Chapter 16
The banquet was as boring as I thought it’d be. If not for Hannah’s presence, it would have been torturous. Then again, Hannah made everything better just by being there.
She stayed by my side the whole night sparkling in the blood-red dress that skimmed her body and showed off her graceful curves. The whole dress selection process had been a treat for both of us. Me, in that I gotto sit back on a cushioned sofa like a pasha waiting on his harem—only in my case it was one gorgeous, scantily clad blonde twirling around the room in different gowns and lingerie combinations. To be honest, my favorite was the garter belt sans bra, but apparently my vote didn’t matter for shit. Something about the lines not working with the clingy dress she’d chosen—whatever that meant. I stillput the garter belt aside for later. I couldn’t wait for her to put it on and not take it off.
I couldn’t remember what combo was on under tonight’s dress, and the anticipation of seeing it later was killing me. Was it the lacy thong she had done an exaggerated bump and grind number in? Or that oppressive silky girdle thing that had me reaching for a knife to cut her out of it? It didn’t looklike she could breathe, let alone eat a meal while wrapped up so tight. I’d put my foot down and said hell, no, but given how much my opinion didn’t matter—see above—she could very well have put it back on. Either way I definitely knew she wasn’t wearing a bra, given the way my fingers skimmed her naked back all night long as I led her from one person to the next during the little meet-and-greetbefore dinner.
My fingers brushed over the surgical scars on her exposed back as I thought about Hannah’s accident. To go from sixteen and carefree to bruised and broken and wondering if you’d ever walk again—I couldn’t imagine. And it’d sounded like her high school years after had been hell. Physical therapy. Trying to catch up in school. Her parents scraping by to pay their bills. Her friendsgoing on with their lives while she’d been in horrific pain. No wonder she’d become a live-in-the-moment kind of person.
She was such an amazing woman.
I’d been worried she’d be either bored or intimidated being surrounded by so many strangers—and with us sitting at the head table, most of those strangers were well-to-do or famous. But Hannah took it all in stride. When the owner of the hotelpersonally greeted us, Hannah shook his hand with a smile and asked after his wife and children. When A-list Hollywood actor Jamie Buckland was seated next to her, she smiled and talked to him about playing pool. I wasn’t sure, but I thought she even invited him up to my suite later to play a game. She didn’t meet a single stranger all night.
And they all fell under the spell of her sparklingeyes and easy smile. She was easy to talk to without being vapid or overly complimentary. More than one man gave me the once-over, like he was considering the competition. Not that I was all that worried. Hannah made it clear that she was with me—although not nearly enough or as obviously as I would’ve liked. I was considering tying her hair to my belt like a caveman, just to keep her admirersaway.
But I also wanted to protect her against the potential media attention. I needed to keep my distance because if I wasn’t careful, everything about her life would be plastered in the media the second someone saw the opportunity. There were a few cameras here, but most seemed to be promotional crews for the convention. And yet I couldn’t stop myself from keeping her close, rubbing a handacross her back, twining my fingers through hers. I was so enamored; there was no denying that we were a couple. It was just a matter of time before the media exposed us. I needed to be more careful. When we finally got a moment to ourselves as we sat down to our dinners of bloody steak and rubbery shrimp, I brought up the thing that I’d been worrying about before tonight.
“I was concerned tonightmight be uncomfortable for you.”
Hannah sawed away at her steak with a dull knife. “Oh? Why’s that?”
“Just all the people here you don’t know. It’s not exactly my idea of a good time. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, especially with all the famous people.”
“You’re famous, and we get along just fine.”
“But you didn’t know that when we first met.”
“True. I thought I’d take the sameapproach with this tonight. I meet strangers every day with my job. I’m kind of an expert when it comes to small talk.” Hannah laughed in a self-deprecating way.
“Don’t sell yourself short. You have almost all the skills required to be a royal. What you’ve just described is ninety percent of my job as a prince.”
“And the other ten percent?”
The master of ceremonies interrupted our conversation.“Our keynote speaker tonight, His Royal Highness Prince Lucien of Monaco.”
I placed my napkin down and pushed away from the table. As I walked behind Hannah’s chair, I leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Doing whatever the hell you want, whenever the hell you want.”
After kissing her cheek, I stood and approached the podium. The master of ceremonies gave me an awkward bow when I would’ve shakenhis hand. Our little dance over, I took my place at the podium and smiled at the still-clapping audience. As their applause slowly died, I thought over the speech Aristide and the palace approved and mentally chucked it out the window.
“Thank you for that lovely welcome. And thank you to the lovely Commonwealth Hotel and Casino for sponsoring the event and our party this week. It is truly a globaldestination for debauchery and vice. Believe me, I would know.” I paused as a few people chuckled. “My home is a place many in Europe think of when looking for a destination for debauchery and vice. Monaco is fairly well known for being the rich kids’ playground—at our beautiful beaches and elegant casinos. But for me it’s always been home. That one place where you’re always welcome and thepeople love you unconditionally. Or at least it was before.
“Last year we lost the best person I’ve had the good fortune to meet, and a man I was blessed to call my brother. Julien was the most patient and giving and strong man ever to be born to the House of Greiner. If circumstances were different, he would be the one here giving an impassioned speech and not boring you all to tears as I am.He would be up here actually reading the prepared speech about the beauty of our country, and the new partnerships we’d like to forge with the companies represented here, as well as the hopeful legacy of the House of Greiner.
“But unfortunately for you, he’s not here, and you’re stuck with me. What I am going to tell you is what I’ve discovered during my short time in Las Vegas: Don’t ever stopliving. When I lost my brother a year ago, my entire life flipped upside down and in most aspects, I forgot to live. Despite the tabloid headlines you’ve no doubt read, I didn’t date, I didn’t drink, I didn’t take off my damn necktie for months. I wasn’t living. I was just going through the motions, doing what was expected of me—my job. But really, that’s no way to live. Everyone needs a littlework-life balance—even a degenerate like me.
“I met a lovely lady this week who taught me that I needed to start living, that I needed to stop and smell the roses, or in our case, appreciate the beauty of neon signs.” I paused again as a few people in the audience laughed. “I hope that each of you, whether you’re the CEO or a software programmer, finds that work-life balance that you need, andI urge all the corporations here to make that a priority for your employees. A happy employee is a productive employee.
“My brother was definitely a happy employee during his time working for the citizens of Monaco. And now that I’ve finally figured out a few things about life, I hope I will be going forward as well. I urge each of you to find that balance for yourselves and hopefully for youremployees. Thank you.”
I left the podium to modest applause and returned to my seat. Hannah turned to me with shining eyes.
“I had no idea I did that for you.”
“You did that and more,mon chou.” I leaned over and gently gave her a chaste kiss. A few lights flashed around us and I straightened up in my chair and smiled slightly. “We should probably keep it PG, given our audience.”
Hannah lookedover her shoulder at the tables beyond and laughed. “Something tells me it’s too late to lie low. At least no one knows my name.”
I hummed a noncommittal reply. If anyone out there was with the press, it wouldn’t take them much time to dig up her identity. I opened my mouth to say as much before I closed it with an audible click. Nothing would be gained by telling her. It was possible that noone would identify her. And if they did, she’d be safe in my home in Monaco, where the press couldn’t touch her. We could talk about it tomorrow,ifthere was anything to talk about then. Instead I revised an old topic. “Have you given any thought to what we talked about earlier?”
