Matrimony with His Majesty
Rebecca Winters

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

“SINCE the last two major college riots, we have to take what happened today seriously, Alex. I’m urging you to move yourself and your loved ones to one of your residences in the mountains away from the public where you’re not so vulnerable.”

“We’ve been over this ground before, Leo. I refuse to let fear rule our lives.”

“Then at least consider permanently closing off public access to the castle and estate. There are too many radical student elements out there wanting to bring down the monarchy. They never stop thinking up new and ingenious ways to wreak havoc for the sheer hell of it.”

“I agree there have always been those fringe elements in society, but I’d rather employ more security than shut myself off from the people.”

In Alex’s six years as king of the Romanche-speaking Valleder Canton in Switzerland, Leo had kept everyone safe, freeing Alex to attempt to do the job his father had done so superbly over a thirty-year period as sovereign.

He eyed Leo, the forty-year-old widower who’d been Interpol’s top agent before becoming Alex’s head of state security. They’d grown to be close friends.

“Tell me what happened.”

“An extremely attractive American woman came through on the 10:00 a.m. tour of the castle. After it was over she told the guide she had business with you and asked that she be given an audience on a private matter. When told you didn’t meet with the public she said, ‘Not even if I have something of value to return to him?’

“Naturally the guide called for security. They brought her by police car to the downtown office. During my interrogation she said she had a ring of yours and knew you would want it back.”

“A ring?”

Alex shook his head. “Where do these crazies come from? The only ring I have is the one my father gave me prior to his death six years ago. You’re looking at it.”

Leo folded his arms. “It’s obvious the woman intentionally created a scene to see what would happen, and of course she got her wish.

“She was searched and her passport seized. When I asked to see the ring, she said she hadn’t brought it with her because it was too valuable. But she had photos of it in the purse we confiscated.”

A sound of incredulity escaped Alex’s lips.

“This woman knew she would be detained and questioned. I’m positive she wanted to see how our security system works at the castle. Since the last demonstrators’ attempt to storm the north gate, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility they’re hatching another plan to get the whole canton’s attention and stir up trouble. Frankly I don’t like it. Especially with your wedding only three weeks away.”

“I don’t like it, either,” Alex admitted in a grim tone. If any of those incidents had hurt one of his family, he’d never forgive himself for not taking greater precautions. Thankfully Leo had been on top of things.

“What do you know about her?”

“She’s a resident of Aurora, Colorado, named Darrell Collier.”

Colorado?

Alex had been there, but he’d also been to several of the states in the U.S., even lived for a short period in Arizona.

“The woman is traveling alone under a newly issued American passport. She’s never applied for one before. Her nonstop flight to Zurich originated in Denver, Colorado, yesterday morning.

“When she deplaned, the douanier asked her the reason for her visit. She said she was taking a short vacation. She rented a car and drove here last night where she stayed at the Hotel Otter. This morning she showed up for the tour.

“I checked her employment. She works for Gold Jet Airlines in the States making reservations. There’s no police record on her, no outstanding warrants for her arrest in the U.S.

“I suppose she could be someone with a mental condition who stopped taking her medication. But my gut is telling me she’s very much in her right mind and working for some anti-royal group trying to discover the castle’s vulnerabilities.

“How many tourists traveling alone go straight from the plane to one castle for a short visit? It just doesn’t add up. So far she’s been calm and cooperative. She’s one cool customer.”

“In other words she’s willing to sacrifice herself for information,” Alex muttered.

The other man cast him a shrewd regard. “She hasn’t committed a crime and knew we had to release her. She’s been escorted back to the airport in Zurich. I’ve already alerted the American authorities. Once her flight leaves for the States, they’ll keep tabs on her. It’s the best we can do about her for now. My main concern is you and your family.”

That was twice in few minutes he’d talked about Alex’s family. Leo had more than a passing interest in Alex’s cousin-in-law Evelyn who lived on the estate and had lost her husband. Nothing would please him more than to see the two of them get together. But since Evelyn was a royal, Leo would never dare to presume.

“Greater measures need to be taken to protect all of you,” Leo emphasized again.

Alex decided to help things along. “Let’s double the security on the whole estate. It wouldn’t hurt if you went along with Evelyn the next time she goes riding or shopping. Warn her and the boys to be extra careful. Coming from you personally, she’ll take it better than from me.”

“I’ll be happy to do that,” he answered in a calm voice, but Alex saw the flare of excitement in his eyes. “This is a start in the right direction. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

As he stood up, he put an eight by ten envelope on the desk in front of Alex. “These are enlarged copies of the colored photos of the ring which could have been purchased in any of the canton’s souvenir shops. There’s an inscription on the band in Romanche, but the sentiment doesn’t send up any red flags. My men are tracking down the regional jeweler as we speak.

“Like I said, she came to the castle with a definite agenda.”

After he left the room, Alex reached for the envelope whose contents served as a reminder of his official engagement to Isabella. It wouldn’t be long before he was a married man. He hadn’t been able to put it off any longer. If it had been up to Isabella, they’d have said their vows several years earlier.

His alliance with the princess of San Ravino, Italy, would cement certain lucrative business relationships Alex’s father had instigated with the king of San Ravino when Alex had been in his mid-teens.

On his father’s death bed he’d said, “A king needs a wife, Alex, and your mother needs a grandchild. Isabella is an intelligent, beautiful woman and will give you children you can be proud of.”

Admittedly Isabella with her black hair turned heads. Nine years younger than Alex, she would be biddable and make the perfect consort. Alex agreed the princess had qualities he admired. There’d be no surprises. Everyone was excited for the wedding. Everyone except him…

With a jerking motion he upended the envelope. Out spilled four photos of a man’s gold ring taken at different angles.

As Leo had said, the colorful enamel work showing the Valleder coat of arms appeared on pins, rings, virtually any piece of jewelry a tourist could take home as a reminder of their trip to the heart of the Swiss Alps.

The last photograph revealed the inscription on the inner band in the Puter dialect. Alex looked closer.

