The Prince's Wedding Read online

  The spark of irritation subsided at his simple, honest declaration.

  "And when the time comes," Lucas went on, "Luke can do as I did, and go to college in the States."

  That still didn't resolve the basic issue of Luke's choice of a future for himself, but Jessie didn't have the heart to say anything just now, not when Lucas was trying so hard.

  "And I promise you, you'll have all the help you need to learn whatever you need to learn to be at ease here, to find whatever role you want to fill in Montebello, as high or as low profile as you wish."

  "Is there such a thing as a low profile when you're involved?" she asked wryly, remembering how quickly she'd been recognized at the Tamir airport.

  "We'll find one," he said, sounding determined. "No one will force you to do anything you're not comfortable with. And if they try, they'll be dealing with me."

  Jessie sat quietly for a long time. She knew he was trying; in fact, was trying harder to compromise than she'd ever expected him to. But finally she had to make her point.

  "If it was just me," she said softly, "then maybe. But none of this changes the biggest problem. You still expect me to accept that Luke has no choice about what he will become. That his future is already decided for him. And I can't do that. I'm sorry, Lucas, but I just can't."

  "Jessie—"

  "I know you could fight me in court on this, and I know with your wealth and power you could probably win. I hope you won't make me, or your son, go through that."

  He stared at her for a moment. "You think I'd do that? Sue you for custody?"

  She shrugged. "What else can I think? You've made it clear that there's no negotiation on this, that Luke must be what you say he must be. But I can't—and won't—back down, either. My son will be whatever he wants to be."

  She thought she saw a flicker of something like admiration in his face. Then he let out a long, compressed breath.

  "I've been thinking about that, too," he said finally. "But first, tell me something. Would you want more children?"

  Jessie blinked, startled. "More children?"

  He nodded, and for an instant she saw Joe's shyness in his eyes. "More, besides Luke. With me, I mean. You know, if...."

  His voice trailed off awkwardly, and she couldn't believe Prince Lucas of Montebello felt awkward very often.

  "I always wanted three or four," she admitted. "But after Luke.. .it was so hard I'm not sure now."

  "I'm sure that was a lot worse than it would be with proper care and attention," Lucas pointed out.

  "I suppose." Then she frowned at him. "But what was your point?"

  He sucked in an audible breath before saying, "I was thinking that, if you were willing to have more children... well, surely one of them will want the job, if Luke really, truly doesn't. Although it's rarely been used, our law allows me the right to designate any heir I choose."

  Jessie was stunned into silence at the size of the compromise he was offering. She'd read enough, in her searching for precedents in Montebellan law, to know that what he was saying would be a historical first. That he would bend this far amazed her. And told her volumes about his feelings for her, because she knew he could easily have opted to fight her for custody. And there was only one reason she could think of that he would do this instead —he'd meant it when he said he still loved her, even more than Joe had.

  "Meet me in the middle, Jessie," he said softly. "What we have is worth at least that."

  He'd come so far, she thought, how could she not take at least a step or two in turn? But there was one last thing to consider, one last precedent she had to see set.

  "What if we have a daughter?" she asked. "What if she's the one who wants to give her life to Montebello? Will you promise she will get that chance? Will you name her your heir?"

  A slow, rueful smile curved Lucas's mouth. "I should have known that was coming," he said. He appeared to think for a minute, then took a deep breath and said, "All right, Jessie. Yes, I'll promise you that. If it's a daughter who wants the job, I'll give it to her. I can't promise the country will accept it, but I'll make it clear she's my choice."

  And Jessie could guess what kind of heat he might take over a decision like that. That he was willing to, for her, told her everything she needed to know.

  "In that case, Your Highness," she said, "you have a deal."

  And with those words, the simple Colorado rancher agreed to someday become a queen.

