Wedding Vows: Say I Do

“Because he’s my son and deserves the very best, despite my irresponsible behavior. He needs love. Isabella understands this and realizes why I refuse to keep him hidden like some bastard child. She knows everything. She had dinner with him last night. We’re going to work this out.”

Visibly shaken, she got to her feet. “You think for one minute Ernesto and Tatia are going to stand for this?”

His brows furrowed. “Isabella’s parents don’t have a choice any more than I did.”

Her gaze bore into his. “Oh, yes, you did. You could have kept this private, and dealt with him and his mother behind the scene.” Leo had suggested the same thing.

“I could have.” He folded his arms. “But when you meet Phillip, you’ll understand why I didn’t.”

She shook her head in bewilderment. “Bringing your former lover into our home is political suicide, and so cruel to Isabella I can’t imagine what you’re thinking.”

Though he tried to control it, his temper flared. “Darrell Collier is Phillip’s mother, the only parent he’s ever known. Would you have me tear him apart from her because of the way it will look to everyone else?”

“You didn’t need to bring them here,” she reiterated. “It was a grave mistake on your part.”

“He’s my son, Mother. He needs me, and I…need him.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe this has happened.”

“I had trouble believing it myself until I met him. He’s wonderful. You’re going to love him.”

His mother looked away. She was trembling.

He moved closer. “The second Darrell came to the castle asking for an audience with me, Leo did everything he could to keep it quiet, but the rumors began flying anyway. You know as well as I do the best way to handle a situation of this magnitude is to expose it immediately.”

“With what results?” Her voice throbbed.

“I don’t have the answer to that yet. In this scenario no one set out to hurt anyone, least of all Phillip, who’s an innocent. But I do know this much. I already love him and want him with me always.”

“At the cost of the monarchy?” Her voice rang out. “He can never be your legitimate heir.”

Alex struggled to tamp down his anger. “For the sake of argument, why not?”

She let out a cry of alarm. “Because no child of a commoner can inherit the title. It’s the law and you know it.”

“Laws can be changed.”

“Then you’d be the first Valleder king in over a thousand years to do away with it.”

“You have to admit it’s archaic.”

Their eyes held while she digested his blunt honesty. “But you wouldn’t change it.”

He took a fortifying breath. “No, Mother. I wouldn’t.”

Until he saw that steely look enter her eyes, he thought his answer had satisfied her. She stared at him like she’d never seen him before.

“This isn’t as much about your son as the woman who gave birth to him. Something tells me you never got over her. Why else would you give her a ring that could be traced? It explains your irrational decision to put her in the Saxony apartment. No wonder you’ve kept putting off your marriage to Isabella.”

“Stop, Mother. You’re wrong you know.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not. The maid told me she’s blond and enchantingly beautiful in that special American way. She wears no wedding ring.

“How shrewd of her to come forward weeks before your wedding and present you with the fruit of your passion, knowing the twelve-year-old son of her body would blind you to your royal duty.”

“Mother—There are things you don’t know.”

“I’m not blind, deaf and dumb, Alex.” Her voice trembled.

“I know you’re not in love with Isabella and never have been. But I thought—I hoped that with marriage and children, love would come the way it did with your father and me.”

“I’m hoping for that, too,” he declared. At least he’d always held that hope, but Darrell’s sudden advent into his life had knocked him sideways. The more he was around her, the more he wanted to be around her all the time. If the truth be known, he wanted her. It was a fact he could no longer deny.

She shook her head. “What you’ve done is make it almost impossible for that to happen now. Not with that woman back in your life!”

His mother was right. No one knew that better than Alex.

“Ms. Collier has no shame, no decency. To think you lost your heart to such a person pains me as much as your father’s death.”

Alex ground his teeth. “Before you jump to any more erroneous conclusions, I’m going to ask a favor of you. This is important.” He checked his watch.

“I’m due to take Phillip riding right now. During your walk with the dogs, why don’t you pass by the stables in say three hours. That way your first meeting with him will be informal and spontaneous, putting him at ease. Later on in the day you and I will have another private talk.”

