finally tilted her head back and whispered, “That was a surprise.”

  “It won’t be the last,” he promised.

  They spent the rest of the flight watching a movie before the plane touched down. As they disembarked, Lily must have noticed the writing on the outer part of the terminal because she quickly asked, “Are we in China?”

  Max nodded, enjoying the fact she was trying to figure out why, but hadn’t quite landed on the reason yet.

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “Just a little while longer, and you’ll have your answer.”

  As they reached the bottom of the tarmac, the wind blew Lily’s hair across her face. Max reached out and pushed the locks out of her eyes. She smiled, revealing her incredibly cute dimple, which was Max’s undoing. He pulled her towards him and placed a passionate kiss upon h
er lips.

  “What was that for?” she asked, slightly out of breath.

  “It seems I can’t keep from doing that lately.”

  “That’s okay, you’re welcome to kiss me any time.”

  They made their way into a waiting car which drove through the streets of Karamay. Lily was looking out the window. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized familiar buildings and landmarks. “Are you taking me to the orphanage?” Lily gasped.

  As they pulled down the dirt road that led to it, Max could feel joy bubbling up in him as he watched Lily get excited. She clasped her hands together as she said, “I can’t believe you brought me here, and today of all days. I didn’t think I would get to be a part of the groundbreaking ceremony because of our arrangement.”

  Max reached out and took her hand. “What’s important to you, is important to me. I know how much work you put into this. I didn’t want you to miss out on this monumental moment.”

  “This means so much; more than you will ever know,” she whispered, squeezing his hand with gratitude. “Thank you.”

  The car pulled to stop at the front of the orphanage. As Lily and Max got out, Sue, along with the other orphanage staff and a couple of the older children, were present. There was also the board of trustees, several news reporters, and Lord Rogers.

  Max wasn’t happy Rogers was there, but Max knew that Rogers had been a huge supporter of the project. He couldn’t control the guest list, but it didn’t mean he had to like who was on it.

  Lily and Max made their way over to the group. The other people greeted them, telling them how pleased they were that they were able to attend.

  Rogers picked up the shovel and handed it to Lily. “You said you wanted to shovel the first load of dirt. Now’s your chance.”

  They turned to face the gathered local townspeople who were there to watch the ceremony as Sue addressed everyone. “We are so glad that everyone could make it here today. This is a big moment for all of us. We have been working to make this happen for a long time.” Gesturing behind her, she added, “And we couldn’t have done any of this without Lady Liliana. We are so glad she is here with us.” Looking back out at the crowd, Sue ended with, “It’s time to move that dirt.”