of steel shimmered in her voice.
“Tomorrow, actually.” Sadness mingled with relief. She’d have to leave Simon, but she wouldn’t be stuck trying to make small talk with a monarch. “I was here on business. Simon’s helped make it a wonderful trip.”
She looked at the queen’s face. She couldn’t resist throwing in that last part.
“Simon tells me you’re a party planner.” The cool blue eyes had narrowed behind her glasses.
“Yes. I’m here to plan the Duke of Buckingham’s wedding.” She had no doubt the queen and the duke were old pals.
“How wonderful. Everyone’s so happy to see him marrying Nicola at last. They’ve been chums almost since nursery school.”
“I’ll make sure it’s an event to remember.”
“I’m sure you will. Did Simon tell you he’ll be getting married soon?”
She frowned. “What?”
The queen smiled sweetly. “A similar situation, really. A childhood friend who we all love. Perhaps he can get some wedding ideas from you.”
Ariella’s lung capacity seemed to shrink until she could hardly breathe. The queen was warning her off Simon. Telling her he was already spoken for and that she was not wanted on the voyage. A roar of clapping rose through the crowd and she joined in enthusiastically, though she wasn’t even sure which team had scored a goal.
“I’m sure Simon’s wedding will be an affair to remember,” she managed at last.
“Indeed. Do have a good trip back to the States.” The queen smiled thinly, then turned and walked slowly away.
Ariella felt like she’d just been slapped. She’d now been warned off Simon by two members of the royal family. They must feel quite threatened by her, which wasn’t surprising given that Simon had allowed the press to get wind of their romance. Sophia Alnick was probably throwing a tantrum somewhere, too, if she was in on this whole aristocratic marriage scheme.
Standing there with her drink, she felt like a single tree in a tempest, while well-dressed people in big hats—she was hatless—swirled around her, going about their glamorous lives. Her role was to make those lives a little more glamorous by creating extravagant events for them, not to come play their own games with them. Clearly she was losing her grip on reality lately.
She counted the minutes until the match ended and Simon jumped down from his horse. He shared some congratulatory fist pumping with his teammates before jogging across the grass to her. “I hope everyone looked after you.”
“Oh, yes.”
He was even more handsome with his hair tousled and his chiseled face glowing with exertion. Shame he would never really be hers. “See? I told you they don’t bite.”
She didn’t want to mention the tooth marks they’d left on her psyche. Not while they were still here, at least. “I’m rather exhausted by all the excitement. Would it be okay if we left?” She certainly didn’t want to find herself having to be polite to Uncle Derek, or even the queen, who’d practically shoved her toward her plane.
“Of course.” He waved to a few people and escorted her to the car as if she really was the most important person there.
“Don’t you need to say goodbye to the queen?” She didn’t want to be blamed for him neglecting his royal duties.
“No worries. I’ll be seeing her tomorrow after I take you to the airport.”
“Oh.” And why wouldn’t he? She was his grandmother, after all. She probably wanted to go over wedding venue ideas, or discuss the ring he’d soon give to Sophia. Her heart sagged like a deflated balloon.
They talked about the game on the drive back to Whist Castle. Simon obviously loved his life here, surrounded by people who cared about him, and the excitement of his jet-set existence. He was born for it.
She wasn’t.
They enjoyed a hearty dinner in the castle dining room, this time served by staff who were obviously trained to ignore the fact that he’d had a woman to stay for the weekend. They must know there was a connecting door between her room and Simon’s, and she was pretty sure they knew she and Simon had been using it. It was embarrassing having so many people know her business. They’d all be whispering about her soon as Simon’s last hurrah.
“You seem very thoughtful tonight.” Simon spoke softly. They were still sitting at the dinner table, sipping coffee.
“Am I? I was just thinking about the Duke of Buckingham’s wedding.” There was some truth to it. This weekend had given her insight into the British upper crust that would help with the planning. “I