Her expression remained wooden. “Are you asking as the king, or as my son?”

“Both. I swear on father’s grave that if you’ll do this, certain things will become clear and help you get through this without completely despising me.”

At the mention of his father, she lowered her head. That was the way he left her as he slipped out of the apartment. At their next meeting he would tell her about Melissa. By that time she would have come face-to-face with her grandson.

Knowing his mother as he did, her heart would soften. She’d want Phillip to stay in Bris and become an intrinsic part of the family. Once that happened, she wouldn’t be able to dismiss Phillip’s second mother so easily…

A steep hill rose beyond the lake bordering the back of the royal estate. It led to vineyards and ultimately the forested slopes of the mountains overlooking the magnificent Rhine Valley.

By the time the three of them dismounted to rest and take in the view, euphoria had overtaken Darrell.

During the climb, Alex had put Phillip to work checking the riverbank for signs of dead fish, which he explained was a problem in the lower Ungadine called Whirling disease. His minister of fisheries was working with some biologists to eradicate it.

Phillip thought the term “whirling” was too funny, but he took his father’s suggestion seriously. Already Alex was making his son feel important. He managed him without dictating. Phillip had never been more pleasant or well behaved.

While she wandered around stretching her legs, Alex tied up the horses. She hadn’t ridden one in years. At the end of the day she would be sore, but the glorious ride had been worth it.

Phillip didn’t seem to have the same problem, lucky boy.

“Dad? Have you ever climbed up to that ridge?”

“Many times.”

“With my grandpa?”

“No. He was always too busy.”

“How come he was so mean?”

“Not mean, Phillip. It’s just that when he pledged to serve the people of our country, he meant it. You have to understand he represented the House of Valleder. It has reigned over this canton for centuries.

“The castle here in Bris has been our ancestral home since the Middle Ages. Father never forgot his duty for a minute.”

Darrell could hear her son’s mind taking it all in.

“How long was he king?”

“Thirty years before he died of a heart attack.”

“I bet you miss him a lot.”

“The whole family does.”

Following his father’s soulful remark Phillip eyed him with a distinct glint.

“What do you bet I can climb to the top of that ridge and back in half an hour.”

“I used to make that trip in twenty minutes,” Alex said with a deadpan expression.

Phillip let out a whoop. “You’re on!” He high-fived his dad before taking off. Pretty soon he’d disappeared in the pines.

Alex put a booted foot on the log, turning to Darrell with one of those white smiles that melted her insides.

He looked happy.

In jeans and a navy pullover, he was jaw-dropping gorgeous.

There wasn’t another man to equal him.

This must have been the way Melissa felt when she’d gone to that bar with him years ago. No woman would be able to resist an invitation to join him in his sleeping bag. Darrell took back everything she’d ever said to her sister about not having shown more sense.

“I’m sure it isn’t really possible to imagine your life if you weren’t raised to be a king, but I’m curious to know what you think you might have done with your life if you’d been born as say…Alex Smith.”

He leaned on his knee with one arm. “That’s easy to answer. I would have worked in counterespionage developing various codes no enemy could crack.”

“How fascinating! I remember the story of the Wind Talkers who were Navajo military men used during the war. No one could break their code.”

“Exactly. We speak a lot of languages here in Switzerland, and each one has its different dialects depending on the region or valley. The Romanche dialects are complex and fascinating to me, as is the Navajo language you were referring to.”

“Phillip has a lot to learn.”

“Hopefully he’ll want to. Our language will be lost if we don’t endeavor to keep it unified and used. When I wasn’t busy with some regimen or other, I began making my own dictionary of Romanche words and idioms, incorporating the dialects.

“On mountain hikes I always carry a notebook with me in case I meet a fellow countryman who could give me a new word here or there to add to my collection.”

“You’re a very brilliant man. Phillip’s in awe of you.”