More than a cousin.

He closed his eyes tightly in pain.

This was the ring his deceased cousin, Chaz, had given him on his sixteenth birthday—the same ring he’d somehow parted with during a certain vacation to Colorado when he and Chaz had turned twenty. On that trip his cousin had urged him to forget he was a royal and simply live it up like they were two ordinary guys.

Alex sprang from his swivel chair, hardly able to comprehend that the young woman he’d given it to under fuzzy circumstances could be the woman who’d come to the castle trying to arrange a meeting with him.

These photos were the proof that something of significance had happened on that trip. He didn’t like what he was thinking, especially when his recollection of those events was a blur. This had to be an extortion tactic.

With no time to lose he pressed the programmed digit on his cell phone. It was his private line to Leo.

“Yes, Alex?”

“You’ve more than earned your pay today, my friend.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

Alex wished he knew. “It’s my ring, Leo. One I parted with a long time ago, but the memory is hazy.” Since that experience he’d done everything in his power to be a good king, including agreeing to marry the princess his parents favored. No hint of scandal had touched his life until now, less than a month before his wedding…

“When exactly?” the other man fired.

“Thirteen years ago while I was on a trip, Chaz and I spent a wild night drinking with some girls. Things got out of control. I’d forgotten until I saw the photos.”

Leo let out a low whistle. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Don’t be fooled. I have a few skeletons lying around.”

His friend made a strange sound in his throat. “This one might have come back to bite you, if you follow my meaning.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

Depending on this woman’s agenda, she could hurt him and the people he loved in ways he refused to let happen.

There was a palpable silence, then Leo asked, “How can I help? I’ve done everything to keep this suppressed, but you never know.”

“Tell me about it,” he muttered. “I’m going on a private fishing expedition, Leo. Alert your most trusted men to board my jet within the hour. The second this woman’s flight leaves the ground, I want to be notified.”

“Consider it done.” After another silence, “Alex—”

“I know what you’re going to say, Leo. But I’m afraid the time for damage control was years ago.”

By the time Darrell Collier’s jet landed at the Denver airport, she’d cried all the tears she was going to cry. Her final, fool-hardy attempt to unite her adopted son with his phantom father had completely failed. To her deep-felt sorrow, Phillip would never know the name or the whereabouts of the man who’d impregnated Darrell’s sister before disappearing from her life.

Deprived of the father he’d never known, Phillip was entering his teens with a giant chip on his shoulder.

Darrell loved him with her whole heart and soul, but his anger at fate had made him so difficult to handle these days, she realized she needed to get professional help for him.

Things were building to a crisis state. She felt more helpless now than when Melissa had died after giving birth twelve years ago, leaving Darrell to raise her sweet little dark-blond boy alone.

It had been the two of them against the world.

After her final effort to make contact with his father, it was still the two of them forging ahead alone. That was the way it would always be.

She could only hope that in time he would let the anger go and embrace his life. He had everything to live for, but right now he couldn’t see beyond the unfairness of an existence without a dad. Emotionally he reminded her of Melissa, who’d also felt deprived because of a car accident that had robbed them of their parents.

Her pain had turned her into a willful and tempestuous teen their grandmother couldn’t handle. It appeared history would be repeating itself unless Darrell took an active stance to help Phillip before it was too late.

Having a plan was better than no plan, she told herself as she took the train to get her luggage. After retrieving it, she left the terminal and headed for the parking lot, anxious to get home. She’d been gone three days and missed him horribly. She couldn’t wait to pick him up.

Eventually she reached her compact car. As she was putting her suitcase in the trunk, two men suddenly appeared out of nowhere dressed in shirt sleeves and Jamaica shorts.

“Ms. Collier?”

Though it was midafternoon and there were other people around, she suddenly felt nervous. “Yes?”

They flashed her their photo ID cards.

FBI?

“If you’ll come with us, we’ll take you to a place where you can meet with the king of Valleder in private.”

Darrell was convinced she was hallucinating. After the balmy temperatures in Switzerland, this long walk in the sweltering one hundred degree July heat must have gotten to her.

“The king is here? In Denver?”

“Yes, ma’am. He’s made it possible for you to discuss a certain private matter with him.”

The other federal agent handed her the envelope containing the photos she’d left with the police in the capital city of Bris.

So he had recognized the ring.

After giving up all hope, she was incredulous this was happening now. In a daze she slowly shut the trunk lid.

“The king is waiting. We’ll bring you back to your car later.”

The next few minutes passed in a blur as she was helped into the back seat of an unmarked car. One of the agents sat next to her. The other sat in front next to the driver. At a glance she realized there were several unmarked cars with agents forming a cortege.

The driver left the airport and took the E470, a toll road that eventually led to the Centennial Airport where the private jets landed. They wound around to a gleaming white jet with the Valleder royal coat of arms on the side.

She saw the stairs being lowered. Security people were everywhere.

One of them greeted her after she’d gotten out of the car. Another stood at the bottom of the stairs.

“His Majesty is just inside. Go ahead.”

Feeling she was in some sort of trance, Darrell climbed the steps, wondering if she’d wake up before she reached the opening.

“Oh—” she cried softly when a well honed male who stood six foot three stepped out from the interior.

He was a stranger, yet because of certain physical traits that reminded her of Phillip, he looked familiar, too.

A relentless afternoon sun gilded the natural highlights of his wavy dark-blond hair.

The Internet pictures of the king of Valleder could never do justice to his rugged masculine appeal, let alone capture the intensity of his unique hazel eyes.

His gaze traveled over her classic features that hadn’t seen makeup in twelve hours. It lingered on her puffy, tear-swollen eyes the color of drenched pansies. With her shoulder-length ash-blond hair needing a shampoo, and her aqua blouse and skirt looking less than fresh, she’d never felt a bigger mess.

The realization that she was standing before the king she’d risked a great deal to meet was so surreal, she couldn’t think clearly.

