him.” I watched him out of the corner of my eye. We hadn’t talked about it, but I knew that the king had died from an aneurysm almost ten years ago.
“She was, but Mother has made sure she never felt neglected.”
We turned onto the hallway my room was on and I stopped at my door. I pulled the key out of my pocket and played with it for a minute. “Thanks for taking me out to see a bit of the city.”
“You’re welcome. It was nice to get to relax.” Alex smiled at me. “I don’t get to spend as much time with Cathy as I used to.”
“She’s great.” I bit my lip. I was making small talk because I didn’t want to say good night yet. And I sucked at it.
“We can do it again sometime.” He was watching me closely.
“That would be fun.” I sighed. “I really suck at this.”
“At what, exactly?” He smiled his devil smile.
“This whole small-talk thing. I’m not good at it.” I motioned between us. “But I want to be. I don’t want stuff to be weird between us.”
“I think you’re doing just fine. I don’t seem to recall you having a hard time in Minnesota.”
“I’m out of my element here. And I tend to blab whatever I’m thinking when I’m nervous.”
“I’ve noticed.” Alex lowered his voice. “It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite things about you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because when you blab whatever you’re thinking, I find out you’re thinking about me.”
“You get all that from me being worried about small talk?” I shot him a skeptical look.
“You don’t worry about it with anyone but me.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Good night, Samantha.”
“Good night, Alex.”
In my room one of the new nightgowns was laid out with a robe. I looked at it for a minute before picking it up. I stuck it in the top drawer next to my big T-shirts and grabbed a tank top and pair of shorts instead. On my desk was a stack of papers, including a schedule for the next day. I had to okay shots that the royal photographer had taken, sign a form detailing how much it would cost to fly my father over, and there was paperwork from my college to terminate my classes.
I glanced at the pictures and initialed the paper, agreed to whatever it cost to get my father over safely, and stared at the paperwork from school. It was all so bland and boring; nothing in the wording pointed out how I was giving up a lifelong ambition or how much I already missed my birds. I squeezed the pen in my hand and flipped through the pages again. There were no personal notes, nothing telling me they cared that I’d left the program. Just a blank line waiting for my signature.
I signed my dreams away with angry strokes. Throwing the pen down, I got up and went to sleep with tears in my eyes.
Chapter Nineteen
Getting Frisky at the Zoo
—The Daily Gossip
The next morning I put on slacks and a nice shirt. Breakfast was brought up early and Chadwick wasn’t far behind. He came in carrying a newspaper and clipboard. He sat down with me while I ate and looked through notes for the day.
“I’ve barely set foot in this country and people are asking me for interviews and to come to openings.” I set the newspaper down and took another sip of my coffee. “I’m used to cutting up mice and tracking birds. Shaking hands and taking pictures with strangers is not something I’m accustomed to.”
“That can’t be true.” Chadwick looked at me over his paper. “I’m sure you shook people’s hands in America. You’re not completely uncivilized over there.”
I threw one of the raisins from my muffin at him and laughed when he blocked it with the paper. “You know what I mean. I’m just ready to go see my house and learn more about the area I’m going to be spending my time in. I feel like I’m winging everything. I don’t like that.”
“I get it, Samantha. I do. And we’re heading out to your family estate at the end of the week.” Chadwick frowned. “But the reality is that this is your life.”
I set my muffin down and looked away out the window. He was right, but that didn’t make all this craziness any better.
“I’m scheduling only the important things. I’ve turned down a hundred meetings.” He looked sad, so I tried to smile. I felt