8. Amy

CHAPTER 8

AMY

“That’s right. I’m not going to be returning,” I say, my tone sharper than it was the last three times I told my boss I wouldn’t be at work.

Michael makes a disapproving noise in the back of his throat. “This isn’t a good time of the year to do this to us, Amy. You’re going to want to think about your actions.”

“So sad. I won’t get to pipe a thousand little whiskers on bunny cookies for spring.” I stop walking down the cobblestone road, looking in the window of one of the little shops. Scarves of all different colors hang in the window, fluttering in the breeze that flows through the shop’s open door.

“You can’t do this to us. Think of all the bridges you are burning. Nobody will hire you after this.”

Once upon a time the threat would’ve made me cower. I would’ve folded immediately and told him that I was sorry before getting on a plane and heading home.

Now, I have something better planned for my future.

“I don’t care, Michael. You’ve done nothing but take advantage of me since the day I started working for you, and it’s done now. I won’t be coming back, and you can find someone else to verbally abuse all day long.”

Hanging up, I stuff my phone in my pocket, feeling like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

For the first time in a long time, I can breathe without the worry of something going wrong. I don’t have to answer to a boss who makes it clear that he hates me. There won’t be any more getting screamed at for not toasting the nuts to the exact shade of amber Michael is looking for.

Laughing, I push off the wall and keep walking down the road, the scent of coffee drawing me to a little hole-in-the-wall café.

I step inside, my mouth watering at the display case of little pastries.

The older woman behind the counter puts her hands on her broad hips, grinning at me. “Hello. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

“I just moved here.” I glance away from her, wondering if that’s what I should be telling people right now.

Even though the announcement is going to come out tomorrow, nobody told me what I should say to people if they ask about my being in Katastinia. I’ve been making it up as I go along, hoping that keeping it simple will be good enough.

Although, I didn’t stop to talk to any of them on my way out of the castle either.

Tomorrow, everything is going to change, but for today, I’m still just Amy.

“You sit down, then. The first coffee is on the house.” The woman smiles and grabs a white mug, starting a shot of espresso. “I’m Beatriz. Moved here from Brazil nearly thirty years ago to be with my husband. He’s passed away now, but this is home.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” I select one of the little blue tables by the counter, sitting down on the cushioned chair. “I’m so sorry about your husband.”

She clicks her tongue. “It was a long time ago now, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave once he passed. Going back to Brazil didn’t seem like an option when we made lives for ourselves here.”

“I still don’t know if moving here is the right choice.” I smile my thanks as she rounds the counter with the cup of coffee and sits down across from me. She puts a little plate of pastries in front of us, the fruit on top shiny and inviting.

“Why do you say that?”

I grab one of the pastries, nibbling at the flaky crust. “I think I’m making the right choice most of the time. Everything seems great, but there’s the little voice in the back of my mind that says leaving New Jersey is insane and I probably should go back home to my normal life.”

“What is normal?” She grabs the other pastry and takes a large bite, catching a piece of strawberry that drops. “Life is too short to worry about doing the right thing. You should just think about doing the right thing for you.”

“How do you know what that is?” I take a larger bite, moaning as the strawberry hits my tongue.

“It’s more of something you feel than something you know.” One side of her mouth crooks, showing off the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “We were given intuition for a reason.”

“I think mine might be broken.”

Beatriz laughs. “Give it time. Katastinia is a beautiful country, and there is much to see here. You should take a castle tour. They offer them every weekend.”

Little does she know that the castle is my new home for the next nine hundred and eleven days.

“Are the royal family nice?” I ask, even though I know I shouldn’t be prying for information.

I’m curious about Xander, though. The answers he did give me the other night were vague at best.

“The new king is young. He seems like he’s trying to do right by the country, but the truth is that Xander wasn’t raised to be king. He was supposed to have an easy life. One that involved all the money of the crown but without the responsibility.”

“And what about his parents?”

“His mother, the queen, she died unexpectedly a few years ago. The king’s health deteriorated quickly after that, and he passed just a few months later. Yorgos took over, and then when he died, Xander took the lead. It’s only been a few months — the boy has barely had time to grieve, never mind learn to rule — but the tabloids aren’t kind to him.”

“How bad is it?” I ask, already worrying about what those same tabloids are going to say about me.

I can see the stories now. AMERICAN MARRIES THE KING. COUNTRY HEADED FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

It won’t take the people long to figure out that I don’t know the first thing about being a queen.