  Chapter 20

  The media was having a field day. It had been a very long time since so much royalty had been gathered in one place. Every Sebastiani and every Kamal, both by blood and by marriage, and everyone close to them, representing several royal families, was in San Sebastian for the long awaited, much anticipated wedding of Montebello's Crown Prince Lucas Sebastiani to his American bride-and princess-to-be.

  The entire country—indeed, the entire world—knew most of the story by now; the Noble Men, the Brothers of Darkness, the undercover work of Rashid Kamal, his brother, Hassan, and Lucas Sebastiani, the plotted murder and kidnapping and extortion using Lucas's baby son. It was the stuff of tabloids to some; to others the stuff of legend. The only certainty was that none of it would soon be forgotten.

  Those who oohed and ahhed over such dramatics, and found it almost unbearably exciting, would likely have been surprised if they knew how much all the people involved in the dangerous, chaotic and admittedly exciting doings of the past couple of years wished simply for peace.

  Some, Lucas in particular, went even further and wished for a long period of uninterrupted routine.

  "Boredom," he told Jessie the weekend before their wedding when she had dropped into the chair in his retreat, clearly exhausted from all the turmoil surrounding the preparations for the biggest royal wedding in years.

  "What?" she asked.

  "Boredom. A long, yawn-inducing stretch of pure, unmitigated boredom. That's what you need. And I wouldn't mind it myself, for that matter."

  She sighed. "I'll vote for that."

  "Maybe we should have eloped after all."

  She gave him a sideways and rather dangerous look. "As I recall, I suggested that in the first place."

  He grimaced. "I know. But it really wouldn't have been fair to my mother. She's been looking forward to this since I was born."

  Jessie relented then. Lucas knew she'd come to adore his mother, and that the feeling was mutual. His headstrong fiancee had agreed to many things he knew she would rather not have done just to please her future mother-in-law. Not to curry favor, not out of fear—his Jessie wasn't afraid of much of anything—but because she wanted Gwendolyn to be happy.

  Lucas had seen the transformation early, after Jessie had balked at the part of the budget—rather extraordinary even for a royal wedding—set aside simply for her dress. She had mutinously told Lucas she would buy a dress off the rack, thank you, and give the leftover thousands to charity.

  Some, Lucas in particular, went even further and wished for a long period of uninterrupted routine.

  "Boredom," he told Jessie the weekend before their wedding when she had dropped into the chair in his retreat, clearly exhausted from all the turmoil surrounding the preparations for the biggest royal wedding in years.

  "What?" she asked.

  "Boredom. A long, yawn-inducing stretch of pure, unmitigated boredom. That's what you need. And I wouldn't mind it myself, for that matter."

  She sighed. "I'll vote for that."

  "Maybe we should have eloped after all."

  She gave him a sideways and rather dangerous look. "As I recall, I suggested that in the first place."

  He grimaced. "I know. But it really wouldn't have been fair to my mother. She's been looking forward to this since I was born."

  Jessie relented then. Lucas knew she'd come to adore his mother, and that the feeling was mutual. His headstrong fiancee had agreed to many things he knew she would rather not have done just to please her future mother-in-law. Not to curry favo
r, not out of fear—his Jessie wasn't afraid of much of anything—but because she wanted Gwendolyn to be happy.

  Lucas had seen the transformation early, after Jessie had balked at the part of the budget—rather extraordinary even for a royal wedding—set aside simply for her dress. She had mutinously told Lucas she would buy a dress off the rack, thank you, and give the leftover thousands to charity.

  They had compromised by giving the huge commission for the attendants's dresses to Ms. Sally Tucker of Shady Rock, Colorado, who was nothing less than gleeful about the unexpected plum. The lovely dresses she'd designed and had made had been delivered two days ago, and Jessie had been delighted to send back to the woman the official papers designating her "Designer to the Royal Family of Montebello" for her to use in her shop.

  "I'm glad you chose Julia to be your chief attendant," he said.

  Jessie smiled. "That still sounds odd. I'm used to matron of honor. But I'm just glad she said yes. There's really no one else I feel so close to just now."

