The Marcelli Princess

9

“I’m loving this,” Katie said as she and Mia walked toward the gazebo behind the wine-tasting room. “I’m semi-mother of the groom. I get all the fun bits and none of the stress.”

Mia laughed. “Sort of like being the grandparent? Loading the grandkids up on sugar, then sending them home to crash?”

“Exactly. Amber’s mother is handling the majority of the details and only calls every now and then.”

Mia raised her eyebrows. “You are so lying. You are desperate to run every minute of the wedding and it’s killing you not to.”

Katie sighed. “Maybe. Okay, yes. I mean I am a professional party planner. You’d think she’d be impressed by that. But noooo. Every conversation Amber and I have, she’s very determined to make it clear she and her mother are in charge. It’s David’s wedding, too.”

Mia wasn’t used to hearing her oldest sister whine and was really enjoying the moment. “What does David say?”

“He’s a typical man. Whatever Amber wants is fine with him.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not, it’s just…” Katie lowered her voice. “Do you know they actually considered paper napkins. This is a formal sit-down dinner for three hundred and they discussed paper napkins.”

“Did you run screaming into the night?”

Katie sighed again. “No. I reminded them that the linens, along with the tables and chairs, were being provided by Marcelli Winery. We have weddings here all the time and like to use our own vendors. Paper napkins. Can you imagine?”

“You didn’t tell them that we pay our vendor, did you?”

Katie tucked her hair behind her ears. “I didn’t really see the point. They’re not paying for it.” She stopped and looked at Mia. “Am I being horrible? I know weddings are expensive, and saving money where you can makes sense. But this is for David. I adore him and I want his wedding to be perfect.”

“It’s okay,” Mia told her, still enjoying the sight of her normally unflappable sister just a little…flapped. “David doesn’t actually care one way or the other about the napkins, but you do. If you can make it happen without upsetting Amber and her mother, then go for it.”

“I’ve probably put together a hundred and fifty weddings,” Katie muttered. “Why can’t they talk to me?”

“Because we are the Marcellis and just a little intimidating for regular folks. Plus there’s the whole ‘Amber worrying about David still being in love with me’ thing. That’s got to put a damper on events.”

Katie laughed. “My God, when did you grow up?”

“A couple of years ago. It was a Thursday.”

“Okay, you’re right about all of it. I’m going to have to wait until Valerie and Liana are engaged to plan a wedding for my kids.”

“You could betroth them now. That should be worthy of a big party.”

“Gee, thanks.”

They walked out from behind the tasting building and stared at the beautiful white gazebo standing in the middle of a couple of acres of grass and carefully manicured plants before stepping inside.

“Every time I come here I’m surprised by how beautiful it is,” Katie said wistfully. “I’m glad David’s getting married here where Marcellis have been tying the knot for eighty years.”

“He’s not a Marcelli,” Mia pointed out. “If he had been, I wouldn’t have wanted to marry him.”

“He’s a Marcelli by love,” Katie said firmly. “Just like Kelly.” There was a momentary pause; then she continued, “Was it just me or is Kelly-”

“Completely out of control?” Mia asked, finishing her sentence. “It’s not just you. Kelly and I talked a couple of days ago, I guess just before she and Etienne headed out. She said she admires my life. I couldn’t believe it. I’m so not doing anything right.”

“You are with Danny.”

“That’s more luck and really great role models. I’m not an intuitive parent. I didn’t think I’d survive that first year when he felt so breakable. Rafael is different. He seems to know exactly how to get right down on Danny’s level and connect. Which is surprising, considering the whole royalty thing. And impressive. He’s imperious about nearly everything but he’ll play in the dirt with his kid. Danny is thrilled and Rafael seems taken with his son.”

“Rafael is doing it right where it matters. Did you think it would be different?”

Mia sank onto the floor of the gazebo and rested her forearms on her lap. “I never thought about it. Until he showed up here, I figured he was dead. Now he’s here and so friendly and romantic.”

Katie sat next to her and bumped her shoulder. “Romantic, huh? Come on…tell your favorite big sister all the details.”