“My father was the brilliant one,” he informed her. “He was first to introduce a program at the university in Bris to get as much information as we can from the old people still living within the canton. Once they’re gone, any knowledge they have will die with them. I’d hate to see Romanche go by the wayside.”

“Thank goodness for a sovereign like you who cares enough to preserve your heritage,” she said emotionally.

He moved closer to her. “The main reason I spent time in Arizona was to visit some Navajo reservations and see how they preserve their dialects and gather information. But I must admit the idea of being a secret agent has headed the top of my list for a profession.”

His eyes narrowed on her face. “What about you? If there’d been no Phillip, what would you have done?”

“That’s an easy question to answer, too. My grandmother never did have very good health. I probably would have tried to get into medical school somewhere. Maybe become an internist. But like you, I had other responsibilities that pretty well grounded me to one place and one priority.”

“I’m assuming you’re the one who chose to stay home with your grandmother while your sister went to work at the dude ranch.”

“Yes, but in all fairness to Melissa, she waited on my grandmother, too. Though I worried about her, I was glad she could get away to do something she thought would be fun. Her best friend’s uncle had horses, so she went riding a lot. The dude ranch was the perfect place for her, and it paid a good salary.”

But Melissa had ended up taking on more than she could handle when she’d met Alex.

Darrell wouldn’t have been able to forget him, either. Her desire for him had already become so acute, it was a full-grown pain only he could assuage. Yet to even entertain thoughts of him was taboo.

A relationship with the king of Valleder wasn’t possible, not on any level. Melissa’s brief interlude with him had been one of those fantastic accidents in life that had defied the odds.

To stand around alone with him any longer pretending she didn’t have feelings for him wasn’t only ridiculous, it was unbearable. Finally she made the decision to separate herself from him. There was only one way to do it.

After loosening the reins around the tree trunk, she climbed back on the surefooted mare Alex had chosen for her.

In a few swift strides he closed in on her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to see if I can beat you and Phillip back to the stable.”

His features tautened visibly. “Why?”

Don’t ask me that question.

“Our son loves competition. For once I’d like to be the one to give him a run for his money.”

“Surely not at the expense of a broken neck.”

She frowned. “Am I such a lame rider?”

“Anyone can have an accident. While you’re my guest, I prefer to keep you safe.”

So saying he reached for her, pulling her off the horse before she was ready.

The momentum brought their bodies together. Helplessly she slid down his powerful physique until her feet touched the ground.

The incredible sensation caused a gasp to escape her lips. Their eyes met by accident. His blazed a hot green.

“Alex—” she whispered mindlessly, caught in a sensuous thrall where the world seemed far removed from them at this moment.

An answering moan came from his throat before his mouth closed over hers with a kind of refined savagery she would never have suspected.

She kept telling herself this couldn’t be happening. Not possibly.

Like a drowning person going under for the third time, her life flashed before her. She thought of all the reasons why this was wrong—out of the question…

He was going to be a married man within a few weeks.

But the rightness of being in his arms, the feeling that they were two halves of a whole transcended every moral objection. Fused to him like this, everything changed.

She didn’t need his hand at her waist crushing her to him because she molded herself to him of her own free will, wanting to merge with him.

His other hand cradled the back of her head, the better for their mouths to savor the intoxicating elixir while they slowly began to devour each other. Their mutual hunger wasn’t some vain imagination. It was a kind of craving she’d never known in her life, like a force beyond herself that wanted, needed everything this man had to give.

Every kiss he gave her went deeper and longer, driving her wild with desire. The increasing urgency of his demand set off an explosion of need inside her.

Feverish with longings her arms slid around his waist and she found herself melded to every hard line and sinew. All she kept praying was don’t stop this ecstasy, don’t ever stop.

Her legs grew heavy. Her palms throbbed with pains brought on by too much pleasure. His mouth was driving her mad with the things he was doing to her.

“I’m back!” shouted a voice in the distance.

Both of them groaned before she cried, “What if he’s seen us?” In panic Darrell tore her lips from his and jerked away from those strong arms holding her possessively.

The motion made her dizzy. He steadied her swaying motion.

