The Surprise Princess (28 page)

Regretted it when she arrived at the assigned anteroom to find Prince Karl there, looking unhappy in a suit with an official sash across his chest.

“Command performance,” he muttered as the king came in precisely one minute before the appointed time.

Regretted it when King Jozef did not meet her eyes, but only nodded to the man by the door.

Regretted it when the man threw open the double doors, revealing a precise semicircle of Bariavakian officials at ramrod attention. The man began intoning King Jozef’s name and titles as her grandfather walked out, straight-backed and regal.

“Your Highness,” urged Elisabeta.

Katie started after her grandfather automatically, sensing Karl behind her.

April and Hunter were at the near end of the semicircle of officials. They both turned toward her. April smiled warmly. Hunter winked.

Her spirits lifted.

This wasn’t the way she wanted to greet her Ashton friends, but after the formality her grandfather insisted on, they would have the rest of the weekend. She started to turn toward them, smiling to show that this—

Brad.

His face above her.

His hands on her.

His mouth drawing on her.

It was memories making her think he was here. Because he’d refused to come. Didn’t want to see her…

Brad.

He was real.

He was here.

Inside her.

Moving with her.

She stutter-stepped.

Karl’s hand under her elbow steadied her.

Brad’s expression darkened. He looked away from her, toward the king, who had begun to speak with formal, precise words. Misery burned in her chest as she kept her gaze on the expanse of floor that isolated the Ashton contingent.

She couldn’t meet their eyes. Not C.J. or Carolyn or any of the others. Certainly not Brad. She felt herself drawing in, shrinking, the disappearing trick of her youth.

The king finished his remarks. The man who’d announced them gestured to the Ashton group to form a line to be formally received.

C.J. muttered something that brought Katie’s head up.

He took a stride forward, Carolyn caught his elbow, halting him for an instant. Then Katie saw Carolyn’s hold on his elbow change as she urged him forward. C.J.’s long strides reached her before anyone could object and he wrapped her in a hug.

She hugged back, fighting tears. Carolyn was there now, too. One hand stroking up and down her back. In another minute, Katie turned into her hug, asking how the flight was, saying how glad she was to see her, babbling.

Over Carolyn’s shoulder she saw Karl step forward, bridging the gap with his hand extended to shake with assistant coach Martin Brewster.

Katie also stepped forward, now hugging Maura, then players, Tony Corston, more players. Hunter and April joined the group.

King Jozef remained where he was.

C.J. and Carolyn introduced the others one by one to the king, but after those formal words, each one returned to the swirling group in the middle of the floor, talking and laughing.

On the far side of the swirl and outside of it stood Brad Spencer. As straight and solitary and separate as the King of Bariavak.

For a flash their eyes met. Katie felt herself lean toward him.

Then he turned and strode out of the room.

“A
h, if you please, I shall steal Princess Josephine-Augusta away.”

King Jozef’s hand under her elbow turned her away from Brewster and toward Karl.

She supposed it was time to let the team get to the bus or they wouldn’t have time to warm up properly before the game.

The king gestured Karl closer.

“We have now a dinner arranged with these officials,” he said, not looking at her. “You will attend with Prince Karl. It is important that you both meet these people and beneficial it should occur on such a basis.”

“I cannot, sir. You know I am attending this evening’s basketball game and—”

“A basketball game,” he said with exquisite inflection. Not quite dismissive enough to be insulting.

“Yes. A basketball game that will feature the Bariavak national team and will be attended by many citizens. I will not disappoint them by breaking this commitment nor any of my commitments for the duration of the Ashton team’s stay. It would be an insult to your staff who worked so hard on this event and a poor representation of Bariavak.”

A flicker crossed his eyes but his expression didn’t change and from the way he smoothly switched to urging Prince Karl to accompany her – “you young people,” he called them – no one who wasn’t in the direct line of that flicker could have known how displeased he was.

She wasn’t too pleased herself.

“Impromptu” her ass.

Halfway down the corridor leading to the parking court, Karl asked from behind her, “Are you going to slow up so I can keep up without needing a horse?”