“He says all the right things,” she admitted. “I know there’s no reason to doubt him. He’s straightforward and affectionate. He’s answered all my questions and he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get back to Calandria.”

“But?” Katie asked.

“I don’t know. I’m jaded and cynical, I guess. He’s a prince. How on earth can he marry me? Doesn’t his bride need a pedigree and access to really old jewelry?”

“Maybe not. The world is different. It’s a new century.”

“I’d noticed the century part, but Calandria has a monarchy. How different can it be?”

“What are you afraid of? Why don’t you trust him? Is this because you don’t really know him? Are you getting some signal or warning from your gut? Or is this about your unproven belief that you have lousy taste in men?”

Mia turned to Katie. “Excuse me? An unproven belief?”

“You’ve made a couple of bad choices.”

Mia shook her head. “A bad choice is a guy who cheats on you, not someone who kidnaps the president’s daughter. Ian fooled me completely, and Darcy could have died because of that.” She drew in a deep breath. “It’s not just the bad choice thing. I don’t know Rafael.”

“But you’re in love with him.”

“What?”

Katie patted her arm. “Mia, you’ve been in love with him since you got back five years ago. Having Danny only cemented your feelings. Why else would you have avoided any kind of dating situation for so long?”

“I’m busy.”

“Many busy women manage to date. It’s more than that and you know it.”

“I don’t love him,” Mia said flatly.

“Fine. You don’t. But you’re also not willing to let anyone else get close to you and there has to be a reason for that. You might want to figure out what it is.”

Mia nodded. Her sister had a point. About the reason, not the love. No way had she loved Rafael all these years. How crazy was that?

Katie stood. “All right, we’re here to measure the gazebo. Let’s get to work.”

Mia eyed her tailored linen slacks and elegant, sleeveless silk blouse, then glanced down at her own T-shirt and cutoffs. “Somehow I missed the ‘dress well’ gene in this family.”

“It’s summer, you’re off from school. Why would you want to worry about what to wear?”

“I wouldn’t. I’m just saying, I don’t have a closet full of beautiful clothes like you and Mom and Francesca. Brenna and I are misfits.”

“You’re individuals.”

“That’s very polite. My point is, I’m not really princess material.”

Katie frowned. “What? You’d marry him except you don’t know what to wear? I’m going to guess that all princesses have a live-in stylist to worry about that sort of thing for them. Mia, this is a really big decision. Make it for the right reasons.”

“I know. I will. Part of me wants it to be like it was before. When he was Diego.” She bit her lower lip. “Well, not the illegal stuff, but how it was just us and we were nearly regular people.”

“You’d like Rafael better if he wasn’t a prince?”

“Something like that.”

“Sorry. Princely comes with the guy. You’re stuck.” Katie pulled a tape measure out of her purse. “It’s not exactly ruling the world, but it’s being in charge of a small country. That should count.”

Mia grinned. “That’s true. I’ll bet I could even ask Rafael to get my picture on money. Wouldn’t that be thrilling?”

“My sister-the five-dollar bill. We’d all be so proud.”

Mia reached for the tape measure. “So what kind of flowers are they talking about?”

Katie sighed heavily. “Daisies. Lots and lots of daisies.”

Mia listened to the mantel clock chime midnight. The house was quiet and she guessed that everyone was asleep. As she should be. But no matter how tired she felt physically, she couldn’t seem to shut down her mind.

It whirled and swirled and dipped, jumping from past to present, while completely ignoring the future because that was just too big to deal with right now. Which led her to one glaringly obvious conclusion.

The most logical solution to all her problems was to refuse Rafael’s proposal and work out an agreement whereby they had some kind of shared custody. Maybe Danny could summer in Calandria and learn all his princely duties while spending his school year here, living like a normal child.

Except she had a feeling that normal wasn’t possible. Not after the world found out that little Danny Marcelli was really the heir to the Calandrian throne.

Security wasn’t a problem. Sam, Francesca’s husband, was an expert, and Joe had plenty of experience dealing with Darcy’s welfare. But what about school? Could Danny really go to the elementary school down the road and be a regular child? Was Mia kidding herself? And if Danny really was going to rule Calandria someday, shouldn’t he grow up there? Which meant what? That she would move there with him?

