He turned. “Follow me. Gregorio is in his quarters.”
Scrambling after him, I followed him to the royal family’s private rooms. The halls were quiet and the lighting, subdued. All the action was happening outside. At least I hoped it was.
Our footsteps were cushioned by the long runner. Tonight, I was barely aware of the elegance surrounding me. Where was my daughter? The two of them had been getting along but I’d been busy with lesson plans and horseback riding…with Marco.
Please, please, Lexi. Don’t disappoint me.Not when we’d been making progress mending our relationship. I didn’t want to be thrust back into the role of warden.
Marco stopped and knocked on one of the recessed doors. “Gregorio? May we come in?” His powerful frame vibrated with impatience. He knocked again. Nothing. We waited.
With a shrug, Marco tested the knob. It turned in his hands. I released a ragged breath. Whatever they were doing, it couldn’t be too private.
Like Ama’s quarters, Gregorio had a suite. The décor and the lavish furnishings were a contrast to the pieces of clothing draped haphazardly on the priceless chairs. A pair of pants here, a sweater there. A magnificent desk rose along the wall, the laptop a modern anachronism on its leather surface.
Music blared from behind a closed door, but I would have recognized Lexi’s giggle anywhere. Frowning, Marco advanced. “Gregorio? We are looking for you,” he bellowed.
Gone was the calm and collected parent. Marco’s obvious concern almost made me feel better.
Checking back with me, he raised one brow. I must have looked terrified because he softly said, “Profesora, we have found them. What could be wrong?”
Was this man born yesterday? Plenty could be wrong. Although it wasn’t easy, I had to downplay my concern. I’d brought Lexi here under false pretenses. Marco had expected a boy, a possible companion for Gregorio. Instead, I’d had Lexi in tow. No way did I want to explain that she was here because she needed watching. Marco opened the door and I followed, my heart beating wildly, almost in time to the music the kids were blasting.
A cool breeze blew through Gregorio's room from the open balcony doors. Marco nodded to me. “They are outside.”
My relief came quick but still left questions. Although I felt really uncomfortable going into Gregorio’s bedroom, I edged along behind Marco. Gregorio poked his head inside. “Father? What are you doing here?” He stepped toward a stack of electronics and the music stopped.
“Looking for you.” Hands on hips, Marco sniffed, as if embarrassed that he’d been brought so low. What royal father had to search for his own child?
From the balcony, a thin trail of smoke curled inside.
In the distance I could hear the party, still going on. At least Marco’s departure hadn’t caused any alarm. Well, not for anyone but his mother.
By this time, I was on the balcony, studying Lexi, who had coiled her legs into a knot in a wrought iron chair. Her spangled wings lay on the concrete floor next to an ash tray that Gregorio tried to kick aside.
With a mellow look on her face, she peered up at me through a wreath of smoke. Unlike Gregorio, she still held the cigarette.
No way did I want to make a scene. I sniffed the air. Although I’d never smoked, this didn’t smell like any cigarette I’d ever smelled at parties. My silence seemed to have an effect. Dropping the cigarette, she ground it into the stones with her Tinkerbell boot.
“So, this is about cigarettes, Gregorio? Nothing more?” Thank goodness Marco had jumped into the fray.
“The party got boring and we wanted a cigarette,” Gregorio said. His face flushed.
“Boring?” Marco roared. “You are calling our party…our gala…boring?” Marco’s dark brows disappeared under that mass of dark curls.
“For us,” Lexi said softly, with a quick glance at Gregorio. “It’s a grown-up party.”
Marco made a dismissive sound with his lips. Obviously, he expected everyone to be entranced with the party he’d planned so carefully. I felt bad for him. “You two––” he jabbed an imperial finger at them, “––are almost adults.”
“But you aren’t,” I jumped in, just to clarify. “Not yet. You are definitely not adults. So you don’t have the privileges of adults. The r-right to decide to do…whatever it is you are doing.” I was still uncomfortable with them being in Gregorio’s bedroom.
“Exactly.” Marco gave a curt nod.
My patience fraying, I wanted to get my daughter alone. Had we ended up right back in the same situation we’d left far behind? “We’ll talk about this later, Your Majesty.”
He stepped back. I waved her through the room while Marco and Gregorio stared stonily at each other.
Stomping like a five-year-old child, Lexi followed me to the door. Anger rolled off her in waves. The whole situation exhausted me. This was what Wallace had never seen or handled by being the missing father. From what I understood, despite the accident that had changed Lexi’s life, she was very good when she was with Wallace. Maybe she was wishing that he would ask her to live with him––the more permissive parent. This attitude? He never got to see it. “It’s just a cigarette, Mom.”
As she brushed past, Marco turned to me. “Christina, it is just a cigarette.”