She spun around. “Were you part of that ambush?”

“Me?” He was unbuttoning the collar of his shirt. His tie and the sash trailed out of one jacket pocket. “No way.”

“Then why are you acting as King Jozef’s watchdog?”

“From my angle it was a choice of hanging out with stuffed shirts all night or going to a basketball game. No contest.”

She let out a breath. But she wasn’t ready to acquit him completely. “What do you think of what happened in there?”

“I think King Jozef made a power play, complete with careful staging, to stake his – and Bariavak’s claim — to you. And he did a damned good job of it.

“Not only the set-up, which spoke volumes. But also that speech. He intimated he appreciated they’d been willing to come to Bariavak when that seemed the only way to get you to come. But now you were here, where you belong. So they weren’t really necessary, which meant he’s not beholden to them, and yet he was gracious enough to welcome them anyway. As long as they didn’t interfere.”

“He didn’t—”

“Nope. Never said it directly. But everybody knew that’s what he was saying. If it hadn’t been for C.J. Draper invading no-man’s-land, that’s how it would have stayed, too.”

“So sending you along with me was a fall-back position for him when I refused to stay for dinner?”

“Guess so.” He grinned. “He has no idea my momma’s side of the family tree’s chock full of rebels.”

“One minute,” Katie said to the driver who held the car door for her. Karl was opening his own door on the far side of the vehicle and tossing in the abused sash and tie.

She started toward where Ashton’s players were loading onto a bus to take them to this evening’s game.

Brad had already boarded. There was surely cause and effect in action here, but she had no interest in unraveling whether he’d boarded because he’d seen her or whether she felt comfortable enough to approach the group because he’d already boarded.

“His Majesty would not like—”

Without turning, she raised her hand and the driver fell silent.

“C.J.,” Katie called to him.

He passed through players, managers, interns, and others lining up for the bus, one arm curved around Carolyn to buffer.

“There’s something I should tell you,” she said when they were close enough not to be overheard. “The facilities here are not going to be what you’re used to.”

“Figured that. No worries.”

“You might not say that when you see the castle gym you’ll be using for the youth clinics. They’ve cleaned, but it’s small and old and with all this rock …”

Prince Karl came up behind her. “If you can imagine where the Count of Monte Cristo would’ve played hoops in prison, you’ll start to get the idea.”

C.J. grinned. “It sounds a lot like the Ashton gym when I started coaching there. Can’t hurt to make us all appreciate what we have at home. Say, Katie, would you mind taking Carolyn with you in that Princess-mobile? She wants to talk to you. Privately.”

“Mr. Subtle,” Carolyn murmured.

“That’ll work great,” Karl said immediately, “because I was hoping to go on the team bus.”

“You’re a good man, Prince,” C.J. said, clapping him on the back as a means of steering him toward the bus. “A glutton for punishment, but a good man.”

Chuckling, Carolyn took Katie’s arm and they walked toward the car and the anxious driver. “Do you mind?” she asked.

“Of course not. In fact, I want you to know, that reception was not—”

“Oh, we know. Don’t worry.”

Once they were settled in the car, with the privacy barrier raised, Carolyn picked up. “But I do hope grabbing you this way didn’t intrude on time you wanted to spend with Prince Karl.”

“No. Not at all. I mean, he’s nice. Very nice. But—”

“And attractive.”

“Yes, attractive but—”

“And a prince.”

“A prince of pretence, according to him,” she said with a smile.

Carolyn added mildly, “And your grandfather’s choice.”

Katie did her best to sound as calm as her friend. “King Jozef knows Karl and I have just met.”

“Does King Jozef also know about you and Brad?”

“There’s nothing to—”

“Of course. That scene just now was a meeting between a couple of pals.”

“There was no scene. We didn’t say a word to each other.”

“Precisely.” Carolyn looked almost smug.

“It was a surprise. A shock. You told me Brad wasn’t coming.”

“He wasn’t. Not until the last minute.”