He had her at a distinct disadvantage. As his gaze swept over her feminine attributes, heat rose through her body from her curling toes to the crown of her head.

Compelled by a force stronger than her will, her gaze took in his white sport shirt covering a well-defined chest. He wore tan chinos that molded his rock-hard legs, hinting at powerful thighs.

Looking at him made her realize that one day her tall, lanky son would resemble his attractive father in quite a few ways.

“Ms. Collier, I presume?”

Still in disbelief that he’d flown all this way, she was too tongue-tied to think with any coherence. She cleared her throat. “Yes. I know you’re the king, but I—I don’t know what to call you,” she stammered in embarrassment.

“I realize the situation is foreign to you. Under the circumstances just call me Alex. It appears we have something important to discuss. Please come in.” He spoke impeccable English with virtually no trace of accent.

Once over the threshold, she entered a world where only the privileged conducted business thousands of miles above the earth. Besides everything else, the air-conditioning was heavenly.

He led her to a room with a grouping of furniture much like an elegant den. The second she sat down on one of the couches, a steward appeared with a tray of drinks. She chose cola, then sat on the edge of the luxurious white upholstery unable to relax. Again she had the feeling she was existing in another state of consciousness.

He took a chair opposite her, the picture of urbane sophistication while he drank coffee.

“Why don’t we start by you telling me how you came by that ring.”

He’d come straight to the point, not appearing worried about the history behind it.

Her heart pounded so hard she was certain he could hear it in the confines of the room.

“My sister entrusted it to me.”

He put the coffee cup on a side table and leaned forward. “What’s her name?”

How strange to be talking about her sister, the woman he’d enamored to the point she would have done anything for him, and did.

“Melissa Collier. Does that mean anything to you?”

He eyed her with an enigmatic expression. “I’m sorry to say it doesn’t.”

His response came as no surprise to Darrell. After thirteen years, how many men in his position remembered the names of the girls they’d been with for a one-night stand? Particularly a rebellious yet vulnerable teen like Melissa. She’d probably made up a fake name so she wouldn’t get into trouble with the management where she worked.

He rubbed his lower lip with his thumb, mesmerizing Darrell. “Why didn’t she come to Bris?”

Darrell drew in a shaky breath. “Because she died twelve years ago.”

Lines darkened his striking features. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, sounding surprisingly sincere.

“So am I.” Her voice faltered.

“How did she die?”

There’s your opening, Darrell.

Yet oddly enough she found herself unable to go on. No matter how long she’d prayed for this moment for Phillip’s sake, what the king was about to hear was going to change his life. She found she couldn’t do this to him. The shock would be too enormous to any man, let alone a king—What had she been thinking?

“It doesn’t really matter. All I know is, she wanted you to have the ring back because she knew it was valuable.”

“The ring has gotten my attention. Now I want to know what’s behind it.”

Darrell felt ill. “I—I made a mistake coming to Switzerland. Haven’t you ever made one?” she cried in panic. “Let me just get the ring for you and then you can go home and we’ll forget this ever happened. Please—”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Tears ran down her face. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want anyone to be hurt—”

She had to get out of there, but before she reached the doorway, he said, “The best way to hurt me is to make a scene in front of my staff. Why don’t you sit down and answer my question about your sister.”

Realizing he wouldn’t go away until he knew the truth, Darrell wiped her eyes and finally did his bidding.

“Two days after she gave birth to an eight-pound boy, a brain aneurism took her life.”

A pulsating silence filled the cabin.

His body didn’t move, but she saw a flicker in the depths of his eyes, turning them the green of a stormy ocean.

“Do you have pictures of them on you?”

She’d thought he’d deny it was his son, or at least question her outrageous suggestion that he might have been the father.

He did neither. Instead he’d responded in a forthright manner that astounded her.

“I have a packet in my wallet. The photo of Melissa is her junior year high school picture. The rest are pictures of my son taken on every birthday in case I ever found his father and he wanted to see them.”

One dark brow lifted. “Your son?”

“Yes. I adopted him.”

“You never married?”

“No.”

Her hands trembled as she opened her purse and pulled the packet from her wallet.

He got up and reached for it.

She held her breath while he stood there with his legs slightly apart, studying each photograph with an intensity that held her spellbound.

The likeness of his son to him couldn’t be disputed.

“What day was he born?”

“February 27. He’ll be thirteen on his next birthday.”

He examined the pictures for a long time. “What did you name him?” His voice revealed a husky quality that indicated he was deeply moved. Another surprise.

“When Melissa had an ultrasound and found out she was going to have a boy, she named him after you.”

His gaze shot to hers. “I have several names.”

Darrell’s mouth had gone dry. “I know. I saw the long list on the Internet. You told her you were Phil from New York. So Melissa called him Phillip.”

A haunted expression crossed over his features, making the thirty-three-year-old monarch appear older than he was.

“Now that I see her picture, I do remember visiting a dude ranch in Colorado Springs in June thirteen years ago. A college girl a little shorter than you with hair several shades darker than yours worked there.”

“Yes. That was Melissa. She was a room maid for the summer. Except that she wasn’t in college. She was only seventeen, and had another year of high school ahead of her.”

His lips thinned.

“Don’t worry,” Darrell murmured. “I’m sure she lied about her age. She looked older and couldn’t grow up fast enough. She said you’d both been drinking and got into a sleeping bag under the stars. That’s when you parted with the ring.

“Knowing Melissa, she probably begged you to let her put it on. Especially after you told her you were really a prince.

“I thought the whole story was bogus. But two weeks ago when I consulted a heraldry expert who identified your family’s coat of arms, I had to take it seriously.

“The Internet articles and pictures of you helped me with the rest. Not only was one of your names Phillip, I read that you were the prince of Bris before your coronation six years ago. Suddenly everything fell into place. But like all fairy tales, her glorious interlude with you came to a bitter end.

“When she reported for work the next day, you’d already disappeared without a trace. All she had of you was the ring. Before she died, she begged me to find you. After the funeral, I hid it away.”