And if she did move there with him, what would she do with her life? She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to practice law. So then what? Being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t really her style. Would she just live in the shadows while Danny became a prince and Rafael married an appropriate future queen?

Thinking about him marrying someone else gave her a tight feeling in her stomach, which she hated, because it was a definite tally in the yes column of Katie’s theory.

“I don’t love him,” Mia said out loud. What kind of idiot stayed in love with a dead man for five years?

So if she didn’t love him, wasn’t not marrying him the right thing to do?

She heard footsteps in the hallway. The door pushed open and Rafael stepped into the quiet of the library.

“You hide here,” he said as he approached.

“I think of it more as a retreat.”

She curled up in a corner of the sofa. He settled in the middle and angled toward her.

“I have news,” he said, handing her an envelope. “It arrived today, but I wished to deliver it to you privately. A most difficult thing in this household.”

She took the paper. “We are a crowd,” she said as she glanced at the return address and saw it was a medical lab. “The DNA results?”

He nodded.

She gave back the envelope. “I already know the results.”

“As do I. Daniel is my son.”

Hardly news to her, but still, hearing him say the words made her tense a little. As if the situation had just gotten more serious.

“You’ll have to tell your father,” she said. “I’m not sure he’ll be pleased.”

“He wants a grandchild and an heir for me. He will come around much quicker than Grandma Tessa. She still resists me.”

Mia laughed. “You’re winning her over. Tonight at dinner she offered you seconds without you having to ask. That’s progress. I’m not sure your father will be as easy as you think. This can’t be what he had planned for your future.”

Rafael shrugged. “He will adjust. At least he’ll stop parading potential brides in front of me.”

“He really does that?”

“It is not a marriage mart, but yes, women are brought to different events and I meet them.” He smiled at her. “So far I have found it very easy to resist their charms.”

“I can relate. If my grandpa Lorenzo had thought he could have gotten away with arranging marriages for his granddaughters, he would have done it in a heartbeat.”

“Would you have said yes?” he asked.

She drew her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Not my style.”

“Because you are too independent.”

“It’s more than that. I loved my grandfather, but he would have made the best match for the vineyard, not the best match for me. Isn’t that what the king is doing to you? Parading around the grand duchess of Whosits because her father owns shipping rights to Finland or whatever? Does he actually care if you fall in love?”

“Is love so very important?”

“Hello? We’re talking about living with someone the rest of your life. I suppose if the castle is big enough, you could have separate wings. Is that what you want? The right marriage for Calandria rather than the right marriage for you?”

“I think I can make them the same thing,” he told her, his blue eyes claiming hers.

There was a not-so-subtle message there, she thought, not sure if she should lean in and say yes or bolt for freedom.

“I don’t even know any good princess jokes,” she said at last.

“You don’t have to. The rules can be learned, Mia. But not the heart of a person. That is more complicated.”

“What do you know about my heart?” she asked.

“That you do not give it easily. That you are loyal. That when you love, you do so without reservation.”

“What happens when you love?” She lowered her feet to the floor. “Have you been in love before?”

“You mean aside from you?” he asked.

She felt herself flush. “I didn’t want to pressure you.”

“I loved you,” he said easily. “I thought we loved each other.”

His words stirred her, body and soul. Relief tasted sweet. It was as if she’d been starving for weeks and he’d finally offered her food.

He had loved her. All that had been real.

“Then have you been in love aside from me?” she asked.

“When I was very young,” he admitted. “A long time ago. I was just eighteen. She was a few years older and very beautiful.”

“Right, because in real life, the prince never falls for the ugly girl.”

He smiled. “You consider me shallow.”

“I consider you a typical male. Go on. You met a beautiful, older woman who seduced you with her worldly ways and seductive charms.”

His humor faded. “You are right. It is a cliché, but I did not know that at the time. She could claim some minor nobility, which made her acceptable, but my father did not like her and said we were too young. Or at least I was.”

Mia knew the story didn’t end well. If it had, Rafael would currently be Mr. Minor Nobility and they wouldn’t be having this conversation. “And?”

