The American (Billionaire Royals Book 6) Page 9

  “I don’t see why you can’t. Someone has to go down. And by common consent we know who that is. One casualty from this mess is plenty, I’d say.”

  They talked late into the night, until their fingers and toes were so pruned Sage wasn’t sure they would return to normal.

  As the covers warmed her in bed in the beautiful spare room, she smiled, thinking about how lucky she was to have someone like Thad in her life.

  Just as she drifted off to sleep, a low mumbling in the hallway surprised her. She thought she heard Zachary, but her muffled hearing and dozing brain must have imagined it. She would see Zachary soon enough, she didn’t need to go imagining him in her dreams. Now, Thad, she wouldn’t mind at all if he were to make a dream visit.

  Chapter 17

  Thad awoke to the smell of bacon. He didn’t even know the flat had bacon. He brushed his teeth and ran wet hands through his hair before following the delicious smells of breakfast. The sight warmed him more than the smell. Sage stood with her hair on top of her head, earphones in, dancing in the kitchen while flipping pancakes.

  He silenced his chuckle and took a moment to watch her. This vibrant, incredible woman had made such a difference in his life. He had never cared for anyone like he had grown to care for her. They didn’t have much history to go on, but he knew he wanted to make more. He wanted to spend every day falling in love with her. When the words, “I love you” left his lips in their free fall, he thought that was an amusing response in the middle of his terror, but as they bounced around and as his lips met hers, he was struck that he actually could be falling for this woman in much the same way he had fallen off the bridge, fast, crazy, and sudden, but intense.

  He couldn’t know for sure, but he did know he did not want to be apart from her, even for a day.

  Watching her hips swivel in front of him, cooking his breakfast, she became too much to resist. He stepped up behind her, rested his hand at her hips and moved to her rhythms. He couldn’t hear the music just followed her lead, hips swiveling in unison. A wave of desire rushed through him, and he paused. Shocked by the sudden intensity of his feelings, he stepped away.

  Her confused expression helped him gain some control. Then he pulled at an earbud. “What are you listening to? It sure looked good.”

  Her cheeks colored in such a charming way, he longed to pull her back up against him. But instead, he grabbed the plate she held out for him, sat at the table and drank his orange juice.

  When she sat beside him, he started eating. In between bites, he said, “I don’t think we should go into work today.”

  She smirked. “Ready to quit again?”

  “Absolutely not. I meant what I said last night. We are going to ride this out, and Zachary’s going down.”

  She held up a hand “Understood. I’m joking.”

  “I was looking at the news and people are camped outside the building, on all sides.”

  “What?” She ran to the windows, trying to peer straight down and she reminded him so much of a child, he had to tease her. “You might get a better view just watching the news.”

  “Oh true.”

  They brought their plates out in front of the television. Sure enough, people were surrounding the building. Thad used the computer function and searched through all the sights. Their date last night had skyrocketed views, they were trending on Twitter and Facebook, Google searches. Everyone thought Thad talking her through eating the locust was the most heroic thing a man could do. And then their tandem jump off the bridge and the kiss, they had captured the kiss, was the most replayed gif on all platforms. She smiled, proud. “Now I call that publicity.”

  He fist bumped her. “We rock at this.”

  She chewed a few more bites, following his Google searches, reading the articles with him. Then she groaned. “We are going to get zero work done for days. This is going to take over everything else, isn’t it?”

  Tapping her knee with his fingers, he seemed to consider. “I’d have to agree.” Then he stopped and turned to her so suddenly, he almost toppled over her eggs. “Come to Torren.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “Come to Torren. It will be an excellent publicity move, but mostly I just want to go because there’s way more to do there than stuck in this apartment. And frankly, the thought of seeing Zachary right now makes me ill.”

  She gulped down her milk. “Okay, I’m in.”

  Thad wanted to fist pump in the air, but instead, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Thank you.”

  They finished up breakfast and then Thad made some arrangements on his phone. He sent an assistant to Sage’s apartment to grab a few things and felt grateful she was so easygoing about the trip. He did have to assure her that the palace kept many sizes of women’s clothing for just such a visit. And that excellent shopping was nearby. “We won’t be staying too long, anyway. We can’t, but just a couple days.”

  They entered the car in the underground parking lot, filled with people trying to talk to them. Thad looked forward to the unique security set up at the palace and to see Sage with his family. So much became clear about a woman when she sat next to his brothers at breakfast.

  Soon the Valdez jet was in the air and Sage let out a relieved breath.

  “Stressed?”

  “Not now. Thad, will I be hounded like this forever?” The lines around her mouth concerned him.

  “It will blow over. There might be some who recognize you even next year, but most people are easily distracted by the next gossip.”

  She nodded and then reached for his hand. “I’ve always wanted to go to Torren.”

  This surprised him. “You’d even heard of it before you met me?”

  “Well, sure. Every American woman has heard of Torren.” She smiled. “And stalks the hot princes.”