His jaw hardened. Darrell could feel the tension emanating from him.

“How you must despise me.” His deep voice throbbed with self-abnegation. “Under the circumstances, why didn’t you tell the police what you’ve just told me? It was the perfect opportunity to expose me.”

Though she didn’t want to feel any compassion for him, there was something innately honorable about him owning up to his past behavior without offering excuses.

She hadn’t expected it of him. She hadn’t expected to have a positive feeling anywhere in her body for this man who’d made her sister pregnant, indirectly bringing on her early death.

Darrell rubbed her eyes with her palms.

“The last thing on my mind was creating a scandal for you. What happened between you and Melissa has happened to millions of couples since time immemorial. The difference is, not every child turns out to be the son of a king.

“Phillip wants his father more than you can imagine. Lately he’s been angry over the fact that you’re out in the cosmos someplace, unaware he’s alive. He’s wishing with all his heart and soul that he had a dad like his friends. He’s become quite inconsolable.

“But now that I’ve found you, I realize it was a mistake. I had no right to disrupt your life even if my son is suffering. He wouldn’t be the only child in the world to grow up without a father.

“The problem is, after raising him from birth I love him too much. The saying about a mother rushing into a burning building to save her child is truer than even I knew until now.”

She lifted her head and stared up at him with glistening eyes. “In this life there are some things that happen which are better left alone. This is one of them.”

“How can you say that?” he asked in a low voice. “I’m responsible for her pregnancy. I wish I’d known of Phillip’s existence from the beginning.”

“It would only have complicated your life. While I was checking out of the Hotel Otter, I overheard the desk clerk telling a tourist that there’s going to be a royal wedding at the end of July. I heard him say you were marrying a princess named Isabella.

“Learning you’ve been betrothed for several years, that news made me glad I hadn’t been able to talk to you. Please be assured neither you nor your intended bride will ever see or hear from me again.”

Alex moved as if to speak but Darrell rushed on, not giving him the chance to interrupt her. “If you’ll wait before flying back to Bris, I’ll drive home and ask one of the agents to bring the ring to you.”

She jumped to her feet, “Forgive me for forcing you to fly all this way. I’m so sorry—” she whispered before rushing out of the cabin and down the stairs of the jet.

“Please take me to my car, then follow me home. I have something of the king’s you need to return to him before he leaves the airport.”

The agent looked surprised, but he helped her in the car and instructed the man at the wheel to go back to the main airport’s parking lot.

A half hour later Darrell was still trembling as she pulled into the driveway of her small, two-bedroom condo. The agent’s car pulled in behind her.

She dashed in the house and hurried up the stairs to her closet. The ring was inside a little velvet pouch she kept in the pocket of an ancient winter coat she’d never thrown out.

Within seconds she’d run back outside and handed it to him through the car window. He nodded to her before they drove off, taking all incriminating evidence with them. Only then did she realize the king still had the pictures of Melissa and Phillip.

That was all right. Whatever he did with them, it didn’t matter. She had duplicates.

So…it was over. Phillip’s father would remain Phil from New York. End of story.

The pilot buzzed Alex. “Your Majesty? We’re ready for takeoff at anytime.”

Alex’s hand closed around the ring the agent had brought to him moments ago. “Thank you. I’ll get back to you in a minute.”

He’d laid out Darrell Collier’s photos on the desk in front of him. As he studied each one, his father’s voice seemed to call out from the grave. “Always remember that one day you’ll be King.”

One wild night thirteen years ago he’d rebelled against the rules governing his royal life with this the result.

He actually had a son from his own body named Phillip.

Alex was a father!

Dear Lord—how could he just fly back to Switzerland as if nothing had happened, his secret safely hidden forever?

Maybe an ambitious king with no soul, or an unscrupulous man with no moral conscience, was capable of it. Ms. Collier had made a promise he would never hear from her again, that Phillip would never learn his father’s identity. Alex believed her.

But he knew himself too well. There was no way he could turn his back on his own flesh and blood no matter how the reality would impact his personal or political life. The knowledge that he had a son living in Denver, Colorado, would eat him alive.

Phillip hadn’t asked to be born.

He was the innocent product of an irresponsible twenty-year-old and an underage teen! By some miracle Darrell Collier had been there to mother Phillip and do the job Alex should have been doing all along.

Twelve years without a father.

Alex couldn’t imagine it, not when his own father had been such a dominant force in his life.

Without hesitation he buzzed his pilot. “I’m not leaving Denver yet. Stand by. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know my plans.”

He then rang the agent who’d brought him the ring. “Get everyone ready. I have a visit to make to Ms. Collier’s home.”

After a strange silence, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

CHAPTER TWO

DARRELL got in her car and drove over to the Holbrooks’s to pick up Phillip. En route she phoned to tell him she was on her way.

It was ten to six in the evening when she pulled up in front and honked. Phillip was waiting for her, and came out the door with his sleeping and duffel bags.

Hugs from him had been on short ration over the last year, but he actually gave her one after getting in the car. It melted her heart.

She’d been away three days, the longest separation they’d ever had. Over the years the two of them had enjoyed her airline perks. They’d gone on many vacations to fun places around the U.S. and Hawaii. But the trip to Bris had been for her eyes only, which meant Phillip had to stay with his best friend. Many weekends she’d let Ryan sleep over at her condo while his parents were out of town.

“How did it go while I was away?”

“Okay.”

“Tell me about the swim meet.”

“I didn’t place.”

Then he didn’t try hard enough because he usually took more firsts than the other guys on the team!

“Oh well, There’s always next time.”

“How come you didn’t take me to Chicago with you?”

She drew in a deep breath. “I couldn’t. It was an exhausting business trip. But I have an idea. After we get back to the condo and I freshen up, how would you like to go somewhere for dinner? You name the place.”

“Why do we have to go out? Can’t we just stay home?”

To her disappointment, he was more truculent than usual. She reached out to squeeze his arm. “Sure we can. I’ll fix us some tacos and we’ll just hang out.”

