Affairs of State(28)
“I’m sorry I can’t make it.” Was it rude to say you’d rather spend the night in a meat locker than brave a lunch with one of the world’s longest-reigning monarchs? Of course if things persisted with Simon, she’d eventually have to meet Her Majesty, but right now everything was very new and tentative and she had a feeling that no one would be rolling out the red carpet for her at the palace.
Not that she wanted them to. She didn’t know what she wanted. “I’d love to see you, really I would, but…”
“Dinner tomorrow. My driver will pick you up with exquisite discretion. No one will know you’re with me.”
“I can’t. I have a dinner meeting.”
“That won’t take all night.”
She swallowed, and attempted a laugh. “I need to sleep, too. I wish I had more time for…fun, but this is a business trip.” A pause made her nervous. Was he offended? It certainly wasn’t good for business to snub a prince. She didn’t want to book anything for after her mom’s visit, as she was hoping they’d hit it off and spend hours together. “My last appointment is Thursday afternoon at three and my flight isn’t until the next morning.”
“So you can squeeze dinner with me into your busy schedule on Thursday?” Was he teasing or mad?
“I could, if that works for you. Of course if you’re too busy, I quite understand.” London whipped by outside her window, as rows of identical suburban houses gave way to more office buildings and shops.
“I’d clear my schedule in a heartbeat for the mere chance of laying eyes on you.”
Okay, now he was kidding. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Let’s make plans closer to Thursday, okay? I hope nothing crazy happens between now and then, but you never know.” She could hardly believe she was telling a prince that she couldn’t commit to anything firm.
“I’m penciling it in.” She could hear the irony in his voice. “And call me at once if there’s anything you need. Our entire nation is at your disposal.”
“Thanks.” She grinned. “Much appreciated.”
She shook her head as she put her phone away. How had her life changed so much in six short months? There were even photographers at the airport, though she doubted they’d get much money for photos of her in jeans and with her hair in a messy bun, carrying her luggage to the taxi rank. There was so much to be excited about, sometimes it was hard to remember that she had plenty to be afraid of as well.
Meeting her reclusive mother, hopefully meeting her famous father and now a romance with a man who made her smile each time she thought of him. It was all just a little too fabulous. Rather like teetering on a tightrope between two skyscrapers. She had to keep her chin up, her eyes forward and put one foot in front of the other, and hopefully in another six months she’d be in an even better place, where everything wasn’t quite so strange and precarious.
“You come from America?” The cab driver’s loud Cockney voice jolted her from her thoughts. He didn’t wait for an answer. “You ’eard about this girl who’s supposed to be the daughter of your president?”
She froze. Did he recognize her? He looked in his side mirror and changed lanes. “I’m not sure who you mean.”
“Pretty girl. Long brown ’air. Looks a bit like you.” His eyes fixed on hers again in the mirror. She blinked. “Papers say she’s ’avin’ an affair with our Prince Simon. Some people have all the luck, don’t they?”
“Oh, yes.” She pretended to text on her phone, keeping her head down. Maybe he was fishing for information he could sell to the London tabloid that always had a bare-breasted woman on page three. “Very lucky.”
She kept her head down until they pulled up in front of her hotel. Mercifully there wasn’t a photographer in sight and she checked in and changed, telling herself to be prepared for anything.
* * *
Frustration made Simon spring from his chair and pace across the room. How could Ariella be right here in his own country and too busy to see him? Their few days of separation had him in an agony of anticipation. Now he had to wait until Thursday to see her?
He called her on Monday night, hoping that her dinner meeting would be over and they could plan a moonlit tryst. No dice. She was still in consultation with a client, and she wouldn’t even reveal the person’s name. He rather suspected it was his schoolmate Toby Buckingham, and he tried calling him to intercept from another direction, but Toby didn’t even answer.