“Are you all right?” he whispered.

“Y-yes. You go to him.”

Alex’s recovery was much faster than hers. He moved toward Phillip, giving her a chance to gain her equilibrium behind the protection of the tree. By the time they’d joined her, Darrell was astride her horse ready to go back.

She was still so shaken by what had transpired, she struggled to pretend nothing was wrong. “Did you make it in ten minutes?” she forced herself to ask Phillip.

“No, but I will next time.”

“Eleven and a half minutes isn’t bad for your first time.” Alex tousled Phillip’s hair. “Now we’d better go. I’ve discovered I’m hungry for lunch.”

Heat enveloped her.

“Me, too,” Phillip declared.

After they’d climbed on their horses, she trailed them down the mountain. Phillip did most of the talking. He couldn’t fathom that Bris was a four-thousand-year-old city built by the Romans. It was a good thing he was so eager to learn from his father. It prevented him from noticing how quiet she’d become.

Little did her son know her emotions were in utter chaos.

A line had been crossed today.

She didn’t have the power to turn back time to prevent the experience from happening. However she could make certain there would never be a repeat.

There was no excuse for losing her head. Until he’d admitted that he hadn’t been emotionally involved with Melissa, she would have assumed he’d lost his because she reminded him of her sister. Though the two of them had different coloring, physically they resembled each other in many ways.

Darrell could have understood him getting caught off guard in a small detour down memory lane, but according to him he couldn’t even remember that night with Melissa clearly. So what was the explanation?

Certainly it was a mistake! One of those heart-stopping, forbidden mistakes of unmatchable rapture she would remember for the rest of her life.

Deep in agonizing thought she scarcely remembered the ride back to the stable. Once she’d walked outside the barn, she caught sight of a cute, dark blond boy running toward Alex. He was calling out something to him in Romanche.

“Speak English, Jules.”

The boy reminded her of Phillip when he’d been a few years younger. They all bore that distinguishing Valleder stamp.

Alex put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Where’s Vito?”

“Around the front with Aunt Katerina.”

He guided him closer. “Jules? I’d like you to meet a relative from Colorado in the United States. I hope you’ll all become good friends.”

Jules looked up at Alex in surprise. “I didn’t know we had relatives in America.”

“You have one. His name is Phillip. He’s my son.”

The boy’s light blue eyes rounded in disbelief. “No, he’s not—”

For Darrell it was déjà vu because Phillip had sounded exactly like that when she’d told him his father was the king. The two boys had so much in common it was uncanny.

“Freaky, huh,” Phillip spoke up.

Alex smiled at his son. “Jules doesn’t know what freaky means.”

“Crazy.”

Jules was understandably bewildered. “How old are you?”

“Almost thirteen.”

Going on a hundred, Darrell muttered inwardly. Alex flashed her an amused glance as if he’d just thought the same thing. Her heart lurched every time he looked at her.

“Isabella’s not your mother,” Jules declared.

“No,” Darrell interjected, trying to ignore Alex. “I am. My name is Darrell Collier. I’m very pleased to meet you, Jules.” She put out her hand, which he shook politely. But it was clear he was puzzled.

Who wouldn’t be? The poor boy didn’t know Melissa had given birth to Phillip. But this was hardly the time and place for Darrell or Alex to get into the specifics.

Unfortunately it left the impression that Darrell and Alex had been lovers. One day soon the truth would come out. In the meantime she had to withstand Jules’s curiosity.

He finally switched his gaze back to Alex. “Then how come you’re going to marry Isabella?”

Darrell had anticipated his question and was ready for it. “Because she’s a royal princess and they love each other very much.”

“Isabella’s really cool,” Phillip piped up.

Jules glanced back at his new relative in fascination. “What does cool mean?”

“She’s a fox.”

Well, well, well. If her son said it, it meant Isabella was a true beauty.

Of course she would be, but the knowledge acted like a dagger plunged in Darrell’s heart.

“A fox?” Jules questioned.

Alex burst into laughter.