When he didn’t respond she said, “I don’t know if I told you Danice was transferred to Washington D.C. She’s invited us to spend the Fourth of July with her. That’s the day after tomorrow. We’ll watch the fireworks from a boat on the Potomac. It’ll be fabulous. What do you say?”

“I’d rather not go.”

Darrell moaned inwardly. “How come?”

“Danice treats me like a little kid. I hate it.”

Danice was her good friend, but right now Phillip didn’t care how he sounded. She started to feel panicky. His depression was definitely worse.

“Here we are,” she said unnecessarily as she pulled into the garage of their condo. “Take your clothes into the laundry room and we’ll get a wash started.”

“Mrs. Holbrook already did mine.”

“That was nice of her.”

When Darrell reached for her suitcase and saw the Zurich tag on the handle, she tore it off and stuffed it in her purse before entering the hallway.

She was convinced he was suffering more than usual because he’d just come from Ryan’s, whose father was known as Mr. Dad.

Phillip only had a mom. Life was unfair.

It was unfair.

Darrell no longer had a sibling. With her grandmother already passed away, Darrell had been virtually alone when she’d taken on the role of mother to raise Phillip.

Over the years she’d dated off and on. She’d even come close to marrying her boss earlier this year. But he was too soft on Phillip who needed a strong hand. Darrell had feared her son would always be in the driver’s seat after they married, so she’d stopped seeing him except in connection with her work.

Since then she hadn’t dated anyone.

“Phillip?” she called to him. “I’ll be upstairs changing, then I’ll come down and fix us a meal.”

“Okay.”

The condo felt like an oven. On the way up to the bathroom she turned on the air-conditioning to cool off the house.

Once beneath the spray, she quickly lathered her hair, then used the blow dryer until the strands swished soft and silky against her shoulders.

Afraid to keep him waiting too long, she applied a fresh coat of coral frost lipstick, then slipped on white shorts and a sleeveless navy top. Dispensing with shoes she hurried downstairs. He needed to talk.

She knew the drill. They would discuss all sorts of things, but inevitably he’d bring the conversation around to the father he was growing to hate for not being there for him.

It was so sad he’d reached the age where he understood about a man sowing his wild oats without compunction, and one had taken root in the Rocky Mountains.

Heartsick for Phillip who was acting out with increased frequency, she walked in the family room off the kitchen to find him. He was playing a video game. In her opinion they were a curse. No communication could go on with his hands on the controls, and his eyes glued to the screen. Luckily he enjoyed sports, which kept him busy a lot of the time now that it was summer.

“Want to grate the cheese and cut up the tomatoes?”

Without saying anything he got up and followed her to the fridge. Athletically inclined, he looked good in his old cutoffs and T-shirt. One day he would look…fantastic, just like his father, whose arresting features and physique eclipsed those of any man she’d ever known.

She could still picture him standing in the doorway of the jet, staring at her with those hauntingly beautiful green-gray eyes. They seemed to follow her into the kitchen where she fried the tortillas and ground beef. Then she and Phillip sat down to eat.

She was glad to see his dark mood hadn’t affected his appetite. She waited until he’d finished off his third taco before venturing into uncharted waters.

“Sweetheart?” she began. “I love you more than you’ll ever know, and it hurts me that you’re so unhappy. There’s an old adage that says something like, ‘Give me the wisdom to accept the things I can’t change, and help me to change the things I need to do something about.’ It’s a good rule to live by.

“No matter how much you want things to be different, your father didn’t stay in Colorado, so he didn’t know you were born. That’s the painful fact of the matter.

“Now the ball is in your court. You can either make up your mind it’s not going to ruin your life, or you can grow up an angry man so fixated on your own hurt, you’ll never live up to your full potential.

“I know I’m just your dumb mom, but between us, we’re all we’ve got. I promised your mother I’d love you and take care of you forever. So I think the time has come for you to go to a counselor you can talk to. Someone impartial who will listen to whatever you feel like saying and won’t judge you.”

“No way—” He flung himself out of the chair. His blue-gray eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I’m not crazy!”

“Of course not, but you are in pain and a counselor might be able to help you where I can’t.”

His expression stiffened. “I won’t go to a shrink and you can’t make me!”

The next thing she knew, the front door slammed.

Darrell sat there in shock. Just before he’d bolted, he’d looked and sounded exactly like Melissa.

With her heart aching, she ran over to the sink to look out the window. He was already halfway down the street on his dirt bike. He’d never exploded like this before. She had to go after him. Grabbing her purse, she hurried into the garage and backed the car out.

She doubted he had a destination in mind. All she could do was drive in the direction he’d gone. But after ten minutes of searching the neighborhood for him, she realized he intended to stay lost for a while.

Defeated, she drove back to the condo and made a call to a couple of his friends. Eventually she found out from Steve’s stepmom he’d gone swimming. They’d probably be back in an hour.

Relief swept through Darrell. Hopefully he would come home a little less angry and they’d be able to start over.

While she cleaned up the kitchen, she heard the doorbell ring.

He must have come back to get his swimming suit and had forgotten his key.

She hurried to unlock the door.

“Phillip sweetheart?” she cried as she flung it open, prepared to give him a hug whether he wanted one or not.

But instead of a belligerent twelve-year-old boy standing there on the porch, a solidly built male filled the aperture. A man she’d presumed was already in the air on his way back to Switzerland.

Beyond his broad shoulder she glimpsed a bulletproof limo with smoked glass parked in front. She didn’t doubt for a second his security people had surrounded the complex where she lived, providing heavy protection for him.

“Hello again, Darrell Collier. In case you’ve forgotten, my name is Alex.” His deep male voice resonated to her insides.

Speechless and feeling light-headed, she held on to the door for support. “I—I’m sorry, Alex.” She stumbled over her words. “But I never expected to see you again.”

He studied her upturned features for a moment. “You made that abundantly clear when you flew out of my cabin a little while ago.”