  Had she not assured him she had reached a certain calm about her sister, Lucas would have thought she was thinking of Ursula. As it was, he was just glad she and his sister were becoming so close.

  He was also glad she had chosen Elena Kamal as her other attendant. The wife of Hassan Kamal, the young woman had risked her life, putting herself between Lucas and a bullet to save him during his captivity by the Brothers of Darkness. That alone, Jessie had said, was reason enough, but she also liked the courageous young woman who had had to fight for her place in a world peopled by men who liked to think they knew just what a woman's place should be.

  He himself, at his father's request, had chosen Rashid as his supporter, or "best man" as Jessie would have called it. He'd wanted his friend Nick Chiara, but the newlywed doctor had graciously but firmly opted out; he wasn't up to playing a star part in this drama, he'd said.

  Besides, he'd told Lucas with a grin, who was he to deprive the world of the chance to see the two highest profile royal couples extant in one ceremony, Rashid and Julia and now Lucas and Jessie? Lucas had laughed, but hastened to warn Nick not to say that in front of Jessie.

  "A little skittish, is she?" Nick had asked.

  "Ready to bolt like one of her wild horses at home," Lucas had answered ruefully.

  "Can't blame her." Nick's answer was cheerful, but clearly heartfelt. "I'm just on the perimeter, and it sometimes drives me nuts."

  With that in mind now Lucas got to his feet, went to the chair Jessie was curled up in and sat on the arm. He put his hand gently around her shoulders. She leaned back, looked up at him and smiled, but it was a very weary smile, and he could see the effort behind it.

  Now, he thought. He'd been waiting for just the right moment.

  "I've been thinking," he said softly.

  "About?"

  "Our honeymoon."

  "Oh."

  The smile was a bit better this time. He didn't think it was for the destination, which had been announced as a private island near Tahiti. He'd come to know her rather well, so he guessed the smile was probably for the length of time. When he'd told her they would be expected to take at least a month, she'd brightened considerably.

  "What about it?" she asked.

  "I think we should go someplace else."

  She blinked. "We should? But I thought all the plans were made?"

  "Plans are made to be canceled."

  "For some, anyway," she muttered with a slight grimace that told him that, as usual, she was thinking about those who would be inconvenienced by an unexpected cancellation. But he thought she would forgive him in a minute.

  "Well, I can change the flight plan back, I suppose," he said thoughtfully. "I'm sure Barney and the others will understand."

  She went very still. "What?"

  He gave her a crooked grin. "I thought we'd go to the ranch instead."

  He didn't get a chance to see if this smile was the best one of all, although he knew without seeing that it was, because she had leapt up and thrown her arms around him before he even caught a glimpse of her face.

  * * *

  She supposed giggling wasn't the best approach to her wedding day, but Jessie couldn't help it.

  Here she was, in a ridiculously expensive dress—albeit a beautiful one, lush satin with a capelike, pearl-beaded train that trailed at least fifteen feet behind her—riding in, of all things, a gilded carriage through the streets of Montebello. It seemed absurd to her, given that she'd been in the palace already, and the ceremony was to take place in the royal garden, but it was part of the ritual, the bride put on display for the people. Little did they know she'd much rather be up top driving this four-up of beautiful horses.

  She shifted nervously on the richly upholstered carriage seat. She felt the slight touch of something at her ankle, and managed an inward smile. Lucas had given her the tiny golden horseshoe, explaining the old British tradition that Montebello had adopted in its days as a crown colony.

  "Thank Dunstan of Canterbury, later Saint Dunstan. Legend has it," he'd said, "that one day the devil approached Dunstan to make horseshoes for him. Of course the cloven feet were a clue, and Dunstan chained him to the wall, supposedly to attach the shoes. He only let him go after he promised never to bother a house with a horseshoe. So today, the bride carries a replica of a horseshoe for good luck."