“You could have told me—”

“We weren’t sure we’d get him on the plane – or off it once it landed in Bariavak. So you can say you were surprised, but he knew he’d be seeing you today. And yet …” Carolyn gave her a searching look. “But what I actually meant when I asked if King Jozef knows about you and Brad was, uh, what the two of you did before we all met for that lovely dinner in Angelo’s back room with Frank and Thomas and Ellis.”

Katie stared. “
You
know—?”

Carolyn nodded. “Suspected initially. Then had it confirmed – oh, not by any of your co-conspirators. But some things are public record, you know.”

Of course. How on earth had neither she nor Brad thought of— “C.J. knows?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Anybody else?”

She didn’t answer directly. “Did you know Hunter’s partner came through Ashton the day after you left for Washington?”

“Why would —?” The passport. She’d been relieved Hunter delivered it unopened, but he might not have needed to open it to know of her new last name. “Do you think anyone else knows?”“Hunter made background checks before we were all cleared to come. He’s very thorough. After he’d been to see her I had a call from Andy.”

“
Andy
?” That would be as bad as King Jozef knowing. “Oh, no. She’ll hate me.”

“Why on earth would she hate you?”

“For the same reasons you should hate me. For taking advantage of Brad. For getting him to – when he didn’t… He’s never – I knew that. But we were friends and now – he wouldn’t even look at me. And I’m—” She swallowed hard. “—pitiful.”“You are
not
pitiful,” Carolyn said with absolute conviction. “You have never been pitiful when you had every right to be and you certainly aren’t now.”

“What could be more pitiful than pining after a man who wasn’t interested in you – pining for years? There’s no point in pretending otherwise to you now, Carolyn. Years.”

“I know. But, Katie—”

“You
know
? Oh, God, of course you know. Everybody probably knows.”

“So what if they do. Now, let me get my question in: Have you ever wondered why Brad hasn’t left Ashton?”

“What?” She felt like she had whiplash from the abrupt turn in the conversation. “You mean why he hasn’t gone after a head coaching job?”

“No, I mean he hasn’t
taken
a head coaching job. He’s had offers. He’s turned them down. Because of you.”

“
Me
? No way on earth. Have you heard what I said? Pining. Unrequited—”

“I’d wondered. Then the way he reacted when Hunter showed up, I was sure. Oh, I’m not saying he was jealous, exactly.”

“Of course he wasn’t jealous,” she said with scorn. “Me. Unrequited pining for him, remember? Pitiful. Dreaming with no hope of ever having it come true.”

“He wasn’t jealous because Hunter was so clearly not interested in you—”

Katie snorted.

“—or any other woman except April. As for dreaming with no hope of ever having it come true … you
are
married.”

“Gallantry. Pity. Genor—”

“Has it been consummated?”

“—osity. And that’s even more pitiful than all the rest –” A corner of her mind recognized a kind of cleansing in saying this out loud. “—taking advantage of his generosity and kindness and pity – yes, pity – to lure him into marriage. And then—”

“Lure? From what I heard it was Brad—”

“—binding him to it, because he’s an honorable man, by throwing myself at him in his hotel room.”

“Oh?”

Carolyn’s syllable stopped Katie. Because it was all wrong.

It should have held censure, disappointment, dread because Carolyn and C.J. loved Brad.

Instead, it was bright, interested, even …
delighted
?

“It was despicable,” Katie said firmly.

“That good, huh?” Carolyn said with a chuckle. “So it
was
consummated.”

Katie felt heat surge up her throat.
Oh, yes. That good and better
.

“Looks like we’re here,” Carolyn said cheerfully. But then she turned to Katie, taking both her hands in hers. “Listen to me, Katie. You and Brad have to talk – really talk. And since you left him – especially the way you left him and when – you must be the one to go to him.”

The driver opened the door.

Carolyn said in a low, urgent voice, “Go see him, talk to him.”

According to the schedule, the clinic the next morning should have been over.

From her years working in the basketball office, Katie thought she had timed it perfectly so Brad – always last out of the gym and therefore the last one showered and dressed – would be about to leave. And he’d be alone.

Instead, as she edged into the gym so she could see around the bleachers without being seen, she realized he was still teaching a group of kids about middle school age.