  Pleased, he leaned forward. “Oh? And which Torren prince is your favorite?”

  She turned a bright shade of red, which shocked him. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her unsettled.

  “Will you be hurt if I tell you it wasn’t you?”

  “Hurt? No, but we can’t let this get out.” He thought for a moment. “Let me guess. Nico? You’re into blonds?”

  She laughed. “No, and besides he was taken by the time anyone in America started following the Torren princes.”

  “Ah, true. So…?”

  She widened her eyes. “You want me to tell you? Really?”

  “Of course, so I can pound him when we arrive.”

  “Lucan.”

  A surprise hint of jealousy twisted inside. “Ho ho! Our grumpy head of security.”

  “Is that what he does?”

  “Yes, and he’s the best at his job. By now, he likely knows everything there is to know about you and your past. He’s seen your awkward pictures as a kid, all of it.”

  “Why? Does he check out everyone you guys work with?”

  “Yes… And more especially if he thinks we are getting close, or might have feelings for a woman. He’s always all over that.”

  “So he thought he had reason to check me out?” She seemed too pleased.

  “He wasn’t checking you out—”

  “Ha, oh no, your face. Thad, are you jealous?”

  “I’m not.” He folded his arms, but Sage laughed and refused to believe him.

  Then she quieted and squeezed his fingers in her own. “I have a confession to make.”

  “Another one?”

  “Last night I googled you all and I realized I was wrong. I have a whole new favorite.”

  He harrumphed. “Well, I hope so.”

  She leaned across him. “Absolutely. In fact, I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. The best Torren Prince is sitting right next to me, only he looks more like an American.”

  He held out his shirt. “It’s the Mickey Mouse. I get that a lot.” He reached out and ran his hand through her hair. “Americans don’t wear enough Mickey.”

  She laughed, but stayed close, he
r mouth just a breath away. “I have a Mickey hat.”

  “Oh yeah?” He smiled and then he pressed his lips to hers. “I’d like to see it.” His lips mumbled, covering her soft mouth with his own.

  After one of the most enjoyable times Thad ever had on his jet, they landed, and the car took them to the palace. When they pulled up to the front, Sage’s gasp made him smile. “I don’t know how you ever leave.”

  Now that she was here, his heart jumped at the thought that he didn’t have a reason to. And the thought made him stumble, so surprised at the completion and the peace that filled him just because Sage stood on the front steps of the palace.

  Chapter 18

  Sage fell in love. With the view out her balcony. They put her in a lovely suite of rooms on the west side of the palace. She could see all the way to the blue of the sea. Thad was raised in this paradise? Everyone at the palace was so lovely. Every staff member, his family, all of them. Sage had never felt more at home.

  The sliding glass door opened behind her. “You make this view look good.” Thad came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms.

  “Nature is doing just right on her own. I’ve never seen anything so heart achingly beautiful.”

  “And now you sound like my brother, Daniel. He’s always got a camera around his neck, trying to capture everything.”

  She leaned back into him and enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms. “This is nice. I already don’t want to go back.”

  “We could spend more time here.”

  She turned to face him. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying. I love you here. I want to see where this goes, me and you, and part of that can be coming back home as often as we want.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a shy smile, something she didn’t think she’d ever see on his face, but her heart melted.

  “I want to see where this can go too. Thanks for bringing her here, Thad.”

  “Much nicer than our cramped New York penthouse.”

  She grinned inside. Only a Prince of Torren would consider that spacious three bedroom flat with only one person living in it, cramped.

  Music started on a set of speakers above them. She should stop being surprised by anything where Thad was concerned. He turned her around and pulled her into a slow dance. “I’ve always wanted to do this.” Thad rested his chin on her head. “You fit just right.”

  Her cheeks ached from the constant smiling. As he spun her around and laughed and flirted, she gave up her last feathers of resistance and fell for Thad Valdez, Prince of Torren. She stepped closer, ran her fingers down his arms, and ached to be even closer.

  He slowed their steps and whispered, “What am I going to do with you?”

  Before she could answer, he reached for her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He picked up his pace, gently tugging her after.

  She had to run to keep up, laughing. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  They ran past beautiful rooms. She had never seen any place so well appointed and comfortable and elegant all at once. At the end of one hall, the tile turned to carpet, thick, then they stepped to a pair of double doors. Thad pushed a button, and the doors opened, revealing an observatory. An elevated chair rested just below the lens of an enormous telescope. “Whoa.” Sage had never seen one before. “This is incredible.”

  “The sky is almost dark enough. The view is exceptional tonight.”

  Staff entered with a table. They set up candles and drinks and desserts and left with hardly a sound.

  Music played softly in the background. “I want to share everything with you. This was one of my favorite rooms as a child.”

  Sage was enchanted and couldn’t wait to sit in that chair and see out into the universe. They joked and talked for twenty more minutes and then Thad led her up the ladder to sit in the chair.

  “Let’s look at the Milky Way tonight.”

