Chapter 7

“We can’t stay cooped up in the palace forever, right?” Nicki sat forward with her elbows on her knees, swiveling her gaze between the ocean and Lauren. “I mean, seriously. This isn’t some sort of weird time warp that we’ll never get out of?”

The following morning had the three of them—Lauren, Nicki, and Fran—sitting out on the veranda, a wide covered porch allowing full view of the glorious Aegean Sea without any aerial vantage point for dive-bombing media drones to take their picture. In this moment, Lauren could almost believe they weren’t once again trapped at the home of one of the most photographed royal families in all Europe, but simply enjoying the gracious back patio of a family friend. A family friend who wasn’t a psychopath, anyway.

“We’ll be leaving for good in a few days, I expect,” she said, with a confidence she didn’t feel. “Now that she’s spent two weeks alone with him, Emmaline is almost sure that Kristos isn’t a dream, but I think she’ll need to return to America and then come back before she totally believes this all isn’t a mirage.”

“It’s so not a mirage.” Fran smiled as she set down her glass of orange juice. “Never mind that she’s out with the queen this morning visiting on some sort of morning rounds, like we’re back in Regency England or something. Every time Kristos looks at her, his entire soul is in his eyes. He must know how skeptical she is deep inside. How much she assumes this is a story that simply must come to an end.”

“If he does, then he’s very perceptive.” Lauren peered skeptically at Fran. “You haven’t been shrinking him, have you? Without his knowledge?”

“I don’t shrink people.” Fran’s eye roll didn’t quite mask the edge in her voice. “Right now, I’m not licensed to do anything but sit around and read about the work I should be doing instead of being on permanent vacation. Just because I have a conversation with a guy doesn’t mean I’m trying to crawl into his brain.”

“Right.” Nicki’s derisive voice echoed Lauren’s, and Lauren looked at her, startled, as they both broke into laughter. They all hadn’t seen each other in nearly a year, only a few times since they graduated college, and yet they’d so quickly fallen back into their old patterns from school that it was almost eerie. Emmaline the caretaker, Nicki the adventurer, Fran the voice of reason, and Lauren…

She didn’t know what she brought to the table, honestly. Her money, certainly, but that had never seemed to be a big deal to the others. And it wasn’t her money anyway—it was her family’s, and it had strings. So sure, she was going to spend it when the opportunity arose. But what else bound her so closely to these women? What bound anyone?

This was veering into Fran territory. Fran, who now was regarding her with that sense of “knowingness” that was so unnerving. “So, what’s bothering you anyway?” Fran asked. “I mean, beyond your general ennui at all the opulence surrounding us.” She grinned and waved, clearly trying to ease Lauren’s tension while she continued her delicate inquisition. “Did your parents call again? Your sister?”

“No, thank God.” Lauren warred with herself briefly over what to say to them about Henry’s unexpected “gift.” They needed to know—something. If only to protect themselves. She’d learned the hard way that withholding information left people vulnerable to attack from the most unexpected of quarters. Attack they weren’t always able to withstand. But she didn’t want to make too much of Henry Smithson. He had enough people making too much of him.

At that moment Nicki sharpened the conversation, as Nicki often did. “You know, I think your mom and dad should back the hell off you,” she said, forking up an egregiously healthy egg frittata. “First they wanted you to get a degree, now they don’t want you to work, but instead get married off like some sort of cow to increase the family fortunes? That’s seriously sick.”

“Well, maybe not a cow...” Fran put in, her wince clear in her tone.

“You know what I mean.” Nicki waved her fork, then pointed its tines at Lauren. “You could get a job doing anything in the world, and they know it. This marriage thing is weird. And so fifteenth century.”

“They’re pressuring you more, aren’t they?” Fran had settled back in her chair, watching Lauren with her dark eyes. She’d been the quietest of them all, save Emmaline in college, but her mind made enough noise on its own. She was the only woman Lauren had met who thought too loud. “That’s part of the reason for this trip, isn’t it? Only you couldn’t have imagined how our very first stop would end up taking over the entire experience.”

Lauren held herself still so that she didn’t slump back in her seat, though she wanted to. She was so tired, and probably a little hungover, regardless of what she’d told Dimitri last night.