  I'll need that luck just to get through this, Jessie thought now, as they passed another cheering crowd and another phalanx of television cameras. The thought of her wedding being of interest to the world still seemed so incredible. Just as it still gave her a chill to think of someday being queen to the thousands who lined the streets every foot of the way.

  If she let down her guard, terror would fill her and she'd be like some fugitive bride in a movie, running for her life—or her sanity, she thought, barely remembering to wave and smile as best she could.

  "It will be all right, dear," Gwendolyn said from the seat across from her. "You have it in you, I know you do."

  Jessie looked at the woman who would be her mother-in-law by day's end. She was looking at her with great empathy.

  "You do understand, don't you?"

  "Oh, yes. I was quite simply terrified on the way to my wedding to Marcus. I was a simple teacher, I was certain there was no way I could ever be a proper queen to these people."

  "But you are," Jessie said softly.

  "If I am, it's because Marcus has taught me. As Lucas will teach you. That, and because I've come to love them as my own."

  "And they adore you."

  "As they will you, my dear. I promise you. They're a good, kind people, and they need only see how happy you make my son, and they will love you for that alone. Until, of course," she added with that warm, gracious smile Jessie had come to love, "they get to know you. Then they will love you for yourself."

  She couldn't have said anything better to reassure Jessie. Searching for a way to thank the woman, she said softly, "I wish my mother could be here. But since she can't be, I'm very, very glad you are."

  A pleased smile curved Gwendolyn's mouth. "Thank you for that, Jessie. That means a great deal to me. And I hope you know that I am very, very glad to be here with you."

  That sense of female camaraderie got Jessie through the rest of the ride. Julia was waiting on the steps to the palace, where the entire Sebastiani and Kamal families—a huge number, all of whose names she hadn't learned yet —lined the way through the front doors and out to the royal garden where the other invited guests were seated.

  "Wait until you see Lucas," she whispered. "Even if he is my brother, I have to say he looks magnificent in all his royal regalia."

  Jessie had seen the traditional Sebastiani wedding attire in the portraits in the gallery and in photographs in the archives. It hadn't taken much to picture the tall, broad-shouldered Lucas being able to carry off the elaborate getup. A lesser man would look silly, she thought, but not Lucas.

  She was barely aware of the gath
ering around her, although she heard good wishes called out to her in many voices, some she recognized, some she did not. Eliya was there with baby Luke for a last-minute kiss and pat.

  And then, at the end of the line of people, Julia leaned over and whispered in her ear.

  "Here's your first wedding present from Lucas, Jessie."

  Puzzled, since Lucas had already given her back her grandmother's ring—another thing Ursula had stolen from Jess, which had made its way into Lucas's hands—Jessie looked where Julia pointed. And gasped in delight when Mrs. Winstead and Barney stepped forward, both of them dressed to the nines in a way she'd never seen before.

  "Oh, Jessie, you look so beautiful. My little girl," Mrs. Winstead said, nearly weeping as she hugged Jessie tightly. And Barney gave them both a bear hug that nearly stopped Jessie from breathing.

  "That man of yours, he insisted," Barney said. "Sent a private plane for us, and put us up in the fanciest hotel I've ever seen so it would be a surprise for you."

  Jessie was so warmed by Lucas's thoughtfulness, her apprehension faded a little. But as Julia guided her through the foyer, then through the grand ballroom where the reception was already being set up by what seemed like a battalion of caterers, Jessie's heart began to pound anew as she thought one last time of what she was about to commit herself to.

  Lucas, she chanted to herself. She was committing herself to the man she loved, the man she'd loved as simply Joe, and the man who came with all these trappings. Because she had finally realized that no matter the trappings, the core of the man was the same. That the Playboy Prince had just been Lucas without direction. As Joe he'd found that, and now he was a steady point on the compass, never wavering.

  And then, as she stepped out into the glorious Montebellan sunshine, she saw him. Standing tall and straight and looking more than worthy of the elaborate attire. And waiting for her. Waiting for her with as much love in his eyes as she could ever have prayed to see.