  Sage was surprised. Of all the things to see, that seemed the most unremarkable, but she was happy to view anything.

  When he set it all up, and she took a look inside, she waited several minutes to understand what she was seeing. “It’s like a sparkling path of stars. For the first time I understand what if feels like to be a part of the Milky Way. For years it was always a band of cloudy white in the sky. And now I can almost feel us moving around on this side of our galaxy.”He smiled and ran his palms down her arms. “That’s what I felt like the first time. Like I was a part of something, special.”

  She turned to him, his eyes sincere, twinkling with light.

  Thad whispered, “Keep looking.”

  Sage drank it in. Then the image changed. A fiery, bright, galaxy came into view, made of a circular path of the stars following each other around the center.

  “When they work together, it’s more than special. It’s spectacular.” He moved closer, his whisper tickling her neck. “I think this is what we have. You and I.”

  She swallowed. “You do?”

  “I do.”

  When she turned again to face him, his lips captured her own and she was lost. The magic of the galaxies, the intensity of Thad’s kisses, the thrill of being in love. Love. He was quickly becoming her everything. She vowed to spend as much time as she could getting to know him better.

  Chapter 19

  Their time in Torren was more enjoyable than any he’d had with a woman. Seeing her with his family, laughing with the brothers, even taking an afternoon to work together, solidified in his mind that she was everything he had ever wanted. They were so perfectly matched. And she seemed to love Torren. Perhaps they could make it work, perhaps she would come to stay there with him.

  They were to spend the morning helping with a press release and ribbon cutting for a new sky-rise, and then the jet would take them back to New York. Once the press saw a few pictures of them in Torren, they had left their apartments alone. And Lucan took the opportunity to set up extra security measures. They would both have security detail and they had helpers to keep the press at bay. Thad had convinced her to stay in her own room at his apartment, with bodyguards in tow.

  After the ribbon cutting, Thad stalled until almost everyone had left. “Sage. I want to show you something.”

  Her eyes filled with a hint of excitement. “Okay.” Her grin made him smile in return.

  They went to the elevators, and he used his key.

  At last, they stopped and the door opened up out on the roof.

  “This is incredible! Thad I think every time I am with you something remarkable happens.”

  He took her hand, pleased, and suddenly anxious to prove to her that he wanted life to be the same, full of remarkable moments. “Sage. I want to see where this goes. I’m yours now, after this visit especially, you fit in so well, I don’t want anyone else in my life.”

  She swallowed, her eyes shining. “I’m so glad to hear you say that. Thad, I thought I was going crazy, after such a short amount of time. I’d marry you tomorrow.”

  She stopped and her face went white. “I mean, you know.” She laughed nervously.

  His heart pounded, but he knew what he wanted to say. “Did you mean it?”

  “What? That I’d marry you?”

  “Yes, would you?

  “Are you asking me?”

  He let out a long stream of air, trying to calm the pulsing of his heart through every vein of his body. Then he bent down on one knee. “Sage Parker. I am. I am asking if you will marry me. I know this is crazy, and probably too soon, but I don’t know how many more days I can spend apart from you.”

  Her face shone with happiness. “I’m just so relieved you feel the same. Thad, nothing would make me happier! Yes!” She knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on both sides of his face. “You are everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  Her soft lips, exploring and pressing onto his mouth were almost his undoing. He groaned and then stood, pulling her up beside him.

  The sound of hel
icopter blades interrupted them and then the wind whipped their hair as it landed on the roof helipad.

  “That’s our ride.” Thad reached for her hand, pleased she seemed happy about the bird. Life with her would be one effort to please her after another.

  Sage stopped by her place to gather some things, and her heart sang with happiness. The reckless nature of their relationship, the happy manner in which he proposed, all of it just added to her excitement. Perhaps they should get married here in NYC after all, at St. Patrick’s?

  And they could keep it from Zachary. She laughed at the thought. His ploy to bring them together for a marketing effort had worked, but not in the way he imagined. And she couldn’t be happier. She called Thad. “Let’s have our NYC wedding after all.”

  His silence made her nervous. “Am I being crazy?”

  “No, I love this about you. I’m just considering all the options. Okay, are we talking right

  away, or in six months? What’s our timeframe here?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not normally like this.” She laughed. “This is so the opposite of me I’m running with it while I still have the courage.”

  Chapter 20

  When they were both back at work, and Sage was sitting at her cold desk, more often than not, she gazed out the window, pretending she was looking out at the Torren shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.

  She stood. Maybe a drink from the breakroom would help her focus. And a view of Thad. What a mess she was. She really had better accomplish something today or she might fire herself.

  She heard Zachary and Thad’s voices and slowed down, listening.

  “Well done. A proposal already!”

  She stopped, feet frozen to the carpet. No. She didn’t believe it.

  Thad laughed. “I told you everything would work out just fine. We have a date and a location. How does St. Patrick’s sound?”

  Her heart sank, and she felt dead inside. Played. So completely played.