Beatriz crosses one leg over the other, her skirt kicking out around her foot. “It’s not good. They spend every moment they get trying to dig up information on Xander or his cousins. No matter what that poor boy does, it’s always the wrong thing to them.”

Forcing a smile, I take another sip of coffee. “It can’t be easy to wear the crown. I don’t think I could ever do it, if I was given the chance.”

“Thankfully, the average person will never have to see the inside of that castle and know what it’s like to rule from it.” She laughs and gets up as another customer enters the café. “Enjoy your coffee, and don’t be a stranger. I could use someone to talk to.”

“Thank you.” I smile and sip the coffee again, the warm notes of chocolate and cinnamon melting on my tongue.

I finish the coffee while watching the people coming and going from the café, all of them talking to each other and not even noticing my existence.

How much longer will that continue once the engagement announcement is made?

The little gold ring on my finger with the stunning oval diamond feels like it weighs a million pounds.

I take a deep breath and put my mug in the dirty dishes bin on the counter before heading for the door.

Passing several people, I head for the road back to the castle.

However, a magazine at a little stand on the side of the road catches my attention.

On the cover is Xander and a stunning blond woman sprawled out on the deck of a boat. I grab the magazine from the rack and hand money to the man watching me.

“Interested in the king?” the man asks, his accent thick. “You tourists always are. He’s nothing special, you know. He’s going to run Katastinia into the ground, and there’ll be nothing left of it.”

“Is he off on boats with women a lot?”

He shakes his head. “Not so much anymore. That’s a copy from months ago.”

I flip through the pages, and in the middle of the magazine is a massive spread of Xander and the woman. “He looks happy with her. Is she the queen?”

Maybe playing dumb is wrong, but I want more opinions on what I’m getting myself into.

If I can’t tell the people who I’m about to be, then maybe I can still fish for information.

“Not the queen. Most suspect he will never take one. More likely to get some poor woman knocked up on a luxury vacation and claim the bastard is next in line to the throne.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I nod and turn away, tucking my magazine under my arm and continuing the trek back up the hill to the castle.

As stunning as a castle on a cliff overlooking the water is, getting back to it after being all the way down at the harbor is hard on the calves.

Eventually my muscles will stop burning.

I creep around to the side door, only to find Xander standing there with his arms crossed.

He glances down at the magazine tucked beneath my arm. “So, you snuck out and went into town and scared me half to death for a magazine?”

“No.” I shift, keeping my arm pinned tight to my body. I don’t want him to see what’s on the cover.

He’d ask why I have it, and then I would have to admit that I’ve been asking people in town about him. Then, I wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Either that or he would never talk to me again for snooping instead of asking him.

It doesn’t sound like a great way to start our marriage.

Xander pinches the bridge of his nose. His eyes show concern for me, but his body language says he’s upset. “You can’t sneak out of the castle like that. Not anymore. You have to at least tell your security team where you’re going to go. They need to go with you.”

“I don’t have a security team.”

“You do as of this morning. You’re going to need them.”

“Does that mean that there are people who will try to hurt me?” I ask, my heart leaping into my throat. “You didn’t tell me that was part of the deal.”

“Nobody is going to try and hurt you that I know of, but it cannot be ruled out either. There are people who want to see the crown fall, which is why you need a team following you.”

“Then why did you sneak out the night we met? You didn’t have anyone following you that I saw.”

The corner of his mouth twitches as his hand drops to his side. “Because I’m an idiot. You’re not, though, and you need to be more careful. Please. I don’t ever want to be told that the team can’t find you again.”

I nod. “Fine. I’ll take the team with me.”

Atticus comes charging over the moment we’re through the door. “You two need to get inside. We have things to do. News of the engagement went live early, and the wedding has been set for three months from now.”

My jaw drops as I turn to Atticus, eyebrows pulling together. “I thought we were going to be engaged for six months.”

He glares at Atticus. “What’s the meaning of this? Neither of us agreed to shorten the engagement. If there was a decision made to change it, we should’ve been consulted.”

“Yes, well, Jorge thought it better to expedite things. He took it upon himself to get the rest of the council to decide on a very short engagement.” Atticus sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Daphne and I voted against it, but we were the only ones who did so.”

I gape at both of them. “Three months? I have to walk down the aisle in three months?”

Xander takes me by the hand, giving it a squeeze, fingers lacing with mine. “We can do this, okay? You have nothing to worry about. I’m going to be with you every step of the way.”

Atticus rolls his eyes. “Save it for the wedding day. We have work to do if your American is going to be ready in time.”