“And I bought a ring so I could propose, despite my father’s disapproval. Then I discovered she was selling the intimate details of our private relationship to the press.”

She winced. “How intimate?”

“Very. I had only been with a few other women. She taught me how to please a woman and then she told the world about it.”

“That would be horrible for anyone to have happen anywhere, but to have it play out in the tabloids…I’m sorry.”

“As am I. But I learned an important lesson. Now I do not trust so easily.”

Did he trust her? How would she know if he did? What did it take to gain his trust? Did she want to?

“It was a long time ago,” he told her. “I assure you, I have recovered.”

“It’s still sucky that she did that. I’m sure you gave her jewelry. If she needed money, she should have sold that instead.”

He chuckled. “My innocent Mia. Don’t you know that to a woman like that secrets are far easier to part with than anything that sparkles?”

“No. I guess this is why I don’t belong in your world.”

“Don’t you?”

He reached for her and she went willingly into his arms. He might think the humiliation of that young man was gone forever, but she knew some wounds never completely heal. Knowing he’d felt pain made him seem a little bit more like a regular person.

His mouth claimed hers in a kiss that demanded more than comfort. She met him as an equal, willing to do a little demanding of her own. He shifted her so that she stretched out beneath him on the sofa.

As she parted her lips and circled his tongue with her own, she rubbed her hands across his shoulders and back. He braced himself above her, his eyes closed, his beautiful, talented, sexy mouth teasing her, making her tremble.

Need rushed through her like a storm-driven tide. She melted and found herself wanting more than just a simple kiss. Her body remembered what it had been like the last time they had been so physically close. Heat filled her. Between her legs she felt herself swelling in anticipation. She knew if he touched her, she would be wet and ready and hungry.

He drew back slightly and kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her nose; then he nibbled along her jawline. She turned her head to give him more room and he licked the sensitive skin below her ear.

“Mia,” he breathed before he bit down on her earlobe. “I want you.”

Simple words, she thought hazily. Magic words.

“I want you,” he repeated as he stared into her eyes and covered her breast with his hand.

His touch was exquisite. The weight of him, the way he moved so that his palm caressed her hard nipple. She had to bite her lip to hold in a whimper of desire. He cupped her curves in a gentle caress that loosened the last slender threads of her control.

“I want you, too,” she breathed as she pushed him back. She raised herself up a few inches and tore off her T-shirt. Next she reached behind herself and unfastened her bra. That got tossed to the floor, too.

She leaned back on the cushions, feeling the cool leather on her bare skin. Above her, Rafael smiled with anticipation. It was an expression she recognized.

“So beautiful,” he told her. He used a single finger to explore her breast. First the underside, then the top. Finally he slowly, oh so slowly, moved to her nipple. Once there, he lightly brushed the very tip.

Her breath caught. Need tightened every muscle in her body. She swore, then raised herself so that she was inches from his mouth.

“Stop playing.”

“As you wish.”

He lowered his head, then took her nipple in his mouth. The hot, wet pressure pushed her to the edge. She couldn’t get enough, couldn’t be close enough, couldn’t feel enough. Wanting grew until it consumed her. Wanting and desire and the heavy thickness of her body slick with passion.

He sucked her nipple, then replaced tongue with fingers and moved to her other breast. She writhed beneath him, wanting it all, yet desperate to have him between her legs.

He read her mind, or understood what the frantic tugging of her hands on her shorts meant. He drew back.

“Sit up,” he commanded as he pulled his shirt over his head.

She did as he requested, but first she unfastened her shorts and pushed them down, along with her panties. He stared at her nakedness for a moment, groaned, then removed the rest of his clothing. She parted her legs, desperate to have him inside.

But instead of accepting her invitation, he slid to his knees on the floor and moved between her thighs.

“Oh, God,” she breathed as she remembered what he’d done to her before when he’d touched her with his mouth. It had been beyond exquisite, beyond sensation.

He cupped her hips and shifted her so she was at the very edge of the sofa, then he lowered his head toward her hot, swollen center.

At first there was only the puff of his breath. She tensed in anticipation. He parted her tenderly, then slowly, gently, lightly stroked her with the very tip of his tongue.