Her heart thundered in her chest. “Didn’t you get the ring?”

His eyes glinted with a mysterious light. “It’s in my pocket.”

“Then I don’t understand. If you’re here to give me hush money or some such thing, I wouldn’t take it. I swear before God I could never do that to you or anyone else.”

He said nothing.

She shook her head, causing her hair to swirl a silvery-gold. “You shouldn’t have come,” she said in a shaky voice. “Phillip will be home soon and see the limo. If he finds you here, he’ll ask questions and it won’t take him long to notice certain…similarities.”

Her unexpected visitor straightened to his full, intimidating height. “Then I guess I’ll have to take that chance because you and I still have things to discuss. May I come in?”

She couldn’t sustain his penetrating glance and averted her eyes. “I—I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I happen to disagree with you,” he came back with a strong hint of authority in his voice. “If you prefer, we can sit in the limo.”

“No—” she blurted. With her bare legs showing and no shoes on her feet, the thought of being confined with him sounded far too intimate.

“Are you going to make a grown king beg? It’s a position I don’t recall having been in before.”

Everything he said and did was getting under her skin, confusing and exciting her when she shouldn’t be having any feelings at all!

She moistened her lips nervously. “I didn’t mean to be rude. Please—Come in.”

“Since you put it so nicely, I think I will.”

His male mouth twitched, revealing a charm that was lethal. No wonder Melissa had fallen for him. Of course he’d only been twenty or so at the time, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. Some men were just endowed at an early age with a raw, virile charisma few women could resist.

When Melissa had talked about lying in his arms beneath the stars, Darrell had absorbed the revelation on an intellectual level. To see her sister’s lover in the flesh was like coming too close to a solar flare that scorched the body and filled her with a strange envy.

Melissa may have only been a teenager, but she’d known rapture with this exciting man who ruled a kingdom. She’d carried his son to term. Those joys were something Darrell had yet to experience for herself, if she ever did.

Her front door opened into the small living room with its traditional decor. His presence dwarfed the interior.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

She felt his appraising gaze on her legs as she darted up the stairs. By the time she returned wearing a pair of pleated white sailor pants and leather sandals, she felt a little more presentable.

Darrell found him studying some framed family pictures. He appeared deep in thought.

When he heard her enter, he put down the picture of Phillip and turned in her direction. His eyes roved over her trembling figure, silently acknowledging the change in her attire.

“By the way you answered the door just now, I take it you haven’t seen Phillip since you arrived back.”

She smoothed her damp palms against her hips, a gesture he also noted. “Actually I have. But while we were eating dinner, I said something that upset him. He flew out the door and went off on his bike. I was hoping he’d decided to come back.”

He frowned. “You seemed unduly anxious. Does he often blow up like that?’

Already he was sounding like a concerned parent. She hardly knew what to make of this remarkably handsome stranger from another continent.

“I said something that frightened him.”

“What was that?” her guest persisted.

“The three days away from him let me see how depressed he has become. I told him I was going to take him to a counselor to help him deal with his issues of abandonment. He yelled that he wasn’t crazy before he charged out of here like a torpedo.”

She rubbed her arms with her hands. “On the flight home from Switzerland, I made up my mind I wasn’t going to wait any longer to get help for him. I knew he would fight me on this, but I’m committed. In all honesty, I should have taken him to a doctor long before now. He’s showing the same pattern Melissa did.”

He moved closer, his gaze intent on her face. “Tell me about your family.”

“My parents met at Denver University. Mother would have been a teacher. Dad was studying to become a geologist. Melissa had barely turned two when they were killed in a car accident and my grandmother Alice took on the responsibility of raising us.

“She was a wonderful person. We both adored her, but Melissa had a harder time of it. She yearned for our parents even though she didn’t remember them. As she got older, she felt more and more sorry for herself. In time she grew petulant like Phillip and became too much of a handful for Grandma whose health began to fail.

“When Melissa had an opportunity to work at the dude ranch through a close friend’s family, she didn’t hesitate. She knew a lot of famous VIPs vacationed there. She’d made up her mind she was going to meet an important man who would take her away and give her the kind of life that would make up for her deprivation.”

His eyes studied her intently. “What about you? A teenager burdened with sorrow and a new baby to raise. How did you do it all?”

“Grandma’s house was paid for. I took a night job I could do at home for the airlines making reservations. Eventually I was able to start taking college classes and graduated in communications.

“The company gave me a promotion, so I sold the house and bought this condo, which is closer to my work. Everything seemed fine, but it wasn’t fine to Phillip.”

Darrell’s eyes filled with liquid. “It’s a tragic irony Melissa met you, a real prince. There’s a lesson to be learned here in getting what you wish for…” Her voice trailed.

He trapped her gaze. “I can’t do anything about your sister now, but it’s not too late for Phillip.”

Her thoughts reeled. “It is where you’re concerned,” she said in a dull voice.

She heard his sharp intake of breath. “He’s my son. It’s high time we got to know each other.”

“You don’t really mean that. You couldn’t—” she cried. “It will change your whole life.”

“That’s what children do when they come into the world. He’s a precious gift.”

“But you’re a king! This is going to complicate your life in ways I can’t even begin to imagine, starting with salacious reports from the press.”

“What else is new. I’m a man first, Darrell. When I fathered Phillip, I wasn’t yet a king. I’ve already missed the first twelve years of his life. As my mother keeps telling me, a grandmother needs grandchildren. After she gets over the shock, she’s going to be thrilled.”

Darrell was afraid to believe him. But when she looked deeper into his eyes, she knew instinctively he believed what he was saying.

She swallowed hard. “You haven’t even met him yet. He’s very complex.”

“You mean he’s damned difficult most of the time, but sweet as honey at unexpected moments?”

“That’s exactly how he is,” her voice shook.

He put his hands on his hips in a wholly male stance. “He’s a Valleder all right. Our genes don’t lie. After we meet, he might never grow to like me, but we share the same blood. That makes us family, sight unseen.”