Jules looked so worn-out trying to figure everything out, Darrell took pity on him.

“What Phillip’s trying to say is that Isabella is a lovely person.”

Those light blue eyes studied her, then Phillip. “Do you want to come and see Great-Aunt Katerina’s dogs?”

“Sure. What kind are they?”

Jules looked to Alex for the answer.

“In English they’re called golden retrievers. Stick with my son, Jules, and your English vocabulary is going to skyrocket.”

“Go on with him,” Darrell urged Phillip. “I’m going back for a soak in the tub.”

He grinned. “You didn’t do half bad on that horse, Mom.”

“Thanks a lot, Roy.”

Her allusion to Roy Rogers, the famous cowboy, would be lost on Jules, but Alex and Phillip laughed.

“Come on, Dad.”

She felt Alex’s gaze compelling her to look at him, but that was all over. She didn’t dare allow herself another second alone with him. She didn’t want a postmortem of what had happened up on the mountain. Until Alex and Isabella sorted things out in the next couple of days, she intended to stay sequestered in the apartment away from everyone.

Turning on her heel, she took a path through the trees that would lead back to the castle without her having to see Alex’s mother.

One day they would have to meet, but not right now. Not while the feel and taste of her son’s hands and mouth had rocked Darrell’s world.

CHAPTER SIX

ALEX left Phillip and the boys in his mother’s apartment. She’d invited all of them to lunch. Knowing they’d be occupied several hours at least, he slipped out to take the inevitable phone call from Isabella.

Her parents expected him for dinner. That gave him three hours to talk to Darrell before the helicopter took off.

He had an idea she’d barricaded herself in the suite. The passion they’d shared had not only scared the daylights out of her, but it had changed him into someone he didn’t know anymore.

He took the stairs down to the second floor and walked through the hallway until he reached her door. Before he knocked, he pulled out his cell phone to call her.

There was no answer, however he hadn’t expected her to pick up.

He knew instinctively she was hiding from him. Maybe she would answer the door if he knocked, thinking it was the maid. But there was no response—no sound to indicate she was inside.

In his gut he knew she’d made up her mind not to open it, not even for the king.

But the man could gain access to her without anyone knowing about it—the man Alex had been repressing since that wild night years ago—the man who seemed to have been reborn since discovering he had a son…

The only way to do this meant going through the music room on the first floor located directly below the Saxony apartment. The rope Chaz had attached from the balcony to reach both floors still hung outside the window.

Driven by a need he could no longer control, Alex went downstairs and stole inside the room past the grand piano. He opened the window to test the rope’s strength, figuring it would still hold him. If it didn’t, he’d fall in the lake. It had happened many times before without incident.

After getting out on the ledge, he grasped the thick cord and started climbing hand over hand.

It wasn’t as easy as it used to be. The years had taken a toll on his athletic prowess. If Chaz saw him now, he’d laugh his head off.

One more burst of energy and he would be home free.

“Darrell Collier?” he called out to her. “I’m coming up to you so be warned!”

In the next instant he heard an answering scream. Luckily the thick castle walls would have muted her cry.

“I hope you’re presentable because I’m almost there. We have to talk.”

He threw his arm over the balcony wall and hoisted himself so only his head and shoulders were visible.

She stood there clutching the lapels of her robe to her throat. “Are you out of your mind, Alex?”

He could read several emotions coming from those violet eyes, but the dominant one was fear for his safety.

“That all depends on your definition,” he drawled.

She stamped her foot impatiently. “You’re going to fall!”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Be serious,” she begged. Her face had gone pale.

“I’ve never been more serious in my life. I have to fly to Italy in a little while, so I won’t be able to see you or Phillip until tomorrow.”

Her appealing body was trembling. “You could have phoned me with that information.”

“I tried. When that didn’t work I knocked on your door.”

She bit her lip. “I—I was asleep.”

“Here at the window you mean?”

Suddenly her color came flooding back into her cheeks. “This isn’t funny, Alex. You could plunge to your death. Please come inside,” she implored him.