She felt the scream building up inside of her. She spread her legs as wide as they would go and wished she’d studied yoga more. If only she’d…He licked her again, this time with his tongue flat. From bottom to top, he covered every inch of her. Then he returned to that one special place and reintroduced himself.

He circled and teased and rubbed and sucked. He slipped two fingers inside of her and caressed her from the inside, the movements matching. She groaned, she begged, and did everything in her power not to come. Not yet.

She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter. She was swollen to the point of discomfort and still she held back because no one had ever gone down on her like that. But in the end, which was maybe three minutes, she had no choice. She covered her mouth with her hand and screamed her surrender.

The waves of pleasure swept her into another dimension. Muscles convulsed in rippling release, an orgasm that went on and on. Just when she thought she was surely finished, he reached up his free hand and lightly touched her left nipple. That sent her back into another release. Then he replaced tongue with fingers, keeping her going as he raised up, shifted, and thrust into her.

More, she thought, as she continued to come with each thrust. She wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him in place. More and deeper and forever.

He pumped and thrust, filling her over and over again. She felt herself begin to shatter as every cell of her body sighed in pleasure. Then he stiffened and came and they clung to each other as the aftershocks rippled through them.

She resurfaced on the sofa, his body pressing against her. They lay together, spent and satisfied. She looked at him, at the face that was familiar yet different, and in that moment she knew him.

“Just like before,” she whispered.

He smiled. “Better. How I love to touch you, Mia. You are made for pleasure, and when I am with you, I am the most powerful man in the world.”

Tears burned in her eyes. He had often said such things to her before, but now, knowing about his past and what his first love had done, she felt touched. She could easily use those words against him, humiliate him publicly. He trusted her to keep him safe.

“Katie was right,” she said without thinking.

“Katie? Your sister? Right about what?”

Mia swallowed. It had been five years and she’d never stopped loving him. She’d never moved on. All this time she’d been waiting for the love of her life to return, and he finally had.

“I will marry you, Rafael. I’m proud to marry you.”

His eyes widened slightly. “Are you serious? You are not just saying this in the heat of the moment?”

She grinned. “You’re good, but you’re not that good. This isn’t about us making love, despite the fact that it was spectacular. It’s about the fact that we belong together. I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, but we’ll deal with that later.”

“Mia.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard. “Thank you. You are right. There are many things to discuss and much for you to learn, but you will see. All will be well.” He grinned. “You’re going to marry me.”

“Apparently.” She thought about the last royal wedding that had been broadcast on television. “It’s going to be huge, isn’t it?”

“A thousand or so guests, long ceremonies. Yes, it will be painful. Or we could elope.”

She blinked at him. “Excuse me, but did you just say elope?”

He nodded. “Some formalities cannot be avoided. You must be made a princess of my country, which can happen through a different ceremony, but there is no need for us to have a big wedding if the thought of it makes you uncomfortable. Or if you don’t want to wait.”

“I don’t want to wait,” she admitted. “But more than that, I’m not ready to be the center of attention.”

“Marrying me will make you such, Mia. You must be willing to accept that. You would one day rule as queen. You must not forget that.”

His desire to make sure she knew what she was getting into just made her love him more.

“Are you sure a quickie wedding is legal?” she asked.

“Of course. You would officially be my wife.”

“Even if we ran off to Las Vegas?”

He smiled. “Is that what you have in mind?”

“Well, any big formal thing is going to include my family. There’s no way we’ll be able to escape that. Which means it will take time and then the king will find out about it. So either we go for it or we stay traditional.”

“Would you like to go for it?”

As he asked, he moved against her. He was already hard again. Her body tightened in response.

“All that for me?” she asked as she reached between them and took him in her hand.

“All that and much more,” he murmured. “I give you my heart, my country, my history, my future. Marry me, Mia Marcelli.”

He shifted so she was on top of him. She slid herself onto his erection and eased into another orgasm.

“Okay,” she gasped as she tightened around him.

He reached up and teased her nipples. “Okay, what?”

“Danny’s birthday is in a couple of days. We’ll fly to Las Vegas after that.”

He raised up and claimed her with a kiss. “As you wish, my love. As you wish.”