Darrell hugged her arms to her waist. “What about your marriage? Phillip’s existence is going to come as a huge shock to the woman you’ve chosen. It isn’t fair to her.”

His eyes held a faraway look. “The news that I have a son is going to turn the entire canton on its ear. However I’m not particularly concerned about anyone but Phillip. You’ve had the whole responsibility of him all this time. Now it’s my turn.”

She bit her lower lip. “It’ll transform him to know he has a father he can talk to on the phone sometimes.”

His expression sobered. “I hope so, but first we have to get over the biggest hurdle. He has viewed me as a deadbeat dad for a lot of years. I have a feeling this is going to take some time.”

He checked his watch. “It’s starting to get dark. Where do you think he could be?”

“I called some of his friends. They went swimming at the condo pool.”

“Why don’t we drive over in your car and find him. I’ll tell him I’m an old friend of his mother’s and we’ll go from there.”

Her heart raced too fast. “I don’t know, Alex. Maybe you’d better think about this for a while longer. Once the water spills over the dam…”

A shadow crossed his face. “Isn’t this why you came to Bris?”

“Yes. But when I found out you’re going to be married soon, I was glad I’d been prevented from meeting you.

“My grandmother died when Phillip was nine months old. She urged me to adopt him. She also told me not to go looking for you unless I was prepared to deal with the consequences. Until Phillip became so difficult, I’d made up my mind to follow her advice.

His eyes narrowed on her face. “I don’t know of another woman whose love for a child she didn’t give birth to would cause her to put everything on the line to make him happy.

“For you to sacrifice your own life for him tells me all I need to know about your character. My son has been more fortunate than he’ll ever know,” his voice grated. “I owe you a debt of gratitude I’ll never be able to repay for what you’ve done, Darrell.”

“It’s been no sacrifice—he was the most adorable baby on this earth. I fell in love with him on sight. He’s my life!”

“To know I have a son makes me feel the same way,” he asserted in a solemn tone. “So why don’t you make that phone call. After seeing his pictures, I’m eager to lay eyes on him in person.”

She felt that eagerness. It wasn’t an emotion he could feign. Nervous excitement welled up inside her. “All right. The phone’s in the other room.”

He followed her to the family room. As she picked up the wall phone receiver in the kitchen and started to press the digits, they both heard the front door open.

“Mom? What’s that black limo doing outside our house? Doug saw it on his way over to the pool and told me.”

Her anxious glance darted to Alex before she hung up the phone. In the next instant Phillip appeared in the family room. His hair was still damp from his swim. It looked darker when it was wet.

Melissa had been a beautiful girl with a ton of boyfriends. Darrell had always thought her son was the best looking boy out of all his friends. He seemed older than most of the seventh-graders and was growing more attractive all the time. Talk about the acorn falling close to the mighty oak—

But Darrell received an unexpected jolt when Phillip took one glance at Alex and went pale with fright. She recognized that look. What on earth?

His gaze switched to Darrell. “Is this that counselor you were talking about?”

Aghast, she said, “No, sweetheart. No—This man—” She struggled. “This man—”

“What your mother is trying to say is that I’m Phil.”

With those words, Darrell felt a strange charge in the atmosphere followed by a stillness that fell over Phillip.

He studied Alex for such a long time, Darrell wondered if he’d slipped into some kind of catatonic state.

“You’re my dad,” he finally muttered because he could see part of himself in the imposing stranger whose candor took Darrell’s breath.

“I’m sorry it has taken us so long to meet.”

Phillip’s body started to tremble in reaction. His eyes filled. “I hate you.”

“Phillip—” Darrel was horrified.

“I don’t blame you,” Alex responded with a calm she could only envy.

“I’d hate me, too, if I were in your shoes. But there’s something you need to know. My father’s brother was in a serious boating accident while I was on vacation in Colorado Springs thirteen years ago with my cousin Chaz. The doctors weren’t sure he was going to live.

“When we got the news, we flew straight home. Fortunately he pulled through. I would have come back to Colorado later, but my father had other plans for me. By the time I tried to reach your mother by phone, it was fall and she didn’t work at the dude ranch anymore. For security reasons no one would give me any information about her. I’m afraid time and circumstances separated us through no fault of our own.”

During Alex’s explanation, Phillip’s hands kept forming fists. Suddenly he dashed out of the room. Darrell heard him run up the stairs and slam his bedroom door.

She shook her head. “I can’t believe he said that to you.”

“After knowing what he’s been thinking all these years, I can. In fact I would have been surprised if he’d said anything else.”

“He’s changed so much from the darling, funny boy who used to play jokes and tease.”

She almost choked on her tears. “I—I’d better go up to him.”

“Let’s let him work this through on his own. He’s just sustained an enormous shock and will come around when he’s ready.”

Alex had a lot more confidence in the situation than she did. Maybe it took a man’s perspective in a crisis like this. Except that Alex wasn’t just any man.

Darrell eyed him covertly. Though he hid it well, she knew Phillip couldn’t be the only one shaken. Alex had just come face-to-face with a son he didn’t know he had until a few hours ago.

Her heart warmed to him because he’d given his son certain information to make him feel better about the circumstances surrounding his conception.

She’d seen Phillip’s eyes flare in surprise at the unexpected explanation. It remained to be seen if he would accept what his father had told him.

At the crucial moment Alex had known exactly what to say to disarm him. It was the master stroke of a man who put out fires every day in his role as king.

She was still unable to credit that he was willing to risk the fallout from the public scandal this would create in order to be united with his son.

Even if he tried to keep the news quiet, it would come out. His sterling reputation as the ruler of the canton would be tainted.

The woman he was betrothed to would suffer anguish.

He talked about his mother being thrilled with the news once she heard she was already a grandmother. But that wasn’t the way it was likely to work. His mother would not be thrilled or anything close to it!

Darrell was frightened for him.

Her anxiety must have shown on her face and in her body language because he said, “Relax, Darrell. I know what I’m doing. While we wait for him to reappear, how about feeding a starving man.”