Dimitri. Don’t go there.

Flustered, she dove into a conversation that was every bit as treacherous. But with these girls, in this place, she could at least be a little honest. Because, once again, forewarned was forearmed. If only someone had treated her with the same kindness when she’d been too young to know she needed to be armed at all.

“It’s—weird. They aren’t pushing me to get married, exactly, but they clearly want me to get engaged. They actually want a lengthy engagement, to drag it out as long as possible.” She focused on her breakfast plate, glad she’d managed to eat enough to keep her stomach settled. “The dual undergrad/MBA was charming to them, but I kind of think they want the pomp and pageantry of a wedding, and all the social media blitz that will surround it. They think it’ll be good for business.”

Nicki stared at her. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“Not even remotely.”

“Is there someone they have in mind?” Fran pressed. “Or is it anyone with a particular net worth?”

Lauren grimaced. So not going there. “I’ve sort of made it my policy of late not to slow down enough so we can have that conversation. It’s been working so far.”

Nicki scowled. “But now you’re trapped here again.”

“Now I’m trapped. I mean, they wouldn’t cause a scene or anything in public, but I’m sort of surprised they haven’t shown up yet, if you want to know the truth.” And with Henry and his unexpected delivery she knew her time was running out. Because where Henry was, her parents were sure to follow, and vice versa. She needed to leave O?ros sooner rather than later.

“Well, this isn’t the freaking Middle Ages,” Nicki insisted again. “They can’t marry you off without your consent.”

Sure they can. If they can catch me.“I think they’ll move on eventually. I really do. I keep waiting for some big stock market boom or bust. That usually takes over Dad’s attention for at least a few months. And as long as I appear to be productive, that helps too.”

“Hence the MBA.” Fran tapped her lips. “Grad school?”

“I was safe until I turned twenty-one. No one gets married before twenty-one anymore. It’s unseemly. But since then...” Lauren trailed off, then sighed. “Honestly, I didn’t expect it would be this hard. I toyed with the idea of a fake boyfriend, but there’s no one I wanted to subject to that kind of attention. And again, I didn’t need a different husband from whoever my parents picked out. I needed no one at all.”

“But your family is rich,” protested Nicki. “I seriously don’t understand why they care.”

Lauren knew her smile was too brittle, but she couldn’t help that. “Money is a form of currency, but so is prestige, so is chatter. The more chatter, the more interest people will take in our family. That interest can translate to awareness of my father’s businesses, which could lead to new businesses. I’ve kept a pretty low profile up to now, but there’s money in my profile. Money he’d like to tap.”

“Gross.” Nicki shook her head. “You don’t care about money that much.”

Lauren shrugged. “I’ve always had it. That makes a huge difference—no, it does.” She waved off Nicki’s automatic objection. “I don’t take it for granted. I’m incredibly blessed. But it’s sort of similar to you with your physical fitness stuff. Being active is second nature to you. It’s who you are and what you know. It’s how people define you before they even meet you.”

Nicki held her gaze for a long moment, her cheeks faintly coloring. There was a reason behind Nicki’s commitment to extreme sports, a reason that Lauren hadn’t realized before they’d gone zip-lining their first full day in O?ros, before all the chaos had struck with Emmaline and Kristos falling in love. Now she knew something about Nicki, something big, and she wasn’t going to betray the secret.

“Someone’s been reading my psychology journals,” Fran said wryly, apparently oblivious to the undercurrents coursing among them all. Lauren took the interruption for what it was, a respite.

“Well, you can’t deny they’re more interesting than my high-finance reading.” Her words were light, easy, but she modulated her tone anyway, turning away so Fran’s shrewd eyes couldn’t catch her expression. She could feel the anxiety surging up in her as she’d tried to explain this to Nicki, who treated everyone with the same wide-eyed and open-armed honesty. But Lauren’s life was different. She hadn’t been wide-eyed for a long time.

“Anyway,” she continued. “I’ve been looking at a new itinerary. I think we’re probably going to?—”

A commotion at the door betrayed that they were no longer alone, and they all turned as the queen and Emmaline entered, both of them looking fresh and happy and full of sunshine.

Then two men entered behind them, and Lauren’s mood instantly soured.

Great.She’d thought she was done with him.