“Relax. You’ll do fine. Just be yourself, and whatever you do, don’t—”
“Prince Lucien? His Highness would like to know if you’ll be much longer. He has an appointment that he mustn’t be late for.”
“We’re on our way, Antonin.” I grabbed Hannah’s hand and tugged her down the hallway.
“What is it that I’m not supposed to do?” Hannah whispered furtively.
“What?”
“Before, you said there was something I’m not supposed to do. What is it?”
We’d reached the doorway to the York Room, and I could see Bastien and Mum standing in front ofmonPère’s portrait with their backs to us. To cover my instruction, I passed my lips over the top of Hannah’s head in a quick kiss as I whispered, “Do not offer to shake my mother’s hand. She’s very old-fashioned. A slight bobwhen you’re introduced will suffice.”
“A bob? What the heck is a bob?”
But before I could answer, Bastien’s voice boomed across the room in French, “Lucien! I was beginning to wonder if you’d lost your way.”
I was certain my smile of greeting looked more like a sneer at this point. “Well, if someone had seen fit to fill me in on this little detour, I would’ve made it more of a priority to arriveon time. I wasn’t aware I was still on the clock.”
“Yes, well, circumstances conspired to make things difficult for you. So sorry to put you out.” Although judging by his expression, he wasn’t sorry at all. Bastien looked from me to Hannah’s shell-shocked expression, then switched to English, and the false charm oozed from him. “Where are my manners? I am so sorry for our rudeness…?”
Hearingthe unspoken question, I kept one hand on Hannah’s back as I gestured with the other. “Hannah, this is my brother Sébastien Greiner. Bastien, this is Hannah Allen.”
“Your Highness,” Hannah whispered breathlessly as she did her awkward attempt at a bob. It was so endearingly cute. And I instantly felt horrible that I hadn’t prepared her better.
“Please call me Bastien. At least when we’re inprivate.”
Watching Hannah fall under the spell of Bastien’s smile had a muscle ticking in my eyelid. Needing a distraction from my simmering anger, I gestured to our mum. “And this is our mum, Princess Vivian Greiner.”
“Your Highness,” Hannah said, her voice a little stronger now as she bobbed into a quick curtsey again.
“Charmed,” my mum returned with a hesitant smile but no offer to callher by her first name.
The undercurrents were heavy with dysfunction and genteel suppressed anger. Whatever we walked into, it sure as hell wasn’t good. Now I wished I’d paid a little more attention to the headlines we’d stirred. After seeing the coverage on the local Vegas media, I’d assumed it was all positive, but maybe I was wrong.Merde, they better not have gone after Hannah.
Bastien clearedhis throat. “I’m sorry to say that your home has been besieged by the media given your recent…relationship. After some attempted break-ins last night, there was some property damage and a small fire.”
“Fire? Atmyhouse? Why am I only hearing about this now?”
“It happened during your flight. It was quickly extinguished, but given the smoke damage and the security concerns, we felt it made moresense for you and Ms. Allen to stay at the palace until things could be handled.” Bastien exchanged a significant look with Mum.
I pulled Hannah closer to my side. My need to protect her from whatever was coming overwhelmed me. “My guards tell me they got the order to bring us to the palacebeforewe left the States.”
Bastien exchanged another charged look with our mum. “We were eager to meetthe lady who did the impossible and tamed the ‘bad-boy warrior prince.’ ”
Hannah laughed softly. “ ‘Warrior prince’?” Really?”
“I didn’t come up with the moniker.” I rolled my eyes at Hannah. “And I thought it’d died after I left my post with the air force.”
“Ah, dear brother, you should know better than anyone that nothing ever dies with the press,” Bastien said silkily.
He didn’t need tospell it out. I knew exactly what he was talking about. No doubt my every misdeed from upward of a decade ago was being splashed across the tabloids in graphic detail. Joy.
“Come, dear, you must be exhausted after your trip.” My mum crossed the room to Hannah and put her arm around her. “Antonin will show you to your rooms.”
“There’s no need,” I said. “I can—”
“We need to have a little familymeeting before you disappear for the day.” Mum smiled at Hannah. “I’m sure Ms. Allen doesn’t mind.”