He wanted food at a time like this? But then she remembered that Phillip could always eat in a crisis. It was one telling example of the ties that bound this father to this son.

“I have tacos left over from dinner. I’ll warm them up for you.”

“Sounds delicious. What can I do to help?”

“There’s instant coffee in that cupboard.”

“I’ll make it,” he offered. “It’s something I’m good at.”

The man was good at so many things, Darrell was in danger of losing her perspective altogether.

They worked in harmony, then sat down at the table like two ordinary people. But there was nothing ordinary about this situation or him!

Terrified of what was going on upstairs, she sipped her coffee without tasting it.

Alex on the other hand seemed to devour the six tacos with relish. After drinking several cups of the steaming brew, he made a sound of satisfaction.

“The Valleder Canton is renowned for its excellent cuisine, but I have to tell you they don’t serve anything this good.”

The secret to not falling apart right now was to keep making small talk.

“Yes, they do. I had a fondue bourguignonne dinner to die for at the Hotel Otter. But I must admit authentic Mexican food is hard to come by outside the western part of the U.S.”

When her cell phone rang, she jumped up from the table and hurried over to the counter to get it out of her purse. She checked the caller ID. It was Danice who no doubt was trying to make final plans for the Fourth.

Darrell couldn’t talk right now. Later on tonight she’d return her call.

Alex took the dishes over to the sink. “If you want privacy to talk to the man you’re involved with, I’ll be happy to go in the living room,”

“I’m not involved with anyone right now, but thank you anyway.”

He studied her briefly. “Being a good parent is a full-time job.”

“For Phillip to say what he did to you doesn’t make me sound like a good parent or anything close. I’ve never seen him that rude to anyone in my life.”

She was about to ask Alex how he knew about the trials of a parent when he said, “My cousin-in-law, Evelyn, is raising two boys on her own. They run her off her feet.”

The comment about something from his personal life made her hungry to hear more. “What happened to her husband?”

A bleak look entered his eyes. “Chaz was flying his light plane when he ran into bad weather over the Alps and crashed.”

“Oh how awful,” Darrell whispered, strangely moved by everything he said or did.

“It was one of the worst moments of my life,” he confessed.

She could hear the pain in his voice. “How old are his children?”

“Nine and ten.”

“Such vulnerable ages. My heart goes out to them and their mother.”

In the midst of the silence they heard Phillip say, “What are their names?”

They both turned in his direction.

Alex had been right to leave him be. His curiosity over his father had won out. No telling how long he’d been listening on the other side of the doorway. Darrell didn’t dare breathe while her son’s whole attention was focused on his fascinating father.

Alex glanced at him while he finished rinsing off the plates. “Jules and Vito.”

“One of the guys in my French class is named Jules. We all had to pick a name.”

Alex folded the dish towel. “What did you choose?”

“Philippe.”

“That’s your grandfather’s name.”

“I thought that was your name.”

“It’s one of them. But my mother and closest friends call me Alex so there’s no confusion.”

Phillip took another step closer. “Is he still alive?”

“No. He died six years ago. But your grandmother is very much alive. Her name is Katerina.”

“If you could never find my mother, how do you know about me?”

“Because I went searching for your father,” Darrell declared.

Phillip looked at her in disbelief. “But I thought you didn’t know anything about him.”

“I didn’t. But he gave your mom a very unique ring. I’d forgotten about it until a few weeks ago.”

That was a lie of course. The ring had haunted her for years, but it would still be in her old coat pocket if Phillip had let go of his pain.

“I decided to have it traced…and found your father.”

“When?” Phillip demanded.

“Yesterday.”

His astounded gaze switched back to his father. “You live in Chicago? I thought you were from New York.”

Darrell shook her head. “No, sweetheart. I never went to Chicago or New York.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Maybe this will help.” Alex pulled the ring from his pocket and handed it to Phillip who took it and began examining it with interest.

“This looks like a knight’s shield.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” Alex asserted. “My cousin, Chaz, gave it to me when I turned sixteen. He had it engraved. It says, ‘More than a cousin.’ The shield represents the coat of arms of our family.”

Finally Phillip raised his head. “Where do you live?”

“Switzerland.”

Surprise and wonder broke out on Phillip’s face. “That’s where they speak four different languages. I learned about that in my French class. Which one do you speak?”

“All of them,” Alex answered.

“Even that funny one called Romanish or something?”

Alex smiled broadly, causing Darrell’s heart to flip over. “Especially that one.”

“How come?”

“Because my home is in Bris, the heart of the Romanche-speaking Canton. It might interest you to know there are five forms of Romanche, a language dating back to Roman times.”

“Do you speak those, too?”

“Yes.”

It was too much for anyone to absorb, especially a young American teen who’d just been united with the father he’d always wanted to meet.

“When I had to leave Colorado, I gave that ring to your mother to remember me by. It’s a family heirloom. Now it’s yours, Phillip. No one else in the world is entitled to wear it unless they’re a Valleder.”

“A Valleder?”

“Yes. If your mother and I had married, your legal name would be Phillip Collier Valleder. If you’ve got some tape, I’ll fix it so you can wear it now.”

“There’s some in the drawer.” Phillip opened it and handed the dispenser to Alex. In a minute the ring slid on his finger and stayed put.

Her son’s eyes squinted up at him. Darrell could hear his mind working. “What’s your legal name?”

“Alexandre Rainier Juliani Phillip Vittorio Valleder.”

“Whoa.”

A deep laugh escaped Alex’s throat. It was so contagious Phillip smiled. Darrell hadn’t seen one like it in years…

But when the laughter died down, Phillip grew sober again. “Do you have a wife and kids?”

Alex’s eyes were hooded as he said, “You’re my only child.”

“But at the end of this month he’s getting married to a woman named Isabella,” Darrell informed her son to make certain he understood the situation in no uncertain terms.

After reflection Phillip said quietly, “Did you love my mom?”

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